A mystery is solved in the middle of the night

The other day I wrote about leaving my wallet at the store and thinking I didn't have access to any money, so I wouldn't be able to buy any food except what was in the hotel snack bar that I could charge to my room. I considered setting up a digital wallet on my phone so I could have access to my credit card and perhaps even my debit card. I really don't understand the wallet, so I have never investigated it. 

Then I realized I have a digital wallet with my Tim's app. When I pay for something at that restaurant, I use my phone, not a credit card. Hmm  - I would not have starved! 

I am HOME! But not for long, as I'll be leaving in less than a couple of hours for West Lorne, and I have two presentations on the PFAFF creative icon 3 at Heather Bell's Sewing Studio. That's exciting, as I love showing the new features and benefits. As I say to everyone, you don't necessarily have to be in the market for a new machine, but it's fascinating to come out and discover what is changing in the world of sewing and embroidery. 

I do that with competitive brands - not that I want to buy their brand, but I want to see what is happening in the sewing and embroidery world. 

It was an early-morning flight, and the first gas station I went to wasn't open, but it did solve a mystery. 

The night before, when I had walked to Michaels, I was mystified by this. 

The parking lot is a mess.

The parking lot was covered in bird poo and feathers. It looked like a massive explosion had occurred with a flock of birds. 

Well, imagine my surprise when I circled through the gas station to find myself facing this. 

AHA - the source of the mess

The parking lot for that entire plaza was covered with birds. I'm not sure if they were pigeons or some other bird, but they were everywhere!! They were not in the gas station parking lot, so I didn't disturb them when I drove through. I have never seen that before, but then I'm not usually in a parking lot at 3:45 AM either! 

I filled the car with gas, then headed to the airport, and everything went smoothly. I didn't have to use the automatic bag drop, so scanning wasn't an issue. 

The car rental place was open late when I needed to pick up the car, but it wasn't open for drop-off, which I knew, but it's not a big deal. There is a drop box for the keys and a small piece of paper you are supposed to fill out with the mileage and something else. Of course, I forgot to get the mileage, and I couldn't find a pen anyway, so I simply dropped the keys. I got my receipt later in the day, so someone got the mileage from the car. 

And while I attempted to clean the bugs off the windshield, someone will have a bit of scrubbing to do! Thank goodness for unlimited mileage - I didn't have to pay extra for that trip to the Battlefords! Just gas. 

My suitcase was a wee bit over the 50 lbs limit, but I didn't care! My status allows me to carry suitcases as heavy as 70 lbs, but who in their right mind wants to manhandle a 70 lb suitcase? Not me - 50 is bad enough. By the way, I made my 35K status on this flight, so I'm good for next year. If I make the next status level, great - if I don't, it's no big deal. That status allows me access to the lounge, which I would rarely have time for, so I won't miss that perk. And I'm certainly NOT going to the airport early just for the lounge. 

This plane was interesting. After I book my flights, I then have the opportunity to apply for an upgrade. I hadn't purchased the same level of ticket I typically do, and I thought that was why there was no chance to request an upgrade. BUT when we got on the plane, I saw what the "issue" was. This plane had NO premium economy or business class. All rows were economy! I've never seen that in a plane before. It was like getting on a giant bus! The plane was new as well, so that must be something they are implementing on some of the routes. The seat looked very uncomfortable, but it wasn't bad. 

I purchased a couple of things, which made my suitcase heavier on the way out than on the way home. There are two Halloween fabrics. Yes—I do not need Halloween fabrics, but they were darn cute, and one was on sale at the quilt store, and one came from Michaels. 

Left from the quilt store, right from Michaels

I also bought this panel which was on sale at the quilt shop. It's darn cute and would make a great quilt for a child with an up-and-coming green thumb!!

A cute panel from the quilt store

I knew it was raining before we landed as DH had let me know. But it was raining quite hard, and of course my luggage got wet. I have to laugh because as part of my status, my bags are supposed to go priority. That means they're among the first to come off the plane. The ticket agent even flagged them with the red stickers. But alas, they weren't anywhere near the front of the bags that came off the plane. But they didn't take too long to arrive at the carousel, so all was good. 

BUT they were wet, and that was concerning since one was filled with my samples. I don't bother putting them in plastic as that would be a hassle. I've only had issues with wet bags once before, and that was in Montreal, when one of my samples with a red binding bled slightly. 

