Weekly Mileage #164 and New Chicks

6 cute little fluff balls

Last Saturday evening I'd pulled out my sewing machine to work on a pattern mockup for a tote bag I want to add to my shop. But the machine was missing a piece (a storage box in the front), and I couldn't find it anywhere. I spent the weekend praying about where to find it and looking some more, but I still couldn't find it.

I sat down at my work table on Monday, determined to sew anyway. That's when I realized I'd gotten out my embroidery machine, not my sewing machine. They are the same brand and do look a bit similar, so the confusion isn't completely out of left field.

While I'm grateful I figured it out, I felt a bit silly, but also really frustrated. Sometimes my brain just doesn't work the way it should or the way it used to. If this was all I'd ever known, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But I remember (vaguely) when I could actually remember things. Now there's just so many blanks. Stuff I just can't remember, no matter how hard I try. There's no rhyme or reason to what I do and do't remember, which makes it worse.

Monday Sunshine made a cheesy bacon potato dutch oven thing for Scouts and our dinner. Her patrol won the cooking for mothers competition.

Tuesday after music lessons I headed to the park for my long run of the week. I'd planned on doing it Wednesday or Thursday, but I realized I was due to start my period in the next day or two, so I needed to get my run in before then. I did a loop and a half-ish for just over 9 miles. I don't have enough time to train properly, but as I've said before, under-training is usually how I work, and with the added issue of the state of my narcolepsy, sticking to a shorter training plan is probably better

Wednesday I was dragging. Between the long run on Tuesday + time of the month (which always causes worse insomnia and lower energy), my energy levels were dramatically lower than last week. Strikingly different, and I realized in the future I need to make sure I don't make big decisions in the days leading up to my period. Low energy levels also means lower ability to take things on and feel confident about getting them done. If the opportunity to sign up for the 50k first came up this week, I would not have signed up for it because I would not have felt that I was physically up to it.

Wednesday morning Jeremy picked up 6 chicks from Tractor Supply. He'd tried last week, but they sold out too quickly. I'd looked online, but the hatchery I've used in the past had a 15 chick minimum, which would result in $65 total. The hatchery my mom ordered from has a 6 chick minimum, but the ones I wanted won't be available till September. I was wanting Easter eggers (they lay green to blue eggs), but the ones we got will just lay brown eggs. But we've got them now, so they'll start laying a lot sooner than if we waited till Sept. Since the current layers are not enamored with the new nesting box (only a couple eggs have been laid in it) and eggs continue to get eaten, we may have to cull one or both of the white hens soon (we know one of them is the culprit).

Since Jeremy was successful in bringing home chicks, I dug out all the chick supplies, startling myself and the large rat I discovered in one of the bins in the coop rafters. Ick! Nasty, smelly rat poop and pee all over the bin. I may need to throw it away now. So gross.

In addition to the tote bag pattern I'm working on, I'm also working on a notebook cover design for filler notebooks (Field Notes and the like). I've basically combined elements of 3 different covers to get the look I want.

I took advantage of the blahs to watch some leather technique videos. Hopefully they'll help me improve the quality of my products.

Thursday we lost one chick overnight, hopefully we won't lose any more. But we got six because you always lose at least one or two chicks.

I was still tired and dragging, but I managed to get outside in the afternoon. I worked on the chicken coop: I built a straw bale storage area and a shelf over the chicken plucker. Then I finished the brooder, but had to add some netting around the top- even with the steep angle, the girls were climbing up to roost on it. It was getting dark as I was finishing up, so I got to watch them jostle for position on the roost I'd built. They weren't happy about it and it's not spaced as well as I thought it was when I built it. So I'll have to re-do that real soon.

I worked for about 6 hours and walked 2 miles in that time. I was pretty stiff and sore by the time I was done. It's the bending and twisting that hurts the worst.

much better organization

Friday I was tired and dragging all day. Despite being tired from working hard, I maybe got 2 hours of sleep. Definitely not a productive day.

I've been keeping an eye on my cycle the last couple months and how it affects my symptoms, but at the beginning of the month I actually started writing it all down in a notebook. This should make it easier to remember the little details and see the correlations better. I can already see them, I'd just like to drill down on them a bit more.

And of course, it would be nice if there was something I could actually do about the insomnia. I'm currently debating whether to just change my schedule on the days leading up to my period and just plan on staying up late instead of getting frustrated that I'm laying in bed, unable to sleep. Despite all the physical effort this week, both Tuesday and Thursday I had insomnia, so being physically tired doesn't knock out the insomnia. In the past, melatonin has helped me fall asleep a little faster, but it makes my sleep much more fragmented- I wake up multiple times. Plus it's a hormone or affects hormones, so I don't want to take it on a regular basis. I'm trying magnesium and valerian, but I'm not sure if they help yet.

Saturday I was feeling a lot better- not dragging anymore. I worked on posts for my travel site, and with a little more work I'll have posts done for the next two and a half months. That will allow me a lot more time for sewing leather projects and stocking up my Etsy shop.

~~~~~

I read and interesting article celiac disease:  https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/history-of-celiac-disease. Apparently the doctor was up for consideration for the Nobel Peace Prize, but died before the decision was made, and it's not awarded posthumously. Unfortunate, since I kinda feel like maybe if he had received it, it wouldn't be so difficult to get diagnosed with and treated for celiac. The US has always lagged behind Europe, Great Britain, and Australia in diagnosing and treating celiac disease because the doctor who came up with the banana diet was American and poo-pooed the idea of wheat being the culprit and a gluten free diet the solution, and too many American doctors followed his lead.

Weekly Mileage
Tuesday- 9.15 miles run and hiked
Thursday- 2.00 miles walked
total- 11.15 miles

2020 totals

18 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
0 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

99.21 outdoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
11.00 indoor foot miles towards #365milechallenge
130.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
240.21 miles total