Hidden spots for refined sugar

Here's hoping for a good start on the day! I have resent emails to the class groups for Show and Tell, 40 Shades of Grey, and My Kinda Town. I just sent them a few minutes ago. If you did NOT receive an email about one of those classes, and you have signed up, please let me know. And this will be the FINAL call for signing up! You can also forward the class link to a friend if you want, but I need to firm those lists up so I can move on to prepping the classes. 

The scrap quilt confirmation will be coming by tomorrow. 

I goofed in not searching my inbox for those emails I missed in my initial sorting process, and some people signed up for two or more classes in the same email, and it's kind of hard to put one email in two spots. But I believe all is good. 

Speaking of medications, what about supplements? I take a few of those, and I guess you could go crazy as you stand in the drug store scouring the shelves. I take a couple of gummies—I know—it's silly. But the other day we had a chat about gummies in our sewing group. 

Someone mentioned that the gummies are full of sugar, and one person, who takes a gummy, said she washes the sugar off, and then it's OK. Seriously? That is the most ridiculous thing I've heard. Some gummies come with sugar on them, while the others are just a gummy. I'm sorry - a gummy is a gummy, and it's loaded with sugar.

Here's the label on my Jamieson D3 (1000 UI). 

Notice that the FIRST TWO ingredients are sugar!!!! 

I went to the website to try to find the sugar content for the gummy. These ones, by the way, do not have a sugar coating. I found the answer in the Q&A because someone asked about the sugar content as they were diabetic. I find that kind of sad that someone had to ask instead of it being displayed on the website, or why not even on the label? 

The amount of sugar per gummy is 1.5 grams, which is just less than half a teaspoon. It's not a lot, but when combined with the rest of the food we eat in a day, this could add up. For someone wanting to eliminate refined sugar from their diet, getting rid of the gummies is probably a good idea. I'm going to use up what I have, and then I'll resort to a different format. 

 For my information, I'm also going to check the sugar content of the other two gummies I take. I know - I don't eat candy, but I'm happy to eat a gummy supplement. That's kind of silly if you ask me! 

Speaking of sugar, look at this!! I'm starting to hate those labels on food because everything I like has a label with high fat, sugar, or sodium! It's not that I won't eat those bran muffins because of the high sugar or sodium content, but it's the combined quantity we eat in a day! I might track my food intake for a week and see where I stand. I should really get my butt in gear and bake muffins. WAIT - I need to get that oven fixed first. Why can't they just bake muffins that are low in sugar and sodium? WAIT -- the consumer wouldn't buy it because it would taste like cardboard. There has to be a way. Hmmm --- when I get my oven back, perhaps I could experiment to find a solution I'd like that is lower in sugar and sodium. 

My bran muffins are high in sugar and sodium.

I must add that (getting the oven fixed) to my list! I found a clipboard yesterday and started a list, as many things are floating in my head, and I need to get on top of them. Adding the oven situation to the list is important. 

My clipboard with important papers! 

Speaking of candy, I don't buy candy, but when something comes into my house, I may or may not (most likely MAY!) eat it. 

I had ordered the new power cable for the camera switch box that I lost months ago. It arrived yesterday, and they included a sucker! Of course, I ate the sucker. 

A gift with my power cord

And then I tested the power cord. It works!!!! That's music to my ears. 

The power cord works!!

And now that power cord is included in my bag of cords and cables necessary to do a Facebook Live. 

The power cord is now in the bag with the rest of the cords and cables.

Even though I said I would not pick at the paper bits on Tequila Lime, I did! But no more - I'm done. Apparently the link to the quilting design didn't work yesterday, so here it is again, with a second one. I don't know if I can manage to figure out how to do that on the long arm, but it will be a good learning experience. These designs are digitized specifically for this quilt. 

Here's a picture of the first one. 

And here's the second one. 

And OH MY—there is a third option. 

I'll have a closer look at all three and then order one. I don't think any of these patterns include an extra border, so I may rethink my plan to add another border to the quilt. 

Although you can't really see it in this picture, the air was heavy yesterday. A lot of humidity - it was so thick, it was like a mist! And we had light rain for most of the day, so it was very humid. 

The air was so heavy, you could see the humidity.

And of course, our silly girl seems to like sleeping in the rain, so she was wet for most of the day. 

MOM - I also like being in Studio B with you!

I had to clean one of my sewing machines yesterday, so I dug out a new needle. AHA -- more Diane Phalen designs on some tins. The unlabelled one is my needles, and it goes in a specific spot, so no need to label that one. I checked - none of these are the same as the puzzle I just finished. 

More Diane Phalen quilt tins

And for those of you who think I need an intervention with jigsaw puzzles, think again. Look at this. This is TWO of six bookcases where this person stores their puzzles. Oh my!!!!!

And look at this!!! Someone posted this picture - they are at a Ravensburger store in Kiel, Germany! That would NOT be a good place to go. Who knew that puzzle companies actually had their own stores? Ravensburger is a high-end, amazing-quality, huge company that sells puzzles worldwide. Just checked the map - Kiel is a town in the northeast corner of Germany, with a population of about 250,000. Big enough for a Ravensburger puzzle store!  

Ravensburger store in Kiel, Germany

Ravensburger is a German company, and their puzzles are made in Germany and the Czech Republic, although they're widely available in many shops here in North America. Well, if you dig a bit deeper, the Ravensburger company is located in Ravensburg, Germany! AHA - I did not know that. 

