Learning to be creative!

It was a positively boring day yesterday! The third-level Microsoft support called, and she took about 5 minutes to poke around my Outlook setup, then decided it needed to be escalated to a higher level! Yikes!!! But Microsoft and Google don't seem to like talking to each other, and there's an issue with syncing. Now I understand why it takes so long for my email to sync - that's always been an issue, but I never thought much about it. If Microsoft is willing to spend time on it, I'm happy to oblige! I have another call window this afternoon - maybe the problem will be resolved? BTW, I believe Microsoft will support the Classic version until 2029.

In the meantime, it was so nice to send emails to my groups, and I switched between Outlook versions as needed. There is a lag in the syncing, so hopefully I got everyone's pictures. 

The knee is progressing nicely, but I'm still not pushing it. Pushing it for me is different from pushing it for others - I get that. I did almost 9 KM yesterday. And my knee felt much better during and after the walk. I'm still applying heat, but no meds are required.  

The engineers got back to me and said they will look into the beam issue, but not the roof issue. There is no attic, so no place to investigate. Hmmm—have they ever considered that the drywall has to come off to be repaired, so they will have a wide-open space to investigate? Maybe I need to say the drywall is gone! I'm going to contact another company, and then we'll see. The ice is mostly gone from the roof, and everything has settled down. 

Like I said -- positively boring and I'm OK with that! 

I spent the entire day running around, taking and editing pictures, and putting together today's presentations. The two of them are ready, and after this morning's classes, I'll spend the afternoon prepping the UFO presentation for tomorrow. That one should be easier, as I just have to get the pictures from email and a few pictures of my stuff. 

OH -- as I was doing my research, guess what I found? Yep -- a printout of the distribution list for the jacket class!! I guess I'm not as silly as I thought I was. I had a physical copy of my two big lists. 

My jacket class distribution list

I did a lot of research yesterday, both online and in my resource library. 

Doing research

It also necessitated getting out the User's Guide for my sewing machine. GASP!!!! Yep --- that is one of the most valuable tools you can own. It's a shame more people don't use it!

The User's Guide

I can share what I was looking for another day. But I felt like a detective as I tried to figure out what I was doing wrong! 

Well, as I was digging through that stack of Threads magazines, I glanced over to see Miss Murphy sleeping on her mat under the current project tables. It's like a little den for her, surrounded by tubs on two sides. I decided that we needed some quiet time together. I got on the floor, and we had a good cuddle. 

MOM - I LOVE when you cuddle in my space!

You know something? I'm glad I'm still able to do that. Because of all the stretching, getting back up isn't a big deal anymore. YES -- instead of letting my body continue to regress, I'm fighting back to keep myself limber. It took a wakeup call, but I listened. Should I be blessed with grandchildren one day, you bet I'll be on the floor to cuddle and play with them! 

At least that's what the quote in my tea told me to do - listen!!!!

Listen!!!!!

Getting up may not be as graceful as a ballet dancer (I've said that before), but at least I can do it, and it doesn't feel awkward! Even with a bum knee, so yes - the knee is much better. 

But while I was browsing one of the early Threads magazines, I spotted this article on COMPUTERIZED sewing machines!!! 

Hmmm -- how to buy a computerized sewing machine

There was a comparison chart of the various brands. The prices were under $2,000, although at the time, that was probably a lot of money for a sewing machine. 

Comparison chart of sewing machines

Here's a close-up of some of the top-of-the-line models. These are NOT embroidery machines; they are simply sewing machines. 

The Viking 990

There was no Husqvarna at that time. 

PFAFF Creative 1471

HMM -- at some point, Pfaff became all caps, and Creative lost its capital C. 

Bernina 1130

Brother Compal Galaxie

New Home Memory Craft 6000

This later became Janome. 

Shoot, before I put it back, I should have looked at the features, but I was in a bit of a hurry, so I didn't want to stop. 

Here's the cover of the Threads issue, so you can tell it's a bit dated. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what year this was? 

One of the early issues of Threads

There it is -- August/September 1987!!!! And look at the price—$3.75. This is an amazing magazine, and I think I have every issue. Don't ask! I noticed that when I looked for three particular issues, they were NOT in any order. They were, but then they got moved. So it really is time to organize that resource library. 

