Monday, August 31, 2026

The "fun" side of paper-piecing!

OH MY!!!! It's not that I don't want to take those meds -- that particular one is just not working in my schedule! BUT -- I did accommodate it yesterday by eating later, so I think that is the best temporary solution. And when I book the physical, I'll mention it to the doctor so she can prescribe the non-restrictive medication next time. I think she wanted to do another bone density so we can see what's happening as well. 

I got some emails yesterday about missing confirmation emails for upcoming classes, and will deal with that today. And YES—there will be a confirmation email for the scrap class as well. 

Our girls are pretty silly. This is Lexi in the morning, and that pilot light is still on in the fireplace, so it gives off some heat. It's not cold in the house - cool but not cold. Doesn't she have a fur coat? What will she do in the winter? 

MOM - My butt is cold!


This is the situation I had to deal with yesterday. Both of those tables are being replaced, and that is a lot of heavy stuff to move - well, find a temporary home for, then pack up the tables and put the new ones in. Thankfully, there is very little crap on the tables, so it was all machine stuff. 

All this has to go!

Pretty soon, the two work tables were gone. Of course, Miss Murphy was there to guide me and did not move until the one table was in place. Seriously - I had to step over her, but I wasn't going to move her. Then I got the Swiffer, and then the vacuum, and I cleaned the floor. I also did some spot washing, so it's all clean. 

The two work tables are gone.


Next I moved the new table into position. Yes—I'm not a fan of that extension cord on the floor, and when I get one more electrical item (it's taking a long time to order, which I plan on finalizing today), I'm getting the electrician to come back and at that time, there are a few other things that will get done, including the installation of a plug in the ceiling so the cord can drop down and not be unsightly on the floor. Don't worry about a cord hanging from the ceiling because I have a decorative table rod that can disguise the cord. It will look just fine. 

The new table in place


While the angle of the table in the photo above and the angle of this one aren't the same, you can see the table at its lowest (above) and highest (below). Good grief -- a very tall person could work at that table. I wouldn't be able to work on it at that height. But it is sturdy as a rock! Even at the highest height. 

The highest height


And thankfully, I went with the table width I did, as the embroidery machine fits like a glove. That was the big issue in finding a new sturdy table - I needed a width of 30" (the width of the old tables), and everything was 24", which is too narrow for those big embroidery machines. It seems to be a wee bit shorter (it's not) than the previous table, but once I get to do some embroidery, I'll get everything settled in place. The second table I'm replacing is 12 inches longer than the new table, so I'm going to miss that space, but I have a plan to accommodate it. 

The embroidery machine on the new table! 

I carried all the components for the next set of legs downstairs and got DH to help me bring the tabletop down. That helps clear some of the crap in the garage, but it's now filled with packaging. I need to get cracking and break down some of the boxes, so I have room to walk. And continue sorting the stuff and get a load to the recycling depot. But all is good! 

The second table top is ready for assembly.


I did not get any work done on assembling the second table, and I hope to get that done later this afternoon, although I also have to return that light. 


Speaking of garbage and recycling, I don't understand how the city lets this happen. It looks like a bedroom and a dining room were just dumped on the edge of the street. Surely the city charges for this to be picked up. 

Why bother calling a junk service - just dump it!

I know when I take garbage to the Community Recycling Center (it takes garbage and recycling) that I get charged by weight. No charge for recycled items. So hopefully the city adds this to their taxes, or do they just get away with it? I could not do that. 

I had a walking errand in the afternoon, and that's when I spotted all that furniture. I stopped to browse in a store along the way that has a lot of artwork, and I spotted these two items. Speaking of donuts!!! This is 3-D wall art depicting donuts!!! I guess if you like donuts, this is a cool piece of art. It's very modern/contemporary and is actually quite nice. As long as it doesn't encourage you to eat donuts. I have a love/hate relationship with the definition of modern and contemporary, especially when it comes to quilts! 

Donut art!


This is the second piece that caught my eye. What does it remind you of? Yep—the printer trays that are probably becoming harder to come by. I have one for my thimbles above my desk. The art in this one is behind glass, so you leave it as is - or you could take it apart and personalize some parts of it. 


