A lazy day in the backyard

Let's just say that yesterday did NOT turn out as I planned. Instead, I was a slug and spent time in the gazebo and bonding with Murphy! I'm happy to report that she seems to be feeling much better, and I think I mentioned that she even came into the house on her own in the morning to hang out with me.

Then she lay at my feet while I was blogging, so it was hard to type! But that's OK. 

MOM - I need to be with you!!!

I was in such a relaxed mood that I even forgot to make an appointment with the vet and the physiotherapist. So those are on the must-do list for today. 

It was such a glorious day that how could I stay out of the gazebo? Before I know it, the summer will be gone, and I'll be lamenting that I didn't spend enough time out there. And of course, my trusty companion was right there with me. 

MOM - I love spending time with you!!!

Now that the backyard is fully "done," at least for the moment, it's nice to just take some time and enjoy it. While I don't mind working, it's also nice to just relax and enjoy. 

A glorious day in the backyard

I've decided, and I had better write it in my agenda, to spend one half hour each week maintaining the backyard. I see a few weeds are sprouting up again between the flagstones, so if I keep on top of it, it won't be a big deal. And I need to tidy up the shed, and there are a few things to hang on my back fence. So I will pick a day and get out there - once a week. 

I had a chuckle yesterday as a friend was flying to Toronto and I was in the backyard. It's so nice to be able to communicate with people on a plane these days. Not that I want to, but if I need to, it's possible. Anyway, she was looking to kill some time as it had been a long flight. She was 30 minutes away from landing. I told her that they would likely be landing on the east approach to the airport, not the west, since I wasn't seeing any planes land. In that gap you see above, we can see planes approaching the airport on both east/west runways! 

Thankfully, our house is far enough south and west of the airport that we don't hear the planes unless the cloud cover is just right. The best of both worlds - close to the airport, but not close enough to disturb us. 

Murphy was feeling so much like her old self that I found a toy out of her toy box!!!

Hmm- someone wants to play with her toys.

I also bought some plug-in calming devices. I had noticed them in the exam room at the vet, and someone mentioned them in a comment. So I have two of them on the way. We'll see how they work, but the sleeping outside thing seems to be working. She is venturing into the house much more than she was a week ago, so that's a positive. And she is now safely ensconced in Lexi's raised bed beside me. And she was downstairs with me this morning while I was sewing. She can go down with supervision, but she can't make it up by herself, so I use a towel under her tummy to support her. I doubt she will ever feel comfortable on those stairs again. 

I had put carpet treads on them, but even that isn't enough to secure her, and she slipped even with those. But I am OK with helping her up. We just need to be diligent about blocking them so she doesn't even attempt it. 

Speaking of getting up the stairs, I was chatting with a neighbor yesterday, and they had a chair lift installed in their house because their in-laws live with them and they need assistance on the stairs. It cost $15K to have a custom (curved stairs) chair lift installed. Yikes!!! The way our stairs are, I don't think that is even possible because the staircase is open (no walls) on both sides at the very bottom. I told DH - he better get doing some exercises! I am NOT moving. 

I was at the gym yesterday, and I'm doing OK on my own. I miss the spin classes, but I get on the bike and do half of what I would in spin class, then spend the rest of the time stretching and doing some other exercises. I am trying to get in the habit of doing the exercises I got last week. 

Did I mention that these are mostly for strengthening the hips, but it's also the legs. So Chair Squats - we all know how to do those, and they are easy. But there were two step-up exercises that were challenging. But they are simple and good because they work not only on your strength but also on your balance. 

One of them is to find a step - use your staircase if you don't have an exercise step. Stand on the floor and take one step up. Then bring the other foot up, step down with both feet, and repeat. 10 repeats, 2 - 3 times on each side. You can actually raise your heart rate with this one. I like to add to it by lifting my free leg up, like high-stepping, then back down. That increases the heart rate even more. If you don't hang on, it helps improve your balance. Another important factor of staying independent!!!

The next one is the reverse of the one above, and it's darn hard! Simple but deceptive! Stand with one foot on the step and bend that leg so that the heel of your loose foot touches the floor. OH MY --- that was a challenge for me. I was finding that I could touch the ball of my foot, which I then used to push myself back up, but that is NOT the way to do it. You need to touch the heel so that only your leg pushes you up. Yikes --- I'm going to have to work on that one and, of course, try to remain upright (not leaning forward) while doing it!!!

If you want to see videos of the exercises I was given, you can find them here. 

Scroll down until you see this. You can download the paper that I have, and the videos are there as well. It's hilarious because it's really for someone who has had a hip replacement! But I'd rather do this now and not need a hip replacement! My joints seem to be fine - but my muscles are not!  

One of my neighbors has this GIANT hibiscus in her front yard, and I grabbed a photo yesterday. The blooms have to be at least 6 or 7 inches across. It's beautiful, and when we had so much rain the other day, I thought the blooms were toast, but nope - they dried out and popped right back open. 

A giant hibiscus

It looks like there are a ton of buds on it. Perhaps I can see if I can find one and plant it somewhere in my garden. WAIT -- I have a perfect spot in the back beside the gazebo. 