Aug/Sept 1987 issue

Speaking of the library, I got two recommendations for Libib to store books, but I already have a paid subscription to one online, so I might try that one first. I can scan the books - I just need to figure out how to set up a second database. The first database contains the books I have read. I refer to that VERY FREQUENTLY, so I might as well use it for the quilt books since I'm already paying for it! 

As part of my preparation, I had to find two items I needed to photograph. One of the items I had been looking for a couple of weeks ago, but didn't find it. Well, that's because I didn't look hard enough. Both items were on the pegboard. There are loads of things on this pegboard that probably don't need to be there. But all my specialty rulers and odd notions are stored there. It works for me. 

The messy pegboard

And what about the girls? They have become extremely vocal these days. When I go for a walk with one, the other one protests while I'm gone. Last night, Murphy would NOT leave her ball alone, and when I took it away, she made a loud protest. The only way I can get peace and quiet when reading is to go upstairs, which I don't want to do! Eventually, they settled, but not until they had a play fight to entertain me!

MOM - we NEED YOU NOW!!!

Oops—I forgot to get a picture of that painting. I'll try to remember today. But I'll chat about the two books I'm reading. The audiobook is The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I think I have taken this book out of the library a dozen times and never got around to reading it. I figured I'd "force" myself to read it by listening to the audiobook. While it has a lot of good information, I don't think the book is for me. 

The premise of the book is to help people become creative. Help artists who are blocked to get back to painting, writing, creating, making movies, or whatever. It also encourages people who are NOT doing what they would love to do, to take that giant step and do it! Lucky for me, I took that step back in 1998 and haven't looked back. 

She has a ton of lists, and some of the items on them I feel are just fillers, so she can get to 20 on each. But hey—if one of the items piques someone's interest, it needs to be on the list. Now I almost need to see the physical book to review those lists! But I digress. 

I got a chuckle because the first thing she talks about in the book is the Morning Pages. To help open the floodgates, she recommends that you get up each day and write three pages longhand. It can be whatever you want --- and if you can't think of anything to write, then you simply write, "I don't know what to write" or something to that effect. 

These pages are just for you -- you don't need to read them or share them with anyone; you just need to write! 

On that note, I couldn't agree more! And I'm going to equate my blog with Julia's morning pages. I get up and just write. I don't think of a topic - it just comes to me. Can you believe I've been writing the blog for almost twenty years? At first, it was sporadic, and then it became a daily thing. 

I chose to use the computer because I can't stand handwriting with a pen. My hand just cramps, and the writing isn't pretty. I much prefer a keyboard. I put it online because a then-friend encouraged me. But it's the process of writing that is important. Why? Because I said I was going to do things and wrote it down, I now have to follow up. Because I struggle with issues and I write about them, it becomes less of a struggle. Because I share my successes, I feel more successful, etc. 

So while you may feel motivated, inspired, mad, or happy when you read the blog, it's really a brain dump of my thoughts, which helps me clear my head and move on for the day! I'm going to call my blog my morning pages, and I will continue doing so for as long as I can. I'm also a storyteller, in case you haven't figured that out, and as long as I can continue to tell stories about the day, well, I'll be writing. 

I'm sure DH is thankful for the blog because he already has to listen to many ridiculous, nonsensical, and meaningless stories from me. Imagine if he had to hear them all? It keeps me young and brings lots of laughs to our house! 

But reading that book alone would NOT make you creative. There are loads of exercises that Julia recommends you do. Writing my blog can take up to 1½ hours each day, and I actually look forward to the process. So if you want to become more creative, do the things you have always wanted to do, but were afraid to, take a look at the book. But it will take WORK and COURAGE to get there. 

Speaking of stories, I didn't tell you this one. Because of my knee, I am taking a slightly different route with the dogs. I don't want to slog through the forest with a dog on a leash, even sweet Lexi. That requires me to cross a busy street during school drop-off time. As I was crossing the street to return home, a car started turning left towards me. He was in a rush to get ahead of the car that had stopped to his right. 

