Progress on all fronts!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New version

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

Classic Version

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

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

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

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

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

I think these are too small.

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

A pile of very small triangles

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

The binding is on!

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

The soccer quilt is complete!

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

The back of the soccer quilt

I now have all three of these hot mats complete. 

Three pieced-in-the-hoop hot mats.

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

Bias binding sewn on by machine

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

Bias binding stitched by hand

I also added the side pieces to that border. 

One of the two borders is complete.

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

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

The blocks for the backing of my Dear Jen quilt

Well, I got three of the four stitched. 

Block One

Block Two

Block Three

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

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

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

MOM -- we love to walk with you!

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

MOM -- wonderful sniffs!

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

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

MOM - it's so much fun to play!

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

Inspirational quote

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

Have a super per day!!!!

Ciao!!

Never give in!

So here's the thing about the email distribution lists. In the previous version of Outlook, you could type in a name (Elaine) and all the Elaines in my contact list would appear. I could then select the desired people and add them to the distribution list. When I reviewed the updated distribution list, I saw the person's name and their email address. 

Creating the lists was a breeze because I could use autofill and a direct link to my contact list. No chance of getting an incorrect email. 

However, whatever Microsoft did is STUPID. I'm sorry to use that word, but nothing else comes to mind. When you create distribution lists now, you have to TYPE THE ENTIRE email address. Oh yes—the videos show that you can use autofill, but it does NOT work. Trust me -- I've tried it multiple times. The list creation/edit does NOT reference my contact lists, so it won't use autofill. 

And they have to be typed ONE AT A TIME!!!! So what I'm doing is going back to an email I recently sent, copying all the email addresses, and pasting them into a Word document, which I then print - it's one page, so not a big deal. From there, I'm manually retyping the email addresses as I generate the new distribution list. If I look at the list, it shows ONLY the email addresses, with no names attached. 

For the most part, that is OK, but for people like me, my email address is my name. For many others, their email addresses contain elements other than their name, odd spellings, or their husband's name. It's a slow process, but I've recreated two of the eight. 

I was hesitant to go this route because, even though I had entered names into a new list, it still showed ZERO names. However, someone came to my rescue because they were having the same issue with the new list system. If you insert that list into the email (TO, CC, or BCC), all the names come up even though it shows there are zero names in the list. Sigh..............

The only way to review the names is in the EDIT screen, which doesn't make sense. There is no way to view the entire list at once. I took screenshots - I'll share tomorrow, although I'm sure you don't care! I want to know whether this is my ignorance or a new way the program works. 

I will contact Microsoft tomorrow to find out why I can't use autofill and why there isn't a name beside the email, as before. I swear -- if something isn't broken, why are they fixing it?? 

I'm good for the moment, but I have my two big classes this coming weekend, so I'll have to retype 40 to 50 emails per list! Hopefully, Microsoft will have an answer. I also don't understand my contact list. It seems to have changed, and well, I need to investigate that a bit more. 

Anyway -- life goes on!

HEY --- here's something of interest to anyone with an ice dam. When the problem first arose, I wondered who to contact for help. I thought about a roofer, an eaves-trough person, an insurance agent, an engineer, etc. Someone said, "A roofer only deals with shingles; you don't want to contact them." Well, they were WRONG!!! Another friend sent me a link yesterday, and roofing companies use GIANT STEAMERS to blast the ice dam away. 

It doesn't fix the problem, but it removes the dam to prevent water damage. SHOOT -- I wish I had done some research and called the roofer last week, before the water started coming into the house. And now it's a long weekend, so I'll have to wait until Tuesday to do anything. It's NOT an emergency. I've put in a call to my roofer. We are expecting warm temps today and tomorrow, and there might not be much left of the ice dam by the time they can get here, but we need to ensure that the dam is gone because there is still a lot of snow on the roof, and we are expecting a lot of rain this week. 

