Yesterday was a bit of a crazy day. It seemed like I spent a lot of time on my phone—yes, my cell phone, which does not work at my house. It actually doesn't work well in my neighborhood, but it works just fine elsewhere.
This means it's the connection to the tower, which I was told a while back. I need to be persistent in getting my provider to fix the connection. But sometimes, it's nice not to have a working phone! It's a good excuse not to talk to people—not that I don't want to, but it can kill time.
But I must be responsible and call them next week to try to resolve the issue. It's only been five years or so now. Good grief!!
So, what happened at the retreat? Well, you know what they say - what happens at the retreat stays at the retreat, but a few things are noteworthy. OK - One thing in particular. I have my water bottle, which is 32 oz, and I try to drink a full one each day, which I know is NOT enough water. But I'm on a mission now. I'm trying to drink MORE. And one of the retreat participants, who shall remain nameless, but she's encouraging me to get my butt in gear and drink more.
Yesterday, I drank almost THREE of those containers. Thanks for the push!!!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDe4iHUbLE2b3_Cv33DWfxUvPsXwJpvEB4fesRtpcKRSU3aHmXS-bsJxzxTwimNXzhe4AjcWWUhWZ_qm5z_7XOrwV34uswZ8JxHpYoK6HJIn-b1MBhHzri1zcBKOcqo3_vWUE5CcyvKuT-IBWXvlyTYVQePXHbWgtmAd7X7J8tehfN5od_0FIPG7I5MUA/s320/20250128_180703_resized.jpg) |
My water bottle |
It wasn't that big of a deal, but if I needed the washroom - it's right here! I've already drank almost one full container! My biggest problem is remembering to drink. Isn't that sad? That bottle can be sitting right in front of me, and I can just ignore it! But I will try and make a considerable effort to continue this habit. Can one develop a habit in 5 days? Well, we'll see what happens.
I'm dehydrated, which is not good, so drinking water should be part of my "new" healthy regime!
I had a lot of trouble with my sewing machine yesterday. It's older, so it no longer has a sensor for low-bobbin thread. Yep - I sewed almost an entire border on a quilt before I realized. So I got that fixed, and then, I ran out of thread on top. I didn't see that because the lid on the machine was closed. When I went to the washroom, I returned to find this on my machine!!! LOL
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNL2k5Lo6qwfVOvnyIEgnHcM7R5cF5zL1r_6DgGSLXPxdX35FFZWE0lZ04IDdbZgXxIH8Q_oZacSzBXwRX9yYqldZgLy5TZNyd1zTNbfWy6jwFI5o4VB9-pP2KvTuP8kkD63aKM_wvFWbzuoBRS96vHQ8Kvj-hln5pfgxp54XNe95sVU83mPoAdPoN2r4/s320/20250128_111643_resized.jpg) |
HA HA --- Happiness! |
But the good news is that I am getting some things done. I aim to finish or advance one thing each day. Here is my Bargello quilt top. It's a little smaller than I would like for a lap quilt, but it's all good.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9hBjl72BQtGG4FzOrR70rjXSxTzYiC3pA_TfAMcnESNBNRDa3vI_-zhd8wUYw3Ix2CmPeCl6TZyypBYEsM1BFhhQ375lohWH6IhEfULSQefoaQIl6OUsSok0dQIMO7cgt36FrkF17mbMrLPxXVMkuxkLFO2gYYi4AIQnpElul2NW-Wgw_zP7wULLDB0/s320/20250128_142704_resized.jpg) |
My bargello quilt top |
The binding and the backing are also done!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJz-Zu0FPUjoYMzptFdEwcvf7QFXCqQkEzAs-uaw8K23EdIWGKTudMKqTAeiotShP4H0hKRpZGLlZ45aBgAFyAQ83kyMsbuBfSczoeu1WfUsHgnxNsjX5zHAdONrKGW9iCuO_enQgty5oyADwypGqbkDhCZlP46kqSCRlRhOxqZzYv5LBKnZSCI_JXQpw/s320/20250128_153515_resized.jpg) |
This one is ready to be quilted |
And now, back to the elephant in the room. Since more people are coming to the retreat today, I had to cut that quilted fabric down to the appropriate size. So I moved the lamps to the floor and spread the HUGE piece of fabric out.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-rQAB6CppqhFDyh1iZGHfNu2lWVUOg18dQ34VbJnQHf1_-eudGmxNS1mCZXQoP8bY4Jbq_shdGegBVwNM-rfwqnLy-MKwqraMkfA7xAdxACIi0w5oIfUgkLWoftg8lIQZpB6mK3wir9LFcXRfETS0cdtrveMpe1Rb6qjQA_73nGgt6Xapq_XO8kBZFlA/s320/20250128_171242_resized.jpg) |
Preparing to trim |
It was huge, as I had the extra fabric for the quilted pillow shams. I intended to trim it like that, but I cut it about two inches larger to remove the excess fabric and make it easier to move around.