Over the last couple of years, we have been compiling a list of tasks that require an electrician. DH is not handy (hey—I have to inflate the car tires if one is low, which I did yesterday!). And I don't want to deal with electricity. 

One complete set of ballasts in Studio B has gone, and of the remaining light fixtures (6), half of the bulbs are toast, so it is getting a tad dark in there. 

Three dead ballasts

The remaining ballasts are sketchy.

I think only one ballast has two working bulbs. 

So after much "nagging" on DH's part, I finally decided to bite the bullet and sent my list to our electrician. They have always been super busy, and I knew it would take some time before they could get here, so I might as well start the process now. The list was LONG. 

Imagine my surprise when I got a call from them asking if I would be home as they would come out and assess the situation that afternoon. Yikes!!!! I happened to be at the sports store buying shorts, but I was almost done. 

We walked around the house (inside and out), and I showed him what needed to be done. He offered suggestions, and we worked out the logistics. And can you believe that the first thing he spotted when he walked into Studio B was that one of the bulbs had NOT been inserted properly (by myself) and that the end was bent. 

The prong is bent

Or did he bend the end when he tried to fix it? Anyway, I didn't put the bulb back in, so there goes another light! 

After assessing everything, he put my world in a tailspin when he said, "We can come on Thursday and Friday to do the work." Yikes—that would not normally be a problem, but we want a bunch of new lights installed, and I do NOT have them. So guess where I'll be today? Shopping for lights. I've got a couple of places in mind, and I was searching their websites last night, so I think I'll be OK. I'm not super picky - I want it to look nice, but I don't need something so specific that it has to be special ordered. 

I need 17 devices installed, but thankfully only 5 styles. As long as they have them in stock, I should be good with what I saw on the website. 

That doesn't include what is going into Studio B, which they'll provide. Then the thought occurred to me that it would require moving a lot of furniture to get those lights installed, but then I took a closer look this morning, and the moving will be minimal. 

I asked him why they had free time. They are waiting for some parts for a big job, and I got lucky! It was meant to be!!! And now we will have proper lighting all through the house! I can't wait. I think they also have a few more electricians than they did the last time we hired them. 

And can you believe he accused me of having OLD light switches in my house? The one in question was installed less than 20 years ago!!! By their company! We still have some of the old toggle switches—we have a huge variety of electrical things in our house. He even noticed a cracked faceplate. An eye for detail to be sure!!!

And as part of my lazy day, I sat down and finished that puzzle. Throughout the day, I would sit and get at least five pieces in place. And sometimes that required taking one piece at a time and trying it in multiple spots. I didn't do a lot of that, as it's very time-consuming, so I tried to go by color (though that was a challenge) and then by shape, which proved challenging as well. It is done!!!

Puzzle complete! 

Now I'll put it back in the box and in the giveaway box, and I won't start another until the electrician is done since that table is near one of the lights. 

And then at last, I did get some sewing done! 

Remember my horses in Down on the Farm and how I didn't like them? Well, the horses were fine - it was the colors in the locations I had that I didn't like. So I decided to move the horses around, and I had only two choices. 

This is the before. So lots of white/grey animals in this block. 

Too many white animals - before

And two darker animals in this block. 

Two dark animals - before

I switched the brown and grey horses, so this is what it looks like now. 

This looks better

And the other block with the grey horse

I like this much better, so I'm good. I still have to remake the turtle, and perhaps I can get that done today and then move on to the final four blocks.

Other than that and a bit more on the pattern testing (counting the number of pieces), I didn't get much done. So far, I've been able to match the actual number of pieces in the blocks with that in the cutting directions. Except for these last two blocks - the numbers don't match, and my anal brain won't let it go, so I'm going to attempt it one more time. Out of 250 pieces in those two blocks, I can't account for three! 

An update on the class signups -- the Scrap Class is now available for signups. And OH MY -- did you see how fancy the information was laid out? I was so excited that even I wanted to sign up for the class. LOL!!!!!

I have a feeling that a wee bit of AI went into making that, but I'm good with that. I see that quite a few people signed up yesterday. Remember, the class has a limit of 99, and if we go over, we may have to do some fancy work to accommodate everyone. Here is the link for you to sign up. 

An update on the 40 Shades of Grey patterns: 30 patterns have been ordered by the Out of Hand quilt shop, and if you are signing up for this class, please use this link and select the NOTIFY ME WHEN AVAILABLE button so when the patterns arrive, you will get an email alerting you to that fact. I will try to put together the distribution list to alert you as well, but since most people have probably only seen this class information on my blog, I'm telling you here. 

And again - here is the link for the class list if anyone still wants to sign up for something. 

On that note, I'd better get myself organized. I have to tell you about my short shopping, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

 

Working on a farm is hard work!

I have the best friends! Between phone calls, comments, and discussing it at Monday sewing, I now have quite a few suggestions on how to attempt to deal with Murphy's new anxiety issue. I do want to start by checking with the vet to see exactly what medication she has, and then we are going to start investigating. 

