It's all about the dogs!!!

WOW --- I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with crazy insect bites! And YES, I believe these are more than mosquito bites. The one on my leg seems calm for the moment, but the itchiness can flare up once I get walking outside. I may look into that other product someone mentioned. 

As for the tattoo? Oh -- I keep forgetting that not all of you have seen it. I'll see what I can do about getting a good picture of it. It's a bit challenging! Can anyone guess what it's a picture of? I mean, if you don't know. I've often thought of getting another one, but didn't make that happen. It's been quite a few years since I got that tattoo, and can you believe that my mother doesn't know? She would freak out, so there are things your parents just don't need to know. 

It's Monday already. How quickly the weeks are zooming by. So much needs to be done, and it just seems that there is so little time. But I made good progress on my projects yesterday. I have to laugh because when we finished an event last year, one of my fellow educators asked if I wanted the bits that she had cut on the Momento (24" digital cutter). Of course, I said yes. 

Those bits have been hanging around on one of those tables since then. I'm happy to report that I used all the bits up. Well, not quite all, but not much is left! I'll share those projects with you another day! I had to add a few pieces after scrounging in my stash for a best fit. It's not perfect, but close enough! 

I madly cut fabric for bindings and borders last night, and all is ready to be sewn on today. One small embroidery left to stitch out and finish the writing. It wouldn't be so urgent, except that I need to be on a plane tomorrow morning and I want to take these items with me. No worries - they won't be quilted, I'll do that when I get back. 

I got another customer quilt done. I love it when they are small like this! Although I had to add some fabric to the backing as it was the exact width of the quilt, and while I'm good, I wasn't going to fuss with that. 

Customer quilt - DONE

And I had just enough thread as well. 

Just enough thread! 

The last of this group is on the long arm, and I hope to finish it off later today. It's going to be a hectic day, with much coming and going in the house. That leaves me with TWO customer quilts and a few of mine in the queue. I'll be ready for more quilts in September if anyone is looking to have a quilt done. If not, I have plenty of other things to keep me busy. 

The Pony Express works in mysterious ways. I had to drop three items off yesterday, so they are now on the Pony Express to their new destination. After today, there are only six quilts left to return from Quilt Canada. Yes - it should have been a priority, but I'm working it out on the Pony Express.. 

Later in the afternoon, I received an email from someone asking about an item that had accidentally been left in my possession during the quick dismantling of the Quilt Canada show. YES -- I have those items. This person lives far to the east of me and north. Could I ship them? They are awkward to ship, and I mentioned our Pony Express. 

She mentions that her brother lives in a small town east of the city. It just so happens that I'll be meeting a friend from that same small town in two weeks, so she can get her items in a couple of weeks. Isn't that strange how everything works out? 

As you know, we are not a fan of air conditioning. The biggest issue is going in and out and adjusting to the change in temperature. I find that very hard. I know that others will find our house hot, but we are used to it. And we use fans! I have zero issue sleeping at night because of the heat, as I have air movement in the room. It's amazing what an open window and a fan can do! 

Well, the floor fan we own went kaput the other day. It doesn't owe us anything since we've had it for 20+ years. I made a trip to the store to find a replacement, and there were no floor fans at that store. So I bought a small one and put it on the floor. I think the girls and the boy loved it. 

Grandma, this fan is amazing! 

Lexi was lying flat out as well, but lifted her head before I got the camera! Don't worry - the dogs are just fine! Both of these dogs are drama queens. Oops - there's the pee pad in front - no time to cut that out. Just look away! Murphy just likes to sleep downstairs, at any time of the year. A fan, no matter how large, will not cool her off. 

MOM -- that little fan is scary, but I like the wind in my hair!

And here are some cute pictures of Bear, doing what he does best. Being cute! Lexi is so timid of so many things, while Little Bear just charges through. He's cute and he knows it. And he's so full of questions! 

Grandma - Is this big bed just for me? 

Grandma - where's my dinner? 

Grandma - why do I need a bath? 

In the afternoon, as I was preparing my snack, I closed the fridge to find this. 

Grandma, Mom - where's our snack? 

Yeah, Mom - where's our snack?

And last night, I have no idea what got into Murphy and Bear. The two of them were sitting in the window seat, and I swear they barked their heads off at every dog that went for a walk last night. They were loud and they were annoying!

Mom, Grandma -- there are a lot of dogs outside! 

So I grabbed the Little Guy and we went outside and sat on the front patio. It was a glorious evening, and he relaxed and stayed calm. Well, of course he did. No more dogs walked by. 

Grandma - where are all the dogs? 

I'm getting quite behind on my walking challenge. It was an aggressive one, and I may have to adjust it for this year or just get out and walk more. I am slipping because last year, when I needed to, I got out there. This year, I'm not. I think I can recover from being behind, but it means I need to get my butt out the door and walk even when I'm busy, it's hot, or I'm tired. I'll see how that goes - I'm not worrying about it, but I am slipping a bit. I'm still walking over 10 K a day on most days, but I need a bit more to catch up on some slacking I did earlier in the year. 

Oh, and I need to sync my FitBit to the new phone and capture the data to manually enter it into the website. Next, I need to connect my new device, but I'm not sure where I placed it. Sigh...............

I love the people who are early risers! I had to change my personal training appointment, and I already got a response from Brooke! All is good! We are a good team, even though she tortures me! 

On that note, I'm out of here. I'm off to spin class. It's going to be hit and miss for spin class over the summer with all the little side trips, so I must get there when I'm home! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!