So the minute I got home, I unpacked, and sure enough, water had penetrated the sample suitcase, but not much got wet and nothing was damaged. I am in the market for a new suitcase because one of the wheels on this one doesn't work as well as it should, and it's a hassle to push it anywhere. 

Everything got removed, sorted into what I need to take with me and what stays home. Then I sorted them into the groups I need for the new features. I have one small thing to add this morning and then throw the suitcase into the car. 

But my oh my --- there were two happy girls to greet me! Lexi now has selective hearing and didn't hear me come home, but when she realized, she was happy. Murphy? She was beside herself. Which, typically, I don't mind. However, she was WET from the rain, and she got sprayed by a skunk - again! Thankfully, it wasn't much, but she still stinks! 

And she wants to rub against my leg? I was instantly wet! 

MOM's home!

Yes, our crazy dog in her demented state seems to think it's fun to lie outside in the pouring rain. Then she comes in and shakes, and well, it was a disaster zone. But it has stopped raining, and the house is dry. She slept upstairs last night, and all was good. She doesn't seem to want to be alone by herself on the main floor, and even with the crazy storms we had, she is not interested in hiding in the stash room like she used to. Oh well—life changes for us, and it does for our girls. 

Currently she is curled up in her tiny dog bed in the office, which is something she hasn't done in a long time - since the beginning of the summer- so that is a positive sign. 

We are learning to cope, and that is all that counts. 

I wasn't ready to jump into sewing, and what else could I do? I started a new ebook and worked through a third of it, but I also opened up the next jigsaw puzzle, found all but one of the border pieces, and started on the sky. 

Progress on the next jigsaw puzzle

I was a bit hesitant to start on the sky, but as you can see, there wasn't a lot of it, so it was perfect. I don't think all puzzles put a date on them, but this one did, and it's dated 2008! Almost 20 years old. Let's hope that all the pieces are there - it's only 750 pieces, so it shouldn't take too long to put together. This will be a quicky to get me to the end of the month, although that is a week away, and then I can work on the theme puzzle for September. It's actually not a theme, but a brand - Eurographics! 

I'm not going to set a quota, but it would be nice to do one a week! I need to do one a week to work through my stash. I am not alone—I see pictures of people's puzzle stashes online and OH MY!!!! Puzzlers are hoarders, just like quilters!

The good news is there is a Virtual Retreat this coming weekend! Yeah!!! It feels like we haven't had a proper Virtual Retreat all summer, and I miss chatting with my "virtual" friends. It will be good to catch up. I'll post the links on Friday to try to keep Zoom off my back. They do not like posting links online. 

Once I'm back from today, I need to get myself working on the distribution lists for the upcoming classes, so be sure to watch for that. And if you are still on the fence about signing up, this is the last call. After this week, I should have everything set. If you or a friend are interested, then check out the list. Send me an email—the scrap class, by the way, is FULL. Don't even bother going to Thimbles and Things to sign up. That filled up FAST. 

I want to warn you that I may need to switch a date or two from what I published because of work, but you'll get that information shortly. I'm super excited to get started on our new projects!!!

I'll let you know when the emails go out, and if you don't get it, you can get in touch with me and see what happened. Everything will be in good time, but it all needs to be done by the end of this week. 

I will be hosting a Facebook Live on the new PFAFF creative icon 3 on September 9. I'll share more details later this week. It is only 1 hour, and my in-person presentations are 3. Hmmm—how am I going to condense that information into one hour? At least I don't have to make any samples—that is done! 

And on that note, I have to get the fabrics for my demos into the suitcase, then walk the girls, and I'm off. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Interesting travel days!

I kind of goofed up on time management! Hence, there was no blog yesterday. I planned to write the blog while I was at the airport on Wednesday evening, but it wasn't until I got on the plane that my brain went BING—you forgot to write the blog. Sigh.......

For those that think travel is glamorous (I did when I was younger), it is NOT!! It's a lot of hard work. Packing and repacking and making sure you haven't forgotten anything. Trying to eat healthy is just not going to happen. 

I'm not talking about going to a hotel and spending my time by a pool - that is not the kind of travel I do; it's go somewhere,  do your thing, pack up and move on! I enjoy it, but I'm also happy when I get home. 

Here's what happened. I went for a walk on Wednesday morning before I had to go to work. I had stayed in that hotel before, and they don't have a breakfast place, and I remember not liking the food at the restaurant next door. So I wandered down to Tim's, where I had breakfast and took my tea with me. It was still too early to go back, and a brisk walk would be good to start the day. 

