How to be productive

I'm so sorry to everyone for switching the dates around for the Virtual Retreats! I had to because I'm away this coming weekend, and the same is true for November. I could let you all have fun having a virtual retreat without me, which I've had to do occasionally, but if I can switch it, I will. I try to give advance notice, but I don't think I did for October. 

Someone gave me a Waterpik challenge—I need to get one first. But I will let you know that I flossed my teeth last night, even though it was in the middle of the night. Before I go there, let's start at the beginning. 

Hmmm --- someone alerted me to this yesterday, and I watched the video this morning. While we think AI is cool (and I think it's fun), it takes ENORMOUS amounts of computer power and WATER. And the big three, among others, are building massive data centers that require lots and lots of water to keep cool. Have a listen to this video. It makes you think!! I did note one thing at the end --- a search engine search for something requires less computing power than asking AI. I may keep my AI to a fun-only level at this point. 

I got a lot accomplished yesterday—not as much as the previous day, but still, I'm on a roll. I got the binding on ALL of these quilts. Now, it's only on one side at this point, but I had to make a lot of binding and then add it, so I figure the second part of the binding process will be faster. 

The binding is attached to the quilts

And YES --- that flannel is OLD. I bought yards and yards of the darn stuff, and why? I've no idea. So thanks to Diane, she cut it up and made MANY quilts from it. There are still more quilts to be quilted, but my goal this year is to get these ones done and out of the house. Then I can deal with the ones to be quilted - I believe there are fewer than 10, and then I have a couple of baskets of scraps to deal with. It would be so nice to say that I do NOT have any flannel in my house, but we are far from that! 

I still have about three or four yards of the diagonal stripe that I'm using for the bindings, so I'll keep on quilting! I noticed when I folded this up to put away that there was a hole!!!! I must be mindful of that when I make the next binding. So far, I haven't seen holes in any of what I used. 

A hole in my binding fabric

I 

When I was done sewing for the day (2 PM), I packed all my supplies back onto that tray by the sewing machine. My table is nice and clear, so when I return home, it's ready to stitch those bindings. 

My sewing station is immaculate

Someone asked how I can get so much done in a day. Well, I believe a couple of things are responsible for that. I try very hard to keep my sewing areas clear. There is NOTHING on this sewing table, except my tray of enders and leaders and my basic sewing tools. Why keep tools by the machine that I don't need for this project? So, only what I need is there. Plus, I keep the accessories for the sewing machine on that tray (in a metal box) as well because I may need to change the foot or whatever. Any OTHER feet than what came with the machine are in a drawer and go back into that drawer when not in use. 

So that's another thing that helps me get things done. Everything has a home; when I want something, it's a simple matter of labeling it. No time is wasted trying to find things. 

When I have a few down minutes, I am thinking ahead and see what I can do with one minute or five minutes. For example, when I needed to find backing for a quilt top, I quickly measured the quilt and made a quick calculation as to the yardage needed. Then I went to the stash room, where all my backings are folded and labeled with the quantity. Scanning the shelves where the backing fabric is stored was easy, and within that short five-minute downtime window, I had the perfect color and size for the next quilt. 

What else do I do to increase productivity? I haven't watched TV—whether that be network TV or streaming TV—in over fifteen years. I have to chuckle because during Monday sewing or Virtual Retreat, I hear the chatter—Oh, are you watching "x show" or "y show?" and I'm not watching any of it. I have no idea what they are even talking about. I watch stuff occasionally on my computer, but it's usually an instructional video or something that piqued my interest, not an ongoing series. I do occasionally, but it's so rare that I can't even remember the last time I watched a series of something. 

It's not that I don't want to watch; I have zero interest in sitting in front of a screen. Says I, who is sitting in front of a screen as I write this! No -- my preference is to READ, not watch. And to keep me entertained when sewing, I may or may not have the radio on or be listening to an audiobook. I can be super productive listening, but only when the project at hand is simple, like applying binding. When it comes to more formidable challenges, I need dead silence! So I can focus and not make mistakes. And I have zero issues with being alone. I could sew or be home alone all day and am pretty happy. I LIKE myself!!! 

Not only am I trying to keep my sewing table clear, but the ironing station needs to be clear as well. If I have to constantly move things in order to do something, that is not being productive. That goes for the cutting table as well. Thankfully, I have a large one, so often things get left on one end, but my goal is to attempt to keep that clear. Yes -- I see three small things on there - one is the fabric I pulled for the backing of that quilt I mentioned earlier, which I will make happen when those quilts are bound. A small repair job for DH, and a small tote bag. So the plan is to grab one of those once the bindings are done and get them done. 

