Out with the old, in with the new!

OH shoot -- I goofed on the one-sided paper acronym. It's GOOSe, which stands for "good on one side, EH!" Anyway, I found a lot more GOOSe yesterday, and it's been added to the pile for printing.  

I finally got through that pile of receipts, and I did keep a few that I'll sort through later. But the majority of it is gone. More on that in a minute. DH had the gall to ask why I didn't just dump it without sorting. He hasn't learned that I have to do things MY way or it doesn't work well! And I found a gift certificate for $100 with NO date on it -- I'm going to see if I can still use it. 

I also managed to get through the last bit of stuff from the 6-drawer plastic unit. So I'm making progress, slow and steady. I unpacked the box I took up the other day and sorted through it quickly. There is a drawer full of paper to sort through and several small baskets of stuff. Some might be useful, some might need a home, and some might be worthy of donating, but I bet most of it is junk. 

It looks like stuff that collects, and you have no idea what to do with it. You know - those freebie things that you get so excited about and then get home and think -- what the heck am I supposed to do with this? I used to be bad with that kind of thing. If it was free -- I WANTED it -- I needed it. I wanted free stuff at quilt shows, trade shows, and conferences. And now I'm throwing most of it away. 

All I can say is think long and hard about anything FREE. While it may be free in that you didn't have to pay for it, it's NOT free because you have one more thing to waste your time on as you manage it. So be careful!

Here's a close-up of that headstone from the Kindree cemetery. I've made it as large as possible, and hopefully, you can see what I meant by the sons' names being listed but not the daughters'. Actually, three of four sons are listed. Apparently, three of the children died of TB. Talk about an unlucky family, but times were different, and thank goodness for vaccines (I did not say that out loud) to prevent these terrible diseases from killing more children. 

Did you notice that two of their children died within 5 days of each other? 

A graver marker in the Kindree Pioneer Cemetary

As if we hadn't had enough excitement on our street, I came home from walking Murphy to find this. 

The new mailboxes have arrived

Wow --- it looks like we are getting our new mailboxes! The old ones were already loaded on the truck. Lexi and I saw the new mailboxes sitting by the curb as we walked past. Hmm -- now where are those keys we received last week? 

Checking out the new mailboxes

Can you believe that in all the kerfuffle, the mail person arrived and put our mail in the new boxes as they were sitting on the side of the street? Yep -- because when I went to the mailbox later in the afternoon, we had mail! Now that's good service. But doesn't it make you wonder why we get mail every day? It's not like before we had e-mail and cell phones -- mail used to be important or more important than it is now. 

But we get mail delivered every day. I would vote to have mail delivered once a week when there's actually something worthwhile to get. How much money would we save? But then someone would be out of a job and how to store it. 

And I have a room with a view. As I sat in the room sorting paper, I could watch the progress of the installation. 

Watching the installation process

I've seen some other installations in our neighborhood, but we got a spiffy new surface for our mailboxes. I'll take some pictures and show you want I mean. 

Spiffy new boxes (for us!)

I'll have to take a better picture, but the pedestals they are sitting on are all new, and they put bricks in the front or something. I wondered why some of the curb was taken out last week.

How long will it take for someone to slap their "painting" and "cleaning" services all over them? Can we not have one surface that is clear of that crap? 

I needed to get rid of the boxes of stuff that were now sitting in the front hall, so I loaded up the car. I had donation boxes, a box of electronic waste, and a couple of things for the hazardous materials drop-off. And my box of receipts. 

The car is loaded with stuff to go!

I must say that it felt good to get rid of another carload of stuff. Bit by bit -- I'll get it under control, but I've done nothing else in the last couple of days, and even though I have more to sort, I'll tackle it slowly and grab a small container of stuff and sort through it throughout the day. That leaves five boxes on the floor in the office, which is excellent considering what was here. 

But that box of receipts was a challenge to get rid of. The slot at the shredding place was narrow, and I had 6 pounds of paper to dispose of through that small slot. Thankfully, it didn't take long and paying $6 to dispose of that paper beats buying a shredder for home, where it's one more thing to own. 

The bin for shredding

Oh boy -- if you have a pet, you can buy anything for your pet. I had to stop and get dog food for Murphy. Can you believe that you can buy a tent for a dog? A PUP tent! Remember those? 

