When marketing is in charge of YOUR spending!!

Oh my goodness -- I was misting up when I read Elle's comments this morning. It's funny how our parents can teach us things in different ways. 

Both her parents died young, yet it sounds like they had some great times in their lives. But by chatting with them, you learn things. 

My parents are both still alive, and I have learned so much from them by what they do, but in some cases, I learned what NOT TO DO by what they are doing. I hope that makes sense. 

I think one of the most important things that we tend to forget is TIME. Time is a precious commodity, yet we are happy to squander it. I don't know how many people I've heard remark that they are busier now (retired) than when they worked. What the heck are they doing with their time? It's great to be busy when you are retired; it's just, are you busy doing things you want to do or things you feel obligated to do? 

I know some of you could turn the tables and say I am super busy, and I always will be; that's the nature of my background. BUT I am happy to take time for myself, and I'm happy to take time to visit with family and friends.

The three days I spent with my aunt while we packed were well spent. The time I spend visiting my parents is time well spent, and I feel that I've gotten to know them so much better as an adult than when I was growing up. OK -- that's a given - we all know that. 

But take time to do nothing. Take the time to read those books you always wanted to read. Take the time to learn a new hobby (but not too many!). But whatever you do, DON'T overload yourself to the point where you are unhappy or no longer free to do what you want. 

We are talking about the final years of our lives (not trying to sound morbid), and if you are rushing from one meeting to another, or one hobby to another, are you really enjoying it? 

I will admit that there are times when I have multiple events/trips booked back to back that I'm not happy about. Thankfully, I know it's temporary, and it doesn't happen that often. I know some of you are laughing at that, but it's true! My life is a lot less complicated than it used to be. 

I did take on one class too many this fall, but that's OK. I know not to get excited and do that again. And so far, I've managed the homework and presentations just fine. Except for the travel this week, which thankfully was shortened by two days, I'm doing OK. 

Whatever I do going forward, I'll always make sure I have free time so I can turn on a dime to visit a friend/family member if the opportunity arises. I will NOT volunteer or serve on a committee because I know my skills aren't appreciated (experience), and I refuse to participate in anything that doesn't give me pleasure. 

Can you believe that I've read 71 books this year? Some of them are fiction, and some are not. Some are audiobooks, and some are not. I finished the Shari Lapena book this morning, and at the end there was a Q&A with Shari and January (the narrator). One thing they discussed is that some people do NOT think listening to a book counts as reading it. Seriously???? That's just nonsense. I can tell you the storyline and the characters as if I read it! 

I work out at the gym three times a week, and each time takes two hours! So I am taking time for myself. I no longer belong to any guilds or organizations. No, I don't belong to the puzzle association; I have offered to volunteer for packing days (3 days a year) if I'm available. I need to get out of the house and do something with people, and this is a different group from quilters! They are obsessed like quilters! 

I walk every day, and I think I'm managing my time just fine. Believe it or not, my weekdays, Monday to Friday, are almost completely clear except for appointments, the vet, the doctor, physio, or whatever. I don't have a ton of stuff going on, and I'm certainly not running around like a crazy person. 

So yep --- I have loads of personal time in my schedule. Where I'm busy is trying to clear up the crap in my life! Decluttering, trying not to buy anything else. Speaking of which, I found this online last night, and I had a good laugh, but it's so true. 

OH MY ---- this is so true. I notice they don't have hobbies on there. Thank goodness!! 

OH, I just had a thought. Maybe Elle and I need to do a "get your shit together" podcast!!!! We are so similar in many ways. Wouldn't that be a hoot!! Except, neither of us wants to take on a commitment like that! 

But speaking of buying, DH pulled this article from The Economist for me a while back, and I was waiting for the right day to talk about it. It's all about buying and how the marketers market products to us. 

You see, there are many things in this world that we MUST buy. Not because we want them, not because we think they are useful, but because the marketing department has made the product so enticing that we feel we have no choice but to buy it, because the marketing department said so! 

The article's example was about a kettle. You need to boil water; you buy a kettle. Yes - you could boil water on the stove, but it's not practical. A kettle is, for the most part, cheap and a basic kitchen necessity. Right? WRONG!!!!

The article starts off by calling the fictional kettle a Brewmaster, and the tagline is "if you want boiled water, you need a kettle." That's boring, and who is going to get excited about buying a kettle? 

But let's say they call the boiled water "Eau Chaud" and highlight its qualities and how precious water is. You are no longer buying a kettle, but a luxury item to get hot water. I'm sorry, I didn't do nearly as good a job as the article's writer did. 

Now what if you call the kettle some crazy made-up name, like a Kettol (with an accent over the o). You give it a beautiful silhouette that looks striking and becomes an icon in the design world. The kettle now sports the latest color and material trend; it shows consumers how beautiful it is to boil water, and all the fun you can have with your friends using your distinct kettle. That's called Premium, design-led. 

For those early adopters, what about the KETGPT kettle? Why not connect the kettle to an app so it can start boiling your water for coffee before you get out of bed? Then, with the app, you can communicate with the kettle to check on its progress. 

Or what about the Keco, the environmentally friendly kettle that preserves heat, so it uses less power to boil and retains heat longer? 