While I was able to return the light and order the final electrical product we need, I didn't get much else done. No table assembly, nor the leader on the long arm. Hopefully today!

I'll leave you with these words of wisdom. 

This is so true, and after some of the recent world events, we are rich beyond our means just for having a roof over our heads and clean water to drink. The world can be a scary place these days and extremely volatile. We must never take anything for granted!!

OK—here's to hoping all the class emails went to the right people and we can get started sewing on our new projects shortly!! It's September -- where did the summer go? 

Have a wonderful day!!!

Ciao!!!

Much ado about sleep!

If this post doesn't make sense this morning - it's not my fault!!! As I sit here writing, I'm sandwiched between a Husky and a Retriever who are NOT very happy! They are literally glued to my legs. I'll tell you why in a second. 

I didn't make it outside for a walk before heading down to Quilty Pleasures, which was just a few blocks from the hotel. All was good. The people who attended the events went home with their brains overloaded, but they had the opportunity to ask tons of questions, and we had a great time with lots of laughs. 

And you have to love it when all the technology goes as planned, like the computer connecting directly to the TV for the presentation. The Singer Momento connected to the computer without issue, and it cut like a hot knife through butter! That's how everything is supposed to work, but you know me and technology - there are some days when technology doesn't work as it's supposed to. It was a great day! 

I had a look around the store between presentations and a few things found their way home with me --- YES -- including some fabric which I typically do not purchase. I haven't unpacked yet, so I'll share later. 

I met up with a friend for dinner - a simple affair at Tim's and we had a grand chat, and I decided to hit the road about 7 PM. It was a five-hour drive, which should get me home around midnight. 

The GPS took me on a bit of a tour through the countryside. I was listening intently to my audiobook and didn't pay attention to the road signs, and, well, I got myself back onto the 401, but not nearly as soon as I had planned. The GPS must have been looking for the shortest distance. I will say that when I went there, I had about 15 km left showing on the gas tank. this time? I had over 100 Km. Now, why is that? Oh --- speed plays a big factor! It wasn't a big deal, and despite driving some of the country roads, the time to get home was the same. 

You drive faster but cover more KMs, or drive slower and go as the crow flies! It was the same thing. All I can say is that at that time of night, there wasn't much traffic. I saw several signs indicating that ALL LANES were closed as I neared Toronto, so I took matters into my own hands and took the toll road to bypass the closures. I didn't want to get stuck in traffic. There was NO traffic on the toll highway. It was very weird. 

The trip home was pretty uneventful, except when I was on the phone chatting with M. I wasn't driving super fast, and I spotted a deer on the side of the road. YIKES!!! It wasn't going anywhere, but it scared me -- you hear so many stories of deer running out into the road. This one was smart! 

I stopped once and had a nap. Could I have made it home without? Maybe, but I wanted a washroom break anyway, and since I fell asleep right away until my 30-minute alarm woke me up, I think the nap was warranted. I had no need to get home by a certain time. 

I got home and unpacked the car, and all was good. As I neared my neighborhood, the book took an unexpected turn. So when I was thinking I could easily fall asleep when I get home, maybe that's not going to happen. I sat in the driveway and listened to the end of that chapter and decided I could finish the book this morning. 

I did read one chapter in my ebook before falling asleep. It was 1:30 PM. 

I had not looked at the weather, but woke up to find Murphy standing by the bed, and the lightning and thunder were wild. It was crazy, and it was raining like mad. She tried tucking her head between the bed and the nightstand. I don't know why she doesn't stay in the stairs room since it's probably the darkest place in the house. 

She doesn't like cuddling, and she no longer jumps on the bed. She just needed to be close. 

 The lightning lasted about 30 minutes. I heard Murphy go downstairs, then went back to sleep. That was about 3 AM. Phew!

I had barely fallen asleep when I heard her at the back door barking her head off! I came downstairs, but couldn't see a thing. I got her calmed down, showed her there was nothing outside, and went back to bed. That was about 3:30 AM. 

My alarm went off at 4:30 AM. I shut it off and went back to sleep. 

The second alarm went off at 5:00 AM. I shut it off and went back to sleep. 

At 6:00 AM, I heard Murphy back in the room, and the lightning and thunder were incredible. The entire sky was lit up from end to end, and the thunder was booming. At one point, you could feel the thunder. I know that sounds weird, but you could feel it. And it sounded like a torrential downpour. I finally got up at 6:30 so I could write the blog. 

In case you don't believe me about feeling the thunder, here's what AI has to say about that. 

And I'm going to go back to bed the second I publish this blog. Of course, that won't happen because the girls will want their walk, and then I'll go back to bed.

I spent the first part of the evening trying NOT to fall asleep and the second part trying to fall asleep, which wasn't a problem, but I couldn't stay asleep!

I have a lot of work to get done this week before we leave, and OH MY -- we leave on SUNDAY, not Monday, so I'm going to lose a day here! How the heck could I make that mistake when it's very clearly marked in my calendar! 

So we'll have a Virtual Retreat on Saturday night, and I'll be around for part of Sunday. I'll post the links later this week. I may just have the virtual retreat on Saturday night since I won't be around. Good grief—well, since I'm now losing a day, I'd better get myself organized, but not before I get more sleep! 

It's always interesting to walk around stores, and I didn't think I had ever been to Quilty Pleasures, but after being there, I have a distinct memory of my bicycle parked in front of the store. Hmmm --- I need to go back and find that. 

