Interesting travel days!

I kind of goofed up on time management! Hence, there was no blog yesterday. I planned to write the blog while I was at the airport on Wednesday evening, but it wasn't until I got on the plane that my brain went BING—you forgot to write the blog. Sigh.......

For those that think travel is glamorous (I did when I was younger), it is NOT!! It's a lot of hard work. Packing and repacking and making sure you haven't forgotten anything. Trying to eat healthy is just not going to happen. 

I'm not talking about going to a hotel and spending my time by a pool - that is not the kind of travel I do; it's go somewhere,  do your thing, pack up and move on! I enjoy it, but I'm also happy when I get home. 

Here's what happened. I went for a walk on Wednesday morning before I had to go to work. I had stayed in that hotel before, and they don't have a breakfast place, and I remember not liking the food at the restaurant next door. So I wandered down to Tim's, where I had breakfast and took my tea with me. It was still too early to go back, and a brisk walk would be good to start the day. 

Shoot—I thought I transferred the picture of the hill. I spotted a hill down the road, and why not tackle that first thing? This hill reminded me of another hill in Langley, BC from a bike trip back in 2012 or thereabouts. We started our trip by staying in a campground in Langley, and when we got up the next morning, it seemed like we had barely left the campground, and we had this short but STEEP hill to climb. 

That hill had a 22% pitch - it was steep, but I remember this one fellow who rode up it, no problem. Then he came back down and, using his arm on his girlfriend's back, he pushed her up the hill, while he was on his bike!!!! OK -- so I walked up that hill, and that trip wasn't off to a good start. I believe that is the only hill I have ever had to walk up. Thankfully, it was short. 

On my walk, I saw the sign on the way down. It was 13%, which is a bit steep, but doable. Certainly doable when walking. My knees seem to be doing just fine on the downhill these days, and I had no issues with my sciatic nerve despite being in the car for much of the next day (that story is later on). 

13% pitch

There was a bit of a walking trail at the top of the hill, and it went from a wide paved path to this narrow walk through some bushes. 

Part of the walking trail in Langley

I spotted some wild raspberries and blackberries. 

Berry bushes along the way

I got back to the hotel, got ready for work, and headed out. I had a great day at Castle Sewing Center showcasing the new PFAFF creative icon 3. It's a beautiful sewing and embroidery machine, and there were a lot of people in the morning and afternoon sessions. 

The only thing I forgot to bring was the NEW large magnetic hoop. I considered putting it in my suitcase, but I didn't. That was a mistake, but that's OK—I have a picture now. 

Once I was finished at 4:30 PM, it was time to head to the airport to catch a flight. Remember me mentioning putting the bag tags on the luggage and loading it on the automatic bag drop? I rarely have trouble, but this machine didn't like my bags. Well, it didn't like where the bag tag was located. 

The automated bag drop

Here's the thing—your suitcase has a top handle, which is typically where the check-in agents put your tag. You also have a handle on the side, and you can put it there as well, but the check-in agents never seem to use that. Anyway, my tags were on top, and the machine wouldn't scan them. 

I tried several different ways of positioning my suitcase, and some kindly person even stopped and said, you need to put the bag in the orientation shown. Yes -- I had already tried that. 

I called over the agent, and she grabbed my suitcase and turned it completely around so the wheels were first. And of course, the darn bagtag was scanned in that orientation. So I learned something new—there are six sides to the suitcase, and forwards and back—if one orientation doesn't work, just turn it backward, and it should work. Learning that little tip should help a lot in the future. I hope to teach that little tip to people I see struggling as well. 

But in the pictures you see the green lights. When you press the assist button, those lights go yellow and orange! A call for help! 

For whatever reason, the airline bumped me into business class several days ago. I have no idea why, but I wasn't going to complain. So I got to access the lounge, and this was my view as I ate dinner. This is where I was supposed to be writing the blog! 

Viewing the Vancouver airport from the lounge

I was now on my way to Regina, Saskatchewan, and the flight didn't leave until 9:40 PM. A late flight - way past my bedtime considering the time changes. We arrived in Regina at 1 AM the next day. Thankfully, the car rental was still open (I knew that) and I hustled over to collect my keys. And then off to the hotel. It was almost 2 AM by this point - we waited a long time for the luggage to arrive. I asked the desk person if I could get a half price on the room since I was only going to use it for half the night! The answer was NO. 

Thursday was technically my travel day to get from BC to Saskatchewan, but I wanted to use the day to visit with my parents, so that's why I traveled at night. I was a little leery, as those late flights sometimes get canceled, and if I had traveled in the morning, I wouldn't have been able to visit. It also depended on when I could pick up the car, and since the rental company was open late, everything fell into place. 

