What's in your basket? And how did you load it?

If you can't beat the system, try a different way. Seriously? This darn bone density pill and I have a love/hate relationship. To remember to take the darn thing, I left my pillbox on the counter yesterday to remind me all day that I needed to take it this morning. Then I put the pillbox on my phone so I would remember first thing this morning. 

Then I had a bad night, couldn't get to sleep, and woke up several times. As a result, I slept in. Now you think that I would take the pill in the middle of the night, but you are not allowed to lie down for 30 minutes after taking it. 

I got up at the time that I would typically make breakfast, so I just threw in the towel. I took the pill, and I'm waiting 30 minutes before I eat. But seriously? This pill is the bane of my existence, and if it ruined my sleep, then I certainly need to do something about it. 

I need to make an appointment for a physical, and I am demanding that they wipe that prescription from my file. I hate the restrictions associated with it, and my brain is rebelling, and I don't need or want that! Another medication does the same thing without the time restrictions. 

I don't care that I am going to throw some of it away to get the one I can take without any restrictions. At this point, the medication isn't doing me any good. 

Phew -- I got that off my chest!

OK -- if you are in my Show and Tell, Forty Shades of Grey, or My Kinda Town class, you should have received an email yesterday from me. If you did not, and I just realized I forgot to do an email search, so I may have missed an email or two, then let me know, and I'll add you to the list. I'm preparing the information email that goes out to the groups, and I hope to get those out soon. 

It took me two hours or perhaps a wee bit more, and I accomplished all the errands that needed to be done by car. Well, almost. I went to return a light from the lighting store and to check on ordering a lighted house sign that they were supposed to get back to me about. I walked up to the counter with my bill and the light, only to see the Return Policy staring at me, which I had not noticed before. Or maybe I did, but it didn't register. TEN days, and it was now 24 days since I purchased the lights. 

I need authorization to return a light, so I sent an email and got a response that YES, I could return the light, so I have to go back on Monday to make that happen. The gentleman thanked me for my order—yes, you should! It wasn't cheap. 

The other light from a different store was returned, no questions asked. But it's a big box store, so that was OK. 

I stopped at Chapters to see if anything new was in. Oh my, the magazine section for knitting and crafts used to be crowded, but it's not so crowded any longer. 

The magazines left in the craft section

I am surprised that the Golden Media titles are still hanging in there. And I notice that the bookstore staff pepper the shelves with books - like the Sashiko book! And I found this on that shelf. Totally unrelated. 

A puzzle book on the craft magazine shelf

I swear, my brain loves puzzles. I decided I needed this book. OK -- so their strategy worked! It's filled with 50 logic puzzles that I LOVE doing. I've been doing those kinds of puzzles since I was a teenager, and well, if I wasn't a quilter, I'd probably have been doing puzzles for years. 

Logic puzzles

One other thing I spotted on the craft shelves was this GIANT book. I've seen and posted about them before, so it's not new, but this one was HUGE. This is a PAPER book - it's literally filled with stickers, mini books, papers, cardstock, etc so you can make journals or whatever else you want to make. 

A paper book

But look at the price!!!!

Ouch!!

I suppose if you want a variety of stuff, it would cost you the same amount if you purchased all those things individually at the craft store. So maybe it's like our quilting kits—pay one price and get it all!

Then I went to the pet store to get dog food for the girls. They do not eat the same food. I winged my way to the back of the store and spotted an employee from the dog food company as she scouted the shelves. I found the two bags of food and whipped them onto the cart. I always turn them upside down on the edge of the cart so the cashier can easily scan the code on the back. 

Then I decided to mention that to the lady from the company. So the heavy bags are placed face up on the shelf. No big deal -- that's where the pretty pictures are. But as I take them off the shelf, I have to turn them over and place them wrong side up in the cart so the pricing label shows. Then, when I go to the cash register, it's an easy job for them to scan it. 

Why can't that scan code be placed on the FRONT of the bag? Then I only have to take the bag off the shelf and put it on the cart. I don't have to rotate the bag. I can manage it, but what if I'm not as strong as I am? More on that in a minute! 

She thanked me, and I headed out. And never drop a heavy bag of dog food INTO the cart—how the heck will you get it out? I balance the two of them on the top! 

