Much ado about sleep!

If this post doesn't make sense this morning - it's not my fault!!! As I sit here writing, I'm sandwiched between a Husky and a Retriever who are NOT very happy! They are literally glued to my legs. I'll tell you why in a second. 

I didn't make it outside for a walk before heading down to Quilty Pleasures, which was just a few blocks from the hotel. All was good. The people who attended the events went home with their brains overloaded, but they had the opportunity to ask tons of questions, and we had a great time with lots of laughs. 

And you have to love it when all the technology goes as planned, like the computer connecting directly to the TV for the presentation. The Singer Momento connected to the computer without issue, and it cut like a hot knife through butter! That's how everything is supposed to work, but you know me and technology - there are some days when technology doesn't work as it's supposed to. It was a great day! 

I had a look around the store between presentations and a few things found their way home with me --- YES -- including some fabric which I typically do not purchase. I haven't unpacked yet, so I'll share later. 

I met up with a friend for dinner - a simple affair at Tim's and we had a grand chat, and I decided to hit the road about 7 PM. It was a five-hour drive, which should get me home around midnight. 

The GPS took me on a bit of a tour through the countryside. I was listening intently to my audiobook and didn't pay attention to the road signs, and, well, I got myself back onto the 401, but not nearly as soon as I had planned. The GPS must have been looking for the shortest distance. I will say that when I went there, I had about 15 km left showing on the gas tank. this time? I had over 100 Km. Now, why is that? Oh --- speed plays a big factor! It wasn't a big deal, and despite driving some of the country roads, the time to get home was the same. 

You drive faster but cover more KMs, or drive slower and go as the crow flies! It was the same thing. All I can say is that at that time of night, there wasn't much traffic. I saw several signs indicating that ALL LANES were closed as I neared Toronto, so I took matters into my own hands and took the toll road to bypass the closures. I didn't want to get stuck in traffic. There was NO traffic on the toll highway. It was very weird. 

The trip home was pretty uneventful, except when I was on the phone chatting with M. I wasn't driving super fast, and I spotted a deer on the side of the road. YIKES!!! It wasn't going anywhere, but it scared me -- you hear so many stories of deer running out into the road. This one was smart! 

I stopped once and had a nap. Could I have made it home without? Maybe, but I wanted a washroom break anyway, and since I fell asleep right away until my 30-minute alarm woke me up, I think the nap was warranted. I had no need to get home by a certain time. 

I got home and unpacked the car, and all was good. As I neared my neighborhood, the book took an unexpected turn. So when I was thinking I could easily fall asleep when I get home, maybe that's not going to happen. I sat in the driveway and listened to the end of that chapter and decided I could finish the book this morning. 

I did read one chapter in my ebook before falling asleep. It was 1:30 PM. 

I had not looked at the weather, but woke up to find Murphy standing by the bed, and the lightning and thunder were wild. It was crazy, and it was raining like mad. She tried tucking her head between the bed and the nightstand. I don't know why she doesn't stay in the stairs room since it's probably the darkest place in the house. 

She doesn't like cuddling, and she no longer jumps on the bed. She just needed to be close. 

 The lightning lasted about 30 minutes. I heard Murphy go downstairs, then went back to sleep. That was about 3 AM. Phew!

I had barely fallen asleep when I heard her at the back door barking her head off! I came downstairs, but couldn't see a thing. I got her calmed down, showed her there was nothing outside, and went back to bed. That was about 3:30 AM. 

My alarm went off at 4:30 AM. I shut it off and went back to sleep. 

The second alarm went off at 5:00 AM. I shut it off and went back to sleep. 

At 6:00 AM, I heard Murphy back in the room, and the lightning and thunder were incredible. The entire sky was lit up from end to end, and the thunder was booming. At one point, you could feel the thunder. I know that sounds weird, but you could feel it. And it sounded like a torrential downpour. I finally got up at 6:30 so I could write the blog. 

In case you don't believe me about feeling the thunder, here's what AI has to say about that. 

And I'm going to go back to bed the second I publish this blog. Of course, that won't happen because the girls will want their walk, and then I'll go back to bed.

I spent the first part of the evening trying NOT to fall asleep and the second part trying to fall asleep, which wasn't a problem, but I couldn't stay asleep!

I have a lot of work to get done this week before we leave, and OH MY -- we leave on SUNDAY, not Monday, so I'm going to lose a day here! How the heck could I make that mistake when it's very clearly marked in my calendar! 