The cutting table is in good shape

All of my "current projects" or "current UFOs", however you wish to call them, are piled HIGH on these two tables. There is a third table in the room as well. The goal is to pull ONE at a time and make it happen. There's no need to make a mess on any other table than this one. After I removed the final quilt that needed binding, I moved all the stuff for the jacket class onto this table. Once I'm home, I'll be able to take some photos of some of the stuff and put it away.

My "current" project table

In an ideal world, nothing new will be added to these tables until I see some progress!!! HEY—I've already made giant leaps and bounds of progress. That is a huge stack of quilts that I'm processing. You can see my ring of inner houses on the design wall in the back (Colour My World). Three quilt tops are in partial completion on the wall, and they really need to be addressed before I attempt to add anything else there. 

And the other thing that I'm doing, which is going to help a lot—NO NEW projects. Seriously? I've got so much on the go, how do I dare even think about adding a new project? I have minimal room to "hide" this stuff away, so the only hope is to get it done. 

So, to recap, how do I get so much done in a day? And trust me—this kind of day doesn't happen too often, but now that I have a reduced schedule, I hope it happens more often. You may need to do things slightly differently, but this works for me. 

1. Keep your main workstations clear—the cutting mat, the sewing table, and the ironing surface. Nothing should be on them except the tools you need for that job. These are NOT storage areas. If you have to move something in order to work, that's a huge red flag!

2. Remove everything that is a distraction in your space. Be that a screen or a pile of projects—whatever is the main distraction. Put it away. Some people would find these tables a distraction, so you could cover them with a pretty quilt. But DO NOT forget about what's under them!!!

3. Plan. I often think about what I will do that day before I get out of bed. Some people do that the night before, but I already know what I will do when I hit the sewing space. And if you only have one or two projects, it's easy to know what needs to be done. 

4. Focus. This goes along with planning. Stop starting new projects just because it's cute or your friend is doing it. Get YOUR stuff done -- what do you want to accomplish!!! 

5. Don't overload yourself. Yep, our eyes are just as big when we go shopping as when we look at the buffet. BE REALISTIC—you can't do it all. 

Also, remember that I do not have an ailing parent who lives close to me. My only child lives on the other end of the country, so I do not get many family interruptions. When I need to get in touch with my family, it requires time, like flying out and spending time with them, but I still have phone calls, and there is that never-ending paperwork to deal with. Much of it is admin relating to my freelance jobs, so the amount can go up or down depending on what's happening.  

And having said that, yesterday was a travel day. I did something I hadn't done in eons, and that was to take the last flight out, especially going west. The flight was at 10:30 PM, which is way past my bedtime, so I was tired. While I managed to sleep some on the plane, it wasn't a good sleep. The airport was practically empty, and I walked through, checking my luggage and security in mere minutes. There wasn't even a line-up at Tim's. 

What? No line-up at Tim's

I do have one major issue with myself and travel. I leave everything to the last minute. While I had booked my ticket a while back, I had NOT booked a car or a hotel. Imagine my surprise when all the hotel rooms were sold out! All of them, except in the sketchiest hotel in the sketchiest part of town. I passed on that. Apparently, there is a RODEO in North Battleford and the dates coincide exactly with my trip!

Hmm—what to do? Could I crash on someone's sofa? That's not really the best, so then I thought of Airbnb. And yes, there are a couple of them in town. So I booked that, which was another story I'll share another day. 

I planned to pick up the car in the morning at the airport because I didn't think they would still be open so late, but they were open, so I rented the car last night for an additional $30. 

And when I got to the car, this is what I found. UGH

FROST!!!!

Yep—that's frost. It was minus 2 last night, which I knew would be the weather when I arrived. And I love seeing these outlets at the hotel, just in case—it gets super cold!!!

An outlet for your block heater - just in case! 

There is a store at the airport that sells Blue Jays (baseball, in case you don't know) merchandise. I did not buy anything, but perhaps I should have. 

Selling baseball merchandise!

We were barely in the air when I heard a couple of quiet hand claps, so that must have been the point when Springer got the three-run homerun. I didn't know for sure if they won until landing. 

I'll never forget where I was when the Blue Jays got into the World Series in 2025. Like I remember back in 1993, I was living in Brampton at the time (or it could have been 1992), and I was ironing Halloween costumes for my Little Sister (Big Sister). I also remember being on a plane to Vancouver the day that President Reagan (March 31, 1981) was shot. 

I see it's minus 4 outside this morning. Yeah!!! 

One last story before I go. When I arrived at my hotel room (I have a room in Saskatoon for one night), I had an hour and a half drive ahead of me and didn't want to do that last night. Anyway, I got into my room and I could hear beeping. Good grief - what is that? OH - the alarm clock is beeping. So I shut it off, or so I thought, flossed my teeth, and hopped into bed. Only to be jarred by the beeping again. Good grief - I only hit the snooze button. 

