New versus Classic!

Regarding the headphone issue, I am using a pair of Shokz—they are also referred to as open-ear buds. I LOVE them, but while I can hear things around me, they do NOT block out the noise of the sewing machine or the long arm. So as I'm cutting and ironing, they are amazing, but the minute I start to sew, the machine's noise overrules the audiobook! And the long arm is even worse!

I'll try the old headphones one more time, and then if I can't jiggle that connection, I'll ditch them and get the new pair out! But thanks for the suggestion - I love the Shokz, even though the microphone will NOT work for me, so I need to use a hardwired mic when I use them for Zoom. 

There is some interference in my house - yes, my house! That interference prevents me from using a Bluetooth mic. I've tried several pairs of earbuds and over-the-ear headphones, and all work for a few minutes, then my voice gets garbled. I've given up trying to understand the issue. That's been the same on Zoom or Teams - they just don't work. 

BUT the good news is that I had a 45-minute conversation on my cell phone the other day - in my kitchen, and my voice didn't disappear once! That is HUGE news at my house. Hence, I rarely call or talk to anyone and certainly not on my cell phone!

Well, I don't know what happened with those emails and the pictures yesterday - they eventually came in, but it took forever. I suspect the computer was dealing with my massive delete situation and just wasn't going to handle two jobs at once. Must be a man! Sorry!

Here's the scoop with Outlook -- as I mentioned yesterday, I have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the interface, and I'm determined to make this thing work! I'm also determined to clean it up so it will likely work even better for me! In the past, there was a single version of Outlook, and at some point, it became part of Office 365, which I have a subscription to. I use Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word almost daily. I don't use Excel much, but I bet my friends are all shouting at me to use it more! And maybe I will - I just need to find a use for it! 

I guess I'll have to start tracking something. Who knows!!!

Anyway, there used to be a database, but I believe Microsoft recently eliminated it, since I doubt many people used it. 

Now with Outlook, there is Outlook Classic and Outlook New. Of course, there is!! Outlook New has fewer features than the Classic version, and that's probably because too many people were stuck on how to make the Classic version work. I don't know. 

When I unboxed the new computer, I decided to go with the new version. I may switch back if I can. 

This is the email structure on my old computer with the Classic version. Notice there is no ARCHIVE folder, but there is one called Important, which would store a copy of all emails, almost like a backup. But it would never delete them from that folder. While it says 3155, it was very full! I'll check it later today to see what it says, since both computers are up and running right now. There were also lots of unnecessary folders at the bottom, and I could never get rid of them. The delete function was grayed out when I clicked on the folders, and that drove me mad until I got over it and let it go!

Structure in Outlook Classic

And here is the Outlook New structure. Ignore the number of emails in my inbox - I aim to fix that. 

But now an archive menu popped up, and look at the number of emails in there. It would just pop anything into that folder. So I started deleting all those files. I really don't care if something goes missing. I can't even deal with what I have! Don't worry - within my Inbox folder, there is a very comprehensive filing structure. However, there is ONE folder that I created that I cannot delete, and it's driving me mad! Perhaps I can rename it and then try to delete. Hmmm -- I'll try that later today. 

Outlook New file structure

As I emptied that folder, which took a very long time, it dumped many of the files into the Deleted Items folder. So now I'm letting that empty as I write. I didn't get back to this computer yesterday. 

There were extra folders in this new file structure, and I was able to delete those, so I only have the ones I need, as you see above. The bad news is that I cannot delete the Archive Folder, which Microsoft is supposedly phasing out. OK—get rid of it completely!!! I have tried to delete that folder, and the system won't let me. I'm going to explore a bit more, then give Support a call to see if I can get this more or less configured the way I want! 

I hadn't been in my Junk email folder in a bit, and I discovered three emails from someone asking for something from me, so I must answer them later today. 

I still have the option to scoot back into the Classic version, which I might do to discover more about the Archive thing. Anyway, I'm on a roll, and I'm not afraid to use DELETE!!!! But now that I know that any information I look for needs to be for Microsoft NEW, that helps a lot. 

Switch back to Classic

I'm working my way through my embroidery design files. I find it very therapeutic, and I'm learning a lot about myself and my previous lack of discipline and focus. It's also teaching me patience, which is essential. And for some reason, on my old computer, many times when I wanted to MOVE something, I could only copy. And that created a mess. On the new computer, I now (again) can move things, and that is going to be huge. 