Shoot—I thought I transferred the picture of the hill. I spotted a hill down the road, and why not tackle that first thing? This hill reminded me of another hill in Langley, BC from a bike trip back in 2012 or thereabouts. We started our trip by staying in a campground in Langley, and when we got up the next morning, it seemed like we had barely left the campground, and we had this short but STEEP hill to climb. 

That hill had a 22% pitch - it was steep, but I remember this one fellow who rode up it, no problem. Then he came back down and, using his arm on his girlfriend's back, he pushed her up the hill, while he was on his bike!!!! OK -- so I walked up that hill, and that trip wasn't off to a good start. I believe that is the only hill I have ever had to walk up. Thankfully, it was short. 

On my walk, I saw the sign on the way down. It was 13%, which is a bit steep, but doable. Certainly doable when walking. My knees seem to be doing just fine on the downhill these days, and I had no issues with my sciatic nerve despite being in the car for much of the next day (that story is later on). 

13% pitch

There was a bit of a walking trail at the top of the hill, and it went from a wide paved path to this narrow walk through some bushes. 

Part of the walking trail in Langley

I spotted some wild raspberries and blackberries. 

Berry bushes along the way

I got back to the hotel, got ready for work, and headed out. I had a great day at Castle Sewing Center showcasing the new PFAFF creative icon 3. It's a beautiful sewing and embroidery machine, and there were a lot of people in the morning and afternoon sessions. 

The only thing I forgot to bring was the NEW large magnetic hoop. I considered putting it in my suitcase, but I didn't. That was a mistake, but that's OK—I have a picture now. 

Once I was finished at 4:30 PM, it was time to head to the airport to catch a flight. Remember me mentioning putting the bag tags on the luggage and loading it on the automatic bag drop? I rarely have trouble, but this machine didn't like my bags. Well, it didn't like where the bag tag was located. 

The automated bag drop

Here's the thing—your suitcase has a top handle, which is typically where the check-in agents put your tag. You also have a handle on the side, and you can put it there as well, but the check-in agents never seem to use that. Anyway, my tags were on top, and the machine wouldn't scan them. 

I tried several different ways of positioning my suitcase, and some kindly person even stopped and said, you need to put the bag in the orientation shown. Yes -- I had already tried that. 

I called over the agent, and she grabbed my suitcase and turned it completely around so the wheels were first. And of course, the darn bagtag was scanned in that orientation. So I learned something new—there are six sides to the suitcase, and forwards and back—if one orientation doesn't work, just turn it backward, and it should work. Learning that little tip should help a lot in the future. I hope to teach that little tip to people I see struggling as well. 

But in the pictures you see the green lights. When you press the assist button, those lights go yellow and orange! A call for help! 

For whatever reason, the airline bumped me into business class several days ago. I have no idea why, but I wasn't going to complain. So I got to access the lounge, and this was my view as I ate dinner. This is where I was supposed to be writing the blog! 

Viewing the Vancouver airport from the lounge

I was now on my way to Regina, Saskatchewan, and the flight didn't leave until 9:40 PM. A late flight - way past my bedtime considering the time changes. We arrived in Regina at 1 AM the next day. Thankfully, the car rental was still open (I knew that) and I hustled over to collect my keys. And then off to the hotel. It was almost 2 AM by this point - we waited a long time for the luggage to arrive. I asked the desk person if I could get a half price on the room since I was only going to use it for half the night! The answer was NO. 

Thursday was technically my travel day to get from BC to Saskatchewan, but I wanted to use the day to visit with my parents, so that's why I traveled at night. I was a little leery, as those late flights sometimes get canceled, and if I had traveled in the morning, I wouldn't have been able to visit. It also depended on when I could pick up the car, and since the rental company was open late, everything fell into place. 

I had thought of flying to Saskatoon and then visiting, then driving to Regina, but the cost of dropping the car in another city was huge, so I decided to drive there and back. 

Is it far? It's 400 KM one way, so I made it there and back in one day - a total of 800 KM. 

Let's say that I slept through my two alarms on my phone - didn't even hear them, but I was awake after several hours of sleep, and I was on my way around 7:30. 

I do not know what happens to me, but when I get in the car, my bags seem to explode! There is stuff all over the front seat! 

The explosion in the car

I had an audiobook that I'm listening to, and it is 14 hours long, and I was a couple of hours into it. It's a John Grisham, but it's slow. Well, not necessarily slow, but there's very little action. It's an intriguing story (The Widow), and you are left wondering how the lawyer got himself into so much trouble. But then you wonder how smart the widow was before she died. Hmmmm............ And now I'm wondering how he gets himself out of trouble! 