When I do my car errands, I have a route. It's about three blocks long, and it's where I buy the big stuff, like dog food, etc. There is a thrift store along that route, and Fabricland and Chapters, etc. So I start at one end and work my way to the other. I hate driving a short distance and then reparking the car, but it's practical that way. 

When I popped into Fabricland to find the bias tape, I spotted a completely empty spool rack. Hmmm --- is that thread on its way out? 

An empty spool rack

From the corner of my eye, I spotted this fabric. It's a stretch velvet with sequins on it that shone as if it belonged to Dolly Parton on a stage with thousands of lights. It was brilliant. The picture doesn't do it justice. 

A bright sparkly fabric

It came in different colors. I have no use for it, but boy was it brilliant. 

I managed to find some bias tape, so I'll use that for my bag. 

The double-fold bias tape

And I found this Clover tool for making jelly roll rugs. I have seen a video of it, and it looks pretty cool. I still have batting strips, so I thought I would try it. 

Clover Fabric Tube Maker

I bought a pack of buttons and placed the three items on the counter. All of them were face up, with the scanning code on the back! The cashier even mentioned that she had to turn them over to scan them!!! I almost died! Well, she was right, but hey, these items were a lot lighter than a bag of dog food! 

Then I was onto Staples, where I dropped off our shredding. I have a drawer in the office where all the personal papers go, and when the drawer is full (it's not a big drawer), then I bundle it up and off it goes. It's usually once a year? Maybe twice this year because I tackled the drawers in the filing cabinet. Yes - I could have a shredder at home, but I found that any shredder we had in the past didn't last long, and it was boring to sit there and shred stuff and then you had to find a home for it. I paid $6 to drop off four pounds of paper. The only negative thing is that you have to shove it through this narrow slot. 

The narrow slot on the paper shredding container

But seriously? I'm getting very good at it and have no issues. So the paper is gone, and that was my last errand. With access to this kind of service, I would NEVER consider having a shredder in the house. 

Wait -- there was one more thing to get. When I returned the second light at the hardware store, I checked for the drill extensions, but I needed to go to the washroom, and I didn't want to make any "major" decisions as there were many options. So I walked to the hardware store near the house in the afternoon. And look what I found! A set of extended screwdriver heads with two extenders. This was exactly what I needed. 

My drill extenders

My drill is old - I didn't spot anything Black and Decker in either store, but the Dewalt ones work just fine. 

And then I got to work on my table. 

Soon, I had most of the leg assembly screwed to the table top. YES—there are cords involved because this table is electric! It is an adjustable height table, and because of the size I wanted and whatever, I couldn't get a crank version for that size. I tested the legs when it was like this, and they work!!! This way, I can sit and sew, or I can raise the table to do machine embroidery! I can't wait to try it out. I still have to tidy up the cords, but I'll do that later. 

The leg assembly is almost done.

Then the leg bases went on, and I waited for DH to get home. I was certain we wouldn't be able to right the table because it was so heavy; I could barely lift one end off the floor. 

The entire leg assembly!

But he used his engineering skills, and we flipped the table on its side and then righted it!!! With two people, it took very little effort. 

My new table

Oh my --- that is a sturdy table. It's supposed to support 450 lbs. I just need it to be stable when doing machine embroidery! I now have to move two machines so this table can slide into the back area of the worktable area. Then I can put one machine on it, and I've started to bring the components of the second table downstairs, and I hope to get it mostly done today. I need to do that while the assembly is still fresh in my mind!!!

But I think I'm going to love them. How will they ever get out of the basement if we move? That's another story!

I got a chucklet earlier in the day as I spotted a gold thread - a long one this time on my quilt top that I was going to work on during the virtual retreat. There's always a gold thread somewhere.

A long gold thread

That new table surface came in very handy last night as I spread my Tequila Lime quilt out so I could remove the paper from the back. It turns out that I was working on the four corners and the four middle sections. At one point, I thought I was done, so I took the quilt into the backyard to shake all the wee bits off. 

Removing paper from Tequila Lime

No - I had done 6 of the 8 sections. But that was good progress, and I was working on the final one last night when we shut the retreat down. I will continue to work on it today, and hopefully I can get the center star points (8) done today. 

There's my little garbage bin of paper. This was near the beginning of the process. 

