The best of both worlds!!!!

OH MY!!!!!! When I sit down to write the blog, I have to come up with a title, and some days that's a struggle because nothing super exciting happened. But there are days, like today, when I have many titles! I called it "The Best of both worlds," but "Happy Dance," "Exciting update," and "The email saga continues (part two)" would have worked as well. 

It was a good news day all around, so I'm excited. 

The knee update is all good. I did a short walk with the girls in the morning. While I feel perfectly fine at home, prolonged walking doesn't make my knee feel great. I managed to walk 9 KM yesterday, so it can't be all that bad. I'm walking slowly outside to be mindful of the ice and to take it easy. Who would have thought that was possible for me? 

Anyway, I've never been good at telling if my "fat" knee is swollen, so I'm going to assume it is based on feel. But it seems to be fine once I stop walking. So I'll stick to shorter walks, take it easy, and see how it goes. Hopefully, I'll be back to normal and can get to the gym next week. But I have taken full advantage of using that gym wisely in Studio B. 

Now let's check in with the email saga. OH MY GOODNESS - I have to give Microsoft credit. It had been arranged with the second-level escalation guy (Christian) that he would call within the 12 to 2 PM window yesterday. He might be on a call, so we set a window for the callback. He called at EXACTLY NOON. That was impressive. 

The issue at this point was that the emails only populated into the inbox, while anything in the subfolders was still missing. That's an issue.  

I was on the call with him for two hours. We were both patient - hey, he was helping me, and there was no need to get upset. Life is life, and we are talking email, not life and death. 

Here's what I learned about the NEW Outlook:

1. This is the icon
2. This version of Outlook is free for anyone to use - you do not need a license.
3. It does not use an address book that you can view. It retains the email addresses you have sent to, so it will autofill as you start typing, but there's no place to see them. 
4. It uses the contact list on your cell phone. So if you are a Google user, like me, that's the list that you can see. OK—that's good, but why would I want to see that list in Outlook? They are NOT the same. 
5. New Outlook is targeted at a different end user. I'm not sure who that is, but if I Google it, it says it's for personal accounts and small and medium businesses. I would assume that many personal users do not use distribution lists, or, if they do, they add those people to their contacts list. If they are a small- to medium-sized business, they likely use a third-party mailing service for their lists. 
6. New Outlook is OPTIONAL. Even though Windows 11 computers come with the New installed and the Classic is nowhere to be seen, you do NOT have to use the New. Thank goodness for that! 
7. It is a WEB-BASED app!!!

And here's what I know about the Classic version of Outlook

1. This is the icon—pay special attention to the differences. They are slight, but absolutely important - I'll tell you why in a second. The old is squareish, the new is rounded! 
2. The Classic version uses an address book where you can create, edit, and delete distribution lists using Autofill properties. You can include all kinds of information about your contact, including addresses, multiple phone numbers, etc. Perhaps you can do this in contacts, but not the way I like it to happen. 
3. This version is part of the 365 Office License, or you might be able to get a standalone version, but it is NOT free. I'm good with paying - the cost per year for the license for the entire personal version of 365 Office is around $100 CDN. You get FREE support with that. It's an amazing deal if you use tools like Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I use three of the four tools daily, though I'm not a heavy user of Excel. My friends all think I should use it more! 
4. An actual Windows program!!

I almost wept when I saw my distribution lists on the new computer!

My beloved distribution lists are back!!!

OK --- so that's a recap. Wait --- I'm getting to the good news, but I know there are others out there that are confused by this, so that's why I'm writing it down. 

So here's how my computer is set up right now, and I might just keep it this way. I have BOTH versions of Outlook installed - that's why understanding the different icons is ESSENTIAL. I can go to Classic when I want to do anything related to distribution lists. YES --- Christian helped me migrate the data from my old computer to the new computer. I learned a lot in that process, and I'm going to take that same database and install it on my laptop. It will be as current as the distribution lists are now, but that's better than not having access to them when I'm away. They don't change much during the year. 

I asked about putting that address book file on OneDrive so it would always be up to date on both computers, and while it's possible, he suggested against it. But I think it was more of an issue that if I ran out of room, it wouldn't be able to update. Running out of room is no longer an issue, so I might resort to that at some point. Technically, there's no reason why you can't do that, and I know someone who does that. 