She slept outside last night, but when I got up (the door was still open), she came in on her own and is now ensconced in her (Lexi's) raised dog bed beside me in the office. So there is hope! And last night, she seemed a bit more like her usual self and wanted to play, although we have banned playing ball, which she is NOT happy about. 

She seems quite content to be in the house with me and did wander in a few times more than usual yesterday. All is looking good!

I don't know if I have ever pieced anything so intense as Down on the Farm! I love the blocks, but boy oh boy, there are a lot of pieces, and while everything is well labeled in the pattern, I'm not so good at labeling when I cut. I'm pretty good at deciphering it. It is just slow. 

And now I have the next block done. This means that eight of the 12 blocks are complete. There are three sheep, two cows, and one horse. 

The eighth block

It wasn't until I was done with the block and hung it up that I realized that I had made all the animals in that group white! 

It never even occurred to me to make a black sheep, although he would have lost his ears and feet definition. But the horse? Why did I make a grey horse? 

So - I think I'm going to take a break from sewing new blocks today to fix what I have. Remember in the top row, there are two horses? 

Two horses in the top row

I am going to swap the brown horse for the grey horse, and that will make me feel better. I also decided to completely remake the turtle, and if I can get those two rows together today, then I would be happy. 

It's not that it's a big deal to have all those white animals, but when the two pasture blocks are together, that is a LOT of white animals in one spot. It won't be a big deal to move them around. And I need to stitch on some antennae for the butterfly. It just needs it. 

The two pasture blocks

So tidying up the first eight blocks will be the objective of today. I'm also happy to report that the next two blocks are cut out and waiting to be sewn. Yep—not a single label on any of those pieces!!! I'm my own worst enemy!!! But there are MANY shapes, sizes, and colors - it would require a LOT of labels. I'm lazy!

The next two blocks are cut.

I may just bite the bullet and cut the remaining two blocks today as well. Then I can just sew. I'll see how the day progresses. 

There is so much going on in the quilt, and it really is a fun one! I also have the beach-themed quilt from Sew Fresh Quilts, but I need to get back to my planned projects. I suspect it's going to take most of this week to finish off those final four blocks. Then I'll need to decide on what border to put on it. Do I have any farm fabric left? Yes — I do, so I'll need to dig that out and see if any of it works. I have one in mind, but I'm not sure if I have enough of it. But that's not a job for today. 

I also have two small projects that I MUST get done today. And then there is the long arm that needs to be reassembled, a couple of sewing tables that also need to be assembled, the T-shirt quilt needs assembly, and so on. The list is long, and this was supposed to be my "down" month. We are four days into August, and I have barely sat in the gazebo. 

I made some progress on the puzzle last night. 

Progress on the puzzle

I put in a few extra pieces after this picture was taken, but yep—that is a lot of blue/green pieces! Just more than one hundred. Yep - I counted them - I'm a Virgo - I needed to! And the pieces in this puzzle are the same shape, but are randomly cut. Hmm - I need to learn the puzzle lingo. 

Wait =- I just found this on Google. 

Names of puzzle pieces

OK - based on this, all the pieces are Hs. Where do the last two pieces get their names? Some of those don't make sense. 

The actual names of the shapes of a puzzle piece? We have tabs (knobs/noses) and blanks (sockets/holes/notches) for the innies and outies on a puzzle piece. The straight edges along the outside are called edges, and the corners are called corners. It sounds super easy! I think there are other names depending on who you chat to, or perhaps I'm making that up!

Now I'm all set when I have a serious talk with a puzzler! 

I've heard a few house creaks since Murphy came inside to sleep, and so far, she's sound asleep in her raised bed. Someone had suggested that her sound sensitivity was due to her pain, and that could definitely be a factor. Perhaps with her increased activity last evening and coming in this morning, she is feeling better? 

I also sat outside with her last night before I went to bed, and we had a heart-to-heart chat. I told her how much we loved her and that it was OK to feel the way she did, but we were here for her. Maybe I need to have a serious chat with her more often to let her know that she is loved. Hmmm.

Dogs are very sensitive, and we need to let them talk to us and us to them! 

I also have some paperwork I need to get back to this morning. And a reminder that if you want to sign up for any classes, be sure to send me an email. Here is the link to the classes, and be sure to forward it to anyone you think will be interested. I will start assembling the distribution lists next week and send out a note to ensure that I got everyone who has signed up so far. 

And on that note, I'm off to the gym. I need to take a copy of my FIVE pages of exercises, not the original three, so I can remember what to do and start incorporating them into my gym visits. I also feel the need to buy some new gear for the gym. Oh my—I will NOT be buying what the younger people are wearing. It's definitely a fashion show - what happened to a T-shirt and shorts? And the tighter the shorts are, the better. The more "lift" in the butt, the better. I kid you not -- that is a thing! The skimpier the top, regardless of whether the wearer has a tummy or a muffing top. So, compared to a lot of people at the gym, I'm a prude! I have a very negative body image, so I cover it up. And I'm OK with that. That is the result of many years of being called "fatty" when I was in school. That image will likely never go away, and I'm OK with that, but I need to be covered up! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Why is value so important?