A tent for your dog!

Or you could buy an open bed with a top for shade. 

Or an open-sided dog bed with shade

I don't know about you, but I don't think my dogs would want that, and even if they did -- they are not getting them. Even my gazebo doesn't provide shade all day, so I can only sit there at certain times. And my girls seem to be pretty happy picking where they want to sleep - sometimes in the sun and sometimes in the shade. 

But one more thing to buy your dog and then have to deal with at some point. Yes -- I am a huge cynic on the consumer side of things. 

So I've been watering the new grass and plants on a very regular basis. I can only imagine what our water bill will look like. I may not have saved the grass along the driveway side as it seems dead, but there are green blades of grass in there! I'm optimistic that it will come back!

However, while doing this, I usually take the girls out to enjoy the front step. They were on their leashes and tied to my chair. Of course, Murphy doesn't grasp the concept and lies right in the sprinkler's path. 

MOM -- I'm getting wet here!

Lexi is the smart one; I swear she is laughing at Murphy. Notice how she is right on the edge of the wet patio. Yes -- Lexi, Mom says you are smart! Not always, but in this instance, you are super bright!

MOM -- my sister is silly!

This picture must be from the weekend as the porta potty is still there. 

Watering the grass

It left Monday morning, and it's quiet and lonely here! But it sure looks lovely at night! And thankfully, the neighbor has NOT turned on those new lights since they were installed. I wonder why? Did she realize there were too many and they were too bright? Apparently, she's a realtor, so she's seen many houses and should have known what she was doing. 

The front step at night

I finally have the watering thing worked out and know where to place the sprinkler so I don't get wet, and I don't do this. After 20 minutes of watering, I stepped into the wet ground and sank several inches into the mud. UGH!!!!

Someone stepped into the mud

How's this for the unusual? The kids at one of the houses along our walk were busy with chalk and colored on the sidewalk to their front door! 

A fun chalk walk!

I need to get to the long arm today and the sewing machine! If any sorting gets done today, it'll be in small bits as it's time to move on for the moment. I made significant progress, and now that I see that I can throw away that paper, the rest of the task won't be so daunting. It's amazing how much paper accumulates -- how many patterns did I photocopy (what a WASTE!) that I thought I'd do and I never did. Now I look at them and say -- yes -- still nice, but not going to happen. So they are gone. 

It will take me some time to process the things - I realize now that they will be more challenging than the paper. And I MUST give myself permission to toss that stuff if it's not worth donating or keeping. That will be the hardest for me (and I see that in my Mom). We acquired the items thinking they were valuable (in some way) and then just tossing them into the landfill -- well, that's hard. But I WILL do it. 

Do any of the decluttering books go through this? So many of them talk about organizing, but do they talk about the agony of making those decisions? Do they show the crappy little stuff that we accumulate? More on that another day because I have lots to say on that matter. And I might just recap my best tips for decluttering. 

One thing we have to be careful of is over-organizing versus decluttering. It's one thing to be organized, but if you don't get rid of things, you become an organized hoarder! 

Check out the QUILTsocial link today for great adventures with the Husqvarna Viking PLATINUM Q160 stationary quilting machine. 

And don't forget the virtual Retreat this weekend. 

Saturday, July 30  --- starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89254233911?pwd=VGQrTnFybW1HMWpleHA4M2Q2NGVwZz09 Meeting ID: 892 5423 3911 Passcode: 982797

Sunday, July 31 -- starts at NOON

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81693717518?pwd=STNoVVQzbDd4ZnROQndNNlpvcC90QT09 Meeting ID: 816 9371 7518 Passcode: 579285

Keep up the faith with the decluttering. It's hard -- it's darn hard and often a dirty job (literally and figuratively). But one drawer, box, or basket at a time, and we will get through this mess we've created. And BE VERY AWARE of what you bring into the house. You'll never get ahead of the game if you don't stop accumulating! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

The driveway is ALMOST done

 So it wasn't quite the productive day that I wanted it to be, but I did OK. 

I swear this Patterned Concrete company is the most efficient company I've ever seen. They have teams that do specific jobs and don't waste a second. 