I plan to locate all the digital embroidery files I can find on the hard drives, the USBs (which I believe were moved to a hard drive), and any other digital storage locations. Then once they are all on one hard drive in a "TO BE SORTED" folder, it'll just make me feel happy. Then I  start the purge/sort in earnest. Someone suggested I delete and start over! Can't happen because these files came from all different sources (over 25 years), which I no longer have access to - some came via email, some came on USBs, some I created myself. Overall, the designs that I purchased online are probably the minority of my files. 

But slow and steady - that's how I roll. The bottom line? I'm super excited now that I have a plan!!

Quote of the day!

After my two presentations, I got a lot of work done in the afternoon, but alas, I can't share any of it with you - not yet!

But I can share this with you. So I run a Club called Many Blocks, which is a small group of us working on quilts with many blocks. It's like a UFO Club, but the project doesn't have to be a UFO. I started working on my 365 Day Challenge quilt because I thought it would be an incentive to finish it. I struggled and didn't accomplish much. I decided to put that aside and work on less intense quilts where I could actually see some progress. 

I set four goals for 2026 in that group - to finish and bind three quilts - Farm Girl Vintage and Vintage Christmas, which are both Lori Holt quilts that I taught. I also included the blocks from Dear Jen - I did not complete them all, and then I'll get to work on Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, which is another quilt I taught, and you'll see more of that later this year. 

I taught Farm Girl Vintage at Sew Sisters in 2016 and then at The Hobby Horse in 2018. Neither time was I able to complete the quilt. But look -- I managed to get the top together, which I think you saw last week, and then I threw it on the long arm, and it's quilted!! 

Farm Girl Vintage - quilted!

I trimmed it the other day, and it's now sitting by the sewing machine with the binding ready to finish it off!! So when I'm focused, I can get things done. Once that binding and the label are on, I'll be able to remove that item from my visual to-do list. Am I excited? You bet!!! And highly motivated to get more off that board!!

Oh shoot - I'm off to spin class this morning, so I'd better run!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!

Digital Disaster

Yep --- I'm a believer in the scale as well for keeping weight under control! I check at the gym twice a week. But in all fairness to myself, I don't really need to lose weight—OK—10 pounds would be amazing, but I want to tone up, and that is measured by BMI!!! 

It doesn't matter what measurement type you use, but sadly, we need to keep on top of it! As we age, our metabolism slows, so we have to be even more diligent. 

I don't let pain stop me from walking. There are days when my knee(s) hurt, and my left leg feels like it's going to collapse on me (nerve issues is my guess), but I still go out! I will NOT let pain become an issue in my life. If I do, I'm destined to a life inside my house, and that will never do! 

If I don't walk, I feel like a lump. When I walk, my mental health perks right up, and I feel great and so glad I went out! 

OK—let's talk about the technology nightmare in my house. Actually, I should be more specific and call it a digital disaster! 

I have set a goal for 2026 in my world of machine embroidery: to get my digital embroidery files in order. OH MY GOODNESS, I knew it was going to be bad, but how bad? Oh -- it's bad! The biggest issue, and I won't go into too much detail since I'm sharing with the group this morning, and then I can share with you. The two issues are the number of "safe places" I've found to store files - multiple directories, multiple hard drives, OneDrive, USBs, and the list goes on!! And duplicates? Don't even get me started!

But I have a plan, and you'll see it later this week. I need to explain my plan to the group this morning. Let's just say - it's going to be a year-long project. Or maybe not - we'll see how it goes. I'm kind of excited about it, and then perhaps I can target other areas of digital files. For those of you who have a handle on digital files -- I'm impressed. Like anything, you start off without a care in the world, not realizing how vital filing, sorting, and organizing are, until it's a huge mess. Some people leave it, others choose to tackle it. I'm tackling it - but slow and steady is my game. 

The other data disaster on my computer is my email. I'm not sure why all the pictures aren't coming through as fast as I would like, but I think I know why, and well, there's a massive dump happening as I write, so that could be slowing down the incoming emails. 

I know people have a love/hate relationship with Microsoft Outlook. I've used it for years, and I like the fact that everything looks so nice on the screen. I could go directly to my server site, but that's just not how I roll. You know me—I'm not good with change. I admit it!!! 

But here's the problem -- twice I've decided to get a handle on how Outlook works, and I've gotten books from the library. Here is one of them. - published in 2025.

