Hot and cold

So many Advent Calendars -- so little time! Is it next year so I can order one? OK --- so that's pushing time limits a wee bit. But now that I've investigated advent calendars and found out how inexpensive some of them are, compared to the quilting ones -- I want a different one. Maybe I could "cheat" and buy one for myself this year!! No one will know! 

Had great presentations yesterday, and OH - boy -- I should learn to read the instructions. I seem to make things up when I'm sewing, and well -- if it works and it's easier than the original -- why not?

Things are sort of under control. I got everything done for the presentations yesterday, and everything is done for today. I will have to finish my writing assignments, and the rest of the week will be devoted to catching up. Not that I'm far behind. But I'll make it work. 

Let's just say I was pretty stressed last week because of something that was missing and a VERY GOOD FRIEND, who shall remain nameless, but she knows who she is -- SAVED ME. Once that issue was taken care of, my stress level went way down! 

Someone got a new toy! A squeaky toy, but I think she is far more interested in destroying it than playing with the squeaker! Let's see how long that last. Thankfully, it was very inexpensive. 

MOM -- this is new! Where did it come from? I want MORE! 

And these dogs run hot and cold. They are pretty happy to be outside, but when Murphy came in last night, she curled up in front of the fireplace. 

MOM -- I'm cold! 

And while Lexi is quite happy to stretch out on the sofa - which is a HUGE mess, she loves to curl up in a ball outside. Notice the ears are still up, even though her nose is tucked beneath her tail. She needs to hear what's going on! When I complained about the sofa's condition, DH said it could be shampooed. Sure -- and who will do that? OH -- that would be Lexi and Murphy! 

MOM --- I can hear you!! 

When I was at the pet store the other day to get dog food (and a surprise), I spotted ugly sweaters for dogs. This would be perfect for Murphy! But my dogs don't do sweaters. 

The perfect dog sweater for Murphy

And a hat for Lexi! Again -- my dogs are not fashionistas, so they didn't get clothes. 

A good hat for Lexi

And last night, I don't know what got into the two of them. They had DOUBLE ZOOMIES and ran in circles, jumping on the sofa on top of DH. It was hilarious, but then they got a bit rough, so they got put outside to cool off! 

Speaking of clothes, I was walking to the grocery store yesterday and thought people would wonder at the bright blue mitts I was wearing with my black pants and red and black jacket. Then I remembered my shoes, and you couldn't match them any better. That made me smile all the way to the grocery store!

Matching shoes and mitts

Speaking of shoes, I seem to be OK with these shoes. No new blisters. The mohawk-shaped callus on my right baby toe is NOT getting worse, so that's good, but I notice from time to time a hot spot on the end of my large toe on the right foot. That right foot is a HOT MESS. It looks like I'm good for short distances (up to 6 KM), but the long distances? I will have to do some LONG walks in the spring to ensure I'm good to go!

And so far, the toes of those shoes are holding up. I was worried that my toes would go through the ends, but so far, so good, and I've walked almost two months in those shoes, so that's about 600 - 700 KM and no holes! 

The toes in my shoes are holding up

I noticed that some of the fabric is starting to break down, and if you think about it -- that's definitely a weak spot in the design. It's mere threads holding that top together. But the shoes should last me one more month (another 300-350 KM), and then they will be toast. 

The fabric is wearing down

Yes -- it seems a waste to throw them out, but the insides break down, they lose their support and can cause issues with knees, hips, back, etc. So I'll need to get another pair to have on hand. I bet there are sales for black Friday!

So there's no quilt show and tell this morning, but I spent a little time cleaning up some of the stuff on the floor. Not even close to getting it finished, but it's a start. It was driving me crazy to see that mess. 

Still a mess, but smaller now!

And the worktables are not bad. Not as clear as I would like them, but I can live with it for the moment. 

The worktables need some work!

In my tidying up, I came across this container I was gifted the other day. Hmmm -- what to do with it? 

A thimble-shaped container

AHA -- I have an overflowing container of pens by the computer. 

An overflowing container

So now the pens/pencils are in the new container. And all the junky stuff is in the old, and I'll need to sort through that later today or tomorrow and deal with the stuff. It's amazing how quickly those little things can add up. Are you finished with something? Should you put it away, or will you need it again in a week? Stuff like that! 

The perfect size for my pens/pencils

I emptied another spool of thread! I don't know why people want to get rid of their thread. There are all kinds, and so much of it is wonderful!!!! I love ALL threads! I could have an Advent Calendar filled with THREAD!! 

Empty spool of thread

And to prove my point, I bought this when I was at Salon Quebec. It's all the original colors of Wonderfil's Konfetti 50-weight thread. Now I have a good assortment for binding! And anything else I want to do! It's been on the floor for a month, and I need to find a home today! These are the original 60 colors; I believe they have another 60 much brighter colors. 

60 spools of thread

There is a HUGE amount of information about threads on their website. You could learn a lot by browsing a wee bit. 

While I was lying in bed this morning, contemplating getting out in the cold house (a technician is coming), I thought I may have put the leftover bits of the white background for my butterfly quilt back in the bin. Alas, I checked, and it's not there. I pulled another white -- we MUST get that butterfly quilt off the wall!

The missing fabric is NOT in the white bin

I changed the batteries in the thermostat in case they were done, even though they indicated they had a full charge. I can crank the temperature up as high as possible, and it doesn't exceed 19 degrees C. Nineteen is suitable for the night, but I was a smidgen warmer in the day! Let's hope it's something easy to fix! Yes -- -I've double-checked the schedule, date, and time. But I can override that and just set the temperature, and nothing happens! 

Well, it's time to get moving! A lot to get done today and no time to waste!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!