What about the Vintage Kettle for the Gen Z, which reminds you of cozy times with family at the cottage? 

A heritage kettle, the one you put on the stove with a whistle. Remember those? Let's call that one the Stove Top. 

There's the Kato - the wellness kettle. Staff is available 24/7, so you can ask all kinds of questions about your kettle, including the scale that builds up in the bottom and whether the steam is really good to breathe in. 

And why not buy the Boiler, a big old kettle that does nothing but boil hot, scalding water all the time? 

So I paraphrased all of that, but I used the fake kettle names from the article. But the idea is that if a product isn't selling, the marketers will sit down and figure out who they want to sell the product to and then attack with a vengeance to make a new design, a new style, a new lifestyle to MAKE you covet that kettle, so you buy one for every room in your house and then for all your friends and family. 

It's hilarious how many products and gadgets (even in the quilting world) are made to sound like the best thing ever, and we have to buy them! I would say that small items and gadgets (especially gadgets) are the worst! 

You know what's funny, and I have mentioned this before: when I was in Grade 7, and we had social studies, I do NOT remember the teacher's name, but they drilled this phenomenon into our heads in marketing. Seriously? In Grade Seven? I don't know why - was it part of the curriculum, or was it that teacher's thing? But why the heck are they not teaching that today? 

Think of all the kids' toys; those marketers get to the kids before they are even born. And we fall for it!!! Almost every single time. How many things do you buy because you have to, and then don't even use? We just WANT it because it will make us smarter, prettier, happier, etc. 

So while you are out buying, be very careful. When you see an ad for anything, try to decipher the message the company is sending. If you want to see how they do this in the food market, read Michael Moss's book Salt, Sugar, Fat. Companies make it so compelling to buy these terrible products by fudging the product itself, but the marketing department has much to do with it as well. 

Buyer beware!!!!!!

We had two good events yesterday. I'm at Cindy Bee's in Espanola, which is about four hours north of my house. And we have another two events today!! I have to laugh because if you look at the storefront picture on Google, the quilt hanging up is one of my patterns from when I worked at the fabric company!!!

I had a good chuckle because the daughter just bought a new vehicle and it's ORANGE!!!! Yep, in a world that seems to be going neutral, she has an orange vehicle. I love it!!! It's not brilliant orange, but it's very harvest orange. 

I had to laugh because that reminded me of a young couple that I'm watching as they rebuild a house. OK, have you noticed that's a HUGELY popular trend these days? A young couple buys an abandoned home, a chateau, a row house, an old schoolhouse, and MANY, MANY more. Then they rebuild it, and they make good money with their social media accounts to make it happen. The more dilapidated, the better. I wonder how HGTV feels about this? 

Anyway, one ot the couples is having a baby, and they are starting to work on the nursery. They have a lot of wood in the house. She said she is going to put some wallpaper on the walls and wants some color. I almost died when I saw her version of color - it was the palest "deep" rose I've ever seen. It was virtually just a muted beige. Seriously???? Where has all the color gone? 

I must get myself moving. There is no restaurant in this motel. Yep, way up north, there are no hotels, just motels, but this one is nice. But even this little spot has two Tims. Crazy!!!!

Have a super day (and think before you buy!)

Ciao!!!

An attempt at speed puzzling

OH, Elle just proposed something unheard of and HARD. She suggested that I do NOT refill the Visual To-Do list until ALL the things on it are done! ACK!!!!! While I think she is right, it would FORCE me to face some projects that have been hanging around way too long, don't involve just me, and, well, it's going to be very hard. BUT she has a valid point: if I could clear that board, refilling it with "new" projects would be a joy. 

OH --- should I, shouldn't I?? That is the question. 

I wonder about her sometimes --- she got rid of clutter years ago, takes care of herself. She's as close to perfect as anyone I know!!! I love her and her comments, and I often think of her as I'm walking. OK --- so the test of time -- what am I going to do? I'll keep you in the loop. 

You probably haven't noticed, but I haven't really talked about the Conquerer Challenges for quite a while. I set the goals way back at the beginning of the year, and there were three; all of them double-dipped. One included cycling mileage from spin class, and it was just for fun. Since spin class ended months ago, I lost interest in that one and abandoned it. Do I care? Not in the least. 

I was following a preset challenge, which I also abandoned because I set it up to add the mileage manually and kept forgetting. It is long past the deadline, but I'm going to see if I can resurrect it and get the medal. Not that I need the medal, but I paid for it, so I might as well try. 

The other one was also one I paid for, and it was my monthly walking distance. In the past, I set an aggressive goal of walking 4,400 KM in one year. That equated to 12 KM a day, which turned out to be a bit much for me, in terms of time and, more importantly, wear and tear on my body. So this year, I set a goal of 10 KM a day, not a huge difference, but an average I could manage physically without really trying. 

But I'll be honest: I haven't checked my progress in MONTHS, and I hardly ever look at my Fitbit to see how far I walked that day. Yep, from time to time I'd check to see if I took 10,000 steps, but I never checked the km. 

So I was surprised to see this in my progress. 

