An amazing travel day by car

LOL --- Soon the comments will be more entertaining than the blog!!! I love it all! And yes, each of us handles our stash differently. I know tons of organizations take donations, and that may be what happens, but I also want to have fun with that stash, and I'm trying to think of creative ways to get rid of it. And who knows, I may just end up keeping it all until I don't need it anymore. But the books and magazines? Those have to go! 

I laugh when I read that paragraph back. Who would have thought I would ever consider getting rid of all that fabric? That was my pride and joy for years, and now, sadly, it has become the monkey on my back!! Funny how things change as you get older. 

Then I would have room to put my puzzle collection in those bookshelves!!! Just kidding!!!!

It's one thing to talk about it; it's another to put your money where your mouth is and actually take charge. No more shuffling things off for tomorrow; do what needs to be done today!!!

I'll be home tomorrow, and then I have two blocks I NEED to finish for Many Blocks on Sunday. And if I get my butt in gear, I could get more done as well. This is going to happen. Why? Because I have a super cute project I want to move on to; actually, there are two, but I have to pick one. And I cannot start that one until I finish this one. 

The old me would just abandon Sylvia's Bridal Sampler (again and probably MANY times in the past 14 years!) and move on to the more fun project. I am NOT doing that now. If I don't think this project is fun, then I should just finish it as it is, or give it away. I NEED to choose how I spend my time, what is important to me to finish!!!!

Since I am so close to finishing all the blocks, I just need to get my butt in gear and make that happen. That would make me very happy, so that is my focus!!

Yesterday was a travel day, and a good one. I had to get something squared away with the store before I left, so I didn't leave until almost 10 AM, but since that was all I was doing yesterday, it wasn't a problem. I had some investigating to do anyway. 

Here's the store - Cindy B's in Espanola. I love the barn block on the front!! And what is nice is that Cindy's daughter is involved in the store, and guess what? She's YOUNG!! We love the young quilters. Tiffany is also a pattern designer, and you'll find her patterns on the website. Cindy also hosts a very popular quilt retreat (twice yearly). It's so popular that someone has to die (well, not quite, but almost) to get on the list!! 

Cindy B's

What's funny is that when I rode my bicycle through this town in 2013, I don't think I even knew there was a quilt shop here, and yes, it was open way back then. It opened in 2007 - you can read their story at the link above. 

I remember stopping at a small bakery to get something to eat. I wrote in my blog that, even though it was a bakery, they didn't have any baked goods. GASP!!!!! How is that possible? So we had tea and toast!!!! It was called Marantha Bake Shop and Cafe. 

I couldn't post pictures on the blog while traveling back then, but I really must add them one day. When I get home, I'll check that hard disk and see if I took any pictures while in this town. I did not grab that hard disk before I left for this trip. 

Anyway, I checked out (on Google) what bakery was open in 2013. Yes -- you can search for stuff like that. It's hilarious!!! 

This is the building I thought the bakery was in. 

Where I thought the bakery was

But no - this is the building the bakery was in. The one above has something to do with the motel. It looks like it hasn't been a bakery in a very long time! I must send the link to today's post to Neil, who rode with me a good part of the way across Canada. He and his wife drove a good part of the trip this summer and stopped by to visit me. So much fun reminiscing about that trip. They didn't stop in Espanola, which is why I was determined to find that bakery! 

Where the bakery was in 2013

I grabbed a few things to eat for the next leg of the trip, a 5.5-hour drive through beautiful country. And let's not forget that the weather is cooperating 1000%. I couldn't ask for nicer travel weather; the sky is mostly blue, there is a little construction, little traffic, and, well, it's perfect. 

I don't have any pictures of the terrain because that would mean stopping the car to take them, but this is very isolated countryside. Lots of rocky terrain at the start of the drive, plenty of trees, and lakes. When we were riding our bikes, we called it sticks, water, rock! 

The country is BEAUTIFUL. Yes --- it was 5.5 hours of the same scenery, but you know what? Life is too short to get bored by looking at nature!!! It was stunning and would have been even more so if I'd been here a week and a half ago, when the colors (changing leaf colors) were out. But my brain can imagine, and I was doing a lot of imagining yesterday!!!

I had also started a new audiobook which is hilarious. It's called The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood. It's about an older woman who creates crosswords, and there's a murder! The main character's name is Judith, and she's hilarious. I see it's been made into a series, probably a British one, so we know it's good!!! 

