It's a BIG news kind of day!

 ACK --- that's why pictures tell a thousand words! To clarify the pressing, here are the tips again. 

Here are a few tips

• Press the just-sewn seam from the back to soften the fibers and make them more malleable. 
• Use your finger before pressing (with the steam) to get the fabric going in the correct direction. 
• Use STEAM WISELY (I ALWAYS press with steam). 
• I put a towel on my ironing board for better grip. 
• Press from the FRONT, never the back. 
• I use a regular inexpensive iron. 

Step one is to warm up the fabric, so take the two pieces you just stitched together and place the iron on the seam. Since you haven't unfolded the fabric, you are technically "pressing" from the back, but really, you're just heating the fabric to make it softer and easier to fold over when you press. This is especially important for those hard-to-press areas, like the tips of flying geese. So even when you have to press back against a lot of seams, pre-warming the fabric can make a huge difference. 

Sorry for that confusion. I should actually clarify all those steps. Let me attempt to take some photos today because pressing is very important. 

It's amazing how things cross your path when you are in the midst of some situation. Read number three!! Isn't that what I talked about yesterday? I didn't even write my email in anger because what is the point? It was sent to me in anger, but if I retaliate in anger, that gets us nowhere. Then, as I thought about it over the weekend, it became such a trivial thing, and I had the choice to let it go, which I did. No regrets about that, and I should try to do that more often! 

Number Three is VERY important.

Here is another word of wisdom which fits in with my retreat planning. While numbers 7 and 8 are very valid, number nine is too. I have a few small things in a container that need to be fixed - some sewing and some not. So those are going with me to the retreat to fix. 

Number nine—make a list and get fixing!

Our big news of the day is this. Bear was back to sitting in the window guarding the house. And he did a great job. The other dogs were running to his side every time he barked, which was about every 20 minutes. DH was on the phone, and I was trying to keep the girls quiet. Let's just say that it was a crazy day with the new guard on duty! 

GIRLS -- be alert! People are walking outside the house!!!

And when I got up this morning, I had a bit of a panic attack. I could NOT find him. Where the heck did he go? Because he usually sleeps on top of the duvet. OH -- here he was, right in the middle of the bed, UNDER the duvet. That little devil!!!

And when he wasn't in the window, he was in DH's office, asleep in his bed. 

Grandma -- I'm supervising Grandpa!

Typically, our girls don't care what's happening outside these days. But both were quite alert to what was happening outside because of Bear!

Lexi -- you are not standing up tall enough! 

And Lexi is NOT leaving anything in her dish because if she does, Bear will eat it. And of course, Murphy has to inspect all food dishes once they are empty and make sure they're actually empty!

Mom - just to confirm - Lexi ate all her food. I licked the empty bowl to ensure no crumbs remained.

These girls and the boy are very helpful in getting things done in the house! I swear, with all their antics last night and trying to get them all fed, it took me at least an hour to eat my salad!

There are now two things that I am missing in Studio B. One is a bright project (Jackqueline de Jonge)  -- I have the pattern, but where is the project box? And there is a small cushion that I embroidered. I was going to change the way it went together, and can I find that? Nope! We need a search intervention! I have a couple of other spots to check. 

But while I was checking, I did discover TWO relatively large areas in the storage closets, and I'm going to fill them with things that were on those current project tables. 

While I was looking for that, I spotted this box. It's another vintage jigsaw puzzle from my Grandmother. 

Vintage jigsaw box from my grandma

Actually, there are no jigsaw pieces in the box. No idea where they went, but the box contains a cathedral window project my Grandmother started. Alas, I've had it for years, and it's nowhere near finished. 

No traditional puzzle pieces - the bits for a cathedral window quilt instead

There's even more great news. I accomplished a lot of sewing during Monday Sewing, and I won't share it with you until next week. 

