What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 OH MY GOSH --- someone else calls that fabric FORTREL!!!! They must be from the west, but what a great idea to make quilts for the homeless. That fabric cannot be destroyed. And now I have two boxes to deal with! But at least I know what to do with it! 

You are going to start saying that I sound like a broken record, but this new system of mine is working like a charm. As the number of projects in that blue box diminishes, I am so tempted to walk to the current projects table and pick up a couple ...

The countdown is on for this trip, and I'm pretty much organized. I packed my small backpack yesterday - the important one with my protein bars, all the medication, and a few other things, like three pairs of glasses! I have a few other small things to pack, but it should easily be under 10 lbs. 

I got a chuckle as we've heard many times about small planes that you need to get from one destination to another, which we have to take for parts of this trip. I believe the maximum weight per passenger is 20 KG, and ...

There isn't a day that goes by when I don't learn something new. What amazes me is that as people get older, they seem to lose their curiosity and their ability to live like children (OK - children back in my day), a simple life, uncomplicated by all the stuff that life throws you. I do the basics of life, but I don't stress about many things. Life is too short.  

But the learning? Well, I'm still stunned by what I learned this morning. 

I'm doing my writing assignments while I'm not home. The first ...

I'm glad to know I wasn't the only slug! Sometimes, that's the kind of day we get, and we just make the best of it and move on! Tomorrow is a brand new day! And for me, it was. I got lots done, and all was good!

My girls are over 10 years old, and I'm in denial about that. They are still puppies! They are so different; after all those years, I still can't wrap my head around it. Murphy is filled with enthusiasm, while Lexi is still enthusiastic, but she's a princess ...

If this week is indicative of the pace of retirement, I say bring it on! Having only two classes this coming weekend is the only urgent thing I'm dealing with. That's not true since I'm also writing, but the pace is manageable, and I have time to goof off if I want. I can deal with that. 

Well, this weather is helping, as I have no desire to stay outside and lounge in the gazebo. I could freeze to death if I did that! And it's not really going to warm up for weeks. That's ...

I was at the gym early this morning, and one thought came to mind. This is working! My range of motion is so much better, I'm shocked. I never would have thought it would come back so quickly. I'm not pumping iron five days a week to make that happen, but a couple of good stretching sessions each week have given me a new outlook on life! I'm hooked. 

What is shocking is how and when I lost this mobility. I used to be able to stand on one foot and put on my socks and shoes ...

Where did yesterday go? After Monday's sewing, I went for a walk, then got stuck on the computer with the support team from Microsoft. 

Can you tell me why this happened? My e-mail got stuck on my desktop but worked fine on my laptop and phone. I got an error message to delete some files because I exceeded my limit. OK -- I get that, but then I couldn't delete anything. So why is that? And why was it working fine on the other devices? 

I never got an answer to any of those questions, but they did something ...

The last day of any retreat is bittersweet. While we are excited to go home, it's time to leave, and no one wants to go home. This retreat house is several hours away, so I had plans to leave at 1 PM, and it was exactly 1 PM when I drove out of the driveway. 

However, I managed to get a lot accomplished before I left. All in all, this was probably one of the most productive retreats EVER! I've no idea how that happened. 

This was my last day to take a walk to the lake, so ...

For once, that (title of the blog) does NOT refer to me and some crazy deadline. I'm so relaxed that - well, it's gazebo time!

Even in the heat, I was in the gazebo (with a sweatshirt on) and happy as a clam. It was glorious with the trees and the breeze until the sun came around the roofline and shone into the gazebo. 

I was supposed to be reading, but I had a nap instead. The scent of the lilacs and the tingle of the windchimes put me to sleep. 

Lilacs are in bloom

We had a great day with the Monday sewing group. It's always a good day -- loads of laughs, show and tell, tips on many things, and a place to vent (politely) if something isn't going your way. OK -- it's mostly me that vents. Here's one of my little peeves. I must be getting old because I seem to do that a lot. 

And this peeve isn't restricted to the quilt world. What I hate is that someone gets recognition for something they did. Let's say that I win a big prize at a quilt ...

Yesterday, with all the Zoom calls and the prep for those calls, just about did me in! 

