Out of sight - out of mind!

OK—let's see if the pictures load this morning. 

Success!!!! It took a wee bit longer than usual, but that's OK - the pictures are loaded!!!

I don't know what is happening with the squirrels, but they seemed to be having a party on our front step. The funny thing is that there are NO oak trees anywhere near this area. They are in the back in the forest, but not in front. Hmmm—someone called a party, and no one told me? 

The morning after a wild squirrel party

I think everyone knows that Michaels in the US and in Canada is bringing in fabric. Fabric has been in some of the US Michaels stores for several years, and it is slowly being rolled out to all Michaels in Canada. I have seen it a couple of times. I zipped off to one of my local stores (yes—there are THREE within about a 6 KM distance, which seems a bit obsessive to me). 

The fabric styles have definitely improved since it first started rolling out. Will it ever replace a full-blown quilt store? No. But you can find some nice pieces. I found this vintage map piece, which had to follow me home. If you are a crafter or need limited prints, this is a good place to start. If you are a quilter, it won't be enough. 

My find at Michaels

When I was prepping Studio B for the Facebook Live, I had to shift a few things around, and I spotted a shelf on the bookcase that had been hiding behind the temporary design boards. OH MY -- this shelf was a "to be sorted" shelf, and I had completely forgotten about it. I found a bunch of binders that need to be gone through. Mostly filled with patterns, but some great ideas for the upcoming scrap class. One more thing to add to the list. 

Folders to deal with

Of course, my trusty helper was with me. The poor thing - like all aging people or pets, she has good days and bad days. But I will say she seemed to take a downhill turn a couple of months ago, and she isn't going to recover. I swear she is depressed now because of the lack of mobility she has. But we are going to love her forever and will enjoy all the moments she has. 

MOM - I just supervise from the floor now! 

She can make it down the stairs no problem, but going up is a whole different ballgame. So I was alone during the Facebook Live, and she was outside in the backyard. I left the barricade open at the top of the basement stairs so she could come down if she needed to. I was praying that if she did come down, she would have to be content staying down with me, since I wouldn't be able to help her up!

And she decided to come down very near the end of the presentation. There were a lot of cords behind the scenes, and wouldn't you know it, she came to me, got caught in the wires, and sank to the floor. If you watch the video near the end, I had to bend down to disentangle her from the cords. 

Murphy got caught in this cord.

It was a tight space behind the sewing machine, but it all worked out. 

The space behind the sewing machine

While we were downstairs, it was quite windy, and this bouquet of cut flowers I got for my birthday got blown over. It was on its last legs, which is why it was outside. The glass vase didn't break! 

The flowers got blown over.

So yesterday was a new day and more work to be done. I'm happy to report that the sewing for the second class is done and the pictures have been uploaded into the presentation. I just need to sort them after writing the blog. That will make two of three presentations complete for tomorrow. Oh my --- one of the classes involves paper piecing, and let's just say that I've invented (not really) a brand new way to cope with finicky paper piecing, and once you wrap your head around it --- it's kind of fun! 

That's for the My Kinda Town class, which is only four classes this fall. If anyone is interested, you're welcome to sign up. 

You can check back to this blog post for more information. Just note that the first class is tomorrow at 1, not next week as originally planned. I love how the work turned out!! And of course, I'll share later - not the technique, but my work. 

So something else got unearthed in the stash room. Oh shoot—I didn't take a picture of the shelving, but the room has shelves on three sides, which means there are corners, and the things in the corners aren't readily visible. 

Wait—I just had time to sort the slides in the presentation and found my missing photo. Wrong folder!

Hidden corners in the stash room

I needed to dig out a bucket of fabric from beside the corner the other day. 

A bucket of striped fabric

I'll explain more about this basket another day, but remember those two striped fabrics I bought the other day? 

Two striped fabrics I recently purchased

Well, there are a few more colors from this collection in that green bin!!! 

Removing that big basket revealed another basket in the corner. Hmmm -- what's in here? And OMG --- what a treasure I found. 

What's in this hidden basket?

This is a basket of T-shirt bits that I have saved over the years. The T-shirts have already been cut up, and I had plans to make a T-shirt quilt from them. Oh my—yes—I have another group of T-shirts I want to make a quilt from. I'll have to squeeze them together and maybe make a backing from the other bits. 

I already have one T-shirt quilt. How many does one need? I love them because they are heavy!

BUT, I found something that I swear I still had, but didn't know where it was. 

I may have mentioned that next year is the 50th year of our participation in Katimavik. And we are attempting to locate as many people as we can. And oh my --- it is a very hard task. Of the 51 people in the group, I think we have located 20, 8 of whom have passed. That is a very scary statistic. 

During the program, or it could have been after, but likely during, we had some T-shirts made, and I wanted to find them. Well, when I spotted that basket, I knew what I was going to find. Well, I was hoping. This is when the hoarding tendencies of your mother come in handy. 

I found both of them!!! 

Katimavik T-shirt number one

The official Katimavik T-shirt

The bottom one has the official Katimavik logo. I also found my military beret and ascot! 

OH MY GOSH --- those T-shirts are almost 50 years old! Well, there are only bits of them, as you can see; I totally hacked them from the T-shirt. We have a meeting today, and I haven't done much searching for missing people, so I'd better put in a bit of time this morning. 

Our premier took away all the speed cameras in the province, stating - I have no idea what his rationale was- but he vowed to have more police checking on speeders in school zones. Hmmm -- the cost of an officer and a car versus a speed camera? Which costs less? Which catches more people? 

