The email saga continues

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The printed distribution list for Colour My World

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

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

Prepping the homework for Colour My World

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

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

My machine embroidered quilt block

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

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

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

My keyring

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

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

Doing a puzzle while walking? 

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

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

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

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

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

However, onward and upward!!!!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

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

Updates and bad news

I'll get the bad news out of the way first thing, so you don't have to wonder what's going on. I've been extremely careful on the sidewalks all year. I'm watching for ice patches and have had a few minor slips. Yesterday? I was walking Miss Lexi, so I can't blame powerful Murphy for this one. But I slipped. I didn't break anything - PHEW!! But my left leg (of course!) went out in front, and I swear I looked like I had just thrown a curling rock, which isn't bad, but I seem to have twisted/wrenched my knee in some fashion, and it's not happy. 

I felt and still feel that pain all the way from the glutes to the ankle. I am not at spin class this morning, which is very unusual for me. I'm going to cancel my appointment with Brooke for tomorrow. And I'm contemplating NOT walking the girls this morning. It feels better this morning, but do I want to make it worse? That just sucks, but it's not the end of the world, and nothing is broken. I just have to take it easy for a day or two, and I should be OK. 

The good news about it is that I didn't fall! And even in that awkward position, I think I only likely touched the ground with one hand. Good balance! LOL 

OK - I know this was silly of me, but I decided to walk to the library yesterday afternoon. I was also going to pop by the thrift shop. The walk to the library was plenty long enough for me! Even I have limits!

Here's the update on Outlook. I didn't get a chance to call Microsoft yesterday, but I did speak with someone who uses Excel for their distribution lists. AHA --- I get it now. They have a list of people in Excel, and when they want to send a message, they copy the email addresses from Excel and enter them in the TO, CC, or BCC fields. They are NOT having two distribution lists. That makes sense, but it feels like an extra step, and the names in Excel need to be formatted (not a big deal) to make it work. 

Granted, they have 100% control of the distribution lists and where they are saved, but when I already have access to their emails in Outlook, that just seems like extra work. And often I need to send an individual email to someone on those lists, so if their emails aren't in my contact list, I have to open Excel? So, at least I can say that I explored that route, but it's not for me because it's nowhere near as convenient as just opening Outlook, selecting one group contact, and sending the email. I get it that it's not a big deal to open a spreadsheet and do copy/paste, but my way is simpler. I just have to deal with Outlook!

On the agenda today: call them.  

As for the roof, lots of things happened there. The roof crew was going to call me before they came, and they called at about 1:15. 

This was the state of the roof in the morning. The snow was finally starting to melt as it had been plus 1 overnight. You could finally start to see the rafters through the snow. OK - that sounds ridiculous because we have shingles on our roof, but you could see the impression of the rafters through the snow. Note that you cannot see the rafters through the lower section on the right. That's where the cathedral ceiling is in the house. That's all about insulation, and I'm not going there. I've circled where the ice dam is in blue. 

The state of the roof at 9 AM

Note the clear blue skies! The temperature reached 8 degrees, and when I went out to chat with the crew, I was in a short-sleeved sweater and NOT cold. A good portion of the snow had melted by the time they arrived, including the area where the ice dam was. There was actually space under the gutter that runs along the roof in that area. NO -- that is not causing the ice dam, because my neighbor has the same roofline, and her ice dam is much larger, and she doesn't have a gutter. It might not help, but it's not causing the issue. 

The state of the roof at 3 PM

We decided that it didn't make sense for them to steam off what was left, as Mother Nature was doing a great job all on her own. This was taken about 3 PM, so I'm sure there is even less snow this morning. 

The roofer suggested cleaning the gutters in the fall, then installing heat cables in the gutters and along the roof. A friend of mine who also had water issues with her windows earlier this winter had her son install heated cables, and she was fine through the recent snowfall. I still want to hear what the engineers say, because I would love to have something structural done so it is no longer an issue, but I don't think that will be cost-effective. I had wondered about putting metal in the valleys, but that would cost a lot, and as you'll see about metal on the roof in a minute. 

I'm still waiting for the engineers to get back to me. 

Someone else had suggested that a metal roof would melt the snow faster, and this issue wouldn't exist. Hmmm --- so over the last couple of days, I checked and found FIVE metal roofs in our neighborhood. Sad to say, all of them had ice-dam issues. It seems the problem isn't the roofing material you have, but the valleys in the roof. There are other factors, like whether the roof gets any shade, that can cause that freeze/thaw cycle, which then causes the dam. But one of the houses I spotted had the same view of the sun as our house, no trees, and still had an ice dam. 

Trust me—I took many pictures; I'm sure people were wondering what I was doing. I'll find a couple to share with you. 

This house has a metal roof, and it faces the same direction as my house. It was taken at 3 PM yesterday, so it was bathed in direct hot sun for many hours. I will say that if the roof is plain with no valleys, a metal roof will probably melt quite quickly. But what this tells me is that the valleys are the killer to melting snow quickly from a roof, not the material the roof is made of. There is also a tree in front, which may provide some shade, but I don't think it's a major factor on this roof. 

A metal roof with snow trapped between the valleys

Here's a second house with a metal roof, facing the exact same direction as our house, and it had been exposed to the direct hot sun all day. It also has many valleys, and it is NOT melting quickly. So I would never get a metal roof, hoping I would never have an ice dam. As a matter of fact, if you look closely at the left of the bump out, you can see an ice dam!!! Remember—this picture was taken yesterday at 3 PM. Now, I'd guess the tree is shading that roof, and even though there are no leaves on it, you would be shocked by how much shade those branches provide! 