Turns out that was an Uber driver, and DH was on his way to the dentist in that car. He had to shout at the driver to not hit me! Can you imagine the headlines for that one? 

So many drivers just care about the cars and not the people. The sad thing is, this happened very near an elementary school shortly after drop-off, when there would still be lots of people around. Sigh.......

I'll have to tell you about the other book I'm reading tomorrow. I've got to get moving!

Here are the links to the Virtual Retreat this weekend. 

Saturday, February 21 --- starts at 6 PM

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

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

Sunday, February 22 ---- starts at 3 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

The best of both worlds!!!!

OH MY!!!!!! When I sit down to write the blog, I have to come up with a title, and some days that's a struggle because nothing super exciting happened. But there are days, like today, when I have many titles! I called it "The Best of both worlds," but "Happy Dance," "Exciting update," and "The email saga continues (part two)" would have worked as well. 

It was a good news day all around, so I'm excited. 

The knee update is all good. I did a short walk with the girls in the morning. While I feel perfectly fine at home, prolonged walking doesn't make my knee feel great. I managed to walk 9 KM yesterday, so it can't be all that bad. I'm walking slowly outside to be mindful of the ice and to take it easy. Who would have thought that was possible for me? 

Anyway, I've never been good at telling if my "fat" knee is swollen, so I'm going to assume it is based on feel. But it seems to be fine once I stop walking. So I'll stick to shorter walks, take it easy, and see how it goes. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal and can get to the gym next week. But I have taken full advantage of using that gym wisely in Studio B. 

Now let's check in with the email saga. OH MY GOODNESS - I have to give Microsoft credit. It had been arranged with the second-level escalation guy (Christian) that he would call within the 12 to 2 PM window yesterday. He might be on a call, so we set a window for the callback. He called at EXACTLY NOON. That was impressive. 

The issue at this point was that the emails only populated into the inbox, while anything in the subfolders was still missing. That's an issue.  

I was on the call with him for two hours. We were both patient - hey, he was helping me, and there was no need to get upset. Life is life, and we are talking email, not life and death. 

Here's what I learned about the NEW Outlook:

1. This is the icon
2. This version of Outlook is free for anyone to use - you do not need a license.
3. It does not use an address book that you can view. It retains the email addresses you have sent to, so it will autofill as you start typing, but there's no place to see them. 
4. It uses the contact list on your cell phone. So if you are a Google user, like me, that's the list that you can see. OK—that's good, but why would I want to see that list in Outlook? They are NOT the same. 
5. New Outlook is targeted at a different end user. I'm not sure who that is, but if I Google it, it says it's for personal accounts and small and medium businesses. I would assume that many personal users do not use distribution lists, or, if they do, they add those people to their contacts list. If they are a small- to medium-sized business, they likely use a third-party mailing service for their lists. 
6. New Outlook is OPTIONAL. Even though Windows 11 computers come with the New installed and the Classic is nowhere to be seen, you do NOT have to use the New. Thank goodness for that! 
7. It is a WEB-BASED app!!!

And here's what I know about the Classic version of Outlook

1. This is the icon—pay special attention to the differences. They are slight, but absolutely important - I'll tell you why in a second. The old is squareish, the new is rounded! 
2. The Classic version uses an address book where you can create, edit, and delete distribution lists using Autofill properties. You can include all kinds of information about your contact, including addresses, multiple phone numbers, etc. Perhaps you can do this in contacts, but not the way I like it to happen. 
3. This version is part of the 365 Office License, or you might be able to get a standalone version, but it is NOT free. I'm good with paying - the cost per year for the license for the entire personal version of 365 Office is around $100 CDN. You get FREE support with that. It's an amazing deal if you use tools like Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I use three of the four tools daily, though I'm not a heavy user of Excel. My friends all think I should use it more! 
4. An actual Windows program!!

I almost wept when I saw my distribution lists on the new computer!

My beloved distribution lists are back!!!

OK --- so that's a recap. Wait --- I'm getting to the good news, but I know there are others out there that are confused by this, so that's why I'm writing it down. 