Anyway, I listened to the book there and back, and I still have 5 hours to go!!! It gave me focus, and I didn't need to stop for a nap once, which was shocking, but I was getting antsy for the final hour on the way back to Regina. I stopped for about five minutes to walk around, and that was all I needed. 

Look at that wide open sky!!!! There was also some construction going on, and so I had to slow down for that. 

The wide open prairie sky

The car I've rented is weird. The adaptive cruise control (it's not adaptive, but another name which escapes me at the moment) took FOREVER to figure out how to make it work. And then periodically, it would shut itself off. Do you know how hard it is to maintain a constant speed with just your foot? I think there are so many dead bugs on the windshield that it knocks the cruise control off! 

And the night before, I was using the GPS to get to the hotel; I could barely see the screen. As it got later last night, the car switched from day to night modes, and the screen went so dark that I could barely see it. Then I found some knobs on the left-hand side, and that changed the brightness so I could see! I think I arrived back at the hotel at 8:30 PM. 

It was a short visit, but it was very much worth it. I'm not going into details -- too much raw emotion from that visit, and I'm not ready to talk about it. It's just the facts of life and aging parents. 

Like all of you, I love to surf the net, and I do my share of scrolling on social media, which I try to curb, but I have a few favorites. Well, it's sad to say that jigsaw puzzling comes up in my feeds way more than quilting does! It's not that I'm no longer a quilter, but I have other interests, and I like to do something other than sew all day. 

I found this place through some of those pop-up videos. 

PuzzleMaster!!!!!

OH MY GOD --- this is in Saskatoon, and it opens at 8 AM, so when I arrived at 9:45, I walked right in. This place is located about .5 KM away from the gas station that I use to fill up my rental car before returning it when I fly to Saskatoon!!! As I drove away, I forgot to ask how long they had been there. 

PuzzleMaster sells ALL Kinds of puzzles—escape room puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, 3-D puzzles—if it's a puzzle, they sell it. 

I walked in and got a quick tour - it's very much a warehouse-type of place, not nearly as large as the one near me back home, but they had different puzzles, and well, it was so tempting. 

Walls and walls of puzzles

They carry Dowdle, which started off as my favorite brand. It was crazy. I also chuckled when I saw this puzzle. 

A puzzle with doors

This is the same puzzle (same company) as the one I just finished, but it's 1500 pieces, not 1000, and there are a lot more doors. 

Hmmm—you are going to have to take my word for finishing this one—I don't seem to have a picture of it completed. I bought this at the thrift store, and one piece was missing. 

My partially completed puzzle

If you were eagle-eyed, you would have spotted this puzzle on the front seat of the car along with all the other stuff. I brought it to give to the fellow in my parents' building who is always working on a puzzle. 

Sadly (for my pocketbook), when I was at the puzzle shop, I was informed that if I bought more than $99, the order qualified for free shipping. How could I let that deal get away, and I wouldn't have to carry anything home with me!!! Do I need an intervention? I need to completely retire so I can puzzle faster!!!! I'm OK with having a puzzle stash, as I am actively working my way through those puzzles and giving them away. I am good with that! 

They also have the 40,320-piece puzzle (Ravensburger Disney), which weighs a ton and costs a lot. I'm not ready to tackle that, so it stayed in the store. 

A giant jigsaw puzzle

When I say I use GPS to get around, I mean Google Maps, because I connect my phone to the car using Android Auto. What I love about that is it's super fast to connect - takes mere seconds. And when you go somewhere, it remembers the places you searched in the past. Yep —when I was in Saskatoon, it asked me if I wanted to go to The Sewing Machine store. 

Previous locations on Google Maps

I usually stop to say HI, but I didn't have time. I was on a mission, so I bypassed it and continued on to Battleford. 

I stopped by the Museum to see what Dad was working on, and here he is with one of their latest engines that they got working. The thing is well over 100 years old and has a very funky radiator. That's the big metal box on the front. The stationary engine used to belong to my younger brother's father-in-law, and the radiator came from a farm near our old farm that my other brother found while helping a buddy clean up the yard that no one lives in anymore.  

Dad with a restored engine

He came back to the apartment, and the three of us had a good visit. Then it was 4 PM, and I needed to get back on the road for the 400 KM trip back to Regina. 