Anyway, on our walk yesterday morning, there were two cars, and it was easy peasy for them to catch people speeding through the 30 KM zone. I think one officer should have stood on the sidewalk with the radar gun and pulled speeders over, while someone went down the line and wrote out tickets. 

It's just a shame that no one respects the speed limit, especially in a school zone and right at school drop-off time. Well, shortly after, some stragglers are probably coming in. 

Of course, DH and I had a big discussion about which method was more effective to make people stop speeding. Do we ever agree on anything? How many schools yesterday did NOT have police presence? 

Oh my—there is a new long arm from APQS, and it looks pretty spiffy. I got a notification yesterday about trade-ins. I have to chuckle because the trade-in machines start from the year 2013. My machine is from 2006!!!! I definitely won't qualify for a trade-in. And it looks like when I am ready to downsize, and that machine can't come with me, I'd better just call the 1-800 Got Junk people and load it up! 

From time to time, our online Monday sewing group gets together for lunch. A few of us are close enough to make that happen, and sometimes people come in from a distance. We were five. DH was supposed to have the car yesterday, so I planned to ride my bike. The restaurant isn't that far away. He didn't end up using the car, but I still rode my bike. 

Super fun!!! I need to get out more often, and it was one of those days when it was windy on the way there and windy on the way back! I'm riding my townie bike with only three speeds, and my legs -well, they aren't used to riding out in the real world. I found it a challenge with only three speeds, but overall it was good. Great bike paths for about half the distance. The rest? Not so much!

There were only five of us, and you know what? It was nice. If there are too many people, you can't talk to everyone! We told the organizer she should cap it at 6 in the future!!! Can you imagine? That would be bad, but it is fun to visit with a smaller group. Which is why I like retreats with smaller groups. And there is little danger of anyone taking sides! 

Remember what we talked about the other day - about toxic people and choosing sides. 

OMG --- when I was walking Lexi in the forest, guess who I met! Yep—the very person I was thinking of when I posted these!!! There was no way we could avoid each other - we had to pass each other. I politely said, "Good morning." She responded, and we kept walking. I had so much I would have shared, since we had some great conversations back in the day, but then I remembered my stand and wouldn't cave!!!! She chose, and she didn't choose me, so I'm not going back. 

As close as we live to each other, it is very rare that we bump into each other, which is probably a good thing. 

As I sit at my computer, I can see the neighbor's house. The top half is wood siding, and it's never been touched since the house was built 30 years ago. They are doing some major work inside and outside - I wonder if that is for them or if they are prepping to sell? Anyway, they had a new deck and gazebo built in the backyard. Now they are trying to paint the back of the house and have to set up complex scaffolding to access the wood that is behind the gazebo, which is set very close to the house. 

I'm not a fan of their music, and Murphy is doing a great job of not barking her head off, so we are all getting along, and all is good. 

On that note, I'm out of here! I need to get a lot of work done today, and I would love to have an extra day!!!

It's going to be a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Success is not luck but loads of hard work

I love that we all have some wonderful memories! Of living on the farm, living in Montreal, and so many more! I would still be living in Montreal and having a very different life, but alas, because of the political scene and the job situation, I live here. I resisted and turned down a transfer to Toronto MULTIPLE times, then changed companies, and within a year I was asked to move, so I caved and moved. No regrets, but I do miss Montreal!

I'm happy to report that the presentation went off very well! About 15 minutes before, I swear the power blipped out for a second; it was forecast to storm, and I think we had some rain and wind, but nothing that caused me any issues. It amazes me how technology works: I am here in my basement, and my co-host is in Texas, and people joined from all over the place. 

Trust me, I didn't just stand in front of the camera and spew things. I went through the dialogue multiple times while walking the dogs, trying to shorten what I said so it would fit into an hour. Then I tried it with the props and in the "film studio" and had to rearrange the position of my samples/hoops because it felt awkward. There were still some awkward times in the second half, and I needed to switch cameras, but the wrong camera was on, and I'm sure I moved in front of one - several times. Let's just say, it would be nice to have someone operate the switcher for me, but I think I did pretty well on my own! 

I typically do NOT rewatch the shows, but I watched half of it last night. And I thought I did a decent job. It's a challenge to manage four cameras and to LOOK at the correct camera - I did a bit of that yesterday! It's easy to want to watch yourself on the computer screen, but that is NOT where the main camera is located. And OH BOY -- those hoops make a lot of noise!

And because of all the questions, we went over by 20 minutes. I knew we would go over, and I was hoping it would only be 10 minutes, but it was 20 in the end. Why? Because Meredith (my co-host) and I answered the SAME question multiple times. I know people were popping in and out, or were they not listening? I don't know, but it was annoying. I thought Meredith handled it quite well. 

If you missed it, you can watch it on YouTube. 

I learned something new yesterday. If you want to do a search and NOT let AI be part of that, you simply add -AI at the end of your search, and it should come up with the traditional search. HEY --- I just tried it, and it works. You can be sure I'll be doing that in the future. I swear the AI thing is so darn intrusive. Every time I open a Word document to type something, Copilot asks me what I want to write. I do NOT need help to write something. I think I can turn that off, and I need to figure out how. 

And for every slide I make, which consists of one or more pictures per page - rarely any words, as I talk through the slides- I get multiple options for presenting the photos. Seriously?? I want and need simple - nothing fancy to distract from the content. 

All this AI is making us lose our minds and our abilities to do anything. Imagine the next generation that grows up not knowing anything else. Where will their creativity come from? Will they be able to tell right from wrong? Will they know how to tell fake from real? Will they be able to handle a blank page/screen? 

It's going to be like cursive writing! A lost art: to take a blank screen/page/piece of fabric and make something with it. I feel very sad for them. 