The roofer with the steamer is NOT a fix, but it can eliminate the snow and ice buildup, and really, that's what I need. If only I had done some research, but alas—we cannot have any regrets—just move on and hope for the best. I'd like a permanent fix, but now that I know I can have a temporary one, I'm good with that. Regardless, I want them to come so I can chat about the situation and discuss how to alleviate the problem when it happens again, as I don't see a complete fix ever happening, unless I rip off my roof and redesign it. I don't think that is going to happen.  

And I really like this roofing company because we had a massive leak in our garage many years ago. Actually, they were here because some shingles had blown off our roof, and I happened to ask about the leak in the garage. You will not believe what the leak was. A SINGLE nail from the eaves trough guy!!!! He put a nail right through the shingles. Once that was fixed, we haven't had a single leak in the garage since!!! 

OK -- those roofer guys are not just pretty faces!! I shall keep my roofer on speed dial from now on. 

So I opened my computer in the morning to submit my Cherrywood Challenge. Tick tock!!!!

The countdown

I still had to write the artist statement and take the pictures. I went outside on the front step to get good pictures in good light. The sun wasn't out, and there were no shadows. I swear I went out three or four times because I'm an idiot! There was dog hair on the close-ups, but I didn't see it until I looked at the photos. One of the two measuring tapes slipped, and I didn't notice it. But this is what I got. You needed measuring tapes to prove that the item was exactly 20" by 20". 

Submission accepted!

I've looked at the other photos online. Oh my—some very good ones, and I don't know if mine is "complex" enough to be accepted. It doesn't matter. But I'm surprised because many took the same route as I did. They didn't depict a story; rather, they depicted the reading. No one wanted to get caught up in copyright issues. 

I'll share it with you in a bit, but not today. 

Well, it was all about half-square triangles yesterday. I trimmed a whole pile, but when I went to bed, there was still a bundle (on the left) that needed trimming. 

Trimming half-square triangles

Since there was no spin class this morning, I decided to continue the trimming. 

Everything is now trimmed.

I'm happy to report that ALL those half-square triangles, including the big pile I generated yesterday, are done!!! I told you that I would get on top of the situation. 

However, when I was looking at the current projects table, guess what I discovered? Yep -- another bag of TINY half-square tringles that need to be trimmed. 

Ooop --- I found another bag to be trimmed!

And I decided to bring some of the triangles that need to be stitched down from Studio U. I may just have a half-square triangle sewing day. There are so many - it's totally crazy. But I'd love to start sewing them together into quilts; however, I sort of want them all sewn first. Am I crazy to even imagine that? There are THOUSANDS more units to make. 

More half-square triangles to sew

The good news is that I completed this row of half-square triangles. While all those half-square triangles were sewn, I still needed to press and trim them. 

One of the two borders is complete.

My system of starting on the left, working to the right, and joining the units as I went worked like a charm. I had to repress the second block, but then I got the logic, and I was able to whip along at a pretty decent pace. 

That's the good news. The bad news? I have to make one more row! I'm going to try to focus on that later today. This week, it's all about prepping for UFO Club, the jacket, and Colour My World classes. And there is a lot of work to be done, but that's all I have on my plate, so I'm good. I just need to stay focused, which I am, and I just putter along at my new speed, and I'm good! 

So DH reads the Globe and Mail, and from time to time, they have reviews of mystery/thriller books. What a tough gig that would be!

I find that when I try to locate the latest book releases, they're hard to find in the library system. So I've been tucking them away to deal with later. Well, this page was from March 2023, and I was able to find all five of these books in ebook or audiobook format. I don't care if I'm a couple of years behind. I'm just glad to find them. And so the reading list just got a wee bit longer!

Adding books to the reading list

But honestly, I'm OK with that. I'm enjoying the time to read, as I was so "busy" before that, even with listening to audiobooks, I didn't have the time. Now I can relax in the evening or whenever and listen/read to books. That's what life and retirement are all about. I'm filling my time, but I'm not going mad! Does that make sense? 