There is a lot of artwork and sculptures along the way, but I've driven that route multiple times and stopped to see the art, so I didn't need to stop again. There was one sculpture (Chamberlain) where I stopped for a five-minute break. I will confess that I was very worried about this long drive - I'm not good with long drives, where falling asleep is an issue, as is the sciatic nerve. I had issues with neither of those!! That made the trip so much more enjoyable! 

Metal roadside sculpture in Sask

This is the sign that accompanies the artwork. It's all done in metal! 

I was going to stop for ice cream, but they wanted cash. Although they had an ATM beside the ice cream store, I wasn't going to get cash, so I nixed the ice cream. 

Although I spotted many of the Words of Wisdom from thought.minds, I'm only posting this one. 

I've lived by this philosophy for a long time. I don't need or want to do the same thing as everyone else. And look how long that line is - there is no line on the left! It has sometimes caused me anxiety and sometimes embarrassment or failure to take the path on the left, but it's been a lot more exciting, and I have learned a lot by taking the path to the left. You never know who or what you will spot. 

I am off to work today at Northage Sewing and then one more day tomorrow before heading home on Sunday. Remember, if you are in Regina - I'm doing a session on Creativate this morning, Momento (24" digital cutter) this afternoon, and PFAFF creative icon 3 tomorrow!!!! 

And if you are in Ontario and close to West Lorne, I'll be at Heather Bell's Sewing studio for the PFAFF creative icon 3 on Monday. Then I get to unpack for a few days! 

And wouldn't you know it, my pilot nephew is in Mississauga this weekend, and I'm not there. So he better fly back another time! He's definitely getting his hours in to become a commercial pilot. And how cool to be able to fly on your own schedule!!! Just such a shame that the very weekend he decides to come, I'm not home. Although if the weather is bad in Toronto on Sunday, he will have to delay his flight until Monday. I doubt that happens - we might get clouds, but we don't get fog! 

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

Have a great day!!!!

Ciao!!!!

When the clock counts down on a travel day

I slept with Mr. Bear on the sofa, and he's so darn cute. When he gets cold, he just comes and snuggles under the covers! When he needs a break, he comes up for air. But when he heard the kids get up in the morning, he needed to be part of their action, so he was gone! 

I helped do some more unpacking. A few more things were on the truck to unload, and they got brought to the apartment. Then we had to get rid of the garbage and recycling, so everything went down. They rented the second floor of a house with a fantastic view. 

OK—my family has a thing for finding a place with an amazing view. Off to the left is the Lion's Gate Bridge, and to the right of that is Stanley Park. 

The view from M's deck

Here's the same view a little later in the morning. 

This was the same view from the pier

Then we went for a walk in the neighborhood, and Mr. Bear was beside himself as he checked out the new smells. And they are three blocks from this amazing waterfront area. 

Bear and M

There's a hill to the water, but not too bad. It's a great walk to improve your cardio.  

Then it was back to the apartment and we sat and had a very good chat! It's so nice when your kid is grown up and you can have some real adult conversations. While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip, those last precious hours with M were the best! 

I think someone wanted to come home with me! He has zero issues popping into the suitcase! 

Grandma -- can I come home with you??

Then it was time to leave but not before I packed more stuff into those suitcases of mine. I got a request to make a T-shirt quilt and I said that this was the perfect time to bring the T-shirts home with me, as I had three suitcases that I was checking in and I could go up to 70 pounds with each. 

I didn't even remove the suitcases from the car, I opened them up and filled each suitcase as much as I could. I didn't count the total number of T-shirts, but there were many. 

Loading the T-shirts into the suitcases

In my small suitcase that was off to the side, I was able to put TWENTY-TWO T-shirts in there. I counted those when I unpacked it when I got home. 

Unloading the suitcase at home

There was a projector in there, a pair of shoes, and my clothes. One does NOT need to travel with lots of clothes and hence you can put 22 T-shirts in the suitcase as additional stuff. Thankfully, that was going in the cargo area and not in the overhead bin as it was a bit heavy now. 

Then began the adventure to the airport. On the scale of one to ten on "harrowing", this was a 12. I had originally planned to leave two hours before the flight to get there in plenty of time to drop the bags. I left earlier than planned because it just felt like the right thing to do. Well....

First off, I couldn't get the GPS to find the airport. Seriously??? So a few precious minutes got wasted there. Then it must have taken me on the scenic route to the airport. I could see signs saying I was on the way to the airport, and then it veered somewhere else and I must have taken every major (traffic clogged street). We went right downtown, instead of on the somewhat highway that leads to the airport. 