I will confess that when I'm typing, I'm not as careful as I used to be. I type quickly, and I make a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. I don't always go back to correct them because I know Grammarly (yes—it's AI) will fix the errors under my supervision. Whether we like it or not, we are being forced, kicking and screaming, into using it and becoming very lazy in the process. 

OH NO - I have angered the computer gods. I can see my pictures, I can access them, and I can grab them to load into the blog, but they won't load. Hmmm—I tried the group, and I tried individuals. What the heck is happening?

Oh shoot -- well, that's a hassle, and no sense talking about pictures that I don't have access to. So no pictures today! 

To avoid tech issues, I rebooted my laptop and the router before the session to prevent hiccups. And there I am, the risk taker - I rely on the internet WIRELESSLY in the basement with no booster. There were no glitches. 

I just checked my sleep score for the night. I was tired, and I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, and I needed the alarm to wake me up. Oh my - I was only awake for 6 minutes before I fell asleep and did NOT wake up according to my watch the entire night. I typically wake up a few times for a short period. Last night? Nothing. 

I was tired and not just physically, but mentally. Doing one of the Facebook Lives takes a lot of energy and effort. I wouldn't trade them for the world. I love doing them. 

Hmmm—I thought if I rebooted the computer, I would get pictures. But alas - no pictures. I guess all that brilliant dialogue will have to wait until tomorrow. LOL. 

After the presentation, I left everything in the room and went outside for a snack. After dinner, instead of working on the jigsaw puzzle, which is progressing slowly this time, I decided I needed to get things in order because I need the space today to get the homework done for two classes this weekend. All the cables went into their respective labeled bags, and I put away all the cameras and tripods. 

The samples and hoops are stacked for my next in-person event at Sew Productive on September 26th. That is in Acton and not that far away. Hmmm—I don't see it advertised on her website, but it is on September 26th. Call the store and ask for details. I will be doing a similar presentation, but we'll have THREE hours! Much more relaxed, no duplicate questions, and more time to look at samples. 

I solved the colorway problem for the third quilt I present this weekend, and all that is required is to load some pictures into the presentations and sew! That sounds like fun, and I have two days to do it!

On that note, I won't bore you with words alone - I like seeing the pictures, but I have no idea what is happening. I also noticed when I rebooted my computer that the search bar says it is in AI search mode. I need to figure out how to turn that off. 

I'm off to visit Brooke, but my upper back between my shoulder blades is a bit tender. I was a bit tough on myself with my little ball, trying to loosen the tight muscles at the base of my neck. I won't be doing too much upper body this morning. 

Have a wonderful day! No, wait! It's GOING to be a wonderful day!!! 

Ciao!!!!

Have you ever been in a bank robbery?

That would be a good question to use for those icebreakers. You know - the one that asks you to write something about you that no one knows! Wait for the story!

Maybe I'll consider some container gardening next year. Cherry tomatoes and maybe cucumber. I'll probably need to put that on my calendar because next spring I'll be excited about something else and forget until it's too late. 

But I agree, gardening and yard work are as hard or as easy as you want them to be. We went the easy route with everything being a perennial, no annuals and replanting for me. We have flowering shrubs for most of the summer, and I would love to take over the front boulevard with perennial flowers that require minimal work but attract butterflies. We get butterflies, but not a ton. 

And I have room for one more shrub in the backyard, and I was thinking of a lilac. I must put my thinking cap on for that. 

But what we have does NOT require watering beyond what we get from rain, and really the only maintenance is keeping the weeds down, which isn't a big deal, and for me, that's about one hour per week over the summer. I can deal with that. When the garden gets to be too much work, I'm not enjoying it. That's me -- I know others love it, but not me. 

As a kid, I spent countless hours hoeing hundreds of trees to build a hedge that eventually saved the house (DARN!!!) from the tornado that flattened part of the family farm. And countless hours planting, weeding, and harvesting potatoes and every other conceivable vegetable you can imagine. Should I even mention the hours spent shelling peas, cutting beans, husking corn, etc. And let's not forget the hours of picking fruit, both wild and domestic. I've done my time with gardening. 

I went to get a manicure yesterday. Just in case there are any close-ups of my fingernails today. I really should go once a month, just to tidy them up. I am not a fan of nail polish, but I do get a clear coat after they tidy them up. I honestly don't know how people can keep their nails looking so good. If I get regular polish in any color, it is scratched or chipped by the time I get home. And then it looks hideous. I could get gel or shellac or whatever the materials are today, but that just ruins my nails underneath. I tried it once and was shocked at the condition of my nail beds after the gel was removed.  

And then you have the decorative nails. They look spectacular, but like funky eyeglasses, I focus on the nails or glasses instead of what the person is saying. I want people to look at my samples, NOT my nails or my eyeglasses. Again --- personal opinion. 

I knew yesterday was going to be "fun" as I set out to get the room set up for the Facebook Live TODAY. Four cameras and my computer are involved, and they all have to be connected to one another through the MAGIC switchbox. 

I hoped to use the areas where my sewing machines sit. I removed all the T-shirts from the temporary design walls and then set up the main camera. DRAT --- I needed a wider angle than this space allowed.  

This area is too small.

So --- I had to set it up in the area where those "current project" tables are sitting. Yep—all that crap on the two tables and a few tubs underneath had to be moved. 

All this had to be moved.

Well, that wasn't exactly a fun task. Let's just say I got a lot of steps in yesterday, and I didn't even go for a walk. But this might be a good opportunity to sort it out before I put it all back and make some decisions. Perhaps I can find a few hidey holes in a closet or on a shelf to make some of that disappear. Wouldn't it be nice if there was NOTHING on those tables? I don't think I can cull it that much, but it's time for an intervention. 

