Take care of your car!

 I don't have time to blog this morning! It's not that I'm in a rush  -- I'm not -- everything is under control. The quilt for today is already on the long arm and a quarter of it is quilted. 

NO -- I'm reading a thriller audiobook, and I want to know what happens. I swear I've read this book before, but nothing is coming back to me as I read it, so it may have been similar. Where some of these authors get these twisted ideas is beyond me. And the problem with Goodreads or other sites online is that you get suggestions for similar type books, and I ordered a few more from the audiobook library. 

I started the book yesterday afternoon, and I'm 2/3 of the way through, and I've had to go back a couple of times because I'm trying to do two things at once and lost my train of thought. But it's warped. If you liked WARPED books about immoral people, read The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. She has a warped mind, and she also lives in Toronto!! Yep -- I read this book in 2018 -- just checked my reading list, but I must have been so traumatized by it that I put it out of my mind. 

You know how it is when you reread a book. I always say, "What's the point of rereading when you know the end?" But I don't remember the ending for this one, and I bet it will be a doozy. I remember some tiny details as I go, but not huge memories. I guess it's OK to reread a book. But I don't think I would ever reread one that I already knew the ending. What's the point in that? How much do you want a bet that my headphones will die before I finish the book? I see she has four other ones -- I must put those on my reading list. 

If you're expecting an e-mail from me, that will happen today after I finish that book. I'm sorry! I have to know what happens. But today is the day to deal with all the e-mails. 

I had to take my car in for servicing yesterday. This whole business of the pandemic has been brutal on cars. The brakes in particular. My car sat in the driveway and, in the beginning, did not get used very much. When I did start to use it, I was told that the brakes were very rusty and needed to be serviced. Well, I should have listened and got it done. I did the back brakes, but not the front. Now there is major damage to the front ones! Sigh.............

I knew the appointment would take a couple of hours, so I decided to go for a walk while they looked at the car. I walked from the dealer to Indigo to check out the books, and yes -- I found a couple of new ones to add to my reading list. YES -- I'm too cheap to buy the books outright, but I support the authors through my library. I see the new one by James Patterson, and Dolly Parton is now in the shops. 

And the quilt magazine section is pretty small, and it doesn't take long to check out their offerings. I wonder if lots of magazines are now defunct or just not on the shipping list for Indigo?

OH -- I should say that I walked into the dealer WITHOUT a mask. The province has relaxed the rules, but the city did NOT. I was asked to put a mask on -- politely, and I had one in my pocket. NO big deal. When I arrived at Indigo, I saw the sign on the door -- masked required as per the city's by-laws, and I put mine on. 

As I was getting ready to leave, I saw an employee ripping those signs down. The lady at the dealership had said that the city was meeting that afternoon to discuss the by-law, and in the time it took for me to walk to Indigo, they had rescinded the by-law. Everywhere I went, most everyone was still wearing their masks -- probably because of the by-law in the city. 

Let's just say that the weather was NOT nice yesterday, but I was super lucky! The wind was behind me as I walked the four long blocks from the dealer to Indigo. But on the way back? It was ugly, and it had started to rain - but not much. The darn zipper on my Patagonia jacket doesn't work, and I can't bear to stop wearing it. It's slated to go for repair in two weeks. I stopped at Value Village to check out stuff. I found a few things to take pictures of, but nothing I wanted to buy. 

I spotted these appliques in a bag of stuff in the arts and crafts area. They look handmade, but it was tough to tell. I think there were about eight of them. I was tempted, but I didn't buy them, and I didn't need them for anything, so they stayed there. 

Are these made by hand?

And I spotted this sign, and while I love the saying, I don't need another one of this type of thing in my house. This is the type of thing we need to say to ourselves every day. Every morning when you wake up, you should remember that ONLY YOU can make or break your day. Yes -- some things will happen beyond your control, but your reaction to them is your control. And I think the biggest thing is to live with no regrets. 

Wise words of wisdom

Trust me, we all make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes are HUGE. If you're not happy, then be brave and make changes. Have you always to do something - I don't know -- skydiving or mountain climbing or learn to dance or whatever.  You SHOULD DO IT  --- you can't keep making excuses for not doing what you would like to try. 

I didn't know I could do long-distance cycling until I tried. I learned so many things from those trips -- I am much stronger (physically and mentally) than I thought I was, and there is NOTHING I won't do. OK, I do not have a desire to go on rollercoasters. I did, and that's a story for another day. OH -- I have jumped out of a plane as well -- twice! There are loads of things I don't care to do, but for those that I want to do? I try to make them happen. 

I make mistakes every day -- that's how I learn, and do I have any regrets at this moment? No! 

Here's the funny thing about this city. The car dealership and Indigo are in one city on the north side of a major street. Then I crossed the street to get to Value Village and was now in a different city! We were strongly encouraged to wear our masks, so I did. What's the being deal? 

Then I went to the next little plaza and stopped in at Fabricland. I swear, no one shops that street on foot, but after yesterday, I think we might want to become a one-car family. 