I did something to the clock and then went to sleep. My phone has two alarms, and when both go off, I easily silenced them (vibration only) by touching the appropriate button on my watch. Then I was back sleeping when the alarm went off again on the clock. Even when it was unplugged, it had a battery backup! 

I will need a nap this afternoon, there is no doubt about that! 

On that note, I'm out of here!!!! 

Have a usper day!!!

Ciao!!!

Life is about having FUN!

I don't know if any of you read the comments, but I have a super supporter named Elle! She's been through this journey with her Mother, where she had to clean out that house in one day! It sounds like Elle took charge of her life many years ago, and what she possesses today is pretty much what she needs—although she seems to find things from time to time that they no longer need, and they're gone. 

So, I have a love/hate relationship with her! I want to be like her, and I KNOW I'll get there. But she keeps reminding me of things I'm ignoring! Picture frames—I was in denial about picture frames, but she mentioned them yesterday, and YES—I have picture frames to cope with. Thanks, Elle. I appreciate your comments. Knowing I can CONQUER this stuff, you are proof of that! Thank you! 

As Peter Walsh would say - "It's All Too Much." That's the title of the book he wrote in 2006. He calls himself a clutter organizer. I have a "few" organizer/decluttering books in my library, and I'll browse through them and the magazines. Then they will be gone. The issue is that now that the floodgates have opened and I've realized that these are just things I no longer need or want to keep, I don't have as much time as I would like to deal with them. 

That's because there's too much stuff to deal with, as I have my work to keep up with, and so on. So I'm going to do what I can! What I get done is more than what wasn't done the day before. Imagine how much time I would have had if I had never let it get this way? A tidy house takes seconds to clean, and doing each small task when needed is better than having boxes and boxes to deal with now. It's never too early or too late to start this process! Remember - you can not have regrets - just move forward and enjoy the process! 

I've had several audiobooks on hold, and of course, TWO arrive on the same day. One is a novel, and the other is a book on productivity. I decided to download both. Oh my --- the book is called Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal, a physician turned writer. I'm happy to report that I'm already doing many of the things recommended in his book. Make things FUN, or give yourself a reward. I'm learning to take that approach to decluttering, and I'm hooked. 

Teach others. I've done that for over 20 years, and that's how I became so "smart" about quilting. I often agreed to teach something that I had ZERO knowledge of. But I learned quickly (thanks, Dad!), and thankfully, I'm a good communicator, so I can communicate that knowledge to others. Teaching is also a motivator for me to learn. And I love Ali's comment that we don't need to be the guru of the subject; we just need to be one step ahead of the students! Been there, doing that! All the time! And I'm open to learning from the students! It's how we all grow! Do I have the right way? For me, but not necessarily for others. 

I'm only a quarter of the way through the book; what else can there be? I might pick up a couple of tips - we'll see. But one thing I'm noticing about my productivity these days is that I suck at multitasking. We just don't want to admit it! Oh - I get that I can put a quilt on the long arm and then do something in the five minutes while I wait for it to stitch the row. Is that multitasking? Then I'm super good at it. 

I'm not good at attempting to do EVERYTHING at once because it's not working for me! And guess what? What I do is NOT rocket science. Ali also mentioned that if we are stressing over what we do, then it's not fun, and we need to evaluate what we are doing. I hear people madly sewing Christmas presents, baking, or whatever else they "like" to do because the Christmas season is approaching. 

If what you are doing is stressful, and you are NOT enjoying it, then STOP doing what you're doing! Do you need to bake hundreds of cookies each year? Or make a new quilt for every family member every year? Did you ask those family members if they want another quilt? 

I will make handmade gifts on request as I will do for my future son-in-law (T-shirt quilt). But otherwise, my daughter said they do not need more quilts. OK --- I'll find something else to give them. 

I'm not productive (sewing) when we have Monday sewing or virtual sewing time, so I've stopped sewing during those times and have started doing tidy-up jobs or repairs! Yes, I'm bound and determined to prove Messie Condo wrong. I'm wearing my mended socks and gloves and am very happy that I mended them. 

Yesterday, I took apart dog harnesses to recover the metal hardware. All four were damaged in some way and had been replaced YEARS AGO! I'm pretty sure you can guess whose harnesses these were. 

Woron out dog harness

Chewed harness

So I started with the seam ripper - wow, those stitches are tight! —and later, I used the scissors. 

Worn out strapping

I recovered quite a bit of hardware. This is from one or two harnesses. 

Recovered hardware

And all the strapping went into the garbage. 