So we'll have a Virtual Retreat on Saturday night, and I'll be around for part of Sunday. I'll post the links later this week. I may just have the virtual retreat on Saturday night since I won't be around. Good grief—well, since I'm now losing a day, I'd better get myself organized, but not before I get more sleep! 

It's always interesting to walk around stores, and I didn't think I had ever been to Quilty Pleasures, but after being there, I have a distinct memory of my bicycle parked in front of the store. Hmmm --- I need to go back and find that. 

OMG --- as quick as that, I found it. August 13, 2014.   Amazing what information you can find on the blog. This was the second time I did a cross-Canada trip on my bicycle, except it wasn't really cross-Canada. I joined the tour in Tottenham, north of Toronto. 

I rode my bike to Quilty Pleasures in 2014

Shoot --- I should have checked the blog BEFORE I went to that store. I would have taken a picture of my car parked in the space to the left of the bike. That would have been hilarious!!!! 

OH -- it gets even better. I was at Quilty Pleasures on August 23, 2015. This time I had the car and the bike! It looks like I was riding the Waterfront Trail, but I'd have to figure out why I had the bike and the car. I think this year was the year of the Row by Row. I must find the license plate. 

I'm back at Quilty Pleasures.

Well, duh—I'm an idiot for not taking a picture of my car at the store yesterday, and who knew when I was there in 2014/15 that I'd be back 10+ years later for an SVP event!! I think that's hilarious! And I was going to take my row-by-row quilt with me. CRAP!!!!

I knew the store looked familiar when I arrived. 

I did find a pattern that might be interesting to teach in the fall. I need to put them all in one spot and start making some evaluations. 

As for the Christmas cactus? It was given to me with a bloom on it, and well, I'm not the best with plants. And the fact that I'm going away for two weeks - I don't give the plants much hope. Hey - it's already been sitting in the fridge, wrapped in soaking-wet paper towels for a week. Let's see -- it might be a Christmas miracle!!!

On that note, I'm a bit more awake, and I'll take the girls out for a walk since it's stopped raining, and then I can go back to bed. I need to get to work so I can put my headphones on and finish that book (1 hour 32 minutes). Where do women get such twisted tales? Even without the twist, this book (My Lovely Wife) is twisted! 

And maybe not -- it's raining again, and there is still lightning and thunder. Probably best to not walk in the forest, although the storm isn't as close. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Lost and found!

I love how we all have similar interests!!! And we have no end to the creativity and fun we have while doing those. I got a picture from Lynn, and she used the orange collage fabric in her butterfly quilt! It was probably used near the bottom in that orange bit? But maybe also on the border. 

Another use of the collage fabric

Either way --- it's a fun fabric, but I won't be searching for more. I have my fat quarter of orange, and that's good enough for me. 

As for doing puzzles on the computer -- that's an amazing alternative to doing them in person. I am trying to get away from constantly using the computer for everything, as I spend a lot of time each day writing, emailing, or making a presentation. It's nothing to find new puzzles by exchanging them with others, buying them from the thrift store on senior discount day (yesterday: 5 books and three 1000-piece puzzles) for $30, tax included! That's a lot of entertainment for $30!!! And getting rid of the puzzles? That is definitely not an issue because I can return them to the thrift store and get a 25% coupon, or I can pass them along to others in my circle. 

There is something about laying them out on the design boards (no trays for me!), and then searching through them. I am a very analytical person, and the arranging and rearranging of the pieces is something my brain needs to function. It's repetitive, extremely calming, and very therapeutic! 

Did I make progress yesterday? Oh yes --- I waited patiently until after dinner, then grabbed all the blue and green pieces, as well as a few with tiny bits of red and yellow that I had missed the times before. I'm down to four design boards with pieces now. What I love about this is that the space required is so minimal. And it's right in the middle of my sewing chaos, and yet I don't see it during the day. 

The amount of space I need is equal to the size of the puzzle, which is the end of a banquet table. 

Great progress on the puzzle

Putting the blue and green pieces in the puzzle went so quickly, I felt somewhat "cheated!" but that's OK, I had other things to do. To give me a bit more satisfaction, I pulled the pieces for tonight and placed them on a design board, now that I have a free one. So I'm all set when the time comes. I am teaching myself discipline and focus by stopping when I say I will. I need that because I have a very addictive brain, and if I let it go, I would get no sleep. 

Speaking of sleep! After reading about sleep in the Brain at Rest book, sleep is probably one of the most important things you can do for yourself, and yet so many people poo-poo how much sleep they need and are running on empty. Did you know that sleep helps rebuild and repair your body, including your immune system? You NEED sleep. I got 6 hours 40 minutes according to my app, out of 7 and a half that I was in bed, so that's not so bad. 

