Setting goals

I'm not sure I'm happy with Elle's comment about the flannel bits the other day. She said there are DOZENS of quilts in those scraps, and well, I hope not dozens, but there will be a lot. Slow, steady, and focused will get all that flannel out of my house. 

I pulled the two kits from the shelves and added them to that area. I also found one bolt of flannel fabric, but I'm sure at least four or five more are sitting in the fabric bolt area. So yes, if I were to make tops of what is in the baskets and use the bolts for backing, there could be dozens of quilts. Sigh. 

I reviewed my list of "to be quilted" quilts to add to the mix. Oh gosh --- 

FLANNEL quilts in the "to be quilted" pile

I found eight quilts, each marked FLANNEL as if it were a bad word. Why did I do that? I have no idea, but I might just pull those out next year, and they will get added to the pile of quilts to quilt. I don't want any of these flannel quilts, so they will get quilted and donated. And I'll be making progress. 

Here's where I run into problems. I have a plan—it's a good plan. It has a beginning and an end, and the materials are set out. What could possibly go wrong? I get excited about the next thing to do after the flannel, and it gets in the way. So I must be very focused and manage all the flannel in 2025 and NOT get mixed up with anything other than the usual stuff on my plate. 

It's all about goal setting and visualization. I must focus on the visual of all those flannel quilts going out the door; I cannot think too far forward. I've been good with the stack of twenty quilts that were pulled a while back, and I'm on track, so hopefully, I'll manage for 2025 without getting excited about that next thing until the pile of flannel is almost gone. 

I can't express how great it feels to let go! It was hard, and I'm sure I'll have moments in the future, but the more I declutter and give away, the easier it becomes. 

Speaking of goals, I had an appointment with a personal trainer yesterday. I need to make some changes in my life and some help to get me started. What is the issue? While I exercise (spin class twice a week and walk daily), there are better things to do. The spin class and the walking are excellent, but I need to cut back on the walking and start some strength training and stretching. 

So, instead of setting a crazy number of km to walk in 2025, I need to make a walking goal and a goal for the number of times I go to the gym for weight training. Why is this important? Bone density is the first one. Walking and spin classes are not necessary doing anything for bone density. I also have poor posture and need strength training to correct it. Lastly, if I want to maintain my mobility, I need to stretch. 

I have the time! I can substitute some of these other activities instead of walking, so it's all a question of rejigging what I do and where! I'm not good on my own for that - or, shall I say, I need a little boost to get me started. So, personal trainer, it is. She is quite nice, and everything is now done through an app on the phone so they can check on us! Yikes! But since I'm a numbers person, that's right up my alley. 

That means that I have community project goals set for 2025, as well as personal care. I'm working on what classes I'll be teaching. Most of that is already done, so here I am one month before the start of the new year, and I'm almost ready! These are NOT resolutions; these are goals on what I want to achieve, and I've got a plan to get there. Of course, the decluttering is still in the mix. I could set a goal of completing the office by the end of 2025, but since that has become a part of my daily life (more or less), I'm good without a specific goal. Besides - that will be a constant in my life for the rest of my life!

I also try to set out a small list of things I want to accomplish that day. It helps me to focus. And using the blank page on the back of those page-a-day calendars is a great way to kill two birds with one stone. 

What was one project for yesterday? To hang up this cowbell!!

The cowbell with it's new strap

It was rescued from the farm and has been hanging around the office for over a year - probably several years. I bought some seatbelt strapping and a buckle and made a strap for the bell. A leather strap would have been more genuine, but this works! 

What's inside the bell? A big heavy nut! 

The inside of the cowbell

The bell is now hanging off the gazebo. Hopefully, it won't start clanking too much, or I may have to move it! I swear I heard it in the night! But what a familiar sound—the cows coming in from the pasture for milking! We only had a couple that we milked, and it was for us. GASP—drink unpasteurized milk!

