The virtual speed puzzling event!

I will confess that I didn't get nearly as much done yesterday as I would have liked. I was tired, but I managed to unpack all but one suitcase and am sorting for the next event, which is in a week. But it's only two days and close to home! 

Then I got all my expenses sorted out, which was good, since I typically leave it hanging around for a week or so. I chatted with my boss, which is always good for updates, but it may involve another short trip. 

I finished another book, and I managed to go through THREE magazines, which are now sitting in the recycling bin. And I have stories to share about it all! Of course I do! 

First, let me share one more item that has been on the Pony Express for a while. I had purchased a book from a used bookstore many months ago, and a friend of mine picked it up, but our paths never connected, and if they did, the book was not with her. 

We met up on the night I drove up north, had dinner together, and I got my book. 

My book finally arrived by Pony Express.

By the way -- Happy Halloween. I have my Halloween socks on today in honor of the day! 

Halloween socks!!!!

I told you about participating in the Virtual Speed Puzzling event that happened on the day I had to leave. I really, really wanted to stay, but it would have made me much later and more driving in the dark, so I pushed the time as far as I could. I participated for one hour, and then I left. 

This was the status of the 500-piece puzzle after one hour. 

The puzzle status after one hour

When I got home from the trip, I had time on my hands, so I decided to time myself to see how long it would take to finish the puzzle. 

This was how much I got done in the next hour. It's certainly different working to the clock. I was struggling with those green bits where the hummingbirds are, and then I said to myself, "Don't panic - just look for a connection," and I did, and then the pieces flew together. OK—they didn't fly, but I started to see the color patterns more easily. 

The puzzle status after two hours

I had to chuckle, because I had heard someone, somewhere mention the topic of FUR in puzzles. Some people start with the fur, and some people leave it to the last. I guess I'm one of those who leave it to the last!!! I got an even bigger laugh when I was comparing notes with my SIL, who happens to be working on a puzzle with multiple cats in it. All the pieces around the cats were done, but there was a bit of an opening where the cats were! 

It took me 36 minutes to assemble that darn cat. That's just slightly under the time of the person who completed the puzzle in just over 41 minutes!!!!

The puzzle is complete!

So my unofficial time was 2:36:33!!! I am tempted to take it apart and redo it, but I think I'll wait a bit. I might do that several times, and then I can give this one away. At this point in my life, I think I'll be happy to put jigsaw puzzles together, but I'm not interested in speed puzzling. I have another virtual event today, and I suspect it'll have a Halloween puzzle. So we'll see how that goes since I don't have to go anywhere. It's also a 500-piece puzzle, still sealed in its plastic cover. It's a family and friends event, so very casual, and with helpers for the others, I'm sure it'll go fast. 

This is the book I finished yesterday. It's a short read—five short stories, but they interconnect. At first, I didn't really know what to make of it, but it has some VERY important lessons. The book is called "What You Are Looking For Is in the Library" by Michiko Aoyanna. 

A fast but excellent read

It's about life and finding your passion. It's also about finding solutions to problems in life that feel overwhelming. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it's a good read. If something in your life isn't the way you want, there are ways to fix it!!! Every retired man without a hobby should read the final story. It's quite an eye-opener- maybe not for us with hobbies, but for them, whose lives were attached to a job where they were someone. Now they are retired and are a nobody! 

It truly is a fascinating read. But two sentences from the last story stuck with me. 

"Things happen as a result of our points of connection, in the past, and in the future." 

I could go on and on about this sentence, but if you are a person who doesn't connect with someone, even the person in line at Tim's, or the teller at the bank, or the cashier at the store, you are missing out on some potentially important connections. If we shop online, we lose a huge part of society!!! -- the connections of society!!!

Here's the second sentence: "Whenever people interact, that is being part of society. And the things that happen as a result of these points of contact exist in the past and the future."

We are all connected, and if we don't interact with others, we have nothing!!! So make sure you have your connections, and don't be afraid to take time to stay connected!!!