The first crew was here before I finished the blog yesterday. This was the cutting crew. Their job was to remove the plastic sheeting from the driveway. I love how they randomly parked the truck practically in the middle of the street. 

The cutting crew arrives

The plastic was gone, and the cut lines were marked before I could really see what was going on. 

The cut lines are marked

Then it got really dusty as they used the concrete saw to make the cut lines. I do believe that is for expansion of the concrete in the winter? Or is that the summer? I don't know. 

Cutting the concrete

That team was wrapping up when the next team arrived. This was the washing crew. 

The washing crew arrived

OH MY GOSH -- it was like magic -- as they washed the top layer of concrete away, this is the NEW driveway. That chemical they put on the day before somehow stops the very thin top layer of concrete from setting. Wash away the excess and VOILA -- exposed aggregate driveway. 

The exposed aggregate driveway - it's like magic

It looks amazing, and I'm so happy we went with it. Let's just say it wasn't cheap and if your car leaks oil, you are NOT allowed to park on my driveway! 

It took them a long time to power wash the drive, but they cleaned up the street down to the drain and were gone by 10:30. The excess concrete was not washed down the drain! Surprisingly there wasn't a lot, but lots of dust so it was more mud! 

Almost done! 

The driveway is NOT done. We now have to wait ten days, then they come back and powerwash it one more time. Then it gets sealed. Then we wait one more day, and then, at last, we can park in the driveway again. I think that's the schedule. What a LONG process, but well worth the wait. And it's smaller, so less snow to shovel in the winter! I can hardly wait for the first snowstorm. OK -- just kidding on that one. 

Murphy was getting pretty bored of the coming and going and just wanted to sleep. But seriously, she had loads of room to sleep in that bed but proceeded to sleep with her butt hanging over the edge!

MOM -- I'm bored

I got Studio U pretty much cleaned up while I spied on the work! There's still stuff to tidy up, and I want to move some stuff downstairs or upstairs as needed. I really do need to sew up there more often, as it's such a beautiful space. Now I have room again. 

During the mess of the morning, the doorbell rang, and I thought it might be one of the crew. Nope - it was the mail person delivering a box. Seriously? I didn't order anything. 

Wait a minute, I ordered something at 1:15 PM the previous day and it was here by 10 AM. WOW -- that was fast service, and NO -- this was NOT from that online store! I like to buy directly from a company. I haven't unpacked it yet, but you'll get to see it next week. I'm pretty excited to see how it works. 

My package arrived

OK -- I decided that it's time to stop procrastinating. The blinds came down when the new windows went in. That was in December, and the blinds are still hanging around. I found these ones in Studio U. Some of the cords need to be replaced, so I decided to whip down to Blinds to Go and see if they could be repaired. I learned that NO blinds in Canada can be sold with cords. That came into effect in May of this year. 

Getting my blinds repaired

Now, these particular blinds are bottom-up, and top-down, which I love, especially for that large window. I can have privacy and light at the same time. Guess what? You can NO longer have those blinds because they can't figure out how to make them without the cords! Good grief. So could I get mine repaired? You bet! They looked my order up on the computer (bought in 2011), and it should take a week. I'm splurging and having someone come and install them as well. I'm NOT good at that. 

I have some other ones to hang and some pictures, and I'll be calling a handyman to do that. Yes -- I could do it myself, but I attempted this morning and hate the result, so I'll let someone better skilled do it, and I'll stick to my quilting. 

While I was out, I popped into Chapters. OH boy -- the magazine section is half what it used to be. Literally, two of the four big racks are gone!! And there are NOT many quilting magazines there. I quickly browsed a few and left without buying anything. I'm getting so good at it. 

The magazine section is HALF

But not before I took this picture of an orange tent with orange lounge chairs? I think that's what they are. Nope -- I didn't buy that either. 

Orange display at Chapters

Then I got home and got an e-mail that a package was received at my US mailbox. Yeah -- the last time I ordered something, that e-mail never came to me. Now that I know how the system works, within minutes, I had paid for the shipping to Canada, and the package is now on its way! Yeah!!!

The package is ready to ship to Canada

I love when things come together but sometimes, there is a steep learning curve. One day -- I'll have it all figured out! 