New printer tray art


We had a Virtual Retreat yesterday afternoon/evening, and I am so thankful for all the ladies who popped in to chat. I set up a spare table so I had a surface to work on as I removed the paper from my Tequila Lime quilt. That is a long, boring job, and I thought I would never see the end of it. Thankfully, others were doing boring jobs (and some fun jobs) while we all chatted. 

Removing the paper from Tequila Lime


Periodically I took the quilt top outside and gave it a good shake to remove the loose bits of paper. I was down to two and a half star points, and I was about done for the day. But we still had an hour and a half to go, so I persevered and VOILA!!!! All the paper is gone!!!! I finished shortly before we closed down for the night. 

All the paper is removed!

After ripping out the majority of the paper in an area, I took my tweezers and a pair of hemostats and removed what I could from the tight corners and seams. It would take years to actually remove all the tiny bits, so I'm calling this DONE!

Now I can add a final border to the outside, find some backing, and make binding. Then it gets moved to the "to be quilted" pile. This one is on my Visual To Do list, and I'm not sure I can get it quilted this year. I was hoping to try one of the custom-made designs for it. Here's an example; it's a digitized program you plug into the long arm computer. 

I need to get my butt in gear and get back to the long arm. Tabletop today and long arm tomorrow. Both need to be done by the end of this week! 

And this was the mess on the floor when I was done. The garbage was overflowing, and I just let the paper fall where it did. I'll clean that up this morning. 

The mess from removing the paper

OK—I'm feeling energized again to get back to work. I have Down on the Farm to assemble, and I haven't touched my UFO at all this summer, so I have no time to be slacking off. I also realized that if I want to use the design boards for the backdrop for my Facebook Live next week, all those T-shirts are on them. Yikes—I need to deal with that too. But I have a Plan B for that area, so I may not have to move them. Still, I need to get working on that quilt. It's also on the Visual To Do List. 

I can tell that unless a miracle happens, not everything on the Visual To Do List will get done. But you know what? I'm OK with that. So far this year, I've made excellent progress, and I'll keep working on those items. It gives me focus, and I've also made a lot of new things for work or whatever. I'm doing just fine! 

It's Monday morning, and I need to get my butt to the gym. I need to incorporate some fat-burning cardio back into my schedule. I miss the spin classes for that, and well, it doesn't take much for fat to appear if you are doing nothing to combat it! As you all know, it's a constant struggle. 

And on that happy note -- it's going to be a GREAT day today. 


Ciao!!!!


Sunday, August 30, 2026

What's in your basket? And how did you load it?

If you can't beat the system, try a different way. Seriously? This darn bone density pill and I have a love/hate relationship. To remember to take the darn thing, I left my pillbox on the counter yesterday to remind me all day that I needed to take it this morning. Then I put the pillbox on my phone so I would remember first thing this morning. 

Then I had a bad night, couldn't get to sleep, and woke up several times. As a result, I slept in. Now you think that I would take the pill in the middle of the night, but you are not allowed to lie down for 30 minutes after taking it. 

I got up at the time that I would typically make breakfast, so I just threw in the towel. I took the pill, and I'm waiting 30 minutes before I eat. But seriously? This pill is the bane of my existence, and if it ruined my sleep, then I certainly need to do something about it. 

I need to make an appointment for a physical, and I am demanding that they wipe that prescription from my file. I hate the restrictions associated with it, and my brain is rebelling, and I don't need or want that! Another medication does the same thing without the time restrictions. 

I don't care that I am going to throw some of it away to get the one I can take without any restrictions. At this point, the medication isn't doing me any good. 

Phew -- I got that off my chest!


OK -- if you are in my Show and Tell, Forty Shades of Grey, or My Kinda Town class, you should have received an email yesterday from me. If you did not, and I just realized I forgot to do an email search, so I may have missed an email or two, then let me know, and I'll add you to the list. I'm preparing the information email that goes out to the groups, and I hope to get those out soon. 

It took me two hours or perhaps a wee bit more, and I accomplished all the errands that needed to be done by car. Well, almost. I went to return a light from the lighting store and to check on ordering a lighted house sign that they were supposed to get back to me about. I walked up to the counter with my bill and the light, only to see the Return Policy staring at me, which I had not noticed before. Or maybe I did, but it didn't register. TEN days, and it was now 24 days since I purchased the lights. 