OH MY --- I had to finish that book (Grounds for Murder by Betty Ternier Daniels) last night. I think it was 8 hours in total, but since I was busy sewing this intense quilt block, I had to turn it off each time I needed to find pieces to sew. There are so many similar sizes, and obviously you are sewing two different fabrics together - I had to do a wee bit of unripping from time to time. 

But you are NOT going to believe this. At one point in the book, the main character mentions a small village in Saskatchewan, and can you believe that she said, "Baljennie?" This is the tiny wee village nearest to where I grew up. No one lives there any longer, but this book was written in 2024, and yes - if you Google Baljennie, it's still on the map!! I wonder why she chose that hamlet - I wonder if she has any connection to that area. I must ask!

I found an aerial view of Baljennie in its heyday. Well, maybe not quite - I think the church had burnt down when this was taken. But there are the two grain elevators and the post office, the general store, the garage (cars), and, about the middle of the photo, the community center and the curling rink that my grandfather helped build and then helped build a thriving curling community. But there is another building up there, and I don't know what that is. I must ask. 

The railroad came into town, and it ended there! Just past the elevator on the right. 

The town of Baljennie

I almost fell over when I heard Bety mention Baljennie in her book!! Not that it was on the map, but that she included it in the book. I haven't heard back from her yet, but I had mentioned that that is where I was from, even though I hadn't come across that part of the book yet. 

Anyway - it was an interesting read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to whoever recommended the book. 

|And now there are only two audiobooks on my shelf. 

My plan was to have TWO blocks completed for the Down on the Farm quilt, but alas, that was not to be. Remember, both blocks were cut out. I managed to get one block completely done. There are a LOT of little pieces and lots of room to go amiss. 

The seventh block

I think this and the beach-themed quilt she also just finished would make very good quilts for a class. So many little details to watch out for. The other thing, and I believe I mentioned it the other day, is that I am using my iPad to follow along with the pattern. There are pros and cons. The pro is that you can enlarge the pattern to see diagrams of the teeny-tiny areas, but you can't check off the sections as you sew them. WAIT -- I think you can do that on the iPad. I must try that later today. 

In the next block there are three sheep (done), two cows (done), and one horse (in progress). Then I can sew that block together. 

Then I'm going to go back and fix my turtle block. Why? What do you see, or I should ask, what don't you see? 

My turtle block

The turtle's face is very hard to distinguish from the pond. Even his legs on the grey rocks are sort of hard to see, but it's mostly his face. 

And that brings me to the topic of the day - VALUE. Value is a very important component of art and quilting, and it's highly dependent on what surrounds it. Here's a very good example. As I was sewing the HSTs together, this happened. 

I was sewing the ones on the right until I ran out of the dark green. In that case, the floral is the light. I happened to have some beige triangles, so I sewed them to the remaining pieces of that floral fabric. In this instance, that floral is the dark! 

One fabric - two completely different values

Pick a random fabric and ask if it's a dark, medium, or a light, and the answer is impossible to determine until you decide what is going next to that random fabric. Sometimes the colors are strong enough to stand out, making the color the contrast, but not so with my turtle head. The value of the turtle head and the water are the same, and the intensity of the colors is so close that the turtle head is lost. I found a much lighter fabric that I can use, but I'll also look for a darker one. Then I'll decide. That is the only spot I have miscalculated so far. I should have put the two fabrics on the design wall and stepped back to see the contrast. 

I almost goofed again. This time I had pulled a gold for the flower centers. They are teeny-tiny pieces, and when I sewed the flower section, I knew the gold would get lost. So back to the stash bin, and I found a BRIGHT yellow that will hold its own against the pink. 

Two yellows - one works, one does not!

I hope that you can see what I mean when I chat about value. It's so important, and you also need to consider how busy your prints are. If there is enough contrast, most times it won't matter, but if both the light and the dark are busy, then that contrast may just disappear into a bird's nest! Beware!

Many of the pieces in this quilt are assembled using a stitch-and-flip method. And here's the cutting mat after almost two blocks. That's a lot of teeny pieces that are cut off. I will NOT be saving these! 

The cut-offs from sewing two blocks of stitch-and-flip

As mentioned, I should be able to finish block 8, and then I'll have to decide - do I fix the turtle, or do I move on to the final row? I might at least cut for the final row. I had hoped to be done by today, but that's not the case. Each block has a lot of pieces, and each requires a clear head to work. I'm enjoying the process, though, and trying very hard to catch any mistakes, which means I have to pay a lot more attention than just looking at the pictures and winging it! 

The pile of HSTs on the ironing board continues to grow. I even took the time to sort the triangles on that tray by color! I'm so darn anal about stuff like that. I need color sorting!!!! 

The stack of HSTs continues to grow.

Now I can grab a color and pull a light and a dark, and away I go. Not that I need them to be by color, but it works for me. 

I spotted this on Facebook and thought it was hilarious. First - I want to say that I was so focused yesterday that it would have taken an alarm to break me out of my sewing trance!! 

But I did scroll a bit after I was so exhausted that I had to stop sewing. 

