EUREKA!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to those who sent comments on how to fix my computer problems. After a bit of tinkering - I managed to get rid of the STUFF from Google Chrome. It is amazing how downloading a program (like Smilebox) can be so disruptive. It changed fonts, it changed the homepage that opens when I open Chrome, it prevented me from blogging from Chrome. I mean it was evasive!!!!!!!   And yet I like what Smilebox does. If you are in Chrome - hit that little wrench in the top right hand corner - you can do a lot in there!!!!!


Oh to be a 12 year old!!!!



And now back to the regular blog.


I still haven't kicked into high gear as far as getting back to work - but part of that was the issue with the computer. I know - has NOTHING to do with sewing, but it was the mind set that got me into a bad mood!!!
Then I was going to yoga at 9:30 AM but could not get anywhere near the gym. The first turn was blocked by police. OK - so I'll sneak around and go to the next street, NOPE - that was closed also. Well there is one more street - NOPE that too was blocked - so all morning, the gym was pretty much off limits. It wasn't anything happening at the gym, but something in the area. There was another yoga class at 4:15, but by that time, I was comfortably established on the sofa and just couldn't get up the energy to get to the gym. I KNOW - ME!!!!!

Part of the problem is that I have a bit of a physical issue at the moment. My posture isn't the greatest at any time. Well after two weeks of riding my bike, and now trying to stand up straight - well my back is protesting!!!!   And just in one small spot but it feels like someone has embedded a knife in there and twisting merrily away. I went to physio and they confirmed - YES - the muscles are tight - or compressed or whatever they would call it. Bottom line - I need to do some MAJOR stretching (OK - yes I should have done that on the road - but I didn't!!) to open up those muscles. Right now the most comfortable position is lying flat on the floor on my back with something BIG like my spiky ball right under that spot. Of course you can do NOTHING in that position. And unfortunately Advil does NOTHING for this. I guess I'll be doing a lot of stretching today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Now I can get back to posting the pictures that I was going to post yesterday. The worst part of getting home is dealing with all the stuff - the unpacking. Here is my bike box and my duffle bag. I got lucky because M's boyfriend reassembled my bike - yeah Berke!!!!!   and it is already at the bike shop since there seemed to be some issues with the gears. I was missing one or two (skipping) and the pedal crank was protesting and the chain came off which could have been an issue if I wasn't as quick as I was.

Luggage to unpack

Let's see - laundry is done and almost all put away. Yep - this pile of stuff is all sorted out.

Some of the stuff migrated to the kitchen table - amazing how the table is my drop zone. EVERYTHING migrates to the kitchen table. It used to be really really bad because we could barely eat at the table. I know!!!!

Crap on the kitchen table!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 But nice to know that almost all of it is gone and put away.

The day after I arrived, I felt like tidying up a bit and grabbed a pile of newspapers that had accumulated.

Newspapers!!!!!!!!!!! and other paperwork to deal with

Good thing I went through all those papers one by one. Guess what I found................

Yep - that would be the helmet cam strap that I COULD NOT find before I left. I was certain that I had left it on the desk (where the newspapers were), but it was buried under a newspaper!!!!!!!!!!!!!     GRRRRRRRRRRR

No worries because I managed to rig up one of the other mounts with zip ties to get the camera to work on the helmet. 

Lesson learned - no matter how much of a rush - PUT THINGS where they belong. In this case - either the box for the helmet cam OR the bike box would have been perfect. I searched both places, even blamed M, but alas - it was my own sloppiness that caused this to go missing.


Now what did I manage to buy while I was away? As I mentioned, there were days when I was so tired that if the quilt stores had been handing out orange FQs on the road side, I probably would not have picked anything up. OK - so I exaggerate a bit, but when riding with a group - you do not want to lose your group and really - do I need more stuff???????

MY trip stash. Two of those came from Fabricville, One from Wal-Mart and two from a quilt store. 

