Taking inventory for vacation

You all have such great suggestions. If I get frustrated by the towel moving, I can use clips to attach it below. Problem solved! 

Happy Canada Day! It's a great day to celebrate our country, its people, and its beautiful lands. Take a moment today to reflect on the freedoms we have. 

Lately, when I've been walking the dogs, I've spotted people who were most likely not born in this country. They are out walking and exploring the neighborhood. They give me a hearty "good morning," and I almost feel their joy in living here! Perhaps they fled from another country. It's hard to say, but they certainly look thrilled! Let's hope all of us feel that way! 

I'm still working on the cutting table, and I found this from Quilt Canada. Someone had made stickers, and I put one on my name tag, without thinking. Hmmm --- Crazy Elaine - yep - that's about right!

My Quilt Canada name badge

As I tidied up, I added it to the rest of the lanyards I have from other shows. I know -- there is no reason to keep them, but it's kind of fun to see the pile grow. This isn't all of them, and yes -- I've been to a few shows. 

Name badges from other shows

There are many buttons attached to those lanyards - what does one do with all those buttons? 

We had Monday Sewing, and all was good. I have a lot of ripping out to do, and I'm working on that 60-degree triangle quilt from Diane. I now have four rows ripped and one trimmed, although I accidentally cut three triangles too small. I found a similar fabric and will just cut new ones. 

Ripping out the 60-degree triangles

I got the giant quilt loaded on the machine. It actually went faster than I thought it would, so that was a happy moment. 

I'm cleaning and tidying up Studio B. I'm looking for a particular project box. I cleaned up two shelves; more on that tomorrow. I need to make lists of what's on the shelving unit I've attacked! Any project that is not started is being seriously evaluated and pulled apart. 

I had to go to the mall, and I took a look at the quilt magazines. I confess I don't buy many of them anymore, as I get them online through the library. This saves the hassle of getting them home and then the angst of letting them go when I finish reading them! I can zip through the online version in short order, as many of them are just patterns! And I do NOT need to add a new pattern to my mess. 

Quilting magazines 

I picked up a box of Press'n Seal, and it's not for the kitchen. This was once a big deal for machine quilting, but it has since fallen out of favor. Now it's resurrected again, and it's not for sewing! I'll try it and let you know how it works. 

Press'nSeal

I had received a notification that my phone (leased for two years) was expiring - the contract, not the phone and I went to see what the situation was. Oh my --- I walked home with a new phone and saved $90 on my monthly bill! That just seems wrong, but that's what happened. I no longer have a US plan as I haven't been to the US in quite a while, and it's likely to be a while before I go again. I can always add the US plan if I go. 

The lady I chatted with was very friendly and very fast, and all was good! I don't think it took even ten minutes, and I came home with the S25 plus from Samsung! I guess competition has forced them to decrease their prices, so that is good. I should have called about my plan months ago. 

My new phone

I have to switch the settings and then return the old phone, so I'll take care of that this week. I wasn't going to get the phone before I went on vacation, but well - I did. 

Do Band-Aids have a life? Well, I wouldn't say the band-aid does, but the packaging - yes! We rarely use Band-Aids in this household! I went to get one the other day - the tiny round ones that I could put on a spot that I keep "worrying" and I want to let it heal! The packaging literally disintegrated as I pulled the band-aid out. They all need to be thrown away as they are useless. We have some other band-aids, and I'm sure they are just as useless. 

The band-aid packaging disintegrated

I can now say that our big vacation is next month! It's time to see what gear I'm missing. It's going to be a bit crazy to pack for very cold and very hot temperatures on the same trip. I checked the drawer with all my long underwear, which I purchased for cycling. OH BOY—I found at least three brand-new items, not even used! I don't need to buy long underwear. It just seems wrong to be packing long johns to go to Africa! 

Brand new long underwear

Essentially, I require three items: hiking boots or shoes, a new warm jacket, and hiking pants. And I want all the clothes to fit in my 30-liter hiking backpack, including a sleeping bag! Can I make that happen? At worst, the sleeping bag can hang off the backpack while the clothes fit inside. The rest of the things I need—toiletries and a small portable office—will go in a much smaller hiking backpack. And that's all I plan to take! 

I think I got myself too wound up last night and struggled to fall asleep. Note to self: do the planning during the daytime! 

I spotted this screen on the side of the street, assuming the people had thrown it away. First, it was here, then on the other side of the driveway, and now it's gone. I was tempted to pick it up and carry it home to use behind me in Zoom class. It would be perfect, and I could have put stuff in those windows! I did not, and now it's gone! I'm fine with the messy design wall behind me. 

A screen for pick-up

Here are a couple of pretty flowers I spotted on my dog walks. 

A rose - love the color

A clematis

And there are the lilies in the pond in all their glory! It's hard to see the blooms from the shine on the leaves.

The lilies in the pond

And do you see my big orange frog? He's been hiding under the overgrown bushes in the back, but now he's out front and center. 

The pond watcher

Murphy had fun cooling off with a sprinkler the other day. What a goofball!!! She would go mad if we had one in our backyard. 

MOM - I love the sprinkler

I love it when she's outside and content to watch over me in the house. Is that just by chance, or does she really know I'm there? Oh, she knows I'm downstairs as she looks in the window from time to time! 

MOM - I'm guarding you! 

I don't know who she thinks will steal her toy, but she's not letting anyone near it! Oh Murphy - such a silly girl!!!

MOM - this toy is MINE!

Today, I'll fire up the long arm and an embroidery machine, and while they are working, if I get a free moment from winding and replacing threads, I'll continue searching for the missing project box. Actually, I need to get some paper and identify everything on that shelf. Perhaps, I need to go back and be a bit more ruthless? And I found parts of a project, but I'm not sure where the other half is. OK -- I'll make a first pass and then decide what to do! 

Why, oh why, did I accumulate so much stuff and start so many projects? It's beyond me, but I'll continue to slog my way through it. 

I had better tell you about this exercise story. First, my legs have not felt this strong in a long time - yes, even with all the walking. One also needs strength training. I also generally feel much better from all the stretching - it's incredible how a few minutes, a couple of times a week, can make such massive changes. After my "brutal" workout with Brooke on Friday, I was tired, but all was good. The next day, however, my quads were so sore! It appears that we worked on a few muscles that hadn't been exercised in a while. The stand-up/sit-down exercise? It was almost impossible to do because of the soreness. But all is good now, and I can stand up and sit down with great ease. Baby steps — it's all about taking those baby steps, but you have to start taking them! You will be so happy when you're older and can still move around. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here! There's a lot to get done today, including more paperwork. That to-do list is shrinking, but not fast enough! 

Have a super Canada Day! Stand proud! We are a great country—we're not perfect, but we are great! 

Ciao!!!!