My bin of paper

And this is what it looked like when I shut down last night! I'll have a mess to clean up when I'm done. So better to get all the paper out in one go and clean up once. 

What a mess to remove paper from a foundation pieced project

And my new turtle is done. I just need to remove the old one from the rest of the block and replace it with the new one. That should be an easy job today. You can actually see the turtle's head now. 

The old turtle and the new

I grabbed this picture from one of the Facebook puzzling groups. This is a small portion of this person's puzzle collection. Mine pales in comparison. 

A small part of someone's puzzle collection

I guess I feel about puzzles the same way I feel about novels. Once you read them, there are so many to read/do; why would you want to reread the book? Or redo the puzzle? Unless it had a very special meaning. Nope -- get the puzzle done, read the book, and GONE!!!!

OK - I waited an hour and just made breakfast. That will work! I'll just change my schedule on Sunday morning and use up those ridiculous pills! 

I noticed people were asking questions about my upcoming Facebook Live on the PFAFF creative icon 3. That was on the Embroidery M.O.M Facebook group, and she reposted my event. Oh my --- no pressure to do a good job! But it's going to be fun, and let's just go with it! 

And yes—we have a Virtual Retreat today, from 3 PM to 9 PM. Here's the link. 

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

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

And it's going to be another great day!!! 

Ciao!!!!

I'm a jinx!

So much for a free day! I left the hotel at 9 AM, and I didn't get back until after 8 PM. Considering I didn't have a car at my disposal, that was a pretty full day! 

First, though, if anyone wants to see the classes I am offering, I have listed them in this blog post. I was going to do some work on the dates and so on yesterday, but I didn't have time. At least you will know what I am teaching - you just don't know specific dates yet. I might throw in a few short (one- or two-session) classes, such as a session on the Trendtex challenge kit, for anyone who is interested. And I might be doing something with that batting I get my hands on next month, but those will be short and mostly for informational purposes, not a new project. 

Feel free to purchase the patterns if you wish, but I am going to explain more and show you more pictures of the wool applique kits, and I'm still working out options, so you could get some thread for the kit. If you have a kit already or bought one at the show, no big deal. That is the class with the most options. There are kits by Sue Spargo and Wendy Williams, and I can't find the Wendy Williams kits online. There is no rush to buy anything, as classes will not start until September. 

I decided to go for a walk to start the day. It was beautiful, and I almost wished I had worn shorts, but given what happened, I was glad I did not. 

I passed by more artwork. This was a huge set of marbles in a park. I guess I should have walked closer to them to get a picture. I can't seem to find a way to crop pictures on this silly laptop, so I'll have to figure that out at some point. But those large marbles were as shiny as any marble you would hold in your hand. 

Giant marbles in a park

Then I thought I would check for any Adventure Lab artwork, and this is what I spotted along the way. You really can't see the artwork, and sadly, some of the paint is peeling. It was painted in 2015 and depicts the boat people who came from Vietnam. The mural depicts one of the men who came to Canada as a refugee. And it is painted on a building that this man owns. 

A mural

I took the most direct way to my destination, not the prettiest. So I mostly walked along major streets, but I'm sure there was a prettier way to get to my first destination. 

There was a power line corridor that had no houses. However, there were garden plots for rent in that area, and what a great use of the land. 

Garden plots for rent

And after an hour walk (equivalent to walking the girls), I arrived at my destination. The McNally Robinson bookstore - the original one. No quilts are hanging up as there are in the Saskatoon store. As an independent bookstore, this one is amazing!! I could walk around for hours. I notice there are NO places to sit. Sadly, those spots have been abused over the years, and they are gone. But that's OK. 

McNally Robinson bookstore

But I wandered around and spotted so much good stuff. Sdly, I don't have a lot of room in my suitcase. I spotted this GAMES magazine in the magazine section. This magazine had been around for a very long time, as I was introduced to it in my late teens. It used to feature articles about games and game events, but now it's just a magazine with puzzles. I did not buy it. I don't think I have any of the old issues still around, but the masthead is very similar to the original! 

The GAMES magazine is still around!

OH MY—you can find anything and everything online. The first issue was released in Sept/Oct 1977. Check it out here, and I remember that first masthead!!!! 

There is the craft section, which has been greatly reduced over the years. But the way we get our information in the craft world has greatly changed. I did pick up one magazine that is hard to find at home. 