So here's how my computer is set up right now, and I might just keep it this way. I have BOTH versions of Outlook installed - that's why understanding the different icons is ESSENTIAL. I can go to Classic when I want to do anything related to distribution lists. YES --- Christian helped me migrate the data from my old computer to the new computer. I learned a lot in that process, and I'm going to take that same database and install it on my laptop. It will be as current as the distribution lists are now, but that's better than not having access to them when I'm away. They don't change much during the year. 

I asked about putting that address book file on OneDrive so it would always be up to date on both computers, and while it's possible, he suggested against it. But I think it was more of an issue that if I ran out of room, it wouldn't be able to update. Running out of room is no longer an issue, so I might resort to that at some point. Technically, there's no reason why you can't do that, and I know someone who does that. 

If I want to use the FOCUS email feature, I can read my email in the NEW version. And currently, all my emails in the subfolders are in the NEW version, so I have to use the two versions interchangeably at the moment. No big deal, now that I understand!

Part of my issue (and I confessed this to Christian) was that I was confusing those icons! I just ASSUMED (and we all know what happens when we do that) that opening the ICON would take me to the version I had installed. WRONG!!!!! I have to use the CORECT icon. DUH!!!!!

Where do we go from here? The case is being escalated to Level Three! I should be able to have access to all my emails in the subfolders in the Classic version, but they have a known issue with Google accounts. So they will arrange a call in the next couple of days and see what we can do about that. 

The bottom line is that I may have to retire my old computer now, since I won't need it, as I have access to my distribution lists on the new computer! 

There is another issue I need to resolve, and it involves the printer (Scanning), but I'm not going there at this time. So it stays for the moment. 

I see that Microsoft plans to roll out the New version to their corporate clients starting in April this year. Oh boy --- that's when the crap hit the fan! I should try to find out the plans for the end of the Classic, but they had better not do that before they completely fix the New. It is NOT mandatory to use either, but one day.............

Phew!!!!!! You can't imagine how good I felt after that call. Christian was so patient, and he was obviously in a different country because he wasn't sure what day it was here. I don't care - he was good, and he was a very good representative for Microsoft support. By the way, he tried uninstalling all my Microsoft products and then reinstalling them -- manually, which is what took so long. 

BUT WAIT --- other things happened at the house. 

Well, this didn't happen at the house, but I had to go to Indigo to pick up a magazine, and yes—they had another puzzle on the table. 

A jigsaw puzzle on the community table at Indigo

It was appropriate for the Olympics, as the puzzle had a winter sports theme. 

The picture of the puzzle

I didn't stop to put in a piece because I was on a tight schedule, trying to get all the homework done and into a presentation for tomorrow. I've almost completed the work on one and need to start on the second one. No need to panic! 

I also spotted these books of paper, so if you are into making junk journals or any kind of paper project, these books are filled with all kinds of wonderful papers and cardstock. I was tempted, but I decided they would still be there when I actually had time. Now that my days are less busy, I could perhaps work that in, but not right now. See how good I am? 

Books of paper at Indigo

I have so much "free" time that when Miss Murphy came to see me at the sewing machine for one of her many cuddles, I took her to her mat in Studio B, and I lay down on the floor beside her, and we had a good cuddle. She was pretty excited about that! And heck --- if all the work doesn't get done? Who cares? Well, I will get the work done, but it's also important to give her some time. She's getting older, and she won't be around forever. 

This morning I was looking in the bookcase for a particular book. While I didn't find the book yet, do you see what I spotted? 

OH MY --- who knew!

Yes -- there are TWO identical books. I've never noticed that before. What are the chances of them being put on the same shelf? The books are NOT in any particular order at the moment, but as I was going through them, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be so much easier to look through these books if they were organized?" So you can see that might happen next week. I am getting tired of searching. And I might try putting them into a database. 

OH GOSH -- do not tell my Excel fanatic friends about that because I bet they want me to put it in Excel. WAIT -- -there are apps for that that are totally automatic!!! I'll see. 

But of course, as I was looking through the shelves, who should appear? 

MOM -- can we lie on the mat again? I need a cuddle!