If I look at my calendar, I see two gym appointments, one private class, and three classes this weekend. NOTHING else, and no deadlines beyond those three classes and an ENTIRE week to prepare at my leisure. That is what I call ENJOYING LIFE!!!! Am I being selfish? You bet, and I won't deny or regret any of it!

OK - I caught Murphy on the pond yesterday. I have no idea what is so fascinating. I think she looks guilty, but I doubt that! 

MOM - nothing to see here!

It's Monday Sewing today, and I've got a few things lined up to work on. And amazingly, everything I have to work on is on that Visual To-Do list, in the blue bin for UFO, or related to a class for the weekend. It's funny what a wee bit of focusing can do to make my life so much more relaxed. FOCUS!!!! 

Well, on that note, I'm out of here. It's going to be a busy day. Note, busy does not mean insanity - it just means that I have a plan and I'm not one to sit around. I'm busy dealing with what I deem important (those UFOs), not for others! There is a huge difference. 

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!!

Double Whammy!!!

The good news is that when I looked at my Cherrywood Challenge in the morning, the chalk lines were pretty much gone, so I didn't have to do any further work on it. I trimmed the quilt top, made the two-color binding, and stitched it to the top of the piece. Then I settled in and watched some YouTube videos while hand-stitching the binding in place! 

All that's left is to touch up a few spots with markers where the lighter-colored bobbin thread peeked through during the appliqué process, take three pictures, and then submit the entry. I checked last night and saw a couple of pieces that several others had done and submitted. Oh my!!! So cute. But mine is different, and well, I don't care if it gets in. I'm just happy that I did it and on time!

Then I put all the supplies away, except the entry instructions. I have a spot for all my Cherrywood fabric, but do you think I knew where that was yesterday? So it's on a shelf, and when I remember where the rest of the stuff is, I'll put it all together. 

The leftovers from the Cherrywood Challenge

That was the good news. There are two pieces of bad news, and of course, one of them has to do with technology. I live and breathe by my distribution lists, as they make it easy to send notes to my groups. Since I moved to the new computer, the distribution lists are still on the old one. And when I went to send my emails yesterday, the LISTs are GONE!!!! Yes—it appears there was an update on the old computer, and the way distribution lists are handled is different.

I do NOT understand why everything else can be migrated but not the contact list? Why?

What's even worse is that I BCC everyone on my group emails, so I can't even use an old email to forward anything. And I don't have a printout. I might see if the original version of Outlook is still on the old computer. I have no idea why Microsoft would perform this update without accounting for distribution lists. 

I can print a copy of an email I've sent to each group and retrieve the emails from there, but there is no name associated with them. It's ridiculous. When I tried to recreate a distribution list on the new computer, it accepted the email addresses, but NO names from my contact list. It won't let me use my contact list to create a distribution list. I MUST be doing something incorrectly. 

After I created a list with 17 names and could see them, when I tried to use the list to BCC a note, it said the list was empty. If I put the list in the TO box, it worked. Are you kidding me? I am deathly afraid of using "TO"-it just isn't appropriate. There's a long story behind that fear!

I know you must think I'm a dolt when it comes to technology, but I'm not. I tend to do things the average person wouldn't use, and it drives me mad when things change, and when there isn't an intuitive, logical way to recreate them or to fix them easily. 

Thankfully, with fewer classes, I have fewer distribution lists. If I'm counting correctly, I only have eight, so it's not a huge deal to recreate them, but if I don't do it right, that's a problem. 

So that is an issue I must work on today, but I might hobble along for today and tomorrow and then call Microsoft on Tuesday. But they are sometimes totally useless with their own products. I'll play and see what I can come up with!

The other bad news is the roof. While there was no water leaking in the window, I spotted this in the morning. And the towel did need to be changed at one point, and I'm not sure why. 