The hobby/craft section

And then I got a phone call from my friend I was going to meet, and she said she'd come to the bookstore, so I browsed around some more while I waited for her. Oh my --- the puzzles. There were two big shelves of puzzles - I think the other store has more, but there were so many new brands I had never seen before, and it was like being a kid in a candy store. I can't wait to get home and finish the one on my table. 

Part of the puzzle section

OK -- so I bought a puzzle! Let's just say that it's going to take some creative packing to get all this stuff in my suitcases. Or as I mentioned yesterday, I might just have to take a tote bag on the plane with me. I'm good either way. At least, I don't have to worry about the weight in my suitcase - 70 pounds times three is my included limit. That is way more important to me than having access to the lounge. 

While I was looking through everything, I spotted this in the games section. 

Threaded, the game

This is a brand-new game, and it's all about choosing patterns and thread to create bargello embroidery. I don't really understand how it works, and it's hard to see from the boxes, but you can learn more on their website.  Actually, when you read the description, it's pretty funny because it's based on how we work! Wait for a sale and hope it's still there, or pay more and get it now!

The back of the box

And I got a chuckle from this sign. Isn't that like us quilters? Why buy one fat quarter when you can buy the bundle!

Then my friend (Jeannette) showed up. Jeanette and I were in Katimavik together - almost 50 years ago! I have seen her on and off over those 50 years, and we have communicated a lot via text and Facebook. We had lunch together at the bookstore and chatted for hours. Then we needed to get moving - I was surprised that they didn't kick us out, but there was always at least one empty table in the restaurant, so we were good. 

Then she drove me to see her cute house in Winnipeg. She met her first husband in Katimavik and, sadly, after they had four children, he got sick and passed away. She married another friend later in life, and sadly, he is gone as well. So she now has this cute house in Winnipeg that is hers! 

Then we got in the car and drove outside Winnipeg to visit my Katimavik roommate from 50 years ago! Carol and I were roommates in Esquimalt (Victoria, BC). We have many memories together in that room! Carol and Jeannette both came from London, Ontario, and it's funny that they both ended up in Winnipeg. 

I have a picture to share, but I will wait until I get home. But Carol's husband, who Jeanette knows from London, is into medieval things in a big way, and he made these rattles for their new grandchild, who is arriving sometime soon. Many conversations were happening, and I couldn't keep them all straight. 

3-D printed sword rattles

They are not sharp and have beads inside, so they are true rattles. He made them on his 3-D printer. Apparently, you can find this design on Thingiverse.com. 

Sadly, we couldn't stay too long, but it was getting late in the day anyway. Jeannette had to pick up her daughter at the airport, and I was off to visit with my nephew. She dropped me off, and then Devin and I hopped in his Tesla and drove out to a different airport. We were going for a plane ride in his plane!

However, when we arrived at the hangar where he stores his plane, the darn thing had a flat tire, so we couldn't go!!!! How disappointing. This is the plane that my Dad went for a ride over the farm last month, with Devin as the pilot! 

My nephew's plane

While I was disappointed, it was OK. I'll just have to arrange to come back, or, as he needs to gather hours, he can fly to Ontario. 

It was funny because when my friend wanted to show me her new self-driving Tesla, the FSD mode wasn't working that day, so she had to drive the car herself. Then, just as Devin is about to take me for a ride in his plane, a tire goes flat. Hmmm --- what will be next? 

I have a free morning today, and then I'm off to Carellen Sewing Center to chat about our 24" Singer Momento digital cutter. There are two sessions -- one at 1 PM and one at 6 PM. So be sure to come out and see how it works, check out the samples, and learn all the fun things you can do with it. 

I'll be getting things organized this morning, so I may take a short walk, and then I'm going to Uber it to the store. It's going to be way cheaper to do that than rent a car. It's not that far away, but trudging a suitcase behind me? That's not going to happen. 

Then tomorrow is all about quilting with your embroidery machine, which will be fun as well. 

By the time my nephew dropped me off last night, it was after 8 PM, and we hadn't even gone for a flight. It was a long day! But it was fun to catch up with everyone. I'm now on my own for the remainder of this trip, but I don't have much free time either. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Taking inventory for vacation

You all have such great suggestions. If I get frustrated by the towel moving, I can use clips to attach it below. Problem solved! 