And there's even more news! This quilt got quilted. It's been so long since I quilted anything; I wondered if I would remember all the steps. But yes - it all came back! I've done so many with the computer that it's just like riding a bike - you don't forget. The magnets worked just great, but I don't think I loaded the quilt properly - well, the way I put the magnets on. I must watch a video to see how others do it. It felt so loose compared to what I typically do, but it was fine and perfectly even at the bottom. The leader could be rolled tighter, too. But you know what? It works, and I hope to get a customer quilt done today. 

Community project quilt - done

That quilt is part of the 11 quilts I am doing as a favor. I think there are four more, and I dug out the fabric to make the scrappy backing for the next one. Actually, an idea just popped into my head for my scrap class, so I must write that down before I forget it! 

I have a wee technical issue. Of course I do. I was going to get to work on some machine embroidery designs, but they are on a CD, and I need to transfer them to my computer. I dug out my portable CD drive and attached it to my Windows 11 computer. The disk appears in the file directory for a second, then disappears.  

I tried my desktop - no go. I could see the CD drive and tried to open it, but it said it couldn't. Then I dug out my old Windows 10 laptop; it went into hibernation mode, and I couldn't get it working again. 

I have no idea what the problem is, so I'm off to the library this morning to see if they have a CD drive I can use. And this should be a lesson to me—get ALL your files off digital CDs and disks and onto a hard disk. 

Another one of my tasks for the year may have just moved up the priority list! 

External CD drive

We had our very own film premiere at the house last night. By the way, it's the Toronto Film Festival this week, and over 250 films are premiering. M and Yagana came over, and we got to see the wedding video. We had seen the trailer a while back, but not the full video. WOW—the photography crew did an amazing job, and there were so many drone shots. Who knew there was even a drone at the wedding? No clue. 

The premiere of Earth Meets Water.

I hope I got the name correct. I'll try to get a screenshot of the title and more information tomorrow. Running short on time. 

It is so fun to go back and relive that very happy day, and I think M must look at it every day. Which was pretty obvious from Bear's reaction to the video. Bear had a star role in the film, but he didn't care! He looked so handsome in his white shirt and green bow tie that Grandma made for him! 

MOM - not again!! 

And of course, there are tons of photos, so I must go through them and pick out a couple of my favorites. That is going to be a very hard task because there are so many. 

Upon reviewing the photos and watching the video, we all commented on how nice it was to have such a small, intimate wedding. Everyone got to chat to everyone else, and it was so beautiful. The couple is so in love and so happy, which makes me happy. We got to see some behind-the-scenes candid moments with the bride and groom. Things I didn't know happened! But so beautiful. 

And the weather that day? It was literally the most perfect day I could imagine. Never mind that the beach at Wickinnish Inn is absolutely stunning. But then so were the bride and groom!

Here's one last picture - this was how Bear took control of the household pretty much as soon as he got up yesterday. I got his stairs out of the closet so he could go up and down in the big dog bed in the window, and he definitely told the neighborhood that he was back!!!

ATTENTION - I am back, and I am in charge! 

And yes, M is staying with Yagana. It's like when I go home - I no longer stay with my parents, and that's a good thing. While we love our parents, who wants to be with them 100% of the time? So I totally get that she stays with her longtime friend - our adopted daughter! 

I'm going to be a bit late getting to the gym and I even contemplated not going. But I must! I didn't have a great sleep - and definitely not long enough- but when my alarm woke me up, I knew I wasn't going to go back to sleep. So I might as well go and get that done, and I can have a nap this afternoon. 

I see that my Google Drive is FULL, and I have 29 days in which to clear out photos or email, or I'm in big trouble. So I guess I'll be doing that today. Wait—I have to take the car in to get a slow-leaking tire fixed, so if I take my laptop, I could do some cleaning then! Good plan. 

On that note, I'm out of here!!!

I could say, "Have a great day," or I could say, "Today is going to be a wonderful day." But what if I say this? "I choose to make today a wonderful day!!!!"

Which statement is the most powerful and puts me in control? And if something happens, only I can choose how I react to make the day good or bad! 

Ciao!!!!