Better yet, read the book! 

I took some pictures when I was out walking the girls yesterday. The way the sun hit the trees at the end of the street was stunning. It's like an explosion of color. 

The fall leaves are still hanging on!!!

And this one tree was amazingly spectacular. It almost looked like the tree was on fire!!!

A blaze of color

I was on the sofa reading my book, and the girls were hanging out next to me on the floor. This is about as close as they get to sleeping together. 

MOM -- we love you!!!!

But Lexi also likes to sleep in her raised bed, and I love when she puts her head on the side. 

MOM - I'm so exhausted! 

Murphy just loves playing in the leaves in the backyard, and there is huge evidence of that in the house. I swept the floor in the morning, and by lunchtime, it was covered with leaves. Am I freaking out? Nope --- I don't care - it's a few leaves. I'll sweep again today, but what's the point of sweeping every time she comes in? I'll get myself in a tizzy for no reason! 

Murphy enjoying the fall leaves

DH is away for a couple of days, and Miss Lexi is missing her Dad bad. She hung around me at the kitchen table, looking for attention. He never gives her attention, so I don't know why she expected to get any from me!!!!

MOM -- where's my Dad????

We had also spotted some beautiful flowers on the walk. 

Flowers still beautiful

What's amazing is that they are still very perfect. I guess we call these the late bloomers! 

The rose is perfect!!!

So are these flowers

As I was unpacking, I remembered that I purchased this fabric, which will give me another option for My Kinda Town. Who knew there were so many fabrics in this style? I now have enough to finish the remaining five blocks. 

Fabric for My Kinda Town backgrounds

I won't be giving you a blow-by-blow of all the magazines I go through, but some of this older stuff is fun, especially if you lived through that era, and if you didn't, you can see where things came from. 

My next issue jumps to Fall/Winter of 1987, and now the cost is $4.75 per issue. This was the 12th issue of Quiltmaker. 

Fall/Winter 1987

The magazine started out as being published twice a year, but by 1990 it had gone to four times a year. Then at some point, it went to 6 issues a year, and now it's back to 4 issues a year. This issue is the 12th issue of the magazine, and I checked - the most recent issue of Quiltmaker is number 226. OK -- so I'm a nut about numbers. I can't help it! 

I love the instructions page, which still has the good instructions for pressing, and includes instructions for hand and machine piecing and appliqué. The first issue (1983) did as well. But still nothing about machine quilting.  

Notice, though, in the machine piecing that they are still talking about templates!!!! 

Hand appliqué had a seam allowance. 

While machine appliqué was all about raw edge! 

I find it fascinating to go back in time to read how things evolved. Yes—wouldn't it be fascinating to make a book from all these nuggets of information in the magazines? But you know what? I'll leave that to someone else! Notice: I did not propose taking that on!!! What do I care once I stop quilting - there are probably dozens of copies of these magazines around, and I'll leave it to someone else to discover and write! 

I'm writing about it here, and that's good enough for me. 

I discovered a ton of other very interesting information, but I don't have time for it today. 

I take a lot of pictures and keep the magazines by the computer so I can refer back to them as I write the blog. Then they will go in the recycling bin. I'm not even sad! But I do feel like this information needs to be documented, and since I am doing that here, I can be happy. 

As I go through the magazines, I see the myths, rationale, and reasons why certain things are done the way they are today. And that makes my little heart happy. I love to know why, and these magazines, which were the predominant teaching tools back in the day, are the reason why! 

What bugs me to no end is when you ask someone, "Why do you do it that way?" and they respond, "Because we've always done it that way!" 

I found that over and over again in my dealings with any guild, and frankly, it would drive me mad. Actually, that is one of the reasons I won't be part of a guild in the future - ever. People didn't like what was happening, yet certain people could not break out of the mold. If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen! And I did, and I have ZERO regrets!!!

