Tell the truth - the whole truth!

I'm surprised at how "quickly" this basket of green scraps is disappearing. Wow—who knew that it could happen so quickly once I put my mind to it? It has taken eight years to get to this point. Well, maybe not eight, but I started the project eight years ago, and the water incident was about six, so it's been a long time. It feels good to get this cleaned up!

The basket is almost empty

At one point as I was picking out the pieces, the bottom actually peaked through the scraps. I confess before I take each picture, I tamp down the scraps so they are packed tight. It makes it look like there are fewer scraps! What a NUT I am!

I can see the bottom!

I don't know if I can finish it today, but I should be able to by tomorrow. Then, since I have MANY episodes of The Quilt Show to watch, I might as well start with this basket or pick another and start getting rid of the too-small pieces. My plan of saving anything that I can cut a 1½" square or logs or half of a 1½" HST is a good one. I'm sure I can go through all the baskets and get rid of some crap. 

Here's a link to a blog (thanks, Elle) for a project you can make with your 1½" logs. I'm not sure that's where I'm going to go, I have a couple of other plans in mind. I've been having trouble embedding links lately, so you'll have to copy and paste. 

https://lazygalquilting.blogspot.com/2011/08/lego-tutorial.html

Here's why most of us do not need to buy more fabric. I needed some backing fabric for a small project, so I went through my stash to find something appropriate and came across this. 

The price tag is still intact

So, I want you all to tell the truth—the whole truth! How many of you have fabric in your stash that's been untouched and still has the price tag from stores that have been CLOSED for many years? By many, I mean at least ten years! 

While this fabric is perfect for the backing of my project, many others would have worked. The basket of purple from which this came is still piled high with other fabrics purchased years ago. I NEEDED those fabrics, and yet, there they sit - untouched. 

Not to be a nag and not to spoil the fun of shopping, but we really need to give this some serious thought. I know there are oodles of memes and cute cartoons about our fabric shopping habits. They are NOT cute and funny! They are the sign of a serious shopping habit. I also think they are sad in a way because it shows that "things" are more important than the relationships that develop because of quilting. It's also a "clever" way to disguise serious shopping habits. 

Not to poo-poo shopping - trust me, I did my fair share, but how much of that was guilt shopping, FOMO, or showing off that I could spend that kind of money. If I removed all the fabric purchased for those reasons, I probably wouldn't have a lot left! 

Oh, speaking of FOMO, the girls on that 90-minute video, which I'll never get back, referred to FOMO multiple times. Did you know that companies are marketing FOMO as a reason to buy? You will NOT miss anything important if you don't belong to the same club or buy the same fabric or the same project as your friend. Be strong—be an individual—and do what you WANT to do!!! Understand the marketing behind any company. They are pulling on your heartstrings every time they put an ad together. 

Oh boy -- did we see that coming? 

The girls have been a tad excited the last couple of mornings. There is a rabbit under the deck and they are going mad. 

Lexi was whining like mad yesterday, but I found her like this when I went out there. That's not the "I'm almost at the rabbit but can't quite get him" pose. I have no idea what her problem was. And NO, she's not stuck! She might look the same size as Murphy, but she's all hair! She's a little Houdini!

MOM -- I'm OK!

Murphy, on the other hand, was running around and around like an idiot, as per usual. But at one point, I found her under the deck. 

MOM -- I need a moment to flatten my body so I can get out!

We contemplated closing off the skirting on the deck, but I said NO. Now I regret that decision. 

Then we went for a walk, and Murphy was already hot from running around the deck, so when we spotted a sprinkler, she was right there getting a drink of water. When she's really thirsty, she has to lie down, so she also got a bath. 

Mom - can we get a sprinkler?

Lexi, on the other hand, is a peaceful dog who likes to walk amongst the flowers to chill. They are so different that it's hilarious. 

Mom - are these flowers for me?

The next round of flowers is popping up. This is my Rose of Sharon bush, and it's covered with buds. This is the first bloom. 