I've been doing a lot of reading these days and typically have an audiobook and an ebook going at the same time. Well, not at the exact same time, but you know what I mean. It just so happens that both of them are SELF-HELP books at the moment. And I have to say that I'm doing OK. I'm running out of time this morning, but I'll chat about both tomorrow and get the painting of the dogs that Cynthia painted. A LOT is going on, and it's hard to keep up. 

But here's an amazing quote about books. This is so true!!!!!! I designed this based on the quote and using my Creativate Machine Embroidery software. 

A great reading quote

I also need to dig out some stuff to photograph for Monday sewing and one class tomorrow, so I'll be busy with the camera today. 

Before I go, I would be remiss not to mention the girls who were back to their shenanigans while I was trying to concentrate on a book about my brain!!! They are so entertaining and just need to be there! I was eating an apple, which they don't like! It's all about being with Mom when she wants a quiet moment! Do not feel sorry for Lexi in the least, as she is the one who instigated this!

MOM - Murphy is trying to bite me!

I'll post the links for the Virtual Retreat today and get yelled at by the Zoom robot for doing so. It's a privacy thing!!!

Saturday, February 21 --- starting at 6 PM

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

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

Sunday, February 22 --- starting at 3 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89869001291?pwd=h57kT9axwTnd2xtJvuO0z2UOmUo45w.1

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

By the way -- I REFUSE to give in with the Outlook situation. It's a thousand times better after yesterday, and I learned so much about it. I need to understand how things work, and now I feel better. I'm not in control -- I get that, but I feel better. 

On that note, I have so many great and exciting things to do today, so I'd better get started. 

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

The email saga continues

For the record, I do NOT give my dogs people food. Currently, three adults live in this house, and TWO of them think it's OK to slip them the occasional tidbit of food, including veggies. I'm OK with the veggies, though some are not safe for dogs. And for this reason, those two dogs hang around those two people waiting for the tidbits. Trust me, I have repeatedly said, DO NOT FEED the dogs people food, and it falls on deaf ears. Thankfully, it's not a lot of food, but I keep repeating the message. 

Since this behavior is learned, the dogs think that all humans in our house will give them food. So they sit beside me, and then quickly lose interest when they realize that Mom doesn't give in to those puppy dog eyes. When I have cucumbers or carrots (both safe for dogs), I give them a couple of pieces, but it's rare. 

It drives me crazy that the people in my house will NOT listen! I've made such a big deal about it lately that I think they have backed off. 

So no - Murphy and Lexi did NOT get any grapes. Thanks for the reminder! 

I'm happy to report that my knee feels a whole lot better. I did not walk the dogs, but I took a slow walk to the grocery store later in the day. It was NOT a fun walk, but I needed to get out. Then I used ice and heat and stayed off it for the rest of the day. OK -- I was sewing, so I had to stand and cut, but I wasn't walking. It's feeling a whole lot better this morning. 

I will take the girls for a short walk each and see how it goes. 

No word from the engineers, so I'll call them later today if I have time. It's crunch time for the weekend classes, and while I'm making great progress, I'm a couple of hours behind. But I'm OK. It's not a due or die crunch - just scheduled time!

However, you are not going to believe the update on the Outlook story. I'm stunned. I did a little research before calling the support line. Can you believe this? Read the first two lines, and that should tell you all you need to know about my problem!

You read that correctly! There is no ADDRESS BOOK in the new version of Outlook. What?? I don't get that. So when I chatted to the support people, I asked. By the way, I was very calm and collected during the almost TWO hours in total I spent on the phone with them. While I know the support people won't have that information, they did mention that Microsoft is targeting a different user with the NEW version. WHAT? A different user? I don't get that. It's totally useless, although the split between Focused and Other emails is really handy. 

You can bet that I'm going to provide feedback. I've thought ot sending the same message through the Microsoft Feedback channel every day, and I'm going to suggest that anyone else (you know who you are) will do the same. This is utter nonsense. You'll find the FEEDBACK tab under the HELP tab in Outlook. Use it wisely and use it OFTEN!!!! 

Anyway, to keep the details short, it took a long time to switch back to the Classic Version. Why? Because new computers don't come with the Classic version installed, forcing you to use the New version. OK -- this is getting weirder by the minute. So the support guy had to download the Classic version, and then switched me back. 