I'm happy to report that my aunt is now completely out of her house!! She will have to bunk with family until her new place is complete, which has been pushed back. But that's OK—she has a roof over her head, a nice place to stay, and company! 

But here's one thing I have learned from personal experience, and this involved moving family members. If you store things on your property for your children, they are the ones who take the longest to remove them. And I would bet part of that is because they don't know what to do with their things, and they don't have time or whatever. 

So here's my advice - if you are storing things for your kids or you have things that you think your kids want, deal with it NOW. Don't deal with it during a stressful time like the actual move, because they will NEVER work at the speed you want them to. Except for a few boxes, and I mean very few (less than five shipping boxes), M has dealt with everything in our house. I'm OK to store them temporarily, and trust me, the day we decide to downsize, I don't care where she lives, but those will be in UPS boxes on their way to her house. 

Well, on that note, I need to start tackling the mess that is Studio B. I still have three days of events to prep for (mostly packing) and a Facebook Live, which I have to rearrange Studio B to film and to make the samples. So it won't be until early December that I can really dive in and fix things up. But I can at least put away the things I no longer need, and I must keep working on the Visual To-Do list and the samples for the classes. 

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Done, done, and DONE!!!

Yep—all three presentations are ready to go. All the sewing was completed, the pictures were loaded and sorted, the reminder emails went out, and all is good in the teaching world. 

It was a fun day, and it was so nice to just sit and sew. I had to take pictures, mind you, but still, it was fun to listen to my audiobook and sew. I had to backtrack a lot because I missed part of the storyline. I really need to connect my new noise-canceling headphones. The open earbuds suck for listening to audiobooks while sewing. 

I can't even begin to imagine listening to a book with a speaker! When you are moving around all the time, and the noise of a sewing machine - how the heck would you even hear? 

While lots was accomplished, nothing is available to share with you, but after today, I can share! So fun to start (legitimately) several new projects! I have tons of UFOs to finish, and I had better get my act together and spend some time on those as well. 

Remember the striped fabric I chatted about the other day? Well, here is a picture of the two new ones added to the bucket with the previous ones I purchased! 

Striped fabrics

You can make a very cool quilt with ONE striped fabric, including these. I've made it multiple times. Heck -- I've done an entire series of quilts with striped fabric. I could almost have a trunk show. 

Sigh -- why have one when you can have many! I actually have a wall hanging that I made using one of these batik strips. I still need to do some machine embroidery on the quilt top, and I really need to finish it! 

As I was reassembling the sewing tables for Studio B, I had a chuckle. Remember the days when we thought it was acceptable to put the power bars on the floor? Whose silly idea was that? I'm very happy to have them on the table (yes—it might look a bit messier), but it makes it easier to access the cords. I'll never put the power source on the floor again. 

My power tower ON  the table

I'm surprised that those power towers still work. I have three of them, and the two in Studio B seem to get knocked on the floor every once in a while. The housing is cheap plastic, and I swear one day they are going to stop working. So I try to be careful, but it doesn't always work. 

There is no other way to say this except that I am a dolt! Remember my flying geese for the two winter quilts? Yesterday, while sewing, I decided to use them as enders and leaders. And I was making very good progress. 

Progress on the flying geese

Some time after dinner, I realized I made TWICE as many as I needed! Seriously?? I have no idea what happened. WAIT -- I know what happened. I looked at the cutting instructions, and it said to cut 44 of the little white squares for the corners. So I made the silly assumption that I should double that and make 88 flying geese. In fact, I only need 22 per quilt. I now have extras! 

We had a meeting about our Katimavik 50th reunion, and it was so nice to see a new face I haven't seen in 50 years. WOW -- but we have located at least one other person, and they are deceased. How is that possible? The ratio of the living to the dead is very high! 

Several of us had tried to find a particular person, but her name didn't show up in any online searches. Someone ran her name through Ancestry and POOF—there she was. And then, of course, her name now pops up in the online searches. Perhaps we are missing the others the same way. Her obit was listed in her maiden name. I don't understand how the silly internet works. 