I had thought of flying to Saskatoon and then visiting, then driving to Regina, but the cost of dropping the car in another city was huge, so I decided to drive there and back. 

Is it far? It's 400 KM one way, so I made it there and back in one day - a total of 800 KM. 

Let's say that I slept through my two alarms on my phone - didn't even hear them, but I was awake after several hours of sleep, and I was on my way around 7:30. 

I do not know what happens to me, but when I get in the car, my bags seem to explode! There is stuff all over the front seat! 

The explosion in the car

I had an audiobook that I'm listening to, and it is 14 hours long, and I was a couple of hours into it. It's a John Grisham, but it's slow. Well, not necessarily slow, but there's very little action. It's an intriguing story (The Widow), and you are left wondering how the lawyer got himself into so much trouble. But then you wonder how smart the widow was before she died. Hmmmm............ And now I'm wondering how he gets himself out of trouble! 

Anyway, I listened to the book there and back, and I still have 5 hours to go!!! It gave me focus, and I didn't need to stop for a nap once, which was shocking, but I was getting antsy for the final hour on the way back to Regina. I stopped for about five minutes to walk around, and that was all I needed. 

Look at that wide open sky!!!! There was also some construction going on, and so I had to slow down for that. 

The wide open prairie sky

The car I've rented is weird. The adaptive cruise control (it's not adaptive, but another name which escapes me at the moment) took FOREVER to figure out how to make it work. And then periodically, it would shut itself off. Do you know how hard it is to maintain a constant speed with just your foot? I think there are so many dead bugs on the windshield that it knocks the cruise control off! 

And the night before, I was using the GPS to get to the hotel; I could barely see the screen. As it got later last night, the car switched from day to night modes, and the screen went so dark that I could barely see it. Then I found some knobs on the left-hand side, and that changed the brightness so I could see! I think I arrived back at the hotel at 8:30 PM. 

It was a short visit, but it was very much worth it. I'm not going into details -- too much raw emotion from that visit, and I'm not ready to talk about it. It's just the facts of life and aging parents. 

Like all of you, I love to surf the net, and I do my share of scrolling on social media, which I try to curb, but I have a few favorites. Well, it's sad to say that jigsaw puzzling comes up in my feeds way more than quilting does! It's not that I'm no longer a quilter, but I have other interests, and I like to do something other than sew all day. 

I found this place through some of those pop-up videos. 

PuzzleMaster!!!!!

OH MY GOD --- this is in Saskatoon, and it opens at 8 AM, so when I arrived at 9:45, I walked right in. This place is located about .5 KM away from the gas station that I use to fill up my rental car before returning it when I fly to Saskatoon!!! As I drove away, I forgot to ask how long they had been there. 

PuzzleMaster sells ALL Kinds of puzzles—escape room puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, 3-D puzzles—if it's a puzzle, they sell it. 

I walked in and got a quick tour - it's very much a warehouse-type of place, not nearly as large as the one near me back home, but they had different puzzles, and well, it was so tempting. 

Walls and walls of puzzles

They carry Dowdle, which started off as my favorite brand. It was crazy. I also chuckled when I saw this puzzle. 

A puzzle with doors

This is the same puzzle (same company) as the one I just finished, but it's 1500 pieces, not 1000, and there are a lot more doors. 

Hmmm—you are going to have to take my word for finishing this one—I don't seem to have a picture of it completed. I bought this at the thrift store, and one piece was missing. 

My partially completed puzzle

If you were eagle-eyed, you would have spotted this puzzle on the front seat of the car along with all the other stuff. I brought it to give to the fellow in my parents' building who is always working on a puzzle. 

Sadly (for my pocketbook), when I was at the puzzle shop, I was informed that if I bought more than $99, the order qualified for free shipping. How could I let that deal get away, and I wouldn't have to carry anything home with me!!! Do I need an intervention? I need to completely retire so I can puzzle faster!!!! I'm OK with having a puzzle stash, as I am actively working my way through those puzzles and giving them away. I am good with that! 

They also have the 40,320-piece puzzle (Ravensburger Disney), which weighs a ton and costs a lot. I'm not ready to tackle that, so it stayed in the store. 

A giant jigsaw puzzle

When I say I use GPS to get around, I mean Google Maps, because I connect my phone to the car using Android Auto. What I love about that is it's super fast to connect - takes mere seconds. And when you go somewhere, it remembers the places you searched in the past. Yep —when I was in Saskatoon, it asked me if I wanted to go to The Sewing Machine store. 

Previous locations on Google Maps

I usually stop to say HI, but I didn't have time. I was on a mission, so I bypassed it and continued on to Battleford. 