OMG -- that is me!!! I made some progress on the puzzle last night, but I'm down to green pieces now. I know some people who avoid puzzles with lots of green or blue. Not me - I'm going to get this thing together even if I have to try each piece one at a time! I doubt it will come to that, but it might in some areas. 

And YES -- an old cutting mat would make the perfect place to work on a puzzle. I have one of those felt roll-up mats which I have never used. I don't think I will. I guess I'll have to donate it unless someone wants it!

I have to give you an update on the girls. Someone had mentioned in the comments that only purebred dogs sleep like frogs. I don't think that is true. It's called a sploot, by the way, and it's just a way for them to stretch out, get their tummy directly on the floor (as in Murphy's situation), and it's comfortable for some dogs. I have never seen Lexi sleep this way. 

So Murphy is on medication for inflammation and pain, and it causes drowsiness. Well, it can cause drowsiness. She gets one of those in her evening meal. The other night, I noticed some white residue on the mats beside the back door. I didn't give it a second thought. Last night, I noticed residue again, and WAIT --- she bit open the capsule and didn't get all the medication inside. I grabbed a pill pocket and shoved the remaining contents of the capsule into it. She wasn't happy, but she ate it. 

Then Lexi came over to the mats and cleaned up all the residue! Sigh............ I bet she slept well!

MOM - I'm cleaning up Murphy's mess

Somewhere in Murphy's recent adventures, she has developed something BAD. Before the first slip, she was a typical dog who would wake when she heard a noise, and then go back to sleep, unless it was something worthy of barking at. In Murphy's case, that would be noises, particularly those outside, between 11 PM and 7 AM. 

The first night after her slip, she was restless and would not settle. It was a sleepless night at our house - for her and for me. I tried everything to settle her down and thought it was because of her being in pain. Then we got pain meds, and that seemed to help. Then she had another slight slip, and that has thrown her into a tizzy. 

She is ONLY comfortable and will fall asleep immediately if she is OUTSIDE. This is not good when your dog is known to bark at things in the night. Thankfully, the raccoons and coyotes are in another part of the forest. 

Last night, I attempted to bring her in the house and get her settled for the night. I have now discovered what her problem is. Well, part of it anyway. She might still have pain, but I can't see how - she has her pill, which she gets once a day (at night). 

It is the NOISES in the house. She has developed a NOISE PHOBIA, which is bad because when she hears something, she gets frantic and wants to climb on things that she has never climbed before; she paces, she pants, and she is in quite a bit of distress. When my SIL went to bed at 12:30 and turned on an upstairs water tap, Murphy just about blew a gasket. 

And then the dishwasher started. Needless to say, I put her outside. I brought her in at 5 AM, and she is peacefully sleeping in the basement. She can go downstairs (on the leash), but I have to help her upstairs with a towel under her tummy, which works just fine and puts no strain on me. For any of you who are caregivers to a family member, it's not quite the same, but equally traumatizing to be a caregiver for a senior dog, especially one who is crazy!

This isn't just at night - it's during the day as well. She wants to spend 100% of her time outside. It was raining yesterday, and she has zero issues with sleeping in the rain. The poor dog is just WET. There are a couple of spots she knows of where she can sleep without getting wet, but if it rains too hard, she will get wet. 

We are lucky that we are not going anywhere this month and that it is summertime, but what the heck are we going to do in the fall? I've got to try some anxiety medication for her, and there are other products that you can get to try and calm a dog down. But why did she become so sensitive to any kind of noise overnight? 

I will make another appointment with the vet. I would just buy an OTC product, but since she is on the anti-inflammatory, I want to see what will work best with that. The vet mentioned another medication, and perhaps it will have a more calming effect on her. The poor thing - we are all stressed in our house, but I bet she has a worse case of it than we do. At least we understand what the issue is. 

Remember that we have class signups happening now. And someone mentioned that if you are taking part in the Show and Tell class, you can buy the pattern at Country Concessions, and they have FREE shipping, but only today!!!!!  

Here is the link to the classes again, and be sure to let your friends know. 

And on that happy note, it's Monday sewing today!!!! I'll be heads down working on my blocks! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Book recommendations

Thanks for all the comments. YES --- most of those exercises can be done while waiting for oatmeal to cook! I just need to remember to do them. The alternative will not be pretty, so it is a priority. I did some at the dinner table to demonstrate to DH how easy they are. I even told him that he should be doing them as well. He's in much worse shape than I, and it's simply because he does nothing. 

Brooke will definitely be part of this "recovery" mission, and I'll share with her next week. 

As for dentists, optometrists, and everyone else selling their practices, I don't know how we can fight back, but we need to speak out. Or probably insurance has made it next to impossible for a single practitioner to practice and still make money. I LOVE our dentist, and I sure hope he never retires. But since he's about the same age as myself, that is not going to be a reality. 

On the reading front, I get recommendations from everywhere - it might be one of you, it might be an in-person meeting, review online or in a newspaper, but they come in from everywhere. And I typically go to Libby and request a copy of the book - either audio or ebook. I just finished reading Game of Crowns, which was quite an interesting read, and it is so hard to tell what is true or not in the world of the Royals, but OH MY GOODNESS -- none of the Royal women was put in a super positive light. There is a lot of posturing, and they are ruthless! 