I may have to retire my shorts in the morning—it is getting cooler, and I'm quite happy about that. I don't mind the heat, but I'm not a fan of the wicked humidity we sometimes get. The one thing I will say is I'm thrilled that we installed those ceiling fans, and I often use them at night to recirculate the air in the room. They are so quiet, you do not even know they are working. 

Here's a blast from the past. When I was going through that box of memorabilia looking for stuff on Katimavik, I spotted this autograph book. Did you have autograph books? Of course, it was all the rage when I was young, and my grandmother gave this to me. 

My autograph book

I took a picture of a couple of the entries! How fun to have their handwriting and dates in my book. 

My grandmother

This is one from my great-grandmother. I was in my teens, or was it my early 20s, when she passed. 

Great grandmother

And oh my—it appears I had a nickname I don't remember from high school. 

A friend

Yep --- I was a blusher, and well, I guess I still blush. Perhaps not as bad! 

Remember the signs on the forest indicating the path was going to be regraded?

Work on the forest path is upcoming.

Well, look what got placed at the entrance to the path. 

Serious equipment to fix the path - at last! 

And one more piece of equipment was dropped off later in the day. I suspect they'll rip it up next week. This is much more substantial than dropping a blade and grading it. Hmmm --- what can we expect? 

But as I chatted with a neighbor in the morning, we watched the dump truck and a very long trailer back down our street and around the bend. Let's say the driver was pretty experienced, as he whizzed around the corner with that large trailer like it was nothing. We were very impressed. 

I had to do some pond maintenance in the morning - cleaning the filter. I grabbed a handful of muck from the filter and threw it. Of course I did, and it went SPLAT on the gazebo post. All that open space, and I had to hit the post! Let's just say that I was never good at playing baseball!! I had to wash it off with the hose. 

Seriously??? I hit the post with the muck? 

Of course, my supervisor was sitting there watching me and wasn't very impressed with how silly I was. Actually, she was probably laughing her head off! 

OH MOM -- you are so silly.

I've decided to take Murphy for shorter walks, but twice as many. That breaks up the physical walking for her, and she loves to go for a walk, so she is happy to go for more walks in the day. 

It is so challenging to see a person or a pet struggle. Yesterday was the first day she didn't come to Studio B while I worked. It's so hard to know what to do for her. I'm sure she is uncomfortable or perhaps even in pain. I must see if I can get her some medication without the drowsy effect to help her feel more comfortable. 

We will just keep loving her and hoping we still have lots of time to spend with her. I'm sharing this with you because I don't want it to be a shock to anyone, and I don't want to pretend that all is OK when it's not. She may surprise us all and live for many years, and she is far from death. But slowing down. 

She has a new routine and doesn't want to be left alone on the ground floor at night. So I help her up the stairs and lift her onto the bed, where we have some cuddles, and then she is happy to sleep on the floor for the night. I have to fetch her in the morning for her walk, as I think she doesn't trust herself on the stairs to come down. 

I have some travel coming up, and I'm a bit worried about it all. DH won't provide her with the same care as I do, and I hope she is going to be OK. I'm even contemplating cutting my quilt retreat short, as I have to be away the following week for work, and two weeks in a row away might be more than she can handle. 

The things we do for our pets!

The other day we had chatted about how smart squirrels are, and if you haven't watched Mark Roper's videos on the mazes he makes for the squirrels in his backyard, you should check them out. In the past, a squirrel would never think of entering our backyard. Yesterday, I spotted one on the deck just having a grand old time doing something! Lexi doesn't hear so well anymore, and Murphy doesn't move so well, and the squirrels have figured that out. I may need another guard dog! 

I promise there will be loads of FUN things tomorrow as you get to see my homework for THREE of the new projects. I had to switch a couple of classes around, which meant three new projects started today. That is only a one-time situation - thankfully, as it was a challenge to get all the work done!

