Updates on houses, technology and so much more!

Oh my—I love the comment: once it goes in the giveaway box, I don't look back. And that is me as well. There are times when I think I should have one last look in the box to see what I am donating this time, and I just can't be bothered. I decided to give it away; I don't need to see those items ever again. Way to go!! It's all going to happen slowly—we can't erase years of accumulation overnight. Baby steps!!!

I have a few updates -- they are mostly for me to document and empty my head, but in case you are wondering what has been happening, here goes. 

1. I finally got a response from the label company via their Etsy Canada page. It appears that the labels were delivered on February 7. Hmm --- but delivered where? To my mailbox? To Canada Post? I printed out the information and will take it to my local post office to see if they can help, but I'm not overly confident I'll have good news. If Canada Post had the very small package, they wouldn't be sitting on it waiting for me to contact them. I suspect I may have lost out on that unless the company decides to be nice and resend it. I got 400 labels because they were on sale. Hopefully, they will at least honor the sale price. And I will try the email that I received in the comments when I respond. 
2. I finally got a chance to send the remaining pictures along with some information about the support beam in our house. The house is 30 years old and has a partial cathedral ceiling in the living room.

Partial cathedral ceiling in the living room

 There is a large beam going down the center of the house to support that structural design. 

The beam from the hallway as you look into the living room

When you think about it, that is a lot of weight for those two skinny white posts. I hadn't really thought about that until I sent the pictures to the engineer yesterday. 

The beam from the living room as you look into the hallway 

There are three cracks along that beam, two in the hallway and one in the living room. In this one, you can see that even the drywall is being crushed. 

Crack number one

Crack number two

Crack number three

We had the cracks repaired and painted, but they cracked open again and have remained that way for many years. I want it fixed! Let's see what they say. My solution is to reinstall more substantial posts after jacking up the beam to level it. Let's see what the experts say. 

3. The roof -- I have done nothing and need to look back in my emails to see if I have an envelope engineer, as that is what I need to give me a report on the roof. My suggestion is to install a new roof INSIDE the living room to ensure proper circulation. Doing anything otuside with that crazy roofline would be too costly. By the way --- there are many houses, including that same house as ours, but with the metal roof, that still had snow in the valleys yesterday at noon! Those valleys are wicked and if there is any form of shade on the roof, the snow won't melt regardless of what type of surface it's made of!! I learned that from many observations on many walks! 

4. Outlook. I had yet another call from Microsoft and they are trying something else. There are so many settings in Outlook — do they really need to be that many, since the average person would never touch half of them? Why make it so complicated? Reena set up a task involving my folders that would take a long time to run, so she started it and said she would call back today. Yesteday took almost one hour. The task ran and didn't seem to take as long as she thought it would, but now that version of Outlook is frozen. Thankfully, I have the new version open (I switch back and forth between them depending on what I want), so I wasn't without email. 

I might be persistent but hey -- I pay for this support and it takes only a small bit of time, I'm game to see if they can fix it. They seem determined. 

BUT she did say something yeserday that makes me think I might start looking for a new front end for my email. She said that since the classic version will not continue to be supported (the date I saw online is 2029), they may not spend time fixing it. WAIT --- it's not classic that needs fixing --- it's the NEW version that needs it and prior to me opening up the new computer with Windows 11, the Classic version worked just fine!!!! Let's wait and see what hapens today!

5. Sewing -- I got NOTHING done yesterday. I turned on the long arm and loaded a quilt and that was it! OH -- and I put one large piece of paper away that was on the cutting table. Other than that? No sewing things were accomplished. BUT I need to get cracking because my Facebook Live is now on March 11. Yes -- that was the original date, but they gave me the 18th. I questioned it and OOOPS -- they made a mistake. 

Facebook Live invite for March 11

OK — enough with the updates — this is so much to keep track of, and I'm not always the best at follow-up, but let's hope I can find a happy solution to all of that. 

If anyone is looking for the pattern for this tote bag, I had posted it on Facebook because it came up in memories. Imagine this was picked up by a magazine at Quiltcon in 2017!!!!! Shoot—I don't have a picture of it, so you'll have to go to the link to see it!!

I think someone is trying to tell me something. Do you think Lexi wants her bedding washed? She tossed both blankets out, which is very unusual for her!

MOM - fix my bed - wash my sheets!

Yesterday was a glorious day, and you didn't even need a jacket in the afternoon. Miss Murphy never forgets to jump on this bench when we walk by!! We are avoiding the forest these days because there will be a thick layer of ice on those pathways, and I'm not walking there, not by myself, not with the girls. 

MOM - I love playing in the park!!