Although this is from a different angle, this is what that area looks like. 

The "film studio"

Let me say that bagging and labeling all the cables was BRILLIANT. It took no time at all to set everything up, and since I've done it a few times, it was super easy. The hardest part was finding the spot to set things up. No equipment or cables were missing - it was a dream. And this is why we declutter, organize, sort, or whatever you want to call it. When I got the new power cord for the switch box, it also went into this bag and was waiting for me. 

Everything was bagged and tagged per camera.

My samples are out, and I have all the supplies I need. I have a few things to set up this morning, and there is one small sample I've been meaning to make, but I didn't, so that is a job for this morning. 

I started rearranging things back in order on the work tables because I'm running out of room with everything turned upside down. Once today is done, I just need my work tables back, and the rest can stay until next week. 

One more presentation is mostly done, but I have a bit of sewing to do first. Once the pictures are in the slide presentation, it's pretty easy to put them in the correct order. Then I go through it at least twice to ensure that the flow is right and to add anything I may have missed. Actually, I had to prep two presentations for the one class because one presentation is about the technique and one is for the pattern. I should have had that technique presentation done years ago, but I always fudged it. Now I'm actually making the presentation, so I won't have to do it again. I can pull the slides whenever I need them. 

And YES—all the pictures and the presentation are in well-organized file folders, so they are easy to find. 

I have one presentation I haven't started, but I hope to get working on it later today, or I might finish this one completely and then focus on the final one tomorrow. I've pulled some fabric this morning, and that is the holdup. What color am I going to make this quilt? 

While I appreciate that Halloween stuff has been in stores for months (hard to believe), I saw this on my walk. OH -- I guess I did go for a walk when I went to the nail salon, which just happened to be in the same parking lot as the thrift store, and it was senior's day. What happens on seniors' day at the thrift store? That information stays at the thrift store! 

Eager Halloween decorators

As I walked the girls in the morning, I spotted this. Again—someone just dumped this pile of furniture at the curb. It is NOT garbage day today, but recycling day. We used to have big garbage day once or twice a year, but now people seem to think it's big garbage day any day of the week. What does the city say about this? 

More big garbage piled at the curb

Look at this pretty girl! She's so beautiful and desperately needs grooming or at least a bath. I'm not sure that she can handle going to the groomer. I might have to break down and take her to one of those self-serve dog wash places. And I could get clippers and clip her myself. The last time she went to the groomer, she had leg spasms when she got home. I think the stress of being there and standing for so long wasn't for her. 

MOM - I know I'm pretty! 

And when you're hot, you just step into the pool to cool your legs and have a drink. What a silly girl. 

MOM - I'm cooling down

Here's that puzzle I chatted about yesterday. The one that belonged to my grandfather, and I suspect he gave it to my Dad, although Dad had zero recollection of it. I have no idea how old it is; there are no indications on the box, but I'd say it's from the 1940s or 1950s. I can't find anything about the Windsor Jigsaw puzzle company. All my searches lead to Windsor Castle. By the way, did you see that handsome young prince on his first day of school? It's hard to believe he is 13. 

My vintage puzzle

The picture is called Lake Josephine, which is located in Minnesota. 

The puzzle name

There are other titles, but again, searching for them online provides no further information. WAIT  - I did NOT ask the question correctly. I asked again ( I just use a search engine; I do NOT use AI). The Windsor puzzle brand started production in 1932. During the depression - imagine that. OMG—I did a more in-depth search (it's all about what you ask and how you ask it). I don't have time to post it all, but this puzzle was published in the 1940s!!! Pretty good guess. My Dad was born in 1933. 

Other titles in the series

This is a note on the inside of the lid in my grandfather's handwriting. I have no idea what he means - some pieces are short on top. Now I have to put it together to understand. 

A note from my Grandpa

But look at the pieces! They are all irregular. And the colors are so dull. It should be interesting, but not on my radar at the moment. I will keep this one. Not sure if M will want it someday, but since she likes puzzles, it might be a fun one to keep. 

The pieces of the puzzle

And I have this folder of random photos, and I should start posting some of them. A while back, I was digging through my two boxes of crap that I've carried with me since high school. And a few other things got put in the boxes along the way. 

Sadly, I didn't keep the date on this article, but it was in the mid-1980s. I was working for the Bank of Montreal at the time, and my boss and I had these two desks in the corner of that huge main bank branch off Place D'Armes. This is in the (at the time) head office of the Bank of Montreal. I did NOT work for the branch, but for another division, but we were overflow and sat in a corner of the main branch. 

We had smoky glass dividers to keep us separate from the branch, and this branch is HUGE. It's one of those old bank buildings with very high ceilings and lots of columns. 

I sat with my bank to the branch, and I remember turning around after hearing some commotion, and it was over in two minutes. Yikes!!! That was pretty scary, but we didn't even have time to register what was happening until it was over. 

So, yes, we were in the same building as the bank robbery, but we weren't close and definitely weren't the target. 

I was at this same desk when I heard the news that the Challenger exploded (1986). 

This was a cute little corner because we had our own private bathroom. Yep—there was a bathroom right beside my boss's desk, and the ladies in our department (around the corner) and the two of us used it. No one else! It was great. My boss spent a lot of time in there as she was also heavily made up! 

The things you remember. I don't need that article, but it did trigger loads of memories. 

OK—here are the links where you can watch the Facebook Live if you are interested. On Facebook, this is the link. 

And here is the YouTube link. OMG -- there's a countdown clock. 7 hours and some minutes to go!

