Ramblings on a Rainy Day

Last week, I reviewed the app, Knit Hat Designer; the following day, I picked up a ball of yarn, a circular needle and, with the app, designed a simple hat for myself. Even using sock yarn (Marks & Kattens Fame Trend) and 3.0 mm needles, this was a really quick knit. I started it Saturday evening and finished it on Sunday. It’s only today that I’ve gotten around to taking pictures of it.

I like it! It’s light but warm, fits easily into my jacket pocket and it’s colourful! There should be two buttons where the brooch is but I haven’t had the time or inclination to dig through my button bag yet.

I think I’ll get a lot of use out of this app. I have quite a few orphan balls of yarn and with a swatch and the app, I can turn a few of those balls of yarn into hats.

This hat was about the only knitting I’ve done this week. Well, that’s not entirely true; I did knit a few rounds on the next Western Seas sweater and a few rows on the turquoise cardigan for Oceanna, but knitting has not come easily this week. I’ve simply been far too restless. John accused me of suffering from spring fever; he could be right. I’m having a difficult time just sitting still!

On the fitness front, I’m still hanging in. With the help of LoseIt!, I’m eating more healthily, I’m getting more exercise, drinking more water and seeing some results. My weight fluctuates, but, after one traumatic day (a gain of 5 lbs in one week???), I know that it took years to get to this point and it will take time to get to where I want to be. That said, I’m already finding that some of my clothes fit better than they have in some time and I’m noticing that I have more energy than I have had in a long time.

I even dusted off the bike this week and went for my first bike ride in a very long time! If I think back, the last time I had a bike was when my daughter was small (I remember because she got her foot caught in the spokes on one bike ride). She’s 31 now.

I cycled around our local sports field (where I usually walk), a 20 minute ride. By the time I got home, my legs felt like rubber! It was fun, though! Even though the weather isn’t the nicest today (a bit of rain, wind and very overcast), I enjoyed getting out.

This week, I also picked up a balance ball and an exercise guide to go along with it. It’s supposed to be good for building your core muscles, which, at my age is probably a good thing. I love just sitting on it while at the computer, too.

Enough about my attempts at fitness! How about a bit of cooking? Well, baking. Over at my cooking blog, I’ll be posting a recipe for some heart-healthy bran muffins that I’ll be baking today. The original recipe came from the hospital my mom was in when she had her bypass surgery. I intend to modify the recipe a little, so do head over to check it out. The link is in the sidebar.