Much progress and a scholarship!

 OMG!!!!!!! When I read the first line of Daphne's comment, I was going to say - I used to work at the Main Office of BMO in Old Montreal. The number of days I had lunch in the park across the street, right in front of Notre-Dame Basilica. But seriously? There is a plaque in the BMO Museum about the Pauline Vanier Scholarship! I did not know that, and I hope Daphne got a picture. That was ME!!!!!! I should tell you that story someday. I have photos at home -- it was a really big to-do. And it was a very generous scholarship! That scholarship was one of those major life-changing events for me!

What a blast from the past that is!!!! WOW --- I'll have to digest that one today!!!

And even more bizarre, I had the front page of the Montreal Gazette framed in my house for the longest time. It was the date of my birth, even though I was not born in Montreal. And the Vaniers were mentioned on that front page!!!!! Coincidence? 

Well, yesterday was quite the busy day, and I'm plowing through everything I brought with me. No one will be able to yell at me for overpacking for the retreat. Overpacking in the past was bags and bags of stuff that never got touched. Not so now! I've learned!

I have been forgetting to post this picture for the last couple of days, but when one of the ladies and I were out, we snapped this picture of a barn quilt block. Technically, it could be called a church quilt block since it's on a local church. There were several quilt blocks that I spotted, but didn't get pictures of. I love seeing them on the buildings, and I have several books at home about the barn quilt trails in Ontario. 

Barn quilt block on the local church

Two of us went for a walk in the morning, and to avoid bugs, we didn't go all the way to the other concession, since there is a creek near there, and it was pretty buggy. That meant we headed towards the highway, and on our way back to the house, we spotted the activity shown in the photo below. First, the road past the house is typically quiet. A few cars and trucks in the morning, but on Friday? It was like being on a super highway! Many farm vehicles passed us. 

Anyway, a farmer was out in the field, and well, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl, so we stopped to watch. 

Planting - but what?

Hmmm—that is a pretty unique pattern in the field, and we were curious about the swath that didn't get planted. And then we spotted this massive piece of equipment coming down the road. It wasn't so much massive as it was wide, taking up the entire road. 

That's a big piece of equipment.

Thankfully, the tractor pulled into the driveway just in front of us. But see what I mean? It was huge. 

Wide load coming through.

Turns out this is a spud planter! Potatoes!!!!! So we stood there and watched it plant a couple of rows. Pretty fascinating, and it brought back memories of planting and hilling potatoes by hand!!!! I'm sure the farmer was laughing at us!

Then we were off to a quilt show in the afternoon. We only found out about it because we had been to Threads That Bind the day before, or was that two days ago? I'm not going to share photos because I want to share them with my Monday group, but if you have time today, you have to check it out. It's in Feversham, hosted by the Grey County Charmers Quilt Club. 

The theme of the quilt show

Now here is the interesting thing. This group has hosted a quilt show for each of the last four years. And each year, the theme has been very specific. Last year, it was all about log cabin quilts (I vaguely remember someone telling me about that show), and I wish I could have seen it. This year was quilting through the decades. Three ladies organize the show (I think it's three). Anyway, their theme idea is BRILLIANT. I thought the show was so amazing, and it was fun to see how the quilters interpreted the decade they chose. Sometimes it was the pattern, the fabric, the style, and some even modernized their quilts. 

It was truly fascinating, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We got stuck behind a combine (at this time of year?), and it took a bit longer to get home than planned. But what fun and what fun to see the quilts and discuss them with the group of five that went!!!

OK -- now let's check out what I've managed to get done in the last 24 hours. 

As I was digging through my project bag, I discovered another bag of HSTs that need to be sewn. Seriously?? This bag has been hanging around for quite some time because of the fabric it contains. These cutoffs were from a series of pineapple quilt blocks that I made eons ago. I made three quilts from this fabric collection, and they are all quilted, and I think one of them was donated at some point. 

And another bag of HSTs 

I pulled out my knitting and was prepared to get to work, only to discover that I didn't remember how to bind off and join the blocks. I searched online and found the technique—Three-needle bind-off—, but somehow that didn't seem right, since I only had one needle with live stitches, which wasn't going to work. I tried a few suggestions from the master knitters in the room, but nothing worked. 

HMMM - now what?

