And now for selling the car

OK -- how hard can it be to sell a car? There are several platforms, such as Kijiji and Autotrader. To sell a car, you need some paperwork from the Provincial Government, which I got. Then, I took pictures of my car and listed it on Kijiji. I should have researched the price more, as I listed it a bit higher than I should have, but no worries -- I can negotiate. 

It was suggested on the Kijiji website that I get a VIN report indicating that the car had not been in any accidents, etc. I chose not to get it. 

Then I waited and got a text asking about the car. Did I have a VIN report? No - I did not. Well, they gave me a site where I could get one. It was US-based, which I thought was strange, but I paid the $35 and got the report, which I forwarded. In the meantime, I got another inquiry for the car, and this person went on about how much he wanted the car and would pay full price, but his wife wouldn't let him send a deposit, blah, blah, blah. 

When I mentioned that I would be bringing the car to the police station in this area, the messages stopped immediately. And I should have known something was wrong because, when I got a text, I said - "you realize the car has a manual transmission," and no one said, "Yes -- I really want one." I was totally distracted by my travel and work schedule. 

I got a message from a Toyota dealer, but I felt their offer was too low, so I refused. Then I got more messages saying that I had to produce a VIN report from a specific site and that my report was not good enough. It was then (and after buying two reports - I know -- STUPID STUPID STUPID!) that I realized I was being scammed. 

I even "challenged" the next group of buyers when they requested the VIN report. "Oh no - this is legit," to which I responded "BS" and blocked them. 

I went back to the dealer and offered the car again. They agreed to buy it, but at a slightly reduced price from the original offer -- DAMN! I didn't care at this point - I wanted the car gone. 

I knew these guys were legit (or so I hoped) since I had to call the dealer to get this guy's number, as it had disappeared from my phone. 

They came to pick up the car, and it was over in a matter of 30 minutes. I got a cheque, which I took to the bank later that day. Only to be told (after waiting 30 minutes) that the cheque was no good and could NOT be deposited as the account number was incomplete. WHAT? Needless to say, that was a little unnerving! 

I called the guy back from the dealer, and he was floored but agreed to meet me the following day at my bank. We explained the situation to the teller, and she said she would check with her manager. Yes -- the cheque could be deposited, but the account numbers were written in two separate groups with two inches between them, and it may or may not get rejected by the automatic system. OK -- this cheque was written on one of our FIVE MAJOR banks, and I was told that a second MAJOR bank did the same thing. 

Seriously? If this is a problem -- why is it not corrected? 

After the cheque was in the bank, I asked to speak to the manager. I told her what happened the day before, especially with all the scams out there -this was crazy! Of course, the cheque had to sit for four business days before it could be released, and it could get rejected because of how the account number was written. Sigh................

This all happened on the Friday before I left for Saskatchewan. Thankfully, while I was away, the cheque cleared, and all was good. 

DH gave his car away to his friend, so we are now a one-car family. 

Back to the VIN report scam. There is a legit place to get a report called Carfax - you input your VIN number and get a report back. I also got legit information from the two reports I did - one was Carfax. Here's an article about the SCAM -- so if you are selling a used car online -- be careful!

I've been checking my credit card for weird things, but so far, so good. We do not have a very high limit on our card, and there's a reason for that! Well, several reasons, but I won't go there today. 

Anyway - live and learn, and thankfully, it cost me less than $100 before I caught on, but DUH!!! How dumb can one person be? I felt violated, to be sure, and well, it could have been worse! 

Gosh -- it's hard to believe that it's the end of December, and it's way above zero, with no snow and lots of rain. I feel like I've moved to BC! The pond is wide open! 

NO ice on the pond

Muprhy would rather sit in the garden than go for a pee. She is like a child -- she has to pee, she knows she should, but she won't! With a leaky bladder, it's important that she go out regularly, and she will, but she won't do her business! Bad doggy! And her teddy bears are saturated with water -- ICK, but she doesn't seem to mind. 

Mom -- I love being outside

And there's Princess Lexi, who would never consider laying in the garden on a wet day. 