So my big job of the evening, besides packing for a mini-trip and having to do laundry, was to water the new garden. I dug out the sprinkler that I found in the shed and had fun (and got wet) as I remembered how to use the darn thing. But everything is saturated. Tomorrow, they are laying mulch so that will help retain the water. However, we have to do some serious watering every day for a couple of weeks to make sure that things take hold. 

Watering my new tree

I love how Facebook brings up your memories, and these two pictures are memories of M and my trip to London, eight years ago!!! What was with my hair??? 

Me, on a bike, in London!

But this is one of my favorite pictures. It was a perfect day, the angle was perfect, and M looked awesome! Way to go, M!!!!! That's Kensington Palace in the background, in case you don't recognize it!

M on a bike near Kensington Palace

On that note, It's time to get moving. I'll share my mini-trip information later. In the meantime, I need to get my suitcase packed. Wait -- the washing machine hasn't stopped yet and I still have to dry stuff. 

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!!

How to make a concrete driveway

Seriously? Fireworks because of a full moon? At 11 PM? I would have run to the park and yelled at them if I was decent. No one needs to have fireworks on a full moon. Although, based on history, I guess fireworks are pretty tame for a full moon evening. Actually, I think it was a super moon, so of course, that justifies the fireworks. Thankfully, it was only for a minute, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was woken up. 

WAIT -- I sleep with the windows open rather than rely on the air conditioner. Maybe I was the only one to be awoken. The air is so cool and beautiful in the morning; I sure hope you get a chance to enjoy it. 

I awoke yesterday fired up and ready to meet the day head-on. I went to spin class and pumped out my 30 KM like it was nothing. OK -- it wasn't that easy, but much better than my pitiful results on Monday. But that's OK. 

Then home to get work done, only to find THIS in my driveway. WHAT? They were NOT supposed to be here until later in the week. 

The driveway has arrived

That is a load of concrete, in case you can't see the massive truck! But better to be early than delay the process. Yikes! I was not ready for this, and neither was the landscape team. 

The driveway company is pretty darn efficient. They come with a crew, and I mean a crew. Of course, they have to as concrete - well, it tends to firm up if you're not fast. 

Smoothing the concrete in the driveway

Those guys had big rubber boots and were up to their knees in concrete. All the stonework and the sidewalk were protected by sheets of plastic. 

I did NOT take the girls for a walk as there wasn't really a good place to get out of the house, and I wanted to watch. HEY -- I paid a LOT of money for that driveway; I wanted to see how it was done. 

Then they started the smoothing process before the rest of the concrete was poured. I tell you -- they were very efficient. I think there were 6 or maybe 7 of them. 

Smoothing out the concrete

Yikes -- then the second truck of concrete arrived as one was not enough. No wonder it costs so much money. 

Two concrete trucks!

And then, they arrived at the corner where the shut-off valve was located. Ooops - the valve disappeared as it was too short, even though the Region apparently had run a string and a level over it to ensure it was the same height as the sidewalk. Not so. They had to pick-ax the concrete away from the area and then make it higher; at last, they could do that remaining part. 

Working around the shut-off valve

They had not placed the rebar in the lower part of the driveway, and I was thinking, "why is that?" Then when half the concrete was poured, they threw in the rebar. OH -- did I mention that the second concrete truck was driven by a woman, which makes perfect sense because it is quite the process to clean out the truck when it's empty. I always wondered how that was done, and now I know. It's a pretty slick system, and they carry their own water tank on the truck and a tank for the dirty water. 

At the height of that process, that truck was rocking and rolling in the street from the power, and well, it was nice when they were gone as it was very noisy. I'm sure the neighborhood was happy. OH -- I think the neighborhood will be glad when this is over. When I arrived and got out of my car, a couple I frequently see walking the street asked me if "this was it?" Well, almost! 

They spent an enormous time smoothing out the concrete, especially along the edges. And then, the crew split up as the first crew was off to pour another driveway likely, and three guys stayed behind to finish my job. 

Smoothing the edges of the concrete

And look at the shade of my new tree!!! I love it already, and it will shade the front of the house in the late afternoon. 

Then the driveway got sprayed with a chemical (you'll see why tomorrow), and they covered it with big sheets of plastic and left it to cure! They must have started at 7:30 or even earlier and were gone by 10:30. It's taped off so no one can walk on it. 

