Where I write - checking out QUILTsocial

You all know that I write, but here's some information about what I write and how it can help you. 

I've been writing QUILTsocial.com blog posts since June 2014. I remember the very first post was all about the Husqvarna Viking HClass sewing machine, and I was out in my gazebo having a grand time. 

Here's the link to that first post if you want to check it out. 

Oh -- how times have changed. That was NOT the top-of-the-line machine, but a great little travel machine. And well, 400+ posts later, I'm still going strong! 

However, I have an issue! I've written so much material, and it seems like no one knows it's there! How can that be? 

I did a Q&A for the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 3 last night, and I'm sure most of those people hadn't checked out my blog posts to learn more about their fantastic sewing and embroidery machine. 

This isn't an ad for Husqvarna Viking, as many features of that brand's machines are also found on others - let's not fool ourselves. They might do it differently, or they might do something less or more. I still wish I could pick and choose features from various sewing machines and put together MY sewing machine. 

But here's the deal --- I write tutorials, I give plenty of examples, and loads of information that applies to ANY brand of sewing machine. There is USEFUL stuff on that site, and yet, it frustrates me to no end when people say they have never heard of it, or they get information from somewhere else. HELP!!! 

What can I do to change that up? Do I need to do videos? All video? Shorter videos? 

Having said that, I wrote blog posts that got published this week, and here they are for you to review. This is all about the BRAND NEW Husqvarna Viking Topaz 55Q. I will say that this is primarily a review of the sewing machine and not much in the way of projects, but still -- it's great to know what's out there! Then, when you want a machine, you have some idea how the market is advancing. 

Plus, in these posts, you'll find tips on how to load thread onto your machine --- don't laugh --- there is a science to it! And what about spool caps? Do you know how to properly use a spool cap? Yep -- there are right and wrong ways. If you have read your User's Guide, you already know this; otherwise, I'll tell you. Also, tips on winding bobbins. All super simple stuff, but if you don't do them the correct way, you can run into issues. 

Day One - Unboxing the Husqvarna Viking Topaz 55Q

Day Two - Discover the Smart Touchscreen Features of the Husqvarna Viking Topaz 55Q

Day Three - Accessories and threading tips for the Husqvarna Viking Topaz 55Q

Day Four - Sewing with the Husqvarna Viking Topaz 55Q

Day Five - 

Oh shoot -- I can't get the link for Day five -- I'll do that in a bit. 

But seriously --- regardless of the sewing machine you have, the possibilities you can do with it are amazing, and you'll find all kinds of inspiration and tips in my posts! Be sure to check them out!

I'm just compiling a list of all the blog posts for the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic 3 - can you guess how many I've written? THIRTY!!! That's a lot of blog posts!!!! And if you are the owner of an EPIC 3 and sat at your machine and followed my posts? Guess what? You'd be as smart as I am, or even smarter, when it comes to operating that machine!

OK --- I must tell you about my experience at the dentist. The hygienist lied! No, she didn't lie to me; she lied for me, and there's a huge difference. I now feel obligated to her. 

As I sat down in the chair and she started cleaning my teeth, she asked the usual questions - how often do you brush and floss? I said, "I do the best I can." How's that for a very vague answer! I could tell that she wasn't too impressed as she cleaned because it seemed to take forever for that little vibration tool to clean the plaque off my gum line. And my teeth seemed more sensitive than usual. I KNOW - I KNOW -- I should be doing this for my own good! 

She did NOT say anything to me, except that I should keep trying my best. When the dentist came in, she told him I was brushing twice a day and flossing once a day - trying to do my best. Is that a new code at the dentist for "this patient is doing a crap job?" I'm not sure, but now I feel like I owe that hygienist something for not berating me, and I actually felt like she was encouraging me. Perhaps they read my blog, maybe they have had sensitivity training. 

Anyway, I've got my floss out (I have a lot of it), and I have a brand new electric toothbrush that I'm going to crack open. My plan? Well, I'll do my best! Will it make a difference? I don't know. I guess my biggest fear, and I heard her say it to the dentist, is bone loss! For whatever reason, my bones don't seem to be doing well. Even with my bone density medication, which I now take every Sunday morning - it's part of my routine! I may have to step up that game. 

Oh my --- I am a stubborn person!! Which brings me to an audiobook that I am reading - it was recommended to me, called Women Who Run With the Wolves. While I totally get the gist of what she is saying, I'm not a fan of her writing style. The book is only two hours long, but its pace is slow, with a lot of repetition (dramatic in a speech, less so in a book). Sometimes, her examples don't quite fit the point she is trying to make. But the underlying gist? I like it! It basically says that girls are taught to be tame, while we need to unleash our wild side! 

