Pamela Schifano – @pammypoo on Substack
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The street crew was busy again last night, but either they didn’t make as much noise, or I was so tired it didn’t matter, because I slept pretty well in spite of the trucks and activity. I awoke at 4 and looked out my window. The crew was still at work, but they were cleaning up, spraying the section of the street with water and sweeping. It would be interesting to know what they are doing, but….
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I got what is probably a hair-brained weird idea yesterday, but I started work on it yesterday and will try to finish the first part today. You know that I have lost a pretty good amount of weight. As the end of that ended here in Thailand, I kept ‘modifying’ the waist of my jeans and cut-offs so that I could still wear them. It finally got to the point where I couldn’t take them in anymore and I bought a couple of pair of jeans that fit a lot better. (These are now getting loose, but that’s a story for another time.)
I put the old ones on a shelf in my closet. Yesterday I got the idea to cut the back pockets off a pair and sew them onto the front of a sweatshirt. Weird, right? Particularly in November through February, the weather is much cooler. We feel this because there is no central heat, no reliable space heaters, no electric blankets you can trust, etc. So you learn to dress in layers. (A sweatshirt is also good at the cafe, where they keep the a/c on ‘kill’ most of the time. ) If I don’t get ‘my’ spot by the window in the front, I get cold after a while and either put on the hoodie I’ve brought or a sweatshirt to stay comfortable.
The bathroom is in another part of the building. You walk outside from the cafe to the other part of the building to use the facilities. I have trained myself to take my phone with me in case of emergencies and it would be nice to have a pocket – the idea for transferring the pockets from my jeans to my sweatshirt. These pockets are large enough to hold my phone securely, plus Kleenex and whatnot in the other.
So I’m busily sewing them on the sweatshirt today. I have never been a fashion icon and appreciate ease, comfort, and practicality above all else these days, so I look forward to wearing the sweatshirt with the weird-looking added pockets.
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this is my latest painted sketch
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I read about a new exercise to help control blood sugar. At the end of the article, the “boat” pose was discussed as a good thing, too. (It also builds core muscles and helps with balance.)
“Boat pose, or Navasana, is a seated core-strengthening posture where you balance on your sit bones and lift your chest and legs to form a “V” shape. It targets the abdominals, hip flexors, and spine while building focus and stability.”
Best of all, the article said if you couldn’t do the exact boat pose, you can start in a seated position, knees up, feet flat on the floor. Then lift your feet up so your calves are parallel to the floor, and accomplish the same thing. This sounds doable to me. I plan to try it today, as Monday is yoga stretches afternoon.
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Cecy