Technology update

There are loads of times when I wish DH were more techie, but he isn't. However, he did solve the mystery of the missing mic on my laptop, so I can't complain!

I just opened my protein bar in preparation for spin class. It's a low-sugar one. How did they lower the sugar? By eliminating the chocolate coating!! Where's the fun in that?

It wasn't my most productive day, but I'm making progress on the writing assignment. The next tone will be sent after I make a couple of minor changes, leaving one that is written and just needs some pictures and editing. I still have a lot of other things to do and only two days to make it all happen. FOCUS!!!! 

But SIL and I took a trip to the local quilt store to buy some fabric, and that took all morning. I picked up a few things on my need-to-buy list, and YIKES—some of that stuff was $23.50 a meter. Thank goodness, there isn't too much I need to buy these days. But in fairness, there was other stuff that we paid  $11.98 for. You really must watch the prices, and I wasn't paying too much attention as I was yakking the entire time! 

What did I buy? Stuff that I need to forward a project that was sitting on the current project table. So it won't be used immediately, although one of the fabrics did when I got home; the rest of it did NOT go in the stash room!

I haven't had much time to play with the new iPad, but now that I've put a case on it, it's heavy again! But look at this—it's smaller than the previous one. Not the screen, but the body. It's about an inch shorter than the previous one. However, I now need to find the HOME button. Another learning curve! But the quality of the screen? WOW - night and day compared to the old one. I must remember to unpack the pen, or is that a pencil, later today, and get it charged up. 

The old iPad is bigger than the new one

I didn't get a chance to check for my files, but I saw my paid app on it, so I'm assuming it transferred my files as well. More investigation to do, hopefully later today. I do NOT play games on my iPad (or any device for that matter), nor do I watch TV ( I thought about accessing the three-free months of Apple TV  - just because, but when they wanted my credit card, which I knew they would, I said No thank you!) or any other streaming service. It's a work iPad, and I need to download the new app later today, which is why I bought this iPad. Then I can start playing with it.  

Then I dug the Wi-Fi pods out of the box as I was having trouble keeping my sewing machine connected to the internet. I know—it's a first-world problem, but I needed it connected because I was using the connectivity feature. I never did get the pods working, but I managed to keep the internet connected long enough to get what I needed done.  

I also got the Wi-Fi app to recognize stuff in our house. I don't know why that was such an issue the previous day when I needed to see. There is an app for everything! 

OMG --- look at the data on that screen. Yes, we can see that one pod has a poor connection, and the other is offline. I had plugged one in, but couldn't get it to pair. 

No, that's not what I mean—look at the number of devices connected—TWENTY EIGHT!!!!! Good grief—what are all those devices? And see that 20 of them are online. Cell phones, computers, iPads, headphones, oh my. I'll have to check the list and see if I can disconnect some of them or take them offline. We are two adults - imagine if we had a teenager. Well, we wouldn't have Wi-Fi issues if we had a teenager in the house! 

I have now plugged in the second pod, and at least the Hub recognizes the two new pods. Now I have to figure out how to pair them and bring them online! I will need to be much more cognizant of this going forward. I must check the Wi-Fi app regularly to ensure both are connected and in good condition. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and monitor my Wi-Fi to hopefully prevent a disaster like I had on the weekend. 

The pods are waiting to be paired

I'll try to pair them today, but I also have a lot of work to get done, and the clock is ticking! 

Here's my apple pie candle! It's burning away quite nicely and evenly, but it'll take forever to burn it out! And there is always so much wax left after burning a candle. I guess we just toss out the old wax. I'm not even sure if I have that Kimberbell pie design, but if I don't, I'm sure I can find it online!

My apple pie candle

Here's a picture I took a while back. These trees turn the most magnificent shade of red in the fall, but because of the dry season, many leaves had already fallen by the time the color was at its peak. I feel cheated!!

Intense red fall leaves

It's funny how our girls gravitate to one or the other of their owners. Miss Murphy is like Velcro with me. She won't leave my side, and while I was gone to the quilt store for only a couple of hours, she wouldn't leave me alone when I got home. While this was taken a couple of weeks ago, she was even worse yesterday if that is possible. 

MOM - don't go!!!

Lexi is more aloof. While she needs to keep an eye on DH, she can do so from the hallway outside his office. She's just preparing to lie down!

Dad - I'm protecting you!

Bear, on the other hand, NEEDS to be right in your lap. Not my lap, but DH. So the two of them sit and watch TV together (no pictures allowed) and he's snuggled right in!

Oh gosh --- speaking of setting expectations. I told my Dad I would make him a pillowcase out of absorbent fabric, and I ordered the Zorb fabric while I was in Saskatchewan. Have I made it yet? NO!!!! I need to fix that! Has anyone worked with this? Tips?

