Down on the Farm - Block Ten - DONE!!!!

You are right -- 30 years is NOT old for a house, but the electrical stuff in the house is old! Many of the plugs were outdated or broken. That is not good news for safety and for our environment! Yet again!!!

OH MY -- I never thought about the QUILTsocial blog posts and AI. But you are right—you cannot tell it is AI. The voices and conversation are super smooth and sound just like two people casually talking - literally the way you would have a conversation in a podcast. DH says, I should be happy that it's NOT my voice talking. The feature only seems to be available on the Android phone. 

I'm still dealing with the aftermath of the electrician - pulling garbage from the boxes and flattening them for recycling. I wonder how many screws that are made are never used? All kinds of hardware come in anything you buy, and many times, they don't get used. Yep -- I could keep them, but what will I do with them? 

Then I have five boxes of stuff left over from when M's friend helped her clean the room, and I need to deal with those since I found someone who will come and pick up the books. So that is all in the hallway - either upstairs or on the main floor. And I'm trying to pack at least one box for my SIL, who wasn't able to get everything in her car. I should have checked her car before she left, since I could have packed some of this stuff in there. Take it out of the boxes and tuck it in the cracks! 

The house is in an uproar, and it needs to be tidy by Tuesday when the cleaning people come. I haven't told you the story about why we have cleaning people rather than a cleaning lady. But that will have to wait for another day. 

And it was only last night, when DH said, " Put the chicken in the oven," that I GASPED. I had completely forgotten to get the door fixed on the big oven. How long ago did that glass shatter? Goes to show that we do NOT use our oven often. Instead, we use the toaster oven. And it works for us. 

On top of all that commotion, I'm trying to get the Down on the Farm quilt finished!! I finally have the tenth block complete. My computer is having a hissy fit this morning and will not let me open email. So, before I finish, I'll try rebooting to see if that helps. 

As I've mentioned, I'm not only making the quilt, but pattern testing it at the same time. That means checking the sewing instructions against the diagrams and the cutting instructions. I almost got it right. I am out by two pieces, so I've requested an updated copy and will find those two missing pieces. When each block has 100+ pieces (don't panic - they are big blocks at 13½" by 20½"), it isn't a big deal to be missing a couple of pieces. It's the darn grass -- there is so much of it!!! But since the pattern is being sold, I know that if people find a discrepancy like that, they will not be happy, so I'll find it! 

The first two blocks on the final row.

And I have the next block cut out. This one should be much easier! I need to move on to other things, so I need to get these last two blocks complete ASAP. 

Block eleven is cut out.

Although you can't tell, I was out in the garden on Friday. I spent my half hour or more and did some more weeding. Yep -- as soon as I get the weeds out, they start to grow again! And that darn creeping vine -- you just can't get rid of it, and I didn't do a good job last time because I had run out of time. 

The creeping vine also grows between the rocks at the back of the pond. I don't have a picture for this, but imagine me playing Twister on the rocks as I attempt to pull out the vines. I had my little knee cushion and was facing head down towards the pond. One slip and OOPS - I was going to take a bath. Thankfully, no one got wet, and the weeds are gone! 

The rocks on the pond are free of weeds.

I never see all the fish at once, but they seem to be thriving, and once we get new outlets in the backyard, there should be no danger of them dying this coming winter. I have a new aerator and the heater still works. 

I am going to try to stick to my 30 minutes once a week to maintain and repair a few things in the backyard. If I'm in a good mood and the weather is decent, I may spend more time. I also need to find one of those hand-weeding tools -- it has a curved blade and looks mighty dangerous. I could buy it online, but I want to buy it in person. While I hand-pick the weeds, some have tough roots, and the tool will help pull them out so they don't start regrowing immediately after I yank off the top. 

I am also trying to clean up the bedrooms, which are in a bit of disarray after the electricians moved furniture to access the outlets. I decided to start in Studio U, which is quite a mess, because I had cleared a table for my SIL to work on. OK -- so she did jigsaw puzzles! But all my quilts have literally been stacked in heaps in that room, and it is time to get it organized. 

This isn't quite the before picture, but there was batting all over the room, quilts and samples everywhere, and well, I need to get it organized. It's been a long time since I've done anything in that room. 