If I want to use the FOCUS email feature, I can read my email in the NEW version. And currently, all my emails in the subfolders are in the NEW version, so I have to use the two versions interchangeably at the moment. No big deal, now that I understand!

Part of my issue (and I confessed this to Christian) was that I was confusing those icons! I just ASSUMED (and we all know what happens when we do that) that opening the ICON would take me to the version I had installed. WRONG!!!!! I have to use the CORECT icon. DUH!!!!!

Where do we go from here? The case is being escalated to Level Three! I should be able to have access to all my emails in the subfolders in the Classic version, but they have a known issue with Google accounts. So they will arrange a call in the next couple of days and see what we can do about that. 

The bottom line is that I may have to retire my old computer now, since I won't need it, as I have access to my distribution lists on the new computer! 

There is another issue I need to resolve, and it involves the printer (Scanning), but I'm not going there at this time. So it stays for the moment. 

I see that Microsoft plans to roll out the New version to their corporate clients starting in April this year. Oh boy --- that's when the crap hit the fan! I should try to find out the plans for the end of the Classic, but they had better not do that before they completely fix the New. It is NOT mandatory to use either, but one day.............

Phew!!!!!! You can't imagine how good I felt after that call. Christian was so patient, and he was obviously in a different country because he wasn't sure what day it was here. I don't care - he was good, and he was a very good representative for Microsoft support. By the way, he tried uninstalling all my Microsoft products and then reinstalling them -- manually, which is what took so long. 

BUT WAIT --- other things happened at the house. 

Well, this didn't happen at the house, but I had to go to Indigo to pick up a magazine, and yes—they had another puzzle on the table. 

A jigsaw puzzle on the community table at Indigo

It was appropriate for the Olympics, as the puzzle had a winter sports theme. 

The picture of the puzzle

I didn't stop to put in a piece because I was on a tight schedule, trying to get all the homework done and into a presentation for tomorrow. I've almost completed the work on one and need to start on the second one. No need to panic! 

I also spotted these books of paper, so if you are into making junk journals or any kind of paper project, these books are filled with all kinds of wonderful papers and cardstock. I was tempted, but I decided they would still be there when I actually had time. Now that my days are less busy, I could perhaps work that in, but not right now. See how good I am? 

Books of paper at Indigo

I have so much "free" time that when Miss Murphy came to see me at the sewing machine for one of her many cuddles, I took her to her mat in Studio B, and I lay down on the floor beside her, and we had a good cuddle. She was pretty excited about that! And heck --- if all the work doesn't get done? Who cares? Well, I will get the work done, but it's also important to give her some time. She's getting older, and she won't be around forever. 

This morning I was looking in the bookcase for a particular book. While I didn't find the book yet, do you see what I spotted? 

OH MY --- who knew!

Yes -- there are TWO identical books. I've never noticed that before. What are the chances of them being put on the same shelf? The books are NOT in any particular order at the moment, but as I was going through them, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be so much easier to look through these books if they were organized?" So you can see that might happen next week. I am getting tired of searching. And I might try putting them into a database. 

OH GOSH -- do not tell my Excel fanatic friends about that because I bet they want me to put it in Excel. WAIT -- -there are apps for that that are totally automatic!!! I'll see. 

But of course, as I was looking through the shelves, who should appear? 

MOM -- can we lie on the mat again? I need a cuddle!

I've been doing a lot of reading these days and typically have an audiobook and an ebook going at the same time. Well, not at the exact same time, but you know what I mean. It just so happens that both of them are SELF-HELP books at the moment. And I have to say that I'm doing OK. I'm running out of time this morning, but I'll chat about both tomorrow and get the painting of the dogs that Cynthia painted. A LOT is going on, and it's hard to keep up. 

But here's an amazing quote about books. This is so true!!!!!! I designed this based on the quote and using my Creativate Machine Embroidery software. 

A great reading quote

I also need to dig out some stuff to photograph for Monday sewing and one class tomorrow, so I'll be busy with the camera today. 

Before I go, I would be remiss not to mention the girls who were back to their shenanigans while I was trying to concentrate on a book about my brain!!! They are so entertaining and just need to be there! I was eating an apple, which they don't like! It's all about being with Mom when she wants a quiet moment! Do not feel sorry for Lexi in the least, as she is the one who instigated this!

MOM - Murphy is trying to bite me!

I'll post the links for the Virtual Retreat today and get yelled at by the Zoom robot for doing so. It's a privacy thing!!!

