The forest path update

Oh gosh—I'm a hypocrite!!!! I went to the event and brought something home! No, it was not a brand-new, top-of-the-line sewing and embroidery machine, although it was very tempting. No - it was a charm pack. 

A charm pack 

I got caught up in the moment! When they went around with a bag of prizes, I reached my hand in, and this is what I got. Wait—I cheated and peeked into the bag to get something I might use rather than some swag that I would not! I can easily sew those squares together and make a child's quilt. ,

So where did I go, and why would I potentially buy another sewing machine? Technically, I do NOT own any embroidery machines. The ones I have do not belong to me. My biggest machine is the Husqvarna Viking Opal 690Q. 

I went to Creekbank Sewing near Mount Forest. I swear I got behind a truck or a tractor on every road I took. It was a long drive (OK, so it was only 1½ hours!), but it still felt like forever. They are a Bernina dealer! GASP!!!! 

No, I'm not jumping ship—I'm a loyal Husqvarna Viking customer. However, I wanted to see what the competition offers, and this was a free event with zero commitments. 

Shoot—I didn't even get a picture of the entire machine; I only got a couple of screenshots of the screen. 

The screen on the Bernina 990

Was I impressed? Yes, and no. I'm not going to write a review here—that's for you to find out for yourself—but there are definitely some nice features, and some of them are just catching up to what we've had on the EPIC series for years. If I had a cool $25K CDN in the bank, I'd have walked home with the machine and a cabinet! But I didn't. 

I knew one person there, so we had a good chat about the machine (she knows my brands as well). It's always good to stay in touch with people in the industry. It's a close-knit world, and you never know where you may end up. Don't jump ship! 

I will say one thing—I think the SVP educators are much better and have much better samples, and that's all I'm going to say! 

That consumed almost my entire day, but I still managed to get some sewing done and some editing done. I wish I were a little bit further ahead, but I'm still on target. 

OH MY GOSH!!!! Here's an update on the forest path. No -- those hilly sections are not paved, and yes, they have already started to erode after they were "fixed." 

Here's the backstory as to why this happened. I was walking Lexi the other morning near the section with the big drops (up to 12 inches) off the pavement's edge. I noticed someone I knew coming towards me. For the sake of this story, I'm going to call them Bob and Sue. And their big king shepherd, who I'll call King. 

Anyway, Bob was coming towards me with King, who is a very handsome fellow. He was fostered by Bob and Sue and eventually adopted by them as no one wanted him. While handsome, he's not always the best with other dogs (like Murphy, but perhaps a bit more aggressive), so he needs constant attention when passing other dogs. I get it—100%. 

Bob and King moved into the forest off the path as I approached, but I was still about 100 feet away from them. Sue was behind Bob on the path, but she was not paying attention and walked off the path. When she attempted to get back on, she fell. I saw her! Bob ran to Sue with King firmly in his hand. The drop-off was very low when she went off the path. 

I stopped where I was, as I didn't need to complicate the situation by getting King excited when Bob was comforting Sue. She seemed to be in a lot of pain. After a few minutes, I asked if they needed any help. They said no, so I said I would walk past them, but in the forest so as not to excite King. That worked. I'm sure others would not have been so patient. 

However, I bet they called the city, and this is what we saw yesterday. 

The drop-offs are gone!

Good topsoil has been added to the sides of ALL the pavement in the forest entrances. It's soft, and it's going to be one muddy mess the next time it rains. I wonder how much of it will erode? I can see where people have already stepped into it, and you could still turn an ankle. Sigh. Another waste of money. And where Sue fell was NOT steep. She was NOT watching where she was walking - she was watching me, Lexi, Bob, and King. She walked right off the path because she wasn't paying attention. 

This is a forest path. I don't care if that section is paved. And what are they going to do about the tree roots along the edges and, in some instances, in the middle of the path? Oh well, it's a crazy world, and all I can say is watch where you are going. 

There are tree roots on the path!

Now, I could be wrong, but the timing is right, and that would have meant the city would have jumped on that "health and safety" issue immediately. Bob and Sue have always been friendly, and I can't imagine calling the city because I tripped on a path. I might be wrong. 

I need to find out what the garbage procedures are in our city. I should clarify that - I need to learn about the big stuff that won't fit into your garbage bin. But I see many times where people just seem to empty their houses and leave them at the curb for the city to pick up in their trucks. And yes - I've seen them just cram big stuff in and use that big crusher thing to crush it up and move on. Meanwhile, I load my big garbage into my car and take it to the dump, where I have to PAY to get rid of it. Am I the silly one??? Or do they have to pay if they leave big stuff at the curb? I must check that out. 

Huge piles of garbage at the curb

It seems to be a common thing in our neighborhood. 

I should clarify something—just because I don't have that extra hour to sit on the front patio doesn't mean I'm not drinking my tea and having my cookie. I still am, but I'm sitting at the computer instead. I'll be doing that all this week, and once my schedule slows down in a month, it'll be cool, so I may have to dig out that quilt to sit on the front step!!

I talked about the treats at Tim's. Did you know that one of those dream cookies has 380 calories!! Yikes, and how much sugar? 

This is what I have with my tea. Oh, and I don't have sugar or cream in my tea. 

My cookies

Three of these cookies have 130 calories, and I have two. We can still have things that aren't necessarily the best for us, but we could make wiser choices. 

Three cookies have 130 calories

Many people think that only large people struggle with their weight. But smaller people are struggling as well. We struggle to maintain, not to lose. It's not the same battle, but it's similar. I made a vow to myself over 40 years ago to keep an eye on my weight because my Mom is very overweight. I still eat most things (even a daily dose of chocolate), but I try very hard to keep within my limits. 

Oh, there are days when I could gorge myself on bags of candy, chips, and pop! I love that stuff, but I've learned that it doesn't work for me! I might as well tape the sugar to my hips because that's where it goes when I overeat. So I just say no and eat what I can. 

The kitchen thing has gone too far! Once I come back from walking the girls, it's tidy-up time. WAIT—it's to the point now that other than unloading the dishwasher, there really isn't anything to tidy! My entire house will soon be like that—the only room that really needs any tidying is the office, and its time is coming! Remember—chipping away every day!! 

Tidy kitchen!!!

And what is this, or should I say WHO is this? 

Carla and I in 2014!!!!

This must have been at the Creative Festival in 2014!!!! I recognize the sewing machine; it was the first one I reviewed in June 2014 for QUILTsocial. Oh my gosh, I was wearing glasses then, and it looks like—well, what am I doing with my hands???? 

On that note, I'd better get myself organized for the day. I have a lot of writing and editing to do and some stitching to finalize and label. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!