Beautiful flowers

The hostas and lilies are also starting to bloom, but I forgot those pictures. Oh shoot—I also forgot to tell you what was in the seven "hidden" drawers in someone's living room. I'm on my way to spin class and don't have time, so those must be done tomorrow. I made myself a note so I won't forget. 

I made good progress on my projects for the blog posts, but I'm slow. At one point, I was sitting at the sewing machine and working like mad, watching the embroidery machine crank out something, and I was finished way before I was!!

Embroidery machine hard at work while I sew

But I'm ready to start writing once we finish our Monday Sewing. I mapped out the next projects while on my afternoon walk, and hopefully, I can get it all done this week. NO—I need to get it all done this week. 

I sat in the gazebo for a bit until the breeze disappeared, and then it was too hot. At one point, I spotted Murphy staring out the back fence. What a goof!!

MOM -- there's something interesting on the back fence channel

Well, it's time to get moving! There's lots to do and no time to waste!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Christmas in July

Thanks for the comments! Yes --- other crazy people like me love scraps. Most people love scraps to some degree, but the definition of scraps to some people kills me. It still blows my mind, and let's face it, people have no patience, so they toss what they don't want. NO - give it to us scrap users! There's a good story coming about some scraps. I got a note yesterday, and I'm unsure how to respond. I must look at that later today. And then I can tell you the story!

It makes me laugh, but as I press those green scraps, I contemplate what to do with them. The thing is, I have no more room for another scrap box. That means something has to be done to eliminate one of the boxes. As I'm thinking. I have several boxes of green scraps, and let's face it, some of the scraps are really too small to keep. 

I might start again in the green boxes or pick a different color and start cutting. I will NEVER cut everything into a precut size, but I need some 1½" squares for a project. If I can't cut a 1½/" square or make a 1½" HST from it, it's garbage and will go into a pet mat. I need to have rules, and I think anything smaller than that borders on insanity, and I can't keep everything. 

I'm unsure how much that would free up in a box, but I must start somewhere. I could continue to watch The Quilt Show while I sort and cut. 

I'm still working on this scrap basket, but I'm making excellent progress. I'm practically giddy with excitement. 

The current state of the green scraps

I'll continue my quest to finish this, and then I'll find another tedious job that is sped along with Ricki and Alex! I get a chuckle as I watch some of the techniques that are shown. I also learned the story behind the BEST QUILT BOOK ever—Quilts! Quilts! Quilts! by Laura Nownes and Diana McClun. This was THE book to read when I learned to quilt, and it's probably still one of the best. I think I gave my copy away. 

I was all prepped for my Zoom, and I think the shop forgot to send the link. Hmmm—no worries. I knew they were busy with another in-store event at the same time, so I didn't bother them. I'll send an email today. I'm a bit disappointed as I had to get set up—it wasn't just turning on the computer. 

Getting set up for a Zoom call

And then I lost 1½ hours of my day. I got an email the other day about an online birthday bash from an embroidery company. Oh - that sounds like fun, but I didn't sign up. Then I got another email yesterday morning, so I signed up. I mean -- I had heard great things about this company, so why not check it out. 

Well, it was a blatant infomercial for 90 minutes. They were tooting their two clubs - one was free, which I'm signed up for but have never downloaded any designs, and the second one is $300 a year. What if I want to buy a design? I don't see where I can just buy them. I must look into it more. 

Infomercial

I totally lied. YES, you can buy all their designs on a different web page. OH --- now I have some decisions to make. I love some of their stuff, but I can't make anything and use it as a sample because we need to show our samples, so if I make something, it's for me. But some of them are super cute and very unique. OK, I might cave and just have fun with one of them. 

Anyway, after they did a big infomercial on their clubs, they proceeded to have the SLOWEST countdown to prizes I've ever seen. I have no idea why I continued to watch. I guess I was hoping for something, but that something never came. There were 1000 people watching online and others on YouTube. Good grief—how much of everyone's time got wasted? 