The strapping is gone

Yes, accomplishing this took a while, but I LOVE these menial tasks. It was a slow and methodical process with ZERO stress, and tossing these in the garbage would have given me zero satisfaction in dealing with them. But taking them apart was a soothing and relaxing way to visit with my friends on Zoom. Guess what? I'm attacking those boxes of junk in the office while I get to visit with my friends. WIN-WIN. The sewing can wait for another time. 

Why are we in such a rush to get everything done? Slow and steady is my motto; perhaps I don't get as much done, but I do it right, or it won't get done. If you would have felt more comfortable tossing everything, that's your choice. 

I already have a project in mind for one of the buckles, but now I need to check my stash for something else. You'll see it later. This project has been sitting on the table in the office, waiting for a solution. 

Using rescued bits makes me happy, and I guess that's my pioneer spirit. 

I quickly found three harnesses but needed to find the fourth. It was in those junk boxes at the end of my desk! I finally found the fourth. 

Then I needed to find these swivel hooks, and I found those in a box in the cupboard. So all is good. It means that even with my shuffling, I have a pretty idea where things are - I may just have to dig a bit. The number of places things can be hiding is few! 

I have another errand for the shoemaker, and I needed these hooks to fix dog leashes—yes, Murphy's leashes. Notice that none of the issues are with Lexi—it's always Murphy. 

New swivel hooks

This broke from all her pulling, so I have new ones to replace the old ones. But I'm letting the shoemaker sew the leather back together. 

The broken swivel hook

I was going to cut the hardware off this beautiful leather shoulder strap from a briefcase I no longer own. The group convinced me to keep the strap and use it on a crossbody bag, so it's up for grabs if anyone wants it. Otherwise, it's with all my bag hardware. I should have put it with the briefcase when I gave that away. 

A leather bag strap

As part of my Monday repairs, I added a hanger to this lively artwork and hung it on the wall in Studio B. I believe I bought it over ten years ago in Newfoundland. And yes, it got shuffled in the office forever! Why? Now that I have the sawtooth hangers, it's easy to do these things. Now, I enjoy the picture whenever I turn the lights on or off, as it hangs just above the light switches. 

A "new" piece of artwork to enjoy

I walked to the doctor's office to discuss that bone density medication. Oh god—it pays to be precise. I told her I could not remember to take the once-a-week pill and asked if there was another solution. She said she could give me once a month, but would that be any better? I assured her I could take my pill when the dogs get their monthly meds. She quickly sent off the prescription to the pharmacy. 

Then she asked if I was having memory issues. WAIT A MINUTE! I meant to say that I'm not good at taking the pill at least 30 minutes BEFORE eating. OH -- she says - that's a whole different story! So, she canceled the first prescription and gave me another once-a-week pill that I could take with food. DUH!!! See how easy miscommunication can screw things up. And the memory question was a wake-up call. BE CLEAR!

That was totally my fault for not saying the EXACT reason why I was struggling to take that medication. All should be good. I can leave it on my desk and take the pill when I have breakfast on Sunday morning. Everybody is happy. 

Some people mentioned injections, and she said those are for more severe cases of bone density loss. I am nowhere near needing strong meds for that. So let's hope I've got everything in order and get a new test in six months. 

It was such a glorious day. I was outside in my sweatshirt, and there was no need for a jacket. I had to walk past this series of three new buildings constructed simultaneously. Oh my—look at that double or triple-height room at the front of this building. 

That's one huge sun-filled room

You can't see from this picture, but I swear there is a basketball net at either end. Why would they waste a fantastic space with a basketball court? I can imagine visibility issues with the ball? Well, I'm not sure - I guess I'll have to wait to see. 

Basketball nets at either end?

One of the other things Ali mentions in his book is pretending you have the confidence to do anything even if you don't. Oh my—I live by that almost every day. I'm a very shy and quiet person when I'm at home. Well, OK—if DH isn't home, I have a few wild chatting sessions with the dogs. However, I struggle to make new friends easily and have other confidence issues. 

But when I want - I can put on my confidence cloak, and I'm INVINCIBLE!!! How the heck do you think public speaking is so easy for me? My confidence cloak - without it, I would never venture on stage. And that fear of failure just doesn't exist in my vocabulary. If I "fail," it becomes a learning experience. It's a great book with lots of exciting concepts. 

My confidence was shattered the other day when we tried to solve one of the EXIT GAmes puzzles. It was a couple of days ago, and I had been running around and was exhausted. DH had found one of the numbers, but NEITHER of us pursued where to find the other two. Not actively, so we ended up looking at all three clues. DUH!!! It was such an easy solvable puzzle, and he had found the trick; we were just lazy. I was mad at ourselves for giving in. I won't go there - it was just maddening for me. So we didn't play the game for several days. Besides, he was out at dinner numerous evenings last week. 