However, when that was done, I needed to move to the next book. I think there were three audiobooks in my inbasket for me to choose from. A bit too many for my liking, but I'm good with three. So I picked one because it was a novel and I needed a break from non-fiction. 

I know someone recommended this book to me, but I don't remember whom, but OH MY --- what a hoot. It's called Grounds for Murder by Betty Ternier Daniels. The book is based in the North Battleford area (where I grew up), and it's hilarious. What they say, what they do, how they act -- it's all so familiar! I'm guessing the main character is about my age or a little older, and lives on a farm, so it's very familiar. And they visit North Battleford, and yep - I know all those places! I LOVE the book!!!

A huge thank you to whoever you are for the recommendation. It's a fun read, and who is the murderer? 

AHA—here are our NEW fire hydrants. As we had discussed a week or so ago, they are repainting them, and the base coat was grey. I guess they tidied them up, slapped on the base coat, and came back to paint them red. Notice the top and the caps are grey. So bright and shiny! I think our entire city (or at least my neighborhood) is getting a minor facelift. Fire hydrant, new road lines, etc. 

Spiffed up fire hydrant

I had a book to pick up at the library. OK -- so I have a thing with books and puzzles. OK -- and quilt fabric. I'm obsessive about all those things! I cannot just go to the library to get one book. Instead, I found another one and also brought that home. It's not that bad of a walk to the temporary location - about 30 minutes there and 25 back. It all depends on whether I have to wait for lights. I'm glad my regular branch is not that far away -we are very lucky to have 18 branches in this city!

I stopped to look at the puzzle, and it's the same one as last time, but nothing is together. I'm not sure whether it was ever completed and then they tore it apart, or it never got completed. But as mentioned before, I am NOT a fan of the green felt. If I bought one of those boards, I'd be ripping that felt off. Plus I think I like my design boards as I can easily move them around and get a good look. The drawers are handy, but not easy to look into. I know you can also purchase the boards without the felt. 

Not a fan of the felt backing

I made progress on my puzzle last night. I think all the "easy" stuff is done, and now the rest will be a test of patience, size, and very slight color changes. After this one, it'll be time to do the monthly themed puzzle, which is wild animals! Yep -- I found one at the thrift store, so I can't wait to work on it. 

Status of the current puzzle

I got one more block done for Down on the Farm. OK - that block humbled me. I was working away, everything was fine, and then I went to sew the bigger sections together — and BAM—we have a major problem. I double-checked my fabric pieces, and everything seemed OK, but it still wasn't working. 

Then I took part of one section apart and OH MY -- I did miscut one of the pieces. And it's funny because as I was sewing that piece onto the others, I thought to myself, "This piece is too big." It was the diagonal strip of green on the turtle shell. My brain knew it was wrong, but did I investigate it? I did NOT. Which goes to show that you need to trust your gut!!! And then listen and act upon those instincts. 

So putting this together took a little longer than I anticipated, but this block is done. That makes six blocks done and six more to sew. Yes - I know the contrast in the turtle's face isn't the best. Too late to change it!

Block six

I spent a good chunk of this morning cutting out the next two blocks. All the pieces are on this board, and I still have a few more pieces to cut. There are a LOT of little bitty pieces in these next two blocks. 

The pieces are cut for Blocks 7 and 8

Instead of getting out a new design board, I just overlapped the pieces! Of course I did! I don't label anything - of course I don't! I have a ruler on the front of my sewing machine, and I can pretty much tell the difference in size by eye. But to double-check, I use that ruler, and so far, so good except for that miscut shape in the turtle. 

My goal is to get those two blocks done today. I was hoping to have all the blocks done by today, but that isn't going to happen. Plus, I spent the morning doing paperwork, so I am going to skip it today. 

The mystery book was so interesting that I wanted to finish the chapter before shutting things down for the night. Since I had a few minutes to kill (pun intended), I decided to trim a few half-square triangles. As I was trimming, I noticed that the yellow on the side has a hole in it. CRUD - so that goes! 

Trimming half-square triangles

Someone asked why I don't stop making them and start making stuff with them. I have made several quilts from half-square triangles and a pencil case. I could stop, but then what do I do for enders and leaders? Nope -- I'll continue to make them, but I do need to start sewing them together. I have several plans for the ones that are trimmed. 

I'll be teaching that scrap quilt session starting in September, and trust me -- we will be exploring this kind of thing, along with many other types of scraps. The first rule is WHAT size makes you happy! Remember that I am NOT expecting anyone to make a project each month. But I will be offering suggestions as to what you can do with your scraps. It is up to you to decide what you want to make. And then we'll see how all those HSTs will come together! 

So you know Miss Murphy has been banned from going up or down the stairs. And she seems to know that she isn't able, as she doesn't even bother or whine to come down. It's a bit sad for me since I know how much she loved being downstairs. It wasn't even to be with me, but she loved the coolness of the basement. However, life changes, and so do our abilities, and thankfully she knows that. 