And the groupies!! The comment pages flew past so fast that I could barely read them. Why do people do that? I guess the presenters keep the comments and read them afterward, but if you don't have anything to say, why bother? 

I was bitter about that for a couple of hours afterward! But I have no one to blame but myself for continuing to watch. I couldn't log in on my laptop, so I was stuck in front of the desktop!

I got another quilt done. I hope this one is large enough for Quilts of Valour. I made it years ago and certainly do not need another blue-and-white quilt. So it'll get donated once I get the binding on, which I hope to catch up on this week. 

Community projects quilt - DONE

The backing is on the long arm for the next one, which is small, but I have to do something to the top before I proceed. 

I made good progress on some samples and learned so much in the process. Now, it's what I do with that knowledge that the fun comes in. I don't know why people are so afraid to make samples—and by that, I mean stitch-outs. Learn what your sewing machine can do—try some of those decorative stitches or a new presser foot. Wait until you see what I am doing! 

A play date with a sewing machine

One thing that I love is that thread box on the table. I'll take a better picture of it, but it's the best thing ever!!!

I walked to the library and got that book, which was easy to spot on the shelf. My account is just fine until July 25, when I have some books due that CANNOT be renewed, so I best deal with them now. 

We had heavy rain at one point in the morning, but it eventually cleared up, and then we had angry skies for most of the afternoon. 

Stormy skies

OK—I did something last night that I haven't done in a long time. Just before getting into bed, I glanced at my Fitbit. Oh my, I was short of 20,000 by 100 steps. So I had to walk down to Studio B to check something and then back up, and that almost killed the 100 steps. A quick trip to Studio U, and I was good! How silly is that? 

20,000 steps

I also noted on my walk that the sign for what is coming to that store is now posted, although I have known for a while since they had the name on some paper covering the windows. This would be super convenient, but I'll keep my gym. This will replace the Women's Only upstairs in the same location. 

A new gym in town

I was back in the garden last night, and I've placed almost half of the bags of mulch. 

The garden is coming along nicely

Right behind the tree to the right of the photo is a raised bed of lilies. It's extremely challenging to weed because the pond is on one side, a tree in front, and you are reaching DOWN from the back. I'm sure the sight wasn't pretty as I balanced on a rock by the pond, trying to get all the creeping vines out of that spot. I did pretty well but knew that a slip would have me going for a swim! But it was the best spot. I got it all cleaned up just as my calf was starting to cramp! 

I'll tackle a bit more tonight and definitely will go back for more mulch. The gardener guy is coming on Wednesday and will be surprised at what I've done. There won't be much for weeds. He can do the trimming and the tidying up! It really is a mostly maintenance-free backyard, and I LOVE it. 

The girls were very sucky in the morning. There must have been a storm brewing, and they were sticking close because they were scared. Or perhaps they were protecting me! Oh, they say, protecting me. Of course, girls! 

MOM -- we're protecting you!

And well, it was Christmas in July! We finished the Exit Game Advent Calendar, so Christmas really happened. The end got a bit weird, as we found the hidden door for Day 24 on Day 23—totally by accident. But that's what happens when you take an Exacto knife to your game box! 





And by the time we were done, the entire game was toast! They say it's a one-time play, and they weren't kidding! 

What's left of the EXIT Game Advent Calendar

I need to remove the non-paper stuff, and then it can be recycled. I think we paid $45 for the game? And it has taken us three months to complete. As far as I'm concerned, these are the BEST values for your dollar entertainment. However, you MUST love puzzles. If puzzles and logic are not your thing, then this is NOT the type of thing for you. 

In total, we had to look at the clues for four of the 24 puzzles. The clues are written in three levels for each day. We usually got the first level but didn't know where to go from there. We only went to the end of the three clues once, and we still weren't sure of the logic. I think we worked extremely well as a team—I know I could not have done it on my own. 

I have one more advent calendar but from a different company. We're going to take the summer off, as both of us are out and about for a good part of it. Once we're back, I'll dig it out, and we'll have until December 1 to finish it because, come December 1, we'll be working on the NEW EXIT Game Advent Calendar. 