MOM -- I'm OK sitting here! 

Yep - -and there's me - outside in my sandals with no socks! This was a quick trip to the garden, but it was warm. 

Sandals with no socks!

And the customer quilt of the day was quilted.

 

Customer quilt

But not before I ran out of thread on top! Yes -- I had another spool, so all was good. 

ACK - ran out of thread

The last of the Advent Calendar jigsaw puzzles was assembled. I'll put them away later today so I can open up a real puzzle (1000) pieces to work on. 

Advent Calendar puzzles

I made a sleeve for a wall hanging, and it's now in the handwork pile, waiting for the next Zoom call. Remember, there is a Virtual Retreat on New Year's Eve!!!

The sleeve is made for a wall-hanging

OK -- this decluttering/cleaning thing has gotten out of hand! I've become obsessed. So, this table was emptied, and I promptly put the two baskets of fabric waiting for a cutting session on the table. This makes it a lot easier to keep the dust bunnies at bay! Hopefully, those baskets will be gone by the end of the next Virtual Retreat. 

The area is somewhat neater!

All the quilts are trimmed that needed trimming. The main group of work tables is clear. This one is set for piecing, and there is a stack of blocks to piece on the left. 

The machine is set and ready for piecing!

There is one project sitting by the Designer EPIC 3 that I want to work on. 

One project waiting for embroidery

The serger table still needs some work, but it's all in one spot, so I'm good with that. OH -- I know what I can use to clear this spot. I'll work on that later today. 

The serger table

The handwork table (also my place to sit down and work on stuff) is relatively clear. There's that basket of handwork to do, but it's all neat and tidy. 

The open table!

This table is a problem, but this is stuff that I need or want to work on. I'll leave it as a mess for now, and hopefully, I can make a dent in it in 2024. It's all on one table; if it distracts me, I'll grab a quilt and cover it! 

The "to be processed" table

And lastly, here's the cutting table. My plan for this week is to clear the last bits off this table. I'm not pulling anything else out to work on, but forcing myself to deal with these last bits, and I want to start the new year with NOTHING on that table. Now, wouldn't that be nice? 

The cutting table

Then, the plan is to grab stuff from the messy table and work on that. Now, I must force myself not to grab more than I can handle that day/week. I'll make a list if I need something sitting in the wings. I'm notorious for making "visual" lists with the actual projects, which doesn't work. That's why so much ends up on the cutting table. 

The amount of stuff in the room is still way beyond what it should be, but I've made leaps and bounds into clearing the room to make it easier (hopefully faster) to get things done. I have hopes for 2024, which will be tough since it goes against how I usually work. But I love the clear spaces and will try very hard to maintain them! 

Thankfully, I have a lot more flexibility in my schedule for 2024, so I look forward to having time to actually start clearing this mess! It's going to be a work in progress for sure! 

And I hope that's the last you'll see of Studio B until New Year's Day when I'll post pictures so it's easy to check back in one year to see how I made out!

As for the paperwork? I sat down at the computer with the best intentions, until my e-mail (Outlook) decided there was an error and it took over one hour to repair itself! I did what I could without e-mail, and now I've got some catching up to finish today. 

When DH and I went to the movie, he brought up the subject of puffy coats. Why is everyone buying puffy coats? I don't know  - I guess it's the fashion for this year. I hate them as they are super bulky. But if you buy the Patagonia Down Sweater (a mini version of the puffy coat), they roll up into a small ball and can be tucked into a purse. 

So I laughed when M sent this picture. 

M in a puffer coat

The jacket was NOT for sale, but I'm sure if it was - someone would buy it! I had a chuckle!

Well, that's it for today! WAIT -- here's the link for the Virtual Retreat. 

Sunday, December 31st - starts at Noon

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85786332961?pwd=QklPVDZkL3lEOGVXL3ZBQ29oU010dz09

Meeting ID: 857 8633 2961
Passcode: 084495

And I'm off to get some work done! I must stop obsessing about dust bunnies! And I need one of those Swifters mops or some portable floor mopper. Gosh -- I'm turning into Hattie McDaniel! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!