Onwards and upwards!

 

Yep -- someone commented about the masks. They are everywhere! Personally, I've had two cloth masks and used them throughout the pandemic. Granted, I don't need to wear one often, but still, if you used a disposable one -- dispose of it responsibly. 

As I walked yesterday, I thought I needed to get one of those garbage picker-upper things, and I can pick up a bag of garbage a day along my walk. Someone who lives in the same building as my parents does that in their neighborhood, and it keeps their community clean, and it gives him something to do! 

Oh god -- I'm becoming old! Nope -- becoming responsible. OH MY ---if you check out the picker-upper things online; you can get folding ones and extending ones. That's hilarious! But it bugs me to see all that garbage, so I should just cough up some cash and get one, and it would make me feel better. 

And to show you I put my money where my mouth is, I needed to order a book yesterday - it's work-related. I had to pay a few dollars extra for the book, but I ordered it from the bookstore, and I'll pick it up next week. It'll give me an errand to do next week while I walk, and I'm supporting a bricks and mortar (and JOBS) store. 

I must say that I even looked for other things to buy while on their site -- just because I can, and I found NOTHING. I'm getting so much better at buying only what I need. The other day, I bought a machine embroidery design for $4. I did look for different motifs to purchase but ended up buying only the one I needed. It's easy! And look how much money I'm saving by buying only what I need. 

So the sage with the US order continues but in a good way. The company I'm dealing with is called Cross Border Pickups. The premise is good -- you get your package delivered to an address in the US (where shipping rates are somewhat reasonable). The package arrives in Niagara Falls, NY, and technically, they alert you that a package has been received. Then you pay a fee ($10) to have it forwarded to their distribution centers in Canada. Once it arrives, I'll pick it up from their facility, which isn't far from me. 

In theory - it's perfect, cost effective, and deals with those companies that only ship to the US. However, the e-mail alerting me that the package arrived went by the wayside. It took a long time to find an e-mail address to get in touch with them, and I was busy with other things. I sent an e-mail in January and got no answer. Then I got a note recently -- pay up, or the package will be destroyed. WHAT?????? 

Apparently, they responded in January to tell me how to process the payment, but I never got that e-mail. YES -- I have checked SPAM -- I do regularly. 

When I processed the order yesterday, a $45 fee was attached to it. What's this all about? At that point, I didn't care -- I paid the money to release the package. I contacted them, and it turned out that I exceeded the free storage time frame, so that charge was a storage fee. ACK!!! 

After contacting them one more time, they have refunded the storage fee. The order has been processed, and hopefully, the package will arrive sometime next week? I'm watching the order online to see when it leaves their facility. 

Would I use them again? Absolutely. I'll stay on top of it, and now I know where to find the packages waiting for me in my account, so there shouldn't be an issue going forward. More learning!!!

So my Fitbit did it again! This was the daily total last night before I went to bed. 

A bit of excessive mileage

OK - I walk a lot, but I do NOT walk 29.8 KM in a day. 

This morning, I did a factory reset. I know-- not just a restart, but a factory reset as recommended online. 

Back to square one!

Now I need to remember how to reload the little avatar. That was kind of cute to have on the FitBit. Let's hope the factory reset will fix the problem. You can do a lot with those Fitbits, but all of that takes extra battery life. I think I might just keep it plain and simple. In a few days, I'll evaluate if I need more. 

I had to go in and delete that entry from all the virtual challenges, and it'll throw the weekly stats out the window from FitBit. I'm OK with that, and while I'm obsessed with numbers, that little hiccup won't kill me.  

Speaking of the Virtual Challenges, look where I am!!

I crossed the state line in Oregon

This is the map of the Pacific Crest Trail. It's a long trail -- 4,000 KM, and I've been walking for months! But I'm finally out of California. OH -- for those of you not familiar with the trail, it runs from the US/Mexico border to the US/Canada border, through California, Oregon, and Washington. I am finally in Oregon!!!!

But there is NOTHING anywhere near a good part of this trail. It's pretty isolated. 

Thanks to my trusty MASTER TO DO list for March and my list of UFOs, I'm keeping up-to-date with stuff. OK -- that's a lie. I'm a wee bit behind, but I accomplished tons yesterday. I actually got more done than I anticipated. And a task that I was dreading actually was kind of fun. I will be able to share all with you next week. 

My master lists to keep me on track

I even took a few minutes to trim a few half-square triangles. 

Pressed half-square triangles

Trimmed half-square triangles

The bag is still sitting on the ironing board, and I need to get them off. 

The remainder of the half-square triangles to trim

I also need to press those half square triangles for the hourglass units. 

Triangles to press and trim

I've been using little triangles as my enders and leaders over the last couple of days. The basket of ones to trim is overflowing. 

Overflowing basket of half-square triangles to trim

And there's no shortage of little triangles to sew together. 

Triangles to sew together

Once this basket is done, there are a few more to deal with! Good grief --- But I think I'm actually making a dent in that basket. I have plans for them, but I need a few more before starting. 

I ventured into the forest yesterday for part of the walk. There are still some treacherous parts, but a lot of it is granular snow, so it's not too bad. Soon it will be a muddy mess. Definitely not a place to walk, Murphy!

There are two little creeks in the forest with water in them only in the spring, and the water is there under the ice! 

Water in the partially frozen creek

And this is Miss Murphy with a treat. I just love how she grabs that with her paws -- almost as if she has hands! 

Murphy with a treat

I finished the Dogtripping book by David Rosenfelt. It was a fun book, and sometimes, you just need a light book to read. I see he has a mystery series  - Andy Carpenter. I can ONLY get the first one in the series as an e-book, and I don't do e-books!! ACK -- I might have to break down and learn to read the darn things.

Then I started a very dark book by Lucy Foley. Oh my -- I LOVE her books. This one is called The Paris Apartment and well --- it's a page-turner. Well, it would be if I were actually reading the physical book. I slap my headphones on, and I get lost in this kind of book. I suspect that's why I got more done yesterday than I planned. 

I got the e-mail from Goodreads earlier this week, with recommended books by my Goodreads friends. I miss Alan and his recommendations! He's in a better place, but I miss those recommendations as we had very similar tastes, and he introduced me to many new (to me) authors. 

So it's going to be another heads-down day. Lots to do, but I'm in control! And that's all that counts. What makes me feel out of control is the serger series in French. Once that is over for the week, I feel so much better. I don't know why. Well, it's two things that are not my strengths, and it just means a lot of prep to compensate for that. 

I hope you got a chance to watch the quilted coat video (I haven't watched the entire thing), but what are your thoughts? Does anyone want to make a quilted jacket? Not from a quilt, but make quilted fabric and then make a jacket? 

Well, that's it!! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!