Home again and unpacked!

I'm home, and there was no blog yesterday. We were up at the crack of dawn and then whisked off to the airport. One of my colleagues and I were on the same flight, so it made sense to travel together. But first, I want to return to the show's last day. 

The last day was another great one, ending early at 4 PM. I'm not sure why, but it still seemed busy the entire day, and I don't think any part of the show passed slowly for us. I was helping out in the classrooms, so the "before" show time that I would usually take to look at the quilts was eaten up by that. I managed to get out and take a lot of pictures without really looking at the quilts. 

I've downloaded them so I can review them in greater detail. It's not exactly how I would like to see a show, but there was no choice, and I'm OK with that. 

We did the tear-down in record time! What a team we were—everyone had a job, and no one needed to be told to move on to the next one. And I LOVE it when that happens. I think we were out of there 2 1/2 hours after the show ended. We had a nice dinner together as a team! You know how great it feels to be part of a team, especially when everyone works so well together. 

Trust me—we have moments when things don't seem to work like a well-oiled machine, but when it matters, we are there for each other. 

Anyway, back to the airport. Our plane, which was scheduled to leave at 7 AM, was ON TIME. We pulled back from the gate at precisely 7 AM, so that was a bonus. 

Thanks, Air Canada!!!

The flight was uneventful, and I slept part of the way and read the rest. For some reason, I just wanted to get home. 

Oh wait, dropping off the luggage was somewhat uneventful, except I could NOT get the bag tag to work, so I could put it on my luggage. Where's the "peel here" part? I couldn't find it, so I asked for help. The attendant said, "Come here," and put priority tags on my bags. I don't qualify for that, but I'll take it! And I was trying to peel the label off from the back, not the front. DUH!!! 

Oh, so this person also put me in the Priority Lane to drop off my bags, and the big one was 5 pounds over. I have the status to allow the heavier bag, so I didn't worry about it. I had forgotten that little perk on the way out. They just put the weight on a tag, and I was off. I knew my bags were on the plane when I got a notification. Again -- thanks, Air Canada, for your excellent service!!! 

Then we had breakfast and waited for the plane to board. When we landed in Toronto, that huge United Emirates plane—the double-decker one—was there. Sorry the picture is so tiny, but you can see the end of the aircraft and the one beside it! A HUGE difference in size. 

Little plane - big plane

I didn't have to wait too long before my bags arrived, and I was off to find an Uber. The escalator was out of commission, and I had no idea where the elevators were, so instead of finding a way down to the Uber pickup, I grabbed a limo. What the heck? I watched my expenses, so I was OK with spending a bit extra to get home. 

The girls didn't know I was coming, so I carried all my luggage to the door and then opened it. Lexi was the first to appear and then came the fireball. 

MOM'S HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lexi is always much calmer in her greetings than Murphy is! But yes, they were beyond happy to see me. 

Mom's home! 

Look at all the tags on my suitcases! While I was hungry, I decided to unpack my suitcases. WHAT? I never do that as soon as I get home, but they were bursting and I wanted to empty them. 

My two suitcases

So, within a very short time, the suitcases were unpacked, and the stuff was more or less organized. By 2:05, I was ensconced in the gazebo with a book and the girls. To give you a time reference, the plane landed at 12:30! The wind was crazy and the wind chimes were tinkling away, but I didn't fall asleep. You are NOT going to believe this, but I was cold. I even checked the temperature - it was 26 with a humidex of 33, but I needed my flannel shirt and even got a fleece to put on my legs. 

It was COLD yesterday!

Due to the combination of the wind, the shade of the gazebo, and the trees, it was cold in the backyard—our house is cold! Not a lot of people understand the beauty of trees and their assistance in keeping the air cool—no air conditioning for me! 

But I got bored after a while, and I was tired. I needed a nap, but I couldn't, so I went downstairs to tidy up a bit. While I had unpacked my suitcases, I had not put everything away. 