After my Microsoft phone call and another personal phone call, I decided I wasn't going to get any sewing done, and the backyard was now in shadow. While it was warm, it wasn't warm enough to sit out there in the shade, so I put the girls on their leashes, and we sat on the front step. I don't think they were impressed with just sitting. Look at how much of our snow has melted!!! We are supposed to get a lot of rain today, and temperatures will be barely above freezing. It will be a day to stay inside! 

Mom - why aren't we walking? 

And look at this happy girl!!!! She is almost as needy as Murphy and also pretty demanding in her way. 

MOM - I LOVE YOU!!!!

Well, since the day was lost to all the disruptions—wait—I did get some writing done in the morning, and now I need to take a bunch of pictures!! Hopefully, that will happen this morning. But I cleared off a spot on that extra table and did this. 

The start of the 1000-piece puzzle

I didn't make room on the table to lay out the puzzle as I worked on it. I found an easy solution - I got out my three quilt block design boards - each is about 18" square and laid the pieces out. That was easy, and I love it because I can bring the boards close to me rather than me leaning over the table and possibly catching a piece on my shirt. They are covered with felt, so the pieces don't move. HEY --- I think I found a perfect solution for laying out larger puzzles. Let's hope I finish the puzzle in a week because I'm going to need those boards for sewing. Notice how easy it is to find pieces, store these, and not have to dig through puzzle trays. I don't think I'll ever use the trays! 

The puzzle pieces are laid out.

As I sorted, I kept the border pieces out and then got to work. The predominant color of this puzzle is green, so sorting by color isn't really an option. And the pieces are all irregular shapes. It's going to be fun!!!!

The border pieces

I got the border almost together and worked on a couple of easier areas. See how the puzzle just fits on the end of the banquet table? I was listening to an audiobook (The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom), and I was in my glory!!

Progress on the jigsaw puzzle

I also started reading a nonfiction book despite not having finished the other one. But the other one I could renew, this one I cannot, and it's due very soon. It's called "Smartphone Nation" by Dr. Kaitlyn Regehr. OH MY GOSH --- I think this should be required reading for EVERYONE with a smartphone. I don't have time to go into all the details, but she is talking about phone addiction and how people just can't stop playing with their phones. This is a problem that many have identified with their children, but she says we need to turn the attention to ourselves because we are just as addicted, if not more than, the kids today. 

Thankfully, I'm not addicted, but I can get caught up watching some of the endless reels, though I think I've cured myself of them. It's pointless, wastes time, and just silly!! I have already earmarked many important passages in Chapter One alone. 

The bottom line for today is to remember that it is in the big tech companies' best interests to keep us engaged with our phones, and they are data-mining every single keystroke!!!! They do NOT care about us — they only want our data, and the longer you stay on your phone or other smart device (tablet, phone, computer), the more data they collect and the more money they can make by selling that data to an advertiser!!

It appears the new thing with phones is not to regulate how much time you spend (that was what we did in the past), but how you spend your time on the phone. I'll share more interesting tidbits as I get to them over the next four days!! It is an interesting book, and I've only finished Chapter 1 of 6. 

And look at the quote from my tea yesterday. How can I get that across to people—never regret your mistakes—they are not mistakes; they are parts of learning. Just move on!!! 

Love this quote

On that happy note, I'm out of here as I have a date with Brooke. Yeah - I can hardly wait for the torture she has in store for me, but I'm feeling so much better by getting to the gym and using my body. You do NOT need to get to the gym to do some weight lifting - cans of soup work well. Stairs work for a bit of cardio - just step up and step down. And a mat for stretching, and if you aren't graceful and do it at home, no one will care. But I have to say that I can get up and down on the floor with a lot more dignity than this time last year, and I'm very proud of that fact. I was heading for disaster, and thank goodness I caught it before it became an issue. And they say you can't turn back time!! HA!!!

My knees aren't good —more the tendons than the joints —but I'm trying to loosen those tendons and muscles around my knees, and YES—it's working!!! I will never be a ballet dancer, but I can get up and down quickly and with some dignity!!! That works for me!!!

OK -- now I'm gone!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Gazebo time!

Despite this newfound focus, it seems challenging to move ahead. WAIT --- I know that I'm getting things done, but the progress seems slow. I know it's not, when you consider how many hours I actually sew each day. I make the most of the time I spend in Studio B and call it a day. There is NO RUSH to get these things done!

Oh my gosh --- what am I complaining about - I still accomplished a LOT. The abbreviated "Dear Jen" is now quilted. I was hoping to get it trimmed, but that didn't happen. A job for today. 

The Dear Jen quilt is quilted.