So, two nights ago, we got back into the puzzle again. Oh my—we solved two glorious puzzles. But we could not have done it independently. Nope—DH has an idea, then I get an idea, and then back and forth it goes. 

Last night involved removing some of the puzzle pieces and using them to solve the clue. Good grief -- it was loads of fun, and YES - we got the correct answer. It took two tries, but we figured it out.

The EXIT game

I got more writing done and did a wee bit of decluttering. I have a few things to confess, but I've run out of time this morning. DH is sick, and if he gives that to me, I'm going to be mad! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Squashing the quilting myths

Sometimes, I get asked how I do so much in a day. There are a couple of reasons:

1. I don't watch TV and try to keep my screen time (Facebook and Instagram) to an absolute minimum. 30 minutes daily is a good goal because it's a massive time waster. I don't do Pinterest, which I've heard is a black hole. I'm also highly selective about what I stream and attempt to avoid clickbait at all costs. That is clutter for the mind—I no longer cope with clutter. 
2. I can start work the minute I get up. I don't need coffee, and I don't need to wander around the house trying to figure out my day—I already know what I will do. I've already walked close to 1,200 steps since I got up about 90 minutes ago, and that was just in Studio B. 
3. I am super organized (well, almost) and am very anal about putting things back where they belong, so I'm not wasting time trying to find something. 

I'm sure there are other reasons, but those are the main ones. 

I only included that because I felt very productive this morning. After taking the big quilt off the long arm yesterday and trying to get my daily quota of applique in, I didn't have a chance to prep the next quilt. But this morning, I pieced the backing and the batting and loaded the quilt. 

Let's have a look at some pictures from yesterday. 

I have yet to dig into that fresh bolt of fabric that I brought out for the backings for this group of ten quilts. I decided that I needed to use up the pieces of fabric that had been set aside for backing first. It means more fiddling to get the right size, but I might as well do it now rather than later, as it helps to clean up that area. 

The bolt of fabric is untouched!

The pile of batting bits I pulled for these ten quilts is also dwindling. I still have three quilt bats to make from this pile, and I'm sure I'll have leftovers, which is OK. It'll go back into the closet for the next round of quilts. Remember, the batting bits are for my community project quilts; customers get batting off a roll! 

The pile of batting bits

Let's talk about that backing. I had this big piece of fabric that was for a quilt, but it never got used. Since it was a donation, it's been in the community project pile for a while. I already got the backing for one of the quilts from that piece and was able to get one more. 

The backing I made this morning

And I pieced it on the serger!!! Yes, the serger is ready to go, and it takes a lot less time to turn on than my sewing machine. Plus, it's way faster to piece and better at something else. 

I think we recently had this discussion in the Monday sewing group, but when you piece your quilt backing, do you piece it lengthwise or crosswise? Does it matter? Technically, it doesn't matter, but I remember years ago, there was a discussion (a BIG discussion) amongst the guild members as I prepped a backing for a raffle quilt. That seam could ONLY go lengthwise of the quilt. It was a NO-NO to piece the backing crosswise! Why? An old wives' tale, to be sure. What does it matter? 

Then there was the myth that that seam HAD to be pressed open. Why? OH -- if you were hand-quilting the quilt, this prevented you from going through one more layer at the center seam. OK -- I get that, but with a long arm? It doesn't matter. I press the seam to one side. And with the serger, that's a given. 

But then there are long-arm quilters who will only take quilts with "properly" pieced backings. I know one long arm who refused to quilt someone's quilt because the print on the back didn't match where she had joined the two pieces? Seriously? Life is too short for that!!!! And what business is it of the long-arm quilter? It doesn't affect her job!!!

Usually, when a quilt is loaded on the long arm, the seam in the back is parallel to the bars so the seam doesn't roll onto itself and create a big lump. I get that and always follow that rule as best I can. 

However, what does one do when there are seams in all directions, like on my backing this morning? There is one seam going the width of the backing, and the two pieces also have a seam in them, so we have seams lengthwise and crosswise. Oh dear!!!!!!

Seams in all directions on this quilt backing

Well, here's why the long-arm quilters want seams only in one direction. If the seam has ANY fullness in it—and there's a HUGE possibility that it will—I'll tell you why in a second—then it will create droopy backing on either side of the seam. 

Most backings are sewn together with two pieces of fabric and ZERO pinning. This results in the top fabric piece being stretched because of the presser foot pushing (stretching) the top layer. So, just like we pin borders, we should pin the backing to prevent this. Yes --- even when the seam is parallel to the bar, it can cause issues. But if you're a good long-arm quilter, you can work around this. And I have to say that I've learned and am good at it!

The larger the quilt back, the worse the issue. I do NOT have a picture of a droopy backing, but the next time I see one, I'll share it with you. 