OMG --- as quick as that, I found it. August 13, 2014.   Amazing what information you can find on the blog. This was the second time I did a cross-Canada trip on my bicycle, except it wasn't really cross-Canada. I joined the tour in Tottenham, north of Toronto. 

I rode my bike to Quilty Pleasures in 2014

Shoot --- I should have checked the blog BEFORE I went to that store. I would have taken a picture of my car parked in the space to the left of the bike. That would have been hilarious!!!! 

OH -- it gets even better. I was at Quilty Pleasures on August 23, 2015. This time I had the car and the bike! It looks like I was riding the Waterfront Trail, but I'd have to figure out why I had the bike and the car. I think this year was the year of the Row by Row. I must find the license plate. 

I'm back at Quilty Pleasures.

Well, duh—I'm an idiot for not taking a picture of my car at the store yesterday, and who knew when I was there in 2014/15 that I'd be back 10+ years later for an SVP event!! I think that's hilarious! And I was going to take my row-by-row quilt with me. CRAP!!!!

I knew the store looked familiar when I arrived. 

I did find a pattern that might be interesting to teach in the fall. I need to put them all in one spot and start making some evaluations. 

As for the Christmas cactus? It was given to me with a bloom on it, and well, I'm not the best with plants. And the fact that I'm going away for two weeks - I don't give the plants much hope. Hey - it's already been sitting in the fridge, wrapped in soaking-wet paper towels for a week. Let's see -- it might be a Christmas miracle!!!

On that note, I'm a bit more awake, and I'll take the girls out for a walk since it's stopped raining, and then I can go back to bed. I need to get to work so I can put my headphones on and finish that book (1 hour 32 minutes). Where do women get such twisted tales? Even without the twist, this book (My Lovely Wife) is twisted! 

And maybe not -- it's raining again, and there is still lightning and thunder. Probably best to not walk in the forest, although the storm isn't as close. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Did you know this? Do you care?

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with the HST fetish! They are easy to make and reduce the amount of waste quilts produce. Did you know that textiles are among the largest items in landfills? I'm sure lots of that comes from fast fashion, but I bet quilting and cotton fabrics are right up there! 

PLUS --- these units are small and will not take up much room, so as we downsize, we can still sew lots without requiring a ton of fabric. You will always have enough fabric, and you'll never run out! I love the darn little things, and I'm excited to cut and trim them, especially now that I have a plan and am up to date on trimming. The sewing? I'm working on it, but there is absolutely no rush. 

The same goes for the hourglass blocks. Some of the half-square triangles are large. Much larger than I want to mess around with in my teeny half-square triangle quilts, so I make them into hourglass blocks, and as you saw yesterday, I can make some neat scrappy quilts from them. 

A couple more hourglass blocks

After the UFO Club in the morning, I managed to get some sewing done, and it looks amazing. I love how everything starts to come together as you near the end of a project, and it's lovely having plenty of time to make that happen. I have three projects I need to finish by this weekend, and I've got plenty of time to work on all three. 

By the way, here is something that we are all learning in the UFO Club. First, many of us are finishing projects that are decades old, and it feels good. But what is even more important is that people are learning to evaluate the worthiness of some of those projects. Why was it shelved as a UFO, and is it worth finishing? Lots of people are discovering this as we continue our journey, and I think it's a very valuable lesson. 

Today, I'm going to share something weird!! I had no clue until I started looking more closely, and Brenda actually brought it to my attention. Otherwise, I'd still be clueless! Thanks, Brenda!

Let's take a look at the green puzzle by Cobble Hill that I completed last week. 

My Cobble Hill Rainbow Collection - Green collage puzzle

Nice puzzle and loads of fun to put it together. As I've mentioned, there are SEVEN puzzles in the series, and you can check them out at this link. Puzzles Canada, by the way, is an amazing place to purchase puzzles. It is a warehouse-type store that is open to the public, and you could go mad trying to decide which puzzles to bring home. And they have them all (OK, not all), but from small to big—they have a huge variety. 

Anyway, in this Rainbow Collection series of puzzles, there are seven colors - pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. I see they have a 2000-piece puzzle in the same style with all seven colors mixed in. Hmmmmmm

I had fun doing the puzzle, and since it's a series, you know me - I want to do all the colors. I assumed they were separate puzzles, and I'd do one at a time and pass them along. 

BUT Brenda included this photo in her email. Obviously, she also liked and has done all the puzzles, and look what she sent me. She had carefully kept the puzzles intact and put them together when she was done. 

Brenda's THREE collage puzzles together

It's a little hard to see, but that is the purple puzzle on the left, the pink in the middle, and the red on the right!!!! And can you believe it, but the images run into each other!!!!!

The collage puzzles blend into each other!

The word DOMINOES at the bottom is partially on the pink and mostly on the red! I didn't know that!!

I emailed Brenda back, and she sent me this picture from the back of her puzzle box—not mine, as mine is an older version (square, not rectangular). 

A REAL long rainbow collage

See how they have all seven of the puzzles lined up!! Who knew?

To make things more interesting, Northcott launched a fabric line called Northcott Color Collage several years ago. It's gone from their website, so I have no idea, but I'm guessing it was 2018 or 2019? Yes - I had seen it and wanted it, but I had nothing to make with it, so I didn't bother buying any. Maybe I bought a piece of the orange, but I'd have to check my stash. 

Anyway, I decided to investigate further and OH MY GOSH --- they simply licensed these puzzle prints and put them on fabric!!!! 

