Living in a world of boxes

What an insane day yesterday was. It felt like we were living in a warehouse! Every time I turned around, there were more boxes in the house. 

After getting my morning chores out of the way, it was time to head to the lighting store to see what I could find. I didn't have the luxury to be choosy, but I sort of knew what I wanted. And seriously, I think people spend way too much dithering over decisions. I was in and out of the lighting store in about 1.5 hours. 

I walked in the store, and a young woman approached me. I explained my situation, and she made a list. Since I need the lights today, our main selection criteria was what they had in stock. What did they have in stock that suited my needs? A heck of a way to shop, but seriously? I didn't walk home with anything I didn't like, so that was good. 

The lighting store

I could have gone to a store like Home Depot and purchased lights - it would have been a bit cheaper, but I had a salesperson dedicated for at least an hour, and she helped with questions about bulb types and voltage, and that was worth the price of going there. Going to Home Depot would have meant I was pretty much on my own, and I didn't want that. 

As we went through the list, I wasn't sure everything would fit in the car, but it did. And of course, as I was loading the car from the back dock, the Purolator truck arrived and wanted to drop stuff off! He would just have to wait, but I was quick!

These lights are for the family room. 

Family room lights

The living room

Living room lights

Fans for upstairs

A fan for each bedroom

Lights for the front of the house

Lights for the front of the house

And lights for the backyard

Murphy is showing off the lights for the backyard.

And as you can see, we still have some very old switches and outlets in the house. 

Old toggle switches

They are going to replace a bunch of them. Not sure that all will get done, but we'll see how it goes. I have NO idea how many are still the old style. Even though we had some of them replaced about 10 years ago, those are now obsolete as well. Some new mechanism (different from the one we currently have) to prevent people from sticking things in and getting electrocuted. 

Old outlets

On top of all the boxes I brought home, these boxes arrived on the front step. It's going to be a fun weekend to unbox that!! That is the brand-new PFAFF creative icon 3, in case you are wondering. It will be widely available sometime in September. I have a wonderful boss, but I also have events where I'll be doing demos on the new machine. I'll provide a list tomorrow - I'm running late this morning. 

A new toy!!!

And as if that wasn't enough, Murphy's new "toys" arrived. 

A delivery for Murphy

One of the suggestions we got to help calm Murphy down, and they have them in the exam room of the vet's office, is these calming devices. They emit some kind of pheromone that's supposed to calm dogs. 

MOM - is this for me? 

She was much better last night. Although she didn't sleep in the house, she didn't go outside until about 9:30 PM, which is good news. She came in this morning at 4:30AM. We're making progress!!!

The calming plug-in for dogs

That's what the gizmo looks like, and the little container lasts 30 days. If it works, I'm happy to keep buying replacement containers. I bought two - one for the living room and one for the family room.  

Murphy even decided that she needed to take one more of her indoor toys outside. She even played with it. Yeah Murphy!!!! So she is definitely feeling much better, which makes me feel better! We have to face reality that she is older (12, I believe) and that she is slowing down. We just have to learn to accommodate her, just like we are trying to accommodate our aging bodies. 

MOM - let's play with my toys outside!!!

It was cool in the morning, but it got hot in the afternoon. I had to laugh because the fan was sitting in the family room, but it wasn't on. But Lexi thought it was!!! I turned it on for her. 

MOM - this fan feels so good! Lexi - the fan isn't on!!!

And Murphy even got into the fun. With her love of the basement, I'm shocked that she isn't asking to go downstairs. She comes down about once a day (we talk about it before she does), but she doesn't like the process of coming up, and that seems to be enough to deter her. I'm sad, but this is life! 

MOM - that fan is so cool!!!!

I had to pop out to Home Depot to pick up one more light that they didn't have at the lighting store, and YES - I had to ask where it was on the shelf, and that took time, but I got what I needed. However, look what I spotted in the store. 

WAIT - a big fluffy dog at Home Depot?

YES -- that is a big fluffy dog with that man. The dog was NOT a service dog. I remember taking Murphy to Home Depot once many years ago, and I was escorted to what I wanted and escorted out of the store. The female store employee who was my escort was NOT happy with the dog in the store. Perhaps they have changed their policies. If the dog is under control and on a short leash, what is the danger? Oh wait --- liability! 

I spent some time in the gazebo, and it was wonderful to listen to the waterfall. I think I need a more comfortable chair or something. I was tired - well, my back was tired, but I couldn't sleep. When I get a restless leg, I'm toast - no sleeping is going to happen. 

Relaxing in the gazebo

There wasn't much wind, but enough to get a tinkle or two from the windchime. 

A few tinkles from the windchimes

But not enough for the cowbell!

Not strong enough for the cowbell

While I love listening to the waterfall, I also love looking at the pond. There are big fish and baby fish, algae growing, and insects that scoot across the surface. And then you get these giant spiderwebs!!! The spider was in the middle, and he was huge, but he scooted to the side when I approached. 

A massive spider web

I finally made it down to Studio B to get some work done after dinner. And I figured out the issue with the mismatched number of pieces! That took a lot of time, but my brain was happy when I could account for all the pieces. 

Then I got to work on the next two blocks. My August is all of a sudden super busy and I won't have a ton of free time, so I'd best try to get this completed as quickly as I can. Look at this section. Can you tell what the rest of the block is? 

The next section of Down on the Farm

I am so happy with my color choices, but as I work through the pattern and identify each piece that I need for the next section, it's like looking through a needle in a haystack!!! There are a lot of GRASS pieces, and I need to find each particular size when I need it!

A fabric puzzle

But so far, so good, and I check them off as I work. And I use the ruler on my extension table to double-check the sizes because it would be super easy to pick up a 1.5" by 3.5" when I need a 1.5 by 3".

Using the ruler on the extension table to double-check

I hope to get back to work on it today, but with the electricians here today, I'm not sure what to expect. I forgot to mention that the electrician will bring the new lights for the basement when they come. I also have a small project that needs to be done today. I made good progress on it last night, but there is still about two hours left to do. 

And here is that stack of HSTs growing by leaps and bounds, and I'm not taking the time to trim them. That's OK - I can leave that task for a virtual retreat. 

The huge stack of HSTs that need to be pressed and trimmed

Again - a reminder for anyone wishing to sign up for the scrap quilt class: there are fewer than 20 seats left, so don't delay. You can find that information at this link for Thimbles and Things. If you think you know how to deal with scraps and scrap quilts, you'll know a whole lot more after that multi-part class. I can't wait to get started - there is so much to share, and I've been amassing quilts and projects and many other things over the last couple of months. Plus I want people to share so we aren't just learning what I do. I'll be putting together a distribution list next week and sending out a pre-class note to the students. 

And if you want one of my other classes, here is the link to them. 

I had to get to the gym early this morning to meet Brooke, and it was an amazing workout. I left feeling like a million bucks!!! We are going to get this situation conquered!!! 

On that positive note, I'm out of here. It's going to be a whirlwind day because something else major is happening in our house today, but I'll share that with you tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!