Zorb fabric

Here are a couple of patterns I bought for $3, which is cheap since Fabricland is getting out of selling them. Well, we don't exactly know what's happening. 

New patterns

But all that is put in its place, and my surfaces are clear except for what I'll be working on today. I didn't bother taking pictures - you have to trust me on that! If I have items that need to be put away, I usually put them on the cutting table. Then it's right in my face, and I do that before I start sewing. It only takes a few minutes, and all is good!

I need to figure out how to do that in the office. I cleared the mess a while back, and now I'm staring at THREE piles of crap that somehow accumulated. How does that happen? I just don't get it. But I should take a few minutes to go through the piles and see what can be put away immediately. I also need to finish clearing out the filing cabinet so I can immediately file any papers that need to be filed. That would help and leave only the stuff that needs to be actioned. I'll get there. Perhaps once I'm back from these two weeks, I could take a couple of hours and make that happen. I would feel better, and I'd have some room to work!

On that note, I'm out of here, off to spin class. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Shopping with Bear

Yesterday was another one of those days where I accomplished lots, but I don't really have anything to show for it! But my Fitbit Steps? Off the chart!! I've been walking at least 13 km every day for the last week. Some of that is intentional walking with the dogs and my afternoon walk, but also all the running around the house collecting samples, setting up equipment, etc. It's totally insane! However, I have aggressive goals, so I need 11.5 KM every day, so I'm not that much ahead!

There are days when I feel the time pressure and wonder if I have the time to do the afternoon walk, and I decide that even with time constraints, I HAVE NO CHOICE but to walk. It's my stress reliever, and I solve many issues during those walks. So the walks remain! It's all about setting priorities, and staying mobile is my number one priority!! Plus, the mental aspects of the walk are too beneficial to give up!

I had a bunch of errands to do by car, and while I used to just pop out and do one at a time, my time is more precious, and it's such a waste of resources (time, gas) to keep popping out, so I save them up. I had SEVEN stops. I managed all seven and was back home within less than two hours. 

I stopped at Indigo to check out the magazines -- that's a treat. I picked up two. I know -- I shouldn't have done that, but I'm worth it! 

Then I went to get dog food, and Little Bear was happy to go shopping with me. Look how cute he is on the new bed display!

Bear is a model!

When I was purchasing camera equipment several weeks ago, I bought TWO tripods but only needed one, so the second one was returned. Then, we went to Fabricland to buy some small supplies. While I was there, there were a bunch of spools of thread on the counter. Turns out the person who purchased the thread left the store and forgot to take her thread!

A quick drop off at the thrift store - two more boxes of stuff gone from my house. I swear, there are no regrets when I see those boxes go. I used to second guess, but that is gone! I don't need any of this stuff!!

I love that all these stores I visit are within three LONG blocks of each other, but they're too far from the house to walk, and I'm not carrying two bags of dog food home! I stopped at Staples to put some paper in the shredding bin, and while I was there, I checked out the iPencils, and a new one came home with me. 

My new iPencil

I am determined to get more use out of that iPad, and now that the manuals are sorted, I can download more. Yep—it's a valuable tool, and it's nice to know that everything I want is handy! I'm learning!! I opened the iPencil and plugged it in to charge, and it immediately paired. The old one did not, so it's going in the electronic recycling box. 

Studio B is a bit of a disaster, and that's putting it mildly. The tables have been moved, half-finished projects are strewn everywhere, the floor is littered with samples, and the cutting table is heaped. Plus, there is way more stuff on the floor than usual. I'm not worrying about it, and I certainly don't have time to deal with it until April. I'm OK with that. 

As I finish with the samples, I'm at least trying to put them away. 

The disaster zone in Studio B

There's a reason Studio B is in the basement—it's a working studio, and I don't think it needs to be completely neat and tidy all the time. Almost everything has a home, and it'll eventually return to its home, but with all the Zooms I have in the next couple of weeks, I'm not putting away and then bringing stuff back out. That would be silly. 

But I rearranged some of the cameras and equipment, and it's much easier to work in a cramped space. Plus, I remembered where I plugged in the various cameras, so switching between them last night was super easy!

More behind-the-scenes

There are those three clingy dogs again! This time, they were all in the office as I completed some paperwork. 

Clingy dogs

It doesn't pay to buy a cheap cell phone cover. I bought one at a kiosk in the mall when I bought my new phone. Not that long after, I dropped the phone and the cover did its job of protecting it, but the case broke at its narrowest point near the camera. Yesterday, when I put it in my pocket, that loose end caught, and well, now I need a new case!!!

The corner broke off my cell phone case

I wish this tree would photograph better. It's a pussy willow, and it's literally gleaming silver in the morning, but it doesn't translate well to the camera!

