Shopping in person is AWESOME

 And so, another day of juggling has passed. Yeah! 

What happened to the weather? I swear we went from cool to HOT in less than 60-seconds. It was so hot yesterday that I didn't go for a walk in the afternoon. I'm crazy, but I'm not that crazy. After dinner, I walked home from the restaurant, so I got in my 11.5 KM for the day. Lots of walking at home, and I was outside doing some yard work for a bit. 

I had to clean out the filters and the pump in the pond, and yes -- Murphy was there supervising me and checking how quickly her ball could get caught in the filter. I swear - she's an attention-seeker for sure!

OH --- so remember that fabric collection I shared with you the other day? Look at the fabrics I'm using to make my Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt. 

Fabrics for Green Tea and Sweet Beans

While this has a different vibe, it's still bright and cheery. So I will be happy with what I have and use it up! There will be loads of this leftover, and I have some matching solids as well, so I'll need to find another quilt to use it in. THEN, maybe I'll consider buying more fabric. LOL  -- what a silly goose I am! 

I had to switch some classes from last weekend to this weekend (thanks to everyone for their accommodating me!), and both presentations are ready to go today! Not sure how that happened, but I'm getting really fast and remembering how everyone sends me pictures. Some come via e-mail, some through messenger or text, and others I pull from Facebook. It's crazy, but the system is working!

OH -- and here's a tease to those who follow my classes; I spent a few minutes yesterday browsing the Thimbles and Things website, and I found TEN ideas for sew-alongs. If you want to try and guess, go to the list of books on their site. I will be teaching the Tula Pink Butterfly as a sew-along starting in October, and there will be ONE other sew-along. So we have to whittle that list of ten down to ONE. I won't be running any myself (they will all be held through a store), and there will likely be two more through The Hobby Horse. That will make FOUR, and that is it for sew-alongs. 

There will be a few clubs:

• Digital cutters (Cricut, Silhouette, Scan and cut) 
• EQ8 
• Embroidery software (that will have to be specific to mySewnet)
• UFO Clubs (there are two of those)
• Machine embroidery (any brand machine works)
• Out of the Box challenge
• Private one for Mixed Media - so that's not private any longer! 

So there's a preview of what to expect in the fall or January 2023 for some of them. It's all about having fun, learning new things, keeping each other company, and doing things I want to do! Because it's all about ME! See, Murphy and I are very much alike!

OK -- so I posted this on Facebook the other day, but here's the story behind it. I struggled with making this decision and finally came down to the fact that I wanted it. I don't need it, but I want it. Why? Because I ran into people asking for help with their embroidery software on a MAC, and I couldn't help them. So I popped into Best Buy the other day to buy a MacBook Air. 

The box for the MacBook Air

I know -- just call me crazy as I VOWED I would NEVER buy an Apple computer. NEVER. Now you can call me a liar! My plan is to partition this computer as part Windows and part Mac, which is possible on a Mac but not Windows. Why? Because Apple wouldn't NEVER allow that - that's why. They are so darn proprietary it makes your head spin. 

And so many people comment, "I LOVE my Apple," but no one has yet to tell me why. So why is that? I love Windows, and it's super easy to use, things communicate to each other easily, and super easy to set up, so I wonder what this big attraction to Mac is? I think it's like a cult --- you want in because someone tells you how good it is, and it's not. 

One thing that miffs me is that darn picture above. The laptop looks slim, but it still weighs 2.8 pounds which is VERY heavy as far as I'm concerned. If you're going to make it thin -- make it light. Sigh.................

However, I lucked out at the store. The staff are extremely helpful and make sure that someone is there to help you. I got Rashid, who usually works in the cell phone area, but he was on hand to help with the computer purchase. He has the MacBook Pro, so he was the perfect person to help me. 

I don't usually research things I want to buy, but I had done some homework, and I was able to respond to all his questions, and I told him exactly what I wanted. We were a good team. 

We talked about accessories, and this is something that I may end up buying but didn't that day. It's an adapter, so those darn USB-C ports (used extensively by Apple) can translate into USB ports that most everyone else uses. 

An adapter

The other three accessories that I wanted were not in stock in the store, so Rashid went online and processed the order. He made suggestions as to what would work and what would be the best buy (no pun intended) and then placed that order. I already got the items delivered yesterday. 

My box of accessories

There's no need to carefully pack a box these days. There was no inside packaging, which is good -- no junk to get rid of. 

The accessories

I got a mouse because I hate trackpads, and I got an external hard disk because I don't want ANYTHING sitting on the computer's hard drive. I'm going to remove everything from my other laptop, so all laptop stuff is sitting on the same hard drive. I haven't opened that hard drive yet, but it's tiny. About 2" by 3" and ½" thick. It's 1 Terabyte of data storage and costs about $100. Unbelievable!!!  The prices and sizes have been reduced to practically nothing. 