I had a small book that includes 54 different ways to cast on and cast off, but was the book in the knitting bag? Of course it was not, and it wasn't in my bookcase when I went through the books. It had better be in the cupboard where the knitting bag was, or I'll be buying a new one! Or maybe the library has it. I must check first when I get home. Since I couldn't work on that project, I took the bag to the car. Mind you, there were three other knitting projects in the bag that I could have worked on, but I really wanted to finish my afghan. Next time!!! Or that could be a great job for the gazebo. 

The knitting bag was moved to the car.

Speaking of knitting, I spotted this little knitting instruction book for making World Cup players here at the house!!!! The players on the front of the book are generic, but all the team jerseys' instructions were in the book. Also, a pattern for a soccer ball! The figures were attached to a knitted glove, so you can make them move! Super cute, but it's still on the table for someone else to pick up!

Instructions for knitting World Cup players

I managed to get my eight poinsettia blocks done and sewn together!!! 

Poinsettia blocks - DONE

And I got all the appliques cut for the sledding block. WAIT -- I'm still missing the trees and a dog. I'll get those done when I'm home. 

Applique shapes - DONE

Then it was on to another small handwork project that had been sitting at home for months. Actually, this was started years ago, and I'm almost done. I have this pile of paper pieced Christmas ornaments. I needed to sew three bells on three of the Santa ornaments. And I had to use a Pigma pen to draw the eyes and mouth. Seriously?? Why has that sat for so long? 

Santa face - DONE

So now the six Santa mittens are complete!!!

The six Santa ornaments - DONE

I had four snowman mittens, and they needed a face. The pattern said to use seed beads. Seriously?? How much work is that? So I used the Pigma pen and drew eyes and a mouth. Those smiles are very wide, but that's OK - those snowmen are happy!

Happy snowman ornaments - DONE

And the last one to finish is the birdhouse, where I'm supposed to sew a bird button on its roof. However, I did not bring a bird button with me. Good grief!! 

The last one to finish

There is a whole bag of ornaments that are completely done. Now that I have one small thing to do to complete the entire pile, what the heck am I going to do with them? I need to find a Christmas bizarre!!

The other completed ornaments.

This coming week will be busy, but I'm going to leave all these almost finished projects out, and I WILL get them done. I need to get them out of Studio B. They just add clutter and are so close to being finished!!!!

I managed to get five more raindrops removed from the Cherrywood Challenge. Two of them were small, and with the narrower stitching, they are a challenge, but they are gone!!!

Progress on applique removal

This morning, I pulled out some new things to work on. It's mostly the stuff that I panic-packed, and I'm glad I brought them. There is one quilt top and three bags of scraps in the retreat bag that I likely will not touch this time, but that's OK. I should be able to make progress on everything else! 

I had some sewing and cutting to do this morning, and decided to leave that one bag of HSTs on the cutting table. These units are sewn and pressed, but need to be trimmed. So every time I went into the cutting room, I trimmed four. 

Trimming HSTs

I trimmed quite a few, but didn't take a picture of the total pile. I have no idea where these came from - some project that doesn't ring a bell. Perhaps someone gave them to me. But look at them -- there is a seam in the light. And these are trimmed to 1 1/4". I need my head examined! This is the LAST pile that I will ever work on that is smaller than 1 1/2"  

There are two seams in these!!!

Then it was onto the next project. I go to a few trade shows and events a year and have never made myself a name tag. So I'm using the By Annie Call Me pattern. It's actually a place to put cards, phone, name tag, etc. I had the supplies sitting out for a long time, and it's on my Visual To-do list. This seemed like a good time to make it with Quilt Canada coming up next month. 

Some parts were cut, and others were not. So I got it all cut and quilted, and then cut the quilted section into the proper sizes.  

Supplies for the Call Me pattern 

By Annie.com Shepatterns use all sorts of material types, and there is a vinyl pocket so you can see the name badge through it. When I put the binding on that pocket, I had to sew it onto tissue paper to prevent the vinyl from sticking to the sewing machine bed. 

The binding on the vinyl pocket

And a word of caution -- when cutting, make sure your instructions are not under the fabric. I nipped the corner off the written instructions. 

Oops -- the corner got nicked off.

However, when I went to put the zipper in, I realized that I had an invisible zipper. Seriously??? Why? And I didn't bring any fold-over elastic with me. So I have only the bias binding to finish right after this, and then I have to put it away until I get home. Good grief!!!! That's what happens when you don't check the list of supplies before you pack up a project to bring to a retreat. But I had the right thread colors! 