The current leak situation

Yep --- the water is now coming in under the shingles on the roof because it can't go anywhere due to the ice dam. Oh, happy day! I took this picture and forwarded it to the engineers, so hopefully they will feel sorry for me and take a better look. I'm not overly worried, since all this drywall has to come down due to past issues. The walls and the ceiling in that room are toast. 

On a positive note, the icicle melted so fast yesterday that it's almost gone. What I need is someone to remove all the snow from that section of the roof, so no more water comes in, but the damage is already done, so what's the point of that? 

It froze last night, so I suspect there is no more damage, and I haven't turned on the lights yet this morning. 

I was on a tear yesterday and got to work on trimming those half-square triangles. I finished all the ones that I had pressed the day before. 

Trimming half-square triangles

Then, because I'm in relax mode these days, I did this. 

The EMPTY container where the half-square triangles resided.

Yes, I emptied that little container and started pressing. 

All the half-square triangles on the ironing surface

And then I kept pressing until all of them were pressed. 

The pressing continues

I didn't get them all trimmed last night, so I will do a few each day. But here's the thing - I am COMMITTED to cleaning up that mess, and it will happen. I CAN & I WILL. Watch me!!!

Half-square triangles to trim

All my trimmed half-square triangles have a home in Studio U. All these containers are chock-a-block full of trimmed units in various sizes, but predominantly 1½". 

Containers of trimmed half-square triangles

There is no risk of running out of these units, as three packed containers above the blue bin still need to be sewn, pressed, and trimmed. Yep -- I was just hoarding them without doing anything with them, and I now know that that is wrong! So I'm planning on getting control of that mess. Baby steps, and I'm making good progress. 

OH -- once I send in the submission form for the Cherrywood Challenge, I can officially remove one more item from the Visual To-Do list. It's a pretty exciting thing to do, and I'm loving that whole setup!

Looking at what's coming up next weekend, the items that need to be completed are now sitting out and ready for me to tackle this week. And I have the entire week to get them done, including today! Where did all this time come from? No more rushing around at the last minute, no more only completing part of what I said I would do. I love it!!!

And I'm slowly making progress on this border. You can't really tell the progress because I keep the one end rolled up so it'll fit on that mini design board. But all the seams are being twirled on the back, and I hope I have enough white fabric. It's amazing, as you would think white is white, but it's not. So I must have a peek at that, and it may require a trip to the fabric store, as I've already pulled what works from my stash. 

Progress on the border

As you know, I'm an avid reader, and while I'm open to reading most genres, I love mysteries and thrillers the best. I've been ripping through the audiobooks like mad as I get some sewing done. I just finished reading "Everyone Here is Lying" by Shari Lapena. 

OH OH OH ---- All I can say is that Shari has a very twisted mind. She used to be a lawyer and an English teacher, but now lives on a farm somewhere in Ontario and writes full-time. I wonder if she's afraid to turn off the lights at night? 

True to the book's title, everyone was lying in the book, and I won't spoil it for anyone who wants to read it, but it's warped. Right down to the very last word in the book --- WARPED!!! And evil!!! But good! 

Her books are disturbing because, for the most part, they are about secrets that best friends or family members are keeping from one another. And well, she must spend days walking around the farm dreaming up new evils. 

I think this quote by Ruth Ware (also a great author) is so fitting: 

I got that title from the book list of the top ten most circulated books in Canadian libraries, and another one of her books was on the list - "What have you done?", which I'm reading now. I rarely read back-to-back books by the same author, but it just happened to come in my Libby App, so I'm reading it. 

I see my sleep score is back to normal, and I got 1 hour and 24 minutes of deep sleep! I'm excited that I have the entire day (almost) ahead of me to do whatever I want! I might even crack open a jigsaw puzzle. 

Just turned on the light, and I see the paint is bubbling just below where the ceiling meets the wall, and about two feet down in the corner. Sigh...............   You can actually see that starting in the photo I posted from yesterday. It's just more pronounced now. 

