First to find!

 Oh my -- it would appear that I'm back in the swing of things, and it only took one day! I have guild presentations this month -- some on Zoom and some in person. I have to travel to a quilt show (Courtepoint Quebec Salon 2022) for work. Oui -  in French, no less, and there are new store openings, classes, demos, and lectures to prepare! Yikes --- I knew this was all coming, so I'm not surprised. It just seems that I went from ZERO to 100 in 60 seconds. 

Actually, it's not all that bad -- it's just a question of keeping on top of it all, which shouldn't be a problem. I spent part of yesterday doing that. I have a class this weekend and need to finish the prep work, and I completed a good part of it yesterday. 

This is the only part I can share with you, as I had not completed this block assigned earlier. I finished my hexagon block! Well, almost as I now have to applique the outer edges to the background. 

My hexagon block for Green Tea

This is the hexagon block from Green Tea. The ENTIRE block was made of hexagons, but I didn't like the blockiness of that large space covered entirely with the colored fabric, so I made fewer hexagons and will applique it to a background, so it better matches the rest of the blocks in the quilt. That took a long time to finish that block, but it's DONE! Well, except for the applique. 

I have a couple more hours of work on the remaining homework blocks and preparing the presentation. I have a wide-open week with NO scheduled events, except for one today, which you will have a good laugh about. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. 

So I have loads of time to work on the prep work, including the embroidery club!

OH --- here is the stack of eleven quilts for Quilts of Valour that need to be delivered. I piled them up so I could see them all together, and there's a LOT more where those came from! 

My eleven quilts for Quilts of Valour

I love having a deadline because it makes me focus on what's important. Without my aborted Camino walk, I would NEVER have gotten around to quilting any of those community project quilts. So there was a reason for coming home early, but did it have to be because of those blisters? I learned that I can tackle that mountain of quilts and that I can do things for others, and I can focus. So it was a good learning experience, and I think I almost enjoyed that challenge more than if I had completed the walk. OK -- I won't go that far, but at least I found an excellent substitute to fill that void! 

In keeping up with the long arm, another customer's quilt was finished and waiting to be picked up. It wasn't too large, but that's OK. The idea is to not let them sit as they were scheduled to be done this month, and I will be away for a couple of days here and there this month.  

Customer quilt - DONE

So while Monday sewing was happening, I received a notification (via email) that a new geocache was released and was less than 1 mile from my house. People want to get there FIRST whenever that happens to claim the first-to-find. The email came in at 1:34. Should I drop everything and run? Or should I be patient? I decided to wait as we were having a grand time at Monday sewing. What I LOVE about sewing on Zoom is that everyone stays until the end, whereas in person, people start to leave after lunch! 

When we finally ended the call at 2:17 or thereabouts, I glanced at my phone only to discover that it was very low in battery and I wouldn't have enough juice to use it to find the geocache. DRAT!!! So thankfully, for quick charges, and within a few minutes, I was on my way. 

I arrived at 2:51 to claim the FIRST TO FIND. I know -- small things keep me amused! It was a glorious day, and I needed a destination for my walk. 

First to find!

 

This is my second first-to-find, and I was thrilled and loved the container. 

The geocaching container

What was hilarious was watching (online) to see who gets there next. The next person to sign the log book saw the notification at 2:45 and arrived at 3:12. See? One must move FAST when you see those notifications! So that made my day! 

Even better is the bi-monthly counter reset for our 500 points in the morning. I have until the end of November to collect 500 points. I got 15 points for finding the cache, and a BONUS of 50, so that was well worth the little hike to get there. 

This park is a beautiful park, which is one of the few wetlands in the city. I stopped to read this alarming sign. So much of the natural beauty of our surroundings has been gobbled up by construction. Thankfully, there is a fair amount of green space near my house, with the forest being the icing on the cake! 

Poor planning results in lost wetlands

The other day, when I went to the grocery store to get my almond milk, they didn't have any unsweetened, which is the only kind I buy. Well, it's time to get experimental, and let's go for cashew milk. It's pretty much the same, but I think I prefer almond milk. OK -- in a blind taste test, I probably couldn't tell which is which!! We get so stuck in our ways, and I'm trying to be more flexible in life!

Trying cashew milk

After I found the geocache, I did take the car and drove to a grocery store to get some watermelon. They were on sale for $3 each, and well, I thought I'd have one last hurrah before winter. I made the trip worth my while and bought three. They are small, after all. I LOVE watermelon, be damned about the high sugar content! It's natural, so it doesn't count! 😂

My watermelon stockpile! 

Can you believe this is the FIRST time I have taken my car to do a grocery run in almost three years? Obviously, I don't buy a lot at any time, but that's because I buy a LOT of fruit and vegetables and I want them fresh. So I buy what I need, and since it's so close, I can go every day if I choose, and it wouldn't be a big deal. It takes about a half hour to walk there, do the grocery, and walk back. We also RARELY buy anything processed, so no boxes of stuff to carry home. I can't remember when I last bought a frozen meal -- years ago! 

Have you noticed how much stuff has been available to you since the pandemic started, especially online? Free seminars, classes, author talks, demos, tutorials, and everything else. And so much of it is FREE -- free doesn't always mean good! It's crazy, and how does one not get bogged down in it all? It's like everything else -- one must be selective and prioritize your time and what your interests are! I get many emails daily offering me some enticing things to watch, but I have to be selective. It takes time to sift through it all, so I often let opportunities go by. 

But I would RATHER watch one or two well-selected events than waste my time on reels that people post online. Good grief - that, along with those clickbait links, are such time-wasters, it blows my mind! 

Well, that's it for today. I HAVE paperwork that I can no longer ignore, and it must be done today, so continuing the prep on Green Tea and some machine embroidery will be another busy day! 

Oh, I did make it to the gym, got my membership reinstated, and arrived at the spin class, only to see the door locked. I ran into one of the people from the class, and OH -- the time has changed to 6 AM, NOT 5:30. Well, I was there are ready to go, so I grabbed a stationary bike and cranked out 15 KM. I'll be better organized for Wednesday, although I can't get the app to work to see the schedule. 

While waiting for them to change my membership, I noticed many people using electronic cards on their phones instead of physical cards. I mentioned that to the guy helping me, and he said he didn't think they even issued a physical card any longer! But seriously --- you know you need that card to get in. How many people arrived and then had to find the card or open the app? Good grief, people  -- be prepared!!! 

OH -- I see the app wouldn't work because my membership had NOT been updated, and I only had access to the ONLINE stuff (more online stuff to choose from!). Everything is OK now, and I'm back in the swing of things!

I was reading a David Balducci book -- Divine Justice, and I couldn't help myself. I stayed up VERY LATE for me, so I could finish the book. I may have to go back and relisten to the last half hour as that part was sketchy, but it was a page-turner! I usually cannot listen to an audiobook when I'm tired, and my eyes were itchy (which happens when I'm tired), but I couldn't STOP listening to the book! 

Since so many people are asking, I will post the club offerings for 2023 SOON. I won't have time to start any of them, except maybe an introduction and where to go, but not to have anything prepped. So watch for that. I need to figure out some pricing for it! 

On that note, I'm out of here! People to see (NO), but things to do, quilts to quilt, etc. The usual day at my house!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!