I stopped by the Museum to see what Dad was working on, and here he is with one of their latest engines that they got working. The thing is well over 100 years old and has a very funky radiator. That's the big metal box on the front. The stationary engine used to belong to my younger brother's father-in-law, and the radiator came from a farm near our old farm that my other brother found while helping a buddy clean up the yard that no one lives in anymore.  

Dad with a restored engine

He came back to the apartment, and the three of us had a good visit. Then it was 4 PM, and I needed to get back on the road for the 400 KM trip back to Regina. 

There is a lot of artwork and sculptures along the way, but I've driven that route multiple times and stopped to see the art, so I didn't need to stop again. There was one sculpture (Chamberlain) where I stopped for a five-minute break. I will confess that I was very worried about this long drive - I'm not good with long drives, where falling asleep is an issue, as is the sciatic nerve. I had issues with neither of those!! That made the trip so much more enjoyable! 

Metal roadside sculpture in Sask

This is the sign that accompanies the artwork. It's all done in metal! 

I was going to stop for ice cream, but they wanted cash. Although they had an ATM beside the ice cream store, I wasn't going to get cash, so I nixed the ice cream. 

Although I spotted many of the Words of Wisdom from thought.minds, I'm only posting this one. 

I've lived by this philosophy for a long time. I don't need or want to do the same thing as everyone else. And look how long that line is - there is no line on the left! It has sometimes caused me anxiety and sometimes embarrassment or failure to take the path on the left, but it's been a lot more exciting, and I have learned a lot by taking the path to the left. You never know who or what you will spot. 

I am off to work today at Northage Sewing and then one more day tomorrow before heading home on Sunday. Remember, if you are in Regina - I'm doing a session on Creativate this morning, Momento (24" digital cutter) this afternoon, and PFAFF creative icon 3 tomorrow!!!! 

And if you are in Ontario and close to West Lorne, I'll be at Heather Bell's Sewing studio for the PFAFF creative icon 3 on Monday. Then I get to unpack for a few days! 

And wouldn't you know it, my pilot nephew is in Mississauga this weekend, and I'm not there. So he better fly back another time! He's definitely getting his hours in to become a commercial pilot. And how cool to be able to fly on your own schedule!!! Just such a shame that the very weekend he decides to come, I'm not home. Although if the weather is bad in Toronto on Sunday, he will have to delay his flight until Monday. I doubt that happens - we might get clouds, but we don't get fog! 

On that happy note, I'm out of here!! 

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

No post today

 All is well..short on time..in the car. 

Tell all later

Have a great day

Ciao

A smooth travel day!

OH MY ---- what is old? That's a great question. Remember when we were kids, and our parents were OLD! When I thought that, they were way younger than I am today. Being old is no longer the same as it was before! Thank goodness, and I have no intention of ever being old—my body will start to fail me (OK—so it has a wee bit), and my mind will start to go (maybe), but I will never consider myself old. 

It's only when you put a number to things that you start to realize - wow - 45 years married or a 50-year reunion - well, that just stops and makes you think! 

I don't tell people my age, although some of them try hard to guess. What does it matter if I'm 60, or 65, or 70 or 75? It doesn't matter to my friendships. I'm just me! 

OK - on a scale of 1 to ten with ten being chaotic, my travel day was a minus 5. Nothing happened - it was so smooth that it was almost unheard of! And that's a good thing. WAIT -- that's not true -- there were a couple of tiny glitches, but I had to dig deep to find them. 

I was a bit hesitant to leave Miss Murphy because of her anxiety, but she seems to be holding her own, so that is good. I had time to give them a walk together in the early morning before I left for the airport. 

Murphy, in her typical self to be FIRST, was pulling on that leash like she was in a race to get a juicy steak at the end. Why? Why can't she just walk normally when I walk them together? I could feel all the good being undone in my body because she hasn't been pulling lately. But they were happy to go for a walk. They won't be so happy this morning. 

MOM - hurry up - it's a race, and I need to be first! 

But I had to laugh because I typically wear a waistbelt to put my important documents in. I hate carrying a purse when I travel. OK - so I hate carrying a purse ever! So into that small pouch goes my passport and NEXUS card (never travel without either), and then I go through my small card holder and pull out only the cards I may need when traveling - health card, driver's license, debit and credit, and my Aeroplan card, although that information is in my app. You would think by now that I could remember the darn nine-digit number! OK -- I must check where the number is in the app and then leave that card at home. 

When I was putting stuff in my travel pouch, I found the last boarding pass. Hmmm -- I seem to favor seat 17D on planes! 

17D - my favorite seat

I have another small pouch that I use to walk the dogs. I can easily put my phone in it (I can put my phone in the other one as well, but it's tight), and I have poop bags for the girls. I put that one on too and reminded myself not to forget to take that pouch off when I got back to the house. 

