What are you buying?

You could go down a rabbit hole discussing operating systems. Between iOS, Android, and Windows, I suspect those three cover a considerable part of the market. What is surprising is who owns those companies! It's mind-boggling how large some of these companies are. Did you know that Google owns Android? They bought them in 2005! And they have purchased many other companies as well—we just don't know that because they keep the original name. 

Oh, I remember a conversation about who owns Tim Hortons! Check it out—it's a tangled web. They are NOT 100% Canadian-owned and haven't been for many years. The company that owns them has its main shareholder base in Brazil!  

My favorite online store is another conglomerate. Did you know their mail-order business is just a drop in the bucket? It's their web services business that makes them rich! And MANY organizations run on AWS. Yep, a small group of mighty companies run our digital world. 

Doesn't it ever make you wonder - who's really in charge? Corporations or government? 

I never even thought of TVs having an operating system. We do not own a smart TV, and we don't watch enough to warrant buying one. DH probably thinks otherwise but hasn't made a big fuss, so what's the point? I know they are not expensive, but still. 

If there was a decluttering inspection and they came to see my studio, I'd get a big F. 

Studio B is a disaster! 

There is stuff on the floor that was on the cutting table. I needed to clean it off so I could trim the sides of the quilt that went on the long arm. Both work tables and the extra work tables were piled with supplies, and works-in-progress. The ironing board is covered with stuff. Yesterday, there was stuff all over the floor as it dried in preparation for sewing. 

Yep -- it's a mess, and I don't suspect it will be too tidy for a couple of weeks as I get through this crazy schedule of mine. But all is good. I'm incredibly thankful I have the space to spread out and leave it out. The thought of sewing on the kitchen table and having to put stuff away? I'd die!! 

So, I have learned the ins and outs of decluttering, but DH? Not so much. I see a torn bag for a wine bottle on the kitchen table. I get it; if the bag looked decent and could be reused, then I'd put it with the other bags. But this one? It's now in the recycling. But that was part of my five-minute tidy-up in the kitchen, so it wasn't a big deal. 

A wine bag? 

At lunchtime, we again attacked the EXIT game. OK—we caved and looked at the clue cards. Here's the thing—there are three clue cards per puzzle. Rather than grab and read the entire card, I cover it with another card and read it line by line until I get a clue. Sometimes, the explanations are long or there are pictures, so I ONLY take what I need and don't see something accidentally. And often, we've already done what was in some of the clues. 

It took me until halfway through the second card before I got the answer. DRAT!!! It was so darn simple and right in our faces. Sigh. This is level two, and we had to peek at three puzzles. We have almost always figured out the information on the first clue and need to go to the second or third. 

The EXIT game is complete - we escaped

I stopped at Indigo and checked out the new games on my walk. I was only going to buy one, and the next thing I knew, all four were in my bag. Yes - I did pay for them. One is a level two, two are level three, and one is a level four! ACK!!!! We need more practice! And yes - we tried to think outside the box, but we had to do something that we hadn't done before. Once you see it, it's so obvious - a blind man could have seen it! Well, not quite! I'm happy to buy these because we will use them! Then, I toss everything in the recycling bin as they can only be played once. They cost about $25, and we get our money's worth! 

Four new EXIT games

Look at all the empty bookshelves! The number of books in the store has decreased immensely since it started so many years ago. But then, with audiobooks and e-books, we're not buying so many physical books. I think that is a good thing and a bad thing. When you go to a book sale, how many James Patterson do you see? Or any other famous author? It's insane. 

Empty bookshelves

Me? I'm not about keeping novels. They are so easily accessible at the library unless it's some of the oldies. I just finished reading two books from my shelf. One was published in 1979 and the other in 1987, and I'm currently reading one that's older (1994) as well. These are books that the library no longer carries, so I've hunted them down through used bookstores. They will return to the used bookstore so someone else can enjoy them. 

There are so many books on the market and so many good authors that I don't need to stockpile novels that I've already read. I am TRYING to declutter those bookshelves. When I need to downsize, I hope there are only a few to pack! And for sure, if I find ones on my list, I'd better make sure there is room, so I have to keep on top of it! 

I accomplished a lot yesterday, and I think I'm right on track. And that included taking the morning off to do some research! I love research, as there is so much to learn. I'm very intrigued by stuff, and this past week, I went to see two top-of-the-line sewing and embroidery machines, and of course, I got FOMO. Thankfully, they were way out of my price range and didn't come home with me. 

