A walk in the neighborhood

I was going to start the show and tell for Long Time Gone, but I have a couple of things to share with you. Then I'll start the show and tell tomorrow. There's too much to put in one day, so it'll span several days. 

Have you been out walking in your neighborhood lately? I've noticed two things that are springing up everywhere. Can you guess what they are?  

There are the FOR SALE or the SOLD signs. We've had a lot of that in our neighborhood. 

And there's the giant bin thing. 

Seriously, there are MANY houses with those giant junk bins in their driveways. People are renovating like mad. Some are big, some are small, but there are bins everywhere. 

A decorative bin!

A junky looking bin

Well, there's a lot of walking going on here. Not quite as much as I have done on some days. I seem to barely eke out my 11.5 KM in a day. I realize that I do a lot of walking in the house when I'm quilting, and if I'm not quilting, not as many KM. But in my online walking group, people are always posting pictures of where they walk—gorgeous mountain trails or countryside walks, etc. Breathtaking scenery. Well, I don't have that luxury since most of my walking is done in the city. 

I'm an urban walking. We have some great multi-purpose trails near the house, and they are perfect for walking, and I see MORE bike paths are being built this year. OK -- I NEED to get out on that bike. I've no idea how or why my schedule is so crazy. 

The multi-purpose trail near my house

While I do some of the walks by myself, I do have my trusty companion Murphy. She's just a lunatic on a leash. But when we stop, she stops and can stay quite nicely. The moment you go - she GOES. She has two speeds - STOP and FAST. Never a dull moment with her on a walk. 

Murphy sitting patiently

And as you know, we have this glorious forest to walk through as well. So we start off in the "city" and finish in the "country". 

Murphy

Let's not forget Miss Lexi. She doesn't listen to any commands! 

Lexi

Notice how neither one of them can look at me. That would be embarrassing to appear to pose for the camera. Besides, there are too many interesting things in the forest. 

But did you notice how thick the tree canopy is? It's glorious, and there's a huge difference in the temperature when you enter the forest. That forest is one of the reasons we bought our house! We've never regretted that decision. 

We have coyotes that live in the forest and skunks, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, opossums, and raccoons. However, I've seen another visitor on two different occasions. Yesterday I was able to get a picture. Not a good picture, but can you see what it is?? 

A new resident in the forest

OK -- even when I crop that photo down, it's hard to see. But it's a FOX. And he had breakfast in his mouth. He was coming right down the path, and I wasn't looking up. DARN - I could have gotten a better picture if I had been paying attention. He turned around and wandered off in the forest to enjoy his breakfast. 

A fox

I still haven't finished that quilt on the long arm. I MUST try to get that done today as I have two more quilts to quilt this week. Although it's a crazy week with lots of homework to prep for the presentations this coming weekend. And I have a MASSIVE embroidery project that I have to babysit. I made good progress this morning, so that'll keep me busy all day, and let's not forget the writing! 

Two more presentations today, so - yep - it's going to be busy. I had an errand to do yesterday that took me out of the house. Actually, I had a car errand on Monday and one yesterday, one more today, one on Thursday and Friday. WOW - five days in a row that I get to drive the car. That's totally unheard of!!!

I got the first of the two quilts from the mystery quilt done. The binding got made and the backing, and it got moved to the "to be quilted" pile. That's so exciting!!! The second quilt is on the wall, so I can start to put borders on it. Since I have a lot of babysitting to do today, I hope to get the borders on this one. I may have enough fabric to make the backing for it as well. 

A quilt moved to the "to be quilted" pile

I'm putting the scraps away as I work. Wow -- it's so nice to get some of these projects cleaned up. I don't care if it goes to the "to be quilted" pile - I just want the mess cleaned up! And I'm getting there. 

I had to pick up dog food on Monday. So here's the thing - I quickly went through the Petsmart website and found both items I needed. My girls do NOT eat the same dog food. I even purchased a couple of "impulse" buys - some treats. The order was ready in an hour, and I went, at my convenience, later that afternoon to pick it up. I parked right out front of the store and called them. A nice young man had brought out my order within a minute and placed it in my car. 

Hmm - so I didn't have to lift those 30-pound bags into the cart and then into my car. It took mere minutes to complete the pickup. I didn't have to walk into the store (OK - I lost steps there) and no returning the cart to the store (oops - more lost steps). But the time I gained was huge. I could even have had the stuff delivered for free, but I did need to get out and drive the car. 

So - which option would you choose?? I certainly don't mind just picking up my order. 

It's going to be very interesting to see how life changes once the lockdown is over. Will people continue curbside? Or will they go back to the store?? 

I did get a chance to into a store yesterday, and it was nice to browse, but that errand took way longer than planned. 

Have you seen The Red Dress? It's a gorgeous embroidered dress that traveled the world. Have a look. 

Anyway - it's time to get to work!!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!