If you open those pages BEFORE 3 PM EST, you will need to REFRESH the page to start the live stream. We typically go live right at 3 PM on the dot, so that's when you should refresh. 

Even if you are not in the market for a new machine and even if you are NOT a PFAFF person, it might be fun to check it out and see what all the fuss is about! LOADS of new technology to share! 

And on that note, I'm out of here. I have lots to get done today, and it's time to get started. 

It's going to be a fabulous day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Vintage jigsaw puzzles

I goofed yesterday. I typed out the blog, and I SWEAR I clicked on the PUBLISH button, but I did not. It wasn't until someone alerted me around 10:30 that I realized it was still in DRAFT mode. There are days like that! 

Even though it was Monday Sewing, I got a lot done. I typically just sit and chat, but I have a lot to get done this week, so there is no time to waste. 

I don't really have a lot to share since it's all for upcoming classes, but needless to say, I have almost finished prepping one of the three classes. I have a few more pictures to add to the presentation, and it's done! Actually, there are five presentations in total, since there are two sessions on Sunday as well, but they are less intense and mostly show-and-tell, with no prep other than loading pictures into a presentation. 

Today, I must get Studio B set up for the Facebook Live tomorrow, and I have pulled out all the cameras, tripods, and cables to make that happen. I don't think it will take too long, but since I'm switching things up a wee bit, I may have to play around with camera positioning, etc. And I need to clear those T-shirts off my portable design wall. I meant to do that yesterday, but got caught up in sewing. 

Like everything, once you get going, it doesn't take as long as you think it will. Let's hope, because sometimes the opposite is true! 

I did get smart at one point in the day and started using the flying geese for the winter quilts as my enders and leaders. I need to make 88 flying geese, and I have 1/4 of them made! It won't take long to finish that off, and if I eke out a bit of time each day, I can get those done in time for the UFO class. 

Flying geese for the winter quilts

Our renovated library is now open - I already told you that. But I had walked to the alternate location a couple of times over the summer. On my way, I had spotted these community gardens which look sadly neglected. What a shame that more people are not taking care of them. It's not that far away from the house -- it might be kind of fun to check it out. Yes—I could do a garden in my backyard, but I don't really have the space for it. 

Community gardens

My neighbor has a huge garden next door. Loads of veggies, and we get a few things from her over the summer. I'll have to think about this. As my landscaper says, do you really want to go down that path? I can't even keep the weeds at bay in the backyard, and now I'd have to add a small garden that is not even in my backyard? While I can walk, I could speed the trip by riding my bike.  

Perhaps I'll just keep sitting in the backyard and reading my book, which I do every day. Someone had mentioned that they can't go in their backyard without feeling guilty, so they don't go. Seriously? I could stare at weeds all day while I sat and enjoyed the gazebo's shade. It's like cleaning your house. Who is going to care that your house was spic and span? No one! I take the same philosophy for the backyard. 

It is neat, and it's mostly OK, but weeding will never be done. So I'm going to enjoy life, and I don't care about a weed or two. And instead of avoiding the space, I'm going to enjoy it. I do not want to be lamenting in the winter that I didn't spend enough time out there. 

I am managing to keep my head above water with the audiobook and ebooks. But it seems that as fast as I finish a book, a new one comes in. That's OK. The audiobooks help me focus when I'm sewing, so I don't mind. I finished and returned one yesterday, and another one appeared on my shelf this morning. I am NOT accepting any "skip the line" books. They can go to someone else who has more time. 

At this rate, I may just get to my stretch goal of 1.5 books a week. 

It's the same with gardening; we all have our personal goals, and if gardening is your thing, then you do gardening. NO ONE can tell you how to spend your time. 

Well, as you know, I have fallen hard for the world of jigsaw puzzles, and I love doing them, but I am also learning lots about them. Puzzles are not new, and I'm not sure when they were invented. WAIT --- puzzles started in the 1760s (who knew!) by a cartographer (John Spilsbury) who cut up a world map that had been glued to wood. He cut around the countries, and it was meant to be a learning tool. 

Puzzles have existed ever since, but like many things, they took a resurgence during the pandemic. 

And I'm learning that there are some coveted jigsaw puzzles. Apparently, back in the day, Springbok made puzzles with round boxes. From what I saw online, they made puzzles for every state, and each came in its own round box. They also made puzzles in round boxes based on some children's stories (I think that was it), and there is a blue one (Little Boy Blue???) that is extremely rare. 

Surprisingly, Springbok is not that old a company - they were founded in 1963. 

I have puzzles older than that. But in the blurb I read about Springbok, they got their inspiration from Waddington's (London) round puzzles. I have a couple of Waddington puzzles, and while they are probably 50 years old, they are nothing special. Well, maybe the size - I believe they are both 4000 pieces, and I have carried them around with me since I left the farm MANY years ago. I never dared to crack them open and do them myself. Although I think we may have done at least one of them as kids with my Mom. I'll have to ask her. 

I don't think these old puzzles are surfacing in thrift stores because people think they aren't appealing. But I have several old puzzles, and of course, there is the puzzle incident in our family! I'll attempt to get a picture of that puzzle at some point. 

But since we are quilters and sewists, here is an interesting puzzle. This one is made from a piece of fabric that is glued to wood and then cut out. 

A fabric and wood puzzle

A piece of the fabric was glued to the back of the box. 

The "picture"

And this is the final puzzle. It's 200 pieces. How cool is that? 

The completed puzzle

By the print, I'm guessing this was from the 70s. 