The red puzzle box

This is a picture of the red fabric!!!!

The red fabric!

Let's go back to the green puzzle. 

Green puzzle

And here is the fabric with repeats. 

The green fabric with repeats

There is no mistaking that the print and the puzzles are the same design. I'm not always a fan of how fabric repeats are designed; they try to blend them seamlessly, but sometimes it looks really fake. Not just Northcott, but all design houses. I should explore that a bit more one other day to show you. Now I have to dig out my orange, if I have it, and check the repeats. Stay tuned!!!!

Did you know that? I did not!!!!

As for progress on the current puzzle? I pulled all the red/orange pieces from the design boards and sat there until I had found a home for them all. And they are roughly placed where they belong in the puzzle. I'm going to work on the yellow pieces next. There are going to be a whole lot of brown/wood-grain pieces at the end, but I'll work my way through this. I have ten evenings in which to finish it, which I should be able to. 

Progress on the tool puzzle

And just like that, it's the start of a new week, and I'm off to spin class. It's very warm this morning, and the bit of snow we got yesterday is gone. I sure hope that is the last of the snow, as I'm tired of walking on eggshells so I don't slip. I was walking Murphy yesterday on the grass, as I knew this particular patch of sidewalk (shaded by trees) had a layer of ice under the snow. At one point, I decided to gingerly step on the sidewalk, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground! DANG!!!!! Luckily, I fell back onto the grass and suffered no damage, but a slip can be very dangerous, and I do NOT need a broken limb. That makes two falls this winter and a couple of near misses. That's too many for me! My knee was a bit sore when I first fell, but thankfully, I could get up gracefully and walk the pain out. It was fine by the time I got home. 

But sometimes, when you fall, you just want to lie there, thinking, what an idiot! I knew there was ice, but I thought I was being careful. Perhaps Murphy pulled at that same moment. Things happen so fast, you don't really have time to react. However, my second thought was to get up—I don't need anyone stopping to ask if I'm OK. 

Have a super day, and I might have to go puzzle shopping! I won't, but it's tempting! 2000 pieces of rainbow collage!!!!! 

Ciao!!!!


PS — The Canada Post tracking system says my package is "in transit" with a delivery window of 3-7 business days! I'm beyond excited!!!! It's been a long time! Let's hope it actually comes through this time. 

The calm after the storm

It's 4:30 AM, and I see Brooke sent me a note last night (I was asleep) saying she is unwell. I'm up and dressed, so I'm going to the gym on my own this morning. Look at me - a gym geek!

Thanks to everyone who watched the presentation live yesterday! It means a lot to me for all your support and the feedback you gave. When I'm going to do something, I try to do it to the best of my ability. What's that quote? If you can't do it right the first time, you don't get a second chance? On something like this, there is no second chance!

I got a chuckle, and so will Murphy and Lexi, when one person said that I have no UMs and avoid unnecessary chatter. This is why I entertain Murphy and Lexi on the walks. I go over and over the darn presentation (as if I were presenting it), and I'm paying attention to what I say. I rarely say UM, and I think I've mostly eliminated that word from my vocabulary, but it is easily replaced by NOW, SO, AND, and probably one or two other words. 

By rehearsing it, I catch those words and try to correct myself BEFORE I do the presentation!

And as the clock was ticking down to 3:00 PM and I said "goodbye" to Aimee (the behind-the-scenes person), my mind went totally blank!! Yikes --- what am I supposed to say again? And then, because of the rehearsal, it all came back!

Thanks once again to everyone for watching. If you missed it or want to watch it again, here are the links. 

Youtube: 

Facebook:

While I love doing the presentation, I love the technology involved in making that happen. I decided to try adding a fourth camera to the mix using my iPad. It worked like a charm!!!

What I love is that I was able to manipulate the angles so you can see me and the embroidery machine, but you can't see the TWO cameras behind me. 

I'm hiding two cameras behind my back!

There was one camera on the needle and one on the screen (the iPad). I think I did a pretty good job of setting up! I have never tried using my iPad as a camera, but one of my colleagues has, and it was amazing. The only thing about an iPad is that it drains the battery faster than it can recharge, and as I was nearing the end, the battery was nearly depleted. No big deal—next time, I won't let it sit for so long BEFORE I start presenting. But for the hour and a half I'm online (30 minutes before the start time are just waiting and a last-minute check), the battery life is fine!

The two hidden cameras

I love doing these videos, whether it's been with Fons and Porter or on my own. But so much is happening BEHIND the cameras, and you don't get to see it! 

My mini film studio setup

Of course, I had help in the morning when I was running through the samples and getting them in the correct order. That is my small chair, by the way. I don't want my chair to be a distraction on the camera either, so I have this small one, and it works. I had plenty of room between the tables, so I stood up for some of the work, especially when working with the embroidery machine. I didn't want to bump the tripods, although I think I did right at the beginning. No big deal!!

My trusty helper

I started to pull things apart yesterday, but I will finish it this morning. Before I put things away, I'm going to bag the cables for each camera, put them in a labelled bag, then put that bag in a large bag, and put the large bag in the bin with all the other cables. That will make it that much easier to set up, as I have another session in September. Why waste time when I can put things away even more organized? And perhaps by then, I'll have found that missing power cord. If not, I'm making a note that the power cord for my Cricut works on the switchbox!!!

It will be so nice to take a break from machine embroidery for the rest of the week, although I have my UFO homework to do and I have some blog post writing to take care of! It will be calm and quiet! 

