Getting the monkey off your back!

OH!!!! The one metric system that I have wholeheartedly embraced is temperature! So, I had to do some research on yesterday's comments. What the heck is 64 degrees Fahrenheit? We keep our house at 19 Celcius at night (66.2 F) and 21 during the day (69.8). However, as I mentioned, the temperature these days doesn't rise above 20 (68) during the day! 

But I'm good with that. I don't want it to be too hot, and I sleep with two duvets and a quilt at night and add or remove layers as needed! 

Compared to what I see in the comments, our house is practically a HOT house! I LOVE it. However, what happens when you get older? It's my mom's birthday today - she turns 88. When will we visit their apartment? It's like a greenhouse. She won't put on a shawl if there's a draft - good lord, the rest of us are practically down to our underwear (no -- not going there), and she complains. Sigh.....................

I am learning a valuable lesson, and I hope you can also learn from it. Some of you are already there, as it's nothing new - not by a long shot. What is it? Can you guess what the biggest timewaster is? Nope, it's not your phone or the computer, although they do come into play. 

Give up? Procrastination! It's amazing how my brain works, but if I have what I perceive to be a challenging or undesirable task to do, I'll procrastinate, and then that task niggles in the back of my mind, and I envision that it's going to take forever. I think about it; I waste time "worrying" about it. Guess what? When I actually tackle it -- it's NOTHING. And the weight lifted off my shoulders is enormous. Getting it done is like freeing up vast amounts of time. My mind is clear, my mood lifts, and I NEED TO STOP procrastinating. 

I guess you can tell that I got some more stuff done yesterday! I had to tidy up the files for the UFO club, and I had no choice since the sessions are later this morning. I still have a couple more admin things to do for these groups, but I plan to clear it up right after the sessions this morning. Get it done and move on! 

I made headway on the small number of paperwork items I pulled from the basket. There are a few things there to get done today, but it's better to look at one, two, or three things in a day and get them done than pull out many things and get nothing done because of being overwhelmed. I would say that's my biggest problem. I get excited, go nuts, and then I'm overwhelmed, and nothing gets done. 

Slow and steady! The other thing is to learn to deal with EVERYTHING. Don't delay those tasks that you don't like or don't know how to do or the items you don't know whether they are junk or useable. The more you can deal with everything as it comes at you (or within a day or two), the better off you're going to be. 

The problem right now is that I've neglected some things for many years, and I need to play catchup. That's my goal and has been for the last ten years. Yep -- I'm a slow learner. I chuckle when I read in that Happiness Journal for entries from 2012. "Still tidying - when will this ever end?" And here we are twelve years later and still not done! What a hoot! But the important thing is that while I may have slowed down in some years, I never gave up! I'm still at it and will continue to work on the decluttering until I'm done. Then, I can tackle any area in a few minutes! I am so far ahead of where I was in 2012 - both in how the house looks and how much it contains and in my mental state! I (and YOU) can do this!!!!

OK -- let's see what pictures I have to share. I have LOADS - some days, it's only the dogs, and then there are too many for one day. 

I finally put my summer sandals in the closet, giving me room for these two pairs of boots. The rain boots need to go as they have a split in the back. Still suitable for not-so-wet days but not for puddle jumping. I got a lead on a new pair, so I must follow that up. The other pair are no longer waterproof, and I'm not about to make them waterproof since they no longer fit me properly. I got nasty raw skin and a bloody sock from the day I shoehorned my feet in them! I love them, and I'm sad to see them go. 

Boots that need to go

However, I'm also the person who will wear running shoes all winter long. My feet love them, and they have a good grip. Boots don't have the same flexibility as shoes, and I hate them. I will only wear them when it's pouring rain or there is deep snow. 