Oh -- and we have a surprise guest coming tomorrow! 

Anyway, it's time to get moving!!! Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Have you ever been in a bank robbery?

That would be a good question to use for those icebreakers. You know - the one that asks you to write something about you that no one knows! Wait for the story!

Maybe I'll consider some container gardening next year. Cherry tomatoes and maybe cucumber. I'll probably need to put that on my calendar because next spring I'll be excited about something else and forget until it's too late. 

But I agree, gardening and yard work are as hard or as easy as you want them to be. We went the easy route with everything being a perennial, no annuals and replanting for me. We have flowering shrubs for most of the summer, and I would love to take over the front boulevard with perennial flowers that require minimal work but attract butterflies. We get butterflies, but not a ton. 

And I have room for one more shrub in the backyard, and I was thinking of a lilac. I must put my thinking cap on for that. 

But what we have does NOT require watering beyond what we get from rain, and really the only maintenance is keeping the weeds down, which isn't a big deal, and for me, that's about one hour per week over the summer. I can deal with that. When the garden gets to be too much work, I'm not enjoying it. That's me -- I know others love it, but not me. 

As a kid, I spent countless hours hoeing hundreds of trees to build a hedge that eventually saved the house (DARN!!!) from the tornado that flattened part of the family farm. And countless hours planting, weeding, and harvesting potatoes and every other conceivable vegetable you can imagine. Should I even mention the hours spent shelling peas, cutting beans, husking corn, etc. And let's not forget the hours of picking fruit, both wild and domestic. I've done my time with gardening. 

I went to get a manicure yesterday. Just in case there are any close-ups of my fingernails today. I really should go once a month, just to tidy them up. I am not a fan of nail polish, but I do get a clear coat after they tidy them up. I honestly don't know how people can keep their nails looking so good. If I get regular polish in any color, it is scratched or chipped by the time I get home. And then it looks hideous. I could get gel or shellac or whatever the materials are today, but that just ruins my nails underneath. I tried it once and was shocked at the condition of my nail beds after the gel was removed.  

And then you have the decorative nails. They look spectacular, but like funky eyeglasses, I focus on the nails or glasses instead of what the person is saying. I want people to look at my samples, NOT my nails or my eyeglasses. Again --- personal opinion. 

I knew yesterday was going to be "fun" as I set out to get the room set up for the Facebook Live TODAY. Four cameras and my computer are involved, and they all have to be connected to one another through the MAGIC switchbox. 

I hoped to use the areas where my sewing machines sit. I removed all the T-shirts from the temporary design walls and then set up the main camera. DRAT --- I needed a wider angle than this space allowed.  

This area is too small.

So --- I had to set it up in the area where those "current project" tables are sitting. Yep—all that crap on the two tables and a few tubs underneath had to be moved. 

All this had to be moved.

Well, that wasn't exactly a fun task. Let's just say I got a lot of steps in yesterday, and I didn't even go for a walk. But this might be a good opportunity to sort it out before I put it all back and make some decisions. Perhaps I can find a few hidey holes in a closet or on a shelf to make some of that disappear. Wouldn't it be nice if there was NOTHING on those tables? I don't think I can cull it that much, but it's time for an intervention. 

Although this is from a different angle, this is what that area looks like. 

The "film studio"

Let me say that bagging and labeling all the cables was BRILLIANT. It took no time at all to set everything up, and since I've done it a few times, it was super easy. The hardest part was finding the spot to set things up. No equipment or cables were missing - it was a dream. And this is why we declutter, organize, sort, or whatever you want to call it. When I got the new power cord for the switch box, it also went into this bag and was waiting for me. 

Everything was bagged and tagged per camera.

My samples are out, and I have all the supplies I need. I have a few things to set up this morning, and there is one small sample I've been meaning to make, but I didn't, so that is a job for this morning. 

I started rearranging things back in order on the work tables because I'm running out of room with everything turned upside down. Once today is done, I just need my work tables back, and the rest can stay until next week. 