The bell in the gazebo

When I was hanging up the bell, I noticed a very thin layer of ice on the pond—at least the part that doesn't have moving water. Yes, it's that time again! 

Thin ice on the pond

And what's wrong with Murphy? I know I'm packing stuff and putting it by the front door, but she should be used to boxes being filled. There are days when she is so clingy that I'm surprised she can function! While I love her and give her attention, there are times when enough is enough! 

MOM - I NEED you!!!

So I grabbed her blanket and put it over her, and she walked to the other end of the house and ditched it! 

MOM - a blanket is not the same as love

I'm reading more in the storage magazine. OK, so I get the labels thing. It can help to know what's in a box, and it can help children identify where things should be returned. But my perspective is that I'd be spending loads of time managing the labels on things! Buy clear containers and be done with it! But again, the magazine has lots of information on storage, which is the focus of the magazine, but very little on getting rid of garbage! 

How many labels are too many?

I need to change my pharmacy. It's in the mall, and I'm not even sure why I connected with them. My thought process was likely that the doctor could send the prescription to the pharmacy, and when I passed there on my way home, it would be ready for pickup! NOT!! They have been a total pain, but since I never had a reason to visit often, I didn't care. 

But TWICE in the last two weeks, the doctor sent them a prescription. I give them the benefit of the doubt (from past experience) and wait a day before I call. "OH -- it's not ready, but we can fill that within the hour." Seriously?? Are you waiting for me to confirm that I want it filled? Why did the doctor send the darn thing? I've found that they were not cooperative at all with other things, like when I was trying to find an alternate for that bone density one. 

Time to change! I'll wait for the next prescription or refill and then change. 

On my way home from the grocery store, I pass this bank of mailboxes. Good grief—a package had been delivered to the mailboxes and left beside them. It was not protected, and anyone could have walked off with it. 

Delivery to a mailbox? 

I was doing so well on my preparation work for today's class that I completely forgot about quilting a quilt! It never even crossed my mind until much later in the day. 

I need to keep working on the project because it requires a TON of pins, and I have none left. I've had to leave a few pieces hanging without pins, so I must be careful. 

The pins are used up!

The big question is—do I pack that project to take to the retreat? I already have too much packed in my two bags of projects, but this is a fun one, and since I'm on a roll, I'd like to keep working on it! OK—it's easy enough to pack; it may go in a bag. 

Oh, one interesting thing happened at the gym. After we went through a whole list of questions about why I wanted to change up my routine and work with a personal trainer, etc., we did a few things on the floor. One of them was a flexibility test. I laughed when the results showed that my left leg (the one with the issue) was MORE flexible than the other one. This tells me that this is NOT a muscle thing but a nerve thing!

Time will tell, and hopefully, we can find a resolution soon. I can function, and that's all that's currently important to me. I can sleep in a manner of fashion, but it would be nice to not have to deal with this pain. But I'll get over it! 

Here is the link to the final blog on QUILTsocial for the Husqvarna Viking Quartz 29. It's a cute machine! 

I had a great learning moment yesterday. I can't share it yet because it's for my software classes, but I'm excited about it! There is so much to learn, so little time! And more files got deleted from OneDrive. I need help understanding why the list of files on all three computers is different. Aren't they supposed to sync? 

On that happy note, it's time to start the day—well, it started hours ago, but it's time to keep moving! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Recovery!

I counted the number of flannel quilt tops in that bag—25! To be fair, some of them are relatively small as they were made for children. But still! And I forgot to mention that I have a few bolts (5?) of flannel fabric that has to be used up! So yes, 2025 is the year of eliminating flannel from Studio B. WAIT—I also have a large flannel kit. That should be added to the mix. I wonder if there are more flannel kits? 