Then I unearthed a pair of slippers that I no longer wear. The one thing I HATE about slippers is if they are sloppy on your feet (not easy to walk in) and if they don't have good grips - again, not easy to walk in. I think they are too worn to give away, so I'll try them on one last time today and then say goodbye. Have you noticed how many seniors shuffle? I bet it's because they don't have GOOD slippers with a GOOD grip on their feet. Slippers also tend to come in S, M, or L. That is NOT a good indication of size, and you have no choice but to shuffle or the slippers come off. GET PROPER FITTING FOOTWEAR!!! 

The old and the new

I wear a pair of Birkenstocks around the house these days. The rubber (plastic) ones. They are incredibly lightweight, gliders so you can wear socks (perfect for winter), and they have a good grip and are easy to walk in. I think I found my new slippers for the house. The only color I could find is white. It's not a good color for me, but it works! There are numerous styles, but the gliders are good and only $45 CDN. 

I cleaned out the three pizza boxes where I store my supplies for teaching machine quilting. So much stuff accumulated, and do I need it all in the boxes? Plus, there's a label on each box designating what's inside - Machine quilting, free motion, quilting designs. The stuff was all jumbled. 

Cleaning out class demo boxes

I put all the supplies in the correct box. What a difference this will make when I teach the next class at The Hobby Horse in March. Be sure to check out the calendar. I give a fantastic machine quilting class. 

The box is looking much better

I removed all this! Some of it is samples of practice sandwiches. How many of those do I need in the box? And there was a LOT of paperwork that I accumulated over the years. I've pulled out all the stuff I want to sort through a bit more and determine if it needs to be kept. I want to write a new "cheat" sheet for quilting, and perhaps I'll use those documents and then toss everything that I no longer need. If I no longer reference it, I no longer need it. 

Machine quilting stuff to sort

And now look at those three boxes. The lids actually shut on all three, and they will look much neater on my shelf. 

Three boxes of supplies for teaching machine quilting

I found these sets of plastic templates. Some of them have been opened. They were made for marking designs for hand quilting, but they could be used for anything -- doodling, scrapbooking, or whatever. I won't use them, and if someone wants them -- they are YOURS for the asking. There is a set of ovals, two different hearts, and two sets of petals or leaves -- great for making feathers.

Plastic templates

I'm trying to think what I could use them for. I'll never use them to mark a quilt, but could I use them to design applique blocks? Or would I now just use the computer? 

I switched out the Christmas quilt for the pineapple quilt that hangs in the family room. It was not a huge job, but I didn't want Santa hanging around in July, and it was time to make that happen. 

Quilts switched up

And someone had asked me about a quilt technique, which I had done on ONE specific quilt. Do you think I could find the darn thing? Nope -- I even asked M if she happened to take the quilt with her. I know -- that was lame! But I kept looking, and at last, I found it. I took the necessary pictures and hope to show them that technique in a bit. 

The "lost" quilt is now found

But as I was looking for that quilt, it made me think that there are MANY quilts that I never go back to. There is nothing super special about the quilt. I  made it for a class sample, or it was made for a magazine. It is those quilts I need to start culling. I may start small and pick 5 - 10 quilts that I know I'll never use in my lifetime and never reference again. I'll take pictures and then let them go to Quilts of Valour. Yep -- I need to start doing that. It would be nice to reduce the pile, and if someone can benefit from the warmth of a quilt? Then they should enjoy it and not have it sit in my house.

It was a sad day yesterday! OK -- I'm being like Lexi -- a big old drama queen. We do not have a collection of glasses. It's a mishmash collected over the years; well, one died yesterday. 

I pulled it out to pour a glass of chocolate milk (part of my "healthy" afternoon snack) and noticed a crack in the side. OK -- so the cheap part of me contemplated whether it really was a crack - it was. 

ACK -- a crack in a water glass

I got this glass when I lived in Montreal. I have lived in the Toronto area for almost 35 years. I'm surprised the glass is still around. Do you know who that character is? That's Obelix -- a well-known French cartoon character!!! I won't be running out and buying new glasses any time soon, as there are a few more in the cupboard. But several years ago, I did a clean sweep of the kitchen, and many glasses disappeared. I kept enough to fit in the cupboard. No overloading of kitchen stuff for me! 

