King of the Waves

 Well, there isn't much to show for what got done yesterday, but I accomplished MUCH!

The first thing on the agenda was the two UFO Zoom classes. The UFO Club will undoubtedly continue in 2024, which is partially why some of the other stuff must go. I'm continually struggling to get anything done, and it's not that I don't want to contribute to the donation fund; it's that I want to get working on these UFOs. So there will be less NEW and more focus on completing the UFOs!

I'm thrilled about that! 

Once that was over, I spent the ENTIRE (or a good part) of the day working on paperwork. Yes -- can you believe that? I'm happy to report that the pile sitting on the desk and needing URGENT attention is now almost depleted. Much more needs to be addressed, but I made a visible dent, which makes me very happy. 

I will probably take a wee bit of it with me this week, or more likely, I will focus on planning things for the fall, so I'm thrilled with the effort. 

After lunch, I had a wee nap in the gazebo and attempted to call my Dad, but he was "working." I swear he spends every waking moment he can at the Museum. Then I had to be entertained by Murphy. 

Well, Lexi has been feeling a bit left out, so here she is. Now, can you tell me why she sleeps this way? It's like she wants to lay in the sun and warm her tummy, although she's a Husky, so why? But her head is spun backward - perhaps to avoid staring into the sun? She often lies like that, so it must be comfortable for her. Silly girl. 

MOM -- catching a few rays

And then there's Murphy. When I was in the gazebo in the afternoon, attempting to talk to my Mom, Murphy immediately grabbed her ball and dumped it in the pond. Then she proceeded to bark her head off because someone needed to rescue her, even though she's become adept at pulling it out herself. She reminded me of a needy kid. 

Then immediately after dinner, she wanted to play ball, so I threw it for her. At one point, the ball was so hidden that it took her almost five minutes to recover it. She needed a mental break after that! But then she was back at it, and at one point, it plopped into the pond, so she plopped herself down on the rock to wait for me to get it for her! DH and I both looked at each other and burst out laughing! She is such a character. 

MOM - DAD -- look at me - I'm the good dog!!

In the afternoon, I decided to go for a walk as I had to stop at the grocery store and get a geocache. I decided to find one in a pine tree that was close to the grocery store. I had attempted to find it before but had no luck. OH MY GOODNESS -- while there is a path into this little grove of trees, there is loads of vegetation, which I had to tramp down to get to the tree, and I hoped it was the tree in question. I think I startled a couple of smaller kids who ventured into the grove and were probably stunned to find an adult poking around. They soon left!

I searched around the tree several times and had no luck, but I was determined to get this thing. So, at last, I took the plunge and went under the branches in one area and was about to stand up to look around me, and BAM -- there it was in front of my face. I got a chuckle from that and signed the log, and then I was good for the day. That's 12 days in a row! 

The troublesome geocache

That little tube is about the size of my baby finger, and finding it in a pine tree? Almost as bad as finding a needle in a haystack! 

We should pay more attention to our surroundings! I was at the grocery store the other day, and since they installed self-checkouts, I use those. But we always get a long printed receipt, which neither myself nor other customers were happy about. So when I got a short little receipt the other day, I mentioned to the person in that area that perhaps the paper was out. 

The same thing happened yesterday, and when I mentioned it again, I was told that there is no longer a long receipt but just this short piece of paper stating that my receipt was e-mailed. AHA --- someone listened, and a lot of paper will be saved by this. Now this is a civilized way to get a receipt. 

My abbreviated receipt

And as part of my paperwork effort, there was my old health card. It is now chopped up into little pieces and disposed of. I think I've been using this card since I moved to Ontario back in 1990. 

Out with the old

Every year, Trendtex sponsors a quilt challenge as part of Quilt Canada. It is a fundraiser, and people buy kits and make them into quilts, which are then sold at a silent auction. I have been purchasing the challenge quilts for a number of years and have a nice collection, which I've been meaning to share with you for a while. 

After browsing the pieces, I settled on a couple, but then over the course of the event, I decided that I wanted the one made by Sue Sherman. Sue is an award-winning quilt artist who won Best of Show this year. So I started a bid on this one. I had a price in mind, and I see that several others wanted it. But I wanted it MORE! So I was pleased when I got a call that the piece was mine. 

King of the Waves

It's a very unusual shape, but so well done. It's all raw edge applique, and the quilting is exquisite!

Detail of King of the Waves

Here's the label on the back -- yep -- so it's a signed Sue Sherman, and let me say that I got it for a fraction of the price that some of her artwork goes for. That's why I was determined to get this one. 

The label for King of the Waves

And this is the artist's statement. Thanks to Heather and Cheryl for babysitting for me when I couldn't be there at the end. 

The artist's statement

No unpacking or sorting got done, so that's high on the agenda for this morning. I also have some other paperwork that I'd like to get done, so I may miss Monday's sewing. Well, I can pack and sort while that is happening, and I also need to do some sewing before I go. About one hour's worth. - wait, we all know that will more likely be TWO hours. But there is time as my flight isn't until dinner time. 

I'm happy to report that my knee is feeling much better. I have a feeling that all the activity of Quilt Canada aggravated it, and it was so swollen that it's taken over a week to "heal." While I still suspect the meniscus is torn (like I said -- it's better, but not fixed), at least I can function more like normal than I could before. So I'm still in a holding pattern for the trip. 

On that note, I'm off to spin class and then another busy day of getting stuff done. When I'm home later this week, I might even be able to grab more paper off the table and start working on a new pile!! I WILL get that table clear!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!