An uproar in Studio U.

The sewing table looks marginally better, and I've started pulling samples for my upcoming trip; the items on the left are the ones I'm taking. 

The after, which still looks messy.

The cutting table needs to be put back in place. I've moved a fair amount of stuff to its proper place in the guest room where there is a big black cubby bookcase. I have sorted the table runners, and they are in their proper case. I found some linen storage bags at the thrift store, and they work perfectly for table runners. Now I need to assemble all the small wall hangings, and they will go in another linen case. Hopefully I can find space on my rolling cart, which has resided in the upstairs hallway for a year. It needs to be put back in the guest room, but I have to finish packing my SIL's stuff first. 

What I need is to sort the samples into what I want and what I don't, and find homes for what I don't want. It sure would make life a lot easier. I'm going to have to do that with the quilts. There are so many that I will never use for anything. I've got to get that under control and soon!

All the batting bits got stored back in the closet. I swear that I emptied a lot of that out and was using it for that group of community project quilts, but more has come in!

The batting closet

I store my trimmed HSTs in that room. And there were stacks of them strewn around the room. So I gathered them up and put them away. 

HSTs to be sorted and put away.

I'm not going to go into much detail because I'll be covering this in my scrap class, but this is a tin of trimmed HSTs. 

A tin of trimmed HSTs

I got a chuckle because the box is so full that some of them seem to be exploding out of the bottom. 

HSTs trying to escape

Others that no longer fit in this tin are in plastic bags, stored by size, and yes, they are labeled. I found another tin while going through some stuff, so now I have a new space to store those HSTs. WAIT -- I also have a couple of tins in the basement, so I could easily pull one of those back into duty. 

More bags of HSTs

I am determined to get those triangles under control - just like I have with the rest of my scraps. It's the final frontier of the sewing space! So I sorted the triangles on the tray by color, and I'm working my way through them. 

Triangles ready to sew into HSTs

There was one basket of unsorted triangles, and I'm slowly sorting them and adding them to the tray. 

Triangles to sort 

I also found a basket of triangles, along with two other containers, in Studio U, and my plan is to sort through them all. Can I deal with them by the time I touch on this in my scrap class? Time will tell. 

Another basket of triangles to sort

Every day, I spend a bit of time dealing with a bag or a handful of the triangles and sorting them. 

Sorting triangles for HSTs

BUT --- this is the question. How small is too small, and that's all I'm going to say about this. 

How small of a scrap will you keep?

The tray looks a bit fuller now, although I've been sewing, so it looks much different this morning. 

Lots of triangles on the tray, ready to sew.

And when I got bored of sewing, I would press and trim a few. It doesn't matter what you keep, as long as you have a home for it, or you are working on it, or have plans to work on it. Hmmm --- could someone define that phrase - "plans to work on it!"

Trimming HSTs 

I have had to ban myself from going to the thrift store. The lure of finding some amazing puzzles at reasonable prices and having coupons to use is just too much! If I take two bags, I can bring home twice as many puzzles. Sigh.................. My name is Elaline, and I'm a hoarder. Let's just face reality. 

BUT - I am working on them, and my intent is to give them away. I now have three in my giveaway box and gave a couple to my SIL. All were ones that I had finished. 

I spotted this little gem, which looked intriguing. It wasn't expensive, so I bought it, and it only has 100 pieces. Thank goodness for that. 

An IMPOSSIPUZZLE

The pieces were fairly large and cut into two different shapes. Hmmm -- the shapes were the same, but the orientation was different. Each piece had two holes and two knobs, but half were horizontal, and half were portrait. I'll take a picture so you can see what I mean. 

Anyway, there was no way that you could identify which parts of the candy cane fit into another, so this is one puzzle that I tried every piece in every place. I started by making the border and then worked row by row. And yes, once or twice, the piece that fit was the LAST one I picked up. 

Working row by row

Thankfully, each piece clicked properly into its rightful place, and I could then verify the pattern. It didn't take that long, but it's the first time I've had to do that with an entire puzzle. 

Just the middle is left.

And there it is -- done!!

The puzzle is done!!!

And there's a random picture of Lexi sleeping. This is one of her favorite places. WAIT --- where the fan is sitting is her favorite place, and I think she is making a point - move the fan!!!