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

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Almost a disaster with the Cherrywood Challenge

I had a thought when I was out walking yesterday, and Tammy confirmed it with her comment. If you were a doctor and you wanted to help your patient, wouldn't it be great to see their sleep history? Or see their heart rate history? And other trends? 

I totally get that different brands track things differently. That was evident when I had the Galaxy Watch for a while, and I hated how it tracked steps slightly differently from the Fitbit. But it's all relative if you only look at your data! 

Speaking of data, I did NOT get a good sleep score last night. I didn't get much sleep. It was one of those nights where I was fast asleep, and then I wasn't. I'm not sure why, but my brain would not turn off for hours. I contemplated getting up many times, and I did once, but well, I think it's going to be a nap day today! And I'm OK with that. I almost got up a second time, but had a wave of vertigo, so I quickly lay back down and decided I didn't need to get up!

I think part of the issue with my getting back to sleep was my Cherrywood Challenge. Oh -- I accomplished all the quilting, but didn't trust myself to trim it last night. And it looks amazing, or does it? You see, I did a very bad thing. I had to use chalk to mark the quilting lines, and then, before I removed the lines that remained, I gave it a press FROM THE BACK - thankfully. 

So those lines were not easy to remove. I tried a wet cloth, which usually works, but I think the heat of the iron sort of made some of that chalk permanent. That has never happened before, and I don't typically use Cherrywood fabric either. I went to bed a bit disheartened and would deal with it in the morning. 

However, my subconscious woke me up and said, "Get down there and fix that problem." I used a kitchen scrub brush to remove the chalk, then a baby wipe. Most of it is gone and very hard to see, but I'll repeat that exercise one more time today.  

Aside from the chalk removal, all that remains is to trim and bind it, then take pictures. The due date is tomorrow, and with nothing else on my plate, I should be able to accomplish that. However, I will probably forever see those chalk lines on that quilt!

Speaking of the to-do lists and, in particular, my visual one, I have a category called "Quilts for Others." It happens to be the largest category, with seven projects. 

Quilts for Others category on the Visual To-Do list

This is a bit of an agonizing category for me because there are some quilts in that category that are long overdue, and I need to get them done, which is why I put them on this list. I may or may not tell you the details about them. Yes—it's embarrassing, and I might need some help. 

Well, do you remember that day in Hawaii last year when we ran into M, and it was totally an accident? All because we made a very definite decision to walk down that aisle in the market. That happened to me yesterday at the grocery store. 

I do not typically go down the aisles in the grocery store, but only along the perimeter, but yesterday, I had to look at something, and when I got to the end of the aisle. I turned the corner, and there was Marla, the mother of a girl M had gone to elementary school with. OH MY GOD!!

You see, many years ago, I made a quilt for Marla's mom, and although faded, it still hangs in her mom's house. It was a photo-transfer quilt featuring pictures of all the grandchildren. She had wanted me to make a family tree quilt for her stepfather. 

Well, that got started and then abandoned. And it's been sitting in Studio B for many years, and surprisingly, I had it on the Visual To-Do list. 

Marla's quilt on the Visual To-Do list

And here is the box where the quilt pieces reside; it was UNDER that newly cleaned-off table. There is a small stack of things I haven't found a home for, so it wasn't hard to find, although it should have been on the current projects table. I knew exactly where it was. I have moved the box to the top of the table and will look at it next week.

The box containing the bits for Marla's quilt

I promised Marla that I would contact her next week, after reviewing the box, and see what can be done. Whether we abandon the project or, hopefully, make something much smaller than her initial desire, it would be nice to get it done. I'm going to do it for free as I feel guilty as heck about that whole thing. 

There are two more projects similar to that on the Visual To-Do list, actually three, and I'm going to have to dig deep to confess the details and how the quilting projects can be resolved. 

Do not judge me -- I get it --- totally irresponsible for taking on a project and then abandoning it. Stuff happens, and I just couldn't wrap my head around it, and I was too "weak" to talk to the owner about it. Meeting her in the store was a sign to get one of those "quilts for others" done! 