I've never had a problem with that. Wait -- I did, but I changed a long time ago, and life is all good. It's an interesting read, but I think this one might be better as a book, not an audiobook. Since it's only two hours long, I'll listen to it in its entirety. And then I have another Nancy Drew audiobook waiting! 

I'm down to 221 pages left in the other book, with three days to read it. I should make it. It's weird - just weird. I think I'll take a break from recommended books and return to my favorite genres. Not that I don't like the recommendations --- it's good to be well-rounded and I appreciate going in another direction from time to time. 

I would be remiss if I didn't post a couple of pictures. Does this surprise you? I received this message several days ago, likely because I had many windows open on my computer, as usual. 

ACK!!!!

I made a serious effort to close a bunch of them the other day. That meant ordering some stuff and reading or watching a video. But I notice this morning that there are over 20 windows open! ACK!!!!!! But some of those will disappear quickly as I grab a few pictures and other stuff, and then I can close them. I'm a busy person! 

We're not looking to sell our house, but I still keep an eye on the listings in our neighborhood to see what's happening. The prices have dropped significantly, and houses are now selling below the asking price. It's definitely a more realistic market, and that's a good thing for home buyers. 

I live in a very diverse area (I think most areas are like that these days), and a house came up with an asking price of $3 million. Hmmm --- what does a $3 million home look like? I almost died laughing when I saw this. This is NOT an AI-generated picture. This came from a house listing. Try to enlarge that picture if you can, but that's what I call a throne!!!

The throne

However, you'll notice that the seat is just a regular toilet seat!! And those pictures look a bit underwhelmed in that space. I would definitely rip that out if I bought the house. 

The last two days have been filled with people coming and going, dentist appointments, shopping, and other activities. I need some quiet time! I have to pick something up today, and someone is dropping off and picking up! It never seems to end, but we're making progress and getting things moving quite nicely!

On that note, I'd better get moving! I MUST start flossing my teeth after my breakfast. All those little seeds are not doing my teeth any good, and I want Vanessa to be proud of me! LOL

DOn't forget that we have a virtual retreat this weekend. 

Saturday, October 18 - Starts at 6 PM EDT

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82693702241?pwd=QpQkm8Ppppy1XwCPOqva1bcgJCWKdP.1

Meeting ID: 826 9370 2241
Passcode: 795071

Sunday, October 19 - Starts at 3 PM EDT

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1

Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Do you need a taller toilet?

I hope everyone has recovered from their Christmas! It was easy for me to recover from mine. We ended up doing nothing. Nope, we did not watch a movie. I won't go into details, but working out the details of the movie (at home, no less) became a production, so I decided to read instead. 

I learned years ago to expect little at Christmas time—I don't mean that in a negative way. But the more pomp and planning, the more likely someone will be disappointed. So, if you have no expectations, you are NEVER disappointed. And that works for me. 

We had our Zoom session, and a few people joined. I managed to get some sewing done! Today, I will heads-down and work at the computer and the sewing machine. 

I have one package that needs to be at the courier drop-off by 5 PM this afternoon, and I still have one thing left to finish before it goes out the door. That is a priority this morning, so I can walk it to the drop-off spot this afternoon. 

I bought a single present, and it was delivered yesterday. The recipients were thrilled, and that made my day! No exchanges or refunds to worry about!

I also spent this morning sending out emails and organizing stuff. At this time of year, there is some administrative work to continue the clubs for next year. I also look at my distribution lists; if I haven't heard from people in a while, it's time to remove them. I give people one more chance to participate, and then—POOF—they are gone! 

That is one thing that drives me crazy, and I know it shouldn't. But I HATE having people on my distribution lists who don't participate. I take charge if you don't want to participate and can't even tell me you no longer wish to be on the list! 

It's like the driveway. I hate having bits of snow in the driveway. Sometimes, you can't help it, as the snow might be tromped down, but as it softens, I''m out there with the shovel to get rid of it! Let's say I do not have a good relationship with ice in my driveway! Some of my neighbors are NOT the best at shoveling that darn sidewalk. Don't shovel your driveway, but please shovel the sidewalk! The plow does not pass on the sidewalks on our street!

Yesterday was a weird day in that I only took three pictures. One was for yesterday's blog post, one was for last night's EXIT Game, and this is the only one relevant to today's post. 

A snow family in the park

Can you see the snow family? I was walking through the park and saw huge trails in the snow that went down a slight slope. AHA -- they used the hill to roll the snowballs. They are big, but the snow the other day was perfect for making snowmen! 

