The stars are aligned!

I got up this morning feeling content! What a great feeling. I'm making progress on the list of quilts to be quilted, I have a few bindings that need to be put on, and I need to get back to writing those last blog posts. But I made phone calls yesterday to get on top of some upcoming events, and well, it just feels good to be in control! And if I can't, I need to learn to live with that. I think I do a good job, but sometimes things go awry. Right now, the stars are aligned!

While I work great in silence, I'm into the audiobook thing these days, and I'm more focused on the audiobook than I am on quilting or sewing. I've done those things so many times that I could do them in my sleep. How hard is it to put a binding on? After sending that e-mail to support regarding my headphones, they have not misbehaved once. Perhaps they realized they could be in danger of being replaced? 

So, there was a lot of rain in the area earlier this past week. I wasn't home for it, but I heard our neighborhood had been spared from flooding. However, the forest wasn't so lucky. I spotted this on my walk with Miss Murphy. 

Path closed

There was a sign at all the entrances, but that didn't stop us from investigating. There are two creeks in the forest, and while there is never much water in them, whenever we have rain, it can stay for weeks. And, of course, in the spring, there's water in both. Both are connected to the city drain system. 

One of the creeks in the forest

It's hard to tell in that photo, but a small creek is there. Very overgrown, but it's there. 

There were no washouts along the path, but the ruts were that much deeper. Yep—you could turn an ankle if you weren't careful, but it's a rut! Step over it!!! 

MOM - danger!!!

Look how good that Murphy girl is. Dropped leash and no running. That's because there were NO squirrels that she could see. Otherwise, she has zero issues to bound through the forest dragging her leash. 

I'm guessing there would have been some serious water along those paths during the storm, and some of the paths are level with the creeks, so there would have been loads of water. This is the only spot that I saw any signs of high water. These plants are about 18" high and covered in mud. 

Muddy vegetation

This is relatively close to our back fence, but there is a hill between this creek and our house. That hill slopes down into our backyard. So we are protected from flood waters. 

That was the big excitement on the walk. WAIT - there was something even more exciting. The other morning, Murphy spotted something and tried to take off after it. AH - I don't think so. It was a big skunk. Well, she spotted the skunk yesterday in the same spot. I see - that skunk is living under the front porch of a house. Well, they can keep the skunk, and now that I know it lives there, I'll be a bit more diligent with Murphy. 

But she is such a bull in a china shop dog that both the skunk and I know that Murphy knows about the skunk way before she gets too close. 

While a good portion of the IT world shut down yesterday, I had no issues. However, when I went to the bank to deposit a cheque, the bank was closed. I wasn't sure about the ATMs, but they were working. WAIT—do not tell me I can deposit the cheque via the phone. I know that. Some banks deliver foreign currency to your house, which is why I was at the bank the previous day. But—I like doing these things in person. 

It's an excuse to go for a walk, and I get to observe silly people doing silly things. Life would be boring if everything was delivered to my house. I notice that DH always orders Uber Eats when I'm away. Why? He's the one who cooks, and ordering take-out is so expensive! 

Here's what happened at the bank the previous day. The line was long, but I had to wait to pick up that money. One guy was at a teller for 30 minutes, and neither he nor the teller seemed to be doing anything. A manager eventually came over and told the client that the lost money he was trying to recover (since June 20 and something to do with the CRA) could not be traced through them. 

Then, there was the gentleman who wanted to make a payment to something from his Bank of Nova Scotia account. I was NOT at BNS. It took almost ten minutes (OK - maybe it was only 3 or 4) to convince him that he could not complete his transaction there. What TIME WASTERS. These bank people need to get on the ball to dispense with people faster! 

The Pony Express is pretty quiet these days. I've since added items for two more people, but I hope to have this area pretty clean by the end of next week! Lexi is so good at giving up the top of her kennel!

All is quiet on The Pony Express

I puttered in Studio B for a bit and put some stuff away. I have now put all my weaving needles and bodkins (various kinds) in one spot, where I always look for them. In the future, when I want one, it'll be where I look first. I have two of the white packages, but I've no idea where I put the second one. At least I have one pack, and I'm good with that. 

Bodkins and weaving needles

Then it was off to quilt another quilt. Gosh—we made so many quilts from the fabrics in this one. I believe there is one more quilt with regular blocks in it, but this one is very scrappy, but it looks amazing. It's flannel, and I put flannel on the back. It's trimmed, and I'll try to put the binding on this week. I have five quilts that need the binding put on, so I must get to that. 

Community projects quilt - DONE!

I had to piece the batting for the next quilt, and it's loaded and ready to go later today. 

In the storage room, there are many quilt tops to be quilted, but there is also this cupboard. It holds some bolts of fabric for quilt backings and other materials or backings that are already made. Several baskets of flannel can be pieced to make backings, and then there are some scraps to make more scrap quilts. I will only work with the backing stuff and leave the scraps for another time. 

My fabrics for community project quilt backing

It looks messy, and I might clean it up a bit more to make it easier to find material for backings when needed. But it's all contained in one spot. I'll be happy when this shelf is empty! But that's going to take a while. 

Someone recently said that I would NEVER get my "in progress" or Mount Projects table clear, and they are probably right because the minute there is some blank space, I pull something out to fill it. But that's OK. No—it's not. I need to stop doing that!! My goal is to eliminate that table, as it's blocking stuff in the room. OK—no more pulling things out! I want all that "in progress" stuff to reside on that rolling cart! 

Murphy and I were playing ball last night, and she's a devil. She loves looking for the ball in those bushes, but she also knows how to intentionally drop that ball in the pond without making it look like she did it intentionally. She's a sly one. Well, as I was using a stick to pull the ball closer to the edge, she attempted to grab the ball and ended up in the pond. 

MOM - -I swear it was an accident!!! 

Then, last night, when I was watching The Quilt Show, I pulled out something to work on. Actually, I had pulled it out last week, and now I can't remember why. Oh yes, in machine embroidery, we were talking about projects in the hoop, and I have this one that I wasn't happy with. 

The zipper is located very close to the top, which makes it hard to turn it right side out. When I turned it, some of the stitching in the corner came out. Instead of reinforcing it, I let it sit.

So, without turning it back inside out, I reinforced the corner with the sewing machine. Then, I had the fun of hand-stitching the opening closed. 

Prepared to hand stitch the opening

And there it is. It's super cute, but what a pain to turn inside out.  

My eyeglass case

I've popped my reading glasses in there. 

Perfect for my reading glasses

So you can see why I woke up content. I accomplished a lot of stuff yesterday, and every little project that gets completed is one more that won't cause issues when I downsize. Slow and steady is the name of the game, and I must keep at that long arm! That is time-consuming because once I pull out a quilt top and the binding, I still have to find a backing and usually piece the batting (those are for the community projects quilts). And that all takes time!!! But I've got time, and every quilt done is one more done!!!

Oh, and I also sorted the rest of the books and separated the standalone ones from those in a series!! I left the quilt-themed ones for now. That makes me very happy. Now, with my cross-referenced lists, it'll be relatively easy to find a book to read, with the intent of reading those on my shelf or getting from the library. But I do NOT need to get books that are not on my radar! Let's see how long that lasts!!! 

And despite the THIRD notice about our power being shut off, they didn't come again! I called at 9:15, and there was some issue, so they wouldn't be coming. Well, a three-time no-show is a bit much! I politely told them that since it caused me to change my plans, I would have to change them again when the power stayed on. Sigh.

And on that note, I'm out of here! Loads to get done today and audiobooks to listen to!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!