Happy Canada Day! It's a great day to celebrate our country, its people, and its beautiful lands. Take a moment today to reflect on the freedoms we have. 

Lately, when I've been walking the dogs, I've spotted people who were most likely not born in this country. They are out walking and exploring the neighborhood. They give me a hearty "good morning," and I almost feel their joy in living here! Perhaps they fled from another country. It's hard to say, but they certainly look thrilled! Let's hope all of us feel that way! 

I'm still working on the cutting table, and I found this from Quilt Canada. Someone had made stickers, and I put one on my name tag, without thinking. Hmmm --- Crazy Elaine - yep - that's about right!

My Quilt Canada name badge

As I tidied up, I added it to the rest of the lanyards I have from other shows. I know -- there is no reason to keep them, but it's kind of fun to see the pile grow. This isn't all of them, and yes -- I've been to a few shows. 

Name badges from other shows

There are many buttons attached to those lanyards - what does one do with all those buttons? 

We had Monday Sewing, and all was good. I have a lot of ripping out to do, and I'm working on that 60-degree triangle quilt from Diane. I now have four rows ripped and one trimmed, although I accidentally cut three triangles too small. I found a similar fabric and will just cut new ones. 

Ripping out the 60-degree triangles

I got the giant quilt loaded on the machine. It actually went faster than I thought it would, so that was a happy moment. 

I'm cleaning and tidying up Studio B. I'm looking for a particular project box. I cleaned up two shelves; more on that tomorrow. I need to make lists of what's on the shelving unit I've attacked! Any project that is not started is being seriously evaluated and pulled apart. 

I had to go to the mall, and I took a look at the quilt magazines. I confess I don't buy many of them anymore, as I get them online through the library. This saves the hassle of getting them home and then the angst of letting them go when I finish reading them! I can zip through the online version in short order, as many of them are just patterns! And I do NOT need to add a new pattern to my mess. 

Quilting magazines 

I picked up a box of Press'n Seal, and it's not for the kitchen. This was once a big deal for machine quilting, but it has since fallen out of favor. Now it's resurrected again, and it's not for sewing! I'll try it and let you know how it works. 

Press'nSeal

I had received a notification that my phone (leased for two years) was expiring - the contract, not the phone and I went to see what the situation was. Oh my --- I walked home with a new phone and saved $90 on my monthly bill! That just seems wrong, but that's what happened. I no longer have a US plan as I haven't been to the US in quite a while, and it's likely to be a while before I go again. I can always add the US plan if I go. 

The lady I chatted with was very friendly and very fast, and all was good! I don't think it took even ten minutes, and I came home with the S25 plus from Samsung! I guess competition has forced them to decrease their prices, so that is good. I should have called about my plan months ago. 

My new phone

I have to switch the settings and then return the old phone, so I'll take care of that this week. I wasn't going to get the phone before I went on vacation, but well - I did. 

Do Band-Aids have a life? Well, I wouldn't say the band-aid does, but the packaging - yes! We rarely use Band-Aids in this household! I went to get one the other day - the tiny round ones that I could put on a spot that I keep "worrying" and I want to let it heal! The packaging literally disintegrated as I pulled the band-aid out. They all need to be thrown away as they are useless. We have some other band-aids, and I'm sure they are just as useless. 

The band-aid packaging disintegrated

I can now say that our big vacation is next month! It's time to see what gear I'm missing. It's going to be a bit crazy to pack for very cold and very hot temperatures on the same trip. I checked the drawer with all my long underwear, which I purchased for cycling. OH BOY—I found at least three brand-new items, not even used! I don't need to buy long underwear. It just seems wrong to be packing long johns to go to Africa! 

Brand new long underwear

Essentially, I require three items: hiking boots or shoes, a new warm jacket, and hiking pants. And I want all the clothes to fit in my 30-liter hiking backpack, including a sleeping bag! Can I make that happen? At worst, the sleeping bag can hang off the backpack while the clothes fit inside. The rest of the things I need—toiletries and a small portable office—will go in a much smaller hiking backpack. And that's all I plan to take! 

I think I got myself too wound up last night and struggled to fall asleep. Note to self: do the planning during the daytime! 