I actually like this quilt (love that setting), and I think if I had continued, I would have loved the larger size as well. But it just wasn't speaking to me, and instead of making a lap quilt or a larger one, I ended up making a cover for my embroidery machine. So I'm learning that if I don't like a project, it's OK to stop, make it smaller, but get it done! That is HUGE for me! This self-awareness journey of the last ten years has taught me so much about myself, and I'm still learning. 

The placemat is trimmed and bound. 

The placemat is done!

The soccer quiltlet is also bound. 

The mini-soccer quilt is done!

I love that both of these items were created from scraps that would otherwise have languished in my stash. DONE!!!! 

The placemat is in my pile of other placemats that will be donated later this year. I have an outlet for them. I've decided to donate the soccer quilt to a NICU, but I need to reach out to see if anyone has a connection, rather than taking it myself. Does anyone in my area donate to the hospital? 

This machine embroidery postcard was on my Visual To-Do list. I had a small category of NEW things to do. They were small things that I had left on the cutting table at the end of the year. It's nice to do something new every once in a while. I decided that yesterday was the day, and I was also experimenting with this project, so I could use it in my machine embroidery class this coming weekend. It's not quite finished, so that's on the agenda for today. 

Machine embroidered postcard or rug mug!

Let's say that this small project is not without its challenges!!!! 

Then I made the binding for my denim quilt, but it's waiting for those labels. I see someone left an email address in the comments. I'm assuming it's for the label company. I also sent them a message from their Etsy account, which I need to check. 

I made the binding for the denim quilt, and it's waiting for the labels to arrive before I put it on. 

The binding for the denim quilt

Now I've have a stack of quilts - well, one quilt and the rest are small projects that are waiting for the labels. And when I trim Dear Jen, it's going in the same pile. I want these done!!!! 

The pile of projects that need the binding attached

I've sent them another message this morning, and will use the email that someone posted. I had received confirmation of my order and a tracking number when the order was initially placed. However, the email is a NON-reply email, and the tracking number is for packages traveling from Europe. Which mail/courier service? 

I had an optometrist appointment at 10:20. OK -- at this office (inside a LensCrafters), the three women (I've met two) are kids! Are they even old enough to be an optimist? But I'm OK with that. It's within walking distance of the house, and I'm not getting in my car for an appointment if I don't have to.  

I had time to stop at the thrift store before the appointment. HEY -- I wasn't going to let someone scoop my jigaw puzzles. Have you noticed the new obsessive behavior? 

The two I wanted were still there, and I threw in the colorful one at the bottom because it's so colorful. It just caught my eye. Three puzzles for $18, including tax. The one in the top left is brand new, still in the cellophane! 

Three new puzzles

And yes - I completed the fifth and final one of the DowdleFolkArt puzzles that I purchased last week. Imagine that - I purchased them last Friday, and all five are now done. I've given them to KU to do, and then they will be going back to the thrift store unless someone near me wants them. There are 300 pieces in each, and they are easy enough to do in an evening. 

The last of the Dowdle FolkArt puzzles

It amazes me how quickly one can turn over 300 pieces, but 500 pieces take forever. OK - it seems to take forever! This one was a bit trickier, and I suspect the pieces are identically cut. OK -- I don't suspect, I recognized the pattern, but that didn't help me assemble the pieces. I started with the sky and then the house, and then built out from there. Interesting how different they all went together based on the picture. 

I have to clear off a table in Studio B to work on the next one, which is 1000 pieces, and I can't leave that on the kitchen table. UNLESS -- I clear off either the desk or the table in the office and work there. Hmmm --- but the light is much better at night downstairs. 

When I came downstairs, Miss Murphy was surveying the puzzles I had laid out so I could take a picture. 

MOM - I'm guarding the puzzles for you!

I didn't go for a walk in the afternoon since I had walked a lot in the morning. But I still needed to be outside, and oh my—how could you not want to be outside? The weather is stunning. Since there was no snow left in the gazebo, I got my lawn chair out and slipped my orange jacket on, and I sat out there and listened to my audiobook for a bit. 

It's gazebo time!!!

Murphy was beyond herself with joy, and Lexi, the cuddler, was right in there for some close encounters. 

MOM - I need some attention

But seriously? I always wonder if Murphy understands boundaries, and yes, she does, but only on her terms. She was standing on the edge of the pond and tossed the ball on the ice multiple times. Each time, she looked tentatively at the ice surface, deemed it solid enough for her, and went on. 

MOM - the ice is thick enough to hold me!

She is careful not go to the other end, as that is where the heater is, and the ice is open there. It's too bad she doesn't identify with the length of her leash!!!!

