Playing detective!

It is not enough for me to be told "do it this way". I want to know why. Once I understand the logic then it is easy for me to evaluate whether I want to actually do the task the way I was told, or can I get creative with the process.

My situation is this catalogue that I am trying to create for my photos. First - let's have a look at my new file structure.............

Here is the main menu of the file folders - see - all those years - well within those years there are more folders (mostly by date - some by theme)

Here are the sub folders for one of the years and within those sub folders there are pictures. NO additional sub folders!!!!!

OK - that is true for most of the years.  There is a HUGE mess in 2012 with one of my bike trips - I think I have ten copies of every picture.  Don't even ask!!!!!  So yes - I did work another couple of hours yesterday on the mess.  I am making pretty good progress. It is a long boring process, but interesting to see all those pictures again. And I am getting M (hopefully today) to start helping me cull the pictures.  Let's just say that I am (was) not a great photographer. So many blurry pictures and here's the thing - do you keep the picture even if it is blurry? - IF it is the only one of the subject at that time????

I am sure as my patience wears that I will toss all the blurry pictures, but for the moment - they are staying. Well I haven't really started to cull yet. Still sorting.

So I bet you are thinking - why is she spending so much time on this sorting? Well - the sorting is very important. You see once the catalogue (within Lightroom) is created and it gets created based on your file structure, then Lightroom believes that the pictures are in those directories. If you do NOT make the changes (moving a file) within the Lightroom catalogue, it believes the picture is lost and that defeats the entire purpose of the exercise.

Get the file structure in place, then create the catalogue and as I download new pictures - they will get added to the existing file structure THROUGH Lightroom and then Lightroom knows where everything is. It is a simple concept.  My goal it to get the bulk of the sorting done OUTSIDE of Lightroom - then if I have a few pictures to move around - I can do that in Lightroom. It is HIGHLY recommended to NOT do the major sorting within Lightroom - that is not it's purpose and it does NOT do a good job of it. Using Windows Explorer is much easier.

I figure I have another three hours and everything will be more or less in place.  I can create the catalogue BEFORE I cull the pictures because then I will delete them from the catalogue and the computer at the same time. I had better check that, but I am pretty sure that is how it works.

Anyway - I am sure that NONE of that means anything to you, but I am learning and I am happy to write it out - if only to solidify the process in my mind!!!!

Before I get into the quilting part of the day - here is another technology story. Oh yes - it just doesn't end around our house.  We have ONE "real" phone in our house.  You know - the traditional kind that you plug into a phone jack. This is a non fancy phone - no screen so can't use call display. Then we have a set of FOUR cordless remote phones. (hmmm - why is a phone cordless, yet everything else is wireless?????) The main handset has to be connected to a phone jack and the rest have to be plugged into an electrical outlet. I am sure you all have those same phones.

So our phones look something like this. I am getting lazy and copying pictures off the web!!!   OK - they are Panasonic phones - there is the plug for them!!!!

Well just before Christmas, the phones went on the blink. ACK - not that we use our home phone a lot, but my cell phone doesn't get reception in the basement so I like to be able to make calls  on the home phone.

And if the phone rings - I can't make it up the stairs in three rings to answer the phone. I've tried!!!!


Yesterday I had enough - after making several phone calls and being "tied" to a non cordless phone - I had to get the others fixed.  I looked up the manual on-line (on the new computer - see I am trying!). AHA - that was easy - found the trouble shooting page. OH -OK -  that should be easy.  Five minutes later ALL FOUR handsets were back working!!!!!   Yep - a little detective work and anything is possible. They had somehow gotten UNREGISTERED from the base station. A few clicks and they were registered.  And there is a LOT of options within those phones and we use NONE of the technology!!!!!!


When I wasn't messing with technology - I was working on the sewing machine. Well and doing some hand work as well.

Finished the hand stitching on the binding of this quilt

This is my basket of hand work!!!   Yep - better order a LOT of movies.  I don't mind doing the hand stitching - other things seem to be in competition with the basket - like knitting. I will have to learn to dole out the hand work to keep everyone happy!!!!!

Since I did NOT get those ten items finished before midnight on December 31 - I have decided to try and get ONE done a day for the next ten days.

Remember the other day when I said I had finished the Chubby Charmer bag? Well - I did, but I forgot to make the insert from the election sign. Yesterday - I cut the sign board and made the sleeve. However I want to put duct tape around the edges of the sign (or some other tape) so that the sharp edges of the sign board don't readily cut through the fabric. I will be off to buy duct tape later today.

The sleeve for the Chubby Charmer

Technically this isn't quite complete, but I am calling it complete!!!   That is ONE project in ONE day. But the good news is that I advanced two more projects by a LOT yesterday. I will share them with you tomorrow since at least one of them will be done. I don't think I have ever perservered so long with something, but I did it!!!!!!!!


OK - you are wondering what the studio looks like?   And what about that shelf for 2015?  Here it is.

YES - I need to get those damn books dealt with - that is for another day.  Anyway - the bottom shelf is a couple of class ideas that I want to develop - there are a couple of sets of quilt blocks that need to be sewn together - the middle shelf is all my samples and current $10 projects for the upcoming year, the shelf above that is a couple of projects that I am currently working on. The next one up is a project a month. I picked TWELVE OLD projects that I would like to finish this year. And the very top - well that is just extra stuff!!!!!

The idea is that I put stuff on the shelves that I am currently working on. That way - I should be able to keep the tables clear because what I am working on - is on the shelf.  Right????

In theory - that works, however look at this.................

One set of work tables

The other set of work tables

Bags of scraps to deal with

Stuff for the QUILTsocial blog

Paperwork stuff

The cutting table

At least - the ironing board is clear!!!!!

Now some of that stuff on the work tables, and cutting mat are things that I am completing in the next couple of days so hopefully by Sunday night - it will look a bit better. It HAS to look better!!!!!  

I also trimmed this quilt and made the binding for it. Have to sew the binding on later today. 

One thing that I wanted was one of those USB expansion ports. Oh yes - hard to keep technology out of my life.  Anyway - I only have three USB ports on my laptop and that is just not enough. By the time - you put your dongle (for the embroidery machiine), the gizmo (for the Fitbit), the charger for the Fitbit, the WACOM tablet, the disk drive for the floppy for the embroidery machine - well there just aren't enough USB ports.  So I got this expanion thing the other day.  I think a man designed it - have a look...............

Guess which side of the device the ports are on?   YEP - the one closest to the computer!!!!!!!!    DUH!!!!

I switched it to the other side of the computer and it is a bit better, but would have been so much nicer to have the ports on the other side.  

DH (dear husband - whose name I am NOT allowed to mention on the blog - yep - it's like he is a secret agent or something!!!)  Anyway - he won a vaccuum at a fund raiser event a month or so ago.  It arrived in the mail the other day.

New vacuum - Hey - I didn't even know Rowenta made vacuums

Cracked open the box this morning - YIKES - it looks SOME ASSEMBLY is required!!!!

Got to get moving - I am making up my "TO DO" list for the day and yep - as usual there is a LOT of stuff to get done today and I had better get started!!!!!!


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!   And stay safe and healthy!!!  (I have heard of THREE deaths in the last three days - no one that I knew personally, but what a way to start the year!) And everyone in my family (not my immediate live in the same house family) but my out west family - they are all sick!!!!!!



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