A book on Outlook

I settled down last night to read a section that has me mystified, and then out of curiosity, I thought I'd check the setting on my computer. Wait a minute -- what they are saying in the book doesn't apply to the NEW version (app) of Outlook. |Good grief. That's just silly, so this book goes back, because I can't trust the information in it, though I can get some background. 

But here's what irks me a lot. I went online to see if I could find a solution, and YES -- there is a different way to handle the Archive files in the new app. Except that the settings they tell you about online don't actually exist in the software. Now that makes me angry! 

You (Microsoft) think it's OK -- to store every file of mine in an archive, but don't give me the option to make changes to that? So you can try and sell me more disk storage or slow my computer down with a bunch of crap I don't need? 

And never mind that the version of Outlook used by companies is DIFFERENT than the version used by individuals. It's similar, but not the same, and there are configurations that the IT people do. OK -- I hate it!! There is no love. Wait -- there is - I love the interface so much better than going directly to the website. 

What I would love is 60 minutes with an EXPERT who uses the individual version, who can help me get things organized and show me a few tips on being more efficient with email. Let's just say that the new version has a lot fewer controls or settings than before, so is that a good thing or a bad thing? Or maybe I just haven't found them yet. I'm taking this opportunity of a "new" Outlook, to get that inbox under control - delete stuff I no longer need (most of it) and move on! I'm tired of the crap!

As soon as the pictures come in, I'll share you the numbers. They are insane!! Still no new emails received, and it's been over an hour! 

I managed to get a lot of sewing done yesterday, but I can't share anything with you! It's all about homework prep, and I need to share those with the group first, but OH MY -- I'm getting excited to see some of the projects come together. I have a tub of small UFO items that I've been ignoring, so I must get to those soon. But let's focus on one thing at a time, and that's where that little list of three things comes in handy! 

I think I've given up on my noise-cancelling headphones. There is a short in the on/off switch, and I was able to use them by jiggling the earpiece, but I think they have finally given up the ghost. So I'm using my open-ear buds, which are great but not as good as the headphones. I don't know how people can sew and listen to an audiobook or TV just playing in the room because I can barely hear the narrator in my earbuds. I'm guessing that most people who go that route are really just using the audiobook or TV as background noise. I'd prefer to hear it well, or not at all. 

I do have a new pair of headphones, and I think it's time to crack the box open. In the meantime, I seem to be hearing lots of weird things in Studio B. Murphy can't sneak downstairs undetected any longer! I can hear her coming down. Or when something goes clunk—what is that? 

I heard a clunk and couldn't figure out what it was, and when I went to investigate, I found this. 

Hmm -- where's the fourth picture?

Yep -- one of the pictures fell off the wall. Mind you, it looks like the others went for a very bumpy ride as well. I don't get why those pictures never stay squared up! I have started to leave them like this - it's more fun! There is a door on that wall, but it's to the furnace room, which I don't use that often, and I certainly don't bang the door. 

But yes, my little command strip let loose! So I'll have to get another one out and rehang the picture that fell. The adhesive strip stayed on the wall, but the plastic hanger side lost its adhesive. 

The command hook sticker after I pulled it off the wall

I even managed to pull the command strip off the wall without damaging the paint, unlike one time when I wasn't at my house, and I pulled the strip off the wall (long story - but hung up a sheet to watch a movie), and I pulled the paint off the wall. I fessed up!!! I guess we don't hang things on the walls of other people's houses, even with command strips! 

I had a few spare minutes, so I sewed and trimmed a few more half-square triangles. 

More half-square triangles

That's the good news. The bad news is that when I went to put the HSTs away, I realized there are THREE tubs of triangles to be sewn together. Not one, not two, but THREE!!! Of course, there are three. When I first started quilting, I thought there were sewing fairies who would come and help me work at night. So things got piled up! What a fool I was!!!! 

Well, I don't know what's happened to my pictures. They have synced to my phone, but not the computer. Sigh.................   You only got the ones above because I sent them to myself last night. And YES -- I have "forced" a sync and nothing comes through. I will conquer this - I won't let it get me down. It just takes some time to figure it all out. 

Anyway, you can see the numbers tomorrow. It's not a big deal - they are obscene anyway. 