And look at the thumb drive I bought. It has BOTH USB and USB-C on it -- one on either end. But look how small it is. That darn glucosamine pill (I am trying to learn to take regularly) is almost as large as the drive! That is 64 GB. Good lord -- what am I going to do with all this storage? 

A tiny thumb drive 

I was at the store for over an hour and had a great time with Rashid as we discussed the ins and outs of my purchase. Then he fixed up my maintenance subscription, so I got some deals and continued to pay the same monthly fee with all the new stuff added. I got the student rate for the computer, and one of the store leads had to be involved in the purchase as well, and well -- it was a VERY POSITIVE experience. 

They talked about their competition, and Rashid told me I could go to that big online store and buy the accessories, and I told him I would NEVER do that, so he processed an order through Best Buy. Then they asked if I purchased products from Costco because they have very aggressive pricing on service plans, and I told him I NEVER shop there either. I think they really liked me for my reaction! And seriously -- if I had purchased online, I would never have learned all that I did from Rashid and his product choice and why! 

Would I buy there again? You bet -- I always buy my electronics in person, and I bet there will be NO returns from me, and well -- you would NEVER get that kind of service online. It's all about attitude and knowledge as well. I went prepared but still had lots of questions. It was pleasant -- hey, it was an outing, and it was a fun morning. 

In the afternoon, I stopped by Indigo (bookstore) to peek at the magazines, and I noticed this book. Well, I'm not a senior -- remember, I got the student rate for the computer. 

A book for senior's on learning the MacBook

But HEY -- I wonder if the library has a book on learning a MacBook.  A quick search on the library app on my phone revealed that there was a book (2022); it was on the shelf and just happened to be at the branch across the street from me (we have 18 branches in our city). It was my lucky day as I happened to have my library card on me, so off I went. 

A book I borrowed on learning the MacBook Air

I figure if I spent that kind of money, I'd better learn how to use every last feature of the thing, although I'm not planning to use the Apple side of it much, and it's something else to learn. 

So after dinner, I got it out and opened it up. OK -- so the set-up seems pretty straightforward -- automatically connected to the Wi-Fi. I wouldn't have expected less, as the new PFAFF creative icon 2 has that same easy set-up. 

However, when it came to entering my Apple ID, that was another story. I have an Apple ID -- I think it was when I got an iPad a while back. And well, I've struggled with it ever since my e-mail changed and my old e-mail was attached to the ID. 

What was frustrating was that when I tried my current e-mail address, I got this message. So I decided to create a new ID, and it said the e-mail was in use somewhere else. Seriously???  Oh yes -- the air was BLUE in the kitchen. 

Error message

I finally had to get my iPad, and between the two devices, I managed to get the Apple ID up and running. I had to set up a couple of passwords. Do you think I could use the external keyboard on the iPad? NOPE -- I had to detach it. More blue words. 

I needed the iPad to get the Apple ID to work

I have NO idea how many times I was asked to put in my password. Next step -- password, please. Next step - password, please. Seriously --- if that is an ongoing thing, I will return it. I won't care about those customers who need support on the MAC version of the software. It's like going into Fort Knox. Good grief --- it's a computer. OK -- I know it's a gateway to the internet, but if it can't protect me without entering all those darn passwords, I'm not impressed so far. 

And then I got this message. Sault Sainte Marie in Michigan??? I was sitting at my kitchen table connected to a router with an IP address, and the darn computer should have known where the heck that was. I just laughed. 

Seriously???

At last, I was in, and I even managed on the iPad to finally get rid of that old e-mail address from my Apple ID. The passwords are written down in a book because I will never remember them. But then I got a message that my iCloud storage was full and did I want to purchase more, and I said NO. 

And I get this screen. So far, so good, but still a stupid setup for that ID thing. 

Home screen

Let me install the embroidery software. I managed to find my way to the internet and downloaded it. 

Successfully downloaded the software

Hmmm  -- where is it??? The screen looks the same as when I started. 

But where is it???

So that will be on the agenda to find where the program got installed and how to access it. Then the fun begins as I plan to use Parallel to split the hard disk into Mac and Windows. It's supposed to be easy and allows me to seamlessly switch between the two platforms. 

We'll see how that goes! Who says technology scares me? Bring it on!!! 

I see that I've run out of time, so the rest of the stuff will have to wait until tomorrow. But I have been tidying up Studio B, and I'm keeping it neat and tidy, making me very happy. I have lots of stuff going on today. I was hoping to get to an art show this afternoon, but that will have to wait until next week as it's tight between my presentations that I'm presenting and a presentation on the Cricut Maker this afternoon. That's done with the MakerFest hosted by our region. It's free for anyone to join. Here's the link to register if you want. It's free. 

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day, and don't forget to pick something NEW to learn!!!! It's so much fun and don't forget the in-person shopping. I highly recommend it, especially for those that want to get out of the house.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!