I've been having some challenges with my noise-canceling headphones. They will turn off for no reason and then automatically turn back on. I meant to contact support, but I didn't. Then yesterday, they wouldn't turn on at all, even though they had half a charge. So, I tracked down the support page. I LOVE (not!) when the support page is not friendly. You had four choices for why you were sending them a note, and NONE was about support. How silly is that on a support page? 

I don't know where the receipt is, but I told DH I would find out when I bought them by searching the blog, and I was right! I mentioned them in my May 19, 2020, post. You have to love a searchable blog! 

I did not get a chance to open that box - perhaps later today, although I still have some sewing to do before I start writing. 

On that note, I'm out of here! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

 

Guilty as charged!

Here's an update! I could take a picture like this where you can't see what's inside, and it looks good! At least nothing is spilling out of the top, but it's not empty!

The basket of scraps

I'm definitely making a dent in that basket and watching some episodes of The Quilt Show. So all is good. 

I've made a dent!

I can do about 30 minutes before I get tired of standing. Hey, I can be moving all day, but I'm not good when I stand in one spot. It's boring, I suppose! 

But my shoulder was throbbing, and I needed to lie down to settle it. I have an ultrasound on the 24th or something like that, so let's see what happens. There are days when I think a sling would be good so the weight of my arm doesn't put pressure on the shoulder. 

I'm not sure how gracefully my body is going to age. I feel arthritis in multiple spots. That darn left leg is not a happy camper, and I suppose my knees are not all that happy, either. Getting old sucks! But I'll do what I can, and I refuse to stand still just because I have aches and pains. How positively boring that would make life! 

Let's focus on the shoulder for the moment. The new shoes seem to put the left leg in check, but I know that's only a placebo effect because I can feel it twinging in the background. 

But let's move on to happier things. 

I seem to spend a lot of time managing my scraps. I'm using up the batting leftovers to make them large enough to put in a quilt. At the maximum, I have to join four pieces to create a batting, so I don't deal with small scraps here. I'll use the smaller stuff for smaller wall hangings or table runners. 

Joining batting

Another flannel quilt is done. I've trimmed this one and will put the binding on it later. 

Community projects quilt - DONE

For the life of me, I could not find that binding. I searched Mount Projects and couldn't find it there, but I got a good overview of what's on the table. I finally found the binding in the laundry basket designated for these quilts, so all is right in the world. 

The next quilt is loaded on the long arm. I will finish this one, and then I need to take a break for one day to catch up on all the trimming and binding. Then, I can get back to customer quilts on Monday. 

At one point, I returned to the long arm, and the thread had run out. I checked the bobbin thread, and it was OK. Oh, great. I forgot that I had put an almost empty spool of thread on the machine. I totally forgot to watch that. 

Top thread --- DONE!

Speaking of small bits, as I mentioned, I seem to spend my entire day dealing with the small bits I save. I made good progress in my bag of fusible fleece scraps, joining them together to make squares that I use on the back of projects instead of stabilizer or batting. 

Making bigger squares

There is something therapeutic in doing this. I don't know what it is, but I'm guessing it's twofold. First, I'm excited about NOT adding to the landfill issue. Yes -- it takes time to deal with the small bits, but guess what? Am I in a rush to make more quilts? Nope! Do I have deadlines? Nope! Working like this helps me learn about patience and perseverance. Many of you would never consider this, but you should try it!! 

Why is everyone in such a rush? Just slow down, and you'll be amazed at what can happen. I created seven squares, so I have enough to work with this coming week. I certainly do NOT sew for the sake of sewing. I couldn't care less if I ever made another quilt. I certainly do NOT care about the latest sew-along or fabric collection, and I have zero FOMO for what others are doing. I sew for ME. And I honestly think if I didn't have such a large pile of crap to fill up, I'd stop sewing. NO -- that's not true. I'd still sew, but it's no longer my focus. I'm having way more fun dealing with the bits.  