However, I don't trust her not to attempt to come down and run into problems, so we have the stairs barricaded. What am I using? 

Well, every bag maker should have some of these - election signs!!!! 

We had to barricade the stairs at one point years ago, and I don't remember why, but I tucked those signs behind the bookcase in my office. And so when I needed them, they were there! 

What is hilarious is that Bonnie was our mayor from 2014 to 2024. These signs were probably from her first run for mayor, so they are at least 10 years old. 

Barricade to the basement

Guess what? She is going to run for mayor again! I told DH that I could just put the sign out on the lawn and he said NO. I was just kidding. 

And this sign was for a school trustee, probably from the same era.  

Barricade to the upstairs

I just sent Betty (the author of Grounds for Murder) a note to say how much I connected with her character and surroundings. If I were an author, I would love to get feedback from my readers. Again -- thank you to whoever recommended that book, and I wonder how they found out about it? 

I see that we have a nice gentle rain this morning, but do I feel like going out with the girls? Murphy couldn't care less about the rain and is happy to go outside and lie in the rain. That must be great for the muscles! But Miss Lexi is another story. Although Murphy gets saturated, the wet just lies on top of Lexi's fur. 

I must get myself organized and decide whether we wait or I get back downstairs to find out what happens to the character in that book!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Class sign-ups begin!!!!

We all had a decent night. Murphy is content to sleep outside - I just don't get that, but if it keeps her happy, then I'm willing to do it. But should she ever bark, I'll be like the Dad in The Night Before Christmas - "I awoke with a flash and flew to the window and tore open the sash!" That will be me! But so far, so good. And when I brought her in around 5 AM (that's kind of the witching hour for raccoons), she was happy to sleep in Lexi's bed, but when she wanted some attention, there was one somewhat subdued BARK at the top of the stairs! 

So she is learning to cope - she doesn't ask or attempt to go through the barricade at the top of the stairs. OH WAIT - I need to take pictures of my barricades. I'll do that for tomorrow. So all is good. Needless to say, I was a happy camper yesterday because I had a decent sleep. I accomplished a lot, and, well, I just felt good. We don't have a perfect workaround yet, but we are getting there. 

You all know that when Murphy wants to go for a walk, she likes to walk very fast. The one "positive" from her slowing down is that she's not so keen on pulling on the leash. No kidding. The pressure she put on her legs to pull like she did was insane. 

And by the time we headed home, she was getting a wee bit tired, which you can see by all the slack in that leash. I swear she was walking like a properly trained dog on a loose leash! 

Mom - I'm a wee bit tired

Can you believe that it's August? Where has the year gone? Just flying past, or do we just forget that we have lived all those days! Lots has happened, the days are full, so no wonder it goes by quickly. BUT lately, when walking in the forest, I hear PLOP PLOP PLOP. Hmmm—it's not time, but yes, it is!! The squirrels are harvesting their acorns, and some of them are plopping on the ground. 

The acorns are ready for harvest.

These ones look a bit green still, but those squirrels are having a grand time! 

I did spend a bit of time (OK - all morning) dealing with paperwork and managed to clear some of the backlog, so that made me feel quite happy. I hope to put out a small stack each day and get on top of it again. Once I get to it, it's not so bad, but miss one day? Yikes!!!

When I pulled those boxes out with all my early-memory things, I noticed I had kept some of the work things I had done. I know -- why? Well, I was a newly minted MBA, and I wanted to show how useful I could be by generating reports after studying how people worked in the office. I guess, at the time, I felt it was worth keeping! 

My first report at a newly minted MBA!!!

That report was quite thick, but it was mostly the backup data that took up all the space. 

That's a thick report!

But I put these details here so my spreadsheet-loving friends know that I was once capable of generating all sorts of tables and charts and knew how to massage the data!! 

Charts and graphs in my report

Actually, this was Lotus 1-2-3, which I had used quite extensively. I used to work at a bank, and we used spreadsheets to assess traffic at specific branches to see which had the least traffic and so on. 

It's just that using a spreadsheet to track some of the stuff that people track - that's not in my vocabulary. I know you can create input forms and generate nice output, but I'm not taking the time to do that! I don't need that level of sophistication!

Anyway, the report is now in the recycling bin! Yes, when I put something like this in the recycling bin, I remove the pages that are still blank on one side for printing. I have a nice little pile beside my desk. I remove the coil binding, put it in the garbage, and put the double-printed pages in the recycling. 

Miss Murphy is quite happy to spend a good part of the day outside, and the side of the house seems to be her go-to place. But why does she lie like this? She has always slept this way, but you would think with her leg that she wouldn't be comfortable, but if she's happy, then I'm happy. 

On guard if anything should come through the gate!

So the next block of the Down on the Farm (Sew Fresh Quilts) is done! While I'm behind in the pattern testing, I think the pattern will be available for purchase in the near future. 