A special wedding gift

I've been keeping a secret for months—OK, two months —and now it's time to share what I did. The only reason I kept it a secret was that I wanted to share all the details at once, and I just didn't have time to make that happen. 

As you know, M and Dillon were married on June 11, and my - how quickly time marches on. It's almost one month since that special day. 

It was about four weeks before the wedding, and I got this ridiculous idea that I could make them a special gift. Let me rephrase that - I wouldn't make the special gift, but I would facilitate it being made. 

Let's just say that I married my love of hobbies with this one. As you know, I have fallen big time into the world of jigsaw puzzles. It used to be a special thing to do at Christmas, but now? It's an everyday occurrence. Well, not quite, but I love doing them. And the more I chat to people, the more I realize that it's a huge deal. Many people do jigsaw puzzles. 

I had tossed this idea around much, much earlier, but just for fun. What if I made a commemorative jigsaw puzzle for the happy couple? Could I pull that off in four weeks? 

I was totally at the mercy of others, but let's see what happens. I sent the initial request to my friend Cynthia Frenette, an artist who lives in Nanoose Bay, BC, on the island, to see if she was up to the challenge. I also had to get in touch with a puzzle-making company before she would start. I contacted TheOccurence, which is located in Merrickville, Ontario, on the same day. 

Prices were agreed upon, and I passed all kinds of information about the couple to Cynthia and let her run loose with it. 

I also told the two contacts that it was my fault for leaving this so late, and if it didn't work out to get the puzzle to BC by the wedding, I was OK with that. Cynthia designs puzzles for other companies (this link only shows a few of her puzzles - she also just won the BC Ferry competition for The Villager puzzle company), so I knew she was up to the task. I got the preliminary sketch about 10 days after I gave her the ideas. She also had access to their IG accounts, and Dillon is constantly posting pictures. I think the picture of Cynthia's puzzle for BC Ferry was only on IG, and I don't have time this morning to find it. I'll let you know when it's available. 

When I saw the sketch, I was thrilled!!!! 

So I gave the go-ahead, and she finished the artwork. In the meantime, I was in touch with Brigitte at TheOccurence, so they could be prepared. Actually, I was late in contacting her, and I apologized and said that if it can't be done, I'm OK with that. I was in the middle of work-related stuff and juggling a lot at the time. 

TheOccurence got the artwork on June 1!!!! OK -- so ten days to make and ship a puzzle. Can it be done? 

YES IT CAN!!!! The folks at TheOccurence were the BEST. They went above and beyond to make this puzzle happen once they got the artwork. 

I'm sure Brigitte was ready to shoot me as I contacted her several times the day that I sent her the file. They didn't open it until late on Tuesday, June 2. That's how they work, and I just had to content myself with the fact that if it didn't work out, that was OK. 

OMG—can you believe they had the puzzle ready to ship on Thursday?! Hurrah for small companies and this one just happens to be Canadian!!! I was thrilled beyond belief. Please, please—you must support TheOccurence—they are a fabulous small business, and I want them to succeed. You can buy puzzles directly from their website or from PuzzlesCanada. OH MY -- I see a bunch of new ones! 

But before that happy event, we needed to figure out how to get it to Tofino on time. It's not like Tofino is in a major center. It's on the far side of Vancouver Island, and it's quite a drive. How much was this shipping going to cost me? Tofino is the red dot on the left. 

Tofino is very remote!

I thought of having it come to us, and we could take it with us on the plane. I had 12 copies made. Just wait—you will see the puzzle in a minute. 

We could have it shipped directly to Tofino, but how much would that cost? 

Then KU said, why not ship it to her sister in Vancouver, and they could take the puzzle over. OK -- that works even better, but we weren't sure when it would arrive, as some of them were coming by car on Tuesday and others by seaplane (limited baggage allowed) on Thursday, the day of the wedding. 

When I heard how much it would be to ship the package OVERNIGHT to BC from Merrickville, I said - let's do it. It was $75 for a relatively large and heavy box! So it arrived in BC on Friday morning, which meant people coming to the wedding by car could bring it. 