The driveway is under wraps to cure

 

This is what it looks like from the front. A total mess, but hopefully, by the end of today, it will look normal. We can't drive on the driveway for two weeks, so another two weeks of car shuffling, although I might now get a permit to park on the street and not worry about moving the cars since the landscape people are almost done. The parking people don't come unless someone complains, and no one has complained -- thankfully, we have intelligent neighbors. We still have the porta-potty and a Bobcat in the street, so parking is a hassle right in front of the house, but we can park in front of the driveway. 

The front of the house

And through it all, the landscapers continued to plant. All the plants got planted, and it's looking really nice, although it'll take about two years for things to take hold, and we can have some privacy on that front patio. But I don't care. 

The plantings are almost done

Then I received some excellent news! Remember my Patagonia jacket that they repaired for FREE. I thought I would have to go downtown to pick it up. They mailed it to the house, so I knew it was coming, and it arrived yesterday. 

My Patagonia jacket is back!

It now has a new zipper, and they fixed the elbows on the inside where the fabric had worn thin and added a bit more down. Yippeee!!!! I HIGHLY recommend Patagonia for ANY hiking or outdoor gear. They have this crazy guarantee and are very conscious of our carbon footprint. 

I need to buy some new stuff next month, and I'll make a trip downtown to buy from them. 

Let's just say that their clothing is worth every penny! This jacket is old -- about 10 years, but I should be able to get another five or more years from it. I love it, and well, it's my favorite winter jacket. Not only for winter, but it's excellent for camping -- lightweight, super warm, and compacts into nothing! 

The envelope it came in can also be used as a return envelope. Does anyone have a Patagonia garment that they no longer wear? If so, use my envelope to return it to them, and they will give you credit!!!

The send envelope is also a return envelope

Wouldn't it be great if all companies were this responsible? By the time that jacket is done, it will have cost me pennies a day (if that) to own it! That suits my minimalistic mindset perfectly! 

Patagonia ROCKS!!!

I got three more quilt tops from Diane -- I've lost count, but I need to start a tally as I finish the quilts as it would be fun to know that number. I think I have given away three that she made, so I need to get my butt in gear and work on more, which I'll be doing starting next week. 

Three community project quilts from Diane

I also got another customer quilt done. I was going to do another one today, but I've decided I have too much other stuff to do, so that will have to wait until next week. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I'll give you all a heads up -- if anyone wants a quilt done for Christmas, book it NOW. I have a hectic fall, and while I'll have time to quilt, I'm not sure how many I'll be able to do, so book it now - even if the top isn't done! 

That Lexi - she loves this mat. She loves to sit on it, but she'll even lay on it, even though it's not nearly big enough! Silly girl! I wish the mat was twice the size, and she would be in doggy glory!

Lexi and her mat

Maybe she likes the texture of the mat on her body? 

And then there's Murphy. I decided to join Murphy in her dog bed in front of the window. I know -- I'm totally a big kid at heart. 

MOM -- this is MY bed - there's no room for two!

I think she was trying to tell me that I took up too much space and that looking out the window was much more fun than being scrunched beside me! Oh, Murphy! 

MOM -- look out the window with me!

I took the two of them out for a walk after dinner, and Murphy was a total lunatic, and there I was on a busy street, yelling my head off at her to get her to calm down. Nope --- it wasn't until we had seen at least three dogs that she managed to get herself under control. Sigh.........

There is one thing I learned about myself yesterday. Actually, I knew it before. I do NOT function well when a lot is going on. The driveway crew, the landscape crew, and the cleaning lady were here, and I was waiting for two people to pick stuff up. That was just too much toing and froing for me, so I did;t get much done. Although I did some tidying up in Studio U, which I did between spying on the work crews. But I didn't get much else accomplished. 

So today is the day -- there is a lot to do, and ONLY the driveway crew will be here for a bit this morning. I expect the rest of the day to be quiet, which is good because I'm now extremely tight on time to finish everything by tonight as I'm off again for the weekend. 

On that note, I'm off to get the day started. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Patio progress

 I seem to be taking my sweet time to unpack everything from the retreat. It's SUMMER, and I'm in summer mode -- slow, and I'm OK with that. 

They are making progress in leaps and bounds in the front yard, and the girls and I christened the patio last night. 

