Patio progress

 I seem to be taking my sweet time to unpack everything from the retreat. It's SUMMER, and I'm in summer mode -- slow, and I'm OK with that. 

They are making progress in leaps and bounds in the front yard, and the girls and I christened the patio last night. 

The new front patio

They still have some stuff to plant, but the three "big" trees are in. Let's not forget my little patch of grass has to go in. I don't want it; the landscaper does. I'll let him win, but then, I might ditch it -- I'll see how it goes. He is giving me a lesson on how to use my trimmer, and I see I'm also going to get new grass on the boulevard section as they ripped that out yesterday. 

The driveway crew did not return to finish placing the rebar in the boulevard section of the driveway, and I learned that they had set the neighbor's lawn on fire the day before when they were cutting the steel. Sigh! Thankfully, that neighbor (a young adult whose parents haven't been home since before the pandemic) won't notice or care. We have to tell him to cut the grass and that the pump for their backyard pond is running dry. Sigh!

The girls were totally confused last night when I took a chair out to the front and took them with me. "MOM -- we have LEASHES ON -- we should be going for a walk, not sitting here. This is BORING!" They did settle down, but there were too many new smells to really settle down.  

Why are we NOT walking? 

But I had some neighbors stop to chat, and that's the intention of the patio - get to know the neighbors better! It's already working, and we're not done yet! It did feel weird as the patio is a bit high, and you feel exposed, but I don't care! 

I have to laugh as my neighbor (where I'm parking my car and who loves to garden) is out there all the time, chatting to the guys. She would be there on her hands and knees if they let her!

My neighbor supervising the work

I think Lexi is missing her Dad. He's away for a couple of days, and she needs to feel connected, so as I'm eating lunch, she's lying on my foot. She really is a Daddy's girl!

Where's my Dad? I can't survive without him

Murphy, on the other hand, just wants to play ball. I think she will prefer the back to the front because she can play ball in the back and there are squirrels to chase and well, I might sneak to the front when I want to avoid her! Not that I would ever want to do that!

Let's play ball!

I snapped this photo when walking the girls yesterday -- how fortunate I am to have this beautiful green space so close to the house. I hope everyone is taking advantage of any green space near them. You would NOT believe the calmness that the forest exudes! I think there's a term called "forest bathing" and I have to say that it's fantastic! That forest was the deal clincher when we bought this house, and it's been a lifesaver! 

Forest bathing

I'm sure you don't remember, but a while back, I was looking for the quilt novels by Carol Dean Jones. I found this one at Quilt Canada, the first in the series (of twelve books). I'll have to read this and then be on the hunt for the remainder of the series. But if I don't like it, I don't need to. But sometimes, these light, fluffy books are a good diversion! 

Quilt novel - the first in the series

I got a bit more sewing done and one more customer quilt. 

Customer quilt - DONE

As mentioned, I'm in slow-motion mode. I have things to do but don't seem to be too motivated to make them happen. Hopefully, I can be a bit more productive today as there are some things I need to get packed up and done. And I have some computer work that I really want to finish, so LESS time reading and relaxing and a wee bit more time getting serious and being an adult! LOL! 

I would like to return to my decluttering, but I haven't made it there yet. There's still stuff to clean up in Studio B, and I want that to be my priority. There are tuffet kits to get ready to send and projects that need to be sorted and put away. 

OH -- here's something from the retreat to share with you. The sewing room on the back of the house has windows on three sides and backs onto a wooded area. One day, we spotted this little guy or girl. By the way, we were at Seams Appropriate near Huntsville. 

He was along the edge of the clearing and happily grazing on the grass. We were quiet and watched him flicking his tail to keep the bugs away. It was so cute because you saw the big patch of white under the tail. 

A fawn grazing t the edge of the clearing by the house

Then he heard us and popped up his head to look at us. "What is all that noise, and it is safe to check it out?" 

Who is there?

Then he bounded right into the clearing and very close to the house. He knew we were there and stood for quite a while, watching us as we watched him. 

Hey -- do you want to play with me? 

Then with a flick of his tail, he turned and bounded into the forest. So adorable!!! The following day, near the lake, I spotted a mommy deer and two babies. I wonder if this was one of the babies? It was so cute because he was intent on listening to what we said!!

That about wraps it up for me today! I'm off to spin class again! I like spin class, but there are days when I wish I could eat anything I wanted and didn't have to worry about taking the calories off! Once I get there, I'm good - sometimes, it's just the anticipation of getting there. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Google is everywhere

 

I had such a great day yesterday! I felt like I could tackle the world, and while I didn't solve any global issues, I accomplished loads! Had some great conversations with the Long Time Gone class, and well - it was a great day! Let's see what happened. 