As I was leaving the house for spin class, I saw a big flash of light out the front door. What? I thought it was a car, but it didn't last. OH MY --- that was lightning, and the thunder wasn't far behind it. The dogs went out and did their business (on leashes), so we were quick. I got in the car and drove up to the lights to get onto the main street. If you arrive at those lights before 6 AM, they immediately go into the sequence to change. After 6 AM, you need to wait for however long it's programmed for. 

As I was approaching, there was a massive flash of light, followed immediately by thunder, and all four lights started flashing RED. WHOA!!! What just happened? I made it through the light and in the four KM to the gym, it started to rain and hail like mad. I mean, it was like a monsoon - the wind was blowing, and the hail was coming down so hard, I worried the car would be damaged. 

Then I got to the gym, and it's still crazy. Needless to say, I parked as close to the building as I could. I usually park far away and walk. Then the question was: do I wait it out or run? I ran and got thoroughly soaked in the one minute I was outside. 

This is the hail on the car's sunroof. 

Hail as seen through the sunroom

And this was the rain on the windshield as I waited in the parking lot. 

A monsoon

Thankfully, there are lots of towels in the gym, so I dried off as best I could and went to spin class. When I exited, it had stopped raining/hailing, but there was still ice on the ground. What a crazy day. 

While it was wet, that didn't deter a certain girl from enjoying the backyard. And seriously? That is a flower bed, not a bed for dogs. What a goofball!

MOM - -this spot is for me! 

I'm going to take turns tidying up and sewing today - I have a "few" things to do before UFO. Perhaps I bit off more than I could chew this month! Oh well -- I've made good progress, so I'm not worried. But there are a few more things I'd like to finish, and I now have THREE full days to dedicate to getting that done. It's going to be nice to be quiet. 

And I hope my tummy feels better today. Again, no need for the washroom, but just not feeling right. It wasn't the presentation, as I don't get nervous about that kind of thing. I ate some yesterday, but not like I usually do. I'm feeling pretty good this morning, but tentative about eating anything and getting it started again!

I have a question for you about air fryers. We have one temporarily in our house, and I have no desire for one to be here permanently. I think it's another fad like the Instant Pot (which we never got), but DH is so influenced by the gadgets that his guy friends have. It's been used three times since it was brought into the house, and every time, the SMELL has been horrific. The air fryer just intensifies the smell of grease from whatever is being cooked (meat), and I find it absolutely disgusting. Is that just me and my biased opinion, or is that true? 

On that note, I'd better get moving. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Signs of spring

Wow -- it's the start of another week. While I'm thoroughly enjoying each and every day, it just seems that Monday comes along very quickly!

We have no snow left. We had two days of temperatures in the low teens, and you could almost see the snow melt. It was crazy because I was thinking it was going to take forever for all this snow to melt, and then poof — it was gone. I did more cleaning up in the backyard and hope to finish this afternoon. Then we need a nice, gentle rain to clean things up. But WAIT-- we have snow in the forecast. But still, it'll be nice to get some of the backyard tasks done before we get more snow. It's not a lot and likely won't stick around. 

It's still muddy and wet, but there's no danger of falling on the sidewalks, although the well-trodden path in the forest is still slippery, so I continue to avoid that for a few more days or weeks. 

I even spotted new growth in someone's garden on our morning walk. 

Green shoots!!

And this opossum took it upon himself to walk down our street in the morning, which causes no end of excitement to Murphy. 

Opossum crossing the street

One more sign of spring - the first e-scooter of the season passed Murphy and me on our walk, and Murphy was beyond herself. She hates those things and would tear them apart if I let her. I keep a very tight grip on her when she spots one. And if someone comes from behind me and surprises us both, there is no telling what will happen, but god help the e-scooter driver! 

I'm not quite finished with the Smartphone Nation, but I've got enough information. The last chapter talks about regulation, defunding hate, harm, and disinformation. I'll read it this afternoon. 

My takeaways from yesterday's readings are that you should keep a phone journal for a day or two. Write down why you picked up your phone. What you eventually ended up doing on your phone. Did you actually do the thing you picked your phone up for? How long were you on your phone? And how did you feel when you were done? 

There is something called algorithm resistance (gaming the algorithm), which means you are working the algorithms to work for you, not against you. I'll see if I can dig up more information on that, but not this morning. 

Ensure your screen time is ACTIVE by spending time on education (including language learning, games, math tutorials or quizzes), creativity (making or reading), communication (keeping in touch with friends and family), and participation (searching or gaming). 

AVOID the passive activities of mindless scrolling. 

The bottom line in this is to be MINDFUL of why you are reaching for your phone. Were you bored, so you watched reels to entertain yourself? Were you going to do an active activity with your phone and then got sucked into social media? Like all aspects of life - be MINDFUL of what you do, don't let time just pass you by!

In addition to making samples for my upcoming Facebook Live, I finished the customer quilt. 

Customer Quilt - done

I've got some trimming to do later today. I also took an "emergency" trip to Fabricland yesterday. I was making samples for the Facebook Live, and as I made some, I started thinking about others I could make (typical), and I needed a few extra supplies. I arrived at 4:41, and they close at 5. I grabbed an employee I knew, and we got everything I needed. OH MY --- once you get outside the world of quilting cotton, there are so many exciting things in a fabric store! But I was mindful of what I bought, and less than $50 later, I was on my way home!

As a reward for the day's activities, I worked on the jigsaw puzzle. I'm loving working on it this way!! I have all the pieces of the puzzle laid out on those boards, which I could never do using the trays. I started by working on the circles. 

