A mystery is solved in the middle of the night

The other day I wrote about leaving my wallet at the store and thinking I didn't have access to any money, so I wouldn't be able to buy any food except what was in the hotel snack bar that I could charge to my room. I considered setting up a digital wallet on my phone so I could have access to my credit card and perhaps even my debit card. I really don't understand the wallet, so I have never investigated it. 

Then I realized I have a digital wallet with my Tim's app. When I pay for something at that restaurant, I use my phone, not a credit card. Hmm  - I would not have starved! 

I am HOME! But not for long, as I'll be leaving in less than a couple of hours for West Lorne, and I have two presentations on the PFAFF creative icon 3 at Heather Bell's Sewing Studio. That's exciting, as I love showing the new features and benefits. As I say to everyone, you don't necessarily have to be in the market for a new machine, but it's fascinating to come out and discover what is changing in the world of sewing and embroidery. 

I do that with competitive brands - not that I want to buy their brand, but I want to see what is happening in the sewing and embroidery world. 

It was an early-morning flight, and the first gas station I went to wasn't open, but it did solve a mystery. 

The night before, when I had walked to Michaels, I was mystified by this. 

The parking lot is a mess.

The parking lot was covered in bird poo and feathers. It looked like a massive explosion had occurred with a flock of birds. 

Well, imagine my surprise when I circled through the gas station to find myself facing this. 

AHA - the source of the mess

The parking lot for that entire plaza was covered with birds. I'm not sure if they were pigeons or some other bird, but they were everywhere!! They were not in the gas station parking lot, so I didn't disturb them when I drove through. I have never seen that before, but then I'm not usually in a parking lot at 3:45 AM either! 

I filled the car with gas, then headed to the airport, and everything went smoothly. I didn't have to use the automatic bag drop, so scanning wasn't an issue. 

The car rental place was open late when I needed to pick up the car, but it wasn't open for drop-off, which I knew, but it's not a big deal. There is a drop box for the keys and a small piece of paper you are supposed to fill out with the mileage and something else. Of course, I forgot to get the mileage, and I couldn't find a pen anyway, so I simply dropped the keys. I got my receipt later in the day, so someone got the mileage from the car. 

And while I attempted to clean the bugs off the windshield, someone will have a bit of scrubbing to do! Thank goodness for unlimited mileage - I didn't have to pay extra for that trip to the Battlefords! Just gas. 

My suitcase was a wee bit over the 50 lbs limit, but I didn't care! My status allows me to carry suitcases as heavy as 70 lbs, but who in their right mind wants to manhandle a 70 lb suitcase? Not me - 50 is bad enough. By the way, I made my 35K status on this flight, so I'm good for next year. If I make the next status level, great - if I don't, it's no big deal. That status allows me access to the lounge, which I would rarely have time for, so I won't miss that perk. And I'm certainly NOT going to the airport early just for the lounge. 

This plane was interesting. After I book my flights, I then have the opportunity to apply for an upgrade. I hadn't purchased the same level of ticket I typically do, and I thought that was why there was no chance to request an upgrade. BUT when we got on the plane, I saw what the "issue" was. This plane had NO premium economy or business class. All rows were economy! I've never seen that in a plane before. It was like getting on a giant bus! The plane was new as well, so that must be something they are implementing on some of the routes. The seat looked very uncomfortable, but it wasn't bad. 

I purchased a couple of things, which made my suitcase heavier on the way out than on the way home. There are two Halloween fabrics. Yes—I do not need Halloween fabrics, but they were darn cute, and one was on sale at the quilt store, and one came from Michaels. 

Left from the quilt store, right from Michaels

I also bought this panel which was on sale at the quilt shop. It's darn cute and would make a great quilt for a child with an up-and-coming green thumb!!

A cute panel from the quilt store

I knew it was raining before we landed as DH had let me know. But it was raining quite hard, and of course my luggage got wet. I have to laugh because as part of my status, my bags are supposed to go priority. That means they're among the first to come off the plane. The ticket agent even flagged them with the red stickers. But alas, they weren't anywhere near the front of the bags that came off the plane. But they didn't take too long to arrive at the carousel, so all was good. 