Since my backing was pieced on the serger, that fullness issue isn't there - at least if you have the differential set correctly on your serger. 

No droopy backing despite there being a seam perpendicular to the bar

You can see how that seam wraps around the bar and is perfectly flat on both sides. Well, you can't see the wrapping on the bar, but it's all very civilized, and more importantly, that backing is FLAT. 

No droopy backing around the seam

So, if your long-arm quilter balks at how you piece your backs, perhaps you should find a new person to quilt your quilts! 

Anyway, the quilt is ready to be quilted after I walk the girls this morning. This routine is nearly killing me! Well, it isn't, but it's an intense schedule, to be sure. I have four quilts to quilt, and then the pressure of this group is off. 

I will do an overview of pre-wound bobbins later this week, but I still need to get all the pictures before I can share them. 

While babysitting the long arm yesterday, I managed to get the binding on this quilt done. 

Binding on the community project quilt

And the binding is on the last quilt that was quilted as well. 

The sixth quilt is bound 

So I'm all caught up with the bindings, and four quilts are left. I know—I already said that! 

I still have to clean up the fabric scraps and batting from trimming the last few quilts, but I'll do that tonight. It's like a little production line happening down there, and I'm quite happy because every quilt I complete is one more quilt done; there is less fabric for the backing, and the batting bits are being used. That makes me very happy!!!!

Here is the giant quilt. I guess I've quilted much larger ones, but it's big compared to what I've been quilting lately. It's for a dragon nerd!!!

Customer quilt - DONE

I thought it was fitting that I was listening to the final book in the Harry Potter series (I had never read it before) and listening to the dramatic dragon escape!!! I'm going to have to go back and reread the entire series. There is so much information that my brain is getting the gist of what's happening, but there is so much!!!! And I do NOT reread books, but I want to reread this series. 

The quilt was picked up last night, so the owner can start the binding process. That's another thing about long-arm quilters. Some people trim, and some do not. I always trim the quilts so that when the customer picks them up, they are ready to bind. I've got the space, which most people don't. I've trimmed hundreds of quilts, and it takes me very little time to do it. It's just a thing I've always done! 

In case you're wondering what was in some of those bags I brought home from our lunch -- there were three puzzles in one of the bags. Do NOT let me buy another puzzle for a while. I'd better get my butt in gear and start working on them!!!!

More puzzles

It's back to school—heck, according to the stores, it's been back to school before school even let out. I get that it's exciting to get new supplies and new clothes. But I see flyers like these, and it's all about buy, buy, buy. 

Flyers

Do people ever use up the old? What about the "old" shampoo? The conditioner? The fancy soaps? The whatever? That is what is causing so much clutter in your house. I have very little stockpiled as far as supplies go. When something is near to running out, I pop out to the store and buy more. But I don't stockpile the darn stuff. The small savings I might make is not worth the hassle in my head of storing it. 

I'm not going to blame us, the consumer, entirely. The marketers are having a heyday with us. They just want us to buy, and it doesn't matter where you look; there is an advertisement. It's everywhere. It's our job to resist and buy only what we need. I don't care if the economy tanks! I'm not buying junk. And anything I won't use is junk - I don't care how expensive and fancy it is. You need to think VERY CAREULLY about what you give as a gift as well. I would bet that at least 50% of gifts end up regifted or thrown out. 

Something bad happened in Studio B yesterday, and I'm very worried. While I was cutting something at the cutting table, I heard a POP. I turned around and noticed this entire ballast was dead. A bit earlier, I had noticed that it was slightly dimmer in the room. 

Two dead ballasts

What's troubling is that this is the SECOND ballast that has gone. Both of them are side by side. I could manage with one gone, but now two in the center of the room? It might be time to get the electrician here. I have a list of other electrical things that need to be done in the house, so I might as well dig out that list and make a call. 

We used to have big issues with lights in our house. Light fixtures would just die. We were certain it was a spike in the electricity coming into the house. We had them check the box outside our front door (on the boulevard), and it seemed OK. It was just replaced last week. But we also had a big surge protector put on our panel box. 

This dead ballast could be worn out but still brings back many memories of dead lights. 

And what are the girls up to? A rabbit is hiding or making a nest under the deck, and they are NOT happy. Usually, the darn thing is under the gazebo, but it's under the deck this time. Knowing two hunters live here, you would think the darn rabbits would pick a different house. I'm sure they will only leave the thing alone once - well, you know. It's the circle of life -- I wish we had more coyotes in our neighborhood!!!

MOM -- we're hunting!!!!!

So, today is going to be another intense day of quilting and applique. Breaking that applique down how I did (and should have before) has made all the difference. I'm making progress—leaps and bounds of progress—and I should easily hit my September 18th target. Should I say that out loud? Don't I want to keep my UFO group in suspense? Well, it's all about making a decision and sticking with it!!