I need authorization to return a light, so I sent an email and got a response that YES, I could return the light, so I have to go back on Monday to make that happen. The gentleman thanked me for my order—yes, you should! It wasn't cheap. 

The other light from a different store was returned, no questions asked. But it's a big box store, so that was OK. 

I stopped at Chapters to see if anything new was in. Oh my, the magazine section for knitting and crafts used to be crowded, but it's not so crowded any longer. 

The magazines left in the craft section


I am surprised that the Golden Media titles are still hanging in there. And I notice that the bookstore staff pepper the shelves with books - like the Sashiko book! And I found this on that shelf. Totally unrelated. 

A puzzle book on the craft magazine shelf

I swear, my brain loves puzzles. I decided I needed this book. OK -- so their strategy worked! It's filled with 50 logic puzzles that I LOVE doing. I've been doing those kinds of puzzles since I was a teenager, and well, if I wasn't a quilter, I'd probably have been doing puzzles for years. 


Logic puzzles



One other thing I spotted on the craft shelves was this GIANT book. I've seen and posted about them before, so it's not new, but this one was HUGE. This is a PAPER book - it's literally filled with stickers, mini books, papers, cardstock, etc so you can make journals or whatever else you want to make. 

A paper book


But look at the price!!!!

Ouch!!


I suppose if you want a variety of stuff, it would cost you the same amount if you purchased all those things individually at the craft store. So maybe it's like our quilting kits—pay one price and get it all!


Then I went to the pet store to get dog food for the girls. They do not eat the same food. I winged my way to the back of the store and spotted an employee from the dog food company as she scouted the shelves. I found the two bags of food and whipped them onto the cart. I always turn them upside down on the edge of the cart so the cashier can easily scan the code on the back. 

Then I decided to mention that to the lady from the company. So the heavy bags are placed face up on the shelf. No big deal -- that's where the pretty pictures are. But as I take them off the shelf, I have to turn them over and place them wrong side up in the cart so the pricing label shows. Then, when I go to the cash register, it's an easy job for them to scan it. 

Why can't that scan code be placed on the FRONT of the bag? Then I only have to take the bag off the shelf and put it on the cart. I don't have to rotate the bag. I can manage it, but what if I'm not as strong as I am? More on that in a minute! 

She thanked me, and I headed out. And never drop a heavy bag of dog food INTO the cart—how the heck will you get it out? I balance the two of them on the top! 

When I do my car errands, I have a route. It's about three blocks long, and it's where I buy the big stuff, like dog food, etc. There is a thrift store along that route, and Fabricland and Chapters, etc. So I start at one end and work my way to the other. I hate driving a short distance and then reparking the car, but it's practical that way. 

When I popped into Fabricland to find the bias tape, I spotted a completely empty spool rack. Hmmm --- is that thread on its way out? 

An empty spool rack


From the corner of my eye, I spotted this fabric. It's a stretch velvet with sequins on it that shone as if it belonged to Dolly Parton on a stage with thousands of lights. It was brilliant. The picture doesn't do it justice. 


A bright sparkly fabric


It came in different colors. I have no use for it, but boy was it brilliant. 

I managed to find some bias tape, so I'll use that for my bag. 

The double-fold bias tape


And I found this Clover tool for making jelly roll rugs. I have seen a video of it, and it looks pretty cool. I still have batting strips, so I thought I would try it. 

Clover Fabric Tube Maker

I bought a pack of buttons and placed the three items on the counter. All of them were face up, with the scanning code on the back! The cashier even mentioned that she had to turn them over to scan them!!! I almost died! Well, she was right, but hey, these items were a lot lighter than a bag of dog food! 

Then I was onto Staples, where I dropped off our shredding. I have a drawer in the office where all the personal papers go, and when the drawer is full (it's not a big drawer), then I bundle it up and off it goes. It's usually once a year? Maybe twice this year because I tackled the drawers in the filing cabinet. Yes - I could have a shredder at home, but I found that any shredder we had in the past didn't last long, and it was boring to sit there and shred stuff and then you had to find a home for it. I paid $6 to drop off four pounds of paper. The only negative thing is that you have to shove it through this narrow slot. 