All that remained was for them to remember to bring the box, which I'm sure wouldn't be a problem, but it was just one more logistical thing I had to consider. Things happen accidentally, but there were always people coming by plane on Thursday. 

I got the box in my hands on Wednesday evening, and, of course, M spotted me carrying it to my hotel room. That girl just seems to be everywhere she isn't supposed to be. 

They knew nothing about the puzzle, as I wanted it to be a surprise for them. However, I also didn't want to spring it on them at the wedding, so I needed to share it with them at some point. So I asked her if she and Dillon could meet me in the room, as I had something to discuss with them. 

You could see from their faces that they were very apprehensive, as I would be when your mother tells you she did something and isn't sure you'll like it. 

When I showed them the puzzle, they were speechless!!! It was so much fun to see! And they LOVED it!!! It brings tears to my eyes as I recall that moment. So many questions—how did you get all this detail? My necklace is just like the one I wear! It was crazy and so much fun! 

We discussed where the puzzle would be displayed and decided it should be at the after-dinner party. As soon as the picture-taking was done, I scooted to that area and set it up so people could finish the puzzle at the wedding. NO ONE knew about the puzzle except for DH (he paid the bill) and KU and their family, but no one had seen it. 

I had a sign-up sheet so people could request a free copy of the puzzle. I handed out all 12 copies I had with me, and now I need to find the list so I can order more and get them delivered!!!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for—here is the puzzle. The reason it took me so long to share this is that I brought home the puzzle from the wedding, and I needed to make sure it wasn't missing any pieces. 

Our Wedding

The other night, I finally had some free time and got the puzzle together. Cynthia is known for her puzzles being somewhat challenging with all the detail. This one was fairly simple, but it did have some tricky bits. We didn't want to make it too hard because some of the people getting the puzzle are not super puzzlers, and we wanted them to have fun. 

No pieces missing from the wedding puzzle

And yes - Little Bear, who turned ten yesterday, was up front and center in the puzzle. Of course he was!!!

If I weren't in the picture, it wouldn't be complete! 

On our way back from the wedding, we stopped at Cynthia's to have her autograph the box. Thank you so much, Cynthia—you are a brilliant artist, and we love you!!!!! 

The box is autographed now.

Here's a picture of M and Dillon the night I showed them the puzzle. It was so much fun to share that with them and how it came about, although they were probably not in any shape to remember what I said with so many other things to think about, so it's all documented here now. 

The happy couple with their custom puzzle

I had a sign at the puzzle with a sign-up sheet at the after-dinner party. 

The sign at the wedding

The puzzle on display

The ideal plan would have been for us to have copies of the puzzle with us when we stopped to meet Cynthia in person. Although I have been friends with Cynthia for many years and she has done artwork for us before, this was the first time I got to meet her in person. On the way up, we stopped, and I got her to sign one of her other puzzles. Yep -- I carried that one all the way with me in my suitcase. Then we stopped on the way back and got her to autograph the wedding puzzle. And yes -- she is tall. We took the picture in her art studio. 

Cynthia and myself 

All I can say is we need to support our artists. This is how they earn a living, and I have another story to tell you about that, but it will have to wait. 

I was able to get |M's copy of the puzzle in the mail yesterday, and so they will finally be able to make their puzzle. She wanted one in the wrapper, and one they could assemble. So now they will be able to assemble theirs when it arrives next week. I'll crack it open every anniversary and put it together for them.

A massive shoutout to Cynthia Frenette and TheOccurence for making this happen in a very short time frame. I truly appreciate your artistry and skill. The gift was worth every penny!!!

Wow—on that happy note, I'm out of here! 

There is a virtual retreat this afternoon. It starts at 3 PM. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84936943764?pwd=F4GB0CFWZUDAukXjGmbNLR1GS6CreN.1

Meeting ID: 849 3694 3764
Passcode: 777609

Ciao!!!!!!

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!!!

The long way home - part two

I'm exhausted this morning! I seemed exhausted all day until it was time to sleep! I just woke up - the blog is going to be late!!!