One more presentation is mostly done, but I have a bit of sewing to do first. Once the pictures are in the slide presentation, it's pretty easy to put them in the correct order. Then I go through it at least twice to ensure that the flow is right and to add anything I may have missed. Actually, I had to prep two presentations for the one class because one presentation is about the technique and one is for the pattern. I should have had that technique presentation done years ago, but I always fudged it. Now I'm actually making the presentation, so I won't have to do it again. I can pull the slides whenever I need them. 

And YES—all the pictures and the presentation are in well-organized file folders, so they are easy to find. 

I have one presentation I haven't started, but I hope to get working on it later today, or I might finish this one completely and then focus on the final one tomorrow. I've pulled some fabric this morning, and that is the holdup. What color am I going to make this quilt? 

While I appreciate that Halloween stuff has been in stores for months (hard to believe), I saw this on my walk. OH -- I guess I did go for a walk when I went to the nail salon, which just happened to be in the same parking lot as the thrift store, and it was senior's day. What happens on seniors' day at the thrift store? That information stays at the thrift store! 

Eager Halloween decorators

As I walked the girls in the morning, I spotted this. Again—someone just dumped this pile of furniture at the curb. It is NOT garbage day today, but recycling day. We used to have big garbage day once or twice a year, but now people seem to think it's big garbage day any day of the week. What does the city say about this? 

More big garbage piled at the curb

Look at this pretty girl! She's so beautiful and desperately needs grooming or at least a bath. I'm not sure that she can handle going to the groomer. I might have to break down and take her to one of those self-serve dog wash places. And I could get clippers and clip her myself. The last time she went to the groomer, she had leg spasms when she got home. I think the stress of being there and standing for so long wasn't for her. 

MOM - I know I'm pretty! 

And when you're hot, you just step into the pool to cool your legs and have a drink. What a silly girl. 

MOM - I'm cooling down

Here's that puzzle I chatted about yesterday. The one that belonged to my grandfather, and I suspect he gave it to my Dad, although Dad had zero recollection of it. I have no idea how old it is; there are no indications on the box, but I'd say it's from the 1940s or 1950s. I can't find anything about the Windsor Jigsaw puzzle company. All my searches lead to Windsor Castle. By the way, did you see that handsome young prince on his first day of school? It's hard to believe he is 13. 

My vintage puzzle

The picture is called Lake Josephine, which is located in Minnesota. 

The puzzle name

There are other titles, but again, searching for them online provides no further information. WAIT  - I did NOT ask the question correctly. I asked again ( I just use a search engine; I do NOT use AI). The Windsor puzzle brand started production in 1932. During the depression - imagine that. OMG—I did a more in-depth search (it's all about what you ask and how you ask it). I don't have time to post it all, but this puzzle was published in the 1940s!!! Pretty good guess. My Dad was born in 1933. 

Other titles in the series

This is a note on the inside of the lid in my grandfather's handwriting. I have no idea what he means - some pieces are short on top. Now I have to put it together to understand. 

A note from my Grandpa

But look at the pieces! They are all irregular. And the colors are so dull. It should be interesting, but not on my radar at the moment. I will keep this one. Not sure if M will want it someday, but since she likes puzzles, it might be a fun one to keep. 

The pieces of the puzzle

And I have this folder of random photos, and I should start posting some of them. A while back, I was digging through my two boxes of crap that I've carried with me since high school. And a few other things got put in the boxes along the way. 

Sadly, I didn't keep the date on this article, but it was in the mid-1980s. I was working for the Bank of Montreal at the time, and my boss and I had these two desks in the corner of that huge main bank branch off Place D'Armes. This is in the (at the time) head office of the Bank of Montreal. I did NOT work for the branch, but for another division, but we were overflow and sat in a corner of the main branch. 

We had smoky glass dividers to keep us separate from the branch, and this branch is HUGE. It's one of those old bank buildings with very high ceilings and lots of columns. 