MOM - move the fan!!!!

I'm well on my way with the next puzzle. This month's theme for the Canadian Jigsaw Puzzle Association is wild animals. I bought this one because it reminded me of the safaris we took last year. It's only 500 pieces, but the shapes are very weird - a lot of circular ones with four holes, and ones with four tabs. It's good to have variety in shapes, pictures, and the number of pieces.  

The next puzzle

Do I have a technique? I usually start with the border (one piece is still missing) and then by color, but after that? Well, I will go piece by piece if necessary. 

The weather is totally wacko! Yesterday morning was cool but humid, so it felt clammy. Today it's cool and dry, so it feels cold. And then it heats up in the daytime. I'm OK with the weather, but it changes so frequently, and one day it's very humid, and the next day it's dry. I prefer dry over humidity. I think the girls do as well. 

We tried to keep Miss Murphy in the house last night, but she wasn't having anything to do with that. So we let her out, and she slept like the dead. I went out at 11 to bring her in, but she was dead weight, and I couldn't lift her up, and she wasn't moving. She came in about 6 AM and is fast asleep in Lexi's raised bed. I hope to take her off the meds on Tuesday, so we'll see how she reacts at night then. 

I'm madly listening to audiobooks while sewing, tidying, and cleaning. It's the e-books that I'm struggling with. That requires some dedicated time, and when I try to read before going to sleep, sleep comes quickly! Perhaps today, I can spend some time in the gazebo. 

On that happy note, it's time to get moving!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Working on a farm is hard work!

I have the best friends! Between phone calls, comments, and discussing it at Monday sewing, I now have quite a few suggestions on how to attempt to deal with Murphy's new anxiety issue. I do want to start by checking with the vet to see exactly what medication she has, and then we are going to start investigating. 

She slept outside last night, but when I got up (the door was still open), she came in on her own and is now ensconced in her (Lexi's) raised dog bed beside me in the office. So there is hope! And last night, she seemed a bit more like her usual self and wanted to play, although we have banned playing ball, which she is NOT happy about. 

She seems quite content to be in the house with me and did wander in a few times more than usual yesterday. All is looking good!

I don't know if I have ever pieced anything so intense as Down on the Farm! I love the blocks, but boy oh boy, there are a lot of pieces, and while everything is well labeled in the pattern, I'm not so good at labeling when I cut. I'm pretty good at deciphering it. It is just slow. 

And now I have the next block done. This means that eight of the 12 blocks are complete. There are three sheep, two cows, and one horse. 

The eighth block

It wasn't until I was done with the block and hung it up that I realized that I had made all the animals in that group white! 

It never even occurred to me to make a black sheep, although he would have lost his ears and feet definition. But the horse? Why did I make a grey horse? 

So - I think I'm going to take a break from sewing new blocks today to fix what I have. Remember in the top row, there are two horses? 

Two horses in the top row

I am going to swap the brown horse for the grey horse, and that will make me feel better. I also decided to completely remake the turtle, and if I can get those two rows together today, then I would be happy. 

It's not that it's a big deal to have all those white animals, but when the two pasture blocks are together, that is a LOT of white animals in one spot. It won't be a big deal to move them around. And I need to stitch on some antennae for the butterfly. It just needs it. 

The two pasture blocks

So tidying up the first eight blocks will be the objective of today. I'm also happy to report that the next two blocks are cut out and waiting to be sewn. Yep—not a single label on any of those pieces!!! I'm my own worst enemy!!! But there are MANY shapes, sizes, and colors - it would require a LOT of labels. I'm lazy!

The next two blocks are cut.

I may just bite the bullet and cut the remaining two blocks today as well. Then I can just sew. I'll see how the day progresses. 

There is so much going on in the quilt, and it really is a fun one! I also have the beach-themed quilt from Sew Fresh Quilts, but I need to get back to my planned projects. I suspect it's going to take most of this week to finish off those final four blocks. Then I'll need to decide on what border to put on it. Do I have any farm fabric left? Yes — I do, so I'll need to dig that out and see if any of it works. I have one in mind, but I'm not sure if I have enough of it. But that's not a job for today. 