As the weather warms up this week, I suspect I'll be out there a lot! It's beautiful and close enough to the forest that I call it forest bathing. You really do NOT understand how amazing that is for mental health. I have no issues these days, but just taking a few minutes each day to relax in the peace and quiet—priceless. 

Oh my -- I love the quote of the day from my Yogi tea. I have to laugh at this, though—if you enter it with grace, is it OK if you fall out of it in a mess? 

Quote of the day

I'm not good with change, but I'm also not going to be left in the dust because I'm afraid of the unknown. That's where the adventures begin, and I'm still way too young to enjoy adventures from my armchair!

I also finished an audiobook yesterday, which is good because another one came in. I have quite a few on hold, but many of the books are weeks away from coming in. I really must get my new headphones up and running and throw the old ones away. HEY -- they are on that table I need to clear up, so that will be something to accomplish today. 

I'm off to spin class. My knee is feeling pretty good these days, but it doesn't like the prone position. Even though I have my knee elevated at night (a flat knee is bad), it has its good and bad moments. But for walking? Oh my—it's doing pretty well. I'm still careful, as if I twist it, it's not happy. Even the pulling I get when walking Murphy isn't good for it, so I try to keep her under control, which is no small feat. But it's coming along. I might try a bit more pressure in spin class today. Trust me -- I'm not going to go too far to mess it up. I do NOT need to be a hero. But I need to keep my body moving!

And on that happy note, I'm out of here. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!

Good old-fashioned progress

It's DONE, and I had a small ceremony as I removed this project from the Visual To-Do List. I LOVE that list, and it's so motivating to me!!! 

One project is removed from the Visual To-Do list.

YES -- this is the quilt that I was going to make for someone, and we decided to abandon the project for several reasons. Making quilts for others is the largest category on that list with NINE quilts. One down, and eight to go! 

But getting to the point of removing the project from the list involved dealing with everything in the box. I'm happy to say that I've removed all the fused letters from the two borders. For the most part, all of the letters came off pretty clean. I think six letters in total were destroyed, but lots were still intact, which I've saved (do not yell at me) and put in my fusible box. They can be used as samples when someone wants to practice their applique stitches, or I'll make some words from the letters. 

The second border is clean of letters.

And YES -- I cut up the photos, and they are in the scrap box. 

The photos are cut and in the scrap box.

I have a couple more projects on that Visual To-Do List that are almost ready to be removed, so I need to take a day and focus on completing those. I have many small things almost completed, and hopefully, I can get a lot of them done in one day. 

I am accumulating a lot of stuff that needs to be bound as I'm waiting on those labels. I sent a note via Facebook to them, but I see they don't update their page often, so I don't think it is going anywhere. They do NOT have an email that I can find - only a phone number. I'll try searching again. I thought I saw a contact on Etsy, so I will try there today. 

I managed to trim all the stitched half-square triangles. Oh my -- I'm actually keeping on top of things. I feel a bit discombobulated with all the togetherness, but I'm sure I'll get used to it pretty quickly. And then I'll wonder how I managed to survive in a total mess. 

More half-square triangles trimmed.

Then it was on to finishing the backing for the Dear Jen quilt, and that is now done. It doesn't look that bad with all those different colors of black, and it could actually be a great example of a scrappy backing with multiple colors of black. While it is scrappy, it certainly still looks very cohesive. 

The scrappy backing for Dear Jen

I also made the binding, and it's ready to be quilted. 

The Dear Jen quilt is ready to be quilted.

Now it's loaded on the long arm, minus the batting. I pulled out some scraps of black batting this morning and just need to fuse the pieces together to make one large enough. 

Dear Jen, loaded on the long arm.

There is no stopping me!!! I love working on these small projects. And also those that are almost finished, rather than working on a very large one that I just couldn't wrap my head around. I'm doing an amazing job, and I LOVE doing what I'm doing! The time will come to work on larger projects, but it's not yet. 

This is the small bundle of black scraps I had leftover. I'm thrilled to reduce that random pile of black, and going forward, I will try to buy only one brand, although I know that different dyelots can still result in different shades of black. But they will be more similar. 

The leftovers from the Dear Jen backing

As if that weren't enough excitement for one day, I also quilted the placemat using a walking foot and free-motion techniques.

The placemat is quilted.

I think I'll be focusing on quilting and binding projects today - at least those I won't put a personal tag on. As for free-motion, I don't do much of it on my domestic machine these days, but it's like riding a bike. You sit down, get the machine ready, and just go! I know people are afraid, and they want stitch regulators. You don't need a stitch regulator—it's just that you haven't been taught how to get that consistent stitch!! 