And napping? The author of the book "The Brain at Rest" LOVES napping, and so do I. 30 minutes is a good amount to nap. EVERY DAY!!!!

I was cleaning up a folder with more paper crap -- I just cannot imagine leaving this to someone else. There wasn't much in, but the dental bills (dating back to 2001) are now gone. I've decided to keep the medical stuff for the current year, after it's been claimed by insurance. At this point, we do not need those bills for income tax purposes - maybe sometime in the future, the total amount we pay will be higher, but for now, I keep one year (labeled) and then out it goes. I even made a label for the folder. 

My very thin medical folder

Then realized I already had another thin folder, also labeled "medical". So the two folders were amalgamated, and the empty one is in the supply cabinet. I had a few spare moments in the kitchen yesterday, so I even went through some of what was set aside for today. Oh my—I may even have to get another folder out! Slow and steady! 

Ooops --- duplicate!

When I'm buzzing around taking pictures in Studio B and then realize that I have put my phone down somewhere, but where - it can be a problem. Yesterday, I couldn't find the darn thing anywhere, and because it's completely silent (no vibration, no buzz), I couldn't call it. Only after going back over my racks did I realize it was UNDER this mat, where the serger sits. Seriously??? I need to stop doing that!

The phone was under the mat!

Before you think I'm completely mad and slipped it under the mat, not so. The mat wasn't under the serger, and I was taking pictures of the serger. Then I slipped the mat onto the table and put the serger back on the mat. I didn't realize my phone was beside the serger, and the mat went over it. 

And then I found it under the yarn by the long arm. 

Another hiding spot for the phone

One day, I will lose it for good. I need to put it in my pocket instead of setting it down. But I got lots of work done - not as much as I would have liked, but then I never accomplish as much as I set out to, as I always have big dreams, but I'm still on target to get everything done by when it needs to be done. That even included some handwork!!! I have some YouTube videos to watch, so I sat there doing the homework while watching them. 

I have this bag of ornaments I was working on and have almost finished them all, but some small, fussy pieces needed to be cut out, and some hand stitching was required. So I set up a TV table beside the computer, and the stuff resides there. I have 2/3 of the fiddly cutting done, and then I need to sew on six bells and draw some faces. OH - and some fusing. Then I can call these things done! Another bag of stuff that has been sitting on the current project table. 

My evening handwork project

What is nice about those current project tables is that they handily contain all the current projects. OK -- that's a lie since there are tubs of stuff on the floor that are too large to go on the table, but that's OK -- they are contained and form a wall around Murphy's mat, so she has a nice dark area to sleep. But the most important thing is that NOTHING additional has been added to those tables in months! So that is a huge bonus!!! It means I'm actually getting ahead of the game! And I love games!!!

I started culling the T-shirts in my drawer. I will never wear these again, so they went in the pile of T-shirts from which to make a T-shirt quilt for myself. I love T-shirt quilts as they are heavy and I LOVE heavy quilts. 

T-shirts for my T-shirt quilt!

Yes - I like to wear bicycle T-shirts, but the black one has a V-neck, and I can't stand wearing a V-neck. The purple one is starting to wear thin, so both are retired. The one from the fabric company - where will I ever wear that again? But it will go into the memory T-shirt quilt that I plan to make. Hey, I can make as many as I want!

I am feeling pretty content these days. So much to do, but I can only do a little bit each day, and there is absolutely ZERO rush to get this stuff done. No deadline, and I can completely ignore the mess. I don't see it, just like a hoarder doesn't see the mess in their house. I completely ignore that current project table! I'm good with that. I want to enjoy the process of making, not rush to finish something. 

The girls were in their glory yesterday. It was very cold (it must be cold for me to say that), and they loved being outside. Something interesting had attracted their attention in the forest. 

MOM - please open the gate!

And that Murphy - you give her an inch and next thing you know, she has pushed my chair completely out of the way and lies in the very spot I need to be to work! Sigh!!!! 

MOM - just keeping your spot warm!

No news on the package - it's still "in transit," so I expect that I'll only see it pop up in my mailbox unannounced. It's still within the delivery window. If it hasn't arrived by the end of the delivery window, I'll be at the post office asking questions. 

And on that note, I'm out of her and on my way to spin class. Good grief - I see it's still cold this morning, but hopefully no wind. That wind was bitter in the morning, and there was a layer of granular ice (in most spots). Yuck!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

It's a half-square triangle day!