But I have several other bag projects with me, and I'll work on them until I run out of some critical component, and then I'll finish them at home this coming week. I also have a couple of things to complete for the June wedding, and I hope to work on that today as well. There are three new things to make and one to fix. All are small, but we know that no project is completed in the allotted time frame!!!

Remember the person who was making HSTs with the paper? She had to rip the paper from all of them, but it's done, and the HSTs got turned into a table runner.

Removing paper from the HSTs

And on that happy note, it's time to get back to work. We are going out for breakfast this morning, but there is NOTHING else on the agenda. Thank goodness. We seem to have done a lot of traveling around to various things, and we've had a couple of visitors. Someone came to pick up a couple of books yesterday! 

And then tomorrow is the last day. But I still have time to work on projects, and I'm going to get as much done as I can. 

We all know that what happens at retreat, stays at retreat. I can't thank my friends enough for making each of us feel comfortable sharing almost everything! That says so much about who your friends are and who you spend time with. We are a small group (6), but boy, oh boy—we work well together. No drama and a high level of security—that makes me feel very happy!!!! And I'm thrilled to know I'm not alone in so many areas!!! Thanks, everyone!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Show n Tell

In case they missed it in the comments (the two post-op knee people are now chatting to each other), and we have a retired orthopedic nurse amongst the readers—get an icing machine. I've heard that from other people as well. I hope I never need one, but apparently, they are the best thing since sliced bread for recovery! 

Thanks to Elle for the suggestion, and good luck to Torri and Shirley! 

I had fun at the two classes in the morning. So much creativity! I will only share my Colour My World with you—the others are still in bits and pieces, and I'll save the big show-and-tell for June. I still have to complete the stitching on the four houses in the middle of each row, but otherwise - I'm up to date!

My Colour My World quilt - close to being finished

I'm so happy with the progress. I love the bright colors, and I've pretty much kept the pattern to the original, except for changing the color of the trees. The four corners are the areas where many others before our class have changed the four distinct buildings in the original: Big Ben, Eiffel Tower, One World Trade Center (NY), and Centrepoint Tower (Sydney, Australia). 

The original quilt

Some of the ladies want to switch up the buildings and make them more representative of Canada or places they have seen around the world. I'm going to swap two of them -- CN Tower for Centrepoint Tower, and a grain elevator for One World. I have no clue how to draw, but I got out my pencil and a ruler (and an eraser - thank goodness) and took a very logical approach to drawing the CN Tower, which I shared with the class. And I made it into a paper pieced pattern! And it took about 20 minutes in total!!! 

I love the group's creativity, and they are now creating some amazing buildings for the corners. However, I have one frustrating situation in the class. As a polite Canadian, I might not mention this, but I am downright annoyed, and I'm allowed to speak up! If we don't voice these kinds of things, they'll keep happening, and I'm tired of keeping the crap inside. 

 Every month since the beginning, a question has come up about the alternate (NON-existent, personal choice) patterns. Would they be offered for free (there was an offer to buy them)? This was way before we even started to work on designing them. I get it -- I don't draw, but I'm working to the best of my abilities and willing to give it a try. 

I have no problem if people ask, and I explained my stance that as a teacher, I am there to teach them how to create these patterns that I don't even need to, because the original pattern comes with FOUR PERFECTLY GOOD BUILDINGS! I get it and would be most willing to share my patterns, but the constant whining has made me dig my heels in. Why should I or someone design a building that is special to them and then just hand it over to someone else? 

Besides, these patterns are large, so they are not easy to scan and send to someone else. And my pattern, once I'm done with it, will be scraps of paper! All anyone has to do is follow my detailed diagrams, and they, too, can achieve the same pattern in mere minutes!

Enough said about that --- the bottom line is if you want the redesigned patterns, then try and if you don't succeed, perhaps we can work out an arrangement, but I DO NOT hand out free gifts on a platter without some effort. I probably would have shared what I've done, but the behavior got my back up right at the start of the class, and because of the constant whining about it, I have dug my heels in. I hope no one in the class shares either - I know that is completely un-Christian-like - but there are principles to be upheld! 

