Pet Friendly

 I'm at the Quality Inn for the night. Well, the night is gone, and I'm getting ready to start the day. I had to laugh as they asked me when I checked in if I had pets. Can you imagine Murphy and Lexi in a hotel? There's a white duvet on the bed! Nope -- it's not going to happen. 

I laughed at the event as Heather mentioned that she was off to the vet as she has a 7-month-old Golden/lab mix. He's a boy, and she needs him fixed to calm him down. AH  -- good luck with that! They are the most enthusiastic dogs I have ever seen. 

And people friendly. Murphy can be walking along, minding her own business as much as she can, but if someone pays her the slightest attention -- she is all over them. The other day, a neighbor said, "hi,." That's it -- HI, and she went ballistic, thinking it was her duty to return the greeting with tail wags, barking, and tugging to get to meet this human. Ah, Murphy --- you are such a sweetie!! 

So I hope it works for Heather's sake, but I'm not so sure!

The drive went well. I know I can no longer do a three-hour drive at one stretch. The car just lulls me to sleep, so I got up early, packed the car, and was on my way. Believe it or not, at 5 AM, there is little traffic in the city! And within one hour, I was well on the other side of the city. I pulled into a rest stop -- you must LOVE the OnRoute stops along the way. I had a snooze in the car, got some breakfast, and was back on the road. And thank goodness I got out of the city early, as there is a LOT of construction! 

I stopped to change at the rest stop close to my destination and arrived with time to spare, but not much, so I planned that perfectly. 

I listened to The Seven sisters in the car almost the entire way, and when I arrived at my destination, I had 30 minutes left!!ACK!!! I finished before bed last night, although staying awake was a struggle. I had read some of the reviews earlier -- gosh, people are so darn critical, but I have to say I loved it. Is it a plausible story? How did we know so much? It's FICTION -- the author can make up whatever they want! 

I love how history was woven into the story and how they moved from present to past to the present. It's just over 18 hours long, and it's the first of 8 books. The next one, as I mentioned, is 21 hours. It's not available yet, so I'll have to find something else to listen to on the way home, as I don't have anything else in my app. 

I enjoyed it -- so if you like historical fiction -- be sure to read this. The author is Lucinda Riley. And there are unanswered questions in this book, and it neatly (perhaps a bit too neatly) segued into the second book. Hopefully, as we move along, some of those questions will be answered, and supposedly, book eight ties it all together - or at least answers some of the loose questions about the Dad. We shall see --- I have a LOT of reading to do before that. 

Two friends have read the entire series and are anxiously awaiting book eight. They better not breath a word of what happens until I get a chance to read that book, and it comes out in the spring. 

So here is where I am for yesterday and today. It's Stitch by Stitch in Kingston. 

Stitch by Stitch store

I was here years ago on my bike! And I think I came once by car. But Heather was not the owner at that time. The store has changed, and they have an AMAZING classroom. I have a large TV for my presentation, which I needed help connecting. DUH!!!

I have loads of samples and stuff to share, so that is fun, and people were madly taking notes of all I had to say. I got lots of good feedback, and one lady asked me how I knew as much as I did!! When you do something you are passionate about, it only makes sense that the knowledge stays in your head. And I feel like I have so much more to learn! So if you have a local Husqvarna Viking or PFAFF dealer and want them to host an event -- ask them!! We are almost done for this year, but we'll be on the road next year!!

We had a discussion about advent calendars the other day. And some stores put them out early, and they are sold out. If you want to be part of the Advent Calendar FOMO, you can sign up for one at Stitch by Stitch. They will be shipping out in a couple of weeks, so get your order in NOW, so you can open your daily present along with us! I know -- I'm an enabler!

Quilter's Advent calendar

Mary, one of the Monday sewing ladies, came to the presentation last night. And look what she brought me? Some of her Halloween cookies that I was admiring when I saw them posted on our group sight! 

Halloween cookies

Oh, my gosh --- they look amazing. Thanks so much. Mary, we forgot to get a picture of us together, and I'm so not used to doing that that I forget all the time!

Well, that's it for me. It's time for breakfast, and then I must get myself off. The session doesn't start until 10 AM, but I have to rejig my presentation, which I forgot on the USB at the store last night. So I'll get a few geocaches while I wait for the store to open. 

And what's with the weather? It's like summer! I love it, and as I was about to leave yesterday, I had to run back into the house to get a jacket, just in case, the weather went bad. But holy -- it's warm!

It will be another long day as I plan to head home tonight and will cross the city when there is no traffic. But I'm sure I'll be stopping to have a wee nap before that happens. 

Have a super day1!!

Ciao!!!