Here's an update on several situations. After a few messages back and forth with M, it seems that if I read her text correctly, the designer will make the veil; it's my job to embroider it!! OK -- I think I can handle that. Thanks for the tips from everyone. Now I just need to find out the timing --- and she's in BC, and I'm here! But that's no issue!

As for the house? We didn't have any leaks yesterday, even though the sun was out. My towel stayed dry all day. I spoke to the insurance company, and OH MY—was that interesting. I started by speaking to the broker because at this point, it's not an emergency. I left a message, and she called back very quickly, so that was a positive. She said I need to contact the Claims Department and open a claim. Well, my first thought was—was this even a claim? That's why I called the broker. 

She gave me a phone number to call, and I was good to go. Or so I thought. The number turned out to be a fax line, so I found the Claims number in my insurance documents, which I was sorting at the time. I called Claims, and they explained that the broker's job is to review our insurance file and ensure a claim is even possible. Apparently, it is quite common for the broker to just pass the buck to the Claims department. The lady in Claims was quite nice and suggested I get a quote from an independent contractor before we open a claim. 

I have contacted an engineering firm to assess the issue. You see, I could easily have insurance come in and fix the wall inside the house, but that is NOT fixing the problem, and what's the point of fixing the walls when it will happen again? Nope—I want the problem solved, and then I can repair the damage. 

I don't know whether this engineering company will help, since the person who answered the phone at the firm asked whether there was an attic. In that part of the house, there is NOT, and that is part of the problem. I enticed them with the beam issue in the house and sent lots of pictures, including the other two houses on our street with the same roofline and the same issue. They're doing their reviews next week, so let's keep our fingers crossed that they are intrigued to at least talk to us. 

Here are the other two houses with the same roofline as ours. The problem doesn't seem too bad here, but the ice is actually accumulating between the eavestrough and the house.  

This house doesn't look too bad, but it still has an ice dam

But look at this one. It seems to get worse by the day. And you can see that large tree in front, shading it from the sun for a good part of the day. I'm surprised the weight isn't pulling the eavestrough off. 

A HUGE ice dam

Ours doesn't look so bad, but it's still an issue. 

I'm almost afraid to proceed with anything on this project, because I know it is going to grow. When that wall/ceiling is repaired and the beam is fixed (if we go there), those areas will need repainting. The living room is very open to the central hallway. That will be a huge job. And if they are repainting, why not remove the popcorn ceilings? The ceilings in the kitchen/family room area also have popcorn ceilings and damage that needs to be repainted. Why not get the wood floors refinished? And I hate the ceramic floor on the main level, so why not pull that up? And then that means the kitchen and the powder room will need to be redone. And -- OH NO!!!!! So, like you, I'll wait and see what happens, and in the meantime, I'm keeping an eye on my towel to make sure the drips don't splash everywhere on the floor!

Brooke was cruel yesterday, and my upper body was exhausted by the time I was done. While I'm not sore this morning, I can still feel that workout, so it was a good one! Now that my upper back is being slowly released through all my stretching, we need to strengthen it, so it doesn't hunch back on itself again. It's all fun and games, but I can't say enough about how these changes and that stretching have changed my life. 

My legs feel STRONG when I go for a walk, and standing and sitting are zero issues. Stairs are becoming a no-brainer as well, although I refuse to throw caution to the wind and ALWAYS use the handrail. And all it took was a little bit of discipline on my part. All the stuff I was doing was great, but since I wasn't stretching enough, I was probably doing more damage! All is good now. 

Speaking of handrails, we just heard that a friend of ours (my old boss) fell down the stairs while wrestling a suitcase. He and his wife were on their way to the airport for a two-week trip to Mexico. Now with a broken knee, he's not going anywhere fast. So there are two lessons in that story. First - why would you need a huge (and likely heavy) suitcase to go anywhere for two weeks, and hold the darn handrail!

I got this in the mail yesterday. Tick tock!!!!! 

Count down!!!!!

Again, I finished what I set out to accomplish yesterday. I find that sometimes, if I go too quickly on a project, I start making mistakes, and I've already made enough. So a good deal of quilting got done, and it looks amazing. The texture is something else, and sometimes less is more! I need to finish the quilting today and make the binding. Then tomorrow will be all about the binding and submitting it. I'm on track, and it feels good. Will it get accepted? Who knows, and quite frankly, I don't care, although it would be a bonus. But the planning and execution of this piece has been a wild journey! I'll keep you posted on that as well. 