We all know the world is topsy-turvy these days. Prices are going up in the quilting world. Canadians were always envious of the prices of fabric in the US. I recently read an article about how tariffs are affecting the cost of fabric in the US, and probably in Canada as well. Everyone is getting hit by tariffs, and it's hurting everyone. Check out this article. Sadly, this is happening, and the worst part is that there is absolutely NO REASON for those tariffs. But I won't go there. 

I think that's it for today! I still have to get my Conqueror 2026 Challenge set up - maybe I'll try that today - and this email nightmare - well, let's see where that goes. Can I delete the archive folder, and that will be the end of it? It's like in the old version, there was an Important folder that duplicated everything. Why? I don't get it - we do NOT want duplicates of anything! 

I'm off to see if I can find a good resource to help me figure out Outlook. OK -- you can stop laughing now!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!

Storage Woes

My storage woes are far from being over. Every place I look - Google Drive, One Drive, my laptop -- everything is red-lining! The biggest issue is I need help understanding what is going on. I have files that are sitting on my phone that are also sitting on Google Drive. Some of them do not download when I download from my phone, but I see that I can do that manually on the computer. I best try downloading today and then manually moving what doesn't come automatically. 

And despite deleting many emails, the storage space has not budged. Why is that? I see where some of it is an issue - when people send me pictures and do NOT resize them, those emails are enormous, but since I deleted all of last year (the homework ones), I should see a difference. Nope -- something is hiding somewhere!

What would be amazing is if I could figure out how to empty all those shared drives onto my backup drive so I could start fresh. I WILL figure it out, but I'll need some time. And time is NOT what I have this month. Tomorrow is the start of a HUGE marathon that will stop on April 1. Yeah me!

Something cute happened in the night. I woke up and had trouble going back to sleep, so I got out my phone to check a few things. I know -- I should not do that. Don't worry, I went back to sleep shortly afterwards. But while the phone was on, I could hear Miss Murphy enter the room. Oh shoot -- I should pretend to be asleep, so I turned the phone off. The next thing I knew, she had her paw on the bed. It was like she was saying, "Are you OK?" What a sweetie. I didn't acknowledge her, so she did the quietest little "Yip" as if to say, "I'm worried - are you OK?" I love it when they know that loud barking is not allowed, although that won't stop her if she spots a skunk by the front window at 3 AM. 

So I acknowledged her little "yip" and said, "I'm OK. SHH - it's bedtime," and she lay beside the bed and went to sleep. So did I. What a sweetie! Love you, Murphy!!!

Our kitchen has a pantry that we don't use for food. It's mostly stuff for the girls and the boy. Food, toys, etc, and my camera stuff. We also have pantry moths in that space, and I wonder if they arrive there because of the dog food or if they come in the dog food. I didn't find any infestation in the food, so they must just materialize. 

I had cleaned off the top shelf holding the camera equipment a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I'd look in another basket of camera stuff that was NOT on the top shelf and perhaps wipe down that shelf. 

Another basket of camera stuff

Oh boy -- there's a lot to be said about putting "like" things together. I found another digital camera and a case. The camera was placed in the electronic recycling -- OH -- I should also check for the battery charger and toss it in the box. I kept the case -- it has a belt loop and could be handy for hiking? I don't know, but I kept it. 

Another digital camera and a case

I found FOUR more unmarked open tapes, which I'll have to pay to have moved to a DVD. No sense leaving them for someone else to discover. I AM responsible for leaving this stuff in a mess. 

Four more open tapes

I found 2 more brand-new tapes, and they went in the giveaway box. The next thing I knew, the entire shelf was empty. 

Cleaning the pantry

Then I spotted a little nest of the pests, and well, everything came out of the pantry. DH was away in the afternoon, and I only seem to get this cleaning bug when he's not around!!!

The pantry is empty!

There was stuff strewn around the entire kitchen.

Tubs that were emptied and washed

Dog toys and treats in their baskets

The kitchen island was covered with stuff from the pantry

Little Bear just sat in this spot the entire time. Well, it was his dog bed, and he was happy to be part of the action, but he didn't have to lift a paw!!!

Bags of dog food and Little Bear 

The pantry - empty and washed down

I knew toys and treats were in there for the girls and the boy, but I didn't realize how much. So it's all sorted into "like" things -- toys, treats, and grooming supplies. 

Dog stuff

Look what I found! Why the heck would I buy TWO of these when she had not even touched the first one. Since the first one is almost toast, I have a backup. She's going to be so happy!

A backup toy for Murphy!

