Murphy is on the mend!

Yes --- so true about the words of wisdom. There are times when we feel compelled to criticize a loved one - usually our significant other. But was that absolutely necessary? NO -- so the next time you want to be the backseat driver, or mention that the dishwasher shouldn't be loaded that way, just be quiet. They are loading the dishwasher - be grateful! 

Not saying things that you know will cause issues can improve a situation by 1000%. Don't be the one who invokes the negativity! As they say in Frozen - "let it go!"

OK -- I confess - I was a slug for most of the day. I did get some work done, but I'm in slow motion mode, and I'm OK with that. The rest of the week, I can kick it up into high gear, although I have things to do that aren't work-related.

I had a few "spare" moments, so I ended up in the garage. This is the workbench, but as you can see, there really isn't much space to work, and it's just cluttered. I took this picture this morning, AFTER I tackled part of the shelves. Everything is coated with years of dirt and grime. But I made a start. I would love to get through the entire shelf before the end of September, and that is doable. 

The garage workbench

Even if the stuff only gets separated by category, put in boxes, and the junk thrown away. I'll see how I make out with that. 

BUT - look what I found. A good pair of scissors and WHAT???? It's that gardening tool that I have coveted for a while, but this one has a handle on it. Are you kidding me? I already had one of those tools? I bought the second one for the same purpose, but since it was buried under loads of debris, I didn't even remember buying it. Sigh...................

Finds in the garage debris

We have a wooden deck and lots of debris gets trapped between the boards. There is a gap to allow for expansion. The debris mostly collects on the joists below, and if it isn't cleaned out, it will cause rot faster. The wood on the deck is not treated. 

At last - Mom is cleaning the debris from the deck.

It would also help to get rid of the weeds growing between the flagstones. 

The weeds are back

I'm not surprised to find that tool, but I'm stunned that it's been so long that I don't even remember buying it. 

While I was in the garage, I had my helper with me. She was snuffling around, and next thing I knew, she was digging through the open top of a garbage bag. What the heck is she after? Oh my goodness - she found an old bone of hers that I tossed. When we went back inside, she immediately took it to the backyard. 

MOM - you threw out my bone!!!!! 

I'm not sure what was so important about that bone. I threw the old one away because she got a new one last week. Now I have to find a way to get the old one back into the garbage bag! I've heard some people mention their significant others have done similar things from time to time! 

My name is Murphy, and I'm a bone hoarder.

She is definitely feeling much better, which is a relief. That whole episode was a good wake-up call, though. I caught her flipping her NEW outside toy around. She managed to escape the house with this one, and well, I'm not bringing it back in. 

MOM - this bear needs a good shake! 

To top it off, when I was sitting outside in the gazebo, I saw her hanging out by the fence and wondered what the heck she was doing. 

MOM - I need a new stick

Oh great -- pulling a stick into the yard through the fence. That girl!!! As if she doesn't have enough to play with! What a goofball. 

She has no issues coming in the house at night now, but she needs to be upstairs with us, and she is currently still upstairs. I'm OK with that. I was getting a little freaked out by her need to be outside. I'm not sure what that was all about, but we seem to be moving forward positively. 

And what about Lexi? She is just chilling all the time. She loves sleeping under this table in the hallway, and it's OK to stick your head between the legs. What a silly girl. She's a little turned around because her buddy is not with her at night, even though they never slept together. But she looked a bit lost this morning, wondering why Murphy wasn't bothering her! 

MOM - I'm low maintenance

I finally got my new addition for the backyard. I was tempted to buy a new chair, as this zero-gravity chair has been around for a very long time and the seat canvas was getting a bit scratchy. I realized that I could buy a cushion for that chair and OH MY -- I may never leave the gazebo. It's super comfy. 

A new cushion for my zero-gravity chair

It was supposed to be delivered before I left last week, but only arrived when I got home. It had been compressed into a very small package that neither of us could figure out what it was. Then DH let the air in the bag and the thing just grew. It's a great way to resuscitate my chair. 

And then it was time to move downstairs. This is what I have to deal with. While the cutting table is NOT clear, I made good progress on clearing part of it. I don't want to put some of that stuff away because I'll need it for my Facebook Live, but I need to clear the space so I can work. It's all easy to access and pull out when I need it in two weeks. 

Trying to clear the cutting table

I also left some of my samples out because some of them need to be finished. And even if I get one a day or week done, that is better than not getting them finished. Some of them only need the edges serged to look a bit more presentable. 

While I was at Heather Bell's Sewing Studio, I stocked up on green thread. This is a color I seem to gravitate to, and I was very low, so now I have five shades of the same color, and I'm happy. 

My new green thread colors

Before adding those colors to the box of green embroidery thread, I did NOT have this color. 

My box of green embroidery thread

Over the years, I have used and taught MANY of the Marti Michelle template sets. I spotted this one on the shelf at Heather's that I didn't have. So I bought it. It looks pretty funky! 

A "new to me" template set

And now it's added to my shelf of the other Marti Michelle template sets. 

The rest of my template sets

When I dug my bike out the other week, I found this little tote bag in the basket. Once I park the bike, I need a small bag to carry things. The handles were eaten off? I have no idea what happened to the handles, so I'm going to seam-rip them off and resew them on. They will be slightly shorter, but that's OK. 

Handles to fix on my small tote bag

OK—so I need some discipline to deal with the latest puzzle. Instead of working, I was tackling this. 

Progress on the latest jigsaw puzzle

Yes - that is a quilt on the puzzle. This one is dated 2008, and the artist is Diane Phalen. Remember how her artwork was on everything!! Boxes, bags, puzzles, tins, cards, etc. I was trying to work on the flowers, and finally gave up and pulled the pieces for that quilt. Then I went back to the flowers. I got a few more pieces in and gave up, and now I'm working on the other two quilts in the picture. 

I MUST put the design boards ON TOP of the puzzle, so I won't get distracted! I need to get to work today. 

I managed to get a couple of the distribution lists together and am starting to review the patterns we will need for the classes. I need to go through all the emails before I send out the lists, as some people signed up for more than one class in one email and it's a tad challenging to sort that. But no worries—I'm catching them all, or so I hope. By the end of the week, you should all have your confirmations. If you're missing a confirmation, just send me another email, BUT don't send me something if you have already signed up. Only if you haven't!

Here is the list of classes again—and if you know someone who might be interested, forward this along. 

There is a Virtual Retreat this weekend - Saturday from 6 PM - 9 PM and then from Sunday 3 PM - 9 PM. I'll post the links later, but this is just a reminder. 

And I'm sure by now that you've heard about Dolly Parton. She was such a classy lady, and her nephew (part of her security team) posted the official video about her death. The video was amazingly well done. We were fortunate enough to meet Dolly's design team (a team of 3) who designed her clothing and helped with her onscreen image. 

Steve had been with Dolly for over 30 years as her stylist! You get to know someone very well after 30 years. All three of them couldn't say enough about how amazing Dolly was and that they were family. It was kind of an emotional moment to hear them speak about her. They will be devastated, as will many other people. I feel very fortunate that we were able to hear them speak. 

And on that note, I'm out of here! There's a lot to be done, and I feel a bit more motivated! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!