FOOD AND FABRIC...ACCEPTING MY LIMITATIONS....

After the fiasco a few months ago when I decided to go grocery shopping all on my own (I paid in severe pain for days afterwards), I have finally admitted my limitations and thanked God, and ShopRite, for the wonders of online shopping.  I never really knew there was such a thing until J began working at ShopRite about three years ago.  He has now moved on to his "dream job" elsewhere, but the reality of online shopping (he managed the department so I learned all about it) couldn't have come at a better time.  

This time of year is the big can-can sale at ShopRite.  The can-can sale happens twice a year and is when I stock up for the next six months.  With J out of the house, Dear Hubby and I need a lot less...but cans are still heavy and neither one of us is in good enough health to heft such weight.  So we decided that every six months I will place one big order from ShopRite and have it delivered to the house...right to my kitchen table to be exact.  Dear Hubby and I can then put things away gradually, carrying a can or two to the pantry at our leisure.  During the intervening months I will place one or two "bigger" orders and we will just shop for milk, bread, produce, etc. in between.  It costs $15.95 for delivery, but that is a small price to pay four times a year to keep either one of us from hurting ourselves and suffering more pain than is usual.  Usual is bad, more pain is unbearable. 

So I have admitted my limitation in major food shopping and have now placed that activity on my "no longer do" list.  Unfortunately, I probably like food shopping better than any other type of shopping (I'm not a "window shopper"), but through the wonders of the internet I can still buy what I need, when I need it, despite my physical limitations.   

If you have followed my blog for any length of time you know how I LOVE quilts and quilting!  I am still pretty much a novice and my precision still has a LONG way to go.  In the past I haven't really dwelled on my need to be more accurate, but since my goal is to become a "good" quilter and some day see all of my dream quilts to fruition...it is time to focus on improving! 

I began this quilt some months back.  While I thought I was being "careful" with my cutting and piecing...the resulting blocks were not perfect.  I went ahead and sewed together the first row...and then put it all away to work on my mom's Christmas present.  I pulled the project out again yesterday and the piecing is BAD.  I can't possibly make a decent looking quilt with such out of kilter blocks!  

So, yesterday I began unpicking the one (err...actually two now that I look through the pile) rows I had sewed together.  I still have about one and a half more rows to unpick, but there is no rush and I can take my time.  My seam ripper is my friend! (repeat as often as is needed to sound convincing)  I only put one errant hole in the material when my hand moved unexpectedly, but it is in the seam allowance and hopefully will be cut off when I do the trimming, lol. 

A dear quilting friend suggested my goal be quilts that are "crisp and professional".  Since her quilts are the best I have ever seen, she KNOWS what she is talking about, lol.  I am accepting my current limitations in accuracy, but will working long and hard to improve!  Thank you, B, for your sage advice!

One of my "organizational" goals is to meal plan each week.  This is even MORE important since I need to purchase meat weekly to fit in our tiny kitchen fridge freezer.  I can't WAIT for March (after Dear Hubby's bonus) when we can replace our broken freezer!  Above is my meal plan for this week.  I currently have all of the necessary items in-house, with the exception of salad greens and dressing.  They will be delivered on Thursday, lol.  I have also purchased a few cuts of meat in my Shop Rite delivery order and will use them in next week's meal plan.  Who thought losing my freezer would lead to better planning?  Maybe I shouldn't replace it, lol.