I'm happy to report that another flannel quilt from the 2024 pile is loaded and ready to be quilted later today. Getting rid of all the flannel will be welcome, letting me focus on the rest of the mess. It's not that flannel is bad or can't be used as a backing—it's just a category I can eliminate, but it will take one year to make that happen. I must write that goal down and collect all the flannel in one spot! It's mostly together, but I might as well drag it all out and put it all together. Oh shoot - I just remembered ANOTHER flannel kit, but I want to keep that one! Don't ask me why! 

I'll be pulling flannel items out of nooks and crannies all next year, as I remember various things. 

I love my new desk space. I have my work set out for the morning, and there is room to work, and well, I should have done it years ago. I have a few emails that I need to respond to, and I still have that one presentation I need to finish - I MUST get that done today. 

But there is good news! I got an email from OneDrive yesterday saying that I deleted many files. If that was a mistake, I can go to the RECYCLE bin and recover them! I think I will remember this for the next time. 

AH - the recycle bin

Do NOT yell at me, but I did. I put the files all back in my OneDrive. 

I emptied the recycling bin

Now, I will go back into OneDrive and start ruthlessly deleting them. But I shall do it the CORRECT way, which is to delete them off OneDrive and not on the computer's hard drive. 

Deleting files

I wish I had known that, as it would have saved me some time. But that's OK. I almost have all the old data off the old laptop and onto the new one. Actually, it all went onto an external hard drive. And then, I had to reload my programs. I have one more program to move. I updated some software on some equipment and got the latest software versions, and all is good. 

Reloading programs

Oh my—that new laptop (Windows 11) is like greased lightning! It's fast! I should have moved years ago!

There is one app that I can't reload as it's no longer available or not available on Windows 11. So I need to find a substitute. I'll test it out this coming week to ensure everything I need is there - Office 365, access to Zoom, OneDrive, and all that. I think I'm good. But next week, being away from home for the week will be a good test. And I need to change some settings as the screen is white-on-black, which is not my preference. 

I also did some work in the quilting department. The backing for my T-shirt quilt is complete and ready to be quilted next month. As I finish a UFO, I will also try to quilt the quilt rather than just prepare the top, backing, and binding. I'm running out of space in the "to be quilted" area, so I can't keep that bad habit alive. 

The backing for my T-shirt quilt

I finished a customer quilt. YES, it's very small, but it had to be done. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I had to postpone a class last weekend until tomorrow as I just couldn't get around the prep work with everything else going on in my life. I'm happy to report that I made leaps and bounds in that area. I still have a bit more to prep later today. It's a very interesting project and I'll share with you after the class tomorrow. 

I don't think I mentioned the latest issue of A Needle Pulling Thread, which had the theme "In the Woods." It's issue 68 if you're looking for it. There are always so many great articles and patterns! You can get a physical copy or a digital copy. 

Remember, if you want to search for a pattern (quilting, crocheting, knitting, rug hooking, etc.), their website has many choices!

Issue 67 of A Needle Pulling Thread

For this issue, I included something I've never done before—applique!!! Well, I've done loads of applique, but never in a quilt pattern. It's all the things I see in my forest!! Except for the owl! So I'll have to pretend the owl is a hawk! 

My quilt

I believe there was another FREE issue of the QUILTsocial magazine on their website. I love these issues as they contain some of the QUILTsocial blog posts but in a magazine format. In this one, I participated by using the Husqvarna Viking Opal 690Q and making piping, welting, zippers, etc., for my outdoor accessories. You can see it online for free, or you can download it for $4.95. My apologies—I meant to share that link while it was still free. 

I called my doctor in the morning to make an appointment to see if I could get an X-ray or ultrasound to check out my issue. Of course, I could come later in the day. Turns out DH needed something, and we ended up there at the same time. Good grief—how cute—we visit the doctor together in our old age! But I walked, and he took the car! 

The X-rays are already done. But at that clinic, which is in a medical building, the ultrasounds were booked solid for December, and I could call back in a week when the January schedule opens. OR I could take the requisition to another clinic. Well, there just happens to be another clinic near the thrift store, so I walked there and could have gotten an appointment for next Wednesday. However, since I'm away, I went for the following Monday, and I have the choice of multiple time slots. 