Oh, first - I want to share some walking stuff. Here's the thing about the virtual challenges -- I'm learning TONS about the geography in the areas in which I walk. I'm currently walking the Appalachian Trail, which goes through the mountains along the eastern part of the United States. It's fascinating to see the terrain from the Google maps. You can't appreciate this from driving through the area, nor can you appreciate it from your regular maps. Have a look at what I mean. 

This is just the weirdest range of mountains/hills that I've ever seen. Look at how the river cuts right through the mountains. I don't think I've ever seen that before. Don't rivers usually follow the contours of the mountains? OK - so after looking at the maps again, I really want to walk part of this trail! 

Terrain in Pennsylvania

Let's have a look at a couple of the photos from Google. I've had to cross some major highways along the trail. And look - here's a pedestrian bridge over one of the highways. What you see in the pictures is just the luck of the draw, depending on where you are. And DO NOT forget to look backward - you never know what you're going to find. If you look closely at the bridge, it's marked Appalachian Trail!!

A pedestrian crosswalk for the Appalachian Trail

Now have a look at this next picture. Yes - that is a road, but it sure the heck looks like it's gravel and a small road right through the bush. It's MAPPED on Google. Go figure!! Goggle is EVERYWHERE. 

A gravel road through the forest mapped by Google

To contrast that, on my solo walk across Canada, I'm in the heart of Montreal!! Oh my - I miss that place! Lots of good memories from Montreal!

Google map image from Montreal

But lots of good memories here and well - I like where I now live better than where I last lived in Montreal, so I can't complain!!!

Now let's get into the quilting stuff. I'll do the show and tell for Long Time Gone tomorrow. We're going to have lots of show and tell this week. It's also UFO club day, and I've got the presentation together, and OH MY --- everyone has been busy as little beavers this month. We are all getting so much done - it'll knock your socks off. 

And I ALMOST added to it yesterday. Well, not the UFO, but the stash. I watched the NEW stuff that Sue has brought into Thimbles and Things, and OH MY - I want one of everything!!! I may go looking later today. The problem is that with limited supplies if you don't act fast - it's GONE! There is one book that I'd like to get. Actually, several books, so I might have a peek at that. 

Remember the other day, I was complaining that all my mini design boards were tied up. Well, I lied. For some reason, I thought they were all on the table filled with stuff to sew. Not so - there were two of them in their usual spot. Somehow I missed that! 

Empty mini-design boards

A couple of wildlife photos before we get into the quilting stuff. I didn't get a better shot of the heron as I just stood and watched it. Imagine that - actually watching something without viewing it through a phone screen!! They are such a majestic bird. I bet that devil was scouting the neighborhood. Trying to remember which houses have fish in the backyard! We haven't had them in our backyard for several years. Actually, it wouldn't hurt if they stopped by and picked off a couple of the SMALL fish, but I bet they'd go for the big ones! 

A heron

And I see the woodpeckers almost every morning. I got a nice close-up video one day. I should post it - they are fascinating to watch. Tap, tap, tap........  You can hear them all over the forest!

A Downey Woodpecker

And now onto the quilting stuff. This is why some of my stash buckets are overflowing. The other day, I was searching for some yellow fabric. Well, I found this HUGE whack of fabric in the stash basket. It's now measured and labeled. There were almost 9 yards of fabric there. That takes up a lot of room in a basket. I think that happened because I didn't have control over the larger yardage pieces designated for backings. 

Almost 9 yards of fabric

So this yellow piece got added to the stack of backings that are still looking for a home. There are currently six fabrics that need a spot on the shelf. So the moment I remove a piece of backing from the shelf, one of these will take its place. YES -- I'm not far from having all the backings on the shelf!! And each one is labeled with the yardage. It's so easy to find something that it's obscene, and why didn't I think about doing that years ago? 

Labeled backing fabrics

I was at the long arm for a good part of the day. Here's a customer quilt - DONE. It's not a big one, and I was on a roll. 

Customer quilt - DONE

Then I decided that I had better get a couple of the flannel quilts that Diane pieced. So I loaded the first one on the long arm, and it was soon done. They are about 40" by 44", so not huge. Diane has made the binding, so hopefully, I can get the binding on this one at Monday sewing. 

Community project quilt - DONE

But I wasn't done, and so I loaded another one. I LOVE my Quilt Path (the computer). It's been THREE years since I got that. Can you believe it? Absolutely worth every penny! Hands-free quilting, although it does require babysitting, so it doesn't do everything! I'm still the one in charge!