I crossed the train tracks a few times and passed a train, then saw the railway crossing lights flashing ahead, so I stopped to wait for the train. 

The train is coming

Thankfully, it wasn't a long train. But look at the sky!!!! Seriously? How perfect can a day get? 

The freight train

I have never seen this type of railroad car before, so I don't know what they were hauling. Thankfully the train wasn't long, and I was off again. I would say it's some form of hopper car, but it was short and didn't seem to have a hopper bottom. Something to do with hauling minerals, rocks, or whatever. Hmmm, I asked Google what they are, and it said those cars are likely open-top gondola cars (or also hopper cars) used to carry bulk materials like coal, scrap metal, or ore. And there you have it!!! Google also called them potentially a bathtub gondola!!!!

A form of hopper car

As I have mentioned numerous times, I am NOT good at driving. By that I mean, I get sleepy quickly, and my sciatica drives me mad. Yesterday? I drove the entire way without stopping. I had food in the car, and while I felt a twitch or two from the sciatica, there was zero pain, and I wasn't sleepy at all. It was an awesome travel day!!!! Let's hope that lasts for the long drive home! I still have enough of that audiobook to take me all the way home. 

I stopped at the Needleworks Studio in Cochrane, Ontario, chatted with the owner, and then headed to the hotel. I've been to this store before, but it's been quite a while since I was last here. 

Halloween seems to grow each year, and I've spotted some houses plastered with Halloween decorations. Here's one of them. There are some pretty big skeletons these days!!!

Decorated for Halloween

Since today's events are at the same hotel where I'm staying, I brought all my crap into the room so I could sort it out. I no longer need some things, so I bundled them into one suitcase. I shifted other stuff around, and I put loose items back in their bags. It was great to get that done, so I didn't have to do it this morning. 

All the stuff from my car! 

I'm going to take what I don't need back to the car this morning. I had frost on the car yesterday morning, but it's above freezing this morning, so there shouldn't be any. But then I'm not going anywhere, so it doesn't matter. 

Then I went for a walk and spotted this old train across the street. Shoot, I only got a picture of the front. But this is a well-known locomotive, number 137! 

Locomotive Number 137

Here is the story, though it's a bit hard to read. 

The story of Locomotive Number 137

Then I wandered around some more and checked the geocaching app, and yep, there's a cache nearby. So I wandered over to it and quickly found it. Do you know how hard it is to look UNDER a bench that is facing downhill? But by feeling along the underside, I found it. 

The geocache

Now there is only one problem. I didn't have a pen, so I couldn't sign the dang log, even though I was the first person to find it. So I logged it and noted that I didn't have a pen. The owner sent me a note saying it would be best if I went back and signed the log. So guess what I'm doing shortly? Yep -- taking a pen and signing the darn log. I must remember to put a pen in my little pouch. DUH!!!!! But the walk will be good for me!!! 


How many of you have lamented that you don't have time to declutter? I know I say that all the time. I wish I had an entire day to tackle the office, but that never happens. However, have you noticed that I have still made huge leaps and bounds in sorting and decluttering? Why? Because I often do it in bite-sized chunks. And that works for me. Yes, it's taking me longer than I would like, but it's better than doing nothing at all. 

Here is another list with examples of how to keep your house decluttered in short time frames. 

I have to say, this list is brilliant, and it is how I do a lot of my decluttering. Wait -- it's more like how I keep things clear. While the kettle boils, I clear the few things that have accumulated on the counter (the recycling that needs to go to the garage, emptying and reloading the dishwasher, etc.). 

I could do more; I need more "spare" time in the office because that is really the area that needs work. But you know what? I'm getting there. Every week, I get something sorted and tossed. Slow and steady, it will all happen. 

By the way, the Instagram account where I'm finding those lists is called One Drawer at a Time, and it says right at the top: AI-generated. Sigh......

I need to focus on the books and magazines in Studio B. I'm going to try to figure out how to make that happen, but first I need to take care of the books and magazines I've already culled that are sitting in the office. It doesn't make sense to cull more until I have completely dealt with the ones I started with. 

I have about ten boxes of books that were supposed to be picked up in September, but that didn't happen, and the new date is in November. There are also three bags to deal with, and then I can start the process again. I think there are a couple of piles of magazines that should probably be tossed because I've read them, but I wanted to point out a couple of things on the blog. I should make that a focus for next week!! 

Well, it's time to start the day. I have several hours before the events start, and I just have to walk down the hall!! But I must get out and sign that logbook!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!