Miss Murphy gets a bath

Thanks for the advice on my issue! Yes, I suspect it's the piriformis muscle as well, and I've sat on my little hot pad so much that that caused another internal issue! We won't go there. I did a bit of stretching, but I need to do more. Much more, but it's pretty painful! 

However, I will say that because I was up and down at the sewing machine yesterday for a good part of the day, it started to feel OK. Standing and walking take the pressure off, and so, while painful, the acute spasming goes away. 

It's when I lay down or sit down for any length of time that I'm in trouble. Last night, I "cheated," as DH still has a few of his magic pills from his surgery. Let's say that I had a blissful 5 hours of sleep before the effects wore off and the pain woke me up! 

I'll take five hours over what I experienced the previous night. There are only four little magic pills left, so I'd better get this thing resolved before then, or I'm in big trouble. 

At least the intensity of the pain and those muscle spasms seem to have subsided somewhat, so I can focus! There are two Zooms this morning, and all is set to go. I think I did not do so badly under the circumstances and thank goodness I had started one of them earlier in the week. I have a feeling I'll be standing for those this morning. Sitting for over two hours? That's not going to happen!

Speaking of the Christmas gift thing - I've been giving this some thought. The only people who will get gifts from us this year are M and Dillon. They are just starting out together, and we want to help them. I could just give them money, but I didn't want to send them an e-transfer, which is so impersonal. So I asked what they would like. I mentioned before that M had to check with Dillon to see what they could use. I laughed at that. But it shows they are working as a team; I totally respect and LOVE that. 

After they had conferred, she sent me a note. AHA—so now I know what they can use. My job is to make this a bit more personal and find a creative way to deliver what they want! I can't give you any more clues than that, but I'll be sure to share it after it's gifted. I know they will love and appreciate my concept, and it's nothing huge! 

This is what I mean by giving a meaningful gift. I asked, and they answered. Now, let's see what we can do to make that little request special. 

If you have too many people on your list or struggle to know what to buy, perhaps you should do some asking! 

Oh, I must remember to tell them not to send us anything. The ONLY present I want from them is just knowing they are happy together. 

While I am very good at grooming Lexi, and she likes it, Miss Murphy is another story. Lexi and I go to the forest on our morning walk, and about every two days, I take her brush and offload about three brushes of hair. YES—even as the weather gets cooler. 

I've tried the same with Murphy and have several brushes, but she needs to get used to the grooming concept. I think it "tickles" her, and she doesn't like it. I took her to the groomer yesterday. Don't worry - I gave them a healthy tip! Her hair was matted, she was dirty and stinky, and, well, she was long overdue for a groom. 

However, she wasn't so happy. When we left the house, she leaped into the car and was happy. When we got out of the car, she was happy. The moment we attempted to cross the threshold - that was a different story. WHOA, MOM!!! What's happening here? 

But she survived, and now she looks cute. And she's soft and fluffy!! And not stinky! 

Miss Muprhy is all spiffed up!

OK—I should book another appointment for her NOW!!! Speaking of appointments, when I was at the dealership and cashing out, the lady asked me if I wanted to book the next service appointment. Good grief—they have never asked that before. I usually book it online when it's time, so I booked it! 

At lunch the other day, I was browsing through that Storage magazine. OK, so there are some great ideas for storage, but seriously? Who would do this to their books? 

Do you store your books this way?

Sort them by color? Most of my books don't have a colored spine - I suppose they do, but I've never looked at a book by color. My books are sorted by type (non-fiction versus fiction) and then standalone books or books in series. The books in the series are further sorted by author. 

Again, this is just one of the "pretty" storing solutions that is so impractical that it hurts. My apologies to anyone who has their books sorted this way. 

Well, that's it for today. I need to go for a walk because it helps to loosen things up! 

There's a virtual retreat this weekend, so perhaps you'll stop in to say hi! 

Saturday, November 23, Starts at 6:00 PM EST

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

Meeting ID: 898 1648 3795
Passcode: 248667

Sunday, November 24, Starts at NOON EST

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

Meeting ID: 829 8351 7671
Passcode: 117636

And I'm off!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Can you see the wind?

Have you ever noticed when you go to anyone in the medical field, they basically tell you the same things? Stretch, moisturize, eat well (or better), lose weight, stand up straight, tighten those pelvic floor muscles, get lots of sleep and drink water. 