Here's a hint to learning that trick -- in FREE MOTION mode, stitch STRAIGHT lines, over and over and over and over, until you feel the speed of your machine, which should be set at medium, and keep it constant, and the only thing you now have to learn is how fast to move your hands. It's so simple, it's ridiculous! And practice on small things like a placemat, a table runner, or pet mats. But NOT your king-sized quilt. 

That was some productive day!! But I didn't work all day, and while I know some of you would call me a workaholic, I am NOT. On days (three times a week) when I go to the gym, I don't get to my computer desk to work until almost 10 AM because I have to walk the dogs, have breakfast, write the blog, etc. Those are NOT work things; they are all personal. And it's usually at that time I check my phone for messages. My phone is on SILENT all the time. 

Then I try to do computer work until lunch (11:30), and then I have the afternoon to sew. However, I also take an hour-long walk in the afternoon, and then stop sewing around 5 when I feed the girls. Sewing for four hours a day is NOT a workaholic. I typically spend the evening reading or doing a jigsaw - at least these days. 

Yes—I'm busy, but far from a workaholic. Some people struggle to distinguish between a workaholic and a busy (but happy) person. And not just idle busyness, nope -- this is busyness with all things I love. 

I've been chatting to my aunt, and she reminded me that I started knitting a cowl when I was visiting her. Oops -- I forgot about that, so I pulled it out, and perhaps I can finish the neck! 

I must finish knitting my cowl.

And here is the daily jigsaw puzzle. While it's the same style as the last three I did, I worked this one differently. I did the sky on the others and then the building; this one I worked from top to bottom as best I could. It just worked out better that way. 

One more jigsaw puzzle

That leaves ONE more of the 300-piece ones I purchased the other day. In less than one week, all five will be done, as I plan to do the last one tonight. Then I've pulled out a 1000-piece puzzle that I want to finish before I see my parents at the end of this month. There is always a puzzle set up in the common room of their building, and I stop and chat with the fellow who does them. I want to bring him a puzzle this time. It's a good excuse to get one more done. And I have to say I love doing them; it's a refreshing break from reading, and I can listen to a book while doing the puzzle. 

However, I have learned one thing: sitting at the kitchen table, doing a puzzle, and listening to an audiobook is challenging because people want to talk to me! Thankfully, DH is working outside the house this week. 

Speaking of puzzles, today is seniors' day at the thrift store, and for something to do on my walk yesterday, I scouted out the puzzles. There are TWO I want. So I'm going shortly after they open this morning. HEY -- I am doing the puzzles, I'm allowed to buy more, and I don't keep them. I do them and pass them along or redonate them. 

I spotted this book on the shelf at the thrift store. These are NOT the typical souvenir spoons that we bought at every tourist trap - these are serious collectible spoons, mostly to do with events and such in the US. I did not buy it. I just like to open my mind to new experiences!!!

A book on collectible spoons

Oh, wait—I also had my call with the Microsoft support team. It's the same person who calls me during this escalation process, so that's good. I think we have now discovered the WHY my Outlook isn't syncing, and now she is taking that information back to the team, so they can work on an answer. These calls don't take that long—perhaps ten minutes each time? I'm good with that, and if I can help them, while they help me? I'm good with that. 

There is no rush any longer (OK -- at least for the moment), and a slow pace works for me. I don't need to get everything done today or use up my fabric, but I'm making good progress, and that's all that counts. I want to enjoy the process and have fun, way more than I want to get these things done. 

I don't mind giving fabric away when I downsize, but I'd really like to NOT give away half-finished projects. That just doesn't make sense to me, so they are my focus. 

Even though it was a glorious day yesterday, I contemplated not going for a walk because I was in a groove. However, I told myself that I needed to get outside to clear my head. I was going to take a short walk, but then ended up having a good walk. Why? Because once I got out there, I felt amazing - the sun was out, I didn't need a hat (no wind), and well, I just kept walking. When I got back, I had energy galore and got so much accomplished!!!!

And on that happy note, I'm out of here!! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!!

Celebrate the small successes!!!!

THANK YOU -- I didn't get a chance to cut up those photos, but I will today! I needed that wee push — I shouldn't even have needed that, with all my newfound philosophy on decluttering and getting rid of things, but sometimes — you just need a push. 

It's Monday Sewing today, and I have a LOT of tidy-up jobs to do, which is perfect to do while chatting. I have quilts to trim and bind, photos to cut up, and I might even be able to remove several items from the Visual To Do list. 