I also have two small projects that I MUST get done today. And then there is the long arm that needs to be reassembled, a couple of sewing tables that also need to be assembled, the T-shirt quilt needs assembly, and so on. The list is long, and this was supposed to be my "down" month. We are four days into August, and I have barely sat in the gazebo. 

I made some progress on the puzzle last night. 

Progress on the puzzle

I put in a few extra pieces after this picture was taken, but yep—that is a lot of blue/green pieces! Just more than one hundred. Yep - I counted them - I'm a Virgo - I needed to! And the pieces in this puzzle are the same shape, but are randomly cut. Hmm - I need to learn the puzzle lingo. 

Wait =- I just found this on Google. 

Names of puzzle pieces

OK - based on this, all the pieces are Hs. Where do the last two pieces get their names? Some of those don't make sense. 

The actual names of the shapes of a puzzle piece? We have tabs (knobs/noses) and blanks (sockets/holes/notches) for the innies and outies on a puzzle piece. The straight edges along the outside are called edges, and the corners are called corners. It sounds super easy! I think there are other names depending on who you chat to, or perhaps I'm making that up!

Now I'm all set when I have a serious talk with a puzzler! 

I've heard a few house creaks since Murphy came inside to sleep, and so far, she's sound asleep in her raised bed. Someone had suggested that her sound sensitivity was due to her pain, and that could definitely be a factor. Perhaps with her increased activity last evening and coming in this morning, she is feeling better? 

I also sat outside with her last night before I went to bed, and we had a heart-to-heart chat. I told her how much we loved her and that it was OK to feel the way she did, but we were here for her. Maybe I need to have a serious chat with her more often to let her know that she is loved. Hmmm.

Dogs are very sensitive, and we need to let them talk to us and us to them! 

I also have some paperwork I need to get back to this morning. And a reminder that if you want to sign up for any classes, be sure to send me an email. Here is the link to the classes, and be sure to forward it to anyone you think will be interested. I will start assembling the distribution lists next week and send out a note to ensure that I got everyone who has signed up so far. 

And on that note, I'm off to the gym. I need to take a copy of my FIVE pages of exercises, not the original three, so I can remember what to do and start incorporating them into my gym visits. I also feel the need to buy some new gear for the gym. Oh my—I will NOT be buying what the younger people are wearing. It's definitely a fashion show - what happened to a T-shirt and shorts? And the tighter the shorts are, the better. The more "lift" in the butt, the better. I kid you not -- that is a thing! The skimpier the top, regardless of whether the wearer has a tummy or a muffing top. So, compared to a lot of people at the gym, I'm a prude! I have a very negative body image, so I cover it up. And I'm OK with that. That is the result of many years of being called "fatty" when I was in school. That image will likely never go away, and I'm OK with that, but I need to be covered up! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Where has the customer service gone?

Well, I'm here! And I'm feeling pretty good this morning, which is a miracle! It's been a couple of tough days, and I finally have some time to share the story. First—everyone is OK—we're just getting older. 

You'll remember me telling you that our vet retired last year, and we were very sad because they had served us well through various dog family members - Badger, Sparky, and Sammy. And then, of course, our current two crazy girls - Murphy and Lexi. I made eight dog-themed quilts for the staff as I was so happy with them and their service. 

When looking for a replacement vet, I "wisely" chose the one nearest our house so I could walk the girls there for appointments instead of taking the car. The first time I went, last year, I wasn't overly impressed because when they went to take blood work so we could renew Murphy's medication for her weak bladder, instead of taking the blood work in the same room, they whisked her to the back, where I heard her squeak. She is never one for liking needles. It's in those traumatic moments that I think the pet is happier when they can see Mom. 

I had asked multiple times to set up an appointment for Lexi, whose records had been transferred at the same time. That appointment has never happened. Five requests in one year and no appointment. 

About a month ago, Murphy slipped when coming up the basement steps. She just likes to take things at full throttle. That slip frightened her and us, and I took her to the vet on the Monday (it happened on Saturday night). Every time I went to that new vet, we saw a different person. This fellow walked in, took Murphy's heart rate, grabbed her legs, and made her cry out, checked her ears and eyes, and probably a couple of other things. I had initially gone there to get her some pain meds and anti-inflammatories, as it was obvious that she wasn't comfortable. 