The narrow slot on the paper shredding container


But seriously? I'm getting very good at it and have no issues. So the paper is gone, and that was my last errand. With access to this kind of service, I would NEVER consider having a shredder in the house. 


Wait -- there was one more thing to get. When I returned the second light at the hardware store, I checked for the drill extensions, but I needed to go to the washroom, and I didn't want to make any "major" decisions as there were many options. So I walked to the hardware store near the house in the afternoon. And look what I found! A set of extended screwdriver heads with two extenders. This was exactly what I needed. 


My drill extenders


My drill is old - I didn't spot anything Black and Decker in either store, but the Dewalt ones work just fine. 

And then I got to work on my table. 

Soon, I had most of the leg assembly screwed to the table top. YES—there are cords involved because this table is electric! It is an adjustable height table, and because of the size I wanted and whatever, I couldn't get a crank version for that size. I tested the legs when it was like this, and they work!!! This way, I can sit and sew, or I can raise the table to do machine embroidery! I can't wait to try it out. I still have to tidy up the cords, but I'll do that later. 


The leg assembly is almost done.

Then the leg bases went on, and I waited for DH to get home. I was certain we wouldn't be able to right the table because it was so heavy; I could barely lift one end off the floor. 

The entire leg assembly!

But he used his engineering skills, and we flipped the table on its side and then righted it!!! With two people, it took very little effort. 

My new table


Oh my --- that is a sturdy table. It's supposed to support 450 lbs. I just need it to be stable when doing machine embroidery! I now have to move two machines so this table can slide into the back area of the worktable area. Then I can put one machine on it, and I've started to bring the components of the second table downstairs, and I hope to get it mostly done today. I need to do that while the assembly is still fresh in my mind!!!

But I think I'm going to love them. How will they ever get out of the basement if we move? That's another story!

I got a chucklet earlier in the day as I spotted a gold thread - a long one this time on my quilt top that I was going to work on during the virtual retreat. There's always a gold thread somewhere.

A long gold thread



That new table surface came in very handy last night as I spread my Tequila Lime quilt out so I could remove the paper from the back. It turns out that I was working on the four corners and the four middle sections. At one point, I thought I was done, so I took the quilt into the backyard to shake all the wee bits off. 

Removing paper from Tequila Lime


No - I had done 6 of the 8 sections. But that was good progress, and I was working on the final one last night when we shut the retreat down. I will continue to work on it today, and hopefully I can get the center star points (8) done today. 

There's my little garbage bin of paper. This was near the beginning of the process. 

My bin of paper



And this is what it looked like when I shut down last night! I'll have a mess to clean up when I'm done. So better to get all the paper out in one go and clean up once. 

What a mess to remove paper from a foundation pieced project


And my new turtle is done. I just need to remove the old one from the rest of the block and replace it with the new one. That should be an easy job today. You can actually see the turtle's head now. 


The old turtle and the new


I grabbed this picture from one of the Facebook puzzling groups. This is a small portion of this person's puzzle collection. Mine pales in comparison. 


A small part of someone's puzzle collection

I guess I feel about puzzles the same way I feel about novels. Once you read them, there are so many to read/do; why would you want to reread the book? Or redo the puzzle? Unless it had a very special meaning. Nope -- get the puzzle done, read the book, and GONE!!!!

OK - I waited an hour and just made breakfast. That will work! I'll just change my schedule on Sunday morning and use up those ridiculous pills! 

I noticed people were asking questions about my upcoming Facebook Live on the PFAFF creative icon 3. That was on the Embroidery M.O.M Facebook group, and she reposted my event. Oh my --- no pressure to do a good job! But it's going to be fun, and let's just go with it! 




And yes—we have a Virtual Retreat today, from 3 PM to 9 PM. Here's the link. 

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

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711


And it's going to be another great day!!! 


Ciao!!!!



Saturday, August 29, 2026

Anouncements and progress reports!

I know -- I know --- but that little plastic sunflower bag is so cute! It will not take long to finish it! And YES—I could make my own double-fold binding. I know! I'll check out the colors of the purchased first, and if I don't find anything, I'll make it! Sometimes my brain works in mysterious ways! 

I have a bunch of errands to do today, and one of them takes me right past the fabric store. I already checked my stash and couldn't find anything appropriate. 