Saturday, February 21 --- starting at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610782501?pwd=7dCrhiL5t8Xa4TVwZPvhL6cOymbcjK.1

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

Sunday, February 22 --- starting at 3 PM

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

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

By the way -- I REFUSE to give in with the Outlook situation. It's a thousand times better after yesterday, and I learned so much about it. I need to understand how things work, and now I feel better. I'm not in control -- I get that, but I feel better. 

On that note, I have so many great and exciting things to do today, so I'd better get started. 

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

The email saga continues

For the record, I do NOT give my dogs people food. Currently, three adults live in this house, and TWO of them think it's OK to slip them the occasional tidbit of food, including veggies. I'm OK with the veggies, though some are not safe for dogs. And for this reason, those two dogs hang around those two people waiting for the tidbits. Trust me, I have repeatedly said, DO NOT FEED the dogs people food, and it falls on deaf ears. Thankfully, it's not a lot of food, but I keep repeating the message. 

Since this behavior is learned, the dogs think that all humans in our house will give them food. So they sit beside me, and then quickly lose interest when they realize that Mom doesn't give in to those puppy dog eyes. When I have cucumbers or carrots (both safe for dogs), I give them a couple of pieces, but it's rare. 

It drives me crazy that the people in my house will NOT listen! I've made such a big deal about it lately that I think they have backed off. 

So no - Murphy and Lexi did NOT get any grapes. Thanks for the reminder! 

I'm happy to report that my knee feels a whole lot better. I did not walk the dogs, but I took a slow walk to the grocery store later in the day. It was NOT a fun walk, but I needed to get out. Then I used ice and heat and stayed off it for the rest of the day. OK -- I was sewing, so I had to stand and cut, but I wasn't walking. It's feeling a whole lot better this morning. 

I will take the girls for a short walk each and see how it goes. 

No word from the engineers, so I'll call them later today if I have time. It's crunch time for the weekend classes, and while I'm making great progress, I'm a couple of hours behind. But I'm OK. It's not a due or die crunch - just scheduled time!

However, you are not going to believe the update on the Outlook story. I'm stunned. I did a little research before calling the support line. Can you believe this? Read the first two lines, and that should tell you all you need to know about my problem!

You read that correctly! There is no ADDRESS BOOK in the new version of Outlook. What?? I don't get that. So when I chatted to the support people, I asked. By the way, I was very calm and collected during the almost TWO hours in total I spent on the phone with them. While I know the support people won't have that information, they did mention that Microsoft is targeting a different user with the NEW version. WHAT? A different user? I don't get that. It's totally useless, although the split between Focused and Other emails is really handy. 

You can bet that I'm going to provide feedback. I've thought ot sending the same message through the Microsoft Feedback channel every day, and I'm going to suggest that anyone else (you know who you are) will do the same. This is utter nonsense. You'll find the FEEDBACK tab under the HELP tab in Outlook. Use it wisely and use it OFTEN!!!! 

Anyway, to keep the details short, it took a long time to switch back to the Classic Version. Why? Because new computers don't come with the Classic version installed, forcing you to use the New version. OK -- this is getting weirder by the minute. So the support guy had to download the Classic version, and then switched me back. 

All would seem good, right? By the way, the call had to be escalated because he had trouble reconnecting me to the server. That resulted in him deleting my account and then reinstating it. Then my emails started to populate the inbox, and I thought we were good. 

Now it appears that ONLY the inbox got populated. The remainder of my very detailed file structure is EMPTY!!! Yep—there are no emails in any of my class folders. NOTHING!!! I'm not panicking - I'm laughing because I wonder how much worse this is going to get, and what the heck good it will do if I get mad. NOTHING. 

Thankfully, the escalation guy and I have an appointment today to see how the repopulating went, so he had better call me today, or I will be calling them back. 

What was funny, though, was that at one point my computer automatically switched back to the New version, and that wasn't going to do. I couldn't find the switch to move back, so I had to call again. I am ashamed to say that I got a woman on the call, and my past experience has not been good. But I kept my mouth shut and let her do what she needed to do, and within ten minutes, I was good to go. 

So the saga continues. OH -- the distribution lists have to be moved manually, which I knew, and I need to do that this morning before the escalation guy calls me back. If I have trouble, then he can help me. I know there are other options, but I'm stubborn. I've paid for this darn thing, and I'm so used to it that I'm going to get it working, even if I die trying!! LOL. 