That vet must have spent maybe two minutes in the room, and then waltzed out. He came back with a model of a dog's knee joint and suggested that she had torn her ligament and that surgery was necessary to repair it. It's not that I wouldn't do it, but Murphy is an older dog and prone to hip and back-leg injuries, and older dogs have more risk with surgery. He recommended X-rays the next day, and I said I wanted to wait and see how the meds worked. 

That was it. I got the X-ray estimate ($800) and an appointment time (again) from the receptionist. I told her that I wanted to wait a couple of days, and she said, "no problem." Imagine my surprise when I got home, and I had an appointment booked for the next day for X-rays. Good grief -- I had said NO twice. 

So I called the next morning to cancel that. But I was told - don't wait too long, or we will have to charge you another exam fee if I wanted to go ahead with the X-rays. 

Now I just happen to be going through the same thing, and I was told that X-rays do NOT tell if there is a tear in a ligament and that ultrasounds or even better, an MRI, are the way to go. The X-ray will identify if the bone is damaged, but not the tendons. So why would I get an X-ray for the dog? I didn't even ask that question. 

So after her two weeks of pain meds, she seemed to be just fine. She was banned from going up or downstairs unless on strict supervision, and then we had to help her up the stairs using a towel under her tummy. Remember that Murphy weighs 25 KGs, so that is a challenge in itself, although we were getting pretty good at it. 

She was getting comfortable and one day tried to sneak up the stairs on her own and had another slight slip. It wasn't nearly as bad as the previous one, but with the already injured leg, she was hurting again. She had no problem going for a walk, although I shortened the walks until I knew she could handle them.  

I did NOT want to take Murpy back to the same vet, so I contacted another vet in the area who was not far away, but I needed to drive. It wasn't a big deal!

OH MY GOSH --- the difference in treatment was the polar opposite of that other vet. The vet came into the room, greeted Murphy like she was her best friend, and started asking me questions. Let's just say it wasn't my finest moment. 

That vet spent about 45 minutes with me (I was terribly upset) and explained everything to me, and we talked about the various options for medication and many other things. She suggested that we have blood work done to find out how Murphy was doing and, in the event that surgery was needed, that she could even handle it, as we had talked about the potential complications of surgery in an older pet. This vet also suggested she might have torn ligaments, and I totally forgot to ask if it was just a bruise. 

For me, it was one of those situations when you aren't fine, and someone asks if you are OK. That just started the process, and I couldn't stop crying. I was exhausted from a lack of sleep and by how warmly we were welcomed into this new vet practice. 

Well, Miss Murphy had been pretty calm until the moment when the two young techs came into the room to get blood. I think she was traumatized by the last time, and she wanted nothing to do with them. They would get her positioned, and the moment they went to insert the needle, she moved! They had to bring in a third technician, who was a bit more experienced. She put a skid-proof mat on the floor to prevent Miss Murphy from moving so much, and when she had the opportunity to put that needle in, she didn't hesitate. Poor Murphy had no idea what happened!

One hour and $1 later, we were out of there. Let me explain. This clinic has a sign on their lawn that the first exam is $1. I wasn't expecting them to honor that given the time we spent, but they did. We did have to pay for the bloodwork and the meds, but that makes sense. 

MOM - I get treats at this vet - I LOVE it here!

The vet, by the way, is a youngish woman who was the most amazing person I have ever met. She was compassionate, caring, and gave me a hug because I was so upset. Just too much stress and no sleep - more on that in a minute. 

The entire staff went above and beyond, and they didn't even know us! I was in shock. They had contacted the other vet to have the records transferred, and I got a call to approve it. The poor girl at the interim vet didn't even bat an eye and asked if I wanted to close the files. I said to wait as I was shopping around and didn't know how this new vet would work out. I told her the entire story of why I was moving. She didn't say a word, as I don't think I'm the first one to move. 

Why the huge difference? The vet closer to my house was previously independently owned by a single owner. He retired and sold his business to someone (not sure if it's an investment firm or someone who now owns multiple clinics), but it's all about the bottom line. Get them in, get them out, and charge them as much as you can for services. 

The receptionist at the new vet used to work at the other vet, and she said she no longer works there because of the new ownership. 