Pussy willow in bloom

I fixed those two blocks that I had sewn together wrong. I had swapped the half-square triangles for each, and while there wasn't a problem, the browns were so similar in color. So off with their heads, and now they are correct. 

Heartfelt Sampler blocks

I managed to get some work done on the third last set of blocks. There are six blocks in total, and I have four complete. The flying geese are trimmed and ready to sew together for the fifth block, and the sixth one is cut. 

More blocks for Heartfelt Sampler

That leaves two block sets, which I hope to finish later today. I have some machine embroidery to do, and while that is stitching out, it'll be the perfect time to sew. Yes, if you have an embroidery machine, you also need a sewing machine. I've got no shortage of either type at the moment. That partially explains why Studio B is a mess. There are two embroidery machines set up, two sewing machines, a serger, and a digital cutter—well, it is a mess. Plus, the empty boxes. 

I was lamenting about the "free" drawing programs for the iPad. Thanks to a blog reader, I downloaded the FREE Freeform (I think that's what it's called). I had fun last night with my new iPencil. I quickly tried all the drawing tools before I plugged it in and went to bed. This could become my new time waster. Wow, there are so many drawing tools; one could have loads of fun. 

Drawing on the iPad

This could be a great diversion on a plane or sitting in the backyard. Oh shoot - I just realized that I was going to stop at Rona for chairs yesterday on my way home, and I forgot. I think that's because my final stop was Harvey's to get lunch, and I was hungry, so I hurried home!

I also made significant progress on a project I'll be writing about, and the next two projects are cut and ready to go, so that's a bonus. Now, I need to get my act together and start writing. I'm trying very hard to keep up with the errands, and I finally managed to deposit the ANCIENT $20 bill that I discovered. I knew I could NOT deposit it in the ATM, so I would have to get in line. But each time I've gone in the last couple of days, the line-ups were insane. I'm not waiting if I don't have to -- the bank is on my walk, so yesterday, when I popped in, there was NO LINE. The $20 is now in my bank account!

Well, that's it for today! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

I'm a technology success story!!!

What a wild day!!!! The temperature had dropped, but it was totally bearable with the sun! Those who were able to come to the full-day INPERSON session for the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 3 went home with their heads spinning from the amount of information I spewed at them! The intent was to give them a broad overview of the capabilities, but we need MORE than one day!! 

I was fired up and had fun!!! Thanks to Brampton Sew n Serge for hosting the event. I wonder if there are enough people with EPIC 3 around to host a Zoom club? I do NOT want to take away from a shop hosting events. 

The girls and the boy were home alone all day, but they managed just fine. I think it is the "parents" who worry about them, and that's only because there is usually one of us in the house at all times! 

They were pretty hopeful that I would take them with me in the morning. WAIT -- they were just waiting for their treat! 

MOM --- we're waiting for our T R E A T S

But there are those best buds again. They hang out together so much. Murphy is going to miss Bear when he goes home. WAIT -- isn't this his home now? Possession is 9/10ths of the law? Sadly, he will go home, but he's stuck with us for a few more weeks. 

Murphy and Bear

Here, he is perched in one of his favorite spots when we're in the kitchen. After I put him on the sofa, he bound up there to survey his kingdom!!!

Grandma -- I'm watching you!

And Lexi --- what a girl. I think she likes sleeping under the table because she can rub her back on the edge. She needs an itching post. 

MOM -- I need a scratching post

They were in fine form last night. Murphy and Lexi were "fighting," and Bear was the referee. I finally had to stop it because I couldn't focus on reading for the noise!!!! Interesting about dogs making noise. I recently heard someone who doesn't allow their dog to bark. How does the dog tell them when they need something? Murphy got stuck under the deck a couple of years ago. The ONLY way I knew that she was stuck and exactly where she was was because she barked! They alert us to people dropping off packages who don't ring the doorbell, they let me know when they want to come in the house (one woof is all they are allowed), and so much more. That's like telling a child to be quiet; we all hated that! Nope  - sometimes my girls are a bit too noisy, but I'd rather a bit of barking than they not be allowed to talk!

I wish they could coordinate their in and out schedules, though. It's like they have a conspiracy against me. 

Lexi: Hey, Murphy. You asked to go in, and I'll ask 2 minutes later. 

Murphy: OK -- and then tomorrow, we'll switch it up

Lexi: Sounds like a plan. It drives Mom CRAZY!!!!

Someone was not happy. Actually, she's eyeing Lexi. They are like cat and mouse or that cycling pursuit sport where they watch each other to see who will make the first move! 

MOM -- don't disturb me - I'm very focused

And Mr. Snuggles finally calmed down. What a little goof. 

I'm exhausted!!!

And all is calm at last. It's funny that they all get along but do NOT want to sleep next to each other. Oh no!!!