I researched one of them and talked myself out of even wanting it. There was not new enough to warrant the price. I haven't dug deeper on the second one yet. 

But I was using up spools of thread and bobbins like mad! All is good, and I'm on track to get half of the remaining stuff completed today and the other half tomorrow. Then it gets thrown into a suitcase, and I'm off bright and early on Tuesday morning. 

Empty bobbins and spools of thread

The next quilt is loaded on the long arm, and I need to get it done today. Yes, I've had to forego my hour-long leisurely tea break, but that will return in October. I have to purchase a pantograph for this quilt—thankfully, it's digital, so it'll be a quick download. I just found it again and some other different ones. Oh boy—I got to do some shopping this morning! 

Remember the other day when we chatted about loading a quilt back on the long arm and how pretty much all long-arm quilters want the seam for the backing to be only in one direction so they can load it parallel to the bars? Some long-arm quilters will refuse to quilt something that doesn't conform to that. 

Well, what would they do in this case? I have two vertical seams on my quilt top. So, that should be easy—rotate the quilt so the vertical seams are parallel to the bars. Nope, the quilt pattern is directional, and it has to be loaded a certain way. 

Two significant seams on the quilt top - can you spot the lump? 

You can't even tell that on either side of that black rectangle are the seams for the length of the quilt - all rolled on top of each other. It's just a question of doing it - it's not rocket science. I trimmed about a half inch off of either side, so there is a smidgen of backing on either side, but it'll require some major babysitting! Thankfully, the batting is larger than the backing, which helps a bit. Baste - baste - baste!!!

At one point, I went downstairs, and realized someone was there! OH—it's Murphy looking at me through the window. I love how she chooses that particular spot to lie in. 

MOM - -I'm keeping watch! 

And look at the sign inside that window!! She's my therapy dog and I love her to bits. Oh, of course, I love Miss Lexi as well. But seriously? I took three huge brushes of hair off her in the morning, and two minutes later, she looked like she'd never been brushed in her life. The temperature is getting cooler - she needs that fur to stay warm!

Ah, Murphy!!!

Well, look what came to our favorite restaurant. OK—it's my favorite, not DH's. He goes there to make me happy, but he'd like something a bit more upscale. But they have tons of TVs playing sports, so there's something to keep him occupied. Well, if I'm not talking his ear off, which I do most of the time!

Now, they have this menu on the table. You can order and pay right from there. HEY—I love going there because the minute we walk in, the servers approach the table and ask if we want our usual. Yep—even the ones that we don't see that often—like last night. This person hasn't served us often, but she knew what we wanted. I like that! And the restaurant is close, and if it were my choice, we'd be walking there. 

A new toy at the restaurant

It's also a phone charger! I hope it doesn't put anyone out of a job! 

OH -- I have to laugh at my decluttering process. The other day, and I swear it was within the last week, I had a plastic bag, and in the bag was a glass dish with some sequins and other pieces of glitz. I wasn't sure where to put it so I plunked it down somewhere. Well, guess what? I would really like to get my hands on that darn bag. Do you think I can find it? I looked in all the places that would be a good home for it and nothing. 

I know what will happen - I'm going to open a new bag of sequins, and I'll find the darn plastic bag right in front of my face!! Sigh.....

This popped up in my Happiness Journal. How appropriate. Yes, I LOVE collections, but you don't need a ton of them, and they need to be kept within reason. Now that my fridge is 100% dedicated to travel magnets bring it on! But we have magnets for almost all the places we've been, and we're not planning on going to new places. I MUST get one from Colorado this week! 

And on that note, I'm out of here! There's much to do, and there's little time to waste. The timeline is very doable, but not a lot of time for messing around with researching and such! 

As the weather cools down - at least it is here for the weekend- why not look at your closet! It's time to bring out the sweaters and long pants. Try them on - what doesn't fit or not feel comfortable? What don't you like? Get a box or a bag and pack them up! Make room so you can shop for something new! I could use a new pair of black jeans as I gave my other ones away - they fit fine but weren't comfortable, so they went weeks ago. Now I need a new pair. Can I sneak out and get a pair today? I will also need a new pair of sensible dressy shoes (black), but I don't need them this week. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!