So -- why would people wait for over a month when going somewhere else will allow them to get in quicker? Lack of knowledge? That would be my case. Or laziness to go somewhere else? This other clinic is better because there is ample free parking, while at the medical building, you have to pay! 

Anyway, let's see what happens, and if necessary, I may need an MRI. The best news is that she gave me something strong! Meds, that is. I'll pick them up later today, hopefully. If I lay flat on my back with that pillow under my entire leg and DO NOT MOVE onto my side, which I caught myself multiple times trying to do, then I'm OK at night. But sitting and even standing can be challenging, so I'm coping. 

On my way to the new clinic, I passed the Indigo bookstore. I spotted something in a Black Friday email in the morning. I MISSED the part about buying online and picking it up in the store. They only had one in stock, and it was long gone by the time I arrived. It seems orderable online only if you want to pick it up. And while there are ten at another store - it's not close, so I will let it go. But it was darn cute!!! It was a Book Nook (a 3-D puzzle), and then you store it on your bookshelf. 

While there, I browsed the puzzles and games. Oh boy --- a Monopoly/Scrabble game? Well, why not? 

A NEW game

For a dog that was terrified to come into this office a few years ago, Lexi has progressed 1,000% percent. She is tucked underneath the desk and had to squeeze between several things on the floor to get there. One thing was my chair, and the other was a bag of batting that I was sending an email about. There is NO JUNK on the floor. What a silly girl!!!

Lexi hiding out

And then you have Murphy. I don't know what got into her, but she was rifling through her toybox, grabbed an antler, and brought it into the family room. Then she proceeded to toss her blanket about, all the while seeming quite pleased with herself. And yes, when I went to do my exercises before bed, she was all over that mat like a dirty shirt! She thinks it's time to play! 

MOM - a girl has to have fun!

As I was browsing another storage magazine, I came across the most ridiculous idea ever. First, as I read through some of the articles—hey—they are short! I'm shocked because there is ZERO talk about decluttering. It's all about containing the clutter and hiding the clutter, but there is NOTHING to talk about decluttering or how much is too much. So yes, there are some great ideas, but a lot of those storage magazines aren't worth buying. 

But look at this. 

Is this for real?

Yes -- that is what you think it is. A dog's food AND water dish is in a pullout drawer at the bottom of a cabinet. Yes -- it's a good idea, except what if your dog is a grazer? Or how does your dog get water during the day? The editors of this section were NOT dog lovers. It might not be practical even though it seems like a good idea.  

Well, I'm off as I need to get more paperwork done. And part of this is not urgent - it's just dealing with some of the papers I've found in the office, so that's exciting! And I might start my computer file delete process - a few folders each day as there are hundreds of presentations everywhere, and they are taking up a lot of storage and duplication. I need to learn how to deal with the duplication. I think I've got a plan, which starts by putting all the same topics in a folder and then delete - delete - delete! 

OH -- here's another blog post for QUILTsocial. Check it out - pretty fun stuff. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

FOCUS is key to success

I've been learning so much about myself and how I function (or don't function). First, while I thought I was managing my stuff well, I wasn't. I was productive, yet I was struggling to meet deadlines. OK, I am productive, but I struggle with paperwork. And there are so many things to do. 

The same is true for my quilting. There are just so many UFOs, kits, and other things. 

I'm learning that focus seems to be a huge factor in making stuff happen. OK, so that's not rocket science at all. But when you have too much stuff in front of you, it's a huge distraction and hard to accomplish anything. You are really not focused if you don't have space to work. That workspace can be tiny, but it needs to be clear of crap! 