BUT let's talk about celebrations! For those of you who are organized, this is going to seem absolutely ridiculous. Still, for me, who typically has papers scattered all over the office and nothing is filed, it was like winning an Olympic Gold yesterday. DH asked for my paperwork so he could do a preliminary on the income taxes. WAIT — they are not due until April 30, but why not get them done now? I had given him all my invoices the other day, and yes --- they were all in one spot and even totaled. Celebration number one! Or should I say Gold medal Number One!

Then yesterday, he asked for not one, but two utility bills. I would typically say, " Let me find those - it might take some time." Instead, I dropped everything and said, " Give me thirty seconds." I went to the filing cabinet and produced both documents in less than 30 seconds. OK -- that was more than a gold medal win! That was huge, and it felt so good not to put a task on the to-do list. Yeah!!!!  

I noticed all the paperwork back on my desk this morning, and it'll take just a few seconds to file it back, and trust me -- I will do that!

Slowly and surely, I'm working through the paperwork, and each day I pick something. With fewer classes, there is less paperwork, and so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. All in due time!

It was another busy day, and I started by working on the small soccer quilt. It barely took any time compared to that giant quilt I did the other day. By "busy," I don't mean the crazy busy "this has to be done" kind — I mean I just did stuff instead of eating bonbons! I will always be working - I will always be busy, but there's a difference between doing and doing because you have to. 

The small soccer quilt on the long arm

I even put a more intricate pattern on this one since it was small. It's all about soccer with soccer balls on it. 

The quilting on the soccer quilt

When that came off, I put the table runner on. 

Now it's the table runner's turn to be quilted.

And that one got done as well. I used scraps of batting for both, which helps get rid of those piles. 

The table runner is quilted!

And I almost got the backing completed for the Dear Jen quilt. 

Working on the backing for the Dear Jen quilt

It's going to be very scrappy with many different black fabrics on the back, and I'm OK with that. What else was I going to do with all those small pieces of odd-colored black? This is a perfect use for them, and I have one more row to sew together and put on the bottom. Then it's ready to be quilted. Then I want to get back to the constellation quilt, but hey—I can't do them all in a day!! I'm trying to quilt what I finish, but I'm still waiting on those darn labels. I MUST do some research to see how to contact the company. They must be lost in transit, which is a total pain. WAIT — I just found them on Facebook, so I hope to send them a message today. 

After that one gets quilted, I have to get back to a couple of customer quilts and to some community project quilts I've neglected long enough! I have to get working on those and get them out of the house. All the batting is pulled for ten of them, and it takes up a lot of visual room downstairs. 

This was Murphy and me during our morning cuddle time. She is such a goof, but loves the cuddles, so I try to spend some good quality time with her every day! Just her and me!

Cuddles with Murphy

Later in the morning, she was outside in the sun. We had a wonderfully sunny day, and all the snow from the night before is gone and more. With the forecasted very warm weather this coming week, I doubt we'll have much snow left. And NO — I have not broken down to shovel the remainder of the small path in front that leads to the backyard. I'll let the sun take care of it! 

Sunbathing

But man --- Murphy can be a pest. Last night, wouldn't settle. She wanted in, and then she wanted out. Then she wanted to play ball, and then she wanted a cuddle. And if she doesn't get what she wants, she sits there and makes these small, discrete, yet very audible noises. It's almost like a purring sound. She knows enough not to bark, but boy oh boy!!!! After one more time outside, where she was out for almost 20 minutes, she came in and finally went right to bed. Now what was that all about? 

And one more Dowdle FolkArt jigsaw puzzle bites the dust. All the pieces were there for this one. This set with the houses is part of a series -- spring, summer, winter, and fall. This is summer, and I have two more left - fall and winter. I might as well continue working on them - one a night and get them done. I'm enjoying the process and don't rush it. It takes me about 2½ hours for each one. You would think that, being so small, I could just whip them together, but there are some tricky bits. I should be faster on the next two? 

One more puzzle! 

I laugh when I'm doing those jigsaw puzzles because one of the exercises in The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is to NOT read for one week. GASP!!!! Not read—how would that work? But the premise is that if you are not reading, you are doing something else. OK -- she has a good point there, and for me, that something else is doing a jigsaw puzzle. 

And have you ever noticed how long it takes to read/listen to a nonfiction book rather than a novel? I can listen to or read a novel all day, but I can only read nonfiction in small bits. I have a wee bit of catching up to do, and I almost finished one novel yesterday. That is such a lie -- I listened to 40% of it! I believe it's another Canadian author - Kelley Armstrong. New-to-me author, and one of her books came up on The Globe and Mail list, but I had to go back to the first one. OK -- I have NO idea where this is going because the detectives are also the bad guys? I'm sure there's a reason for this. 