I want to say more about the ownership thing in a minute. My lack of sleep stemmed from Murphy struggling to settle. Wait -- she's fine in the day - she likes to be outside, and she likes to sleep - she's older, and that's to be expected, although when it comes to the things she likes - food, water, and walks, she's right there and still wants to be first. So she's still our Murphy. 

But at night, when we brought her into the house, she couldn't settle and would pace and attempt to squeeze into weird places. She wanted to climb on furniture that she never even bothered with. Thankfully, she was not going near the stairs (which are blocked off), but she just couldn't settle. I was afraid she was going to hurt herself or knock something down, so I slept with her. We don't really have a couch suitable for sleeping in the house, so it's been a challenge to find a spot that's comfortable for both of us. 

MOM - I'm way down here in the last bit of shade!

And the other night, we slept in the gazebo because she just didn't want to be in the house. It was horrible. By the way, under different circumstances, that would have been fun. It even rained, and we didn't get wet! It wasn't a heavy rain. 

While I have no problems with her sleeping outside, she is a barker, and I didn't want her waking up the neighborhood if a raccoon came by. Last night, because I couldn't take another night with 3 hours of sleep, we left her in the backyard. When I got up very early this morning (because I went to bed very early last night), I was feeling totally rested! Murphy was fast asleep just outside the patio door! I went out an hour later, and she was still sleeping but in a different spot. Then, around five (when she typically gets up if she's left outside), I brought her in the house, and she went to Lexi's raised bed and slept there on her own for two hours!!! Sigh....................

Perhaps our house can get back to normal now. It's not perfect, and I suspect we will always have to supervise her on the stairs, should we ever let her back on them. She already knew she was in trouble because she went upstairs very rarely and it used to be a nightly thing. But it's the basement stairs that she will miss. But that is life and part of the price of getting old. 

I just let them out for the day, and Murphy comes along in her typical bouncy way, not to be left behind. 

So that was probably way more detail than you needed or wanted to know, but I had to get it out. It's been a long road - the entire month of July and things were good, and then they weren't. Now we wait to see what we will do, and hopefully, the meds and the anti-inflammatories will be enough to keep her happy. As well as restricting her stair activity. 

But the point of this story isn't really about Murphy; it's about who owns what. And it's becoming a major issue in all industries. 

Back in the day, when we had the Mom-and-Pop shops, you knew the owner, and the owner knew you and your family. If you needed something, they were there for you. Then they sold the company, and someone likely didn't even live in the neighborhood bought it. And then maybe someone bought that company out, and now the head office is so far removed from the consumer that they don't even remember they have consumers. 

WAIT -- they do, and all they recognize them for is their money! How can we cut service to our customers and still make them pay? I find it very sad and would never have expected that in a vet business, but it's here! 

It's also a good lesson that if you are NOT happy with something, you need to do something about it. I should have moved the files immediately after our first experience, which was getting Murphy's medication renewed. I did not. I don't feel guilty about it - no major harm was done, but I wish I had been more proactive. Now Lexi will finally get an appointment and life can move on. 

Thanks so much for listening. Things seem to be under control - amazing how much better things look when you have had sleep!

You know what they say about pets emulating their owners. I have my appointment (at last) for my knees today! I'm not sure what I expect from the appointment, but I sure want some answers. Is it the joint or the tendons, and what can be done about them? It's not that I can't walk; it's just that it's becoming uncomfortable. I still get in some decent step counts each day, but nowhere near what I used to. 

I have been getting things done, but at a very slow pace. I feel so much better today that I'm on a roll. And I had to go to the thrift store the other day because I just needed a shopping pick-me-up, which never happens or hasn't happened in a very long time. 

OK -- so I picked up three more puzzles, and I spotted three black tablecloths that I would like to go back and pick the best one. 

But I laughed when I looked at the back of two of the puzzles. Carol had written the date when she did the puzzle and how hard they were. Who is Carol? No idea! But she donated the puzzles to the thrift store. 

Carol's comments about the puzzles

I packed up the butterfly and bug puzzle that was on the table, and I cracked open the next one.

The next puzzle

It's only five hundred pieces, but it's unlikely to ever become a speed puzzle, so I'm not timing myself. Soon, I will need to start practicing, and I'm going to pick one of the puzzles from the last competition and use that to see how I fare. I will NOT be winning any competitions, but it's all just for fun. 