So if you have "vintage" puzzles at your house as you are clearing out clutter and you do NOT want them, let me know. I am NOT going to collect them, but it's interesting to see them. I have a puzzle here that belonged to my Dad, and before that, it belonged to his Dad. I'm not sure how I got it, but I found it the other day when I had to move the puzzles for the plumber. I must remember to ask. Wait—I'll take a picture and send it to Dad. 

We have gotten into the habit of sending short emails daily. He is not into phone calls and so darn hard to catch while home anyway. But the emails work for both of us. Now to grab a picture of that puzzle. 

I must brush up on the history of puzzles. Wait—a puzzle trivia event could be great for the Nationals next summer. I must bring that up to the group! On the next puzzle packing day, or I'll just drop Amanda a note. Done - I dropped her a note and ran and got pictures of Dad's puzzle. 

On that note, I'm off to the gym. I didn't go yesterday - it was a holiday; however, the gym was open. I took the day off, and now it's time to get back into the routine. 

It's going to be a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!

Family and true friends are important!!

Well, it wasn't a productive day in terms of visual things to look at, but it was a very productive day for catching up with family. I have a cousin who has recently moved to Toronto, and we spent the afternoon together having a great chat that we haven't had in a long time. It was beautiful outside, so we spent the day visiting in the backyard. 

Speaking of family, this photo has been sitting in my random photo folder for a while. This is my small family. The photo was taken at my older brother's wedding in 1979. I guess we are a bit of an anomaly, or maybe it was the norm at the time, but there were no divorces or remarriages then. Come to think of it, there was only one divorce, and that was me! 

Two sets of grandparents in the front row and my parents and their three kids and two spouses in the back. OH my gosh -- we all look so young!! It's funny how we age, and we just don't see it! I think that is the ONLY picture of everyone together. My grandfather on the left passed away shortly after that picture was taken. 

My first DH on the extreme right. I won't go into the whole story, but although we haven't been together in a very long time, we still chat or send messages from time to time. We were so young and had no clue what we were doing getting married. 

If we were to take a similar picture today with all the family, which will NEVER happen, but if we did. There would be the parents, my older brother and his wife (no kids), me and DH (one child, now married with no children), and my younger brother and his wife (two kids, both with girlfriends). We are a small family. 

I spent some time in the garden yesterday. I don't know what happened, but I'm getting a lot of silly little weeds that are growing, well, like weeds. They are too many and too small to handpick, so I need to dig out the hoe. I hand-tilled this small area by the pond pump, and it doesn't get much sun, so the ground is very clay-like and wet. 

Who do you think plunked themselves in that spot before I could even get a bag of mulch in place? 

MOM - I like the cool earth on my butt! 

But she was having fun with her stuffie, and that's all that counts. 

MOM - I love my outdoor stuffie

I did walk them both to the grocery store again. I didn't need much, so I can manage the lighter weight and the two leashes. I could always use my backpack, and then I'd have two hands for two leashes. Murphy doesn't pull nearly as much as she used to, so walking them is almost pleasant. 

I read quite a bit as I'm attempting to get through this pile of books, both in hard copy and in digital form. I'm not overdoing it - my brain would explode if I did. So I'm taking it one step at a time. I'm almost finished with another audiobook called "Know My Name" by Chanel Miller. It's interesting how to describe what the book is about. Do you say it's about sexual abuse? Or is it about being a victim? Is it about making things right? Is it about getting justice? Or maybe even making people aware? 

Whatever theme you want to call it, it's absolutely despicable that she had to fight for everything in this book. It's despicable how differently victims of abuse are treated compared to the abuser. It's despicable how the abuser and his family's status in life is more important than the victim and her family. I'm using his and her like that because the abuser is often the male person in the relationship. 

I'm excited about how Chanel worked through all the crap the court system and the world threw at her. I'm so proud of how strong she was and how hard she fought. 

But it saddens me to no end to know that, with the current political situation, this type of scenario is almost being made the norm, and that it's just part of daily life to abuse a woman. That is scary, and currently there doesn't seem to be anyone strong enough to dig us out of that hole. This is a step backward. Yet it is shocking to see women supporting certain behaviors. I wonder if they would change their tune if it were themselves, or a close family member, or a close friend who became a victim. Would men's perspective change if it was their daughter who was raped?  

It is long (12 hours) and read by the author. Her voice is very monotone, and I suspect that is deliberate. It sets the stage for what she endured. I was tempted multiple times to speed it up, but I didn't. I wanted to ensure I heard everything she had to say. 

I hope the next book is going to be happier! 

I managed to get some cutting done. I have three projects to prep for next weekend, and, well, I need to get to work. I'm almost finished with one of them and starting to work on the other two. It's always exciting to start a new project - what fabrics to pick. Do I use scraps or not? 

Cutting fabric for a new project

The old me would have hopped in the car to get something I needed. The new me said—think it over and weigh the options. Find SOMETHING in the stash and use that! And I did! 

As I work, I'm taking a lot of pictures, and they are getting sorted into the appropriate folder for a presentation. 

Yikes—this picture did NOT turn out well at all. I was picking some fabrics and found the remains of a fat quarter. When I opened it up, I could see that it has sections cut out, but look at that big white patch!!! That is faded!!! This must have happened at the store (wherever that was) because my fabric is stored in a dark room. But what the heck? Why would I have bought it? I probably just grabbed it and didn't look at the other side of the folded fat quarter. 

A major fade on a piece of fabric

I'm sure we have all had situations in our lives with people we thought were our friends, only to find out they weren't. I've had one major incident in my life, and even though I have forgiven them (I hope I have), I will NEVER forget what happened. It was traumatic. I don't need to go into details here. 

