Living like a monk is a good thing!

 

Oh my -- there needs to be a handbook for new homeowners. Some people have bought homes with things that they really don't know much about, or it might be their first home and no clue. The item in question is the sprinkler system. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I do know that you shouldn't water your lawn every day, and it's best to water it really early in the morning or late at night. Why? Well, there's less evaporation if you water in the late evening or early morning, and the darn thing is on a timer after all. 

And it's less likely that people are using the sidewalk. OK -- so where is this going? 

Murphy and I were out for our walk. We hadn't gotten too far, and well, Murphy had to do her business. I'm being the good dog mom and bending over to clean up after her when all of a sudden - you know where this is going  - right? All of a sudden, I felt something on my legs and my butt. Yep - the sprinkler system came on, and I got a full shower! At least from the waist down and in the back! Thankfully, I had black shorts on, so you couldn't see how wet I was!

I sure hope that wasn't intentional! Anyway, we had a good laugh about it, and even Murphy got wet since she was sitting behind me, waiting rather impatiently but waiting nonetheless. 

Oh my goodness -- if you haven't read the book Think Like a Monk, it's interesting. And I will say that I'm somewhat biased towards the book since there are MANY things that he talks about that I follow. Like what? 

• Get up early in the morning to have absolute peace and quiet. 
• Learn something new every day! 
• Silence is golden! 
• Reduce the amount of time spent on your devices.
• Multitasking does NOT work. 
• Hardships are a good thing!
• Living with less is a good thing!
• Observe what is around you!

Oh my goodness -- there are so many similarities to the way I live my life. Am I a monk in disguise? I just think there is TOO MUCH of everything in this world, and we need to carve out a small niche for ourselves and learn to live with ourselves. When I see brackets that hold iPads to baby strollers? Well, you have to be kidding me!!!  

I'm enjoying the book - and yes, there is always room for improvement, BUT one must celebrate what is happening right NOW!!!  I feel content with my life, and it didn't happen overnight. There are still things that I'd like to change, but baby steps!!

I just read some of the reviews of this book on Goodreads, and many didn't like it. There is ONE factor that I find disturbing about the author. He lived three years as a monk, which I don't think qualifies you to be called a monk. He is now living his life as a motivational speaker/coach/author, which is totally the opposite mindset of a monk. It just makes you wonder......................

So what did I notice yesterday? I was in the backyard cleaning the algae off the rocks in the pond and look at what I spotted. 

Grass growing out of a stone

I didn't have the heart to pull this little stock of grass. If it found that minuscule speck of dust in which to take root, I thought it deserved to live! That little grass-root kind of sums up the entire book!! Good luck, little blade of grass!

There was a LOT of toing and froing in the house yesterday. I have to keep my sewists busy, and so Diane dropped off some bags of quilt tops that she has completed, and I sent a bit more stuff home for her to play with. Imagine being given BRAND NEW CURRENT fabric - enough to make a lap quilt and told - do what you want with it!  And it doesn't cost her anything, yet she gets to choose patterns and sew the fabric. She doesn't have to quilt it or bind it. Now - that's a bargain if I ever saw one!

More bags of finished quilt tops

Oh yes -- getting rid of my stash isn't just about the scraps; some yardages need to disappear as well. I found another brand new package of 2½" strips. I wonder what she'll do with that? One day - this mess will disappear. 

This is what the community project corner looks like. The four containers in the bottom right are filled with quilt tops to be quilted. The next set of four containers is all about backings - fleece and plush. And the shelf in the background is what's left to be sewn up. There are quite a few backings waiting to be matched to a quilt top or fabric to make backings. There is a bit more fleece, there is a couple of boxes of yardages that will go to Diane the next time she needs something, and there are a couple of containers of scraps that I'm giving to my MIL to make string quilts from. 

The community project corner

In addition, on the left is this. The box in front is filled with pillowcases that will need to be picked up at some point. There is a laundry basket and another box filled with quilt tops to be quilted. And the two bags that I got yesterday! 

More quilt tops to be quilted

A HUGE shout-out to Diane, who has been busy working like a bee! It's been a HUGE thing for me that she offered to do this, and I know she appreciates having something to do that doesn't involve making more quilts for herself. I mean, how many quilts does one household need? We won't go there! 

She doesn't have to spend a cent, she doesn't have to quilt and bind the quilts, but she gets to design and sew. Perfect!!! A win-win for everyone!!!

And then there's my MIL, who has called several times in the last couple of days DESPERATE for something to do. She finished what I gave her. So I went to her apartment to switch out what she had completed with more stuff to sew. 

Three more children's quilts are bound and ready to be donated. 

Three completed children's quilts for Project Linus

And another 30 pillowcases are ready to go. 

30 pillowcases for Comfy Cases

And I have to trim these string quilt blocks, and then I'll give them back to her to sew together. 

String quilt blocks

There is now a small bag of blue scraps left. And I think we made THREE generous lap quilts from the blue fabrics alone. That's crazy!!!!!! 

The last bit of blue scraps

I gave her two sets of string quilt blocks to sew together - both will make generous lap quilts. I gave her another small quilt to finish piecing that was almost together. And I gave her a bag of flannel scraps to sort by color. DH will take her the second bag today. Once those scraps are sorted by color, it should be easy to make them into blocks (by color) and make more quilts. Yep - nothing is going to waste, and as long as people want to work - I'll keep finding stuff for them to do. 

At some point, the scraps will be too small to do anything with, and I'll let them go!!!!

Speaking of letting go, I was keeping empty spools. Someone was giving them to a teacher, and they were using them in a kindergarten class. Well, COVID hit, and that isn't going to happen, so why am I still keeping these???  It's time to let them go!!!!

A bag of empty spools - GOING!

I went on a small road trip and picked up two rolls of batting, so that should keep me going for a while. This is for MY quilts and for customers. I still have three rolls set aside for the small children's quilts and two rolls designated for Quilts of Valour, so there is lots of batting in the house! 

Two new rolls of batting

Speaking of customer quilts, I wasn't going to quilt yesterday, but then I decided I had better stick to my schedule, so this customer quilt got finished. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I did get a couple of quilts trimmed yesterday, and I'll trim the others later today. Yes, I'm plugging away at the paperwork. As I said, I'm slow and methodical, and that suits me just fine. There is no rush - I just want it done. 

At least the floor by the chair is clear, the desk is in pretty good shape. Yes - I did move a wee bit to the kitchen table, but then I deal with it at lunch, so all is good!!!

I was off to the gym bright and early this morning and got a couple of KM in as well as some stretching! No geocaching yesterday - I had to go to the grocery store. It's 1 KM in either direction if I take the shortcut through the forest! 

Speaking of walking, I have 233.4 KM left to finish the Appalachian Trail!!! That means that I've walked almost 3,000 KM since November! Yes -- I can do this!!! And what will be the next challenge? 

My walking totals for the Appalachian Trail virtual walk

Well, lots of stuff going on today, and I hope to get lots done, but if I don't? Well, there's ONE thing that must be done - the rest - it can wait!!!

On that note, have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!