If we followed those rules, we'd all be in amazing shape. I'm doing not too bad, but I swear, I need to stretch more. I know that and I believe all the aches and pains (not many) that I have are due to a lack of stretching. And if you don't use those muscles properly and often enough, you'll lose the ability to use them. 

While all are important, I think the "gift" of walking is one that we don't use often enough. Yes -- it is a GIFT to be able to walk and if we lose that ability and are confined to a wheelchair? My Mom is in that situation and I vow NEVER to be there because of a lack of using my legs. But I need to stretch those legs before and after my walks in order to keep walking. 

Anyway, I'm using my toe stretchers and I LOVE them. I haven't seen any difference with my feet and that darn blister is still super itchy. How long does it take for the skin to heal? 

But here's something else to watch out for. For some reason, I looked in the shoe rack in the laundry room where there are four pair of shoes. I should find a new place for those shoes and ditch that rack. Anyway, I found an old pair of slippers, so I decided to try them on. 

WHOA -- I went from walking to shuffling in no time flat! Why? 

Look at the bottom of them -- smooth as a baby's bottom! Zero grip. I thought I'd walk around for a bit and see what they were like and within minutes, they were in the garbage. I felt like a very elderly person walking in those slippers. I can't imagine wearing them before. 

Slippers with ZERO grip on the bottom

My current slippers have a grippy surface on the bottom, so you can actually WALK in them. So if you see someone shuffling, check their footware to see what the bottoms are like! I need to buy my "rubber" Birkenstocks for the house as my current slippers are broken down and need to be replaced. I see there is a place to buy Birkenstocks at the mall and I was just there! I don't have time today as I'm getting my tires changed on the car, but there might be a store near the dealer that I can walk to. 

I chuckle when I see someone with a new pair of shoes and they are afraid to get them dirty. People -- they are meant to be used and using them means they will get dirty! Get out there and WALK!

I worked on another giant quilt yesterday. This was a bit of a challenge as you can see in the photo. There are FIVE borders on this quilt and I strongly suspect that NONE of them were measured and pinned. So there was quite a bit of wave along all sides. 

Wavy borders

Once it's quilted, it doesn't look so wavy, but I had to work the excess fabric in. It's amazing, but I've seen as much as SIX extra inches of fabric depending on the number of borders and the size of the quilt. I don't think there was quite six inches, but it was more like four and that's a LOT of fabric to squeeze in. 

Once quilted the waves are not as noticeable

But here's the quilt done. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I needed to empty that giant box sitting in the kitchen. Once I got the box open, I struggled to get the item out. Actually there was ONE giant item in the box, some instructions and tools and some poles. The boxes are relegated to the garage where I'll attempt to break them down for recycling day. That is strong cardboard! 

The shipping box is empty

While it was a job to get the box open, it was even harder to attempt to break it down. I got this far and put it in the garage. 

Wowser --- this was tough to get to this stage

Now to install the item. 

This is Step One of the installation process. That was easy enough to - I used a hammer and that rod is pretty solid. 

Step One - hammer the stake in the ground

Of course, I had help. I swear that dog has to be in your face always! Do you see her stick leaning on the rocks in front of her? 

The supervisor

I think she was trying to emulate me as I had this long rod leaning against the railing. 

My "stick" leaning against the railing

Step two was to put the long rod on the stake in the ground and secure it with two screws. Done. 

The long rod is in place

The final step was to install the ...............................................

WIND SCULPTURE

It's a WIND SCULPTURE. 

I had first seen these years ago on Salt Spring Island in BC. I didn't know much about them at the time, but I'm mesmerized by them whenever I see them. Recently, I saw someone post a picture of their wind sculpture and I decided that it was time to treat my backyard to one. 

They are designed by Lyman Whitaker from the US and the only place to buy his art in Canada is Steffich Fine Art in Ganges, Salt Spring Island. The folks at the gallery have been amazing in getting the order ready and shipped. It was a bit pricey, but I know that I'll spend many hours mesmerized by it and YES -- I have a front row seat from the gazebo. 