I have to sew because it's my job, but if I didn't have to sew for work, I'd probably never start anything new and only work on what I have. GASP!!!! Don't worry - I won't give it up, and I look forward to starting the two new projects in the fall! 

Today, I must get started on my projects for QUILTsocial. I have everything laid out, so things look messy, and I'm OK with that. As I finish, it'll get put away. 

I also noticed my Fitbit was dead yesterday, as I had forgotten to charge it. Imagine my surprise when I went to plug it in. I used my power tower, and WHAT?????? I've had those towers for several years, and only yesterday did I realize they are NOT the same. 

A square design

An octagon design

That is hilarious and shows that if you make a mistake in something, how many people will notice? I cannot believe I didn't see the difference. I use both of them, but this was the first time I had plugged USBs into the second one! 

Both of my boxes arrived. One of them is still sitting, as I didn't have time to unpack it. I turned it backward, so you can't see the picture on the box! What do you think it is? 

A mystery box

The second box was filled with books. I know -- I do not need more books, but these are books for the Scan and Cut. I had purchased a book before and found it extremely useful, so I decided to buy more from the same author. Yes, there is YouTube, but I have to say that NOTHING beats a good old-fashioned book with pages. These were printed on demand from my favorite online store, so I had to buy there. You can't buy them anywhere else. I have to say I LOVE print on demand, and the quality is pretty darn good! 

Books for the Scan and Cut

Now I have a LOT of learning to do!!! 

I hope to get to some of that later today. No garden work happened yesterday as it was raining in the evening, and I wasn't excited to weed in the rain. This is a job that I can tackle later today. 

OH MY GOSH --- I'm also reading another hilarious book. 

Declutter your Data

The book isn't that long (150 pages), and the author spends time at the beginning describing what she will tell us and what digital clutter is. The author is Canadian!!!

The book was written in 2018, and at that time, she estimated that the average US household had 41.5 Terabytes of digital clutter. Can you imagine what that number is now? 

Before you go - that's ridiculous, think about it. How many camera cards do you have? USBs? Online storage or storage on your devices - smartphones, tablets, computers. Don't forget all the apps you use or have downloaded. 

I laughed when she said that most people tackle the problem by buying more storage—guilty!! And that only the truly diligent delete as they go. What is in the digital clutter? Email, photos, videos, presentations. Guilty—guilty—guilty—guilty!!! 

Thankfully, the book is short, so I should be able to breeze through it. And I hope to learn new strategies for controlling this mess. DELETE DELETE DELETE

Angela Crocker has also written another book, which I want to get. It's called the Digital Legacy Plan. Click on that link to read about it. Here's a sobering thought: She predicts that in 100 years, there will be 1 billion dead people on Facebook! I doubt Facebook will still be around, but you get the idea. What happens to your digital presence on the internet when you die? 

I get notifications of someone's birthday on Facebook, and they have been dead for years. That's something to think about, so I'll get the book and read it. 

They have the book at my local branch, which might be my errand today. I also saw the new library catalog, which isn't new but came up to alert me the old one won't be around forever. I have to log into the new one and will do it later. I need to verify the status of my account before I waltz in there and try to borrow a book—just in case!

I got part of one of my car errands done yesterday! CRAP!!! But that's OK; it just means I have to do both by Monday or Tuesday at the latest. Let's say we are one step closer to firming up my fall schedule!! Yeah!!! It has to be nailed down soon, and as soon as I know, I'll tell you. I'm trying to focus on things that will help you work smarter, not harder, and there are only TWO new projects should you choose to go that route. 

That's it for today. I have one Zoom this morning, and then I'll be hard at work! I sincerely hope you continue to work on cleaning out those drawers. OH -- remember that person who told me about the seven drawers she found in her living room? Tomorrow, I'll share with you what she found. I got a good chuckle!!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Tea for two!

Let's start off with the progress report on the green scraps. 

I watched an entire episode of The Quilt Show, and all the while, I was pressing scraps.

Pressing scraps

Does it look like I'm making progress? I think so. This is what the basket looked like last night. 