But here's something to contemplate about books, and it shows you where life is headed. There is an audio, nonfiction book on my list. I had to return it many months ago unfinished. I placed a hold on July 30, 2025, to get it back, and I still have over 2 months to wait. When I walked into the library yesterday, there were FIVE physical copies I could have borrowed. I did not because I already have two nonfiction ebooks to read and don't have time for this one. But once I'm done with these two, I will go back and get a copy. 

I'm off to spin class in the cold this morning. Hopefully, this is the last cold morning of this winter! I'm done with the ice and the cold. Fingers crossed --- don't forget that PLUS ONE!!! The forecasters do it so we have hope! 

Have a super day and YES -- I will cut up those photos later today! I can & I will. Watch me!!

Ciao!!!

Be careful what you impulse buy!!!!

I swear this winter is hanging on as long as it possibly can. We had a cool, but sunny day yesterday, and things were melting like mad. There is still some snow on the small pathway that leads to our backyard, and I was so tempted to help it melt by shoveling what's left, but I didn't. What will the neighbors think!!!!

And I spotted a house on the next street over that is the same house as ours, but with a metal roof. It faces the same direction as our house, although perhaps not quite the exact same angle, and guess what? It STILL had snow on the roof in the valleys around that window!! By the way -- before last night, all the snow was gone from our roof. And I need to pursue locating an engineer who can help evaluate the situation. 

The sidewalls were very dangerous in the morning, with a thin layer of ice in lots of places. By the afternoon, everything was dry. And guess what? We had just a skiff of snow last night, so we now have the potential for ice this morning. Sigh...........  

But the days are getting longer, the sun is shining more, and spring is on its way!!!! 

It's March 1, and it's M's 30th birthday. How the heck did that happen? Happy Birthday, M --- love you to the moon and back, even though we don't get to see you that often. Maybe one day, Mom and Dad will pick up roots in a city that really doesn't have roots for us and move. 

Speaking of melting snow, the gazebo is clear of snow. I could get my chair out, sit down, and do some gazebo bathing. Heck - it's close enough to the forest and surrounded by trees, I could call it forest bathing! 

It's almost lounging outdoors time!

We still have lots of snow in the backyard because it doesn't get direct sunlight all day. The girls are having fun romping around, especially if I'm outside! 

Hey Lexi -- you can't catch me!!!!

I have to laugh about this because when we were at the quilt store the other day, I bought an IMPULSE item. I saw this kit to make two bowl cozies, and I have wanted to make one for a long time to use when I heat my bowl of soup in the microwave. For $12.00, you get fabric and the batting to make two of them. 

A kit to make two bowl cozies

So nothing funny about that. Then, when we went to Michael's, we were looking for the fabric aisle, which I hear is at the store in Kitchener. I agree - the fabric is NOT the best quality, and they have a lot of novelty prints, but I did find some funky stuff in North Vancouver. Anyway, while we were there, I spotted an entire bag of the Wrap and Zap batting product for $11.99!!!! With a coupon and my senior discount, I could have practically stolen it, and I have tons of fabric at home. Oh well. 

I don't remember working on this yesterday, but maybe I did. Well, if you've already seen it, here it is again. I now have the blocks in three rows. I've cut some more black and sorted out the other pieces of black to make this big enough to serve as the backing for my abbreviated version of Dear Jen. 

Working on the backing for Dear Jen

I was hoping to get more sewing done yesterday, but the quilt on the long arm required a LOT of babysitting. Constant babysitting, and even then, there are a few spots where the fabric went wonky. Don't worry -- it's my quilt. The denim I bought for the quilt was labelled 100% cotton, and 100% cotton denim has some stretch, but this denim had spandex or lycra in it, and, as it was quilted, the fabric wanted to tuck because of the quilting design. It has small tucks, and no one will notice, but I had to babysit to prevent even more tucks. 

My quilt

It turned out way nicer than I envisioned, and I'm really happy with it. You'll see more of the quilt if you watch my Facebook Live on machine embroidery on March 18. Even if you don't have an embroidery machine, I think it's a good idea to watch. You can learn about the technology in the sewing and embroidery world, and someday you may want to do this. You do NOT need a high-end embroidery machine! 

It seemed it was a day filled with laughter, as I had a few small bits of paper that I had pulled from somewhere, and I needed to deal with them. 

At some point, I had purchased a box of small quotes - they were notes that you could slip into someone's lunch box or briefcase. I only found one of the notes; I have no idea where the others are, and maybe I used them all. 

The little notecard

Inside the notecard

Inside the notecard

Isn't that nice? I'm all about celebrating anything! Just like in The Artist's Way -- you need to celebrate everything, no matter how small. It's important! Very Important!!! 