And I'm back at the sewing machine, and I got the fourth block complete. I changed the colors up a bit from the original, but that's OK. 

Down on the Farm by Sew Fresh Quilts

It's looking pretty amazing. And I think I commented on how a couple of diagonal seams and VOILA - you have a horse? Wait until you see what I sewed this morning! OH MY GOSH -- I have no idea how she figured that out, but it's brilliant. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here. Fingers crossed that we have everything sorted out and I can get a lot of work done today, although I have paperwork to address, then a meeting, and that appointment. BUT - that doesn't mean that I won't find time for the puzzle and the sewing machine. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Easing into the home routine

I am definitely a creature of habit, and if I go outside that world, I'm in big trouble!!!

I had pretty much packed my suitcase the evening before, so not much to do in the morning except have breakfast. But I thought I would give the wardrobe one last look. I checked the drawers - nothing. But when I opened up the hanging clothes area, there were THREE of my things in there. Good grief!!!!! 

I never, never, never unpack my suitcase, and so all my clothes are hanging around or in the suitcase in the room. That would not have been good if I left those behind, but guess what? I got them, so all is good. 

It was a bit squishy in my suitcase to put those last three items in, but it all worked. 

Getting that zipper closed!!!

And when we got to the airport, and I weighed my luggage, it was 45.4 lbs, about 10 lbs heavier than when I left. Yikes!!! I did buy 13 yards of fabric after all, plus a book, and some swag and three new T-shirts from the conference. It all adds up, but I was well within the 50 lb limit and certainly not even close to the maximum of 70 lbs. All was good!!!

45.4 lbs of luggage

Getting to the airport was uneventful. Someone else paid, so I didn't have to worry about getting my money out. And just for the sake of keeping up with previous pictures I've taken, this is the tile in the washrooms in the Nashville airport!!!

Washroom tile in Nashville

As we walked through the airport, I spotted this fake orange guitar in the candy shop. I didn't stop for candy, but I got a picture! 

An orange guitar! 

The flight was uneventful and on time, so all that was good. It was easy to get through customs with a NEXUS card; it really is worth the cost. No fuss, although with the ArriveCan app, it isn't a big deal to get through the other line either. Unless you say you are bringing a weapon across, but that wasn't my issue to deal with. Let's just say it is important to READ the questions and answer properly. Don't just assume they all need the same yes-or-no answer! 

And then the wait for the luggage. Air Canada now has a tracker on your luggage so you can see its progress through the various stages of loading and unloading. I arrived at the carousel, and some luggage came, and then nothing came. As one of the people standing around said, it was almost like they had one-armed luggage handlers! It was hilarious! NO, it wasn't! 

Where is the luggage?

My bag, which was tagged as priority, wasn't coming, and yet my two colleagues got their three suitcases out way before mine did. Hmmmm......... I wasn't impatient, but I really wanted to get home. 

It's hard to read the times, but the bag was unloaded at 1:12 PM. But it wasn't delivered to the carousel until 1:53 PM!!!!! I get that it takes a few minutes to get from the plane to the carousel, but almost 40 minutes? And the issue was that the luggage was coming, but extremely slow. Perhaps they did have one-armed baggage handlers. Something was amiss for sure. 

The history of my luggage! 

But I got the bag - that's the important thing- and then I was on my way home. Let's say that there were two very happy girls when I arrived. Lexi was very affectionate and wanted to be close to me, and Murphy wanted to be even closer!!! This was while I was having a late lunch. 

MOM - Don't ever leave again! 

Then I got the whole raccoon story. Apparently the darn thing was sitting on the little railing right outside the back door. It obviously wasn't well and was in trouble. No one thought to get a picture!! They had called animal services to pick it up, but it had ambled away by the time they got here. 

I decided to unpack the suitcase and the portable office because what else was I going to do? You have this restlessness when you arrive in the middle of the day. What to do - should I just dive right in and start to work, or do I ease myself in? I was feeling a bit out of sorts, so I decided to finish listening to my audiobook while I worked on the jigsaw puzzle. 

Another jigsaw puzzle bites the dust!