The new front patio

They still have some stuff to plant, but the three "big" trees are in. Let's not forget my little patch of grass has to go in. I don't want it; the landscaper does. I'll let him win, but then, I might ditch it -- I'll see how it goes. He is giving me a lesson on how to use my trimmer, and I see I'm also going to get new grass on the boulevard section as they ripped that out yesterday. 

The driveway crew did not return to finish placing the rebar in the boulevard section of the driveway, and I learned that they had set the neighbor's lawn on fire the day before when they were cutting the steel. Sigh! Thankfully, that neighbor (a young adult whose parents haven't been home since before the pandemic) won't notice or care. We have to tell him to cut the grass and that the pump for their backyard pond is running dry. Sigh!

The girls were totally confused last night when I took a chair out to the front and took them with me. "MOM -- we have LEASHES ON -- we should be going for a walk, not sitting here. This is BORING!" They did settle down, but there were too many new smells to really settle down.  

Why are we NOT walking? 

But I had some neighbors stop to chat, and that's the intention of the patio - get to know the neighbors better! It's already working, and we're not done yet! It did feel weird as the patio is a bit high, and you feel exposed, but I don't care! 

I have to laugh as my neighbor (where I'm parking my car and who loves to garden) is out there all the time, chatting to the guys. She would be there on her hands and knees if they let her!

My neighbor supervising the work

I think Lexi is missing her Dad. He's away for a couple of days, and she needs to feel connected, so as I'm eating lunch, she's lying on my foot. She really is a Daddy's girl!

Where's my Dad? I can't survive without him

Murphy, on the other hand, just wants to play ball. I think she will prefer the back to the front because she can play ball in the back and there are squirrels to chase and well, I might sneak to the front when I want to avoid her! Not that I would ever want to do that!

Let's play ball!

I snapped this photo when walking the girls yesterday -- how fortunate I am to have this beautiful green space so close to the house. I hope everyone is taking advantage of any green space near them. You would NOT believe the calmness that the forest exudes! I think there's a term called "forest bathing" and I have to say that it's fantastic! That forest was the deal clincher when we bought this house, and it's been a lifesaver! 

Forest bathing

I'm sure you don't remember, but a while back, I was looking for the quilt novels by Carol Dean Jones. I found this one at Quilt Canada, the first in the series (of twelve books). I'll have to read this and then be on the hunt for the remainder of the series. But if I don't like it, I don't need to. But sometimes, these light, fluffy books are a good diversion! 

Quilt novel - the first in the series

I got a bit more sewing done and one more customer quilt. 

Customer quilt - DONE

As mentioned, I'm in slow-motion mode. I have things to do but don't seem to be too motivated to make them happen. Hopefully, I can be a bit more productive today as there are some things I need to get packed up and done. And I have some computer work that I really want to finish, so LESS time reading and relaxing and a wee bit more time getting serious and being an adult! LOL! 

I would like to return to my decluttering, but I haven't made it there yet. There's still stuff to clean up in Studio B, and I want that to be my priority. There are tuffet kits to get ready to send and projects that need to be sorted and put away. 

OH -- here's something from the retreat to share with you. The sewing room on the back of the house has windows on three sides and backs onto a wooded area. One day, we spotted this little guy or girl. By the way, we were at Seams Appropriate near Huntsville. 

He was along the edge of the clearing and happily grazing on the grass. We were quiet and watched him flicking his tail to keep the bugs away. It was so cute because you saw the big patch of white under the tail. 

A fawn grazing t the edge of the clearing by the house

Then he heard us and popped up his head to look at us. "What is all that noise, and it is safe to check it out?" 

Who is there?

Then he bounded right into the clearing and very close to the house. He knew we were there and stood for quite a while, watching us as we watched him. 

Hey -- do you want to play with me? 

Then with a flick of his tail, he turned and bounded into the forest. So adorable!!! The following day, near the lake, I spotted a mommy deer and two babies. I wonder if this was one of the babies? It was so cute because he was intent on listening to what we said!!

That about wraps it up for me today! I'm off to spin class again! I like spin class, but there are days when I wish I could eat anything I wanted and didn't have to worry about taking the calories off! Once I get there, I'm good - sometimes, it's just the anticipation of getting there. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!