Remember that we have a virtual retreat this weekend. 

Saturday, August 24 - Starts at 6 PM

 Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816483795?pwd=Mjc3M3pvVmZPdjdsQzlHS3Zhck52dz09

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667


Sunday, August 25 - Starts at Noon

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82983517671?pwd=ODdsa1FJenQwdFNaQWFTNGd4bEhPZz09

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

And on that happy note, I'm out of here to get the walks in and then back to work!!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!!

Productivity tips!!!!

People seem to have this impression that I get SO MUCH done each day. Well it isn't always like that and it is also that I am more vocal about what I do than others are. I bet that if you made a list or took a picture of what you did in a day - you would be surprised.

Today I decided to list my TOP TEN things I do NOT do to get more out of my day.......
(sorry - there are NO pictures today). I will do pictures tomorrow!!!!


1. I do NOT bake (what is the point? Whatever you make - you feel obligated to eat so it doesn't go to waste. No one expects it in our house and no one NEEDS it in our house. I still have about 15 pounds to go on my SLOW weight loss program, baking is time consuming, it is expensive - hey do I need to go on about this? If I do crave some baked goods - just as simple to purchase cookies or whatever. Yeah - not like Mom used to make - SO WHAT!!!!!! - it's been so long since I tasted Mom's baking - how could I compare???)
2. I do NOT cook. OK - I do cook - but not much. Everyone is on their own for breakfast and lunch in our house. Everyone eats at all hours of the day so why should I waste my time making a meal. What I do cook is SIMPLE - no sauces, no gravies, no time consuming multi-process meals with huge PREPS and HUGE cleanups. No one appreciates it - why would I bother!!!!!!   We use the grill/BBQ a LOT!!!!!
3. I do NOT clean. OK - that is not quite true. I do have a cleaning lady every two weeks (a promise I made to myself when I was a kid!). I like a clean house, but I am NOT particular. Again - who cares if there is a smidgen of dust or the baseboards need cleaning. I mean really????   Who cares??????   And who notices that stuff anyway????  I do pass the vacuum OFTEN - more often these days cause there is a lot of toing and froing at our house. How long does that take??? TEN minutes at most. And tidying up the kitchen is a breeze if you don't have messy preps to take care of!
4. I do NOT decorate. By that I mean - I do not fuss with curtains, fancy pillows, or knick knacks. The more you have - the more you have to take care of it. Keep it neat, keep it clean, replace, repair or whatever. If you have to replace - then you have to decide what to do with the old, if you have to repair - you have to find the time to repair.
5. I do NOT watch TV (or movies for that matter). I gave this up over one year ago. And I'm still alive!!! Yes I know one can multitask and do hand work while watching TV, but I would get too comfy and then fall asleep. And then one show leads to another. And it is so easy on a BLAH evening to sit in front of the TV and veg the ENTIRE evening. And then there is the keeping of up of all the comings and goings of the new shows, actors, and all the gossip. Nope - just don't go there.
6. I do NOT surf the internet. Now I do surf the internet, but I do NOT spend hours doing it. I try to go for the information that I need and yes - I will get caught up sometimes, but really - how boring to be surfing through all that crap out there! Get what you need and move on!!!!
7. I do NOT iron clothes, sheets, pillowcases, towels - you get the picture!!!  Wash n wear - got to love that!!!
8. I do NOT spend a lot of time on my appearance. OK - I am NOT the most attractive person in the world and perhaps I would be more appealing if I wore a touch of makeup - but appealing to whom???  Not like I am trying to find a husband and not to say that I can't look pretty for the one I have, but really - will it make a difference at the end of the day? NO - to me a person's attractiveness is their sense of humour, their respect for others, their knowledge, - well you get the picture!
9. I do NOT play games. Wait - yes I play Scrabble, but I play my turn and then wait for the others to play. I think I am currently playing six games!!   But I can grab my iPad (cause I love to play Scrabble on my iPad) and just before bed or while I am having lunch - I can play. And sometimes while on vacation or waiting for something - I have one other game I love - WordJewels. And that is only because I am trying to learn new words for Scrabble.
And last but not least........
10. I do NOT over analyze. Depending on what the situation is - I do research - sometimes more, sometimes less and then I make a decision and I LIVE WITH THAT decision. No regrets. You can spend so much time researching and then worry about what you have decided. Waste of time. In most cases - we go with our gut feeling so why waste time looking at the other options.


WOW - you would think that I do NOTHING!!!!!   But that is not true. I guess when I adopted my mantra - PRIORITIZE - FOCUS - WIN - I have eliminated a LOT of unnecessary STUFF from my life. Stuff that really does not add to my enjoyment of life. Yes - there are others to whom the things above are very important - then I say they need to do those things. For me - they are NOT important. Each to their own.