Travel days are long, and even though yesterday was a short travel day, we lost three hours due to the time change. It was easy - we got up, caught the hotel shuttle back to the airport. We hung out at the lounge for a bit, and then I suggested we go down to the gate to try something new. 

DH is always grumbling about having to stand in the Zone 2 boarding lane instead of Zone 1. Well, if you want, we can try out the NEW (OK  - not new), but relatively new thing called Digital Boarding. I had tried it last time I was in Vancouver, and it did NOT work, so I had asked the staff to ensure my digital boarding was set up. And now was the perfect time to try it since Vancouver is the only place where it exists at the moment. 

The lines were already getting long, and I discovered a separate line for Digital Boarding. No one in the line. TZone 1 was boarding, and I just walked up to the machine. It scanned my face and accepted me; the gate opened, and in I waltzed before they even finished loading Zone 1. DH had some issues with his, but he was right behind me. 

So this is pretty exciting, as with this technology,  you no longer need to show your boarding pass or ID, but just get accepted by the technology. YES --- technology, which is often a failing proposition for me. The last time I tried it, it didn't work, but this time, it worked like a charm! The last time, it was just a screen with face recognition. This was more permanent, with an opening gate. I guess others had issues as well. 

It takes a wee bit longer to be recognized than if you walked through and showed your documents, but I imagine that will be sped up, and more lanes will be added as time goes on. But like all the other things we have used in the past (priority status for security, airline status), there will come a time when this no longer saves much time. For now? I'll enjoy using the technology and hope it comes to Toronto sooner rather than later. They are already using that face recognition technology in the NEXUS line in Toronto. 

Oh shoot -- I thought I had taken a picture of my boarding pass. But if you want to see if you can use that technology, there is an indicator on your boarding pass. I only saw it after I was on the plane, but I knew it existed, so I was determined to try it. Remember -- it is only at Vancouver at the moment, you have to set up your digital profile, and probably only at certain gates in Vancouver.  

I watched another Harry Potter movie while on the plane. That leaves three more to go. What will I watch when those are done? I guess I'll just find other movies on the plane. I used to read, but I found the movies are fun to watch. 

After the movie, I turned on the map, and instead of showing us where we were going, it showed all kinds of aerial views of other places in the world. This was Mount Kilimanjaro. How cool to see that from the air!

Aerial view of Mount Kilimanjaro

And someone else had the tail camera on the plane activated. I think that is cool as well. If something went awry, would you really want to see what was happening to the plane? We had just landed at this moment. 

The tail camera of the plane

Since we did not check luggage, we were able to zip right off the plane and into a limo for the journey home. Let's say that two certain girls were pretty excited to see us!! 

The girls are so different. Lexi is so calm and just wants to be close. 

MOM - I'm so glad you are home

Murphy is moving a mile a minute, and there is no way she was stopping to look at the camera. 

MOM - you're home! You're home! I need a walk! 

While we had nothing to eat in the house, we managed to find a couple of snacks, so we didn't go hungry. It seems like we ate so much over the last couple of days that I wasn't really hungry, but I needed something in my stomach. 

I found SIX flowers in the pond. By the time I got home, they were closing up for the evening. I can't wait to see them today. 

Six lilies in the pond

The peony had bloomed and was decimated by the recent rain, so I didn't get to enjoy it this year. 

The peony is almost done.

But now the rose bush is in bloom. 

The rose bush

Those demanding girls made it quite clear what they really wanted from me - a walk!! And they would not stop giving me attention until they got what they wanted. Again, Murphy is moving a hundred miles a minute, while Lexi just prances in place. 

I had to unpack last night because I have to shake the sand out of the suitcase, wash some clothes, and repack today as I leave tomorrow. If you think that is bad, DH is already on another plane this morning. I don't know how people do these quick turnarounds. I like my house - I want to travel, but not back-to-back. My cousin will be traveling back and forth across the 3-hour time zone. I'm exhausted, and I don't know how she will survive for an extended period of time with that kind of travel! 