BUT they were wet, and that was concerning since one was filled with my samples. I don't bother putting them in plastic as that would be a hassle. I've only had issues with wet bags once before, and that was in Montreal, when one of my samples with a red binding bled slightly. 

So the minute I got home, I unpacked, and sure enough, water had penetrated the sample suitcase, but not much got wet and nothing was damaged. I am in the market for a new suitcase because one of the wheels on this one doesn't work as well as it should, and it's a hassle to push it anywhere. 

Everything got removed, sorted into what I need to take with me and what stays home. Then I sorted them into the groups I need for the new features. I have one small thing to add this morning and then throw the suitcase into the car. 

But my oh my --- there were two happy girls to greet me! Lexi now has selective hearing and didn't hear me come home, but when she realized, she was happy. Murphy? She was beside herself. Which, typically, I don't mind. However, she was WET from the rain, and she got sprayed by a skunk - again! Thankfully, it wasn't much, but she still stinks! 

And she wants to rub against my leg? I was instantly wet! 

MOM's home!

Yes, our crazy dog in her demented state seems to think it's fun to lie outside in the pouring rain. Then she comes in and shakes, and well, it was a disaster zone. But it has stopped raining, and the house is dry. She slept upstairs last night, and all was good. She doesn't seem to want to be alone by herself on the main floor, and even with the crazy storms we had, she is not interested in hiding in the stash room like she used to. Oh well—life changes for us, and it does for our girls. 

Currently she is curled up in her tiny dog bed in the office, which is something she hasn't done in a long time - since the beginning of the summer- so that is a positive sign. 

We are learning to cope, and that is all that counts. 

I wasn't ready to jump into sewing, and what else could I do? I started a new ebook and worked through a third of it, but I also opened up the next jigsaw puzzle, found all but one of the border pieces, and started on the sky. 

Progress on the next jigsaw puzzle

I was a bit hesitant to start on the sky, but as you can see, there wasn't a lot of it, so it was perfect. I don't think all puzzles put a date on them, but this one did, and it's dated 2008! Almost 20 years old. Let's hope that all the pieces are there - it's only 750 pieces, so it shouldn't take too long to put together. This will be a quicky to get me to the end of the month, although that is a week away, and then I can work on the theme puzzle for September. It's actually not a theme, but a brand - Eurographics! 

I'm not going to set a quota, but it would be nice to do one a week! I need to do one a week to work through my stash. I am not alone—I see pictures of people's puzzle stashes online and OH MY!!!! Puzzlers are hoarders, just like quilters!

The good news is there is a Virtual Retreat this coming weekend! Yeah!!! It feels like we haven't had a proper Virtual Retreat all summer, and I miss chatting with my "virtual" friends. It will be good to catch up. I'll post the links on Friday to try to keep Zoom off my back. They do not like posting links online. 

Once I'm back from today, I need to get myself working on the distribution lists for the upcoming classes, so be sure to watch for that. And if you are still on the fence about signing up, this is the last call. After this week, I should have everything set. If you or a friend are interested, then check out the list. Send me an email—the scrap class, by the way, is FULL. Don't even bother going to Thimbles and Things to sign up. That filled up FAST. 

I want to warn you that I may need to switch a date or two from what I published because of work, but you'll get that information shortly. I'm super excited to get started on our new projects!!!

I'll let you know when the emails go out, and if you don't get it, you can get in touch with me and see what happened. Everything will be in good time, but it all needs to be done by the end of this week. 

I will be hosting a Facebook Live on the new PFAFF creative icon 3 on September 9. I'll share more details later this week. It is only 1 hour, and my in-person presentations are 3. Hmmm—how am I going to condense that information into one hour? At least I don't have to make any samples—that is done! 

And on that note, I have to get the fabrics for my demos into the suitcase, then walk the girls, and I'm off. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!