Yep—you guessed it—I forgot to do that (saying goodbye to the girls, hustling the bags out the door because the Uber is close by, and I ended up at the airport with both pouches on). No worries - I used both. I don't care if anyone thought differently about me. It's no big deal, and I had my shirt tied around my waist because it was HOT at the airport and hot on the plane. I rarely ride on a plane in only a T-shirt. Above the waist - you get that! 

We had a lady pilot, and she was efficient. OK -- that's probably just the way things happened. The plane was loaded quickly (not one of the big ones), and we actually pulled away from the gate one minute before we were supposed to. I saw the notification that my bags were being loaded on the plane. OH -- wait - I forgot that small detail. 

When I went to print my bag tags at the kiosk, I got a boarding pass, but no bag tags. So I went to another kiosk. The lady beside me said she didn't get bag tags either, and she was watching me to see if I did something different. Neither of us told an Air Canada agent, so it will be a while before that machine got flagged as "ran out of paper!" Shame on us!!!!!

There seems to be an issue with the automatic bag drop. It sometimes has trouble reading the tags. I got lucky (again), and it only took two tries to scan my large bag and once for the small one. And then I was through security in a flash. All told, it took about ten minutes to get from the Uber drop-off at the front to beyond security. 

I watched the sixth Harry Potter movie. Oh boy -- they are getting dark! I have a hard time hearing with my tiny earbuds, but it was enough to keep me entertained, and I also slept well because I didn't sleep well the night before. Well, it wasn't that I didn't sleep well; I couldn't get to sleep. Too excited to see Bear, I suppose!!! 

Just for old times' sake, there is the tile in the Vancouver Airport washrooms. I think it's the best tile around. I checked the tile in the Toronto Airport, and it's boring. So boring, I forgot to take a picture of it!

Vancouver washroom tile

OH—I forgot to tell you what happened before I left my house. I went downstairs to have a quick peek to see if I left anything. No, but I picked up a few things and put them on the cutting table because those will be a priority to deal with. I put the two pet mats on the cutting table so I can fix the ends on the serged seam. Hmmm - I heard a clunk, and because they are filled with fabric scraps, there shouldn't be any noise. 

Then I started feeling one of them and OH MY --- I seem to have thrown my Chaco-liner in one of them and serged it up! I'll have to fix that when I'm home. 

OH—my Chaco liner got stitched into my pet mat.

Then I retrieved my bags at the airport, which didn't take that long, and off to the car rental. Let's just say that cars are expensive here, and I was told that's because it's summer. Well, it's summer in other places, and the prices are not that high! 

BUT, the agent at the car rental called someone to find my car for me. Yep—they had a car, but no idea where it was parked, and it took the guy a few minutes to find it and drive it to the pickup area. 

And then I drove to M's house so I could spend the afternoon with Bear. 

HEY -- Grandma came to see me!!!!!

He was freaking out when he heard me come in, but then he freaked out when Dillon came home from work. It took him quite a few minutes to settle down. I decided to sit on their gorgeous back deck and continue figuring out the error in that pattern. I wanted that off my plate. 

The view from the back deck

And I did!!!! I figured it out and sent off one last email to the designer. I have now put that pattern to bed, and when I'm home, I need to get the twelve blocks together, find a border, and put it in the "to be quilted pile!"

Once that was out of the way, it was time to do some exploring. Bear and I headed out to find some lunch. I chuckled because they live in an older neighborhood where the houses are being torn down and rebuilt. And they still have door-to-door mail delivery!

You've got mail!!!

Can you imagine how much exercise the mail person gets? All those hills on the streets and then to face this kind of walkway to all the houses? Down the steps from the street into the yard and then up the steps at the house, then back down and repeat at the next house. This location is not for the faint of heart or those afraid of steps! When you look down from the back deck, which is on the second floor of the house, it's a long way down!!! 

The walkway at the front of the house

We have to go down a relatively steep hill to get to Marine Drive, the main drag close to the water. There are several cute (not cheap) restaurants along that strip, and I found one. 

Going for a walk with Grandma!!!!

While they have dog-friendly patios, I'm not so sure about dog-friendly in the restaurant. I just grabbed him, took him inside, and ordered my food. Since they offered to bring it out to me, I'm assuming they don't like dogs in the restaurant. 

I've been here with M before and OH MY -- look at the desserts. They had small tarts that were $14 for ONE TART. I didn't buy that, but I did buy something as a treat. 

Yummy treats

I had avocado toast with salmon, and it was to die for. It wasn't super big, but oh my --- very yummy. 

Lunch - avocado toast!

And that little guy is a chick magnet. He gets comments everywhere he goes, and I think he knows it, and that just makes him even cuter!!!! 

