Tidy up time in Studio B

We're back!! DH and I both read the story in the graphic novel EXIT Game. Then we collaborated, and between the two of us, we got the answer! Not before I goofed AGAIN and missed a bunch of letters, so we had to redo the puzzle multiple times. Although DH insists we found the answer unconventionally, I don't care! We solved it without using the clues. He's so black and white; I'm every shade in between! 

Teamwork! It's all about teamwork! 

Should I mention what happened to the kitchen table? This happens when you use a giant Sharpie on a single piece of paper. DH is like, "Will that come off?" I'm like, "Who cares?" It adds to the big burn mark someone put on the table (not a family member) and all the scraps and dings. It's a 23-year-old TABLE! Get over it! 

Who knew a Sharpie would do that?

I'm almost finished the book Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. This is a great book, and I'm tempted to buy the audiobook version. I've no idea how to make that happen, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. It's a four-hour listen, and I will never compress the listening speed. All that does is create a sense of urgency, which I certainly do not need in my life, especially after reading this book. 

There are so many good life lessons in this book—so many! Ideally, the book is read over 28 days—one short chapter a day, but since I only have it for a week, I've had to zip through. But it would definitely be a keeper. It would be easy enough to listen to for about 15 minutes daily, with no deadlines. There is much to contemplate, and I will try hard to take some of this to heart. You could not absorb all this in one reading, hence the desire to keep rereading it! I think different things will resonate with us at different times. 

There's another book that is good for a reread from time to time, and that's Atomic Habits by James Clear. We are our own worst enemy! There is no doubt in my mind, and I'm almost over "hating" myself. Come on --- there are things you don't like about yourself. There is very little left about myself that I don't like. Wait - there's one thing - I always touch my FACE! Why? 

One thing is enjoying life (and nature) without the dread that it'll disappear because we don't deserve happiness. Or something like that. Well, the girls and I enjoyed our morning walk. That's why I don't try to double-dip my time and listen to audiobooks. I like to pay attention to them and to my surroundings. I NEVER listen to music or an audiobook while walking. 

I see the city was out to fix the damage (yet again) on the forest path. Good luck with that staying, as the next big rain storm will put ruts in it again. 

Work on the forest path

I was pleasantly surprised, but I should not have been, because it was a young woman driving a tractor. YEAH!!!! 

Try to grade the paths in the forest

We have seen buds on a tree on our street earlier this month, and now we can add ONE daffodil to that list. 

First daffodil in bloom

I also spotted these buds on the tree out front. Oh my --- I love the blooms on this tree. They're so pretty, and it'll be in full bloom before we know it! While it is technically spring, the temperature was down yesterday, and there was a bitter wind! But that didn't stop me from walking to the mall for supplies. 

A bud on our tree

Then I decided I had better get some tidying done in Studio B. It's gotten to a point where it's hard to focus, and I was unhappy. I had TWO extra tables set up with all the lectures we did in February and March, plus dealing with Diane's stuff. This is NOT good. 

Two extra tables of crap!

Imagine my dismay to find this on the table. Good grief—it's the adapter I need for my embroidery machine, and why the heck is it over there when it should be in the box beside the machine? It's now in the box. 

The adapter for my embroidery machine

When I was done, which didn't take very long, this is what it now looks like. 

This is much better

It's much better visually, and there is some space to move around. I still have a few more things to deal with, like putting everything back on the shelf on the left as it's supposed to be. But with the extra tables in the way, it was a challenge to get to the shelf. Sigh..................

What happened to it all? I still have some tubs from Diane's stuff, so I sorted it and put it into the tubs. I put it under another table in Studio B that I want to eliminate, but I can't—at least not yet. 

I do not like putting things in tubs on the floor like this, but it's better and neater than those two tables. I have a plan for some of that stuff, so I will see how quickly I can implement it. 

Stuff to deal with later

I found some flannel squares that I recognize. They were made from scraps I gave Diane, so they are now in the community projects area. 

Scrappy flannel squares

I had a quilt to quilt and wanted feathers on it. I used to have a great feather pattern for the long arm, but when I went to the computerized version, the company I buy my patterns from did not have that pattern, so I searched for others. Imagine my surprise when I found the one I wanted!! So I used that and it worked like a charm. It's called Bountiful Feathers by Lorien Quilting. Imagine doing this on a non-computerized machine? Yep -- I loved this one and used it often. Much nicer to have the computer stitch it out. I purchased a few more and must get them all into my long-arm computer. 

Bountiful Feathers quilt pattern

And here's the back of the quilt. You'll have to wait to see the front, but do you see my little patch in the bottom right-hand corner? The backing was JUST the right size. 

My little patch for the backing

As the embroidery machine was running this morning, I had "time" to get something else done. So I tidied some more and attempted to put some of the quilts back in the "to be quilted" pile. They had been pulled for trunk shows or lectures. I stumbled across a quilt of mine that I've been meaning to quilt for a long time. It was part of my UFO projects. So, thinking about the lessons in Meditations for Mortals, I loaded that quilt instead of a customer quilt. GASP!!!! I'll be back to customer quilts after this one. 

I also finished my second article on a fascinating topic (at least to me), and I'll let you know when they are published! It's a topic near and dear to my heart, and I'm prepping for the next article. It's sometimes a challenge to capture everything you want to say in a single space. And don't forget about the pictures, but to get the images, one must do something! It's a TON of work, and there are times that I wonder why I continue to do it. But then I realize that the writing makes me learn, experiment, and grow, so I will never want to give it up! The hardest is working to a deadline, so I must see if there is something I can arrange differently. The issue is that I work best when there's a deadline. 

I'm not sure what was happening here, but the new outdoor toy, which technically should stay outside, was under the window! Murphy loves to stand under that little table and look out the window to watch the world go by. We need to keep the table there; otherwise, she jumps on the window, which I do NOT want her to do. We are trying to train her, but well, that's like trying to train a bull in a china shop! 

The outdoor toy is NOT outdoors

I also spent some time in my inbox! Yep, Meditations for Mortals also covers things like email. I swear, he wrote this book for me! So I sorted the emails by sender and started at the top. While I did NOT completely get through the numbers and the As, I did make a dent and eliminate over 1,000 unread emails. That's a bit embarrassing, but I'm not the only one, so it doesn't bother me.

I'll continue to do blanket deletes, and anything that needs action goes into an action folder. I must be diligent about putting things in there and THEN making sure I act on them. I'm also bad for not deleting something that I've read. It'll all work out. I'm not stressing about it, but I don't want that quantity to bog my computer down! 

I'm amazed at how much I plan in my head when I'm walking, or puttering, or waiting to fall asleep. As a rule, I do NOT have trouble falling asleep. I know what I would like to accomplish today, and we'll just see how much of it actually gets done. I should run a few errands today in the car, paperwork to deal with, emails to answer or send, quilting, and machine embroidery. There is no end to what I can do in a day, but don't worry -- I also have plenty of downtime or me-time. I walk with the girls, do my walk in the afternoon, listen to that podcast series, and read, and I think I live a balanced life.  

And on that happy note, I'm out of here! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!