Progress on the 1000-piece green puzzle

Now all the pieces fit on one board, and I scour it for specific pieces. Then I grab those pieces, bring them to the puzzle, and see if I can find a home for them. When I find the home for all, then I go back to the pieces board and look for more distinctive pieces. It is working just fine. But I doubt that method will work for all puzzles. There are so many things in this one, and I spend a LOT of time looking at the picture to figure out where some of them are. I know there are different colors in other puzzles. I think I have the orange one. I might just have to find all the other colors, since I really like this puzzle style. i think my friend has the red one! 

Just like that -- I found that there are SEVEN puzzles in this series. I want/need to do them all. They are a lot of fun!

I'm having great fun, and it's a great way to leave that phone alone. Not that I'm on my phone a lot, and I'm much more conscientious of it after reading that book. 

I have to investigate a bit more about changing the algorithms, but I'm in pretty good shape, so I'm not really worried. But being mindful about everything you do is so important. It's easy to slip into a rut and just get caught up, but then I don't get to do the things I REALLY want to spend my time on, and that makes me feel bad, so I try to be as mindful as I can. 

As I was sitting by the embroidery machine making samples, a book on the bottom shelf caught my eye. Actually, the coil-bound spine did. I pulled the book out to find a book of quotes I had purchased a long time ago. I really have some great books, and sadly, one day, I will need to start culling them. 

I found an entire category of quotes dealing with "to-do" lists. I got a chuckle and then started reading them. OH MY!!!! These are amazing quotes. 

Here is one:

"Every person you meet knows something you don't: Learn from them." H. Jackson Brown

So true—do not be afraid to ask others questions, and stop talking about yourself unless you are asked. And then we want to acknowledge your woes or your family, but do NOT belabor the point unless it's a close friend. Share your KNOWLEDGE. 

WOW --- I think I'm going to have to keep this book out as there are so many good quotes. The book is called "Quote" Unquote - Volume 2: Inspirational Quotes for Meaningful Moments. It was a book meant for scrapbooking, but it can be used in daily life. 

OH MY—time is running out, and I need to get to the gym!! Still not putting full pressure on the bike, but slowly increasing the intensity. Keeping an eye on my knee -- I have good days and bad. 

Have a super day and be MINDFUL - whatever you do, do it mindfully!!!

Ciao!!!

Here is the link to the Facebook Live on Wednesday, as I always have trouble finding these links. Once the session starts, select the ONLINE button to get in. I'll post this link every day for the next two days so you can easily find it. I think that is the correct button. I think the other button works once the video has been saved. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/3548708531933619

Is your smartphone a slot machine?

Taking my computer out of sleep mode was a good thing. Before I knew it, the syncing had finished, and my folders in the Classic Version of Outlook now have email in them!!! I must get busy and start deleting and resorting what's in there. I don't want to have to go through that again. 

And the program is no longer frozen. It wouldn't allow me to do anything while the syncing process was happening, so that is one positive thing that happened!!!

I went to the post office to check on my missing parcel, and they couldn't find the number in their tracking system. I knew that since I had also tried. But I did learn something - there is a GLOBAL tracking system, and it will track parcels coming from other countries, which happens a lot these days. It contains the same information as the one the company gave me. It seems that the package was delivered on February 7. 

The tracking history of my missing package

The information looks very sketchy and not detailed at all. You would think that when it hit Canada Post, it would say so. And it keeps saying France, not Canada. It started in France, and it should end up in Canada. I called the number the post office person gave me, but when I listened to the messages, it basically said the tracking number I was looking for wasn't found, and there were five reasons why. If the computer can't find it, I doubt a person will. I sent a note back to the original company to ask what the next steps are—do I reorder? Will they give me the new ones at the same price as the old ones? 

I am NOT good with follow-up, and here I am with multiple situations that require constant follow-up. Sigh............ I still have a couple of other things (as mentioned yesterday) that I need to find solutions to, but I dare not overstretch my time on follow-up. I need to wait for a resolution to at least one issue before I can move on. 

I did not take the girls for a walk in the morning. It was hovering around freezing, and the sidewalks and the streets - at least my street was covered in ice. I was not taking chances, so they were not happy, but I walked them in the afternoon. 

It was a very weird day because it was very foggy. This was on the way to the mall, and the mall is very visible from this distance, but yesterday? You could see nothing! It's very foggy again today and is supposed to hit a high of 15 by this afternoon, but it's cloudy! 

The mall is just a short distance away and lost in the fog.

 

It's amazing how many little errands one has in a day. I had some old eyeglasses that I rounded up and dropped off at a drop-off in the mall while I went to the post office, which is also in the mall. I learned that, yes, the little post office near me is closed permanently! 

I managed to empty a few more folders. I would love to clear up all the folders that are sitting in three piles on the floor so I can find some new paper to throw away. Can you believe I still have this brochure from the very first quilter's retreat house I went to in 2006? Quilter's Mis Bee Haven --- how many of you remember that place? It was small compared to some of the houses we go to now, but so many memories!!! This brochure is now in the recycling bin.

Brochure from Quilter's Mis Bee Haven

I found receipts from years ago, and can you tell me why I kept a receipt from Gymboree to buy clothes? By the way -- it's dated November 9 or September 11, 1996. Good grief --- I am my own worst enemy in this decluttering thing. I allowed this to happen. 

A thirty-year-old receipt!

