It's all about perception

 AHA --- this is why I hang around smart people! The thought crossed my mind that the ends of those elastic strips on the long arm would fray! Tammy suggested I serge them or put white glue on them! DUH!!! I might have thought of that years from now! 

I need to deal with the ends of the elastic

I'm going to chop off the ends with the holes and then start with new ends. I could even sew a pretty little tab on the end to make it easier to find. However, I must do something, as you can see, it is starting to fray. But do I love those strips without the clamps? Yes and no. The clamps were so easy to put on - wait, that's a lie. They are tight and stiff to open, but they were weighted, so they were right where you wanted them to be. The elastics are limp and need to be pinned and unpinned. And yes - I poked myself with a pin yesterday! I never do that when pinning the quilt to the leader. 

Which is the lesser of two evils? No clamps! When it's time for the spa day, those ends will be dealt with - thanks for the suggestion. 

This is all that remains from the great container giveaway yesterday. If anyone wants the boxes, please EMAIL me. elainetheriault@gmail.com. It's amazing how many people contacted me in some other format. Since it was first-come, first-served, I wasn't checking various platforms to see who was first. I went by the emails I received! 

Storage boxes up for grabs

I accomplished a lot yesterday, but I don't have anything to share with you. It's all for the two upcoming writing assignments. Part of one assignment was sent yesterday. When trying something new, I'm always a bit leery, but what I tried yesterday worked like a charm. Actually, two things, and both of them were perfect! 

I spent the day running from the long arm to the .......... can you guess? It was not the embroidery or the sewing machine. Nope - it was the digital cutter. Between the two machines (both automated, of course), I was hopping all day. However, I completed both tasks, and I'm very pleased with the results. You'll see more about that later this summer. 

When I'm teaching, I tell people that to learn (or feel more comfortable), they need to do something, not just listen to the lesson. You need to get out the tool, pattern, software, thread, whatever, and just do something. I don't care what it is, but if you don't, you will never learn by just watching. And not just once, but practice it multiple times. Remember the 10,000-hour rule. You don't prepare for a marathon by running to the mailbox and back once. And then I receive comments that confirm I was right! Sigh........ 

The same applies to me. While what I did yesterday was not new, the supplies and methods were different, and all is good! I feel way more comfortable with those tools, and my ability to make them work as I want! 

I managed to get all the ends tucked in on those pet mats, and they are ready to be delivered later this week. 

A bag of pet mats is ready for delivery

And yes - hard to believe, but there is another in-person retreat this week. It's only for four days - thank goodness, as I have stuff to get done at home! However, the opportunity to visit two new retreat houses arose this month, and I didn't know when I would have another chance this year. This one is only one hour from my house! 

I'm all packed - well, almost. Just have to pack some food and then load everything into the car. Thankfully, a good part of that will NOT be coming home with me. The Pony Express is in high gear these days! 

Stuff to pack for the retreat

Oh, that Murphy. I was the recipient of two pieces of homemade pie, and I must say that both were delicious. Thanks so much for the delivery! I felt guilty as I scraped all the crumbs off the plate, but Murphy wanted to be part of the experience. So she grabbed the empty plate and took it outside, where she proceeded to scour it clean! 

Mom - I'll wash the plate for you!

Then, when I was sitting in the gazebo last night, she grabbed a toy she had found and plopped it into the skimmer, where the pump sits. Sigh........

A toy in the skimmer by the pump

It smells like something died under the gazebo. Thankfully, the smell won't last long in this heat, but it's probably the poor rabbit that Murphy corralled under there, and it was too scared to move. Although the stupid rabbits should know by now to stay out of our backyard! 

I haven't been out walking in the afternoon or the evening, so I'm falling behind on my KMs. I hope to make them up this week at the retreat. Let's see how that goes. I can still cover 9-10 km by walking the dogs and doing chores around the house, but I now need 13 km per day to reach my goal. 

Okay, so I need to bring something to your attention. Something that I guess I knew in the back of my mind, but didn't realize it was a thing. I finished reading a book written in 2008, The Whole Truth by David Baldacci. I'm not sure I was a fan of the book, but it was based on an interesting concept called Perception Management. I put it in capital because it is a thing! 

We're all aware of how marketers try to convince us that their product is the best, and they're very good at it. The fabric manufacturers seem to be doing a bang-up job of convincing people they need to buy! The world is now teeming with influencers who will promote any product and are making a good living at it. Single parents at home with four kids and living in pretty spiffy houses - influencers! 

While the money is good and easy, would you want to flog products all day? What's your point in life? But I digress. WOW -- there are even movies about influencers. I saw something last night, but I couldn't remember the source. It was about how kids feel growing up in a household where their lives are constantly on view to millions of people. 

Back to Perception Management. Essentially, ANYONE with enough money or power can create scenarios that are convincing enough that they can make entire cities, countries, and even the world believe that the made-up stories are the truth. The scenario in the book pitted two large nations against each other to the brink of war, but neither nation had done anything inappropriate. It was ONE person who facilitated the almost third-world war! 

This is the scariest scenario in the world, and we see evidence of it happening in our world today, with all the fake news out there. No one can believe anything they hear or read. It's terrifying. The key question is - how do we address that? And how will you convince the people who have fallen hook, line, and sinker for all the fake scenarios, that this is bad? 

Thankfully, I am not married to the news in any way. However, one needs to be aware of what's going on, but what is the best source for that information? We went through a period where we could get "free" news on the radio or the TV. We had to pay for newspapers. You can still get news on the internet, but how trustworthy is most of what you read? DH says there is only one good news source, and that is Reuters, which you have to pay for. 

And if you don't believe me about Perception Management, check out what Google has to say. By the way, Google used AI to create this summary, which I linked to above. But it seems spot on to me. 

It's hard to believe that David already employed this concept in his 2008 book, and it was believable then, when social media wasn't as prevalent as it is today. Imagine where we will be in another 10 years? 

On that note, I'm out of here! I have to walk the girls and pack the car. Most everything else is done! 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!