How NOT to do laundry

Phew—yesterday was a whirlwind of a day, although I certainly took my time doing things, and now I'm going to pay the price this morning as I finish the tasks that I was supposed to finish yesterday!

There is nothing like having several open suitcases and mad packing! Actually, what I love is being able to change the number of suitcases I bring—I'm bringing samples—lots and lots of samples, so I have three suitcases. Two with samples, and one with clothes, which I still need to pack, and I'm leaving in three hours! 

There are loads to be said for black pants! Anything goes with them. A few shirts, a couple of casual things, and toiletries. DONE!!! The thought of taking multiple pairs of shoes that match each outfit makes my head spin. Keep it simple!

To top it off, I had to do laundry last night, and, well, I failed at it. Yep --- I didn't realize the dryer was set to "damp" setting -- must have been DH and his darn shirts. So I tried drying the sheets twice before I clued in. I'm still trying to get two more loads of laundry dried this morning. Sigh.........

Update: just drying the last load as I write!

I was certainly not made for domestic home life. But there is certainly something to be said about wearing the same clothes all the time. Wash them, dry them, and pack the same stuff as last week. No thinking required! At least for the casual stuff. Based on that, I can certainly get rid of many clothes in my closet. Yes -- it's time for an overhaul! 

This was the situation in the kitchen yesterday morning. I had sorted out some items before I left, and then I added a few yesterday as I thought about what I needed for the show and my presentations afterward. YES --- if you are in the Winnipeg area, I'll be at Carellen Sewing on Monday and Tuesday after the show -- June 22 and 23. So be sure to get on the list—I've got some cool things to show you. 

The quilts that need to be packed

And all this had to be packed as well. 

More items that need to be packed

Everything fit without having to push and shove the zipper closed. Both sample suitcases weigh less than 50 lbs, and I'm good. I detest carrying massive, heavy suitcases, so I broke my stuff down into two suitcases. And thank goodness for the Air Canada app, as I was able to change the number and weight of the suitcases from the comfort of my house. No need to see anyone at the airport this morning. You have to love that! 

I am NOT getting an upgrade this morning. It's becoming harder and harder to get an upgrade. You get points to request an upgrade, but there are way too many people on the list (I'm at number 9 on the waitlist), and the planes are flying full or almost full, so no chance. Well, I'll keep trying. 

The quilt was trimmed and bound, and is now packed. I also worked on a name tag, which is on the visual to-Do list, and it's all done except for binding it. I threw it and the thread into the suitcase. The beauty of going to a sewing show is that if there is something you need to finish, you can do it as part of the show! 

As I was standing in the kitchen making lunch with the meager food items still in the house, Miss Murphy came in and, like Linus from Peanuts, she just shed debris behind her. She must have been sleeping under the shed. She never used to sleep there, but she is encroaching on Lexi's secret places. I'm sure Lexi is not happy about that. 

So now there are leaves and straw strewn across the floor. Thankfully, the cleaning service is coming today, but I might just whip some of that up, so they don't think we live in a pigpen!

OH MURPHY!!!!

I barely remembered to check out the pond, and I NEED to clean that pump before I leave. The pineneeddles are the worst. They are constantly falling, and they are hard to get out of anything! But the flowers look nice. I must remember in the future --- do not book travel in June. That is the prettiest time in the backyard, and I'm missing a good part of it. Plus, the weeds grew while I was away, and they will have to sit for another week. It's going to be a jungle out there when I get back. But seriously? Who cares!!!! It's a few weeds. Life is way too short to be worried about keeping an absolutely weed-free environment. It's all natural! 

Lilies are beautiful

I'd rather do the fun stuff than weed, do laundry, and clean! I do the bare minimum, pay someone to do the work I hate, and let's have fun! I made choices in life on where to spend my money!

Here is the puzzle I scooped from the roadside while riding the bike. It's an old-fashioned puzzle to be sure. I didn't even check if there was a year on it, but I would say this is from the 60s. I added it to the pile, and I'll get to it when I get back - well, maybe not exactly when I get back, but this summer. 

My roadside puzzle find

And here's the state of the current puzzle I'm working on. Yep -- only the purple is left. Actually, there are two different purples there. I thought this would be a hard puzzle, but it's actually quite easy. Sort by color, which I did when I put the pieces out, and then just do one color at a time. It shouldn't take that long to finish, but I didn't dare take any more time yesterday!!!

My current puzzle

I also have a hardcover book that I'm trying to finish. It is translated from Japanese into English, and I just couldn't get into it at first. Now I'm down to 100 pages, and well, I read what I could yesterday. But I had Monday sewing and other things to do, and well, I guess I'll be taking the book with me on the plane!!!! 

M and Dillon had a photo booth at the party tent, and it was pretty fun. You could keep one photo, and one was printed for a memory book for them. How cute!!!! They had all kinds of props - glasses, hats, and signs. This is one of me with the bride and groom. And Little Bear, of course, since I was his sitter. I grabbed that sign "Flawless," which was appropriate for the bride, groom, and, of course, Little Bear. BTW -- it was getting cold, and when I went back to the hotel to rescue Bear from the sitter, I changed into warmer clothes! 

Flawless, of course!

And this is probably the only photo of my outfit that you will see!! I've always had a chuckle in the past when people said, "That's my bad side!" What does it matter? Oh yes -- it matters. I think I got all the photos on my bad side! It's the part in my hair that I'm referring to!

Me and M on her wedding day!

But it doesn't really matter -- it's all about the stunning bride. And how did she get to be taller than me? 

What you can't see in the photo is that I made a new hairband for the wedding. The flowers matched my outfit!!! Well, I'll just have to take a better picture of that when I'm back!!! And the flowers were on my good side, which is closest to the bride! I must be more aware of that in the future!

Anyway -- I'd better get moving, as I still have to throw those clothes into the last suitcase, walk the girls, and make a bed!

Remember, the blog timing might be off for the next week, but I think I'm only one hour off, not three, so it won't be as bad!!!

Have a wonderful day. 

Ciao!!!