Why things take longer to do!

Here's a prime example of why that list of ten things I set out to do two days ago is still incomplete. Three items remain on the list. 

We've lived in this house for almost 21 years. Several times a year, we get letters addressed to the previous owners from a utility company. We have an up-to-date account with the utility company. 

For 21 years, I've tossed those letters addressed to the previous owner. When I recently received two, I decided to open them. As I suspected, there was nothing significant in them. But this seems like a waste of resources, so I called the utility company to have their name removed from the database. 

Oh boy --- I was on the phone for THIRTY minutes and spoke to TWO different people. Did the issue get resolved? NO!!! I got a case number so someone else could investigate. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? 

Does it really matter that we keep getting the letters? No, it does not, but it's just a waste of paper, so I was trying to eliminate that. 

That was one of the items on my list, and I managed to putter a bit while I was on hold with my home phone since I can't make calls like that on my cell phone. Don't get me started on that. 

Now, I have something in my pending folder. Will it ever get resolved? I doubt it. But what a waste of my time and the utility company's resources. Sigh.

However, I persisted and spent over 1 hour with the paperwork. Then I listened to Harry Potter until my headphones died and needed to be recharged! 

Remember when I went on a tear the other day to declutter? And there were five boxes of business cards?? Well, THREE boxes that didn't even have current e-mail or phone numbers, so those went in the shredding pile. I consolidated what was in the two remaining boxes, and now there is ONE box in the office supply cabinet. 

I also read through those two articles in the Fashion magazine. I ripped them out because I want to investigate further, and I've left them as a reminder. Perhaps I'll put that on today's list of things to do. 

But -- what's with the smelly perfume sample inside. I thought we were past the days of perfume? Apparently not!

I needed to make a new list, so there are TEN things on the list, including the three I carried over from the previous list. I doubt I'll be able to get them all done today, but I'll see what I can do. 

I swear my doctor has very few patients. I called her in the morning to book an appointment for my shoulder. Could I come in at 2 p.m.? I walked to the doctor's office, got my X-rays done, and booked an ultrasound for next month. Now, that was pretty efficient! Let's see what the ultrasound says. And that item got checked off the list! I combined the walk to the doctor with my daily walk, but it took over TWO hours to complete. 

I got another customer quilt done. I'm working my way through that list quite nicely. 

Customer quilt - DONE

All the components for the next quilt (Quilts of Valour) were made and loaded on the long arm this morning. 

The next quilt is ready to load

I have some trimming to do today, but I need to start putting those bindings on, or I'll end up with a huge pile.

Oh my—so the fun with the EXIT game continues. It was obvious from the game card for the day that this was a two-part clue. Like a flash, the first clue jumped at me from staring at these "keys."  I found the secret room based on some investigation I had done the previous day to solve the puzzle. And from there, it was super easy to get the answer. The previous day, when I looked at the keys, NOTHING came to mind!

The keys to the answer

DH says he discovered the letters in those keys the previous night, but either I had left the table, or it didn't register in my brain!! There is nothing sweeter than solving these puzzles. Then we got cocky and decided to open the next one. STUMPED!! We are NOT fast, but we get there. 

I was out in the backyard yesterday, and a ginormous dragonfly was hovering around. I had taken this picture as a reminder -- while he was big, you wouldn't be able to see him flying around. He was almost half the size of a hummingbird! Let's hope there are more and they are keeping the mosquitos away!!!

I LOVE my backyard

I know the angle of this next photo is a bit weird, but I sat out in the yard last evening as the wind was whipping around, and there is nothing more glorious than being under the tree canopy and hearing the leaves and the trees rustling in the wind. I love how the trees encroach into the backyard from the forest, but we also have trees that add to the mystique. 

The trees whipping in the wind

I think I would die if my backyard was sterile grass. Which is what we had at our other house. I cannot take credit for the backyard. The people before us did a fantastic job getting it started, and then we continued. It would be fun for them to come back and see what has happened. I "cut" the grass with a hoe since there are big expanses of dirt! So I pick out the big weeds and use the hoe for the little ones. It's easy to maintain! 

As I was puttering downstairs, I needed to find a zipper, so I dug out one of the two boxes of zippers. 

Shopping for a zipper

I managed to find one zipper in the correct color. Although it's a bit short, I think I can make it work. The other longer ones are black, and I'd prefer not to use black. 

Zipper shopping

I also did machine embroidery quilting. I need to finish this half-quilted quilt by Monday evening, and it's half-quilted. I can do it!! However, I was working on it this morning and had an issue with the bobbin, so I ripped out what I had done this morning! GRR!

Quilting a block with machine embroidery

I'm finally having success with this thread, which I love. I bought three huge cones years ago. I could never get it to work without shredding it; sometimes, it was a hassle. 

My variegated thread

It's a 30-weight cotton. The label says to use a size 14 needle, but I think I tried that and couldn't get it to stop shredding. 

30-weight cotton thread

I'm using a Topstitch 16, which seems to work with zero issues. So once I wind a new bobbin, I should be back in business this morning. 

Topstitch needles

I will complete my one hour of paperwork before I head downstairs. I could spend longer than that, but I don't want to. At least if I get some things done every day, it's better than not getting anything done! The problem is when it takes so long to accomplish so little, and the problem is still unresolved! 

Good luck with your decluttering and making a list of things to do. I have some advice for that (as if I'm qualified), but maybe writing it out will help me figure out what will work for me. Writing things down over the last twenty years has helped me enormously, but more on that another day. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!