I have one of those large ironing boards, and I had to flip it upside down to see what the heck was happening. I swear it had a definite slant to it. What is up with that? After checking, it appears that one of those bars with cutouts isn't sitting properly. I tried to position it correctly and then hold it in place while putting the ironing board back on its feet, but it seems the support bar between those wave-like ones is bent. 

Hmm -- we have a problem with the ironing board.

Plus, these little bits came out. It still seems pretty sturdy, so I hope it doesn't collapse on me! I'll check again next week to see if I can pull that bar straight so it seats into those cutouts properly. At least, it's straight now!

Little bits from the ironing board

I decided to tackle that little box of half-square triangles when I needed a break from the Cherrywood Challenge. I got quite a few trimmed, and there is a stack of ones that need trimming. I even found little squares that weren't sewn together yet, so I moved them to the tray beside the sewing machine. And I made a ton of half-square triangles for the pink-and-green border. Sewn, but not pressed or trimmed until I know which direction. 

Working on half-square triangles

I think I have a rhythm for making those pink-and-green blocks, so I must continue while it is still in my head. It makes it super easy to keep the adjoining one beside me while I make the new one. Thank goodness for mini design boards, as I can carry this border from the ironing board to the cutting table to the sewing machine.  

I'm thinking of making a "fancy" two-color binding for the Cherrywood Challenge, and I'll decide later this morning. 

Even with the melting from the sun we had yesterday, no water came in through the window. That doesn't mean it isn't dripping behind the walls, but not through the window. So that is good, and we'll see what happens. I've put the bug in DH's ear that this may be a lengthy, costly fix. Let's hope I can find someone to help fix the problem, then we can get to the cosmetics in the house. 

As the snow melts, the girls seem fascinated by the pond. We have a heater in it, so a small part of it is open. But as you can see, there are many tracks on it! 

MOM -- there's something here!!!

I spotted Murphy standing on it yesterday, but didn't get the camera in time to get a picture. Hopefully, they are smart enough to stay off when that ice softens. I do not want to be rescuing a dog from a fall through the ice! And if a rescue is necessary, it will be with Murphy for sure!

MOM - I'm guarding the pond!

I think I mentioned this a while back, but that big quilt used to be on the living room floor, and the girls loved sleeping there. There was also a dog bed in that spot. Then I moved the quilt and the dog bed to the family room, where no one slept on it, and Murphy was happy to have her ball rolled up in the blankets. 

The quilt is now back in the living room, and this spot belongs to Lexi, although Murphy hijacks it from time to time. And now Murphy sleeps in the big bed in the family room. What is that? 

MOM -- this spot is MINE!

But the two of them are having fun chasing each other in the back yard, and when they've had enough, they come to the door to beg to be let in. I even spotted Lexi doing laps in the backyard - something she rarely does because she's so lazy! But she doesn't have an ounce of fat on her, so I'm not going to yell at her! They are very entertaining to say the least. 

MOM - we're exhausted - can we come in now?

I don't know what's with the weather, but we had snow last night. Not much, so it won't take long to shovel, so I'm good with that. But all the sidewalks and the driveway were clean and dry, and now they are not! I won't complain - the temperature is decent! I see we have a potentially significant snowfall later this week. No worries, I have lots to do in Studio B, and I don't need to go anywhere. 

Yep -- as soon as I'm done with the Cherrywood Challenge, I need to get to work on my UFOs for next weekend (yes -- there was an issue with the date in my calendar), and I have two classes next weekend as well. Having all this time to work on things at my pace is amazing!!!!

As I was standing at the front window admiring the then-clean and dry driveway, something big flew overhead. A hawk! And it landed on the street light. It may not look so big in the photo, but when they are flying, they are huge! Good thing Little Bear isn't here! 

The neighborhood hawk

Well, I must go and send a couple of emails this morning, then I'm downstairs to work on that Cherrywood Challenge. I'm so close, and I can do this!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!