I found not one but TWO lunch bags with bicycles on them. This one is in the giveaway pile. I hate to give it away, but I have one, and while I used it all the time when we did in-person sewing, I don't use it any longer, and I think this one is brand-new. So I'll keep one, just in case! 

Brand new lunch bag to giveaway

I found more film! But that's OK -- I still have a film camera from my grandfather. I should load the film into it and just go have fun! Thinking about the picture before you take it might be a good thing. We're so used to snapping thousands of photos (and filling up our storage space) that it might be a good exercise. I think I now have TEN rolls of film - black and white as well as color. 

I found a container with empty film canisters. Does anyone want them? I was keeping them to use as containers to put my broken and dead needles in, but how quickly do they fill? Not quickly at all. So these are going to go! I put starch in another one for applique, and it's pretty handy as they don't leak. 

Empty film canisters

Well, one thing led to another, and when I got the pantry back in order, except for a few things I still need to deal with, I spotted the bucket by the backdoor with dog stuff. Well, I could clean that up as well. So I did and was shocked when I realized that someone had used it as a fire hydrant! The bottom was rather rank, so I washed it all down, took the stuff inside, and stored it in the pantry. 

More dog stuff in a bucket by the backdoor

I found harnesses that technically need to be tossed, so I'll remove the hardware and then toss the pieces. I wonder if anyone could use the webbing -- it's good in most places. But Murphy has gone through so many harnesses; it's crazy! She seems to have settled down now, so that's good. 

I took the bucket and put it on the old treadle at the front door. All the leashes and harnesses went in it. I'm not sure I will like the jumble, but let's see how it goes. It certainly looks neater. I may move it to the foot pedal, but let's see how this goes. 

A container for the leashes and harnesses

I had to stop at the pet store as one of my errands, and I spotted a long rawhide that I knew Murphy would love. So, on an impulse, I got it for her. She didn't know what to do with it when I gave it to her. There is ZERO reason to fear that Lexi or Bear would steal it, as they have no interest in that. 

At one point, I spotted her at the backdoor like this, so I knew she was trying to bury it. Let's face it -- it was two feet long. 

MOM -- I had fun  with the rawhide bone

Later in the day, I looked out the window and had to chuckle. She was trying to bury it. Well, she placed it against some rocks and was scooping dirt onto it. And this is what she looked like. Have you ever seen such a happy face? Oh, Murphy -- it's a good thing we love you!!!!

MOM -- I HAD FUN!!!!!!! 

Later, she had dug it up and brought it into the house. It was cleaned off by now. She chewed it in half, and I grabbed one half and put it away. I'm not sure what happened to the other half, but I heard her happily chewing on it as I went to bed. 

Look at this little guy. He got a leaf stuck to his butt, and it wouldn't come off. The leaf was fluttering behind him as he ran down the sidewalk. I took it off, but it was so cute. 

GRANDMA - I got a leaf on my butt!

OK -- I don't think you can read this, and I should have cut and pasted it, but I got this email - can you see the name FEISHANG. OK --- seriously? That's such an obvious fake - I had to laugh. 

An obvious SCAM email

But what was disturbing was that they mentioned Comfy Cases in the email and said they had great bags, just like the ones at Comfy Cases, but theirs were better. Comfy Cases is a charity that makes pillowcases for kids. 

Anyway, that went in the trash bucket, or maybe it was in the trash, and that's where I discovered it this morning. 

Well, I have a dilemma today. Should I quilt a customer quilt (needs to be done), or should I do paperwork (also needs to be done). And what about my sewing and the prep work for this week. Which one is a priority? Determining the highest priority is hard, but I think the customer will win today. 

I have dinner out, and I have to pick something up later today, so that will kill the latter half of the day. Not that I have time for either, but at least both are in the same direction! Always double up on those errands; it saves time and gas!!

DH and I are on a roll with the EXIT Game Advent Calendar. Two more puzzles last night. Both of them took some figuring, but between the two of us, we did it. So we are now on Day 20 of 24, and we've only looked at two clues -- the first one, which I had to last year, and one more. We don't always get it right on the first try, but we're getting much cleverer. I hope we can finish the last five days this month. We both have crazy schedules, and I don't know how much dinner together time we'll have. Let's see, but the goal is to finish the calendar by April 1. Good luck to us!!!

On that note, I'm out of here! Loads to do! So, what are you going to clean today? Or sew? There is ZERO time to dawdle on time wasters!! At least at my house!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!