All about organizing

 I have a little bit of a routine in the morning. The rest of the day, not so much. Well, yesterday, when I was looking at my calendar and said I had NOTHING this weekend - I lied. I actually have two classes scheduled, and I need to see if they work on the day they are scheduled. While neither is huge, they do require prep work. 

First - I need to get all the follow-up done for last week. That's a task for today. One presentation tonight and LOTS of writing today. 

I have show and tell as well, but I'll save that for another day. One by one, those items on the TODO list are disappearing, and not too many are being added, but I LOVE that electronic version. Nothing ever gets lost on a scrap of paper or on a long-forgotten list in a book. I now have to be accountable for what I write on the list as I see it numerous times each day. YEAH!!!!

Here's my wildlife picture today. That's a hawk in the trees. I don't know much about hawks, but he was waiting patiently for something. I see him or her about once a week in the forest. 

A hawk in the trees

I wonder if it's too early for the herons to be back? I swear I saw one fly over on my walk earlier this week. They are huge, and I remember the first picture I ever posted on my blog was of a heron in our backyard! The devil was feasting on my fish! 

Then we have the wildlife in the house! Poor Murphy is in desperate need of grooming, and I need to call to make that happen. I've added it to my list. But talk about having a routine - she has a routine, and she's persistent! After the walk and when I should be writing, she's right beside me and wants to play ball!! She doesn't take NO for an answer, and when it goes under the furniture, she needs it out NOW!!

Waiting for the ball to magically row out from under the chair

The long arm is fired up, and I'm back to work. I got a customer quilt done. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I have to laugh - I got the same quilt from two different people. This one is also done! 

Customer quilt - DONE

I'll be back at it today and tomorrow and tomorrow, etc. 

As I was surveying my worktables, I noticed, yet again, that it doesn't take long for it to get super messy. Tools, projects, stuff! 

I went to my storage closet that holds a few containers. I was looking for a small tray. Hmm - no tray, but I found this container. 

Will this container be helpful?

I put my tools in, and well - it's too deep and not going to do a thing for finding something when I need it. 

This container is too deep

I also found a cutlery tray. I already have about 3 or 4 in another closet that I use for paper piecing. I do NOT need another one, and so I put it on the stairs to put in the giveaway box. 

Cutlery tray

Then I thought - DUH!!! Why not use the cutlery tray for the tools on the table. A bit larger than what I would like, but it might work. OK -- this is much better than the original container I pulled out. But it seems rather large for what's in it. 

The cutlery tray works but a bit large

WAIT -- there are other things on the table that could go in there. OK -- this is much better. And now I can easily carry the tray from sewing machine to sewing machine with all my tools, supplies and oh my - how did those little chocolate eggs get in there? That Easter rabbit is very sneaky! Hmm - it would be awesome if I could find one that didn't have those little gaps in it. Does such a version exist? Then things would stay in their appropriate slot. Just checked, and YES - there is a version that doesn't have those openings. I'm not doing curbside pick-up for a $4 item. Perhaps on my walk today, I could hit the dollar store - they might have something. Oh yes -- a real errand today instead of just going for a walk. Plus I need to go to the bank. 

A new purpose for a cutlery tray

Then I piled up the prepped projects into one neat stack instead of strewn all over the table. As soon as the writing is under control, I'll be back to this stack, and I need to get it done!  There's lots more that I need to prep, but no sense, if I haven't even cleaned this up!

The stack of prepped projects waiting to be stitched

A few more half-square triangles got pressed, so those are ready to trim. 

Half-square triangles waiting to be trimmed

Before I trim, there's a wee bit of tidying up to do. I did make the cutting table a dumping ground for removing the excess from the work table. This won't take long to tidy up, and then I'll be back in business. The nice thing about what's on the cutting is that it all has a home. It just needs to be put away! And I don't ever leave it looking like this for long. Before, it would be heaped with piles and piles of stuff that never moved. This mess can quickly be dealt with. 

The cutting table in a bit of disarray

That only took many years to figure that out! It doesn't matter - I've got it figured out now, and that's good. 

On the group virtual walk across Canada, I always check the pictures to see what's around us. And the views are 360 degrees, so when you see nothing of interest in front, don't forget to turn around. This is true even when you are on foot - don't forget to look behind! You never know what treasure you almost missed. OH my - there's a snow shed! Oh yes - I remember riding my bicycle through those. The short ones were good, the long ones? Not fun when a transport passes you, and there's oncoming traffic. There are lights at the entrance to the long ones that you can push, and that alerts trucks and other traffic that there's a cyclist in the shed. It's dark, and it's LOUD. A pick-up truck sounds like a train!

A snow shed in the Rockies

I've got a great website to send you to this morning. This week, I'm reviewing the Husqvarna Viking Brilliance 75Q. So you may not be in the market for a sewing machine, but check it out because I always try to offer up some great tips as I go. Wait until you see what else I did this week. Oh yes -- I'll be providing the links, so you watch for them. 

We had another super day on Monday sewing. So nice to stay in touch with everyone. Will we ever go back and sew in person? Not sure, but I love the Zoom thing as I can do multiple things at once - like creating and printing a label so I can sew it onto my Trendtex Challenge, which I'm happy to report is in the mail. I couldn't do that in person. And well - no need to pack and unpack and travel there. That all takes time - time that we could be sewing. And I really don't feel like I'm out of the loop with the group. We have all kinds of conversations, and as a matter of fact, I think it's easier in Zoom because only one person can talk, so you get to hear ALL the conversations. Not just the one next to you!

Speaking of the post office - here's a serious issue. There were two people in front of me. Both of them were returning items that they had purchased online from that large store. Seriously??? Can people not see from the pictures or do the research before? Or just not buy until you can buy in person? And I'd NEVER buy clothes on-line. Think of the cost to the environment and how that impacts shipping costs and the cost of the products in general as someone will have to unpack that item, and it either goes back on the shelf (if possible) or thrown in the landfill. That's terrible!!

I've been giving you a break on tidying up! I've realized that it's the indecision that kills us. Once we make a decision and start, we're pretty good about cleaning up! So here's an area and one that your husband may hate you for. What about all those computer books that they bought (or perhaps you did) and well - what are we keeping them for? We can't even give them away - the programs don't even exist any longer. So computer books! Recycling!!!!

On that note, and according to my routine, it's time to edit what I wrote and then get out for the morning walks! 

Have a super day!!!!