But there is no time to beat myself up -- I can do the happy dance, realizing that I've made the decision to get this mess cleaned up, and the more I do, the easier it becomes. I will get it done. 

Speaking of decluttering, you know that one technique the professional organizers use is to grab something and ask you if you really need it? They ask questions like, "Why are you keeping this? What will you do with it?", etc. I once hired a professional organizer, and we did some of that. Still, obviously not nearly enough, because I didn't learn from it, and she developed this filing system for me that was totally useless. I think that was the case because I didn't know what I wanted and couldn't communicate it to her. 

Anyway, as I was reading Smartphone Nation yesterday, something similar came up. I think it's common knowledge that most of what comes through on social media these days is questionable content, since people and companies are just in it to earn money and don't care about the messages we get. We are targeted with all kinds of stuff, and we continue to seek out NEW experiences on our phones. The author equates the addiction to scrolling or refreshing to see what just came in with a SLOT MACHINE in a casino. 

While I totally see the comparisons, I had never thought of it that way. But yes -- those that scroll have a one-armed bandit in front of them called a smartphone. And they don't even know it! It's passive behavior and extremely scary. 

OK -- so here's the deal. Just like you declutter your house and we all need someone to hold out the things we want to keep, what if you scrolled through your phone with someone at your side to see what you are looking at? Would you be embarrassed/upset if someone saw what you are looking at? What if it was your grandchild watching you, your children, your partner, a total stranger? That's a bit mind-blowing, but imagine! What would they say? What do the things you look at say about you? 

The premise of that in the book was more for you, as a parent, to sit with your child, once a week, and see what they are scrolling through -- you'd have to start at an early age and then ask questions --- why do you watch these posts, what makes you feel good or bad about them. Too much content directed at children is extremely damaging, involving suicide, hate, bullying, sex, and violence. That's very scary!!! 

I'm afraid that if someone sat down to watch my weekly scrolling, they would be bored before it even started. I follow Max, the 10-year-old fashion prodigy; a farmer who talks about sprayer equipment (I have no idea why that one, but it's interesting); a couple from Wales renovating an old house; and the young couple from Vancouver who are rebuilding their house. I don't watch anyone else, and after this book, I do NOT stop on reels. I'm cured. I take a quick swipe up to see if any family members have posted something, and I'm done! I check in on Facebook and IG about three times a day. In total, I might be on there for 10 minutes all day! I may not check my phone for messages until 9 or 10 AM. 

I'm also not a good candidate for watching anything on a screen. It's taken me an entire week to finish watching two 60-minute educational videos. My time is precious to me, and I'm not wasting it on some addiction to a screen where people are making money off of my time. 

I'm sure there will be more to share as I still have 130 pages or so to finish the book. 

I managed to get some machine embroidery done. I finished the two mug rugs - my plan was to only make one, but I ended up making two. Solidified the learning that way!

Two machine embroidered mug rugs

I now have a very thorough understanding of this process and why it went wonky the first time I made one. I can also remove this from the Visual To-Do list!! The picture is now in the little pouch on the Visual To-Do list. I messed up a bit on the first one and had to put a binding on in sewing mode, and then I got messed up even further by sewing it to the front, requiring me to hand-stitch the binding in place. That's how I managed to finish watching one of the videos. The other video got watched because I wasn't walking the dogs. 

Then I moved on to another machine embroidery project, which I completed as well. I also did some more stitching for my upcoming Facebook Live, and I really need to focus on making a few more samples for that. 

Another machine embroidery project

I got a customer quilt done. The quilt was beautiful to quilt, but it seemed to take forever as the pattern was quite busy. But it's done, and I have an even larger one to put on the machine and get finished by Monday. 

Customer quilt - done!

Of course, the girls had to entertain me while I was eating. 

MOM - are you watching us?

And while we always think that Murphy is the bully, she is not the instigator of these play fights. Yes -- it's that sweet girl Lexi. She wants to play, but only on her terms, and I think Murphy goes down on the floor to make Lexi happy! They are a funny pair to watch. 

Well, I didn't sleep well and thus slept in, so now I must run or my day will be totally off. 

Have a super day!!!  (happy scrolling!!!!)

Ciao!!!

How well do you know your neighbors?

Wow -- it was so warm yesterday (plus 2) —it was obscene! We had a little bit of snow in the night, so I got that shoveled when I got back from walking the girls. 

So here's a question for you—how well do you know your neighbors? I'm pretty observant, and because I walk daily, I get to see things as they change. Like the neighbor who is now retired because they shovel their own snow rather than have a truck come and do it. 

However, I am not as good as I think I am!! There is one house on our street that has been vacant for several years. A shame, but that's the way it is. The owners had rented out the house, and that was a disaster; much of it had to be redone. The place was painted, and they are currently putting in new floors. I'm not sure what else was done - I never saw the inside. 

So that driveway isn't being shoveled, nor the sidewalk plowed, but with the new sidewalk plow, that's not an issue. 

However, there is another house on our street that is not very good at keeping its property tidy in the wintertime. I mentioned yesterday that there was a plow in there the other night. Was it the city or was it private? That homeowner was outside yesterday while I was shoveling, so I stopped to say hello!! I figured they were away for several months in winter, as many people do. 

OMG -- you will not believe this, but it was the city that plowed his driveway. That was NOT the shocking part of our conversation. He said, "You know, we don't live in the house." WHAT? Yep - they live in BC and come home occasionally because their three kids live in towns nearby. OH - when did you move? I asked. I almost fell over when he said 2017!!!! 