The dragonfly and bullrush block

So whose idea was it to use DIRECTIONAL fabric for the pond? I found this water-looking fabric and thought it would be a great idea! And it is, but it was a challenge to cut the variety of shapes needed. And when I put the dragonfly block in its place, all the water was going in the opposite direction to what it needed to be. Thankfully, that was easily fixed by rotating the block so that the dragonfly faced left rather than right. PHEW!!!!!

BUT -- I have no idea how Lorna even went about designing that dragonfly. It's an engineering feat to be sure. Sew on a square with a diagonal seam, add two more pieces, then another diagonal seam and VOILA - a dragonfly. OK -- it's a lot more complicated than that, but seriously - these blocks are creatively designed. 

And now there are my five blocks so far. I'm almost done with the 6th block, and I hope to get the entire middle row completed today. It's doable as I have NOTHING else on my agenda!!!

My five blocks so far for the farm quilt

I have sewn a LOT of enders and leaders together in making the quilt so far. And I'm using up those little triangles, and now I have a lot of things to press and trim. I'm OK to leave that because I want to focus on getting this quilt top together. 

A huge stack of triangles to press and trim

Hmmm -- I was wondering what to do with this quilt, and I have a second cousin who just turned one. Maybe it would be good for him. I wonder if Mom would appreciate it, though. If I were going to teach this quilt, well, I could take some pictures now and use the pattern to help people through it. Hmm -- got some thinking to do about that. 

This is my setup as I sew the blocks. I printed out the cutting charts because it's much easier to check off the pieces as I cut and sew them. But the pattern is 25 pages in total, so I have downloaded it to my iPad and then follow along. It's working very well, and when I need to zoom in to see some of the very small bits, it's easy as pie!

My setup for sewing the blocks

I have to use the mini design boards sparingly, as I have three in use with my current puzzle!! I managed to get some work done on it last night, but it's a challenge. 

OK - so you are wondering what happened with my appointment at The Sports Clinic. Well, in all honesty, what my doctor told me years ago is basically the same advice I got yesterday! STRENGTHEN and STRETCH!!!!!! 

Yes, I have arthritis in my knees. Actually, I didn't ask how bad it was, but it doesn't seem to be an issue, which I knew. My joints are OK, except they get stiff if I sit for a prolonged period. But if I move them while sitting (and NEVER cross my legs), they are good when I stand up. 

After much manipulation and testing for strength in my legs, she decided that my main issue is the sciatic nerve in my left leg. That is an issue that I've had for 16 years, and of course, it has gotten worse. The first time it reared its head, and it may have actually been just a muscle cramp, was on a bicycle trip. I believe I mentioned that a couple of months ago. 

It has flared up over the years but not constantly. Now it's a constant and very annoying. Thankfully, she says it's coming from my glutes, NOT my lower back, since I don't have issues there. It can be "fixed" by doing some strength training. I have a good range of motion in my joints, although the muscles around them are tight, and she said the main issue seems to be my left hip, not my knees. The joint is fine - it's the muscles around the hip that are weak. 

I got a series of 12 exercises to do and will go over them with a physiotherapist to ensure I'm doing them OK. 

But you are going to laugh -- no, you shouldn't be laughing because I have been telling you this for months. Look at this exercise. 

Exercises for strengthening

Do you see what the second one down is? They call it Chair Squats - I call it Stand Up/Sit Down!!!!! 

Get off your chair and do 100! And try not to lean forward - try to keep your upper body posture straight! That's my downfall!

I MUST find a way to incorporate this into my daily routine, or however often the physiotherapist recommends. I MUST regain strength in my hip and quads to relieve pressure on the sciatic nerve and the tendons in my knees. I know this and have known it for a while, but it's not until someone tells you that you resign yourself to making it happen. 

I do not want surgery unless absolutely necessary (that was never the goal of this quest), and I do not want to lose my independence (that was my proactive goal). I also need to strengthen my core and improve my posture. If I start now, I can keep my independence that much longer. How important is that to me? I will need to remind myself of that daily! If I wait, I'll be in trouble. 

I was at the grocery store and spotted these Lego sets. Oh my—they have Lego for everything. 

Lego set at the grocery store.

And they keep up to date with trends. See the mountain bike with the fat tires? I got a chuckle from that. 

Fat-tired mountain bike!

Well, there are phone calls to make today, and emails to send, and just the usual stuff. 

I want to remind everyone that I am now officially opening registration for the fall classes. You can find the details in this blog post. If you need the 40 Shades of Grey pattern, let me know. And YES, I confirmed with Thimbles and Things, and you will be able to sign up for the scrap class once she posts it on her website. She has NOT prepped that yet, but if you are signed up for her twice-weekly newsletter, you will receive a notification about the class and a link to sign up. That will likely happen mid-August. 

For the other classes, please send me an email (preferably one email per class so I can file them in the appropriate folder) and include the class title in the subject line. I've been filing the ones that have come in so far, and hopefully I haven't missed anyone. I'll be scouring email to ensure that I've got everything. 

Confirmations will occur around the third week of August, and at that time you'll receive a supply list and any other information you need. I want to warn you that I have to reschedule the classes scheduled for October 17 (I think that is the date), and I need to do that today. 

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

Have a wonderful day!!

Ciao!!!