The basket last night

And for reference, here's the basket from the previous day. 

The basket the previous day

This basket of scraps will be a good example of how slow and steady will always win. The amount of usable scraps in the basket for the 365-day quilt is shocking! Imagine if I had thrown all that away? People just don't have patience anymore. Only some people want to work with little pieces, but it's a good lesson. 

It's not just a quilting thing but a life thing! We want everything, and we want it now! Instant gratification, the inability to read anything longer than a magazine article, or watching an IG reel—our attention spans have gone to mush! I am doing everything possible to avoid losing my attention span, so a slow and steady pace works for me. Or perhaps I should say that I'm doing everything possible to regain it!

Let me tell you about the tea sets. I have three tea sets that I believe all came from the farm. Again, I'm unable to ask for their history, which is sad. My Mom has NO IDEA about the chaos she has created and how many memories are going to die because of her desire to have everything! I'm over it, but it's annoying! 

One of the sets is this blue enamel tea set. It's pretty cute, and I needed a spot to display it. The other day, I was at the thrift store and spotted this small wooden crate. I took no measurements with me, just a mental picture. I think I did pretty well! 

A display case for my tea set

See how that one plate is falling in the back? I glued a wooden BBQ skewer to create a plate rail inside the crate. 

My plate rail

And now the plates remain in position. Yes, I know. The cups should be hanging, and I've got some mini hooks on order. They should arrive within a few weeks, as I think they are coming from China. 

The plate rail is in place

I suspect the tea set belonged to my mom or her sisters since my mom seemed pretty good at pilfering their possessions. Did I say that out loud? Well, it's true and has caused huge issues amongst the sisters. 

The set is well used, as there is some chipping along some of the edges. 

Chipped edges on a plate

Anyway, I have a second set made from ceramic. It includes one teapot, four cups, and one plate. I spotted this shadow box at the thrift store, and it's perfect!!! Again, I need those mini cup hooks to hang the cups. I'm also going to paint the box white. 

A shadow box for another tea set

I've been tempted to put this table away, but I might leave it out as it's a good sit-down work table. I just need to make sure that it stays clear except for the current project. I have two light bulbs to change, so that's why the box of bulbs is on the table. 

My sit-down work table

There is a third enamel tea set, which is going in the small cupboard you see on the table above. I needed a plate rail in that one, and that's done. I should have put one in the shadow box since there's a plate. I might do that today; it won't take long. 

Where will all these be displayed? I have a shelf in Studio U that will be perfect. There's already a TEA trivet on the shelf. I'll find a new home for the things on the shelf, and this will be the tea vignette. 

A shelf to display the tea sets

At least I'll be able to enjoy them, and I had fun setting up the displays.

I got the giant quilt quilted, and it's off the long arm but not trimmed. That's a job for later today. I believe this is a Thimbleberries quilt. I haven't seen one in a long time. It was purchased at the Mennonite Relief Sale. 

Customer quilt - DONE

My last border on the Cabin in the Woods quilts is now ready to be stitched!! I will try to get to this today, but it's not looking good, as I have other things to do. But I must keep at this, or it'll never be done for our next UFO class. 

The applique on the last border is fused in place

I also started on the QUILTsocial stuff, but I can't share that with you. You'll see it when the posts are published. 

I also hung all my digital cutter mats on that big metal shelf. Hmmm—some of the mats don't have a hole for hanging! WHAT??????? How here's a mystery. Where are all my Brother mats? I can only find my scanning and fabric mats, but the low and high tack? They're nowhere to be found. 

Digital cutter mats

It's kind of like my library book. I returned it to the library yesterday, and to unblock my account, I took it to the librarian and explained the issue. She kind of tut-tutted at me, but hey—at least I returned the book. I have another book due today, so I must keep up with it. We have no fines anymore, but because the book was very overdue, I had to pay $5 in fines! 

I was at the laundromat the other day, washing some oversized items. 