We walked down to the beach and walked along until we got to the leash-free part. Some of the bigger dogs were having a grand old time in the water. I wonder what my girls would do? Lexi would probably take a wide berth, but Murphy might venture in. A couple of retrievers were having a heyday!

And then Bear and I sat on the rocks, and I ate my pain au chocolat! Yep -- that probably threw my body into a sugar tailspin! But it was a treat, and that's the first and last treat of the trip! 

Eating my pain au chocolat by the water

I mean - look at how cute he was sitting. This was when I was eating my treat. I didn't have treats for him, but he was a trooper. 

Grandma - I'm a good boy and deserve a treat!

Then we walked back to the house. I carried him up the hill because he was getting tired by then, but he did amazing! We sat on the back deck and snoozed - they have the same type of chair as I have in my gazebo. I took a call with my colleagues, read a bit, and just messed with my phone. The weather was glorious, and it was so nice to just relax and not have anything to do. Well, I suppose I could have done a bit of prep work (just exploring) some of the stuff I'll pass along today, but I think I got all that down. 

If you think gas is expensive back home, think again! 

Price of gas - over $2 a liter!

And in the neighborhood where M lives (on a hill), there are some houses I would never consider buying because of the driveways. I mean they are STEEP. This picture doesn't do justice to the pitch, and of course, the streets are narrow with no sidewalks and lots of trees - hedges, so visibility is crazy. 

Steep, narrow, and winding driveway

I wonder why giant hedges are a thing here? That is one thing I remember from coming out here as a kid -- why all those giant hedges? 

Giant hedges for privacy

While there are highways here, they are few and far between. To get to M's house from the airport, you have to drive right through downtown Vancouver. I spotted this building on the way to her house, and managed to get a picture on the way back. Can you imagine living in that cantilevered space? No thank you. It was dizzying just to take a picture. OH GOD -- when I was here last fall, I also took a picture of this building! 

Would you live in this apartment?

Dillon and I went out for dinner last night. M wasn't around yesterday because of work, so we had a quick visit and then I was off for a long drive through the traffic to get to my hotel. It wasn't that bad, but an hour drive through traffic? Not fun! When I arrived at the hotel, I brought in my bags and went to bed - I was exhausted with the time change! Bridges are bottlenecks!!! 

Every time I drive over the Lion's Gate Bridge (and I probably mention it in the blog), I'll never forget the time when I was riding my bike to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories, in 2010. We started in Vancouver, and I remember riding through Stanley Park and seeing that bridge in the distance, knowing we had some steep climbing to get to it, and then we had to ride over it!! I need to go back to my old blog pages and remove them, because I fear they might disappear one day. 

I noticed that breakfast is no longer included in these hotels - Holiday Inn. Well, I'm not sure what price breakfast is, but I'll stop at Tim's. 

Oh shoot—I need to find a photo editor on my laptop that will crop photos. So I can't do that. In that case, I'll just share ONE word of wisdom today, which I think applies to many of us. 

What do you think? This is perfect!!!  OK—I Googled how to crop the photo, but that didn't work! Hmmm—as for the hobbies, I have one for keeping me in shape, and the other two? They just blend together. Do I make money? I do, but it never seems like much, and I'm OK with that. It's just fun!

Thank goodness Dillon and I were chatting throughout the day as he alerted me to buying movie tickets. Can you believe that I bought the tickets for our Christmas Day movie yesterday? Yep—tickets for Dune 3 in 70mm IMAX were released yesterday, and I managed to get decent tickets for Christmas Day. That's insane!!!!

August 17th was National Thrift Shop Day, and I found this video. It's very interesting and short, so be sure to take a peek. It's interesting how fast fashion has changed the world. It's not just fast fashion; it's all the stuff at the dollar store that has mostly become one-time use. That is very sad and so bad for our environment. 

I had no room in my sample suitcase and I mentioend that it weighted in at just under 50 lbs. I had to put the three puzzles in the my clothes suitcase and I dropped off two of those yesterday. I now have a lot of room and the suitcase is much lighter! 

And on that note, I need to get moving. I have to get ready for today, find breakfast somewhere, and then check in for the next flight later today. Yes—this trip is a whirlwind. 

If you are in the Langley, BC area today, be sure to pop out to Castle Sewing Center and say hi, check out the New PFAFF creative icon 3. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Words of Wisdom

And so begins another crazy week. Who was I kidding when I said August would be quiet! It's been the opposite of quiet, but I have had a few quiet moments in the gazebo, just hanging around doing jigsaw puzzles, etc. 