OH - and when I was working on the homework for Color My World, guess what I found? A printout of the distribution list! That is going to make it so much easier to re-enter them, if I need to. Yeah!!!!

The printed distribution list for Colour My World

And one other thing: I really like how the Classic version saves pictures. The New version sucks at that, so I'd better remember to include that in my feedback. 

I'm making my Colour My World from batiks, and this was the ironing board as I prepped for the weekend class. It's all tidied away now, but it was very colorful! I'm loving this quilt, and while it is a lot of work, it's so worth it!!!

Prepping the homework for Colour My World

And OH MY -- I had to get the hammer out because at one point in the day, KU was pressing something and I don't know how hard she was pressing, but that board jumped down a notch or two! Nothing fell, so all was good. But I'm going to tip that board upside down today and see if I can jam the notches in place, and if I need to use a hammer, then so be it! Personally, I think that one bar needs to be straightened. 

While I was sewing and cutting, I also had the embroidery machine running at full speed with this project. All twenty of the blocks are complete! That was a ton of work (OK - it wasn't, but it was noisy), and now I need to figure out how to assemble them into a quilt. Be sure to mark your calendars for my Facebook Live on March 11. 

My machine embroidered quilt block

It's very hard to get good help these days! Murphy just wants attention, and so I stop to give her some loving. As a result, my chair moved backward. When I went to sew, she was still lying on the floor, and my foot was a long way from the foot pedal. What a silly girl!!!

MOM -- I need loving, more than you need to sew

How many keys does your key ring hold? Mine has been sitting here staring at me for a couple of days, and I got to wondering. Remember how we used to have oodles of keys. What did we use them all for? I have three keys on that holder. By the way, don't you love the personalized band? A friend made that for me, and it's fun because it has my name on it, so there's no danger of getting it mixed up with someone else's. THANK YOU!!!!

My keyring

There is a house key on it, but we never use it since we have a keyless lock on the front door. Still handy in case the battery dies, though I get plenty of warning. The mailbox key, which I use every time I get the mail. There is also a smaller key on it, which I have no idea what it unlocks. I suspect a lock for the bike rack!! I must check that out since I want to sell the bike rack. I have zero need for any other keys. WAIT -- the car. That's a big fob, and I keep it in my little pouch. Again, our car is keyless for everything, but you need the fob on your person to do anything. 

I spotted this on Instagram yesterday. Hmmm—I'm not sure I could focus. I think I'll keep those activities separate! 

Doing a puzzle while walking? 

I have to tell you about this audiobook I'm just finishing up this morning. It's one of the ones from that Globe and Mail list from March 2023. OH MY!!!!! If you love a thinker mystery with loads of details, this is the book for you! It's called Malice by Keigo Higashino. It's the first in the Detective Kaga series, but wow!! Actually, the list mentioned his latest book, "A Death in Tokyo," but since it was a series, I had to start at the beginning. 

There is a murder, as is usually the case in a murder mystery. And unlike other books, you get to know the murderer pretty early on. But the why and the how are uncanny! It's like a cat-and-mouse game between the accused and the detective as they both unravel the details. It's quite interesting, and I'll definitely be reading more of this author's books. He has some standalone books as well. 

You need to stay sharp on your toes to understand the nuances of the book; there are plenty of side diversions. Oh shoot—I see I can download the next audiobook in the series. NO --- Just say no - I have three other books in my audiobook reader to read first!!!!

Well, I guess I'm off -- I have so many things to do, but very interesting and exciting things on the agenda for today. I've got some patterns to design, embroidery designs to continue, a huge variety of things to sew, and it's just going to be a glorious day. If Microsoft can find the rest of my emails, that will be the icing on the cake. At this point? I'm not hopeful. I think they got lost in the save when they deleted my account. They might be on another computer, or they should still be on the server. 

I guess that would be a good way to get rid of a lot of stuff! It will be annoying as all get out to find what I need since the ones I wanted to keep were in the folders! But the most critical thing would be the UFO emails, as I had not processed those photos yet. Sigh.............

However, onward and upward!!!!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

PS -- Forgot to mention --- there is a Virtual Retreat this weekend. Saturday - starting at 6 PM EST and Sunday at 3 PM EST. I'm not going to post the links until Saturday because Zoom has a fit about posting them on a public blog. So I'll only do it on Saturday and then on Sunday. 