I'm also very happy to report that the Tamarack Jacket is almost complete! I have sewn in the sleeves, and I need to finish off the seam allowances before I continue, but I basted the side seams just to see how it fits, and I LOVE IT!!! I still need to bind the sleeves, but that is the last thing after the side seams are finished. So lots of handwork. I might get some of this completed tonight at the virtual retreat, or I'll take it this week. I need to get some of these almost-finished things done! 

The front of the Tamarack jacket

The back ends a good steaming because it's been crumpled in a basket for a long, long time. While it may seem a bit large in the back, I don't have a ton of excess room, and I certainly want it so tight that I can't move. I'm happy with it. 

The back of the jacket

I accomplished quite a bit after the Zooms were over. What should I work on? All this free time is beyond my comprehension—where do I even begin to get everything done? At least I have the time, now I need to keep my focus and motivation. The pile on the current projects table is motivation enough, but there is so much that it's hard to know where to start. 

I decided to grab the bag of black-and-white scraps and see what could be done. This was on the current projects table, and I was going to toss it in with the retreat stuff, but decided it was a good task for yesterday. 

My scrap box of black and white fabric

I'm not going to give you the blow-by-blow of how I did what I did, as I've decided to teach my scrap class in the fall. I'm enjoying my free time too much to fill it up with classes. Here's my plan - I'm going to run a scrap class in the fall through Thimbles and Things (SH -- I have finalized the details with Paula yet), and it'll likely start in October (maybe September) and run for hmmmmm ---- how many months? About 7, I think, so I need to look at my calendar. Perhaps I could get that organized later today. 

I know that someone else does scrappy classes with that store, but I have a different take on it! As a result, I'm saving the process I did yesterday, but I'll share a few things with you. 

After taking stock of what I needed, I had to cut almost 1,000 rectangles at 1½" by 2½". 

Taking stock of what I had

That was a long and boring afternoon, but I was listening to a great audiobook, so I didn't mind. After the workout and the massage, and then standing to do all this cutting, my back was tired at one point, so I sat down for a while. 

MANY rectangles cut

The bottom line is that everything got cut, labelled, and back in the project bag. 

The project is ready to sew!

The remaining bits of black-and-white fabric are neatly organized in the black-and-white scrap box, and I'm a happy camper. YES - I made a dent in the scrap box! 

The scrap box now!

I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to get back to working on this, but it is a good ender/leader project, and I might keep that out and work on it instead of my half-square triangles. But that is one thing off the current project table - well, technically it's still there, but much more advanced than it was. 

Then it was onto the next thing. As mentioned, there are so many small things that are almost complete but aren't, and I'm trying to get them done. I have these little mitten ornaments that are mostly done, but a few need a few fiddly finishing details. Last night, during the Virtual Retreat call, I decided to get more of that done. 

I had one mitten that required crystals. 

This mitten requires crystals.

I set up the supplies, which probably took longer than applying the remaining crystals. 

Getting ready to work on the crystals

The mitten now has crystals and is complete. I put everything away once the crystal tool cooled down. 

Crystals on the mitten

I have six Santa mittens that required theappliquée pieces to be cut and fused in place. I did that the other day, but now a bell has to be stitched to each hat. 

Three Santa mittens

I have three of six bells sewn on, and all six faces have theappliquéé complete. I believe I still have to mark eyes with a pen and something else, I can't remember at the moment. I should be able to finish those tonight. 

I also cut out the fusibleappliquéé and fused the pieces for the four snowman blocks in place. There is still a face to draw on. The pattern calls for seed beads, but why? I think I'll get the Pigma pen out and mark dots. 

The four snowman mittens

I get an email anytime a house is listed in our area, or there's a price change or whatever. OH MY GOODNESS -- we all know that prices are nowhere near what they were several years ago, but I got a notification this morning of a house that has a price drop of 35%. That equates to over $500K. Either that was a big mistake, or they are desperate to sell. So, for less than $1M, you can get a pretty nice house in a great neighborhood!! The house has been renovated as well! 

The girls and I had some long walks (yes - that is plural) yesterday. I took this picture of the creek in the forest behind the house. 

The creek behind our house

What's interesting, and I probably say this every year, is that the creek ends in a city sewer drain! And it only has water in the spring. How sad that the creek ends in a drain. I know other areas around here typically have water in the spring, but they just plop houses onto the land. 