Hands-free quilting

And who could do those perfect circles by hand? 

The pattern on the long arm computer

This turned out amazing! I LOVE it, and I love seeing the fabrics in the quilt. Some of those are PJ pants, some fabrics came from old projects, and some came from Ronda. So thanks to everyone who made a contribution to getting these community projects done! 

Community projects quilt  - DONE

Look at those perfect circles!!!

Perfect circles

Once the binding is on this one as well, they are ready to donate to Project Linus. I need to try and get a few of these done every month, as well as a couple of Quilts of Valour quilts. I haven't yet cracked the plastic on those two rolls of batting that you all donated money towards. There are a LOT of community project quilts, and if I could get all that out of my house? Why - the studio would be empty. Kidding!!! 

I did a lot of piecing for the Long Time Gone project. Just wait until you see the homework. In the meantime, I got more of my Snail's Trails blocks done. Eight more to add to the stack!!! I believe there are now 27 of 48 done!!! Oh yes -- progress - slow and steady! Before I know it - I'll be done. Which is a good thing as I have a wee bit of homework to get caught up on Long Time Gone! That HAS to be done in the next two weeks!

More Snail's Trail blocks

In case you think I'm taking photos of the same blocks, here's what my design boards look like. I could almost consolidate them onto one board now!! Yipppeeeee!!!!! I wonder if I have the right number of pieces? 

The cut pieces for the Snail's Trail blocks

It's going to be a busy day today, with UFO Club, EQ8 Club, and a handwork session. I wonder if they'd notice if I sewed during handwork? Actually, I should dig out that quilt that I was hand binding and finish that. Still not done. I've been reading in the evening, and there's no time for handwork!!!

I"m not out of the woods yet with my low back and knee issues, but I swear I feel like a new person after all that massage this past week. I feel like I have a new knee!!! It's a miracle! And it's totally a muscle issue. Thank goodness for that. So keep up with those exercises!! It makes my daily walks so much more pleasant, and I'm averaging about 11.5 KM each day - almost totally pain-free. 

I swear, though, that EVERYONE needs to walk or ride a bike around a commercial area. You need to see what I see as a pedestrian. Yesterday some guy just blew past me as I was about to cross the exit from a grocery store. I was close enough that I banged on the back of his stopped car. He opened his window and yelled at me, and I yelled right back at him that he was an idiot and thanked him profusely for stopping! People in cars do NOT get it!! They feel it's their right to do what they want. It drives me crazy!! I know people are probably afraid to have me as a passenger in the car! I would be too!

I've learned that you trust NO ONE on the road, not cyclists, not pedestrians, not other cars. You must be on ALERT 100% of the time! OK -- BREATH  - BREATH  DEEP!!! 

And then you have Miss Lexi. She's just calm and collected all the time. OK - most of the time. She loves to sleep in her kennel, and as I was putting my shoes on for the afternoon walk, I looked up, and there she was, watching me! She doesn't move her head, but her eyes will follow you. It's kind of creepy!!! 

Lexi chilling in her kennel

Well, it's time to get the day started!!! Lots of stuff happening, and I'm happy to report that I won't be at the last minute prepping stuff for today!! It's all done. What has happened to me? Oh, don't worry - I have loads to do - I'm just trying to get ahead of the game. I do have homework notes to send out, and my goal is to get it done today!!!

I also need to get into my garage. I have two bike racks for sale, and I need to get the locks for both of them before they can go up on a website. There's a huge shortage, and well - I might as well sell what I'm not going to use. No hitch on my car - so no bike racks! If the bike doesn't fit in the car - then I'll just ride from home, which is what I'm mostly doing now. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

It's all about the Polar Bears

What a great day!!! I presented my session twice yesterday. We had loads of people in both sessions and that was very exciting. It's super fun to share samples with people, provide tips and also to showcase the incredible new sewing and embroidery machine - the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2, the Husqvarna Viking Amber Air S400 serger and the Husqvarna Viking Platinum Q165 quilting machine. I haven't had a chance to play with the Platinum Q165, but I can't say enough about the other two machines. So MUCH FUN!

And there's so much new technology integrated into the Designer EPIC 2 that - well, it just blows my mind. The improved apps, sending files wirelessly, the new embroidery design library - well, I could go on and on.

One of the presentations was in the morning and one was in the evening leaving a couple of hours in the afternoon with nothing to do. Christina, the shop owner, took me to the Polar Bear Habitat.  There are currently five polar bears at the habitat.  If you check out the website, they have live cameras in each of the three enclosures so if the polar bears are out, you can see them.