Sticky situation

A couple of weeks ago, someone from the gym gave me a bag of quilting stuff that they no longer wanted. The intention had been to make her mother a jacket.  It was obvious from the contents of the bag that the person had never done any quilting before. A new (small) cutting mat, small rotary cutter were in the bag, along with the pattern and some fabric (all purchased from Earthly Good in Edmonton). That is one of the bags that is currently sitting on the floor in that area. 

There was some fusible fleece which has long since been put into a project - I don't even remember where it got used. There was some Wonder Under which I put in with the rest of my fusible products. 

Sooooooo - on the weekend, when I needed some pieces of fusible web, I grabbed this pack of Wonder Under and fused it to some fusible fleece, which had fusible on only one side and I needed the fusible fleece to have fusible on two sides.  Did that make sense?

However when I went to peel the paper away from the product - NO GO.  I tried everything, I tried to score the paper, I tried from the edge.  That paper from the Wonder Under was very firmly attached to the glue.  

The paper is very firmly stuck to the glue!

Thankfully, I hadn't wasted much of the fusible fleece as it could not be reused - the paper was firmly attached.  Guess where it all is now???  Yep - in the garbage. I don't throw much away, but that had to go.

Wonder Under does have a shelf life

Now I don't remember when she said she had attempted to make the jacket. I want to say that it was 15-20 years ago.  There's a lesson here. Don't stockpile fusible products (but we always knew that - didn't we?)  and use things up before you buy new, even if they're on sale, unless it is something you use very often!

I love getting things in the mail - don't you?  When I got home last night, there was this big box waiting for me.  Oh, what's in the box?  Oh yes, my parents were going to send me the stuff that I had left there when visiting.  I was heading to my bike trip and didn't want to cart around all this quilting stuff with me.  I know, it's sad when you have to ship your quilt purchases home from vacation.

Box from home!

Yes, it was a while ago that I was in Saskatchewan, but they needed to find a box big enough to add something else to the box.  Just wait. And if you're queasy - don't look closely at the next picture.

After dinner, I headed downstairs to open the box.  I grabbed a pair of scissors and proceeded to slice open the box. I have to say, that it was with a rather dramatic slice that I attempted to open the box. Next thing I knew, my thumb was bleeding profusely.  Yep, my thumb wasn't even on the box, but that dramatic swoop with the scissors slipped off the box and happened to find my thumb!

Oh GOD - I don't have time for this!!!  Run upstairs and grab toilet paper to staunch the flow of blood while keeping a FIRM pressure on the darn thing. It bled and bled.  OK - maybe for 10 minutes, maybe it was even 5 minutes. It seemed like an eternity since I needed to be back downstairs working.

My injury!

I hate bandages, but I had no choice because this was right on my thumb and I was going to open up that cut again so the bandage was there to protect it. I was expecting it to hurt a lot more, but once it stopped bleeding, it's been fine.

I always thought those scissors weren't sharp, but I guess they are!!!   They're titanium, SMOOTH flow or something like that written on them.

Sharp scissors

I shall pay heed to those scissors in the future.  At last, I was able to open the box.  And this is what was inside.

Inside the box was a bag filled with quilt goodies

The tote bag was from the family reunion that took place while I was there.

Tote bag

You'll have to wait to see what's in the bag.  I don't have time to unpack it and may not for a couple of weeks. But there are some awesome goodies in there!!!!

As if the cut on my thumb wasn't bad enough, I had cut my finger on the opposite hand at the dog park on Sunday. Because of the nature of that cut and the location, this one hurts!!!

One more cut!

I know - big baby - just suck it up!!!  Well, I am - I just wrote the above for your entertainment!!!

However, once I took the tote bag out of the box, what to do with the box?  I looked around and well - remember that big scrap basket on the cutting mat?

Basket of scraps on the cutting table

No time to make a bag to put the scraps in, so they got thrown into the box and I'll deal with it in a couple of weeks.

A big box of scraps!

I'm making excellent progress on my projects. I don't know how many bindings and backings I made last night. I cut out blocks and well, just had a merry old time.  Now if I could just have THREE more days, I would be a very happy camper!!!

And to remind you all, that I do NOT burn the midnight oil, Miss Lexi and I went to the dog park for an hour, I got to read before bed and lights out before 10 PM.  Drinking lots of water. So yes, I'm taking good care of myself - just not a lot of time for extra things.

On that note, it's time to get to work.


Have a super awesome day!

Ciao!