Progress on my annual walking goal

I am right on target, and I don't check, plan, or take extra steps in a day. I think I have found my natural rhythm. I will walk the dogs in the morning, and those walks have been shorter than usual and, with all the travel, nonexistent on some days. I walk every afternoon, at least on the days when I am home. I am active and do a lot of walking around the house - I get up to iron, etc. It doesn't matter how I get the steps in; it just matters that I'm moving. 

Does the Fitbit register 10 KM daily as an actual 10KM? Does it matter? It doesn't matter; what matters is that each day is relative to the others, and it is for MY purposes only, not for comparison to someone else. 

I was happy to see that, and now if I can rescue my other challenge by using the stats from this one, I might be OK. 

These challenges were fun during the pandemic, but just one more thing to check. YES -- I could check on the app, but I hate apps!!! I check on the computer. So I will try to do that when I have some downtime on this trip or when I get home. 

The two classes went off nicely in the morning, EXCEPT when we were finishing the second class, My Kinda Town, one of the students piped up and said my chimneys are incorrect on this house. 

One of my blocks for My Kinda Town

OH GOSH --- she is right -- I added more chimney atop both chimneys instead of sky. Silly me!!!! I just marked out what fabric went where without consulting the picture. I know better! And this is after I had to rip out the two window sections because the blue frame was purple originally, and it did NOT show up at all. That's the silly mistake I had made the day before. 

Thankfully, I had some time before I left, so I could fix the two spots. I also sent out all the follow-up emails. 

The sky is fixed!!! 

What's hilarious is how we can't see the forest for the trees! In other words, I didn't even notice that the sky pieces were missing. It just looked like an extra-tall chimney!!!! 

And here are my three blocks so far for this quilt. I LOVE all the bright fabrics, and I can't wait to finish this quilt. There are eight blocks in all. It's slated to be complete by the end of this year, and then I can remove a HUGE pile of stuff off that current project table. 

Three blocks for My Kinda Town

If I keep working, I might eventually develop a routine and project organization that works for me. And if I could complete what's on that Visual To-Do list, that would be even better. You know something? Elle might be right. If I actually face those hard decisions (mostly on projects slated for someone else), I might actually be able to rip through things faster. You know how it is --- you get weighted down by the monkey on your back. 

I'll contemplate that!!! It's a great idea. 

A while back, I signed up for three virtual puzzle competitions. As luck would have it, work interfered with all three dates. Yesterday was the first date, and the event started at 2 PM. I decided to do it for one hour before I needed to get on the road. 

The puzzle arrives in a shipping envelope with a big sticker that gives us the information we need to join the Zoom call. This is what I do when I volunteer for packing puzzles. 

So I cleared off my puzzle table, got the puzzle ready, joined the Zoom call, and waited for them to start. I had never done anything like this, so I had no idea what to expect. I had also never timed myself doing a puzzle and thought the idea was silly, and that I would be frantic. 

The competition puzzle

As the time drew near, we were able to open the shipping envelope. OH MY GOD -- a puzzle with lots of fur. This seems to be a dreaded subject amongst many puzzlers. My heart wasn't singing when I saw the photo. The puzzle has 500 pieces. 

The puzzle for the virtual competition

The timed event had a two-hour time limit. If you didn't finish, you were supposed to keep working on your own and submit your time. I could only stay for one hour since I had a four-hour drive. 

This is what I accomplished after one hour. 

What I did after one hour

It was an interesting exercise, and I'm glad that I participated. I will finish it and submit my time when I get home. I will probably be last, but I don't care. It taught me a few things. 

As usual, I sorted the pieces, but I typically sort just the border pieces; after watching videos of Karen the Puzzler, I sorted by color and also separated out the border pieces. Now I think speed puzzles sort into piles; they do not lay all the pieces out. It took me 25 minutes to sort out the pieces and do the border, so I thought that was pretty good considering I'm new to this. I also loved that the pieces were sorted by color. I might try some of these techniques in my daily puzzling. 

That is the quietest Zoom call I've ever been on. After they counted down to the start, 3, 2, 1, Puzzle!, the call went silent! I did glance at the screen every so often to see what the others were doing. I would have loved to watch how people did the puzzling, but this is why people go to competitions!! I will be attending the Nationals next April or May, so that will definitely give me a better idea, but I've also watched some videos. 

I knew the first person would probably be finished around the 40-minute mark. Yes --- can you imagine putting this together in 40 minutes? And the first person called out at the 41-minute mark. Are you kidding me? And then about every couple of minutes, someone else called out. I'm sure there will be people like me who didn't finish in the two hours, and I'll be interested to check the times later. 

I just checked the times! There were 94 people in the event. These events sell out, so I didn't want to miss it. Someone else could have had my spot. The winner came in at 41:14 minutes. 11 people had times longer than 2 hours. One person took almost four hours, and 22 people have no time. So they either didn't attend the session, which is a shame, or, like me, they couldn't finish that day. I'll see how it goes. I don't know if I can submit a time done in multiple sessions. 

I did not sign up for any during the spring sessions; it's just so darn hard with my schedule. 

Back to the puzzle. Of course, I got all the easy stuff done - well, almost. Then I will tackle the green, and these are all the pieces for that. Actually, there aren't too many. 