We were in contact with M and Dillon as they traveled home. They got home after we did, but they had a long drive and then a ferry to cross. I think they had a bit of an emotional day. So much pressure, prep, and excitement, and then it's done! But we got to see a few of the wedding pictures and OH MY -- they are beautiful. I'll share some of them another day. 

I had done some work on my current jigsaw puzzle after eating my snack, but then I left it and tried to sleep. And while I was tired or I thought I was, when I tried to get to sleep, I couldn't, so I read, watched some YouTube, and then got up to do more work on the puzzle. 

I accomplished quite a bit. Before I went to bed, the pink was more or less done, but I got the red, orange, and yellow done as well. It's a challenging puzzle because the colors are worked in THREE areas, so if it doesn't fit in one spot, it fits in another, but which one? 

Working on the jigsaw puzzle

There is more purple than anything, so that will slow me down, but at least it will all be in the same area. 

Oh my gosh -- so I woke with a start at the moment that the girls like to be let outside. I'm not sure what triggered that, but the sun was pouring in the window. It's going to be a late start to the day. Sigh.....

We have Monday sewing today, and I have some pictures to prepare for the presentation. Then I have a quilt to bind and another one to do some embroidery on. It will be a busy day, and I must try NOT to have a nap, or I will not get to sleep later tonight. 

Murphy is circling my chair like a crazed dog. All she wants is a walk. The poor thing is NOT going to be happy when she sees me leaving tomorrow. But DH is only gone for a couple of days, but he does NOT walk them, so she won't be happy!

In addition to watching the movie, I watched a couple of episodes of The Reluctant Traveler, hosted by Eugene Levy. They were interesting and explored non-tourist things. I thought the show was great. But he said something, or it was said in the trailer, and I thought it quite interesting. 

Here is a quote that was used on the show - it is attributed to St. Augustine. "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."

WOW! I find that very fascinating, and since I like to read, I must read more than one page. I won't be able to finish this book, but I'm OK with that. WAIT -- I totally get that there is a cost to travel, but guess what? That exploration can simply be in your own city or your own country, and neither has to cost a lot of money. It's the idea of exploring that is being referred to. 

I know people who have never been outside their province. I would have gone mad years ago! I first traveled outside my home province when I was under 10, and ever since, I have traveled. That first trip? By bus with my Mom to Portage La Prairie. It didn't cost us much, as we stayed with my Mom's pen pal, Hilma. 

But to get out and explore? It helps to keep that curiosity and kid-like sense of adventure alive. I would die if I couldn't wander around. NOTHING has to cost a lot if you shop around! And get creative! 

And on that note, I must get the girls out the door. The blog should be on time tomorrow, but only for one day, as I'm going back in time zones for a week. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

The long way home

Thanks to everyone for your lovely comments about the wedding. Can you believe that, even though I am always taking pictures, I have very few from that day! I have no pictures of myself and only three shots of the bride and groom. No pictures of any guests and none with other family members. What was I thinking? 

But they had a photographer who took a ton of photos, so I guess we'll have to wait until those come and try to get a few shots. 

We were busy that day, and yet we were not. I'm happy that we took M's advice and lived in the moment, and not for the sake of photos. And it's hard to believe that my little girl is married!! And she picked a great man to marry, and I'm so very happy for them. 

Well, it was a sad morning yesterday as we said our final good-byes to M and Dillon and started our long journey home. 

BUT WAIT!!! There was still time in the morning to get in one last bike ride.

But first things first. Bear and I had our last walk on the beach. He is such a character, and I took some great videos of him and sent them to his mom. Yes -- I got way more photos of Bear than I did of people on this trip. He has such an attitude and is quite the little man. He seemed fascinated by walking in these shallow areas of water. 

Little Bear is walking in the water.

I left him in the room with DH, got a bike, and off I went. It's only a 15-minute ride into town, but what a glorious ride. It wasn't nearly long enough to warrant this donut, but what the heck. I'll have to eat light for the next couple of weeks to compensate. This one was a strawberry cheesecake, and I asked them to put it on a plate rather than in a bag. 