I spotted this screen on the side of the street, assuming the people had thrown it away. First, it was here, then on the other side of the driveway, and now it's gone. I was tempted to pick it up and carry it home to use behind me in Zoom class. It would be perfect, and I could have put stuff in those windows! I did not, and now it's gone! I'm fine with the messy design wall behind me. 

A screen for pick-up

Here are a couple of pretty flowers I spotted on my dog walks. 

A rose - love the color

A clematis

And there are the lilies in the pond in all their glory! It's hard to see the blooms from the shine on the leaves.

The lilies in the pond

And do you see my big orange frog? He's been hiding under the overgrown bushes in the back, but now he's out front and center. 

The pond watcher

Murphy had fun cooling off with a sprinkler the other day. What a goofball!!! She would go mad if we had one in our backyard. 

MOM - I love the sprinkler

I love it when she's outside and content to watch over me in the house. Is that just by chance, or does she really know I'm there? Oh, she knows I'm downstairs as she looks in the window from time to time! 

MOM - I'm guarding you! 

I don't know who she thinks will steal her toy, but she's not letting anyone near it! Oh Murphy - such a silly girl!!!

MOM - this toy is MINE!

Today, I'll fire up the long arm and an embroidery machine, and while they are working, if I get a free moment from winding and replacing threads, I'll continue searching for the missing project box. Actually, I need to get some paper and identify everything on that shelf. Perhaps, I need to go back and be a bit more ruthless? And I found parts of a project, but I'm not sure where the other half is. OK -- I'll make a first pass and then decide what to do! 

Why, oh why, did I accumulate so much stuff and start so many projects? It's beyond me, but I'll continue to slog my way through it. 

I had better tell you about this exercise story. First, my legs have not felt this strong in a long time - yes, even with all the walking. One also needs strength training. I also generally feel much better from all the stretching - it's incredible how a few minutes, a couple of times a week, can make such massive changes. After my "brutal" workout with Brooke on Friday, I was tired, but all was good. The next day, however, my quads were so sore! It appears that we worked on a few muscles that hadn't been exercised in a while. The stand-up/sit-down exercise? It was almost impossible to do because of the soreness. But all is good now, and I can stand up and sit down with great ease. Baby steps — it's all about taking those baby steps, but you have to start taking them! You will be so happy when you're older and can still move around. 

On that happy note, I'm out of here! There's a lot to get done today, including more paperwork. That to-do list is shrinking, but not fast enough! 

Have a super Canada Day! Stand proud! We are a great country—we're not perfect, but we are great! 

Ciao!!!!

On being a caregiver

I'm starting with a disclaimer about the title of caregiver! DH is away, and MIL had a medical test that couldn't be changed, so I had to take her. It took five hours of my day. While everything went just fine and there was no hard work on my part, I was exhausted when I got home. 

I know many of you are full-time caregivers for aging parents, spouses, or someone else. I do not know how you cope. I got nothing else done yesterday. All I can say is, if you are a caregiver, try to take care of yourself as well. I know—it's not an easy thing to do. But if you don't, how the heck do you manage? 

I started by picking her up and dropping her off at the hospital's front door. She would not have managed to get to the DI on her own. Well, she may have managed it, but I had visions of her lost in the hospital, so she sat and waited. 

Because parking is expensive at the hospital and can take a long time to find, I drove across the street and parked at the mall. YEP—it's frowned upon. There are signs, and a fence was erected to deter people from doing that. But since walking is my thing, it was no big deal. The walk, including waiting at the lights, was almost 15 minutes!

Then I was a mean DIL because I didn't get her a wheelchair, but I made her walk all the way to DI, which wasn't that far. I wonder how many people miss these appointments. You are supposed to arrive 30 minutes BEFORE your appointment, and it sure doesn't take 30 minutes to register. It was the same thing for my MRI. Surely, after waiting months for some of these tests, people don't miss them. 

They were pretty much on time for the entire process. The bone scan in nuclear medicine uses quite a large machine, and there's a big sign about NOT taking pictures, so I did not, even when the technician left the room. 

She got an initial bone scan and the dye injection, and then we had to wait two hours. I went for a cup of tea and read my book. Then we waited together - you're not supposed to eat or drink in this area, and I needed my tea. At one point, she stands up, and then she sits down. And then she stands up and sits down. She is counting. OMG - she is doing the stand up/sit down exercises and she's pretty good at it. Considering she is 87 with a fracture somewhere in her back, that's pretty darn good!