Look -- applique is pretty popular as they had a ton of applique shapes that you could buy. 

Snowflake applique

Or even better -- if you have an embroidery machine -- you can use your embroidery machines!!!

More appliques

I did buy some fabric -- I know -- I should not have, but I want to try out the sergers, and well, this is a good opportunity. 

I will say that EVERYWHERE I went, the service was S L O W.  I don't work in a slow mode, so that was a bit frustrating, but hey -- it's not like I was in a hurry - my car was being repaired. As I was checking out of Fabricland, they called FINALLY. Yes, the front brakes needed major work, which would be three hours. Good grief -- the car had already been at the shop for hours. I said I didn't have time to wait another three hours, so they had to put the car back together again so I could drive it home.

Now here's the thing -- I TOLD them that the brakes needed to be redone. I'm not a mechanic, but based on the previous service calls and the sound and feel of the brakes, I knew they had to be redone. The person making my appointment said "servicing," and I said NO - they need to be redone. So she booked just enough time for them to service the brakes, and well, that wasn't the case. I have zero regrets that they had to put the car back together again. I get it that most people wouldn't know the difference, but all they had to do was look at the service record to realize that it would need a major overhaul and schedule the time accordingly.  

But look at the showroom at the dealership. It's a huge room, and there were THREE cars in it. 

An empty new car showroom

The wait time for a regular car is 6 - 8 months. If you want a hybrid? That's about 1½ to 2 years. Can you believe it? By the time you got the hybrid, you would have gotten over the excitement of getting it! The bottom line is -- take care of your car! They are very precious these days. 

But I had to laugh when I was at the cash (I did get the regular maintenance done, and I needed a new wiper) when they called for my car. She adds -- "it's a manual" because I will bet that many valet drivers do NOT know how to drive a standard. And if you want to buy a standard from Toyota, it's no longer standard! You can order one -- at what cost and what time frame? I didn't ask!

That Murphy is a determined dog. I have put tables in front of the front window so they can't damage the window sills. While both girls keep a respectable distance, I have seen Muprhy with her front paws on the table. There is a wrought iron table at one end, and oh yes---she will get her head UNDER the table so she can be close to the window. What a smart dog. But she also knows that she can't jump up because there's no room! 

Murphy watching the street from UNDER the table

And those two are so protective of their dog beds. When Crystal comes to clean and puts the mats in the hall so she can vacuum, they need to be close to those mats, and Murphy is actually laying on one of them to make sure it doesn't disappear. Oh --- silly girls!!!

MOM -- these are OUR dog beds

I did manage to get a quilt quilted yesterday. Technically, this is my quilt, but a customer wants to buy it as a finished quilt, so I got it quilted, and today while I'm quilting another one, I'll get the binding on it. I need to finish some quilts to pay for the repairs on the car. Yesterday I paid $12 for a new wiper blade; on Friday, when I've rescheduled the rest of the work, the bill will be "slightly" higher. 

Customer quilt - DONE

Like I said, I got lucky,y with the weather. When I did my afternoon walk while shopping and waiting for the car, there was some rain, but not a lot. Last night? I was sitting at the table, enjoying my cake, while listening to the audiobook, and I could hear this crazy noise outside my headphones. I looked out the window to see it POURING rain. It was totally crazy. 

But then, Murphy needed to go out for her business and didn't want to come in. What's with that? And then she wanted to jump on the bed. I don't think so! 

All in a fun day at my house!!

Today will be mostly a quiet day by myself, and I'm super excited about that. Well, myself and the computer and the long arm. I hope to get more tidying up done, and I have prep work to finish for the weekend. 

On that note, I better get moving!!!!  OH  -- someone sent me a note about another quilt show. I don't have time to add it this morning, but I'll do that for tomorrow. I'll continue to put those quilt show links on the blog every day. I know what will happen -- the minute I take them down, someone will ask -- can you repost the links?  Take note of the dates and PUT them in your calendar. People seem to struggle with putting dates of stuff in their calendars. My calendar is my life!

And don't forget there's another QUILTsocial post for you to check out. Remember, this is not just for Husqvarna Viking sewing machines -- you can get inspiration for sewing from anywhere, so be sure to check it out. 

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Here are the quilt shows that I'm aware of in my area. 

The Textile Show at the Gerrard Art Space (Toronto)  --- show runs until April 3!!!  (better hurry on that one!)

Colour with a U  -- a quilt show at the Orillia Museum of Art & History -- runs until April 9 

Common Thread Quilt Guild Ottawa) is hosting its show on May 6,7,8. 

Hamilton Quilt Guild -- June 3, 4

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And lastly, don't forget the Virtual Retreat this weekend. 

Saturday, March 26 --- starts at 6 PM. 

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89254233911?pwd=VGQrTnFybW1HMWpleHA4M2Q2NGVwZz09 Meeting ID: 892 5423 3911 Passcode: 982797

And Sunday, March 27 -- starts at NOON.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81693717518?pwd=STNoVVQzbDd4ZnROQndNNlpvcC90QT09 Meeting ID: 816 9371 7518 Passcode: 579285

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!