Obelix

OK -- so I'm good at remembering to remove the Vitamin D from the container, but then I moved the pills to the computer desk, and well, I found them this morning. NO -- remove them from the bottle and take them when you fill the water bottle. How hard can that be? 

My Vitamin D from yesterday!

And yes- it's Sunday, and I have THE pill removed from the container. It's a teeny thing, but since it can irritate my stomach, I must read the instructions. OK -- I just did. I already failed. I'm supposed to take it on an empty stomach in the morning, 30 minutes before eating. Oops - I just finished breakfast. And with a HUGE glass of water. OK -- let's leave it for this morning and try again soon Tuesday. I can't do it on Monday as I need to eat when I get up for spin class. 

Sigh......................  Thank god, I do NOT need pills to keep me alive! But I'll get into the swing of this. Just a two-day hiccup - that's all. 

On that note, it's time to get the day rolling. I've got the two presentations ready for UFO this morning. I made significant progress in the sewing department yesterday -- more on that another day. Let's see where today will lead!!!

Before I leave, let's talk about getting the monkey off your back. I want you to do something VERY important. I want you to think of that ONE task you've been putting off because you dread it, don't know how to do it, or whatever. I want you to write it down or keep it in your head. Now - figure out what steps you need to take to get it off your back? I swear, the issue could be releasing a toxic relationship, finishing a UFO that was meant to be a quilt for someone, cleaning that stain on the wall, or whatever the heck it is. But you NEED to get this off your back NOW. Right now - like as in TODAY RIGHT NOW!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Sorting and filing

 Oh shoot -- I forgot to post these other empty things from the previous day! I emptied TWO bobbins from my machine embroidery project!

Two empty bobbins

Yeah! It's always exciting when you actually use/finish up things that you have. No -- it doesn't mean I can buy more as I do not need more. I have loads of bobbin thread. 

As for that digital sorting? I'm making progress. While I'm good at creating file structures, I'm equally as bad at randomly loading files in the root directory for convenience. So, I went through my OneDrive yesterday and deleted or put those random files in the appropriate folder. 

My somewhat clear directory on OneDrive

Then I sorted two folders, renaming files or creating subfolders as needed. Many of these presentations do NOT need to be saved, but I like to keep them to review them if necessary. It'll be easy to delete the file folder at some point. 

One nicely sorted subfolder

This morning, I worked on one more. I mean, seriously -- how descriptive is a folder called "Documents" only to find pictures for blog posts, Monday sewing, embroidery files, actual documents, and much more! I need to give my head a shake and get myself better organized, and I'll do it one folder at a time. I know some folders will take time to clean up, but that's OK. The point is that it'll all be better in the long run! 

I need something to wear on my feet in the house. I could wear socks, but in the humid air, of which we've had a wee bit, my socks feel damp, so that won't work when trying to keep their feet dry. I'm not good with bare feet, so I looked in the closet and found a pair of occasions. OK -- these are NOT going to work. 

Slippery soles

The bottoms are way too slippery for my liking, and they are just an accident waiting to happen. Since they are still in pretty good shape, they are in the giveaway box! I hope to have new sandals today. I had to order them directly from the company because I couldn't find them at a local store. So -- if you have shoes or other footwear that you are NOT wearing and it's for a specific reason, then ditch them. Personally, I think ANY footwear with a slippery bottom (and yes -- all those fancy leather soles) should be banned! They are accidents waiting to happen! I will NOT wear them. 

As planned, I dug out the brown scrap box during Monday's sewing and started cutting. 