I seem to have a thing for bags. While I could easily make a new bag from scratch, I seem to get attached to my tote bags—my bag from Stonehenge (oh my god—I had a dream about Stonehenge last night) and my bag from Longo's. I use the bag so long that it wears out, and I need to just say "thank you" and let it go. I can't seem to do that! 

OK—we may need a bag intervention here! 

Here is that silly girl as I was finishing up the blog yesterday morning. I think she is trying to tell me something! 

MOM - you're late - let's go!!!!


And I got a chuckle when we were out for our walk. Typically you see trucks that are commissioned by the city, but that's a scooter! And he's marking lines for something. The paint gun was attached to the front of the scooter! 

New economical way to travel for the city

OK - I decided it was time to get my act together and clean up some of that basement. It was starting to look like a warehouse. And the floor was in desperate need of being swept. 


A bit of a mess to say the least


The boxes for the PFAFF creative icon 3 went into the cold storage area under our front steps. I don't know if there is room for any more boxes!!! I need to keep the boxes for when the machine is shipped somewhere, so throwing them out is not an option. Thankfully, I have this storage area because if I didn't? Well, those boxes take up a lot of room. 

My sewing machine box storage area


And now when I go downstairs, it's a lot more inviting. YES—there are still a lot of things, but they are in their permanent home. YES - I need to get that new leader on the long arm. That is a goal I'll start today. Or tomorrow, depending on what happens today. 

This looks much better.

The other big job I tackled yesterday was my new table. I sort of dreaded working on it because it's heavy. Step one was to lay the tabletop on the floor so I could work on it. Thankfully, it was packaged so the underside faced up, and I could easily work on it, using the packaging cardboard to protect the table's surface. 
The exposed underside of the table


Before I could set out all the components, I put the jigsaw puzzle away, and I spotted one piece with discoloration on the back. Hmmm --- what happened to that piece? Well, no worries - it's now in a plastic bag, in the box, and ready to be traded or donated. 

One discolored piece

Now the puzzle table is clear. OH—do you see my Longo's bag in the background? It's there because I want to rescue the handles - I like those handles, and I was thinking of swapping them onto the bag I'm currently using. So help me god—I need to throw bags away! They owe me nothing, as I have used them many times before I wore them out! 

The table is empty and ready for the table leg assembly.

And now here are all the components of the table. Yikes --- that is a lot of stuff. But this table is heavy-duty and can support up to 450 pounds, so of course it needs a lot of support on the bottom. Plus the top is thick! 

Components in place and ready to work

I had to take a few pictures of the paper instructions and enlarge them to see exactly what was what. I think the instructions could be rewritten - some of the language - well, it didn't make sense. Also, in Step 8 you were instructed to insert screws into the tabletop and add more in Step 9, and then in Step 10 it instructs you to center the leg structure. Well, that's a bit late if you already inserted screws in Step 8. Sigh..................


The leg assembly


I got to this point, and I need to get an extension for my drill bit. I swear I had one and I searched, but couldn't find it. So I'm off to the hardware store today to get one. And when I was searching, I had to clear up the puzzle mess that sat on top of the toolbox. Now the puzzles are neatly stacked BEHIND the toolbox, and I have room for about 5 more puzzles, and then I've maxed out my space. So I must stop buying, or puzzle faster! 

Since I couldn't go further on the table until I got that part, I decided it was time to remake the turtle block for Down on the Farm. I tried many greens and ended up going with the lighter one I had pulled after I realized the original green didn't have enough contrast. 

BUT look what I noticed when I was cutting the black for the rocks. These are the same print, and yet the base color is extremely different. You are looking at the wrong side of each. One is very blue-based, and one is very orange-based. Yet, they are both black! Imagine bleaching them both! 

Different dye lots of the same fabric


And there is my turtle block recut and ready to sew. 


The turtle block is ready to sew!


I had some time this morning, so I got this much sewn. The new green is a wee bit off, but I'm OK with that because we can at least see the turtle now. 

Progress on the turtle block

I should be able to finish that off today, and I hope to work on assembling the blocks and the borders during the virtual retreat tonight and tomorrow. 