Another house with a metal roof and ice dams

I'm learning so much about roofs, and all I had to do was walk around my neighborhood, observe, and take pictures. 

Update on the veil. I only have to embroider the veil, which is a plus, though there are a ton of little stars on it. How am I going to do that? My question is: how was this original veil made? I need to check the source, but it's probably a mass-produced fabric in the Orient, then assembled into a veil. I'm in the process of drawing the center moon and the lines, then I'll stitch a sample and send it out next week. I found a pattern with the constellations for zodiac signs, and I'll stitch those, and I guess I had better stitch a couple of lines of stars! Thank goodness, I have all the tools to make that happen!  

The veil I'm trying to recreate

And I finished the appliqué for the final block of the quilt backing. 

The last block is appliqued.

Then I moved on to the weekend's homework. I didn't quite accomplish as much as I would have liked because I was dealing with the roof and helping KU finish something. Today will be heads down to make this all happen. I have a goal for today, and it's going to be a lot of work. I'm keeping the PowerPoint presentations updated as pictures come in and as I complete sections, so it won't be a mad rush to get them done. That saves a TON of time at the end. 

I also fired up the embroidery machine and ran close to 250,000 stitches yesterday, which ate up a lot of time. I suppose I could share the pictures with you, but it's for a Facebook Live in a couple of weeks, and I need to get the quilt made to advertise the event. I should be able to finish that off later today. 

And in the midst of all this, I want to start a jigsaw puzzle!! OK -- I confess that I went to the Puzzle's Canada Warehouse last week. I had to pick up some prewound bobbins for the long arm, and that place is just around the corner from the warehouse. It's a warehouse where the public can shop inperson or order online. Free shipping in Canada with orders over a certain amount. 

I got six neutral thread colors, and so I should be good. I have ordered one more, and it's on backorder. I need to open these and see if I got what I wanted. I thought I had ordered more colors, but it doesn't matter - this will get me started. 

Prewound bobbins for the long arm

When I arrived at the puzzle warehouse, there were huge banks of snow (I was standing on them when I took the picture) and this huge pile of puzzles in the parking lot. That was going to be an interesting afternoon for the staff! And it was starting to snow!

Oh my -- what's in the boxes?

This is what it looks like inside! I'm standing in a corner and looking toward the front. It is floor-to-ceiling puzzles! Sorted by brand, and you just want to say -- I'll take one of everything! They have some of the giant puzzles, but the biggest one I have is 4000 pieces, which I've been carrying around since I left home. By home, I mean the farm MANY years ago. I need to crack that thing open!

Inside the Puzzles Canada warehouse

I went to the puzzle place with a specific mission in mind. I follow an artist, Cynthia Frenette. She is an amazing artist who paints and creates graphic designs used for many things, like cards, puzzles, mugs, pins, etc. You name it --- her designs go on a lot of things. She painted a picture for us when Sparky and Sammy were crossing the rainbow bridge. I should share that with you. And I have some bead artwork that hangs in Studio B. I should take a picture of that as well. 

I saw on Facebook that she was designing jigsaw puzzles, and well, I caved. So this is what followed me home. Not one, not two, but THREE new puzzles. Two are 2000 pieces each, and one is 1500. What was I thinking? She also has a sewing room and an art studio, but they were sold out. 

Number One

Number Two

Number Three

You can check out her puzzles at this link. This is what she has designed for the company Pieces and Peace. She's done puzzle artwork for a couple of other companies as well. One of them, I think, will be available at Wal-Mart Canada, but I haven't made it there, and I certainly won't be walking there today. 

We were chatting about storing fabric the other day, and I wanted to remind everyone how I store my quilt backings. They are folded freehand (no rulers involved), and they look pretty even. But the most important part is that they are labeled with how much is there! 

My quilt backings

Without that simple little label, finding something appropriate would be a disaster. I'd have to open each one up to see if there are 4½ yards or 5 yards. And I try to go for as close as I can to what I need. As you can see from my quilts, sometimes the backing is skimpy to load onto the long arm!! This labeling (also for batting scraps) is one storage idea I would NEVER shortchange myself on. I save a huge amount of time by having things labelled. 

I just put the girls out in the backyard, and what do I hear? Freezing rain is falling. We will NOT be walking this morning. I was contemplating going to the end of the street and back, but I can't afford to slip with this knee. They will just have to be patient, and we'll go for extra walks when the weather and my knee are in better shape. 

But speaking of the girls, they are just silly. Why does Murphy insist on sleeping in this bed that is way too small for her? Typically, she curls up in a tight ball, but I guess she was too hot, so the back half of her was on the floor! 

MOM - -I'm comfortable!

And then when I went to read last night in the living room, the two of them came in because they thought they could share my grapes, and then they had to rough house and finally just lay down together on the blanket. Not side by side -- OH NO -- that will never do, as they need to be able to see each other! 

MOM -- we're here for you!

Well, I don't feel so bad about the rain, knowing that the gutters are clear and water is flowing. I'll get myself to work a bit earlier this morning—OH—I have to create two distribution lists —wait—FOUR distribution lists for the weekend. Perhaps I'll do that instead. And then go to work at 9, which is my usual time. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!

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!!!!