All would seem good, right? By the way, the call had to be escalated because he had trouble reconnecting me to the server. That resulted in him deleting my account and then reinstating it. Then my emails started to populate the inbox, and I thought we were good. 

Now it appears that ONLY the inbox got populated. The remainder of my very detailed file structure is EMPTY!!! Yep—there are no emails in any of my class folders. NOTHING!!! I'm not panicking - I'm laughing because I wonder how much worse this is going to get, and what the heck good it will do if I get mad. NOTHING. 

Thankfully, the escalation guy and I have an appointment today to see how the repopulating went, so he had better call me today, or I will be calling them back. 

What was funny, though, was that at one point my computer automatically switched back to the New version, and that wasn't going to do. I couldn't find the switch to move back, so I had to call again. I am ashamed to say that I got a woman on the call, and my past experience has not been good. But I kept my mouth shut and let her do what she needed to do, and within ten minutes, I was good to go. 

So the saga continues. OH -- the distribution lists have to be moved manually, which I knew, and I need to do that this morning before the escalation guy calls me back. If I have trouble, then he can help me. I know there are other options, but I'm stubborn. I've paid for this darn thing, and I'm so used to it that I'm going to get it working, even if I die trying!! LOL. 

OH - and when I was working on the homework for Color My World, guess what I found? A printout of the distribution list! That is going to make it so much easier to re-enter them, if I need to. Yeah!!!!

The printed distribution list for Colour My World

And one other thing: I really like how the Classic version saves pictures. The New version sucks at that, so I'd better remember to include that in my feedback. 

I'm making my Colour My World from batiks, and this was the ironing board as I prepped for the weekend class. It's all tidied away now, but it was very colorful! I'm loving this quilt, and while it is a lot of work, it's so worth it!!!

Prepping the homework for Colour My World

And OH MY -- I had to get the hammer out because at one point in the day, KU was pressing something and I don't know how hard she was pressing, but that board jumped down a notch or two! Nothing fell, so all was good. But I'm going to tip that board upside down today and see if I can jam the notches in place, and if I need to use a hammer, then so be it! Personally, I think that one bar needs to be straightened. 

While I was sewing and cutting, I also had the embroidery machine running at full speed with this project. All twenty of the blocks are complete! That was a ton of work (OK - it wasn't, but it was noisy), and now I need to figure out how to assemble them into a quilt. Be sure to mark your calendars for my Facebook Live on March 11. 

My machine embroidered quilt block

It's very hard to get good help these days! Murphy just wants attention, and so I stop to give her some loving. As a result, my chair moved backward. When I went to sew, she was still lying on the floor, and my foot was a long way from the foot pedal. What a silly girl!!!

MOM -- I need loving, more than you need to sew

How many keys does your key ring hold? Mine has been sitting here staring at me for a couple of days, and I got to wondering. Remember how we used to have oodles of keys. What did we use them all for? I have three keys on that holder. By the way, don't you love the personalized band? A friend made that for me, and it's fun because it has my name on it, so there's no danger of getting it mixed up with someone else's. THANK YOU!!!!

My keyring

There is a house key on it, but we never use it since we have a keyless lock on the front door. Still handy in case the battery dies, though I get plenty of warning. The mailbox key, which I use every time I get the mail. There is also a smaller key on it, which I have no idea what it unlocks. I suspect a lock for the bike rack!! I must check that out since I want to sell the bike rack. I have zero need for any other keys. WAIT -- the car. That's a big fob, and I keep it in my little pouch. Again, our car is keyless for everything, but you need the fob on your person to do anything. 

I spotted this on Instagram yesterday. Hmmm—I'm not sure I could focus. I think I'll keep those activities separate! 

Doing a puzzle while walking? 

I have to tell you about this audiobook I'm just finishing up this morning. It's one of the ones from that Globe and Mail list from March 2023. OH MY!!!!! If you love a thinker mystery with loads of details, this is the book for you! It's called Malice by Keigo Higashino. It's the first in the Detective Kaga series, but wow!! Actually, the list mentioned his latest book, "A Death in Tokyo," but since it was a series, I had to start at the beginning. 