I sat with my bank to the branch, and I remember turning around after hearing some commotion, and it was over in two minutes. Yikes!!! That was pretty scary, but we didn't even have time to register what was happening until it was over. 

So, yes, we were in the same building as the bank robbery, but we weren't close and definitely weren't the target. 

I was at this same desk when I heard the news that the Challenger exploded (1986). 

This was a cute little corner because we had our own private bathroom. Yep—there was a bathroom right beside my boss's desk, and the ladies in our department (around the corner) and the two of us used it. No one else! It was great. My boss spent a lot of time in there as she was also heavily made up! 

The things you remember. I don't need that article, but it did trigger loads of memories. 

OK—here are the links where you can watch the Facebook Live if you are interested. On Facebook, this is the link. 

And here is the YouTube link. OMG -- there's a countdown clock. 7 hours and some minutes to go!

If you open those pages BEFORE 3 PM EST, you will need to REFRESH the page to start the live stream. We typically go live right at 3 PM on the dot, so that's when you should refresh. 

Even if you are not in the market for a new machine and even if you are NOT a PFAFF person, it might be fun to check it out and see what all the fuss is about! LOADS of new technology to share! 

And on that note, I'm out of here. I have lots to get done today, and it's time to get started. 

It's going to be a fabulous day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Family and true friends are important!!

Well, it wasn't a productive day in terms of visual things to look at, but it was a very productive day for catching up with family. I have a cousin who has recently moved to Toronto, and we spent the afternoon together having a great chat that we haven't had in a long time. It was beautiful outside, so we spent the day visiting in the backyard. 

Speaking of family, this photo has been sitting in my random photo folder for a while. This is my small family. The photo was taken at my older brother's wedding in 1979. I guess we are a bit of an anomaly, or maybe it was the norm at the time, but there were no divorces or remarriages then. Come to think of it, there was only one divorce, and that was me! 

Two sets of grandparents in the front row and my parents and their three kids and two spouses in the back. OH my gosh -- we all look so young!! It's funny how we age, and we just don't see it! I think that is the ONLY picture of everyone together. My grandfather on the left passed away shortly after that picture was taken. 

My first DH on the extreme right. I won't go into the whole story, but although we haven't been together in a very long time, we still chat or send messages from time to time. We were so young and had no clue what we were doing getting married. 

If we were to take a similar picture today with all the family, which will NEVER happen, but if we did. There would be the parents, my older brother and his wife (no kids), me and DH (one child, now married with no children), and my younger brother and his wife (two kids, both with girlfriends). We are a small family. 

I spent some time in the garden yesterday. I don't know what happened, but I'm getting a lot of silly little weeds that are growing, well, like weeds. They are too many and too small to handpick, so I need to dig out the hoe. I hand-tilled this small area by the pond pump, and it doesn't get much sun, so the ground is very clay-like and wet. 

Who do you think plunked themselves in that spot before I could even get a bag of mulch in place? 

MOM - I like the cool earth on my butt! 

But she was having fun with her stuffie, and that's all that counts. 

MOM - I love my outdoor stuffie

I did walk them both to the grocery store again. I didn't need much, so I can manage the lighter weight and the two leashes. I could always use my backpack, and then I'd have two hands for two leashes. Murphy doesn't pull nearly as much as she used to, so walking them is almost pleasant. 

I read quite a bit as I'm attempting to get through this pile of books, both in hard copy and in digital form. I'm not overdoing it - my brain would explode if I did. So I'm taking it one step at a time. I'm almost finished with another audiobook called "Know My Name" by Chanel Miller. It's interesting how to describe what the book is about. Do you say it's about sexual abuse? Or is it about being a victim? Is it about making things right? Is it about getting justice? Or maybe even making people aware? 

Whatever theme you want to call it, it's absolutely despicable that she had to fight for everything in this book. It's despicable how differently victims of abuse are treated compared to the abuser. It's despicable how the abuser and his family's status in life is more important than the victim and her family. I'm using his and her like that because the abuser is often the male person in the relationship. 