The breakfast for champions! 

I then sat on the deck and watched people go by. It was a wonderful, enjoyable morning and a great way to relax and get the day's events organized in my head. Not that I had much to organize, but I had stuff that had to be done before we left. 

I would love to have a "real" bike with more gears and ride the entire road between Ucluelet and Tofino. I'm sure one can rent a bike somewhere in either town. The path along the road looks amazing and, in some parts, is "hidden" in the forest, while in others it winds right along the road. I MUST get my bikes serviced when I'm home. While the path won't be so spectacular, it will still be fun. 

On the way there, I saw a box sitting at the roadside, and it looked like a donation box waiting to be picked up. WAIT -- maybe it was for someone to pick up. Anyway, I spotted a puzzle in the box and on my way back, I decided to stop and check it out. Of course, I had to! 

The donation box by the road

I was going to leave it, and I actually rode away, and then I thought—NO—I'm going to go back and get the puzzle and carry it home on the bike. I know --- how silly of me. So I did. It's an interesting puzzle -- it's one of the Post puzzles dated from 1943. I'll get more details on it when I'm home -- it's packed away, and I'm not about to unpack it to get you that information. 

What I noticed as I was packing it is that there are things "wrong" with the picture, and once you assemble the puzzle, the idea is to identify them. There is a lengthy list of those items on the back. How fun is that!!!!

After I got back, Mister Bear and I sat by the window for a bit. The poor little guy is still pretty exhausted, although he was much more himself on the beach earlier. He'll spring back when he's with his peeps. I bet he was confused as to why he got to see M, and then she was gone! 

Grandma -- I'm still exhausted.

The staff at the Wick Inn are amazing, and they must have codes to remember guests' names. I had been looking for some of the missing items of the rental stuff we picked up/ Thankfully, I had asked the front desk to search for them ever since the wedding. When I went to the car in the morning, I noticed the missing items still had not been loaded. So I got the staff hunting for the items again. They had found some, but not all. 

Eventually, all the items were found and put in the car. But good planning on my part to ask a couple of hours before we left, so it wasn't a mad scramble when we were leaving. 

OH - and there are two buildings on the property. They are relatively close to each other. Anyway, as I walked up to the desk in the second building, the guy called me by name, and I had never seen him before, and he mentioned that they were still looking for the items. The staff was extremely attentive, and I was very impressed. 

I also chatted with another staff member about the Lynn Whitaker wind sculptures, and I was given a brochure listing all the sculptures. OH MY --- I would so love to have one of these on my front lawn, but I'm afraid it would go missing. They are stunning. I believe Steffich Fine Art on Salt Spring Island is the only place in Canada where you can buy the sculptures. 

A brochure with ALL the wind sculptures

There are so many different ones at the Wickininnish Inn - it was fun to see them all. 

And I love these downspouts, which are called rain chains. How fun, and apparently, they make beautiful noises when it rains. I want them!!!!! But where the heck would I install them at my house? I need a new house! Wow -- when you Google rain chains, a HUGE variety pops up. I'll try to find these ones because it would be fun to install one in the backyard. 

Rain chains

We spent the last hour visiting with M and Dillon, and then we were off. It's only a temporary goodbye, so while bittersweet, it's not the end of the world. But we had to leave Little Bear behind. I missed him all day. 

But there we were with all the party rental items back in the car. The flowers were still attached to the arch, and they smelled beautiful. 

Party rental items have finally been found.

I drove to Tofino, so DH drove back. We had such incredible weather - I really can't believe the luck. It was cool when we started, then the wedding day was perfect, and after that it got hot. And yes -- I got sunburned from sitting in the sun the day before. Not bad, but I should have had sunscreen. The young people had sunscreen! 

I snapped a few pictures of the road. The first part is very twisty and turny, and the trees are beautiful. 

The road back to the populated side of Vancouver Island

And then we were finally back in civilization. We dropped off the party supplies, and then we had one more stop, which I'll share with you tomorrow or at least this coming week. 