Now here are the Top 10 Things that I do to improve my productivity......

1. Multitask - instead of watching TV in the evening - I now listen to audiobooks. I need to be very focused in order to listen to the book and I find that hand work allows me to stay focused on the book. I prefer to listen to the books on my iPad, but that is not always possible (the library has a better selection on CDs). I like to listen to one CD per evening. So a book with 8 CDs takes a bit more than one week. So far this year with audio books and paper books - I have read 34 NOVELS.
2. Keep work surfaces CLEAR. If you have to first clear off your work area - you WILL find something else to do that takes less work. This can be your desk, your kitchen counter, your kitchen table, your ironing board, your sewing table. Whatever - KEEP IT CLEAR!!!!!!!!   While sometimes when I stop for the day - I do not clean things up (I am lucky that I do not have to) but then I will continue the next day on that project.
3. Define stations for the things you love. If you love hand work - then keep all the stuff related to that hand work EASILY accessible. Keep in a bag, keep it by your chair - wherever. DO NOT remove anything from that bag for any reason OTHER than working on that project. If you do - it will likely not go back and then when you want to work - you will have to find what you removed and that wastes time!!!!  Many people say that they do not have a specific space and have to tidy up all the time. HEY - if it is IMPORTANT to you - then you WILL find a space. I DO NOT care what the husband says - or what the husband likes - we are all entitled to OUR own space for OUR priorities!!!!!
4. Make lists - I have a list of books I have read (easy to go back and reference - especially now that it is on the computer - well 2011 at least), I have a list of things to do in general, lists for the projects that need to be completed by the end of the year, lists of quilts to be quilted for customers, lists of things to do TODAY, lists of errands that need to be done outside the house. By making lists - you are COMMITTING yourself to getting the stuff done. It also helps you to combine "like" things together. Especially when you do errands - if you need to go in one direction - what else needs to be done in that direction. You save time (and gas) by not having to go back again the next day!!!!
5. I try to be efficient in what I do. If I have stuff to go upstairs - I will put it at the bottom (or top) of the stairs. Then when I go up or down - I take that with me. And I really really try to put it away right away. This is hard especially when things do not have a home. I hate making decision about stupid things!!!!   When I am waiting for my bagel to toast in the morning - I can fill my water bottle. Little things like that can save a HUGE amount of time.
6. Get organized!!!!   I can't say enough about this one. If things have a home - it is a BREEZE to tidy up. Honestly - I wish I had started this when M was a baby. Life would have been so much easier. But my brain was so muddled after her birth - I couldn't get my life together!!!!!   It's only taken 15 years to get back on track!!!!   If you know where things are stored - then you tend not to over buy, you will not waste time finding stuff (OK - there are still a few things that allude me - but I am much better!!!)
7. Keep some time for myself. Actually I am quite selfish with my time (in case you haven't figured that out by now). I do help others - don't get me wrong. I think I am over generous in some cases, but that is besides the point. If I did not have time for myself, I would resent all the things I do and then I would not enjoy anything!!!!
8. Keep a sense of humour!   I cannot stress this enough. Life is just too short to dwell on the bad - there are more good sides to people than bad. Have faith in them - even when it is hard (are you listening M?????)  Keeping a sense of humour also helps to diffuse a lot of problems.
9. Stay healthy. Yes - this is not always easy and I am fortunate in this case. But I have worked hard at trying to stay healthy. How many mornings did I drag my butt out to the gym in the cold, how many kilometers have I put on the bike - blah blah blah. But I feel so much better and more energized!!!   Except for the fact that my blood pressure is dropping - borderline LOW yesterday 91/60. That probably helped me be tired yesterday!!!! Along with that is the food (you know - no baking) and trying very hard to drink at least 1 litre of water every day.
10. Be positive!   This can be very hard at times. But look around you? Who gets more done - the person with the positive attitude or the person with the negative attitude????   We can complain until the cows come home but what do we accomplish????   Nothing!!!!!   See my point. Get out - get active - your brain and your body will want to do things!!!!!  


LIFE IS TOO SHORT to be caught up in all the riff raff of STUFF (both material and mental). Get rid of the baggage and get on with living!!!!

Well there you have it!!!!   Why I am as productive as I am!!!!!   None of the above is easy, but it comes to what is important to each of us. Pick one or two things that are important to you and focus on that. When that is in order - then pick something else. Before you know it - you will be doing only those things that are important to you and leaving the dull boring things to someone else or letting go of them. I also find that we tend to hang onto things because "everyone else does it" - TV is a big one there or "we have always done it". It can sometimes be hard to break the mold - but start small.

On that note - I have LOTS to do today.

Have a great day!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!