I'm home

I say it every time - it's fun to go away, but nothing like getting home and back in your own environment.

Except my environment is a wee bit topsy turvy these days and I'm a wee bit overwhelmed at the moment.

You see while I was away, it was decided that the floor has to be replaced in the basement. NOOOOO!!!!  That is going to take eons of time to move everything. Yes - I could have the insurance company do the moving, but do you think I will find anything? So I'll do it. I don't know what time frame we're looking at other than start NOW. I have to touch base with the contractor today to find out the scoop.

On top of that, my bratty little computer is not working. I started it up when I got home and it worked for an hour or so and then it decided to die. I tried twice to reboot it and no go so I give up. It's going down to the Geek Squad in person. I have visions of it being there for weeks and for it to come back home in no better shape than when I take it there.

I look at the looming deadlines and well - I do feel a wee bit overwhelmed. But we're going to rise above that. Take one thing at a time and just move forward. The weather isn't the greatest this morning and I'm thinking of missing Monday sewing. I don't normally do that, but if I have to get a quilt out the door before the weekend and move the basement, I need to get myself in gear.

No need to offer to help. It's a lot of stuff to move and it all has to be moved up the stairs - potentially two flights of stairs. I won't put that on anyone. If I can at least pack and label boxes, I might just have the insurance company do the moving. I've got to talk to them first to understand and make a plan of action.

So I don't have pictures for you today. I'm going to see how to download Photoshop Elements onto the laptop. It will be an easy thing to move the external hard drive to the laptop - you got to love NOT having files on a single computer.

Our trip home was pretty uneventful. We had rain - a lot of rain as we were leaving Nashville. I think they had 6 emergency flood alerts the day we left. We were already out of the area so we didn't get any of them.

I got off lucky and didn't have to drive the first day, but I was getting tired of being in the car. I get a leg cramp - well more of a sciatica issue when I spend long times strapped into a seat. A bit of creative "car yoga" helped. I did manage to rip the second quilt apart. No - I managed to get all the quilting out. The top still needs to come apart as half of the squares will be ditched because they are damaged. I was very glad to have taken both of those projects with me. The worst of the ripping is done.

Oh - the border crossing. Whenever I cross the border, I'm not too worried. Especially when coming back into Canada. There were a lot of groceries left over after the four days. Let's just say that some people didn't get the concept of buying for THEMSELVES only. And they planned for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners despite the fact that most of them ate out every night. I should clarify that it was only one person who didn't get the concept of buying what we EACH needed for the few days we were there. I won't mention names to protect the uninitiated!

We had a couple of "heated" discussions about what was allowed back. I finally had to look up - YES - fruit and vegetables are allowed across. Now that we have that cleared up - it helped when we packed. Let's just say that there were a few grocery bags in the car.

So is it a good idea to say things on the blog that are well - not exactly kosher? I hardly bought anything and when I totalled up everything including some freebies that I acquired, I didn't really have much to declare. However I was almost over my limit as I became a mule to bring a few things back for the others. I don't think that is allowed, but who will know - except all of you!

As we approached the border, we made sure we knew what we were going to say and that we had our totals and receipts handy. They barely asked us any questions at the border. They asked the total spend, but didn't even ask what we had bought. It was the most boring border crossing ever!!! That's a good thing.

I often think it would be fun to listen in on those conversations that happen in each car as you approach the border. It's like after a crime or other incident and everyone is trying to get the same story. The thing was that we had NOTHING to worry about. We did not go over our spending limits and we weren't bringing anything back that wasn't allowed. There was ZERO need to be worried.

The girls were beyond themselves when I got home. Holy - what a welcome.

I did a bit of sewing in the afternoon. I should have done more, but I was tired. I tried to read, but ended up having a snooze. That was great - if I had of snoozed in bed, I probably wouldn't have gotten up. But the chair is comfortable for a limited amount of time.

I checked that book that I had found in the bookstore and YES - it was on my missing book list. I'm impressed that my memory could remember the book name and author and that it popped into my head at the used book store. Other times, I can barely remember my name! I decided it was time to rejig my reading lists. I got the updated list printed off and checked against my books on the shelf. All is good. Let's just say that I do NOT need to buy any more books for a long, long time. The ones that I don't have in my possession are at the library except about 6 or 7????  It's all documented and I feel happy.

The last thing to do is to generate the small number of the missing books into a list on my phone so that it's there for future used book store visits. Some are novellas which are probably best purchased from Amazon. I hate when they have these .5 books between major books. Why do they do that? And then they are not readily found. I know - I'm obsessed. I have to read a book series in order, including those novellas. I've got a disease. I'm OK with that - there are worse afflictions I could have.

Thanks to everyone who loaned me books or gave me books that were on my missing book list. And some that were missing before have showed up on the electronic library database. Actually, there are a couple of databases and thanks to Elaine, my library friend, for letting me know about that.

Yes - as I look around the computer, I'd better not go to Monday sewing. I have samples to make, paperwork to do, a computer to deal with, and the insurance company. I'll stay toasty and warm.

On our way home, we had to stop at one of the big service centers to drop Shelly off. There was a Tim's so we popped in to have a tea. I bought my usual and went back to the car. When I went to drink it about 15 minutes later and we were already on the road, I realized that it was a coffee. GRRRR!  So I took it to my local Tim's (still full of coffee) and asked them for a tea. They obliged. The woman seemed a bit taken aback. I said, "I don't want a new Roll up the Rim - just give me the old cup once you dump out the coffee." She did. I checked the cup that had held the coffee and won a coffee. That makes one win out of two cups. Those are the best odds I've ever had at Roll Up the Rim.

On that note, I'm out of here.

Have a great day and stay warm and dry. The wind is crazy out there. Last night, I could hear the nails squeaking in the walls of the house. No - I'm NOT kidding. It was very weird.

Ciao!!!!