A pop of orange

I think travel and age are creeping up on me. I would like to be totally in denial, but I guess I can't deny any longer. I was so tired yesterday, and I think I had two naps. That's OK. The travel of the last three weeks, the carrying of heavy luggage, setting up machines, traveling in different time zones -- it's getting harder and harder! 

While I did tidy everything off the floor in Studio B, I did NOT get everything done. I simply moved some of it onto a table so it was easier to access. However, I did manage to get a lot done. 

I am about half-prepped for the second presentation, have dealt with some urgent emails, and quickly got answers in two instances, so that is all taken care of. Then I have most of the second presentation done as well. So it wasn't a total loss of a day. 

However, I found an ebook somewhere along the line last week, and, well, I started reading it on the plane, and I NEED to finish it. That consumed a bit of my day yesterday while I was lying in bed, relaxing! I have 80 pages left, and I guess it will have to wait until the dogs have their walk! Too bad it wasn't an audiobook -- I would have stayed up and listened while working! 

I also got distracted last night and was looking at house listings. Some of these pictures came from houses in another province, but what's the deal with the pop of orange? 

I suspect the orange in the first one is actually wood, but that can't be—it looks orange, not wood tones. At least the walls are beige! Most pictures of house interiors, including the furniture, are black, white, and grey. 

An orange dining room set

This is definitely a pop of orange in an otherwise neutral environment. 

An orange sofa

And the same with this one. 

An orange chair

And here we have a pop of orange and deep blue. 

Two orange accent chairs

I sometimes look at houses in my neighborhood or random houses that pop up for sale. Not that we are selling, but just for the fun of it. 

The houses are all so sterile. Can you imagine feeling comfortable in that room above? Nothing on the walls, just places to sit. It looks so uninviting. 

I know the houses are staged for the photos, but seriously—these people need to stage differently. Stage it so it looks inviting to live in, not just to eliminate all the clutter. I get it—get rid of the clutter, but then make it look pretty. I will struggle with the real estate agent when it comes time to sell our house. 

Speaking of houses for sale, there are now THREE houses for sale on our street. How did that happen? I suspect they will be on the market for quite some time, as the market is slow and two houses are overpriced. And there are two other houses that I suspect will go up for sale in the near future. Or maybe not. The people living on the street are aging out, and who needs to live by themselves in a huge house? 

I remember when we sold our last house. The price the neighbors got was incredible for that time. I suggested we put our house on the market as well. I don't think I'll do that here. I like it too much. 

Here are a couple of reasons why my suitcase weighed more than 50 lbs. This is the puzzle that I purchased at McNally Robinson. Lots of puzzles have been designed with a puzzle in the picture. Apparently, this one has clues to all of the books in the Miss Marple series! I may just have to reread Miss Marple, as it has been years. 

Miss Marple puzzle

A hardcover book that weighs a lot, and I also found this at McNally Robinson. 

A new addition to the bookcase

There are a few other things that I bought, but I'll share with you in a bit. This canvas fabric was bought at Quilt Canada from Emmaline Bags. So many cool things to make with stuff like this! 

Canvas for a tote bag

At one point during the day, I spied Miss Lexi lying outside DH's office. She is his protector, to be sure, and she is on guard for a good part of the day. I almost feel like I should put a mat in front of the door, but then DH will trip over it. She doesn't want to sleep in the office, as she is NOT good in a room, but prefers wide-open spaces. 

MOM - I am on duty - no pictures please!

We had a tremendous thunder and lightning show last night. Murphy was pretty upset and hung around upstairs all night, which is something she hasn't done in a very long time. 

I spotted this online a while back and keep forgetting to post it. 

It's a tip that you can add to your big bottle of glue to get a fine tip. 

A fine tip for a big glue bottle

This is way smarter than the one that came out originally on glue bottles for quilters. That tip was super long - someone said it was a medical needle? I don't know, but I guess that's what we had available to us at the time. The glue just clogs in those long skinny tips -- this shorter one makes a whole lot more sense.

Which reminds me that when I was at Quilt Canada, I had to be in the classroom to help the students with their machines. It's surprising how some teachers work. One of the teachers had a cap that you could put on a tube of glue to make the wider glue top smaller, making it more useful for quilters. 

They are glue precision tips. Someone asked the instructor where she bought the tip. She refused to tell them, so, of course, within seconds, someone googled it. You can buy them at multiple places, and you can also find a file to have them printed on a 3-D printer. I believe this is the one the instructor was using. 

I think she wanted to be a "hero" and email them the information, but as mentioned, it is easy to find this stuff online. If you have the right information or even half the information, or even a photo, Google will find it for you! 

I probably mentioned this before, but I certainly wasn't impressed with some of the teachers at Quilt Canada. 

Anyway -- it's time to get the day started. And I have a lot to do since I didn't get quite as much done yesterday as I would have liked. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!