Our weather has been so gorgeous here the last couple of days - the humidity was low, the temperature was moderate, and there was a slight breeze. I mean, what more could one possibly ask for in a summer day? The windows are open, and we're enjoying the summer!

Even though I was a tad busy throwing stuff into that suitcase, I decided to take some downtime and have a wee nap in the gazebo. 

The suitcase weighs just under 50 lbs in case you are wondering, and that's just darn right heavy in my opinion. I booked it as an overweight suitcase just in case I was over. Thankfully, I can take THREE overweight suitcases with no extra charge, so all is good. I still need to pack my clothes, and I'm checking that in as well. No sense in carrying it on the plane if I don't need to. My office bag is heavy enough with all my electronics in it. 

Anyway, back to the gazebo. It was just a glorious summer afternoon, and I enjoyed watching the fish. We really got lucky because those fish I bought had babies, which I've mentioned, but they seem to be growing like weeds. The two very visible ones on the left are the adults, but just in front of the black box, you can see an orange dot - that is a fairly decent-sized baby! And there are lots more. They enjoy hanging out under the lilies, so we never get to see many at a time. They are still skittish, so they disappear quickly when they spot us. 

The fish enjoying the pond

The setup in the pond is perfect - if the fish want to sun themselves, they have space for that, and if they need shade or protection from predators, they have that as well. It took a lot of effort to remove the lilies from that one side. They grow like weeds and threatened to take over the entire space. 

And that waterfall - you just can't beat the sound of the waterfalls. We have three, and with my neighbor's loud one, it's almost like being at Niagara Falls. OK -- so that's an exaggeration, but you know what I mean. 

One of our waterfalls

When I'm back, I need to take some time and scrub the algae off the rocks. It's not a big deal, but I see more Rock Twister in my future!!!

Good grief -- we had a giant daddy long legs in the house this morning. I grabbed a sheet of paper and gently took him outside where he belongs! Murphy wasn't too happy, as she had to wait for the command to eat while I removed the spider! 

A giant daddy longlegs

Speaking of food, look at all the new candles at Michaels! Yep --- those are all food items, but LOOK at the candle in the back left of each photo! That's a candle in a white pie dish!!! OK -- so I already have two of them. I do NOT need another, but they are so darn cute, and, well, I need to make what I plan for the two I have before I even consider buying more. 

Candles at Michaels

Someone mentioned during sewing this morning that I need a puzzle intervention! Yep—I do, but I'm packing three of the recent ones I have assembled into my clothes suitcase, and they will be delivered to various people on my trip. I sent two or three to my SIL that I had done, and two of them went back to the thrift store. So I am making them and not keeping them. I may just not be getting rid of them as fast as I am accumulating them. 

Note to self: NO more for a while. 

But.....

NO!!!

While I didn't get done everything that I wanted to do, I got all the important stuff done. As mentioned, the rest I was planning to do was icing on the cake. I will manage just fine with my 50 lb suitcase! And all my technology. 

We had a bit of company this afternoon, so I "wasted" some time visiting. 

When I got back to work, I managed to clean (or mostly clear) the three sewing machine tables. And all the machines have been put to bed. At least this will look a bit more inviting when I return home. The tubs of stabilizers and boxes of threads are also back in their appropriate spots. 

The machines are put to bed.

My trusty companion snuck down the stairs when I wasn't looking and joined me. Poor Murphy, I suspect she is headed for canine dementia, which isn't going to be fun, but we are going to make the best of it. 

My trusty companion

She may be a bit depressed as well since she isn't able to do everything she used to. She tries, but well, she isn't going to be running laps in the backyard any time soon. She can run, but not how she used to. But then, I can't run or walk like I used to. What's weird is that all this seemed to come about because of that slip on the stairs. It has freaked her out, and she just can't get over that scare. 

I'm sad, of course; I'm sad. But I'm not going to waste time worrying about it. I'm going to enjoy each and every minute I have with her, and who knows - she may surprise us and live for a very long time. At least we are learning how to cope with her situation, and she seems to be OK to sleep upstairs at night, which is a blessing. 

OK—they have to stop posting such good words of wisdom on thought.minds on IG. I see so many that it's hard to pick, and I picked three again. I'm hoarding the darn things!

We are all hard on ourselves and give excuses when we don't have a good day. Guess what? That is NORMAL. You have a bad day; tomorrow is another day!

Here's the one that I need to be more cognizant of. I will make comments about someone and I have no clue what's going on in their life. And I need to stop that! 

And this one? This is for any of the parents who insist that their extremely hands-on child go to university instead of arts school or a trade. Imagine if you are in the wrong job - how horrible is that to go to work every day and force yourself to do something you don't care about? If you are in that situation, you need to take a leap of faith and change your situation. 