The three-dog night

In case you're wondering, the one-car thing is going very well at our house. I drive DH to the train when he needs to go downtown to work. He'll take an Uber back, which works out just fine. 

We have put on 2,600 KM (something like that ) since November 27, primarily driving errands around the neighborhood (well, he does groceries on Sundays and takes his mother shopping). And I've done a few couple-hour trips. We do NOT need two cars. No one has lost their freedom to go where they want when they want. I knew that! 

However, I've noticed something. There seems to be an issue with the gas gauge. It's NEVER close to empty when DH is in the car, but that gauge drops like a rock when I get in! Why is that?

Almost on empty!!

With my other car, the fuel light would go at 100KM. The light popped on at 38 KM. That's cutting it a bit close if you ask me. I'm sure there's a setting I can change because otherwise unless you remember to watch the gauge, you could easily run out of gas. So I must look for that setting and change it. Perhaps someone else will notice it. Maybe he thinks we bought an electric car? 

So last night, I was too tired to sew, yet too wound up to go to bed. So, I dug out my iPad. I'm always telling people how I use it to store all my manuals, and I do, but what a mess. I have a love/hate relationship with my iPad. Apple is so darn proprietary it could choke you! 

I was all excited when I started doing this years ago. I can put the PDFs into iBooks and see them on the shelf. I could sort them by topic, and that would be great!! Ah -- not so fast!! If the book is not an Apple product, you cannot sort them in iBooks. So I had amassed a HUGE pile of books, and I had to sort through them to find what I wanted. It's not an ideal situation. 

A mess of PDFs in iBooks

I had learned that I could put those PDFs into folders, but I also struggled with that. I had files all over the place that needed to be sorted, which was a mess. I had duplicates of most things, and I was tired of it. 

My NEW file system on the iPad

So, I decided to bite the bullet once and for all and would SOLVE this mess. This was AFTER 6 PM, which is not my prime learning time. 

Guess what? I figured it out!!! Yahooo!!!! It was probably the reason that I couldn't get to sleep last night. I still have about 40 documents to transfer to the filing system. Yep -- there were a lot. 

It's super easy if anyone wants to know how to do it. In iBooks (I think that is what it's called), you touch the three dots under a title, and a menu pops up. Touch "Share PDF."

Share PDF screen

That gives you choices, and you select "Save to Files." 

Save to Files

Then, it was "easy" to sort them into folders. OK -- that took me some time to figure that out. For all the talk from people about how intuitive Apple is -- it is NOT!!!! But that could be a lack of knowledge from the operator. Anyway -- all that doesn't matter because I figured it out. How? I didn't even have to Google; I PLAYED with the buttons, and I PLAYED more with the buttons, and I tried different things, and VOILA -- I figured it out. 

So now the big deal is to get ALL of my PDFs onto the iPad. Then, ALL my manuals and guides will be in one place, which would be amazing. I know some are on my computer, and probably my laptop and I might still keep some of those on those devices - just to have them handy, but I'll soon wean myself off that and use the iPad. At least I can say I'm using it then. It is probably the most underused iPad in the world. 

I also want to get my iPencil working. Yep -- I bought one of those and have rarely used it. I did search Google to find out how to charge it, and I am missing one small piece. I can charge it through the iPad, but a small connector allows me to charge it through a USB. I know I have that tiny part in the house somewhere, but where? 

My iPencil

Here's one more thing about Apple, and it involves the Apple store. I wanted to download a drawing program and play with it. And when I searched, I found one that I had to pay for -- OK -- maybe later, but right now I want a free one, and there were several. I downloaded the first one (a coloring book style), and the minute I went to open it, it asked for a subscription payment. AH --- you should have said that on the search page. I deleted it. 

This happened twice. HEY -- if you want me to pay, ask upfront; don't let me download, and then ask. I will ALWAYS delete those --- be honest!!!!!

Well, there is a success story with me and technology. OH -- I can get frustrated with technology when I can't figure it out, and that iPad was a pain! Almost to the point where I'd just go to the website to find the manual and use that through the iPad rather than store it on the iPad. Well, I no longer have to do that!!! 

And all it took was a bit of finagling and a will to learn how to make the product work as I wanted. It's not that I don't understand technology; I want it to work in a certain way. I'm not an early adopter, but I push this stuff to the limit and try to make it do things MY way, not the way the company wants. I will NEVER buy an Apple book to use and sort it in the iBooks app. NEVER. 

OH -- I should mention that when you open the file folder system and click on a book? You can open it in iBooks to read it like a book (swiping pages). That's exactly what I wanted, but there is NOWHERE that tells you how to do that. I need to start my own YouTube channel on solving problems that NO ONE else seems to have the answer for!!!!

On that note, I'm out of here. It's minus 4 right now, but by the time I finish the walk, it's supposed to be PLUS 4. What weird weather!!!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!