What do I do with my free time?

Phew -- both of the Zoom classes went off like clockwork! I knew the applique class would be fine. I swear - they have been inundated with so much information about applique, and in the words of one student - "I never knew there was so much about applique!" And yesterday, we only touched on different stitches and machine functions to make the job easier - and that was just for fused applique. 

I've been doing this for 25 years, and I've made oodles of samples in my time, and I NEVER threw any of them out. Now, there are NOT tons - they are all nicely stored and sorted in a pizza box! But those samples have saved me tons of time, and I learned so much from making them. 

The Tequila Lime class also went well, but that topic is a bit more confusing. The class participants will have to think a bit about the information provided, although I see someone posted part of the homework on our Facebook group last night, so I know she got it! The class was advertised for those with EXISTING paper piecing experience, so I didn't have to show them how to paper piece, although I provided my tips. 

I have two more sessions this morning - the presentations are NOT quite finished, so I must get that organized right after the blog. The follow-up to those will be small, so I should be able to get that done early this afternoon. 

I didn't need a nap, but I had trouble sleeping, so I was up in the night and then back to bed. I HATE when I do that, but it's part of life. My problem is that if I go to bed with things "unfinished" in my head, my brain will focus on that, and I have no choice but to get up and do it. I should try putting it on paper and then go to bed? I must try because this isn't fun!

After the class, I spent the afternoon sewing. I was working on my Tequila Lime paper piecing and trying to finish it off. I still have 6 sections to finish (out of 16), but I was getting tired. My back was getting tired, so I threw in the towel. I'm also listening to an audiobook, and I have 2 days before it gets automatically returned, but I still have 3 hours and 40 minutes. I should be able to get half of that done today and half tomorrow. 

But when I decided to stop for the day, do you think I could find my phone? Nope! It was in Studio B somewhere because I was using it to listen to the audiobook. It wasn't in any of the usual places - not on the cutting table or the charger? Where is it? 

I finally decided to call it, and since it was on silent, I heard one little buzz, and that was it. Good grief! Then I remembered!

I had lent it against the sewing machine, and it literally blended right in! Good grief -- I won't do that again! You can't see the phone because I needed to take the picture! 

My phone was leaning against the sewing machine

I find paper piecing intense, so once those pieces are done, and I'll share them tomorrow, I can move to sewing and embroidery, and things will go faster! 

But that leaves the issue of what to do in the evening? I was tired of sewing, and the entire evening stretched ahead. I did some Suduko and read a bit, and I hate myself for this - I spent too much time on social media looking at pictures of golden retrievers. Do NOT tell Lexi about this. I promise to get myself organized to NOT do this again. It's such a time waster, and while I know we all need downtime, I have much better things I want to do in my downtime. 

I think Lexi is trying to send a message! Thank goodness for big, bushy tails!

MOM -- it's cold in the house! 

Murphy just amuses herself with watching! These are her social media channels. She's fascinated by everything in the backyard, and lately, the bird feeder is crazy with many birds. They are little pigs and eating my suet blocks like mad! 

Mom -- the Nature Channel is fascinating!

Or her favorite commercials or shows are on TV. Thankfully, she's not so much into the Christmas ones, she likes the commercials with dogs! And she recognizes the word TV because if you say it - she looks directly at the TV regardless of what is on! 

MOM -- busy watching TV!

But look what happened! DH was sitting on the sofa in the living room and left to make a call. He did NOT put the basket on the seat; someone decided it was hers! She is NOT supposed to jump up there - she has her own bed in the window, and she can jump up on the sofa in the family room, although she will not. The living furniture is HERS, or so she thinks. 

MOM -- Dad said I could sleep here

I spotted these weird-shaped stones in the construction area near the community center. Because of their shape, I'm guessing they are NOT natural, and I wonder how they will be used in the new space. Seating? Decorative? 

New stones for the new community space

I didn't take a picture of my jigsaw puzzle advent calendar, but at dinner last night, DH and I tackled Day 2 of the EXIT game advent calendar. We got the clues quickly enough, but nothing happened when we did what we were supposed to do. 

I checked with a friend, and the same thing happened to them. There were six possible solutions, so we went through them one by one and found the answer on one of the tries. Then, I did some investigating. I tried digging underneath to see what I could spot. NOTHING. 

A minor demolition in the Advent calendar

Then, I watched a video on YouTube of someone following along and doing the reveal. OK -- so he had the same issue. He took it apart (the one little "room"), and I saw what was supposed to happen and how it was to happen (very clever), but the little disk that we were supposed to see was not there. It appears that NO one got that little disk. Oh well --- I consider we solved it without any hints, but it would have been fun to see if we could make the little disk appear. 

Maybe it's in the box somewhere and somehow escaped from its slot? 

I see we have rain AGAIN today. But it was nice yesterday afternoon -- cloudy, but the rain stopped, and I got out for a nice long walk. Despite a few days when I didn't meet my daily goal, I'm still ahead of my new schedule! 

 neighbor

On that note, I'm out of here! I've got pictures to take!

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!