There is a murder, as is usually the case in a murder mystery. And unlike other books, you get to know the murderer pretty early on. But the why and the how are uncanny! It's like a cat-and-mouse game between the accused and the detective as they both unravel the details. It's quite interesting, and I'll definitely be reading more of this author's books. He has some standalone books as well. 

You need to stay sharp on your toes to understand the nuances of the book; there are plenty of side diversions. Oh shoot—I see I can download the next audiobook in the series. NO --- Just say no - I have three other books in my audiobook reader to read first!!!!

Well, I guess I'm off -- I have so many things to do, but very interesting and exciting things on the agenda for today. I've got some patterns to design, embroidery designs to continue, a huge variety of things to sew, and it's just going to be a glorious day. If Microsoft can find the rest of my emails, that will be the icing on the cake. At this point? I'm not hopeful. I think they got lost in the save when they deleted my account. They might be on another computer, or they should still be on the server. 

I guess that would be a good way to get rid of a lot of stuff! It will be annoying as all get out to find what I need since the ones I wanted to keep were in the folders! But the most critical thing would be the UFO emails, as I had not processed those photos yet. Sigh.............

However, onward and upward!!!!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

PS -- Forgot to mention --- there is a Virtual Retreat this weekend. Saturday - starting at 6 PM EST and Sunday at 3 PM EST. I'm not going to post the links until Saturday because Zoom has a fit about posting them on a public blog. So I'll only do it on Saturday and then on Sunday. 

Progress on all fronts!

As I was lamenting the loss of my distribution lists with the sewing group, TWO people piped up that they keep theirs in Excel. Of course, both of these people are familiar with Excel from their working days. They were pretty adamant that I should use EXCEL to manage my lists. 

WHAT? I do NOT get that. The issue is: why would I enter the darn lists twice (Outlook and Excel), which would require duplicate management? I already struggle with duplication. Some lists are needed year-round; others are temporary for my ongoing classes, which last about 9 months. Then those short-haul lists are toast. 

However, I may have to resort to that - I can put them all in one spreadsheet with multiple pages. 

But that is not the point. I would have no problem recreating the lists if the AUTOFIL worked. It's just a matter of clicking on the people to recreate the list, but right now, I don't have that luxury. 

Here's another problem with the NEW Outlook. There are Classic and New versions of Outlook, but did you know there are also Corporate and Personal versions? The Corporate version has many more features than the personal. Did you know that you cannot set up an "out of office" notification in the personal version? 

Here's another thought about using Excel. If the data is collected in a format that imports into Excel, then yes, it would be easy to export the information and upload it to the distribution list. One of my lists is actually generated that way, so I'm going to see if I can convert it. But to manually type email addresses in two locations? That's just too much work. I'd rather get a printout of it and manually retype it if the digital one fails. I did NOT have a printout. But I can create a printout!

But here is what the lists currently look like. There is a list of names in this distribution list. However, when I look at the Overview, it shows as ZERO members. 

When I look at the members, the list shows ZERO. 

It's only when I go into EDIT that I can see the emails. And for some reason, my name is first, not alphabetical. And why is the email listed twice, not the name of the person and the email? Because it's not connecting back to the original contact list. GRRRRRR!!!!

New version

You see --- I am not going mad! To add the emails to the list, I have to type the email address where it says Add Recipients. There is NO way to use the contact list to click. This is what it looked like in the classic version. This picture is from the Outlook reference guide. Type a name - a list comes up - you select the names you want and click the Members bar at the bottom. EASY PEASY!!!!

Classic Version

And no need to keep a duplicate in EXCEL. Perhaps if my lists were very long, I might, but in that case, I'd be using a different email service, as Outlook doesn't handle large lists very well. And you could never capture (to my knowledge) the list from Outlook and put it back into Excel. 

So it is not just me. The program changed significantly, and it was released before it was correct. It's a mess, and if I have time today, I'll give Microsoft a call. 

Sorry for the frustration with the technology, but I'm trying to wrap my head around the situation because this is the second time it's happened. But the second time in how many years? And how many distribution lists? I don't think it's that bad. I'm just frustrated that the new tool is pretty useless. 

