Noom, blooms and monsoon

While sorting through old photos this week I found this picture of me 40 years ago and about 40 pounds lighter holding one of my weavings. I decided to finally do something about the pound-a-year weight gain and joined Noom, the weight loss program that focuses on your psychological reasons for eating as well as having you track your food and exercise. 

So far I've lost three pounds and am actually having fun listening to the daily lessons and tracking my food. Entering everything I eat into the Noom app makes me super conscientious about what I'm eating and I've been able to eat a lot more than I thought and still lose without being too hungry. If I stay on track I should be able to dump the 40 pounds by the end of February, although I find that hard to grasp.

In the midst of our monsoon rain, we had a sunny morning when the light illuminated my Joyful Desert quilt and I found the same colors on my neighborhood walk.

Look at my foot to get an idea of the size of this blooming barrel cactus!

Those are the Catalina Mountains behind the Mexican Bird of Paradise, which is in full bloom all over town.

Here's a closeup:

Then things went wrong:

 

The rains returned and my house sprouted another leak, just two weeks after my insurance company finished repairing the first one. I don't have the emotional strength to call them again right now -- maybe tomorrow.

In the meantime, I started physical therapy yesterday for my shoulder and am diligently doing my home exercises. Here I am on the way with my sling strap, purse strap, and seatbelt strap!

Have a colorful day

Recovering

I'm surprised at how much I can do with my dominant hand in a sling! I'm managing to eat, brush my teeth, dress and type with my left hand without too much trouble. And no pain.

Since I can't sew, I decided to use these weeks to organize decades worth of photos in some new albums. (And this won't include the 40,000 digital photos on my computer.) The very first picture is me at about five months, showing an early interest in pie.

I also dealt with the tree that blew down in my back yard right after my surgery. I tried to donate it to the zoo to feed the elephants, but so many people called in offering downed trees that they can't get to mine so I had my yard guy haul it away. It really opens up the yard.

I spotted this vintage turquoise truck rolling down Oracle Road with a big teddy bear in back! And the full moon was spectacular.

Have a colorful day

She said YES!!!

My daughter called yesterday with the best news -- her boyfriend officially proposed and she said YES!!!

Jade is the kindest, most considerate guy and I'm absolutely thrilled that he will be my son-in-law! He even called last week to ask my permission to pop the question!

He's the type of guy who sends me hand-written snail mail thank you notes and makes CDs for me of music he thinks I'll like. And he helps Julia cook great meals for me when I visit, like these platters of vegan sushi rolls and spring rolls.

He'll graduate from nursing school in December 

and they're aiming for an outdoor wedding

 next spring or summer.

His cat, Charlie, formed a special bond with Julia's rabbit Charlie. It was all meant to be.

Welcome to the family!

Have a colorful day

Surgery and more storm damage

I'm back home from my shoulder surgery after spending four days at Nancy and Don's house being pampered. It was so nice being fed, having my own comfy room, and having their company. After three years of living alone, I felt like I was part of a family and it was really nice. Plus their little dog, Charlie, was my buddy.

Here I am having my first meal after surgery, learning to eat soup with my left hand. It actually went a lot better than I expected! It was a savory Italian soup with beer bread. Yum!

And here is my pillow nest! I had to keep my shoulder elevated and this worked perfectly. I could've slept in their recliner, but I liked my nest better. I haven't had ANY pain and haven't had to take the narcotics that were prescribed, only Tylenol and Ibuprofen.

This morning, before Nancy brought me home, I got my first ride in a golf cart as we toodled down to the clubhouse in Sun City for breakfast.

But it wasn't all fun and games. We continued to have monsoon rain every day and Nancy's brand new roof leaked, bubbling out the wall paint and flooding the hallway and the carpet at the entrance to my bedroom. They just bought the house two months ago! So now she's dealing with that.

And I'm dealing with the big tree that fell down in my yard while I was away. Fortunately it didn't damage anything and is in the back yard, not the front. Best of all, I just read on Facebook that the zoo will take away downed trees to feed to their elephants! I have to take some pictures and fill out a form to see if they're interested in this one. That would save me the money I'd have to pay to have it hauled away and would help the animals.

Last, this is the view from the Walgreen's parking lot in Oro Valley yesterday. Gorgeous!

Have a colorful day

Flooding, sewing and surgery

For the past two days, this truck was parked out front while its driver repaired the water damage inside my house from the monsoon rain. The truck says "Disaster Recovery and Renovation" on its side. More workers were here all weekend caulking every window and door, inside and out, and repairing the leaky back door threshold and damaged stucco. I sure hope everything is now water tight, because the monsoon won't be over until the end of September.

Meanwhile, I've been sewing together old charm pack squares to make table runners and placemats to sell and gift. The black, white and tan fabrics aren't my usual brights, but I really like the combination.

Up next is my rotator cuff/bicep surgery on Thursday. I think I'm all set for it. At least I have plenty of individually wrapped pieces of chocolate cake in the freezer to help with my recovery! I'll be in a sling for six weeks on my dominant side, so I don't think I'll be sewing but I know I can handle dessert!

Have a colorful day

Quotes on Listening

The other day an article full of quotes about listening came through my inbox and I thought I'd post my favorites here.

Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of another person. You can call it compassionate listening. You listen with only one purpose: to help him or her to empty his heart.
— Thích Nhất Hạnh, Buddhist monk

 

When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life.
― Brenda Ueland, journalist

 

One of the benchmarks of great communicators is their ability to listen not just to what's being said, but to what's not being said as well. They listen between the lines.
― Laurie Buchanan, author

There are times that all you need is someone who will listen to you without judging you — not telling you what you should have done or should do, but simply, listening to you.
― Bernard Kelvin Clive, author

 

When we listen, we hear someone into existence.
― Laurie Buchanan, author and speaker

One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.
— Bryant H. McGill, author and social entrepreneur

To say that a person feels listened to means a lot more than just their ideas get heard. It's a sign of respect. It makes people feel valued.
— Deborah Tannen, author

 

During a conversation, listening is as powerful as loving.
― Amit Kalantri, author

 

Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure.
— Henri Nouwen, spiritual leader

To learn through listening, practice it naively and actively. Naively means that you listen openly, ready to learn something, as opposed to listening defensively, ready to rebut. Listening actively means you acknowledge what you heard and act accordingly.

— Betsy Sanders, author

 

It is hard to engage in listening to another person with empathy if you are waiting for the spotlight to shine back on you.
― Ramani Durvasula, psychologist

When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.
— Dalai Lama

(And my blog friend Sonja adds that it is said this is why we have two ears but only one mouth.) 

 

Have a colorful day