There were two people involved. OK - there were more than two people involved, but two people were what I considered my closest and best friends. I have run into one or more of these "friends" on the rare occasion - yep - a bit awkward. And I will confess that I have considered (albeit for a very fleeting second) whether I wanted to welcome one of them back into my circle of friends, and then I read these words of wisdom, and I'm OK with things the way they are. 

These wise words say it all. 

And sadly, the same needs to be said about family. I'm pretty sure that we all have some family member who has messed things up badly. Yes—you want to be the fixer, but seriously? They don't deserve our time. Let it go!!! And I have! 

I laugh at this one because this has happened. When I randomly met one person in particular from that incident, she literally wanted to be somewhere else. And once in the grocery store, she did avoid me. And you know what? It hurt at first, but I'm over it. Yes—it was a loss for me, but if your friends aren't loyal, they don't need to be part of my life. Personally, I think it was a loss for the one person who had to choose! 

There were also people on the periphery of the situation who I don't think ever realized what happened, and they have drifted away. That part makes me sad because they did nothing but were caught in a mess. It's like the friends of a divorced couple -- who do you have allegiance to? You can't be friends with both sides. 

Enough about all that doom and gloom. Life is great—I've moved on. They and their "friends" have moved on. All is good in the world. 

It's Monday sewing, and I have to get to work on tidying up Studio B and prepping it for the Facebook Live on Wednesday for the PFAFF creative icon 3. Here is the link to join. And you can also watch it on YouTube if you don't use Facebook.

I may not have linked the exact spot to see the livestream, but it's somewhere on those pages, and if you are set up on that page, you will need to REFRESH at 3 PM when it starts. The link doesn't just start. Refresh, and all should be good.  

And on that note - it's time to get the day started!!!

It's a wonderful day today!!! I'm happy to be alive!!!

Ciao!!!!

It's a GOOD news day!!!!

I chuckle at all the higher-toilet comments. This might be too much information, but I am not a tall person (66"), and I'm not sure what my inseam is - probably around 30". When I am sitting on the toilet, I need to be at a certain angle. I find the higher toilets are too high for my comfort. So I'm going to keep doing my standing squats so I can keep using the lower toilet! It's hilarious—but I can't use the higher toilet! How do vertically challenged people cope?  

Thanks for the recommendation of The Calamity Club. Oh my -- it's 29 hours!! I've just added it to my HOLD list, which is over 30 books, with 6 books in my inbox. One of those needs to be returned, and I'm partway through several of the others. I have so many in suspended status! Perhaps I've been a bit overzealous in the reading department. But that's OK. 

I must learn to rely on tagging the books as "want to read," but like that elusive Sunday morning pill, that habit just hasn't hit me yet. 

YES -- I am waiting 30 minutes before making breakfast—yet again, even though I've been up for several hours. OK—so maybe I do need to set an alarm on my phone for 5:30 AM. You would think this would be easy, but it's not, and I have another 12 weeks of pills! Yeah me!!!

And to clarify one thing I mentioned yesterday about AI. What I dislike about using AI as a search engine is that it finds the information I asked for. It doesn't let me browse the stuff I didn't ask for, and sometimes there are interesting tidbits there that are very useful. Sorry for that confusion! I love learning, and allowing AI to narrow down the search prevents me from learning other useful and sometimes useless stuff! But at least I get to choose, not a computer. 

Well, it's a good news kind of day!! Why? Take a look. 

I double-checked that the leader on the long arm was loaded in the correct orientation - clockwise versus counterclockwise. That was kind of hard to find online, but I did. When I first took the leader off, I had noted it with a piece of tape on my metal bar, but I didn't trust it. However, the tape indicator was correct, so I went ahead and secured the leader with wide painter's tape. 

The leader is secured with tape.

Using the Sew Tite Magnum magnets to hold that leader in place made this an easy task. I had a pair of scissors in one hand and the roll of tape in the other, and within two minutes, this part of the tape was in place. 

Then I took the roll and added a single layer of tape along the length of the leader. 

The second step in taping the leader in place

Hmm—that took another 2 minutes, and then it was done! 

I rolled it up, and it could be a bit tighter, but hopefully that will happen as I use the long arm. At least it's even on the edges, and that's all that counts. 

Then, since I was on a roll, I decided to load a quilt backing. Oh my—that was hilarious. I started placing the magnets on and then realized I was NOT attaching the back—just adding the magnets to the metal bars in the leader. OK—let's try that again!! And before I knew it, the backing was secured. Magnets on one side and pins on the other. 

The backing is loaded.

This is one of the community project quilts, and I realized I didn't have any batting made. So I grabbed three pieces, and I'll join them later, and I hope to get this quilt done today. Then I can move to some customer quilts. I have only three, so that shouldn't take too long. Perhaps I can squeeze in some from that huge pile of community project quilts. What I need to do is focus on that group of 11 and get that out of here! I think there are five left, including the one on the long arm. 

Then it was on to the next project: finishing the appliqué on those two winter quilts. And I'm happy to report that it is done! The appliqué on both blocks is complete! 

Progress on the winter quilts

You won't remember this, but the bells on the bottom right were NOT done, but I got those blocks completed yesterday as well. Yep—they are scrappy, as I couldn't find enough big pieces, and when I did, I managed to mess up the instructions, and well, it gave me another picture for my scrap class!

The bell blocks

But here they are --- the two winter quilt tops. 

Progress on the two winter quilts

All that remains is to make 88 flying geese. And if I had been smart, when I pieced Down on the Farm with all those stitch n flip corners, I should have been using these flying geese as my enders and leaders instead of those scrappy triangles. Alas -- that didn't happen. 

But I managed to get this much done yesterday. 