When I went for a walk in the afternoon, I had no errands and didn't really want to walk alone, so I grabbed both girls, and we went out. Good grief—though Miss Murphy was fast asleep and is getting up in age, the minute you put a leash on her, she is a different dog. For the first part of the walk, she goes full tilt, then, once she has calmed down, she slows down somewhat. Lexi is just happy to be out!

Walking the dogs

While they are fun to walk together, I wouldn't do it regularly. They would kill me with all the pulling and twisting and turning they do. But they are MUCH better on leashes together than they used to be. They would get all twisted up and pull suddenly at full speed, and it was a nightmare. My only fear about walking both of them is having an e-scooter pass us, because Murphy HATES them. She even gives motorcycles the evil eye when they pass us! I have no idea where that came from! I would not be able to control both dogs in that situation. 

I spent time in Studio B this morning tidying up! Machines were on the floor, needing cleaning, and stuff was everywhere. I still have a lot to do today, but I'm making good progress. Vacuuming floors, dusting, etc. And putting things away and getting out what to work on today. I have nothing except the Virtual Retreat. Sorry—I had to check my schedule again to confirm that. It just feels bizarre to not have to prep for something or host a Zoom class. 

WAIT—other than Monday Sewing, I have NOTHING on my calendar for the remainder of the month. NOTHING!!!! 

But that doesn't mean I'm not cognizant of what needs to be done for April, and with several trips in April, I need to be strategic with my time. I dug out this block to work on this morning. That is going to be a doozy to sew, and I can hardly wait. 

My "homework" for today

I'm trying really hard to finish up those piddly and fiddly little things that are half done. There's a lot of that kind of stuff on the current projects table. I'm making progress, but I have a few too many things on the go. It's time to refocus and just get them done! That includes the cutting and handwork I'm taking to this quilting retreat! 

On that happy note, I'm out of here! The link for the Virtual Retreat is below. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!




Virtual Retreat - Sunday, March 22 --- starts at 3 PM.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89869001291?pwd=h57kT9axwTnd2xtJvuO0z2UOmUo45w.1

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

Lost and found!

I love how we all have similar interests!!! And we have no end to the creativity and fun we have while doing those. I got a picture from Lynn, and she used the orange collage fabric in her butterfly quilt! It was probably used near the bottom in that orange bit? But maybe also on the border. 

Another use of the collage fabric

Either way --- it's a fun fabric, but I won't be searching for more. I have my fat quarter of orange, and that's good enough for me. 

As for doing puzzles on the computer -- that's an amazing alternative to doing them in person. I am trying to get away from constantly using the computer for everything, as I spend a lot of time each day writing, emailing, or making a presentation. It's nothing to find new puzzles by exchanging them with others, buying them from the thrift store on senior discount day (yesterday: 5 books and three 1000-piece puzzles) for $30, tax included! That's a lot of entertainment for $30!!! And getting rid of the puzzles? That is definitely not an issue because I can return them to the thrift store and get a 25% coupon, or I can pass them along to others in my circle. 

There is something about laying them out on the design boards (no trays for me!), and then searching through them. I am a very analytical person, and the arranging and rearranging of the pieces is something my brain needs to function. It's repetitive, extremely calming, and very therapeutic! 

Did I make progress yesterday? Oh yes --- I waited patiently until after dinner, then grabbed all the blue and green pieces, as well as a few with tiny bits of red and yellow that I had missed the times before. I'm down to four design boards with pieces now. What I love about this is that the space required is so minimal. And it's right in the middle of my sewing chaos, and yet I don't see it during the day. 

The amount of space I need is equal to the size of the puzzle, which is the end of a banquet table. 

Great progress on the puzzle

Putting the blue and green pieces in the puzzle went so quickly, I felt somewhat "cheated!" but that's OK, I had other things to do. To give me a bit more satisfaction, I pulled the pieces for tonight and placed them on a design board, now that I have a free one. So I'm all set when the time comes. I am teaching myself discipline and focus by stopping when I say I will. I need that because I have a very addictive brain, and if I let it go, I would get no sleep. 

Speaking of sleep! After reading about sleep in the Brain at Rest book, sleep is probably one of the most important things you can do for yourself, and yet so many people poo-poo how much sleep they need and are running on empty. Did you know that sleep helps rebuild and repair your body, including your immune system? You NEED sleep. I got 6 hours 40 minutes according to my app, out of 7 and a half that I was in bed, so that's not so bad. 