So, my name badge got added to the name badges from previous trade shows. Do you think I've done a few? I've no idea—I should count them some time, and I'm sure many are not there. Why have I kept them? I have no idea, but they are neatly arranged, so there's no need to get rid of them yet. 

Trade show badges

I had moved most everything off the cutting table before leaving, so the stuff I brought downstairs was piled there. 

Ready to sort and put away

One of the sponsors was handing out a sample box of thread, so my friends from Sudbury snagged one for me. The spools are in my long-arm thread boxes, and the actual box is in the recycling. 

The one giveaway from the show

And then the cutting table looked like this. 

The cutting table is almost clear

And then, it was time for the next piles of stuff to be put on the cutting table. 

The next pile of stuff to sort

So I puttered around, and now the cutting table looks like this. I even removed the mats and ruler holders and got rid of the lint and dust, so it's all ready to go today!! 

What my cutting is supposed to look like at the end of the day

I have a few things by the sewing machine that I need to work on today. I need to finish sewing, take apart, or trim threads, but it's all easy stuff I can do while chatting with the ladies. 

Projects for this morning

I have a few things to serge. I emptied my scraps, and I have a couple more pet mats to finish. Then, I can also finish my cushion cover. There's also a sewing machine to box up. 

A couple of things to serge

The stuff for the final three borders of Cabin in the Woods is sitting on the ironing board, and I need to work on it—again, it's easy to do while chatting on Zoom. 

The stuff for the final three borders

Some quilts need binding attached, and some fabrics need to be cut. I would like to turn this table into a puzzle table! 

A table of work to be done

And now that the cutting table is free, there's still a dumping table! This is what it looks like this morning. I guess, technically, the above table is also a dumping table! 

The dumping table

I would LOVE to get rid of this table as well, but knowing my history with stuff on the cutting table, it appears that one table in Studio B will be the dumping ground. 

I have no deadlines for any quilting stuff, so my goal is to chip away at everything currently out and try NOT to add anything to the piles until this is clear. Then, I might try eliminating that table and working only with the cutting table. I'll see how it goes. 

It's all a question of learning new habits, and mine seems to be the ability to NOT finish things before I need to move on. Those unfinished things do not have a home, so they need to sit somewhere. But I'm miles ahead of where I used to be. On that table are three quilts that need a quilt backing made, and one quilt needs to be trimmed and then bound, so they are all things that shouldn't take that long. 

With what is out in the open in Studio B, I will try to take one thing and work on it until it's done or ready to go into the "to be quilted" pile. That is my goal. 

But I think I was so excited about the clear, open spaces in Studio B that I couldn't sleep. Nope—I was wide awake in the middle of the night, so I read for a couple of hours. I didn't make it to spin class this morning, and I did not walk yesterday afternoon. I bet that's why I couldn't sleep! 

I am sandwiched between two "patient" girls who are waiting to go on their walk this morning. I should have walked them yesterday afternoon, but I didn't. 

I have some urgent paperwork to take care of later today, and I must continue to forge ahead in my quest to clear up the crap. Again, I'm miles ahead of where I was, so I'm not worried. I'm in the mindset and motivated, so it'll get done. And once the office is done, I get the pleasure of starting at the top of the house and working my way down again. Or I'll randomly pick rooms or spots like I did in the kitchen recently. It really doesn't matter where as long as I keep it up. The beauty is that processing or tidying up is easier each subsequent time! And MUCH faster. It's the first time, which is the overwhelming and the hardest. 

And at some point, I'm going to have to start going through my quilt books. They need to be sorted, and those I will never use must be culled. OH MY -- Did I just say that? Yep --- A massive culling needs to happen. 

Well, it's time to get started with the day. I'm so excited to be home. There is a virtual retreat next weekend, so we can sit around on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon and compare notes on Quilt Canada or whatever fun things we want to chat about! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!