Once the excess was removed, it was much more manageable. I used many rulers, a tape measure, and a laser square.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcbUl3lM4cECsUIymfF7UdaWgfQO3mGXnGunWSWY65kh2qeVX_-T02A-VaYKFVXZrYdkgCaOpPBqYRqbpkoWwpWvQ8sQyee_eGpumqhF5ouUOBtOyIOn_krYooayQoKT5yiAHIUOwupgcosS1GfvAQ3ETTJKmQCi8Naeazqpaxjmde1yVPO6ZikS_X7Nc/s320/20250129_050127_resized.jpg) |
Checking the corners |
Oh my goodness, what a job! It seemed every time I measured it, it was a different measurement. I got it all set up to cut last night and then went to bed. I had only one shot at it and did not want to screw it up! So first thing this morning, I measured again - MANY times and checked the corners for 90 degrees. Then I bit the bullet and cut.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbb4FYKOSfr5NwpPf1aM6CaFt4t3myuIW6oOR9JQEgP-B3Z6N2HPEZ3EdCMyE-zuBYhFOjJjuQ5Kc21DWpl77zG_Ud1ZXSwqcnodSgR1T72YQUtLeQwGtdXN2oURR9vrAhcRf4jye6fmamukx7GxAJk_KLSfBPKCyugLDChIP9xTtmAN5x8FO6XnWZ6Nw/s320/20250129_050654_resized.jpg) |
Cutting the top |
Then, I turned the quilt and cut in the opposite direction. I tested it by folding and refolding it to see if it was square and the correct size. It might be out by 1/8" along the sides, but I'm happy with that, so it's done!!! Yeah!!!!
I chuckled when I looked at some of the cords on the tables. I asked what type of cable this was. Do you know?
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz09j27L-IcaoEqZRBIXvUrp6kr0tTPZbA9pIPM3ldeZ1g_aISs2Twzv8extlDUZsqqCRebvx9-Lr6i-yotEbnaI4COf3Q0rAa352QSOgHD-BBnxRzYpW42P0SJw13vPP0UMncN-IpQEzcRRBwZvRBsdSLjrmnYKqUSA3s5MJq6fgy0ln1pM0bphLhmgA/s320/20250128_164333_resized.jpg) |
This is MY cord - do not touch |
It was a cord that someone had covered with a macrame sleeve to prevent her peeps from "stealing" cords when they left her house. That's a clever idea!
We have picked a very snowy week, and the winds are gusting like crazy! So, there were a few drifts in the yard. It's fascinating to watch the equipment in action. I'm sure the family thinks we are all city folk who have never seen this stuff. And we don't see it regularly, but I love watching the equipment work. Let's say the young operator was having a blast, as he had snow flying through the air!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjELxo2CJZVDfwFtt0lbTtf2CbVP5JhykwpAN_8dmEew9flley5WaQMn24E7dsOOKikiIZQeoNt_T4mTwWCGQb5GYCAyn5EUVnwEQCGAmpRtFdthIQEGH5SFnqdr5kymHV520CHusH0qT0fWDdxQGixcH4u2Z8FtwWVEgWtHqaK8Tg5rYs4GzWPfslHqA/s320/20250128_111724_resized.jpg) |
Plowing the yard |
Then, he cleaned out the driveway and went down to the house's garage. Yep -- there we were with a front-row seat!
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Clearing the snow |
We had a chuckle later in the day when someone needed a little boost to get their car out of a snowbank. That required a different tractor, but the vehicle was out! I do not miss my low car in these snowy conditions!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEWdG4aux3c4kCubtQW5TYWcpqFrI1y5X-zMvDnMkwB06W3dD_qjMQKrZ2Hd0BPs8JIoT2MRcp2GDkIMun2G8TCLzGbxdzS_akrdb8x8zRbPftnRk_vTXMf5ggi7QzgojzfURLsSqyH5y-BmsfOIdzWqgTJEVxgxSV-wFBDppMhKuuf3XnPZwhKLoDy9Q/s320/20250128_161754_resized.jpg) |
Getting the car out of the snowbank |
Oh, I finished another project last night. The top for my Trendtex challenge for Quilt Canada is together! I lost a piece of fabric somewhere, but I found a solution with the pieces I had. I must get it quilted and move on to the next part. I must keep at it, or the piece will not get done.
I have the next project out, and I should be able to finish it this morning. There are many projects I can work on—this will NOT be like the last retreat, where I got to work on everything I brought. I did go a bit overboard, but that's OK.
I will have to attempt to schedule an in-house (my house) solo retreat day at least once or twice a month. That would be a day without interruptions from Zoom, class prep, or anything similar. I likely will not be able to get that done in the next two months, but there's always April!
We walked to the road and back, but even with my boots, the driveway was slippery. I was careful, so there were no accidents. Today is going to be warmer, but it's still very windy! So we'll see what happens. I may focus on stretching (and drinking water) this week instead of walking.
On that note - I'm out of here to do some sewing!
Have a super day!!!
Ciao!!!!
I really enjoy reading your blog posts. A tip - adding a bit of non-iodized salt helps your body absorb the water you are drinking. Now back to Dear Jen...
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