By the time I was finished at 4 PM, I was wiped. I did NOT go for a second walk. It was late, the sidewalks were treacherous from the weather, it was cold. I wimped out and said, "NO -- I'm not budging." I even asked DH to order pizza (we were going to go out). It was just one of those days, and I'm OK with it. I did feel a twinge of guilt, not going for that second walk, and ...

Yep -- someone commented about the masks. They are everywhere! Personally, I've had two cloth masks and used them throughout the pandemic. Granted, I don't need to wear one often, but still, if you used a disposable one -- dispose of it responsibly. 

As I walked yesterday, I thought I needed to get one of those garbage picker-upper things, and I can pick up a bag of garbage a day along my walk. Someone who lives in the same building as my parents does that in their neighborhood, and it keeps their community clean, and it gives him something to ...

 I was going to say there is nothing quilt-related today, but that would be a lie. There is something --just wait for it. 

Yesterday, I thought I was going to go mad because of technology. I love my smartphone, and like all of you, I use it a fair bit. But yesterday, I was ready to throw in the towel. Why? Not because of the phone -- oh no -- I LOVE my phone. Nope -- look at what happened. 

Scam  calls

More scam calls

A HUGE thank you to the Stratford Quilter's Guild for letting me be their guest speaker last night. It was so weird to be standing in front of a group of people and showing physical quilts! And I got to meet someone I hadn't seen in a LONG, LONG time, so we had a few minutes to catch up.  Hello Miriam - so good to see you last night. And I got to meet someone new. Well, not exactly new, since I met Pat on Zoom and feel like I know her very well. But I got to meet ...

 I had a bit of extra work last night to get ready for today. Should I stay up and do it or get up early? I was in fine form last night, so I decided to go ahead and get it all done. Then I couldn't sleep. I hate when that happens. And then, despite the lack of sleep, I had a dream that I remembered. Good grief - the brain works in mysterious ways. 

Well, no worries. I'll just have a nap once all the classes are done today. But that won't be until 3:30! It ...

The walk with the girls was a little different yesterday. It was the first day of school, and there were lots of extra people around! ACK! Although I think there must still be loads of people keeping their kids at home, or they staggered the start times yesterday. The amount of traffic was not nearly as crazy as a normal first day of school. While I did see loads of people walking their kids, there were still many cars!!  I haven't spotted the speed cameras yet. 

I guess we'll be making 'new" friends as we start to see ...

 I'm all set -- I finished the Appalachian Trail and confirmed the address for my medal. I started the Pacific Crest Trail. Why not just dive right in? While I will always walk the dogs in the morning, there are some days when I wonder if I need that second walk. But the aggressive goals I've set for the virtual challenges get me off my butt and onto the road. 

And here's the thing -- while it's called a Virtual Challenge, I still have to WALK the miles to make that happen. It's not like I just ...

I'm all in a flap this morning. My computer is downstairs! I had to bring it down for a presentation - it's a long story. In short, my laptop is struggling with one version of the embroidery software, but that version works fine on the desktop. When I have a software presentation, I bring the desktop downstairs. I had one presentation yesterday, and I have one this morning. So it didn't seem worth it to take it upstairs. 

I NEED to get that laptop working as this is just silly!!!

So have you ever been window shopping? Oh ...

I knew you would all come through for me! I see TWO suggestions to use VLC as a media player, NOT Windows Media Player. I will have to try that later today and see if my DVD plays. Thanks to Linda and Elle for the suggestion! You are the BEST!!!

The morning was a bit hectic, and well - I goofed! I returned from my walks with the girls only to discover that my FitBit was still in the charger! 

Wait - you forgot me!!!!

Hmm - now what to do? Do I add a few KM to my numbers that get logged ...

I'm happy to report that yesterday was a much better day than the previous day. 

While the boomerang project is still on my plate, a good portion of it got cleaned up yesterday, and that was great. Now that the new formula is figured out, the rest of it should much quicker. I'm not big on change - OK - I don't really mind change, but it takes a while to figure out how to work with the change.

That change was part of the problem - I struggled with that. But all is good now. I've got a ...