Starting to cut the brown scraps

And when I was done, this is what the boxes looked like. The one at the top of the picture is the pieces saved for the next round of scrap cutting. The middle is the cut-offs that will go into a pet mat. And the bottom one is stuff that still needs to be cut. I made progress, and that is what it's all about -- progress!! I figure a couple more Mondays, and I'll be done. I'm good with that time frame. 

My brown scrap boxes

OH -- how many pieces did I get cut? Well, there were a lot of larger pieces in this container, and I cut quite a bit in those four shapes. 

The results of my scrap-cutting session

I also found some larger triangles, which got put in the appropriate tin so I can make hourglass blocks from them. 

Large triangles got pulled

Hmm - someday, I should rejig that storage space so ALL the scrap stuff can be in one spot. It's in two places right now, but with all this processing I'm doing, and once I start to sew, it shouldn't be hard to contain it all in one spot. 

Notice how I have to backtrack on everything -- sorting digital files, sorting and cutting scraps. It's one long organization thing going on in my life, but I'm OK with that. However, it would have been much better if I had been diligent from the beginning. But you don't know what or how you work when you start something, so how do you know what will work for you? 

Thankfully, in both areas, I've been somewhat diligent, and things are more or less in the right place. It's the fine-tuning that I'm doing now. 

So I walked over to Diane's with more fabric and got finished quilt tops in return. That is a great exchange! 

Four finished quilt tops

The first photo is what I picked up the day before, and the second photo is what I picked up yesterday. There is still more to pick up! And I have a few more things to drop off. 

More community project quilts

But I got several small bags of scraps, and imagine my glee when I spotted a whole pile of BROWN scraps. 

More brown scraps!

I was debating what to do with it all, and then I thought - this is MY fabric, so I put it in the container of brown scraps that need to be cut! Yep --- I'll get it used up! 

I have a few other scraps in that bag to process, and I'll see what I can come up with. 

I didn't get a quilt quilted, but it's on the long arm. Instead, I made miles of binding and started to bind those quilting samples I made the other day. I'll be working on that today, as I need to get them finished. 

Binding

And as I walked through the park, I spotted these trumpet flower buds. They are starting to open, and the hummingbirds will be in love! 

Trumpet flowers starting to bloom

OH - so DH thinks I'm a dolt, and perhaps I am! But there are times when Smartphone apps and I do not agree. I HATE passwords with a passion - I suck at keeping them straight, which is part of the problem. But I have a Scene card that will not work when I try to sign into the app. I thought it was still linked to my old e-mail address, and well, it was a runaround, yet it seems to be collecting points. 

So I must have spent 20 minutes with it last night after dinner, and he was about rolling on the floor at my antics, BUT I think I got it working! OK -- bring on the next app! OH -- I know which one that is -- my PC Health app. These things don't work as slick as you would think they should. And it's the logins that are a pain!

I had to go to the library to pick up a book. It was so long ago that I forgot which book it was, and when I looked at my account, I was surprised (OK -- so I wasn't) to see that I was charged for a lost book. Oh crap -- I knew it was still at home, but I had ignored the notifications because I was traveling. So I returned that book but still had to pay an admin fee for the mix-up. 

Then I looked at the Lucky Day loans, which you can have for seven days. HEY -- there's a new Stephanie Plum book. OH -- it's a paperback, but it must still be new. Turns out the book was released in 2022, and I'm just seeing it now! I have seven days, but those are very quick reads, so I'm reading that. 

And then I started my new audiobook - The Golden Sppon by Jessa Maxwell. OH MY GOSH -- this book is hilarious. It's about Bakeweek, and there's a murder. If I didn't know better, it's a direct spoof on the Great British Baking Show, down to the neurotic contestants and the two hosts! It's written from the perspective of each contestant and the primary host, and each has a different voice. It's hilarious. No murder yet, but we know it's coming! I can't wait to get back to reading it today, but I have some writing to do, so not sure how much listening I'll get in! 

And on that note, I'm out of here! I've got loads to do today, and I should be addressing some e-mails and voice mail. UGH! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!