I got an email from the roofer yesterday saying they can come today to steam out the ice dam. This is going to be interesting. It's not cheap, and we have warm weather today, but I'm not waiting for that block of ice to melt. We have a lot of snow and rain coming, and it's going to take more than one day to melt because it's deep and thick. So I'll pay the price and pump the guy for information. 

I did a bit more work on half-square triangles, but nothing to really chat about. I took the black tray filled with triangle bits and added it to my tray beside the sewing machine. As I sorted through it—yes, one cannot just add it to the tray, I discovered small bits. OK -- I might have saved these bits in the past, but seriously? Can you see the size? 

I think these are too small.

So as I sorted, I eliminated all the small bits. Phew --- that was a nice feeling. Seriously -- the side of the triangles was barely 1½" long --- what was I thinking? All of this went into the scrap pile, and it felt good! I hope I find a lot more like that in the other THREE bins, but I doubt it. 

A pile of very small triangles

I accomplished a lot yesterday. The binding got put on this quilt. I still have not received my little tags, and I must try to track them down today. Since this quilt is going to be given away, I didn't need to put a tag on it. Although I could have. Drat—I should have ordered those tags long ago, but now I suspect the package is lost, as it's been months.  

The binding is on!

This is the quilt top. The center is a panel. I found this fabric in a bucket on top of the bookcases a while back. It went into the retreat bag last September, and now it's done. 

The soccer quilt is complete!

I had loads of fabric, so I used what I could on the back. I still have the cutoffs from that wide border that I'm going to do something with. I had to wait to get the cutoff from the backing before I could proceed with that. It's now in the blue bin. It's not technically a UFO, but I'm counting it as such. 

The back of the soccer quilt

I now have all three of these hot mats complete. 

Three pieced-in-the-hoop hot mats.

I didn't realize that I had sewn the binding on with the sewing machine on the first one. 

Bias binding sewn on by machine

I thought, because it was bias binding, that it would be best to stitch it down by hand! So I hand-stitched two of them. Well, it makes a good example of how you can stitch the bias binding down by hand or by machine, and it looks good either way!

Bias binding stitched by hand

I also added the side pieces to that border. 

One of the two borders is complete.

Now I need to make one more unit like this. And it fits the quilt like a glove! By the way, I must have made an error in EQ8, as I only needed 14 and 2/3 units, not 16 like I thought! 

But that's not all. To get these blocks together as backing, I noticed that four of them still had raw-edge appliqué. 

The blocks for the backing of my Dear Jen quilt

Well, I got three of the four stitched. 

Block One

Block Two

Block Three

Yep --- I was on a tear, and I'm finding that working on these smaller projects is so easy, and with all my free time, well, I can accomplish anything. It also helps that I've been listening to some riveting audiobooks. So much so that I didn't get much sleep last night. Let's just say that I did a bit of cutting last night and am ready to sew today! 

It was a relatively nice afternoon, and I was getting ready to go for my walk. Oh my --- no one was home, and I was feeling sad that the girls were in the house by themselves. So I harnessed them both up and took them, which is extremely rare. 

Of course, Murphy needed to be FIRST, which is a pain because she's so strong. I don't even know why I need to go to the gym to lift weights. Just hanging onto her is a lot of work. And Lexi just ambles along at her pace. 

MOM -- we love to walk with you!

Then there is the unison sniffs. And the non-unison sniffs from both of them. I'm sure if anyone sees me, they are probably saying, "Lady - get a wagon and let them pull you!"

MOM -- wonderful sniffs!

But it was a good walk, and I'm glad I took them. Once Murphy gets out for a bit, she does settle down, but that dog is enthusiastic. 

When I got home, I put them in the backyard, where they romped around with each other like two lunatics!

MOM - it's so much fun to play!

This was the quote in my tea yesterday morning. How true is that --- only I can decide what happens to me and how I let others treat me, or how I treat them. 

Inspirational quote

Shoot, there was one more thing I was going to tell you about the distribution lists, but it has slipped my mind! Not surprising. Ooops -- it was about the roof -- I'll share that nugget tomorrow. 

Have a super per day!!!!

Ciao!!