Visiting for old times sake!

It's my birthday! Another trip around the sun, and I'm still here to talk about it! I'm sure I say this every year, but one always reflects on past birthdays and remembers the special moments. And I have done many neat things on my birthday. Today? Just an ordinary day! Although I think I'll spend a good part of the day in the car as I have a few errands that must be done, and they are in opposite directions! But I must get them done. 

And I really must get some more paperwork done! 

I did some observing on my walk yesterday morning. Remember we had those bad house fires a couple of weeks ago? It's been a month - July 25th. I mentioned that one of the houses was torn down within a week of the fire, or maybe that was ten days. 

Lexi and I decided to take a walk to see if anything was happening. OMG—they have started rebuilding that house. It's not even a month since the house burned, and the basement has been redone and capped off for the framing? 

The new basement is capped?

That isn't possible. How could the owners and the insurance make decisions that quickly? I can't see how that is possible, but it seems to be. I'll keep an eye on it from time to time to see the status. Meanwhile, the other three badly burned houses are sitting there. It looks like they might be trying to save one, while the other two are definite teardowns, and the fifth one will need minor repairs to the siding and roof. 

On our way to that house, we passed some city employees - I think they were summer students. Three of them left their city truck with pails and hand pickers to pick up garbage. I spotted the male walking through the soccer field by himself, while the two females walked together, chatting up a storm. They stayed on the path. Why? The grass was very wet, and they didn't want to get their feet wet. Or who knows what they were thinking. 

When Lexi and I walked back through this park, I spotted FIVE relatively obvious pieces of garbage. The girls would have seen them from the path - I took the same route that they did. To pick up the garbage, they would have had to get their feet wet. I was tempted to report them. Seriously? If they were hired to do a job, then they should do a good job! And if they hadn't been together, they likely would have seen the garbage. I'm sure they have work boots on to prevent their feet from getting soaked as they rescued those bits of garbage! Sigh....................

Garbage was left in the park after the workers passed by

You can't see it very well in that photo above, but there were three bits of garbage in a row - the final one is pretty obvious in the picture. 

I had company yesterday! Neil was my main cycling buddy on the cross-Canada trip by bicycle in 2013. He and his wife, whom I have met many times over the years, are driving the same route in their car with their cute dog. They were in the neighborhood and dropped in for a visit. OK—I've known they were coming on that day for weeks! Here is a link to the final cycling day. At that time, I wasn't equipped to add pictures. I really should go back and add pictures to that blog. I remember cycling that last day with Neil, and it was the worst day of the trip. I was done!

Look at the beautiful flowers they brought me for my birthday! 

Birthday flowers

Neil and I spent both of our birthdays on that trip. Neil's was in Outlook, Saskatchewan, and mine was at the ferry dock in Sydney, NB, as we got ready to board the ferry for Newfoundland. The things we remember. 

What Neil and Susan have discovered is that many of the things that we thought were so wonderful on the trip aren't that good! Small cafes that we stopped at with amazing cinnamon buns were just ordinary now. Was it all that sweat (lots) and tears (not so many) that made the cinnamon buns and chugging a 1-liter of chocolate milk after a hard day of cycling taste so good? 

Many campgrounds have closed or been revamped, and while they are enjoying the trip, it's just not the same in a car. We had a long visit, and it was fun to catch up. 

We had lunch at the house, which I coerced DH into BBQing for me! 

Neil and I

WAIT—I did manage to get some work done! Not sewing, but paperwork, and it's not my favorite work (expense reports), so it was good to get that out of the way. 

After dinner, I confess that the puzzle pulled me away from doing anything constructive. 

Progress

I made excellent progress, as you can see. I decided to change tactics and worked on the quilts. While that may have seemed easy, it wasn't. Then I had all those flowers in the bottom, and I was determined to get that done. I still have two pieces to find, but Murphy was "demanding" to get upstairs and to bed, and it was getting late by this time anyway. Not late, but later! And if Murphy was ready to settle down upstairs, then I was going to make that happen for her. 

Then I got hooked on this novel I've been reading. I've tossed the plot around multiple times. Is this plausible? Can this happen? I like the character, then I hate the main character. I'm on the fence. The book is The Cleaner by Mary Watson. I wouldn't rush to read this again. 

I have avoided the gym all week, and I feel like a slug. So I'm off to spend some time with Brooke this morning. 

One thing I want to alert you to is the SECOND Teach The World to Sew Day!! It's on September 19th, and you'll find it at many of the PFAFF, Husqvarna Viking, and Singer stores around the world. You'll find a list of stores on that link. Now, YOU don't need to learn how to sew, but if you know someone who has wanted to learn, get them signed up at their local store! They will be making an eyeglass case - so it's a small, simple project. 

Let's fill all the seats and make this a hugely successful day. I don't think there is any age restriction on the event, and everything is provided. You just need to register so they don't overbook themselves. 

If memory serves me correctly, one of the Canadian stores did amazingly well last year. So if you have a friend, a granddaughter, or a grandson, and their friend(s)—get them signed up for this event. It is OUR job to encourage the younger generation to learn to sew. That allows them to repair clothing, make their own clothes or other items. Check it out!!!!

WAIT --- if one of those stores is NOT close to you, then check out Michaels. They are selling Singer sewing machines, and some stores are setting up sewing machines for Teach the World to Sew Day. I think you have to check out each store individually to see if they are participating. 

We also have a Virtual Retreat on Saturday (6 PM - 9 PM) and Sunday (3 PM - 9 PM). I should be back in work mode by then. OK—let's face reality—I need to be back in work mode this afternoon after I finish my errands! Tick tock!!! And I will place those design boards over the puzzle to keep my fingers off it until I've done some work! I think the question for me is -- where the heck do I start? I'm going to have to pick one item and start with that, then move on to the next. It's a bit overwhelming right now. 

I also need to finish up those distribution lists! It better be a productive day! 

By the way, I bought cake for lunch yesterday, so no need to worry if I'm getting cake today! I've already eaten some!

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

Have a wonderful day!

Ciao!!