I think if we were ever to go back to Tofino, we would fly. You can take a wheeled plane or a float plane. We had to drive this time to get Bear and the party items. It's a long drive. 

We filled the rental with gas and were lucky enough to be able to drop it off at the seaplane dock. We didn't have long to wait before we were ready to get on the plane. I got lucky and got to sit up front with the pilot on the smaller plane, which had room for only five passengers. 

Up front with the pilot

And YES -- I had to get a picture of me with the headphones on. I have no clue how they can understand a single thing - I hear babble the entire time. and OH MY -- look at that sunburnt face!

On the seaplane

I spotted the Canadian flag on Grouse Mountain that was set out for the FIFA tournaments, but it was very far away. And the next thing we knew, we had landed. The airport shuttle arrived within five minutes, and we were whisked away. Now, if we were adventurous, we could have taken the red-eye flight home, but I don't think that occurred to us. Our friends did it the night before. We had booked a hotel near the airport and will fly out this morning. Besides, you lose a day due to a lack of sleep. 

We had to wait a bit for the hotel shuttle to come and pick us up. But as soon as we got checked in, we looked around for a restaurant, found the neatest little place, and decided to walk there. 

On the way, we spotted this building. It's an Escape Room place - E-EXIT!!!!! I was tempted to go and have a better look, but I don't think it was open. How fun, but I don't think I could handle the stress of getting out with the clock ticking!!!!

Escape room

So the restaurant was called The Story Cafe, and it's relatively new. There are a lot of antiques in the place, as everything has a story. I LOVE the concept. 

The story! 

I think it would be more fun if there were an actual story attached to each item, but let's face it, many antiques are floating out there with zero provenance. But the concept is very cool. This was an antique cash register!!!! Remember—back in the days when people used cash to buy things! 

Antique cash register

And while the food at the Wick Inn was amazing, I really wanted some good old-fashioned burger and fries. And this was my dinner! We had not really had lunch along the way - I had gotten a huge fruit parfait before leaving, but it was only fruit and yogurt. I really wasn't too hungry after eating that giant pastry for breakfast. 

Dinner last night

And this car sits outside the restaurant! The staff was very friendly, and we had a great meal. 

The car outside The Story Cafe

As we walked back, I spotted this sign. Can you tell me what it means? Is it that there is no parking at this point in time, but there will be in the future? It just doesn't make sense, or am I missing the point of it? 

What does this sign mean?

Our hotel is right across the street from the Costco in Richmond. As we walked down the street, it was amazing how many grocery carts were abandoned along the way. I guess the parking lot isn't big enough, or do people avoid it and park along that side street? Anyway, someone is responsible for rounding up the carts each night for the next day. 

Carts on the street near Costco

At the end of the street and around the corner, there were a few that had been put together. But what a job. If I need a cart for something like dog food, I always take it back to the store. It's not a big deal! And it wasn't huge, but it was amazing how some people left items in the cart they didn't need, like extra packaging. I guess it could have been worse than it was, but still—take that home with you!!!!!

While we didn't do much all day, and I have been sleeping well, I was exhausted when we got back to the hotel. I lay on the bed and was out in seconds. I did get up to plug in my phone, but then I was back in bed. I had to get up this morning because my back isn't happy if I stay in bed too long. 

And that ends another crazy day. 

We have the shuttle booked for the morning, then to the airport, and then home!!! I bet the girls will be very excited to see us!! Flying west is great because the time is in your favor, but going home, we lose three hours and don't arrive until very late in the afternoon!!! But that's OK. I have a book, and I need to watch the next Harry Potter movie! 

And we did NOT get upgraded. We are number 5 and 6. There are two seats available, so two people will get upgraded. Four people still haven't checked in, so it would only be by a miracle that four people don't show up that we would get upgraded. I suspect we will not be upgraded. I'm OK with that! It's only a five-hour flight. It goes by fast. 

On that note, I'm out of here. Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!