OH GOSH -- I didn't forget to send out the confirmations for the classes; I got tied up making the big email for the groups and forgot I just needed to send a confirmation. So those will go out this morning. My apologies for that. 

And do you want to know about my Stonehenge dream? OK - if you've been to Stonehenge or even if you've seen pictures of it - it's out in the middle of a field. There is nothing around it. I guess I've watched a few too many videos about the recent flash flood in Nepal, because in my dream, there was a massive building around Stonehenge and there was no damage. All was good. 

Inside? We were working on some kind of fiber art project! Where did that come from? It always amazes me how our brains work. 


Murphy had a wee slip on the stairs yesterday - someone came to the door, and she was downstairs, and I didn't have my barricade up. I heard her attempt to come up, but she couldn't make it, so I helped her up after I answered the door. Yikes -- I have to watch her like a hawk. She doesn't want to wait. OK—so she is like all of us—we think we are still in our 20s!!! 

But she seems to be fine, and she and Lexi were having a wrestling match last night. It's not the same (not as boisterous), but they still have fun playing together. 


MOM -- help me!!!!


I haven't seen any words of wisdom for the last couple of days, but spotted this yesterday from Thought.minds. 



Yep—we need to do this because no one else really appreciates what we are going through. Some days it might be nothing, and the next day we are devastated by something. And for some, just getting out of bed is an accomplishment. Take EVERY win as significant. I don't know why we think that feeling proud of our minor accomplishments is a bad thing. And why do we need validation from someone else? We can validate ourselves! Just tell yourself that the next time you do something small. "I did this!" "I'm super proud of myself," or whatever else is going on. You don't need someone else to blow your horn -- do it yourself and be proud! 

I need to think about that for my bag situation! 

I see this sign on the entrance to the forest. Oh boy --- they really need to find a permanent solution to that trail in the forest. They can regrade it all they want, but unless they dig the path up, repack it well, and add channels for the torrential downpours, they'll keep having to regrade it. 




And now for some announcements. I discovered on the Teach the World to Sew Day website that the participating Michaels stores are listed there as well. At the top of the list are all the Michaels in the US and Canada that are participating. There is one store in Calgary, Toronto, and Saskatoon. 

Then you find the US Dealers and then the Canadian Dealers. That date is September 19. 

As mentioned, if you know someone who would like to learn to sew, this is a perfect event for them to make something for FREE and show their friends that they have learned to sew. 


Here is the link to the Facebook page about the Facebook Live that I will do on the PFAFF creative icon 3 on September 9 at 3 PM EDT. I see a lot of people have responded! Yikes—I've got to get my tables together and get Studio B and my samples in order. The time will pass by quickly. And even if you are NOT in the market for a new sewing machine or a new embroidery machine, pop out to that event. Let's aim to blow the number of attendees out of the water! 

I am compressing three hours (my in-person event) into one hour (Facebook Live), so if you get a chance to come and check out my presentations in person, be sure to do so, as you'll see more samples and get more information. There will be live events on the PFAFF creative icon 3 at Sew Productive (Acton, Ontario) on September 26 and at Cindy Bee's Quilt Shoppe (Espanola, Ontario) on October 25 or 26 - I'm not sure which day it will be. 

Or you can check it out in person at Salon Quebec on October 1- 4 in Ste. Hyacinthe, Quebec. Yes—it's going to be a busy two months! 

I also remembered on my walk that I needed to buy a new power cord for my camera switch box. I couldn't find it the last time I did a Facebook Live, but I was fortunate enough to discover the Cricut power cord worked. But I no longer own the Cricut, so I bought a new power cord yesterday. And I bought it from a local shop, NOT my "favorite" online store. I refuse to buy from them on principle. If I can't find the item anywhere else, then I have no choice, but if I have a choice? I will. I don't care if it costs more money. We need to speak out with our voice (in this case, our dollar)!

There is a Virtual Retreat tonight. Here are the links: 


Saturday, August 29 - from 6 PM - 9 PM


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

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311


And Sunday, August 30 - from 3 PM - 9 PM


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

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711


I think that is it for announcements. 


Have a super day! It's going to be a super day - I can just feel it, and I look forward to chatting with you all tonight!!! I'm super excited - I've missed everyone over the summer! 

Ciao!!!