I'm excited about how Chanel worked through all the crap the court system and the world threw at her. I'm so proud of how strong she was and how hard she fought. 

But it saddens me to no end to know that, with the current political situation, this type of scenario is almost being made the norm, and that it's just part of daily life to abuse a woman. That is scary, and currently there doesn't seem to be anyone strong enough to dig us out of that hole. This is a step backward. Yet it is shocking to see women supporting certain behaviors. I wonder if they would change their tune if it were themselves, or a close family member, or a close friend who became a victim. Would men's perspective change if it was their daughter who was raped?  

It is long (12 hours) and read by the author. Her voice is very monotone, and I suspect that is deliberate. It sets the stage for what she endured. I was tempted multiple times to speed it up, but I didn't. I wanted to ensure I heard everything she had to say. 

I hope the next book is going to be happier! 

I managed to get some cutting done. I have three projects to prep for next weekend, and, well, I need to get to work. I'm almost finished with one of them and starting to work on the other two. It's always exciting to start a new project - what fabrics to pick. Do I use scraps or not? 

Cutting fabric for a new project

The old me would have hopped in the car to get something I needed. The new me said—think it over and weigh the options. Find SOMETHING in the stash and use that! And I did! 

As I work, I'm taking a lot of pictures, and they are getting sorted into the appropriate folder for a presentation. 

Yikes—this picture did NOT turn out well at all. I was picking some fabrics and found the remains of a fat quarter. When I opened it up, I could see that it has sections cut out, but look at that big white patch!!! That is faded!!! This must have happened at the store (wherever that was) because my fabric is stored in a dark room. But what the heck? Why would I have bought it? I probably just grabbed it and didn't look at the other side of the folded fat quarter. 

A major fade on a piece of fabric

I'm sure we have all had situations in our lives with people we thought were our friends, only to find out they weren't. I've had one major incident in my life, and even though I have forgiven them (I hope I have), I will NEVER forget what happened. It was traumatic. I don't need to go into details here. 

There were two people involved. OK - there were more than two people involved, but two people were what I considered my closest and best friends. I have run into one or more of these "friends" on the rare occasion - yep - a bit awkward. And I will confess that I have considered (albeit for a very fleeting second) whether I wanted to welcome one of them back into my circle of friends, and then I read these words of wisdom, and I'm OK with things the way they are. 

These wise words say it all. 

And sadly, the same needs to be said about family. I'm pretty sure that we all have some family member who has messed things up badly. Yes—you want to be the fixer, but seriously? They don't deserve our time. Let it go!!! And I have! 

I laugh at this one because this has happened. When I randomly met one person in particular from that incident, she literally wanted to be somewhere else. And once in the grocery store, she did avoid me. And you know what? It hurt at first, but I'm over it. Yes—it was a loss for me, but if your friends aren't loyal, they don't need to be part of my life. Personally, I think it was a loss for the one person who had to choose! 

There were also people on the periphery of the situation who I don't think ever realized what happened, and they have drifted away. That part makes me sad because they did nothing but were caught in a mess. It's like the friends of a divorced couple -- who do you have allegiance to? You can't be friends with both sides. 

Enough about all that doom and gloom. Life is great—I've moved on. They and their "friends" have moved on. All is good in the world. 

It's Monday sewing, and I have to get to work on tidying up Studio B and prepping it for the Facebook Live on Wednesday for the PFAFF creative icon 3. Here is the link to join. And you can also watch it on YouTube if you don't use Facebook.

I may not have linked the exact spot to see the livestream, but it's somewhere on those pages, and if you are set up on that page, you will need to REFRESH at 3 PM when it starts. The link doesn't just start. Refresh, and all should be good.  

And on that note - it's time to get the day started!!!

It's a wonderful day today!!! I'm happy to be alive!!!

Ciao!!!!