Progress on the hexagon quilt

You guys are the best!! Did I say that yesterday? Anyway, I'm working through the comments, and yes—the apple didn't fall far from the tree. We didn't mention the clothes yesterday, but I have three days, so I'll mention the decluttering again today. I had a peek, and there are stacks of clothes on the dresser because I suspect it's full, as is the closet.  

I don't get out here that often, so I don't see the day-to-day nuances. But I asked my mom why he doesn't use her walker for short trips. AH --- her knees. NO Mom --- that is not your knees. Yes -- they ache because of arthritis, but because you did not do your exercises and barely used your legs, you no longer have the muscles to walk. "Oh -- maybe, but I think it's my knees." Of course, I'm not a doctor, so I know nothing about that. Sigh.........

All I can say for the rest of you --- stand up and sit down and then do it forty times in a day. If you do not, you will reach a point where you can no longer get to the toilet. And we all know what happens then. I didn't quiz her on how she makes it to the washroom but I strongly suspect she doesn't drink much in a day and we all know what happens then. UTI, and god knows what else. 

I can't be the babysitter, and god forbid I suggest a change. My Dad has a morbid fear of change! Deathly afraid of change and NEEDS to see everything before it's purchased. He struggles with me telling him things and then remembering what I told him. He can't repeat anything I tell him to Mom. He doesn't understand it. BUT if you asked him how many teeth you needed to put on a hunk of metal to make a gear for an engine? In seconds, he has the answer and remembers it. 

I don't think he's forgetful at all. Just extremely selective!!!! It's funny, and yet it's not. Like he brought home a puzzle I purchased online from the Museum a couple of months ago, and he can't remember where he put it! I must poke around to see if I can find it. It's probably still in the truck. 

Let's see how I make out today. Sometimes, it's just better not to say anything. 

I had a visit with the people he works with at the Museum. They are all excited because some "new to them" equipment is being returned to that shop. And it frustrates me to no end when people say they are not "smart", yet the stuff they do is remarkable. All of them are extremely knowledgeable about machines and engineering. They just didn't go to school to learn it, which, in my mind, makes them even smarter! And some of them are new volunteers and are eager to learn. 

I puttered around the hotel for a bit in the morning to get some work done, and I don't need to be at the apartment the entire time I'm here. So I'm going through some of the documents that I transferred to my new hard disk, which I brought with me. Good lord—why do I have ideas for quilt classes from 2012? 

LOTS of digital clutter

I don't even want or need the ideas -- I'm so done with teaching a ton of classes, and I'm going to stick to my formula of one new sew-along quilt a year and one technique- or general-topic style. That works for me and gives me plenty of time to enjoy teaching the class and to sew some of my own stuff. I have no problem doing extra ones here and there, but the bulk of my teaching days are done! 

I will still do my gig with the sewing machines. I enjoy the learning that provides me and won't give that up for a while. 

It was a decent morning yesterday and I went for a long walk. There is a decent paved path around most of the city, and I managed to walk about 1/3 of the trail. It was a nice brisk walk and good to get out. No one else was out, but I don't see many people walking back home. I was fine with that. 

The walking trail

It's a bit quieter here at the hotel and not as busy because of the holiday. Can you spot my wee car? It's red. It looks like a dwarf amongst all those white trucks. 

My wee red car was dwarfed by the white trucks.

I notice that these Saskatchewan people are tough. It was cloudy, zero degrees Celsius yesterday, and the number of people walking around without a jacket is crazy. So I walked around with no jacket as well. Not for my walk—I was properly dressed with a hat, but for the short trips to and from the car, no jacket. Yikes --- it's a DRY cold - remember, and that makes it warmer than our damp cold back home! 

I had to chuckle because you cannot fault the bank personnel for being loyal to THEIR customers. I sent an email on Dad's behalf about a transfer that needed to be made. One that I could not do with online banking. She responded via email and said, "We can do that transfer no problem, but I need to talk to you first!" It's frustrating because Dad will NOT call her, but will have to go in person to see her. He only goes first thing in the morning, which messes up his museum schedule, and parking is an issue. And he won't remember what he is supposed to ask anyway. Again, so adverse to doing business on the phone. And she will not do anything without his verbal directions. I get it—so many scams, but sad that we have come to this. 

I will just have to keep reminding him to get this done. We missed the window for me to go in with him because of the holiday. At least, his banker knows he needs it done and will hopefully follow up with him. I may ask him to add me to that account so he doesn't have to worry about making this happen. It's only going to get worse as he gets older. 

I finally finished the knife-edge finish on the hexagon quilt. It took me one day to get that complete, as there was one full side that needed to be done. Yeah—but the quilt still isn't finished. 

Finishing off the knife-edge

I now have to run a line of stitches around that outer edge to make it look better and to just help hold things in place. I got about 1/4 done yesterday. I had woken up early, and I was tired, so I didn't get a whole lot done. 

Quilting around the edges of the hexagon quilt

I NEED to finish this before I leave, and I have three days in which to complete the other three sides. I hope to finish it quicker than in three days as I have a few other handwork projects (small ones) with me that I need to work on for Wednesday. But if I don't, I'm sure I can talk my way around what I didn't get done! We are a good family of talkers—we don't always remember stuff, but we can talk. 

I also had a good visit with my Aunt Irene—the quilting aunt. She is lucky and gets to quilt three days a week with her group, and yesterday just happened to be one of those days. They were all working on interesting projects, including Elizabeth Hartman's Fab Farm. I remember making that tone, and it's so darn cute!!! I hope to be as mobile and as interested in quilting as she is when I'm her age. 

I did a wee bit of shopping, trying to find a few things that need to be replaced or things that they need. I like the idea of a light on a timer, but I'm not sure that will be approved. It's so hard when you lose your mobility and are at the mercy of the sun rising to see something. And the sad thing is, there is no one but herself to blame for that. If you don't move, you'll lose the ability to do anything. 

OK—there is always a story about this hotel. Remember the time I had a tub with a shower, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to get the shower head to work? After pulling and pushing everything, and even after asking, I had to have the desk person come into the room to show me. OH MY GOD --- some small ring right at the tub spout. I had never seen that before. 

This time? I got a shower only, but the darn doors don't stay shut. The shower seems to be on an angle, and the doors slide shut to the far side of the shower. So if you have a shower with the door open, the water will go everywhere!!!! How to fix this? And both doors slide away from the shower head. So I pulled the door shut and used my foot to hold the door in place. Yes --- I thought about slipping, and there was no danger of that, so I proceeded. Just very weird - how could an entire shower be so slanted that the doors won't shut? They aggressively roll to the far side!!!! 

Dad was talking about magnets as he showed me what he was working on: cutting away part of the metal and inserting some plastic to help with the magnet situation. It's complicated. Anyway, that got me thinking about my magnet situation at home. I'll tell you all about it later. But between that chance conversation and an epiphany in the car, I think I might have solved the problem. 

The knowledge he has about engineering and terms I've never heard about is absolutely fascinating. Never made it past grade school, but the mind of a steel trap for all things engineering and mechanical. How does that happen? 

All I need now is to find one more thing, and I'm good. That's one thing I inherited from my parents, especially Dad: the ability to recognize an opportunity, work through the problem, and think creatively to come up with a solution. I love it!!!!! I'm very lucky, or maybe it was all that brain rest on the walk in the fresh air that opened my mind up to a new solution. 

On that note, I'm out of here!!! I still have more stuff to share, but I'll save it for tomorrow. I have more visiting on the agenda for today, and I need to get to work on that quilt. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!