With the traffic and that scenic route, it ate up another precious TEN minutes. 

I knew I needed to fill the car with gas as I was almost empty, but as the minutes ticked away in the traffic clogged streets, I contemplated how much it would cost to drop the car at the rental with no gas. I was certain there was a gas station at the airport, but boy -- it was almost at the terminal and I was watching that clock. 

It was a full service gas station -- not sure why, but of course, when I drove up, I drove up on the wrong side, so I had to turn the car around so it could be filled. As it filled, I emptied my water bottles from the car, so I'd have one less thing to do at the airport. Then the attendant was talking to someone and I said - I do NOT have a lot of time, let's get this done. And soon I was on my way, but a few more precious moments were eaten away. 

Then I arrived at the car drop-off point. Of course, I had the company that was the LAST in the long line of cars. I misread the drop off line and got into the wrong line, so I had to get out of there and into the correct line and of course, I had to drop the car at the end of the line, which was the furthest from the airport. While the guy checked out the car, I had to walk all the way to the front of the line to get a luggage cart and then get those three, now extra heavy suitcases onto it. 

I pushed the cart to the front and OH GREAT - I have to take an elevator to get to the departures area. Once I was on the correct level, I practically ran with the cart because I was NOT in the airport, but still across the road where the rental cars are located. 

I found the Air Canada terminals just inside the door and all the while the minutes are ticking. I arrive and attempt to scan my passport, but it won't scan. Of course it won't!! So I moved to the next terminal and VOILA -- it scanned, so I got my three bag tags and I breathed a sigh of relief. I could have gone to the counter, but there was a few people waiting, so thank goodness we can do that ourselves. I'm getting good at putting the tags on and I went to the bag drop and there is nothing more exciting than see your bags get weighed, and scanned, and then go into the depths of the airport. 

Printing the bag tags

I now had ONE hour exactly before the plane was to leave. I went through security which was pretty empty and for some reason, my bag was flagged for a hand search. She found nothing in the bag and just opened my iPad and laptop. No idea why - there was nothing in it that would cause them to flag it. 

I stopped to pick up some food for the plane because there was NO time for lunch. WOW -- $15 for a sandwich. Airport prices are just insane. 

Insane prices at the airport

Then I arrived at the gate and got into the line and was on the plane. DH thinks that a perk is to have access to the lounge. Well, I NEVER have time to go to the lounge (or rarely) so that would NOT be a perk for me. 

No one was in the seat beside me and I didn't get an upgrade, so it was a very comfortable ride. I binge watched Season One of Modern Family all the way home except for an hour nap along the way. 

Binge watching Modern Family

It's become a standing joke as to how many escalators or people movers aren't working. This is the first time in a long time I have seen a people mover not working. But I don't use them, so I don't care. And you have to wait for your luggage on the other side, so it's not like one needs to be in a hurry. 

People mover not working

OH -- wait one more picture of the view from M's deck. We watched a freighter come in. It's a beautiful view and if I lived there, I'd have a sewing machine on that deck! And this is where the cruise ships pass. 

Freighter coming in

By the way --- the airline has technically changed their luggage drop-off cut off from 45 minutes to 60 minutes, so I need to adjust myself accordingly. I was aiming for the 60-minute, but had so many silly things happen. OH -- I forgot to mention that when I realized I was in the incorrect lane at the car drop-off and I went to get out of the car, my little purse was open and spilled all the contents on the ground. Of course that happened!!!

I noticed that the app still mentioned 45 minutes, so if the kiosk wouldn't take my bags, I could technically have argued my way through that. And DH sent me a text about timing, and he said I was cutting it close. Like I needed to be reminded of that! Was I getting anxious? I will admit that my heart was going pitter patter a wee bit faster than it usually does, especially as I got closer to the airport. 

So the lesson learned, and especially in Vancouver -- check the damn map so I can override the GPS, and leave a few minutes earlier!!!

DH picked me up at the airport which was a total zoo for pick-ups. I ended up walking to the end of the airport (international side). What I detest are those people that get to the curb in their car and sit there, waiting for their people. There is a CELL PHONE parking lot for you to wait until your people arrive. It's a huge issue and people just don't get it. 

I will say that Air Canada has stepped up their game. All flights were on time and we pushed back one or two minutes before we were supposed to!! 

The girls are happy and we're off for our morning walk. 

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!