The green pieces

Then I will tackle the blue on the left, and then there is that darn fur!!!! 

The blue and the fur

So I'm glad that I did this and it wasn't nearly as stressful as I thought it would be. For a first time, with no practice, and having to leave early, I thought I did OK. I have another one this Saturday, and at first, my trip was going to interfere with that. But now the trip is shorter, so I will be home and able to spend the full two hours on it. While I don't know for sure, I'm certain it's a Halloween-themed puzzle. It's a fun event, supposedly meant to be shared with friends and family, but I'll likely be working on it alone, which is OK. 

I had already packed the car, and then I was off. The girls weren't too happy, but that is life. DH is home with them, and they know how to cope!!!

As I was buzzing around, I had to pop up to the main floor from Studio B, and Miss Murphy was in the basement. The next thing I knew, she had slowly worked her way up the stairs. The stairs that she is afraid of. The thought of her accidentally slipping is frightening, and I need to be more diligent. Of course, because she put all her weight on her leg and was extra careful, she was favoring it when she got to the top. 

More diligence is required with her!!!! 

I'm never a fan of long drives, and I don't know why. Well, yes, I do; I was always uncomfortable because of my sciatica and would easily get sleepy. Yesterday, the skies were blue, the traffic was ight and it was a beautiful day for driving. I had a great audiobook to listen to, which I'll tell you about in a second. I stopped in Parry Sound to have dinner with a good friend whom I see online during Monday sewing, but we haven't had an in-person catch-up in quite a while. So that was a great way to break up the trip. 

And I was able to get a book from her that she picked up at her used bookstore months ago! The Pony Express just wasn't working well on that item! 

Then back in the car for the last 1.5 hours. Again, the roads were good, the weather was good, and traffic was light. I always worry about animals on the road at night, but all was good. No sleepiness and no sciatic pain!!! 

I arrived at the hotel, and it's like a maze. It's under construction, and the parking lot is huge. No wait, the parking lot is totally confusing, and the front entrance was blocked off with fencing, at least the parking area where you can park while checking in. And they were doing work last night to clear that fencing. Seriously? A Saturday night at 8:30 PM? I don't get it. 

Anyway, this hotel is the most confusing hotel I've ever been in. It has wings and little nooks and crannies in the hallways. 

A very weird configuration for a hotel

It's not a full moon yet, but it's close, and I love looking at the moon and wondering how many other people are looking at the same moon at the same time I am. It's one thing we all share in this world. 

The almost full moon

OK -- let me tell you about this audiobook. I started it a couple of days ago, but I didn't have time to listen. I was making mistakes while sewing and thought it best not to listen so I could focus. That didn't seem to make any difference. 

Anyway, the book is called Getting Away with Murder by Shari Lapena. 


What can I say about Shari? Check out her website, and you'll see she's an ordinary woman with an incredible talent for taking the ordinary and making it suspenseful, creepy, and plausible. You'll wonder where the heck those plot ideas and twists come from. This is far from being cookie-cutter reading!! 

I almost wanted the drive to go on, so I wouldn't have to stop listening to the book. I still have two hours left to listen, and I have a bit of a drive this morning, but not enough to finish the book. Since it is due soon, I'll have to listen to it after work tonight. 

Well, I need to get organized for the day. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

A treasure trove of batiks!

I am home! Except for a couple of errands by car, I don't have to budge (unless something comes up) until September 21, which then involves another two silly weeks of travel, packing, and unpacking. But I have not quite four weeks to "lounge" around!

The drive was pretty decent yesterday, although one minute it was raining and the next it wasn't. It was like that on the way there and the way back. But that's OK. 

I did require a wee nap on the way home -- just too much going on. Please do not compare your life to mine - it is not glamorous by any means. Packing and unpacking, loading the car or lugging stuff into an airport. Thankfully, this is not an everyday occurrence. I would die! 

I'm getting old for this, but yet I'm not. I love being in front of people and telling my stories, and I'm still young enough to handle that! 

The more I listen to myself with my stories about machine embroidery and the new PFAFF creative icon 3, the more I love it. I unpacked everything last night, and it's on the right floor of the house. Now I just have to deal with it, and I don't want to take too long because I'll need it for my Facebook Live in two weeks. 

The big question will be, "how to condense three hours into one!"

I'll figure it out. 

I had never been to Heather Bell's Sewing Studio before, and it was quite the surprise. She does a lot of machine embroidery and so has loads of patterns, BUT if you are looking for batiks, this is the place to go. This is just a small portion of the batiks. 

Batiks galore at Heather Bell's Sewing Studio

I am thinking of pulling out one of my Jacqueline de Jonge patterns that requires lots of rainbow colors in batik. You typically don't want the batiks with the patterns, and Heather has a HUGE range of "solids." They have texture, but no print. Oh my --- I already have some set aside for one of the quilts, but I'm missing a lot of values in various colors. I think this is going to be the place to go. 

I could make it a day trip, since there are a couple of other shops along the way that I would like to stop at. 

When I got home, I spotted this box on the kitchen table. OH -- my box of puzzles arrived from the Puzzle Master store in Saskatoon. 