It's hilarious because we saw them frequently enough to believe they lived in the house, but they were only visiting! HOLY!!!!! The blinds are always down in the room over the garage, with several cameras installed, just as they are in our room over the garage. Because of the curve in the street and the house's design, the front door and living room window are not readily visible. 

In case you are wondering why I keep those blinds closed— it's very cold in that room, and my baffle blinds are meant to help keep the heat in, and I don't want the sun damaging the MANY quilts hanging out in that room. 

I had a good laugh. Anyway, Steve is thoroughly enjoying the beautiful weather in their "new" home, which I have visited before - the city, not their home. He fishes every day and asked if I would like some salmon. YES please. So later, he brought over some salmon, and I have a new friend who doesn't even live on our street!!!

What a hoot!!!

I also chatted with another neighbor about cycling - he's an avid cyclist and has offered for me to cycle with him and his group in the spring. I don't think I'm ready for that. I need to go out on my own a few times. Anyway, I asked him if any of his friends wanted an indoor trainer. I have one that I need to get rid of. Does anyone close to me know of someone who wants an indoor trainer for their bike? The person he thought of doesn't have room. 

And so I have new phone contacts with my neighbors!! That's what happens when the weather is warm!

Another silly thing that happened when I went to the bank. I had three things that needed to be done, and I was halfway there, when I realized I left my bank card at the house. DRAT!!!! They are NOT going to let me do what I needed to do without a bank card, so I had to walk back. Thank goodness it was a warm day!

I need to be on my toes for the recycling pickup. We have a new company picking it up, and WHOA!!!! They came much earlier than the previous company. Thankfully, our recycling was already out! Oh yes—remember the issue two weeks ago. They didn't pick up on the right day, and I had to run to get the cart out in time. Now they pick up earlier in the day. Hopefully, all will be worked out in the next couple of weeks. 

The new recycling company

By the way, the street looks less snowy this morning because of the warm weather, and in just ONE day!

I also stopped at the thrift store since it was Senior's Day. Oh boy -- the craft books have been relegated to the bottom shelf. And it was mostly puzzle books. Why don't they have a separate section for puzzle books and one for crafts? Anyway -- I didn't find anything exciting, but I managed to snag some yarn (I know!) and a couple of jigsaw puzzles. Sigh...................

The craft books are on the bottom shelf.

Before I had left, I had the embroidery machine all set up and ready to go. I went for my walk, came back, and pressed Start. Since I had to use a very large hoop, I ensured my chair was well out of the way. I'm happy with the results, though two things kept it from being perfect. One thing was a small error on my part, but it's a good lesson I'll share with my embroidery group. The other was a piecing error that would have been hard to fix. But if you look at it, you may or may not notice. Perhaps only the most observant would, and since that's no longer me - I'm OK with it!!! 

Lots of room for the embroidery hoop

I still have several UFOs to work on before our session this coming Sunday, so I madly pulled out some fabric and started cutting. I will have to put my scrappy half-square triangles on hold, because I now have to make a TON of them for this project. I don't think I'll get it finished for Sunday, but at least I'm making a huge effort, and that is all that counts. Let's just say that my motivation was because I put this project on the UFO list. If it were left up to me, the fabric would still be in the stash room! Making commitments and putting them on a list rule. It's how I roll. So that's how I will continue to work. 

Using the projection system on the PFAFF creative icon 2 makes sewing the half-square triangles a breeze. No marking lines!!!! 

Using the projection system to sew half-square triangles

And I have one small section done. It took me forever in EQ8 to design that block the correct way, but I needed to do that so I would know how many squares of each color to cut. The worst part is over, I think, and I can sit and sew some of those units each day. 

Making blocks from half-square triangles

Oh -- as for the progress on the Cherrywood Challenge, I finished all the machine embroidery, so that was good. Today, it's some hand stitching, and then I start the quilting. I'm on track and giving myself three days to do the quilting, since it will be a mix of hand and machine quilting. Then trim and bind and take pictures! While I'm at spin class this morning, I'll work out the logistics of the stitching. 

Last night, as I settled into my chair to read, look what happened. I was having some yogurt as a snack, and there was one yogurt container and two dogs. Do you think they are trying to tell me something? 

MOM -- Can I lick the container? It's for ME!!!!!

When they realized there was nothing for them, they decided to "fight" each other. 

MOM - SHE ruins everything!!!

And now that I've moved the large quilt back onto the living room floor, Lexi has claimed it as a sleeping place, a place she's used for years before I moved the quilt. I don't even remember why I moved it into the family room. But last night, Lexi got up for something, and guess who just plunked herself down? Lexi was beside herself, and I had to get up to shoo Murphy away. Those two are like toddlers whenever I try to get myself organized to read in the evening. It takes a long time for everyone to get settled, and then I can have some peace and quiet. 

But you can't deny that they are a hoot to watch. 

Well, I'm off to spin class today. I debated going because my knee was so sore yesterday. I think it was the worst it's ever been. Stiff and quite painful, but it seems to be OK today. Perhaps I'll take it easy! And I can't wait to get outside and see if the car's windshield needs scraping. That's a good warmup before going to the gym - it sure gets my blood going. And that is a story for another day!!!

OH MY GOSH -- I just checked my messages, and I got one from M. Wait until you see what she has asked me to do for the wedding. ACK!!!!!!

And on that note, I'm out of here!!!

Have a super day!!!!