And yes Cathy - the Fabricvilles in the Atlantic Provinces are very nicely laid out compared to our Fabricland stores. Here are two pictures that Cathy sent me a while back when they were in the Atlantic Provinces. Thanks for the pictures!!!!!!

Quilting cottons in Fabricville 

Quilting cottons in Fabricville

When Ronda was in Charlottetown earlier in the summer, she spotted these neat patterns. Anne of Green Gables. She got one and I got a different one. I also scooped some fabric (Anne of Green Gables) for the backing.

Anne of Green Gables pattern and fabric

 We had a day off in Charlottetown so got to browse a bit more than in other places. My WEAKNESS (OK - so one of my many weaknesses) is BOOKS and magazines. There were TWO used book stores here and I love to browse through them. There were a number of quilt books. I tend to look for the unusual - books on history of quilting or something that you can't get through regular channels. I found this HUGE book and the price was right. But how to get it home???????  It is a hard cover - 11" by 15" and 1.5" thick. Not sure how much it weighs, but it is heavy.

My "little" book treasure

A great find and it fit nicely in the bottom of my duffel bag for the trip home and did not make me over the weight limit. Thank goodness for LIGHT tents and sleeping bags!!!!!!


While waiting for the ferry in Digby, I wandered into a store and saw this bike. I could not resist even though I had to carry the darn thing on my bike to the ferry. It make it home in one piece. Hmmmmm - now that I think about it - good thing we did NOT have more free time!!!!!!

My "new" bike

And when I got home - I had a birthday present waiting for me.

My birthday present

M had put together a nice mix of things that I like. She even had a card that explained everything. Must have been a motive to her madness because the last line on the card was "I need to go back to school shopping!!!!!"    Ah - what a kid.

There was even a journal in the box - yes M bought ME a journal. Usually she looks at me and says that I DO NOT need another journal and she is right, but......................

I could NOT resist buying this one!!!!!   

Another HUGE surprise awaited me when I got home. For those of you who know M - she does NOT eat vegetables. She is fussy and as a result, well - cooking and grocery shopping has been a pain.

But I found our fridge filled with fruit and vegetables. What the heck is going on?????   Well she has slowly been changing her eating habits. And after our grocery shopping yesterday - look at this.............

After agreeing that for both of us - it will be MUCH cheaper to cut up our  own veggies - here she is hard at work!!!!!        I know my kid in the kitchen!

And we each got a bowl of cut vegetables (notice she even has GREEN PEPPER in there). I got the SMALL bowl and I am NOT allowed to touch hers!!!!!

And she even eats it!!!!!

Way to go M - very proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   (for those you whose kids have eaten vegetables all their lives -you are in denial - they really did not eat vegetables). Anyway - this is a big deal.

Now Berke is going to college this year and yesterday, M and Berke were off to visit the college. I think M is a tad envious that it is NOT her that is going. But she is fired up. She is madly working on her portfolio - OH - I should say that she at least has picked what she wants to do (YEAH!!!!) and is madly working on getting there. It is going to be a lot of work - means trips to Fabricland to get fabric to make garments - lots of patience on mom's part (although she seems to pick it up pretty quick). OOOOOOOOO - can't wait to get back into making set-in sleeves, collars and buttonholes. Well - I will be explaining - NOT doing.


As for me - my back is feeling a bit better today so I had best get something concrete done. Like shredding all the raffle ticket info from the show last year.

Then the requirements for the upcoming classes, make samples, quilt quilts, paperwork to get sorted and filed and well - the list goes on and on.

And I will "TRY" to control myself. I love books and magazines. I had ONE book to pick up from the library yesterday. ONE BOOK. I came home with about 7 books and 8 magazines!!!!   How did that happen?????    Well two of the magazines were for M, the other 6 have already been perused and only found ONE thing I want to make. Half of the books were for M so I got off easy, but I really must restrain myself because I just can't read them all. I got two audio books so I have something to listen to in the evening when I do hand work and I MUST get back to doing hand work. I am so far behind.

That sums it up for today. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!