Another box of puzzles

DH doesn't usually comment on my purchases, but he asked why I needed more, and he is right! I don't need more. Good thing he doesn't know the half of it downstairs. I'd better puzzle faster!

We had been talking about setting a budget, and he mentioned that now I was home, I need to work on the budget (for both of us). We have some serious financial goals, and to meet them, we need a budget. 

I know my Excel gurus would be dying to give me a lesson, and perhaps they can, or I'm just going to wing some numbers in and hope it all turns out. I'm sure there is an app that could help, but I'm happy to just play. 

It would help if I could pull numbers from my bank statement. I think that is possible and I'll have a look later today. 

What am I going to work on today? I have no idea - there is so much, and while Studio B isn't in too bad of shape, there's still a lot of stuff in various places where it's not supposed to be. I also need to get that long arm back in business. 

And there are a few techniques I want to experiment with further on the creative icon 3, so there will be no end to what can keep me amused today. It will just be nice to eat what I want, when I want, and to have a nap when I want if I need one!

But I have more events for the PFAFF creative icon 3, and I'll keep making up new samples or finish some of the ones I have been working on. I have two things in mind that I can't wait to remake with the new tools on this embroidery machine. Hopefully, I can make them by September 9. 

The cleaning service is coming this morning, so I had to get things squared away, which took about 10 minutes, if that, and that included making the bed. It really does help when everything has a home, and you keep it looking tip-top throughout the week. 

I'm a little strapped for time this morning because I was exhausted last night and I slept in. Murphy seems to be settling in as well, and she asks to come upstairs at night. She will NOT sleep on the main floor by herself, even though Lexi is there. I have no idea why, but at least she is in the house. 

I found this word of wisdom, which is so true. Although I question the brick wall inside the ear. What am I missing? 

I'm going to have to sit down this morning and go through some email - I have some email to answer, several phone calls to address, expense reports to fill out, and tidy up where I can. 

And I have a couple of things to return from the electrical escapade. I'd better do those today if I can drag myself to the car and drive there. It's not that far away. 

By the way, the Facebook Live for the PFAFF creative icon 3 is on September 9. I see it's not advertised on the post yet, but this is the page. I believe it's at 3 PM EST, or maybe it's 2. 

There is a Virtual Retreat this weekend, and I'm super excited about that. It will be Saturday evening from 6 PM - 9 PM, and on Sunday from 3 PM to 9 PM. I'll post the links on Friday. 

And it's the week for the final call to sign up for my classes. If you or anyone you know might be interested (anywhere in the world works), you can sign up for these classes. Remember - the scrap class is full. 

And that's a wrap for today. I must get at least one girl out for their walk by themselves before the cleaning crew comes. It's been tight for time, so they have gone together, which no one likes, but at least they are getting a walk in. And so am I! I'm feeling like a slug! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!

A trip to Micheals

 AHA—I never thought about using the Snipping Tool—I have it installed. I'll try that next time I want to crop a photo. It's not the right way to do it, but it's one way to make it happen.  

I have a very early morning flight, so I'm writing the blog the night before. However, I will say that with 45 minutes left on my audiobook, I'm torn - write the blog or finish the book. My brain won't let me do both at the same time!

So the blog it is! 

Oh my - this picture didn't turn out as expected. I ws taking a picture of the freight train that I got stuck at this morning on the way to the store.. BUT - look at all the bugs smashed on the windshield! Oh shoot—I was supposed to fill the car with gas tonight and totally forgot. Oh well -- I'll do it in the morning. 

Yes -- if you can see through the bugs on the windshield, there is a long freight train! 

That 800 KM trip on the highway took care of a few bugs, to say the least!! 

When I got to the store today, I took my waist pouch off, but attached it to my backpack so I wouldn't leave it behind. I double-checked when I left the store, and hopefully I didn't leave anything behind. 

Attach my belongings together.

I did find a few things at the store that interested me, and they found a home in my suitcase. Wait until you see the one fabric I purchased. I don't have a picture of it, and it's in the car, so I'll show you when I get home. It's so nice to travel with no weight restriction. Otherwise, I would have to be careful to balance the two bags! 

I love doing the presentation on the new PFAFF creative icon 3. It's a beautiful machine, and all the new tools and features are amazing. They are amazing, and I have so many things I want to try when I get home! So much to stitch and so little time! 

I ventured out for dinner tonight, and there's a big-box store area across the road, so I walked over. After dinner, I spotted a Michaels and decided to check it out. 

On the way there, I spotted some rabbits. OK—these are NOT rabbits, but we used to call them jack rabbits, or they are also known as hares. 

City hares

Look at the length of their ears, and their hind legs are long!!! I wasn't a threat, so they didn't move far. 

I went to Michaels to see if this store had fabric, and yes, it did. This is the cute little cutting station they have. 

The cut bar at Michaels

They use electric scissors to cut the fabric, which is super fast. The table is slick and small, so it doesn't take up much space in the store. They have one aisle of fabric. Much of it is licensed, but there are also some solids and fancy fabrics. And of course, they have interfacings and some batting. 

The fabric aisle at Michaels

The bolts are Everyday Value, so they don't qualify for extra discounts, including coupons. 