When they called her in for the final stage, an hour-long scan, I walked back to the mall for lunch and some quick shopping. 

Then I had to walk her back to the front door. Partway there, she asked for a wheelchair—too late—you're almost there. I'm such a mean person! And then I had to walk back to the mall to get the car. Needless to say, I got my steps in yesterday, and I didn't officially go for a walk!

When I finally got home, I went to the gazebo for peace and quiet. Alas, Murphy was beside herself because they had been home alone for hours, and she insisted on playing with her fish. When I wouldn't get up to play with her, she threw it in the pond, so I had no choice but to get up! 

Mom - my fish is in the pond! Help!

Let me tell you the story of my compost bags. We use compost bags in the kitchen for scraps, and they get put in the larger bin each week for pickup. We had run out of the darn things, but I found a box of the larger bags, which are supposed to be liners for the cart. Why can't we just use those and use them up? 

When they talk about the bags being compostable, they aren't kidding. The lifespan of those bags is over! I put one in the small kitchen container, and all seemed OK, but it was shredding before my eyes when I put something in it. So I tried double-bagging. Nope—that didn't work. I'm unsure how old those bags are, but I suspect they are past their prime. 

The old and the new

So the remainder will go in the compost bin, and I have new ones to use! That's what I bought at the mall. 

If you thought the conversations with my subconscious and myself about the magazines were just for fun, they were NOT. Those were actual conversations, and they were serious. I need to go through that mental process to make myself realize what I really want to be doing and how to get the time to do that. I grew up with the mindset that I wanted to read every book in the world, and therefore, any reading material that came into my house needed to be read by me!

Yes, I had the wrong attitude, but that happened. I'm learning because I had those conversations and left some of the more "sentimental" stuff for last to declutter. If I had just tossed the reading material, I would have felt great angst, learned nothing, and started to accumulate all over again. 

So, if you struggle with that or any other issue, have a serious chat with yourself and see what happens. Ask and answer the tough questions, and be ruthless!  

This next pile of magazines came to the house with the local newspaper. They were aimed at very high-end homeowners, and there wasn't really anything in there for me. I did enjoy reading them, but I probably got absolutely nothing of value. 

This is how the conversation went for those ones: 

Subsonscious: So - here's another stack of magazines. What are you going to do about it? 

    Me: I just need to browse the index to see if there is any cool story of a local artist. 

Subconscious: And then? 

    Me: Then they go. 

Subconscious: See - these discussions are good and you are learning. I'm very proud of you!

    Me: I'm also proud, and thanks for helping me realize there was a monkey on my back. 

The  next pile of magazines to go

I have a few more issues to quickly browse the index, and they are gone. Yes, I could throw them out, but I'm doing just fine with my methods, so I don't need your advice! I want you to see that everyone has to find the way that works for them. For some of you, this is easy to toss, and for others, it is not! 

I ended up reading for the remainder of the day, which isn't a good thing as I have much to do, but  I had no mental or physical energy left, and today is another day. I'm OK with that. 

But that Murphy! She is like a toddler who demands attention for everything. I was all comfy in my media chair, and she was outside barking to come in. Can you see what I have to deal with? 

MOM - I'm trapped outside. HELP!!!

And she is smart! If the door is shut, she sits in front of the door and barks. But since she knew the door was open, she went to the window so she would look more desperate! That girl! Meanwhile, Lexi is sleeping in the kennel, and you wouldn't even know she was in the house. 

Here are some pictures I took while walking in the forest. This one is of a tree that overhangs the fence near one of the entrances. It's so pretty!

Tree blossoms

And look at the drop of water on this leaf that's just about to unfurl! Nature is so fascinating. But imagine walking to school with your kids and stopping at the same tree each day to see the progress? Nope—most kids get taken to school in a car!

A leaf about to unfurl

Well, I now have more sewing and embroidery to do today. There are emails to answer and one appointment for the girls, which will certainly not last five hours, but it's going to be exhausting to deal with both of them together. 

But it's all going to work out. With all the time I spent reading yesterday, I managed to finish my ebook, which is good because I have another ebook that has to be returned in a couple of days.

I'm off to spin class. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!