Remember that little stack of half-square triangles? Well, I got my act together and trimmed them all. 

Trimming half-square triangles

I need to make some adjustments on the ironing board - more on that tomorrow, and this little container, that sits on the end of the ironing board, still has many half-square triangles in it that need to be pressed and trimmed. 

Container with half-square triangles

So I grabbed a handful this morning and trimmed them. Hmm -- I don't think I took a picture after they were trimmed, but trust me - they are trimmed!!!

More half-square triangles to trim

And speaking of half-square triangles, this entire project is based on half-square triangles, and it's a challenge. I think there are two different 9-patches in this sequence, but my brain isn't wrapping around it well. I want the seams to all twirl on the back, so I'm assembling it one nine-patch at a time, checking the seams, and then sewing them together. I have four done, and I need 16!!! 

Working on my half-square triangle border

To save time, I stitched a bunch of half-square triangles together and cut them apart, but they haven't been pressed or trimmed. I'll only press them when I need them, so I know which direction to press. 

So lots of progress is being made, and I'm loving the even more open and calm space than I had before. That table of projects doesn't bother me in the least. I totally ignore it until I need to find something on it. A friend of mine had a large stack of quilts that needed to be bound, and they kept speaking to her, so she covered them with a quilt, which I thought was hilarious (in a good way!). I'm just ignoring that pile, and it works for me. 

To keep my day well-rounded, I was back at the physical paperwork. Remember, a while back, when I pulled a bunch of folders from the filing cabinet? They were still sitting on the floor in the office. So I grabbed a couple and am going through them. 

One of them was marked "to sort," and it was filled with all kinds of ridiculous things that no one needed to keep EVER!!!!! 

More paper files to sort

It's all about slow and steady and not letting things get forgotten, which we seem to be very good at. Something new and shiny comes along and POOF -- we are off and running in a new direction. Well, I am trying to stop doing that because I just don't want to be pulled in a new direction. I want to stay the course! 

I am not a fan of apps on my phone. Half the time, they don't work for me, or they need a password, and I can't get in, and it literally drives me mad! 

But I'm trying to learn a bit more about my FitBit app. Who knew that this tiny device on my wrist was collecting so much data about me? 

The one metric that seems to have become a big deal in our house is the amount and type of sleep you have. In particular, the deep sleep. Did you know that you have all this information in your FitBit app? This is just the tip of the iceberg!!!

One night of sleep data

Deep sleep is very good for you, and I seem to do very well with it, getting at least one hour almost every night. That is the sleep that helps your body recover, improve your immune system, get rid of the garbage in your brain, etc. By the sounds of it, I'm lucky in this house! And probably why I'm as healthy as I am. 

DH reads The Economist, and if something is mentioned there, it's worth knowing about! He's such a snob. Anyway, a new sign of fitness is called Heart Rate Variability, and he spotted that in an article in the magazine. Anything like that lands at my place at the kitchen table. I glanced at it and didn't understand a word the article said. Then I found the metric in my app, and OH—now it makes sense. 

This shows how much your heart rate varies in a day and how quickly you recover. OK -- that's not quite the correct explanation, but if your heart rate varies, that is a good thing, meaning that you can cope better with stress. So when it needs to be up, your heart can handle it, and when it needs to be down, it can handle that as well. Mine is at 19 ms, which I think is quite low, but the app seems to think I'm good for my age!!!!

OK -- I like my Monday sewing friends a lot, but they can be trouble! They keep posting the titles of good books on our app - yep - another app. And then I have to add those books to my list. Actually, I put them on hold since most are popular and I can't get them immediately. I need to stop that! There is a spot to tag "books I want to read" instead of putting them on hold!! But I've expanded my genres and reading scope hugely by reading their recommendations. So while they can be bothersome at times, they really are a good bunch of ladies!!!! I've also got lots of recommendations from you!!! Thanks!!!

Well, there is much to do today - more sorting to start with. I am stunned at how "easy" it's been to go through that filing cabinet. I'm not done yet, but two drawers (of four) are almost done! That's unheard of! I thought it would take forever. Then I can move on to something else. The quilting on the Cherrywood Challenge MUST be completed by tonight, and the piece must be trimmed. and then anything else that gets done is a bonus!! I like variety in my day! WAIT -- I have two emails that MUST go out today, so that must be done as well. 

Remember that most of us, especially at our age, are turtles. We get things done in our way and in our time. That's OK - just be sure that if you stop along the way to admire the flowers (or take a nap), you get back on track. 

On that happy note, have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!