The backyard

As I sat in the backyard, playing ball with Murphy, I noticed the shadows cast by the sculpture on the rocks on the pond! Yes -- I think this is going to be a meditative addition to the backyard. I'm not sure if it's in the right place yet, but it can easily be moved. 

The sculpture cast shadows on the rocks

So yes, Murphy and I played ball and played ball and played ball. She was panting like mad and still wanted to play. I made her stop, but she wasn't happy. 

But her antics are always good for a laugh. Can you tell me what she's doing? Playing hide and seek? And notice her ball is on the rocks, so she's not looking for it. Maybe taking a break. 

Mom -- just taking a quick break

Then the ball went in the pond and I swear, she tried real hard to get it without going in. She couldn't quite reach it, so she sat up and barked! I wonder if she notices her reflection? 

Mom -- I CAN get it! 

Mom - crap - I need help!

As I evaluate what has to be done in the next week, I said to myself - "Do not panic", but all of a sudden, there are quite a few things that need to be done. How did all that sneak up on me? If I set my mind to it, it won't take long, but I'm back in writing mode and there's a jacket to be made, samples to sew, articles to write and quilts to quilt. I won't be lacking from anything to do! 

I was so focused on my Lord of the Rings Virtual Challenge that I forgot to look at my yearly one of 4,400 KM. Turns out I'm slightly ahead of schedule -- 37% of the distance in 35% of the time. So let's keep that happening and I'll be good! 

I'm also reading a Louise Penny and I like to read them in order. While I started off liking this series, I'm getting very frustrated. How much crap can she throw at Gamache? I'm behind in reading the series (my choice so I'll always be able to read one of her books on MY schedule instead of waiting for the new one to be released). I'm reading "How the Light gets in". I had to peak ahead and see that he is retired in the next book -- thank GOD. That plot line of undermining him was getting very tiresome! 

Well, it's time to get to work! OH -- the girls need their walk first and then I go to work. 

Don't forget to treat yourself to something that you want! I LOVE my wind sculpture! I noticed on the Steffich website that the founder of that gallery has passed -- he was 62 - you have to live LIFE NOW! 

Have a super day!!! 

Ciao!!!!

 

Know when tossing is best

On my way back from the gym, they were talking about Lucille Ball (on the radio) who would have celebrated her birthday yesterday. Apparently, she had a saying "put your oxygen mask on first", meaning take care of yourself first.  How true this is!  I see many people who live for their children or their parents and I get it that it's hard to put yourself first, but you must. Children won't be around forever, neither will our parents or our significant others. Then what will you do? I've seen it happen to people - they start to lose touch with their friends or their hobbies. It's hard to recover from that and guess what happens?? Loneliness - Depression!!!

Mind you, I'm probably the total opposite - I take care of me first almost 100%  all of the time and ignore everyone else! I'm a pretty selfish person if you look close enough.

Yesterday was a super productive day - yet again. I'm not really sure where this focus is coming from. I'm loving it and I wish I could have found that focus years ago! I like sewing and I like creating so why was it so hard before?

I know - there were tons of distractions and it was easy to leave things behind. No more!

One of the things I'm working on these days is samples. I have access to two gorgeous sewing machines that are filled with beautiful stitches. The problem with those stitches is that if you don't stitch them out, you've no idea how easy (or challenging) they are and you've no idea where to use them.

These stitches are from the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC. They're called applique stitches. This is what the piece looks like after I've finished stitching.

Applique stitches before trimming

I've started to trim the excess fabric away. I should say that I've programmed these stitches into the embroidery unit so technically they were embroidered, but you can stitch them out like any stitch. The sewing machine is programmed to stop where it needs to stop so you can insert the little piece of fabric. The best part?? It's so darn easy to program the stitches into the embroidery unit or to stitch them out on their own.

Some of the applique stitches have been trimmed

Aren't they adorable????  One is candy and the other is a girl with a red skirt!

Two of the applique stitches after trimming

Next up were the sequin stitches. Yes - these were also programmed into the embroidery unit. Super easy to program. The EPIC knows when to stop so you can insert the sequins. I have to say this was a wee bit challenging until I figured out a couple of tricks. Some of the stitches I will probably never use and some of them are so neat that I'm trying to figure out where to put them. On my jean jacket???  I could bling that jacket up with sequins!!!!