Nothing funny about that, but I also found this piece of paper, and if you're not familiar with the terms, that file listed is the contacts list in Outlook. That was probably me trying to find the file or move it from another computer, many years ago. That paper is gone, but I kept the card because it can be used in a junk journal, which I will get to at some point because I'm feeling so much freer in my time. 

The elusive contacts file for Outlook

So much so that I sometimes feel lost. Am I really allowed to sew on my projects without an immediate deadline? How is this possible? 

I also got some machine embroidery done. While I was babysitting the long arm, I let the embroidery machine run. At one point, I needed to dig out my metal hoops, which I keep stored in their original boxes. They all contain some very powerful magnets. 

The long arm had finished, and so had the embroidery machine. I left the long arm and went to the embroidery machine. I realized I needed more magnets, which were in another box. When I returned to the shelf, I spotted this. 

My "lost" scissors

Good grief — the scissors I use for long-arming got attracted to the magnets in the box and were stuck there. Good thing I did my tasks in the sequence I did, because I would have needed the scissors for the long arm to cut the thread. I would have seen they were missing, but I would NEVER have thought to check those boxes!!! I might still be looking for them this morning. 

While I was watching a video, I managed to get all the letters off one of the borders. One down and one more border to go. 

Removing the lettering from the border

I've been wracking my brain to see if I could do anything with the photo-transferred pictures. Could I make a sample of them? And if so? What? If I were going to make a sample with photo transfers, it would be nice if the people were ones I knew. I thought of making a picture book and giving it to the family member who asked for the quilt. But I think I just need to bite the bullet, cut the pictures up into scraps, and put them in a pet mat. 

Yes -- I can give myself permission to do that. But I can't just yet. Help me!!!

Both of our girls are exhibiting completely different behaviors. While Murphy is still full of vim and vigor, she has become obsessed with sleeping in Studio B. I think I mentioned that, and yesterday I caught her hesitating much longer than usual at the bottom, gathering the courage to go up! I must put those little carpets on the treads and see if that makes her feel safer. She has learned to slow down before attempting the stairs because she slips. But this hesitation to even start is new. 

She won't come upstairs (2nd level) anymore, and if she does, it's just to see that I'm OK, then she goes back downstairs. I know she is slowing down, but it's almost time for them to go outside, and she is nowhere to be found. 

But give her a ball, and well, she reminds me of Chuck and his ball, Wilson (Castaway). I swear she is trying to talk to it!

Hello Chuck (the balls are called Chuck-it!)

But Murphy was a very good girl yesterday. We met up with Suzie, who was walking Dexter, and she didn't bark. Since we were both going in the same direction, we were able to have a chat. I swear that is the FIRST time that Murphy didn't attempt to bark at another dog, and we could walk together. Way to go, Murphy!!!!

After dinner, I got one more of the Dowdle FolkArt puzzles done! Two pieces were missing from this one. 

Spring Dowdle FolkArt puzzle

There is a girl I follow on IG who is a professional puzzler. Anyway, she does puzzle competitions and stuff like that. I haven't seen a post in weeks, but last night, one came up about how to become a speed puzzler. Good grief -- she had a 500-piece puzzle that she assembled in less than ONE hour! This 300-piece puzzle took two hours or maybe a bit more. HEY --- I'm not doing this to stress myself out - I'm doing it for fun!

So I read The Artist's Way the other day. Actually, I listened to it. I had also downloaded the abridged version, which is 3 hours instead of 12. I listened to that yesterday, and obviously it's much shorter, no quotes, and not as many lists! But if you are looking for a quick read, there's some good stuff in it, and obviously lots of the same stories. 

The book is not just about creativity and art. The book is about changing your life, learning to celebrate each and every little thing. It's about decluttering your house and your mind so that you can live without all that baggage. There are many good lessons in the book. 

I thought I was doing well, but the more I declutter my schedule, the office, my life, the better I feel, and I have so much "free" time. I'm giddy with excitement. I'm now free to do the things that I have wanted to do for a long time. And I can do it guilt-free. And when the day comes for me to move, I won't have much crap to move. 

There is one quote from the book that I love, and it is attributed to Miles Davis: "Do not fear mistakes. There are none!"  That is so true. I can't tell you that often enough, and you'll hear Julia mention it multiple times in The Artist's Way. Those "mistakes" are simply steps along the journey. They are meant to happen -- they are part of your journey to learning and finding new ways. 

On that note, I'm out of here to see how icy those sidewalks are. I see the sidewalk plow passed about 6 AM, so they should be somewhat decent. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!