At the laundromat

As I sat there, a guy came in with FIVE big bags of clothes. They had oversized heavy zippers and looked like parkas. I was trying to see if there was a logo on the items, as they looked like work clothes. I spotted something that looked like this, but how can that be? 

Do you recognize that logo?

Then another man, who was emptying his washer, asked about the bags and said they looked like parkas. What would anyone be doing with parkas on a hot day? AHA—the bags were for Wal-Mart, and indeed, they were parkas and snow pants. Apparently, it's for the logistics team that works in a cold facility. This guy washes the five bags of items every day. Can you imagine having that job? 

I don't know how many outfits there were, but let's say at least ten, and how they were washed—well, I don't see how they could have been clean. He rolled them up and shoved them into the washer until no more would fit. He stuffed those five bags into two large washers! Cost savings! I suppose. 

As I waited and chatted with the owner, which was challenging since her English was limited, someone brought in a cheesecake he had made. So I got a piece. 

Cheesecake at the laundromat!

Lexi and Murphy were standing guard when I got the oversized items home and laid them out in the backyard for final drying and bleaching by the sun! OK—this worked if squirrels wanted to attack, but not if a bird wanted to use them for target practice. All was good. 

The girls are on guard!

Except I used their soap, which was NOT scent-free. Oh god—that's horrible. I do not get the fact that people LIKE those smells. They are so artificial and strong that they could make you gag. And then we wonder why people have so many breathing issues? We do NOT use anything in our dryer—trust me—with the type of fabrics in our clothes, we have no problems with static. And we use UNSCENTED everything, except the hand soap in the bathroom. One house - one smell. We don't need many!

My dehumidifier is working overtime these days. It runs for a couple of hours and needs to be empty. I guess we should have it connected to the drain, but we don't. That's more steps up and down the stairs to empty it. I'm OK with that. 

Dehumidifier working over time

And yes, we are likely the only ones in this neighborhood with our windows open and no AC. It's beautiful listening to the outdoors and feeling the breeze. And yes, there are times when it's a bit hot, but nothing that a well-placed fan can't help. Studio B is freezing and would be worse if the AC was on. I would need one of those snowsuits to survive! 

The dogs are good. Murphy can go downstairs if she needs to cool off. Lexi doesn't need to cool off. Look at this girl. 

These pictures were taken on a hot, sunny day. In the first one, she was lying in the shade. 

MOM -- I'm good! 

But here? She's right in the sun and couldn't care less. I guess that's what happens when you are born in Qatar!!!

MOM -- soaking up the rays!

More gardening happened, and I placed ¼ of the bags of mulch. So, there will be more weeding tonight and more mulch. I might go back and get another twenty bags, as one bag doesn't go far. I just don't want a bunch of mulch bags hanging out in the garage, so so far, so good for emptying them. I can't empty them unless the garden is weeded, but I have enough weeded now to empty all the bags that remain. 

As for actual sewing, I am trying to remember when I last sat at my sewing machine and pieced a quilt. It's been months. I had to make that quilt backing the other day and then sew the seam on this last border, but it's all little stuff like that. There is definitely no piecing. 

The next quilt is loaded on the long arm and ready to go. I had to join four pieces of batting for this one, but it's all good. I've got a list of quilts for this month, and I should have no issues completing them. There are even a couple of last-minute ones from customers that were added to the list. 

I've walked over 65,000 steps in the last three days! Yikes! And despite the heat, I'm on for my regular walk, and this week, I've been carrying stuff home, like my new pillow, which was in a box and was awkward! But I managed. 

Someone asked me a question the other day that would have required a lot of writing. The topic was what things are necessary in a retreat house. I had written that information and emailed it several years ago. Could I be so lucky to find that email and just forward it? It took a bit of digging, but I found it! So, that task got crossed off my list! 

On that note, I'm out of here! I completely forgot about my car errand yesterday, so I have two today, and both must be done. Plus, it will be like Christmas here later on as I ordered some stuff online (GASP), and it's all being delivered today. No worries. Online was the ONLY way to get this stuff. There will be more on that tomorrow. 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!