And napping? The author of the book "The Brain at Rest" LOVES napping, and so do I. 30 minutes is a good amount to nap. EVERY DAY!!!!

I was cleaning up a folder with more paper crap -- I just cannot imagine leaving this to someone else. There wasn't much in, but the dental bills (dating back to 2001) are now gone. I've decided to keep the medical stuff for the current year, after it's been claimed by insurance. At this point, we do not need those bills for income tax purposes - maybe sometime in the future, the total amount we pay will be higher, but for now, I keep one year (labeled) and then out it goes. I even made a label for the folder. 

My very thin medical folder

Then realized I already had another thin folder, also labeled "medical". So the two folders were amalgamated, and the empty one is in the supply cabinet. I had a few spare moments in the kitchen yesterday, so I even went through some of what was set aside for today. Oh my—I may even have to get another folder out! Slow and steady! 

Ooops --- duplicate!

When I'm buzzing around taking pictures in Studio B and then realize that I have put my phone down somewhere, but where - it can be a problem. Yesterday, I couldn't find the darn thing anywhere, and because it's completely silent (no vibration, no buzz), I couldn't call it. Only after going back over my racks did I realize it was UNDER this mat, where the serger sits. Seriously??? I need to stop doing that!

The phone was under the mat!

Before you think I'm completely mad and slipped it under the mat, not so. The mat wasn't under the serger, and I was taking pictures of the serger. Then I slipped the mat onto the table and put the serger back on the mat. I didn't realize my phone was beside the serger, and the mat went over it. 

And then I found it under the yarn by the long arm. 

Another hiding spot for the phone

One day, I will lose it for good. I need to put it in my pocket instead of setting it down. But I got lots of work done - not as much as I would have liked, but then I never accomplish as much as I set out to, as I always have big dreams, but I'm still on target to get everything done by when it needs to be done. That even included some handwork!!! I have some YouTube videos to watch, so I sat there doing the homework while watching them. 

I have this bag of ornaments I was working on and have almost finished them all, but some small, fussy pieces needed to be cut out, and some hand stitching was required. So I set up a TV table beside the computer, and the stuff resides there. I have 2/3 of the fiddly cutting done, and then I need to sew on six bells and draw some faces. OH - and some fusing. Then I can call these things done! Another bag of stuff that has been sitting on the current project table. 

My evening handwork project

What is nice about those current project tables is that they handily contain all the current projects. OK -- that's a lie since there are tubs of stuff on the floor that are too large to go on the table, but that's OK -- they are contained and form a wall around Murphy's mat, so she has a nice dark area to sleep. But the most important thing is that NOTHING additional has been added to those tables in months! So that is a huge bonus!!! It means I'm actually getting ahead of the game! And I love games!!!

I started culling the T-shirts in my drawer. I will never wear these again, so they went in the pile of T-shirts from which to make a T-shirt quilt for myself. I love T-shirt quilts as they are heavy and I LOVE heavy quilts. 

T-shirts for my T-shirt quilt!

Yes - I like to wear bicycle T-shirts, but the black one has a V-neck, and I can't stand wearing a V-neck. The purple one is starting to wear thin, so both are retired. The one from the fabric company - where will I ever wear that again? But it will go into the memory T-shirt quilt that I plan to make. Hey, I can make as many as I want!

I am feeling pretty content these days. So much to do, but I can only do a little bit each day, and there is absolutely ZERO rush to get this stuff done. No deadline, and I can completely ignore the mess. I don't see it, just like a hoarder doesn't see the mess in their house. I completely ignore that current project table! I'm good with that. I want to enjoy the process of making, not rush to finish something. 

The girls were in their glory yesterday. It was very cold (it must be cold for me to say that), and they loved being outside. Something interesting had attracted their attention in the forest. 

MOM - please open the gate!

And that Murphy - you give her an inch and next thing you know, she has pushed my chair completely out of the way and lies in the very spot I need to be to work! Sigh!!!! 

MOM - just keeping your spot warm!

No news on the package - it's still "in transit," so I expect that I'll only see it pop up in my mailbox unannounced. It's still within the delivery window. If it hasn't arrived by the end of the delivery window, I'll be at the post office asking questions. 

And on that note, I'm out of her and on my way to spin class. Good grief - I see it's still cold this morning, but hopefully no wind. That wind was bitter in the morning, and there was a layer of granular ice (in most spots). Yuck!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!