Progress on the flying geese

It's a start, and this morning, I got more cut, and I'm ready to sew. I don't think I have enough white squares, but I'll cut more from my scrap bucket when needed. Who can be bothered to count?

Ready to sew

Once those are done, then I get to sew the quilt top together. I need to find two fabrics for borders and binding. And then the back. I'm making progress, but I'm going to have to put it aside because I need to work on the class prep for next weekend. 

I'll see how the day goes!! It would be nice to get this off the wall, and I'm close, so I may get that far at least. 

I put away a few things that were on the cutting table. These batik strips are to die for!! You can find others like them at Heather Bell's Sewing Studio! 

Striped batik fabrics

Miss Murphy is doing OK. She only coughed once during the day and twice last night, so she seems to be getting over whatever this is. I left a message at the vet, but they didn't call me back yesterday. If she continues to improve, then there's no need to take her next week. 

But I'm noticing lots of changes in the behavior of the two. It's like Miss Lexi is coming out of her shell. No longer dominated by Murphy, she is becoming more "aggressive." She wants to play, and Murphy is the one to stand still (or lie down), and Lexi does all the running. Murphy is doing great on the stairs; she is allowed to go down as she seems to have zero issues, but she waits for me to help her up. We kind of have the hang of it now, but I keep the stairs barricaded at all times so we don't end up with a disaster. 

She doesn't make a fuss about not going downstairs, although she does come down every so often. It's just not the same, but this is life. She still has lots of love to give, and we have lots of love to give her, and we've found a way to work around her issues. The only thing we can do is to keep her comfortable and make sure she gets lots of love every day. 

OH MY GOSH -- you would think she is dying from my comments. She is not - she's just getting old, and because she was so boisterous, it shows more than it would with Lexi. 

And Lexi seems to be less skittish as well. She stands at the door to the office, asking to go out! And she will come and stand right beside me and let me hug her, which she never allowed before. It's strange how their behavior changes as they age. 

MOM - I'm ready for my walk! NOW!!

And this is the ONLY dog bed they share. Never at the same time, of course! But if the blankets aren't nicely laid out, she won't sleep there. 

Well, I've become Miss Chatty Cathy with the neighbors! I stop and talk to anyone or at least say HI. There is a house two doors from us - the same house as ours. That house was purchased about 4 years ago for an exorbitant amount of money. A real estate agent bought the house. It was funny because the house was the same as ours, and the lady who lived there before the real estate agent was named Elaine. 

Anyway, a while back, the house went up for sale, and she was asking for MORE money than she paid. She bought it just before the market crashed, and I swore there was NO WAY she was going to find a buyer. Imagine my surprise when I saw her putting a SOLD sign on the house as I was returning to the house with Lexi. 

Of course, I had to stop and chat. She was never forthcoming with any neighbor during all the time she lived here. The occasional glance, but that was it. 

Yes—she sold the house, and the closing is next month. A family is moving in. I checked the price online, and she sold it for $50K over what she paid. I am STUNNED. Who the heck bought the house? Now I have visions of a family of five adults moving in, and the driveway will be packed with cars. It can only hold two cars. 

The backyard is huge, but it doesn't back onto the forest, yet it sort of does. Because the house is on the corner, it backs onto two other houses and has a narrow gate into the forest where the two yards meet. 

Let's keep our fingers crossed that we get good neighbors. There are two other houses for sale on the street (this is unheard of), and both of them were significantly less money. 

At dinner last night, DH and I discussed it and said - she must have fudged the numbers. The house still has its original carpet everywhere - that would be 30 years old. And no bathroom or kitchen updates. It's all very suspicious to me. 

We got really nice new neighbors two houses in the opposite direction; can we be so lucky again? 

I think my alarm system is on point with the day and time, but the weather? Not so much!!!

The panel is half right!

I really lucked out with my fish. They had a lot of babies, and they are growing like weeds. 

These are the baby fish.

I never see more than five big ones at a time, so perhaps two didn't make it, but the babies more than make up for it if we lost two. We now have new electrical plugs and a new bubbler, so there should be zero issues for the winter. I often see the fish swimming amongst the leaves, so this is the perfect setup. They have shade, and they have sun. 

The fish love the pond.

Someone posted a note in a puzzle group about this the other day. How can so many border pieces of a puzzle be missing? To be sure - this doesn't look like enough border pieces. 

All the border pieces for a 1000-piece puzzle

But within a "few" minutes, the border was together. I feel like I speed-puzzed that one together, although in speed puzzling, few people focus on only one area at a time unless it's an event with two people, aptly called a pairs event. 

The border is together.

I didn't do more than that because I have some reading to catch up on. In addition to the ebook and audiobooks, I have a few physical books from the library that I must get read! No one can accuse me of not having personal time! I am taking way too much personal time!

Here's an interesting sign at a local Michael's store - learn to sew!!! Michaels is now selling Singer sewing machines. Well, they have been for a while now, but there is a big push, especially since they are now selling fabric. 

All about sewing at Michaels

I'll be hosting a "Teach The World to Sew Day" in the afternoon of September 19th at a Michaels in downtown Toronto. That should be fun—I hope we get loads of people out! 

How true is this? How much do we want to think that we are irreplaceable and yet ignore the fact that someone else can do just as good a job? 

Therefore, we need to take some time and do stuff for ourselves, which I seem to have zero problem doing! I love sitting in the gazebo, with my new cushion, and listening to the water. Reading, napping, petting the dogs, or whatever makes me happy at that moment. 

I'm really liking this weather—it's cool in the mornings and nice in the afternoon! 

On that note, it's time to get moving! 

It is going to be a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!