When we arrived, we saw two bears in one of the enclosures. Both of them were being pretty lazy and just hanging out doing nothing.

One of them was hanging out at the fence while the other was back near the trees. We went inside the building where you can view their swimming pool, but obviously, they weren't in the pool

The polar bears

Here's a picture of me all bundled up against the cold!  Notice my northern themed jacket! That fuzzy jacket is made from recycled pop bottles!

Me with the polar bears

I snapped this picture of the other polar bear from inside the building. All this guy would do is wiggle his butt and lift his head. His back legs were totally splayed out so he was lying right on his tummy. Murphy does that too!!!

Having a look around

Then the other one by the fence started to get frisky and was moving around, stretching out on his back, grabbing his back paw with his front paw. So darn cute! So we went back outside.

Having a good stretch

The size of their paws is unbelievable. They are huge!!!  And they are so huge and furry. They look cute and cuddly although that is hardly the case and much care is taken to prevent any mishaps.

Then the other bear finally got up and lumbered over to the bear by the fence. Next thing we knew, the two of them started rolling around on the ground and wrestling. It was so fun to watch. I have to say that they reminded me of Lexi and Murphy. They played exactly like those two silly girls of mine. Grabbing each other by the neck and snapping with their teeth but all the while knowing to play gently and not kill each other.

Polar bears playing

I think we were there for an hour and well worth the visit. This was my first time seeing polar bears in real life. Did you notice that they are far from being white? They are a definite cream color.

The polar bears are from other locations and have been orphaned or born in captivity. They can never go back to the wilderness.

I'll be sure to check out their activity later today.

Driving back to Timmins this morning for two more sessions and then flying home tomorrow. I need to get better at scheduling my flights. I could have flown home tonight, but originally I thought the timing was too tight. Now I realize I would have had enough time. But the cost to change is way too much for my liking so I'll get a hotel tonight (it's way cheaper than the cost of the flight change) and leave in the morning. Shoot - next time - do NOT be in a rush to book a trip. Think it through and then book.

It was almost 10 PM by the time I got to bed last night which is super late for me! But I had a great sleep and ready to hit the road soon.

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

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!

What's with the weather?

I feel compelled to chat about the weather this morning. For the last couple of days, the temperature in the house has been warm, not unbearable that we need the A/C on, but warm. This morning, I have a sweatshirt on!

But not only that, I was driving to work on Thursday morning. The sun is out and it looks like a beautiful day. I'm driving east more or less. The highway takes a turn to the north and IMMEDIATELY I remarked to myself -"who turned out the lights".  Literally in a span of a few seconds, we went from a sunny day to low fog. It was pretty weird as I hadn't noticed the fog ahead of me.

Yesterday I'm driving to work along the same stretch of road and it's raining quite heavily, yet to my right I can see the sun blazing.

It's very weird. The weather is very patchy and everyday is a new adventure. I'm sure that regardless of where you're reading this, that you're experiencing the same kind of bizarre weather that we're having here. The other thing I noticed that if we have thunderstomrs or hot weather, it's echoed right across the country. And there's nothing we can do about the weather which is a bit freaky.  But enough doom and gloom!

We had a visitor at work yesterday. One of the staff came in and said, there's a coyote across the street. No way!   Yep - a look out the window and there was the darn thing sitting by a tree waiting for a squirrel. The squirrel was freaking out. Of course we went out for better pictures and turns out - it was a fox. With it's big bushy tail which you couldn't see when he was sitting beside a different tree.   We are in an industrial park, but we're NOT in the country. We're not even in the outskirts.

Fox waiting for breakfast

 Eventually he went away and we went back to work.


I might as well get all the wildlife pictures out of my system today.  Here's one that I snapped on my way to work a couple of weeks ago.  It's hard to see, but there's a coyote just hanging around in the middle of the soccor field close to my house. It's about 6:30 AM.  It's probably safer to walk in the forest because they never seem to be in the forest these days.

Coyote hanging out in the soccor field

Guess what today is?  It's the first day of a long weekend and I have NOTHING to do. Well - I mean I have nowhere to go, no commitments, NO urgent quilt to be done (I mean like it has to be done on Tuesay). I've already been sewing away last night and this morning on the next quilt that is due.   At a very relaxed pace and it's quite enjoyable!

The task master has a list of things that it would like me to do and she and I have already talked and I think we're good!  The biggest problem is not trying to get everything done because it isn't going to happen!

I do have some paperwork that is sorely overdue and I need to get that done this weekend.

On that note, I'm off to enjoy the day!

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!!