As you can tell, I love these words of wisdom. I think they are great because they confirm how we feel and work, and they also remind us of things we could change. 

I did a bit more work on the pattern testing situation. I am determined to find the error. And I did spot two anomalies. Now I need to work out the math to see which is wrong. But I'm getting there. I know—do not yell at me for taking this on and pursuing it like a dog with a bone. This is the type of thing that makes my heart sing, and I'm in my glory. I think I could easily become a "professional" pattern tester if there was any money in it! 

I have tried MULTIPLE ways to find the error, and I finally had to break down and print a couple of pages of the pattern, get a highlighter, and start taking notes. I think I'm almost there. It might become a good task for the five-hour plane ride! 

Depending on when you read this, I'll be on a plane on my way to the other side of the country. I finally got my car and hotels all booked this afternoon. I know—I shouldn't leave it until the last minute, but I do. Thankfully, there are lots of choices. I don't think I'll get an upgrade on the long flight unless someone doesn't show for the trip. There are three empty seats in business class, and I'm number four on the list. That always seems to happen! 

Well, I need to get myself organized and pack a few clothes for the trip. I NEED to remember to pack my toothbrush, which I seem to forget every single time! I do have a spare in my toiletries bag, but I like my electric brush. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!!

PS -- Remember if you are in the Langley, BC area - be sure to stop by Castle Sewing Center on Wednesday to see the new PFAFF creative icon 3

And if you are in Regina, Sask on Saturday, you can also sit in on the presentation at Northgate Sewing Center.  

While in Regina, on Friday, I'm doing a talk on the Creativate ecosystem and the Momento (24" digital cutter) 

Then on Monday, I'll be at Heather Bell's Studio in West Lorne, Ontario to showcase the PFAFF Creative Icon3. 

Phes - I'm exhausted, and I haven't even left the house yet. 

Even if you are NOT in the market for a sewing/embroidery machine, come check it out. It's always fun to see the new stuff and dream about what we'd do if we won the lottery. Plus, it's a good chance to meet new people! You'll also see some samples and get inspiration for things you can make! Inspiration is always a good thing. 

OMG—if I had stayed married to my first DH, I would be celebrating my 45th or 46th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Oh my --- that makes me sound very old! 

Use the good china NOW!!!

Organiziation! It's so critical to how we work. Wait — it's critical to how much we get done, or how easy it is to get something done. Even if you love working in chaos, when things have a home, it's so much easier. 

Right now, if you looked at Studio B, you would GASP. I gasp because there are boxes of threads and stabilizers all over the floor. The cutting table and the ironing board are heaped with stuff, the sewing tables are strewn with embroidery hoops, and other "debris." It's in quite a disarray. BUT since everything has a home, when I am done stitching, it will take mere minutes to put everything back in order. 

I didn't quite accomplish everything I had planned to stitch out, but I made great progress. While there are loads that I want to stitch, I think I just have two small things left. The rest is icing on the cake and can wait until I'm back. 

I started the day with a walk with the girls - separately, of course. Even though Murphy is slowing down, I don't want to put any competitive pressure on her by her needing to stay ahead of Lexi. Yes - that girl is competitive! 

Lexi and I spotted more giant hibiscuses - white ones this time. Hmmm - I walk past here often, but never noticed them before. Why is that? Did you know that Rose of Sharon is in the hibiscus family? I should have guessed because they look very similar. Of course, you all knew that!  

Giant hibiscus

And then I had my morning tea in one of my two china mugs. I don't remember how long ago I pulled these out of the cupboard and decided to use them, but it's been years since I started using them. I bought them in 2015 or 2016, and they were relegated to the back of the cupboard, still in their boxes. Yes - they are fading from repeated dishwasher use, but guess what? When I can no longer use them, and someone comes to pack up my kitchen, they will say that those mugs were well used and well loved. And they would be right. Don't keep the good stuff for a special occasion. Life is short - EVERYDAY is a special occasion. 

My well-used china mugs

Then I was determined to find the error that I knew existed in that pattern I was testing. The number of pieces in the cutting instructions for one block was short by two, but which two? I know it's of no value to me to find those errors, but I felt duty-bound (OK - I'm a Virgo) and I wanted to find the darn errors. And I did - one mislabeling and two cutting quantities that were incorrect. 

Finding an error

I think there is one more error, and I know I shouldn't spend any more time on it, but I want to know where the darn error is!! I can't help myself. I did spend some time on it, but I didn't spot the error, so I will take some time later today to try one last time. 

DH left an article about travel on the table for me to read, but I found an article on ceiling fans in the same newspaper section, so I read that instead. I was a bit disappointed in the article. While I already knew that ceiling fans do not cool the room - they only move the air around- I found the article to be a bit on the negative side. 