Fabric is an Everyday Value item.

When I walked around the corner, I spotted a rolling cart with more fabric and a huge pile of empty shelves. Apparently they have had fabric in the store for 6 months, and it's been so successful that they are about to get inundated with lots more! I spotted batiks - nice ones and many other cool fabrics including a lot of seasonal stuff. 

Shelves ready to receive more fabric.

It all seems to be reasonably priced. The person cutting uses a small device to record the purchase, then puts it on a card with a barcode. That gets scanned at the checkout counter, and you pay. 

My fabric purchase and ticket

It's all quite civilized. Would it be the place for me to go and color-match fabric to make a quilt? Probably not, since they don't have the selection to do that, BUT if I want to make crafty items, this is the place to go, and Michaels is much easier for most people to get to than a quilt store. 

Did I mention that they sell Singer sewing machines? Yep—quite a variety of them, and for the beginner sewist, this is a great place to go and get yourself stocked up! 

I won't spill the details yet, but I have an event at a Michaels store in the near future. I don't know many details yet, so you will have to wait. 

Yep -- the first part of the year was pretty dead, and the fall? It's becoming pretty full with talk of more events, and I already have another 8 full days on the schedule! So much for slowing down and being semi-retired! I love this and will keep doing it for as long as I can!

Remember, my next event is Monday at Heather Bell's Sewing Studio in West Lorne, Ontario. Two sessions on the PFAFF creative icon 3. Each time I present, it gets a little bit better! Smoother! 

I got a notice from Air Canada that, due to thunderstorms in Toronto, I can change my ticket free of charge. I didn't change my ticket, and so far the flight is on time. 

Poor Murphy did NOT fare well in the thunderstorms today. DH sent pictures, and she was so freaked out. The poor thing. 

Fingers crossed that there are no issues in Toronto, and if everything goes according to plan, I should be home by noon! If there are issues, well, who knows when I will get home. 

And on that note, I'm out of here. I still have 45 minutes of audiobook, and I hope to finish that book tonight! I can always sleep on the plane!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!

The long way home - part two

I'm exhausted this morning! I seemed exhausted all day until it was time to sleep! I just woke up - the blog is going to be late!!!

Travel days are long, and even though yesterday was a short travel day, we lost three hours due to the time change. It was easy - we got up, caught the hotel shuttle back to the airport. We hung out at the lounge for a bit, and then I suggested we go down to the gate to try something new. 

DH is always grumbling about having to stand in the Zone 2 boarding lane instead of Zone 1. Well, if you want, we can try out the NEW (OK  - not new), but relatively new thing called Digital Boarding. I had tried it last time I was in Vancouver, and it did NOT work, so I had asked the staff to ensure my digital boarding was set up. And now was the perfect time to try it since Vancouver is the only place where it exists at the moment. 

The lines were already getting long, and I discovered a separate line for Digital Boarding. No one in the line. TZone 1 was boarding, and I just walked up to the machine. It scanned my face and accepted me; the gate opened, and in I waltzed before they even finished loading Zone 1. DH had some issues with his, but he was right behind me. 

So this is pretty exciting, as with this technology,  you no longer need to show your boarding pass or ID, but just get accepted by the technology. YES --- technology, which is often a failing proposition for me. The last time I tried it, it didn't work, but this time, it worked like a charm! The last time, it was just a screen with face recognition. This was more permanent, with an opening gate. I guess others had issues as well. 

It takes a wee bit longer to be recognized than if you walked through and showed your documents, but I imagine that will be sped up, and more lanes will be added as time goes on. But like all the other things we have used in the past (priority status for security, airline status), there will come a time when this no longer saves much time. For now? I'll enjoy using the technology and hope it comes to Toronto sooner rather than later. They are already using that face recognition technology in the NEXUS line in Toronto. 

Oh shoot -- I thought I had taken a picture of my boarding pass. But if you want to see if you can use that technology, there is an indicator on your boarding pass. I only saw it after I was on the plane, but I knew it existed, so I was determined to try it. Remember -- it is only at Vancouver at the moment, you have to set up your digital profile, and probably only at certain gates in Vancouver.  

I watched another Harry Potter movie while on the plane. That leaves three more to go. What will I watch when those are done? I guess I'll just find other movies on the plane. I used to read, but I found the movies are fun to watch. 

After the movie, I turned on the map, and instead of showing us where we were going, it showed all kinds of aerial views of other places in the world. This was Mount Kilimanjaro. How cool to see that from the air!

Aerial view of Mount Kilimanjaro

And someone else had the tail camera on the plane activated. I think that is cool as well. If something went awry, would you really want to see what was happening to the plane? We had just landed at this moment. 

The tail camera of the plane

Since we did not check luggage, we were able to zip right off the plane and into a limo for the journey home. Let's say that two certain girls were pretty excited to see us!! 

The girls are so different. Lexi is so calm and just wants to be close. 

MOM - I'm so glad you are home

Murphy is moving a mile a minute, and there is no way she was stopping to look at the camera. 

MOM - you're home! You're home! I need a walk! 