Sequin stitches built into the Designer EPIC

I'm stitching on vinyl which complicates some of the stitches especially if the stitching is quite dense. It's all a learning experience and I'm very happy with what I'm learning. I've got more samples to make and having fun doing it.

I always say that anyone with a sewing machine with decorative stitches should do these stitch outs. If you don't, you'll never know what the heck you have and you'll never use those stitches. But once you see what you have and how easy they are to do, well - you're more likely to use them for projects.

In the midst of all this, I have a magazine quilt to sew. My goal is to get it pieced or mostly pieced before I leave. I'm just starting! However, when I went to start sewing, I was having a heck of a time. I'm sewing on my Husqvarna Viking Designer Ruby deLuxe. Hmmm - something was terribly wrong.

It's hard to see the stitching in this picture, but the bobbin was bouncing around, making a horrible noise and the stitch quality wasn't so pretty.

The bad seam on the left, good seam on the right

That photo shows the bobbin part of the seam. I cleaned the bobbin case area and inserted a new needle. No difference. Yikes - I can't sew a quilt with that kind of a mess.

I checked the bobbin. It seemed to be OK, but let's try a different one. HOLY - like night and day. This bobbin doesn't look too worn - not like some others that I have, but for whatever reason, it's not happy.

Bobbin 

Needless to say, that bobbin is now history. Know when to get rid of things that aren't working - be that a bobbin, needles, thread or whatever. If it's not working - it might be worn out (those bobbins are plastic after all), it might be damaged - don't bother to waste your time with such a small item.

Bobbin is toast

Speaking of magazine quilts, another magazine (and another one of my quilts) got axed. Easy Quilts is history. That doesn't leave too many quilting magazines from that publisher. Well - I hadn't started that one and I would have had to make it when I got home. What will I do when I get home??? Oh yes - more unpacking, more samples, and clean up more UFOs.

Then I fired up the long arm to get the T-shirt quilt done. If those seams are pressed well, and the T-shirts are well stabilized, T-shirt quilts are a dream to quilt. I had zero issues with this. A huge thanks to Heather for giving me the T-shirts. If my brother doesn't want it, I'll bring it back and find someone who will appreciate it.

T-shirt quilt - DONE

And here's the backing!!!!  I love it!!!!

The backing of the T-shirt quilt

I took a wee bit of time and went to the mall. I got seven bottles of distilled water for the irons. I hate to shop, so I'm stocked for a couple of months.

I also went to the Bulk Barn to look at stuff. I found all kinds of goodies that I can use in my cereal and probably less expensive than my usual grocery store. I even found powdered peanut butter!!! Actually, I was looking for that thanks to a comment by Nancy the day before. That'll be great for smoothies and easier to put the powder in the Vitamix rather than scooping out the real thing.

Good stuff acquired at the Bulk Barn

Oh - there were lots of temptations there. Loads of chocolate and candy. The only decadent thing I bought were yogurt covered cranberries which is my "sweet" snack. I love the darn things.

I found a glass jar that I can use when I mix up my cereal topping and I also found a shaker for the cinnamon which resides beside the cereal. No more cumin in my cereal.

Cinnamon in a shaker

As I was buzzing through the store looking for a few more items, I saw this. Really?????  It's only August and sweltering hot!!!

Winter coats in case you're cold

I also got the binding on that small Dresden Quilt for my Mom. Time to make some labels.

On that note, it's time to get back to work!!!  I wonder what I'm going to learn today????

Have a super day!!!!


Ciao!!

On being HEALTHY

Many of you have asked me what M is doing. Well she has been hard at work on a project promoting healthy life styles and healthy eating.

She has created a kit that contains all the dry ingredients and recipes that pair with a fresh ingredient grocery list. The kit and list together are all you need to create a full day of healthy vegan meals. The kit is aims at people who want to live a healthier life but don't know where to start. The meals are all vegan because it is the most ethical and healthy diet. But rest assured they are still filling and delicious! You won't even realize they are free from animal products!

M is trying to change the way we eat on a large scale because she wants everyone to enjoy a healthy happy life. She has now launched her crowdfunding campaign to the world! Any contribution, even $5, makes a difference! If you like what she is doing then share this message to everyone you know!

Have a look at this link - FIT



I am very proud of her - she has done an amazing amount of work on this project.   Check it out.


Have a great day!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!