Article on ceiling fans

Ceiling fans have a reputation for being ugly. Well, that has changed - my fans look just fine, and since they are white with a small light, they aren't even obvious. They circulate the air because we know that hot air rises, and so they can be used in winter and summer. They are quiet and no longer wobbly if properly installed. They aren't cheap, but the article mentioned they start at $800 for a nice one, and I certainly paid less than that for each of mine. But apparently, buying ceiling fans is in again! 

I could have written a much better article that was way more positive than the one in the paper. 

I needed vinyl for a couple of my embroidery projects, and well, I have a small stash of vinyl. It's all on rolls in the depths of the stash room. I pulled one tube out to get to the black and look at all the wonderful colors I spotted as well. What can I make with that hot pink? 

Marine vinyl

I cut the black into sizes that I need. I cut them upside down, so I can mark them and cut with scissors. I do this on the kitchen island. It's a tad short, but the space is much bigger than any of the tables downstairs. WAIT -- none of the tables are free downstairs, so this is my only option. 

Cutting vinyl at the kitchen island

And the suitcase is in the hall, and I've started packing it. My goal is to fit everything into the one suitcase. I'm not sure that will happen, but I'll also have room in my clothes suitcase for stuff. 

The suitcase needs to be packed.

I looked but didn't find the onesie or the blank cushion covers, so I headed to the thrift store to see what I could find. Oh my --- a Twister hopscotch game. Of course, I had to look in the puzzles and games section! I should have bought this to put on the rocks by the pond! I did not. But I spotted two puzzles that kind of went into my bag. 

Twister hopscotch? 

I managed to find three onesies that were not stained and didn't have anything on the front. That cost me $3.99, less 20%. Then I hit the mother lode in the cushion department. I found one cream cushion cover, two beautiful green ones, and two yellow ones. They all have invisible zippers and will work perfectly for my project - showing off the free arm capabilities on the PFAFF creative icon 3. 

I decided to start with a onesie. I will confess that I rarely do T-shirts. Have I ever embroidered on a T-shirt? There was a wee bit of a learning curve, but I managed just fine. No one will know that I had to do a major rip-out job about five minutes after I started! And we all know that what takes five minutes to stitch takes a long time to rip out!

Stitching a onesie on the free-arm

While you can embroider this type of thing without the free arm, it is so much easier with the free arm. There's zero danger of the T-shirt falling back into the hoop. 

The onesie is done!!!

I also wanted to do a tote bag, but do you think I could find anything that worked? I tried several that I had, and they were too big. But then in my "panic" to find something, I found this tote bag from Micheal's in my stash. It's one of their MAKER bags, and it was the perfect size. 

However, I swear I marked the center of that bag, and look—the design is off center. I finished that last night, and I was too tired to investigate the problem. That's a job for today. I may do the other side today, but centered!

The embroidery on my tote bag

I got three other things stitched out as well, and now, except for adding to my polar bear and one more stitch-out on vinyl, I think all that remains is to clean up the samples, which I can do at Monday Sewing. That involves removing stabilizer and clipping threads on the back where necessary. 

The rest can be done at a later date. 

YES -- I finished the puzzle, and I was not disciplined, and I did part of it during the day while I was waiting for the embroidery machine to finish stitching! Rather than tidying up! I didn't get a picture of it, but I will for tomorrow. OK - I finished it in the afternoon. Obviously, I wasn't desperate to get those samples stitched out! 

I am addicted to those sayings on IG from thought.minds. They are amazing, and I have several today. 

This is one that I would like to change. I am a bit of a lecturer, and I need to shut up and listen a bit more. I've improved a whole lot on the home front, and that makes things so much easier and better. As someone said, you don't need to comment on everything that you don't agree with. Just shut up and let it go. It's not the end of the world. 

M was the first person who made me realize I was a fixer, not a listener. And I've backed off so much. I still do lecture from time to time, and if you are on the receiving end of one of my lectures when you just want a hug? STOP me and ask for a hug. I'm not a hugger, but I'll give you a hug. 

This next one is so true, and that's how I'm tackling my decluttering. Slow and steady. I'll get there—in my own way —so it's enjoyable, as much as decluttering can be enjoyable. 

And the final one - I know there are so many good ones from yesterday. 

I was in bed contemplating going to the gym this morning when I spotted this. Oh my --- I'm going to the gym this morning. 

And on that note, I'm out of here. I'm a bit behind and need to step up my game to stay on schedule. Not that it matters, but I like to leave the house by 5:55 at the latest, so I don't have to wait at the traffic light. At 6 AM, the pattern changes and the wait is longer. How silly is that, but it's a tiny motivation to get me going before that changes. Hey -- whatever it takes. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!