It's done, so later today, I'll pull it apart and get the next one started. HEY -- I have a lot of puzzles to do, and I might as well keep at it. If I can get two or three done a month, I'd be happy. I love putting them together, and now that I have a bit more time, I'm going to take advantage of that. 

Here is the yarn-dyed fabric I purchased in Nashville. I love the color, and I love the pattern. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but I have 10 yards of it. It was very inexpensive. 

Yarn-dyed fabric

And this was the piece of orange plaid cotton that I bought. I have 4 yards of that, and I envision GREEN on it. Not sure in what capacity, but I'll make something where I can add green. 

Orange plaid fabric

So Studio B is in pretty good organizational shape. Well, if we ignore the white elephant in the room, which is the three tables heaped with things to be done or finished. I'm very good at ignoring it, and when I need something to work on, I'll pull from those tables. 

But I had left some stuff that was still sitting out from my marathon of working on the samples to take with me. I had this pencil case filled with marking devices, and it needed sorting. Do all those markers even work? So I went through that and got things organized. 

Sorting markers

And I spotted a Singer-branded marking pencil! 

Singer-branded marking pencil

I'm happy to report that the table is now clear. The garments that need to be finished are hanging on that decorative rod on the tables. 

The work tables are clear!

I cleared some of this stuff off the cutting table and created a wee spot for me to work. I had some small items on the puzzle table that needed to be taken care of, or that needed to be done, so those got shifted to the cutting table, and I'm going to spend the next two days clearing that up. 

My assignment for the next couple of days

While I have some time, it's the perfect opportunity to work on clearing up some of those little items that won't take long, and that will be good to get done and put away. I will also need to focus on the office stuff for a day or two, but for the moment, I'll work downstairs. 

While I was away, I was getting notifications that things I had purchased had arrived. Two of them were delivered to the mailbox, and the third I have to pick up today from the CrossBorderPickUp depot. That's the place I ship things from the US when the shipping cost is exorbitant, or they will not ship to Canada. In the case of that one item, they would NOT ship to Canada. 

I had to pay HST on getting it across the border, so excluding that, the shipping was about $20, which isn't actually bad! I'll show you the item tomorrow. 

I got the rest of the wedding jigsaw puzzles as well. Well, some went to M in Vancouver, and those slated for people who live around here came to me. I have two puzzles to deliver. 

But I also got my copy of 40 Shades of Grey. I was one of the lucky ones who got a copy from Out of Hand. BUT I will be calling the store today or tomorrow to discuss the situation and figure out how many more copies we need. 

40 Shades of Grey

So if you are interested in taking this class from me, starting in September, be sure to send me an email (elainetheriault@gmail.com) and get your name on the list at Out of Hand. They have a NOTIFY ME when the pattern is available. Be sure to get your name in ASAP, so we will have the patterns in time for the class. If you don't have your pattern right at the beginning, don't worry. I'll make accommodations so you have access to the information, but I will NOT be handing the entire pattern out because that would violate copyright! 

Remember we have a Virtual Retreat tomorrow evening. That is Saturday, July 25 starting at 6 PM. Here's the link. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610782501?pwd=7dCrhiL5t8Xa4TVwZPvhL6cOymbcjK.1

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

I have one other note --- if you are a machine embroiderer and want to participate in a focus group led by me, let me know. WAIT --- if you are already on my machine embroidery list, I'll be sending you the information. It will be via Zoom, and I hope to host it on Sunday evening at 7 PM. I don't even know if that's a good time, but I need some information ASAP. 

So if you are interested, this is the type of information I'm looking for: what type of machine embroiderer are you? (As for the type -- we're going to make up categories -- casual, hardcore, occasional, etc.) What type of designs do you like to stitch, and what do you like to create with the embroidery designs? I'd love to hear from you. And if that timing doesn't work, we need to find another time or day. But I need it to happen fast. And if you can't, then send me an email and we can try to gather the information that way. (elainetheriault@gmail.com)

And a reminder that if you or anyone else is wondering what classes I'm teaching in the fall, be sure to check out this blog post. And I can confirm that the scrap quilt class at Thimbles and Things is a go!!!! Please forward that link to the class information to your friends if you think someone else might be interested in one of the classes. 

On that note, have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

PS --- Oh my --- we've gone from extreme heat to cool weather! But I'm not complaining!