While we had nothing to eat in the house, we managed to find a couple of snacks, so we didn't go hungry. It seems like we ate so much over the last couple of days that I wasn't really hungry, but I needed something in my stomach. 

I found SIX flowers in the pond. By the time I got home, they were closing up for the evening. I can't wait to see them today. 

Six lilies in the pond

The peony had bloomed and was decimated by the recent rain, so I didn't get to enjoy it this year. 

The peony is almost done.

But now the rose bush is in bloom. 

The rose bush

Those demanding girls made it quite clear what they really wanted from me - a walk!! And they would not stop giving me attention until they got what they wanted. Again, Murphy is moving a hundred miles a minute, while Lexi just prances in place. 

I had to unpack last night because I have to shake the sand out of the suitcase, wash some clothes, and repack today as I leave tomorrow. If you think that is bad, DH is already on another plane this morning. I don't know how people do these quick turnarounds. I like my house - I want to travel, but not back-to-back. My cousin will be traveling back and forth across the 3-hour time zone. I'm exhausted, and I don't know how she will survive for an extended period of time with that kind of travel! 

We were in contact with M and Dillon as they traveled home. They got home after we did, but they had a long drive and then a ferry to cross. I think they had a bit of an emotional day. So much pressure, prep, and excitement, and then it's done! But we got to see a few of the wedding pictures and OH MY -- they are beautiful. I'll share some of them another day. 

I had done some work on my current jigsaw puzzle after eating my snack, but then I left it and tried to sleep. And while I was tired or I thought I was, when I tried to get to sleep, I couldn't, so I read, watched some YouTube, and then got up to do more work on the puzzle. 

I accomplished quite a bit. Before I went to bed, the pink was more or less done, but I got the red, orange, and yellow done as well. It's a challenging puzzle because the colors are worked in THREE areas, so if it doesn't fit in one spot, it fits in another, but which one? 

Working on the jigsaw puzzle

There is more purple than anything, so that will slow me down, but at least it will all be in the same area. 

Oh my gosh -- so I woke with a start at the moment that the girls like to be let outside. I'm not sure what triggered that, but the sun was pouring in the window. It's going to be a late start to the day. Sigh.....

We have Monday sewing today, and I have some pictures to prepare for the presentation. Then I have a quilt to bind and another one to do some embroidery on. It will be a busy day, and I must try NOT to have a nap, or I will not get to sleep later tonight. 

Murphy is circling my chair like a crazed dog. All she wants is a walk. The poor thing is NOT going to be happy when she sees me leaving tomorrow. But DH is only gone for a couple of days, but he does NOT walk them, so she won't be happy!

In addition to watching the movie, I watched a couple of episodes of The Reluctant Traveler, hosted by Eugene Levy. They were interesting and explored non-tourist things. I thought the show was great. But he said something, or it was said in the trailer, and I thought it quite interesting. 

Here is a quote that was used on the show - it is attributed to St. Augustine. "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."

WOW! I find that very fascinating, and since I like to read, I must read more than one page. I won't be able to finish this book, but I'm OK with that. WAIT -- I totally get that there is a cost to travel, but guess what? That exploration can simply be in your own city or your own country, and neither has to cost a lot of money. It's the idea of exploring that is being referred to. 

I know people who have never been outside their province. I would have gone mad years ago! I first traveled outside my home province when I was under 10, and ever since, I have traveled. That first trip? By bus with my Mom to Portage La Prairie. It didn't cost us much, as we stayed with my Mom's pen pal, Hilma. 

But to get out and explore? It helps to keep that curiosity and kid-like sense of adventure alive. I would die if I couldn't wander around. NOTHING has to cost a lot if you shop around! And get creative! 

And on that note, I must get the girls out the door. The blog should be on time tomorrow, but only for one day, as I'm going back in time zones for a week. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

The wedding

I am so tired today!!! I will definitely be having a nap later on. I have so many pictures that I don’t even know where to start! 

Yes — we are in Sicily, particularly in Taormina, but I have been in other small villages in Europe and the architecture is somewhat different because of the location, however, the willy nilly way the streets are created is pretty similar. Let’s just say there is NOT a lot of planning. When these villages were built, there was no town planner to say this goes here and that goes there. 

The cathedral and churches probably had first pick, but then much of the rest filled in the gaps and some of these buildings have been here for centuries!!! I found the same in Spain when I walked the Camino. The architecture is based on who was in charge at the time! Most towns and villages have one central street and then it’s a maze behind that with many smaller streets (walkways) to make up the rest of the town. Then there is a much larger area where it gets connected to the Autostrade! With many hairpins which were fun to take in that big bus. More on that in a bit. 

Hairpin turns in a large bus!!!!

I’m not sure that anyone could really describe in detail how some of these European cities are. You need to see them in person and lots of pictures! 

The day started with a walk to find a geocache. That was part way up the mountain (hill) that over looks Taormina and upon which the ruins of a Norman castle sit. 

On the way to Castlemola 

As you would expect there were lots of stairs. I don’t know why all hill climbs start out very steep. It reminded me of the Pyrenees!!!

Lots of stairs

Soon it was a gentle uphill!

But the views were spectacular.