We played the EXIT Game last night, and after much thought and discussion, we finally caved in and looked at the clues. OK, the first clue—we already knew that information. The second clue—we knew that as well. We finally looked at the answer. WHAT??? This doesn't make sense at all. Nothing in that day's clues or information would make you think that way. It was a bit disappointing. 

So, I checked with Garth online. Dr. Garth Moore is a puzzle nut from the UK who solves the EXIT puzzles online. He has written an EXTENSIVE number of books on puzzles. I watched his YouTube video, and he also had to look at the clues. I've NEVER seen him have to do that. He was also disappointed and said there was NOTHING in the clues for that day to lead to that answer. He was polite! But it was a disappointing day. 

By the way, I found MANY of Garth's books in ebook format at Hoopla. My library has a massive subscription to resources on Hoopla! Elaine M -- are you proud of me for checking that out? 

Hmmm --- now I wonder if Alex (friend's son) had to look for a clue or if he figured it out, although they did say it was "interesting." He's pretty clever at these puzzles. Another friend had to look at the clue, and even then, they were at a loss, like us. There was even an error in the written solution. 

But let's face it - they do a fantastic job on all the other puzzles. I guess it stands to reason that they might screw up once or twice. The premise of what they were trying to do was excellent -- they just gave you NO direction to even think that way. 

I bought my Virtual Challenge for 2025 and made a goof when I purchased a couple of others. I know - I got sucked in. Buy three, and you get the challenge for free. I now have 16 codes to use up! Managing those darn codes is a hassle, but there was someone on the support desk yesterday, and we got it all cleared up. I have a nice two-page list of the codes. Easy to track now instead of in a handful of emails. One more piece of paper dealt with! 

My codes are for longer-distance challenges that require time to complete. Note to self: only buy new codes for the yearly challenge next year! 

It feels good to try to get on top of the paperwork. There is much more to do, and yesterday, I had an incident with my tea. Good grief—I've become clumsy with liquids. However, it wasn't as bad as the previous day with the water. Still, all the paperwork was thrown to the floor in a huge heap. Sigh...................

By the way - I have room at my January quilting retreat if anyone is interested. The dates are January 27 - February 2. We are staying at Springhouse Retreat in New Hamburg, a beautiful place to stay. There is loads of room, and it's always a good time! You do not have to stay the entire time if you don't want to. Yes, I understand it's winter, but good grief - if we put our life on hold for a potential snowstorm? Well, life goes on - we live in Canada! The cost is approximately $125 per night. 

So if you want to attend, let me know. elainetheriault@gmail.com

I am being diligent about the stretching, so that is good. All I can say is that the acute pain is gone, but there is still lots of discomfort, but that's just life. I have much more mobility than before. I started stretching daily, so it's all going in the right direction. Don't worry -- I WILL follow up!

We always talk about losing our brain cells to dementia, but do we consider what can happen if we lose our mobility? That's equally important, and most of us are 100% in control. We do NOT have 100% control over whether we get dementia or not. I watched a video the other day (real or not - I don't know) of a frail, elderly woman who could barely walk into a gym. She was assisted by someone. Then, over a undisclosed period of time, it revealed how much of her mobility she gained by doing SIMPLE exercises. She didn't break a sweat. She was in her street clothes!

I chuckled because one of the exercises is the SAME exercise I was given this past week. And it's an IMPORTANT one. You hold a weight in your hand - at the beginning, you probably don't need a weight. Then you sit down, and then you stand up! Simple! Don't use a rolling chair. Why is that important? Let's think of the washroom! 

We think it's our knees when we struggle to sit on the toilet. NOPE -- in many cases, we are losing the strength in our quads to sit down and stand up. So - this is something you should give some serious consideration to! Just sit down and then stand up. Do it a few times a day. You NEED to keep the strength in your legs. While I do a lot of walking, my quads are NOT strong, well not as strong as I would think they should be. 

So, if you are a quilter and think it's ergonomic to sit in one spot with your cutter and iron around you, think again! It might be ergonomic, but we need to move. We need to sit down and then get up. When getting up, ideally, you are not using your hands. 

Now, go try it. How many times can you sit down and then get up? 

Here's a video to watch if you don't understand what I mean. This is not rocket science, but it can improve your mobility, strengthen your legs, make going to the washroom much easier, and improve your balance. 

I laugh because our society is about treating the symptoms, never the cause. When people struggled to sit on a regular-height toilet, the industry went for taller toilets instead of saying they needed to strengthen their legs. Taller toilets are NOT necessary for most people! 

On that happy note, I'm out of here!! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!