Spectacular views of Taormina

I reached the point of the geocache and I needed to get from the path to that rock wall and I decided not to do it. Can you imagine if I fell? I didn’t need to climb the wall, but I needed to get closer. I bailed on that one and that’s OK. There are others. But see how sensible I am? 

The geocache location

Then I came back down and we had a small bite to eat at the apartment. Then Dillon, M and I decided to visit the castle ruins on top of the hill and we were off. We went back to the stairs that I had climbed earlier. But this time we went all the way to the top. You can see the castle ruins in this picture. 

The castle ruins in the background

Reading the description of the path, the timing, and the distance, we thought it was going to take a long time, but it really wasn’t that bad at all. And there were so many views as we climbed higher that we took our time. 

Beach view

Opposite direction

It was very cloudy day and we actually were higher than some of the clouds and mist. It wasn’t raining, but it had threatened and the only thing we didn’t to get to see from up there was Mount Etna. We visited the castle ruins and ran into the my SIL’s hiking group. Of course, we would find them up the highest point in the area!!!

Inside the castle ruins

The castle was built for defending the city and of course had the usual small tiny place to hold prisoners and even a death well. We don’t really need details on what happened there!

Above the clouds

It did clear up somewhat, but never enough for us to spot the mountain. We saw the cable car which we had taken the day before. It was well worth going up. And if you want some perspective of the size of some of the cars, check this out. This is a five seater car and was the curtesy car from the Four Seasosn. 

A tiny car

While we were up top, M was researching where the Four Seasons was because apparently that was the location in some of the White Lotus shows. I’ve never watched, never heard of it, but she wanted to see the hotel.

On our way down, we were coordinating with DH who went to the civil wedding ceremony. It was his sister after all who was getting married. 

We had been thinking about an omelette for lunch when DH said we were invited to the after wedding lunch for family only. Can you imagine where it was located? Yep —- the Four Seasons. M was beyond herself with glee and as we arrived, she was taking pictures of this or that where the filming had taken place. 

And yes —- we were in our walking clothes not dressed up at all, but seriously — who cares!!!!

The Four Seasons Hotel

The GPS gave us funny walking instructions to the restaurant and we ended up walking completely around the building. And this is one of the guest room doors on the main floor. It looks very medievalish!!!! And as you can see the doors are small!!!!

Me outside a guest door at the Four Seasons

The lunch was amazing and we were very blessed to be able to take part in the lunch. Here’s a picture of my tiramisu, which was decadent. 

A very decadent lunch

And here is the happy couple. This is one of three outfits that she wore. 

The happy couple

Back to our apartment where it was now time to get dressed for the fun wedding. We had to walk about 1 km to get a shuttle bus that would take us to the venue. The venue was outside of Taormina and it was beautiful. She worked with a wedding planner and the attention to detail was amazing. From our persepective, everything went off without a hitch. 

The guests at the wedding

Many of the guests wore pink and it was all very pretty. Here is my jacket in case you want to see what it looks like. 

My jacket

The back of the jacket

I wore the scarf with it and it all worked out beautifully. I’m glad I persevered to make it, but I will rethink plans like that for future events. There was a quick ceremony officiated by one of their friends. They were officially married earlier in the day, so this was a pretend wedding. But it was beautiful and their vows to each other were beautiful. Very heartfelt and it sounds like they were made for each other. 

I had brought shoes to wear but wore my Teva sandals to the wedding. I was not walking a KM in those things. When I arrived and saw the uneven grass and cobble stones, I just wore my Teva sandals. So comfy and my pants were long enough and I was NOT the star of the show, so who really cared what I wore on my feet. 

It was nice because his daughters stood up for him, while my SIL's kids stood up for her. And they were walked down the aisle by their children which I thought was very special. 

The official wedding party

Another amazing dinner and more food!!! Although I think the lunch was much larger than the dinner, but that’s OK. 

Then off to cut the cake. 

Cutting the cake

And finally dancing to end the evening. We had shuttles to pick us up and bring us back to the town. We were on the second shuttle as I was getting tired and wanted to get to bed. Since when am I out after midnight? 

Then DH and I had to walk that same KM back through the streets to get to the apartment. But all was good. There was some construction happening and a few people still wandering around at that time. 

The streets were mostly empty at midnight

Just to prove that it was after idnight, there’s the clock. In one of the city gates. 

The town clock

WOW —- what a beautiful day and so nice that so many family members on both sides could attend and their close friends as well. A very special day for so many. There are still events planned for today and tomorrow and we are working in things that we want to see between those events. 

We were planning on going to the amphitheater this morning, but it is raining and I don’t know that I really want to go out. We have umbrellas, but still. Plus it is cold (cool) and people are wearing puffy jackets. I swear, I need to throw my orange jacket in my bag wherever I go. You never know when it can come in handy!!And it packs small and light. I MUST remember in the future. 

And that kind of sums up the day!!! I’m tired this morning and after writing the blog, I think I might go back and see if I can get some more sleep. 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Wait —- one more picture. Here are the teeny stairs in our apartment. I’ve no idea how they get stuff upstairs - perhaps through the window. Every where I’ve been in Europe (or many personal spaces) have teeny stairs!