I've learned (and am still learning) to put away the crap that you can't deal with at the moment. Yes - I get that you should get rid of it, but depending on your style, you may want to go through it, like me. Don't harrass us slow learners - that's how our brains function. But the key is to keep going. And when you clear a spot, you have the choice to fill it with more crap so you can go through it or leave it hidden. I'm preferring to bring the crap out so I don't forget it. It looks messy, but it's hard to forget!

I think we would be shocked if we calculated the amount of time we are spending managing the crap we accumulated. But that managing gives me so much satisfaction, and I'm learning so much by dealing with stuff. It's easy to give it away or toss it, but to learn to manage it so you don't repeat history? That's for me!!

So what happened yesterday? Loads of stuff. 

First off, I got my desk organized. It wasn't hard - it was just a question of DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. The big shelf I had there before was taking up a lot of room, and there was no place to put my work. It's been like that for years. Why do we do that to ourselves? 

I moved that shelf to another spot on my other desk and will use it as a sorter until the paper is gone. Don't worry—I grab a couple of pieces of paper daily and deal with them. 

I bought a much smaller desktop shelf and put my little knickknacks on it. Yes - I could have gotten rid of them, but a person has to keep some little pleasures in life. My pending folder is on the far left, and my writing utensils are in a cup behind the lampshade. The pile of papers beside the pending is the current paper crap that I'm looking at. It will take me a week or more to go through that pile, but I'm making valiant efforts. Hopefully, it won't take a week - it's just that some stuff takes longer than others. 

The clear desktop

You can't really see, but behind the paper crap is a white basket filled with odds and ends that collect. My goal is to take ONE item per day and deal with it. It's incredible how much that little stuff creeps up on you! The one item for today is in the garbage! 

Perhaps I could do it at a faster pace, but I don't want to get overwhelmed by the crap. Slow and steady is my motto. Now I have space to work, although I still miss a space on my right-hand side to write, but I don't write that often, so I think I can live without it. I have space to spread out the current project and still have room to put the next thing - that makes me happy. 

I sent some emails yesterday that required spreading things out a bit, and it worked like a charm. I was HAPPY, and that's all that counts. WAIT—one more thing—I was PRODUCTIVE. That counts as well. 

Let's move downstairs to see what happened there. One more community project quilt got quilted. Diane made this flannel quilt from all the baskets and baskets of flannel that I bought over the years. 

Community project quilt

 I haven't gotten around to binding these, so I need to start on that. 

Quilts to be bound

When I started this group of twenty flannel quilts, I pulled a basket of flannel pieces that would work for backings and put them in a basket. I pulled twenty flannel quilt tops and put them in a bag. Yesterday, I could consolidate the backings and the quilts into the laundry basket. I know -- my brain works this way. I get things out, and then as I deplete them, I consolidate them. I think I ENJOY the managing of things. Which is good as I'll be sorting for the rest of my life. When I arrive at the nursing home, buy me one of those brightly colored sorting toys, and I'll be happy! 

Flannel quilts and backings for the remainder of the year

I think there are still at least a dozen quilts in that basket. As many as I've quilted, the numbers don't go down! But I gave myself until the end of the year to get them done, so I'm not behind and am realistic about my goal. 

That left the bag empty, so what does one do with an empty bag? You have to fill it! So, back to the storage room, and OH MY - I found another flannel quilt. Then I got digging, and before I knew it, the bag was full of flannel quilts. Where did they all come from? 

Another bag of flannel quilts

So, I got digging on the shelf that houses the backings/fabric that was set aside for community projects. I found a ton of flannel pieces large enough for backings, so those got set beside the bag of quilt tops. 

Large pieces of flannel

I found two NEW flannel kits. There is plenty of fabric for the backings—they just need some time to piece. 

Two flannel kits

I've left that bag and the backings in the storage room, but they are set aside. The two kits are on my sewing table, and I may start piecing them in a couple of weeks. They need to be cut first. 

Then, I surveyed the flannel to see what remained. Oh gosh—the basket on the left is full of scraps. My intent is to make improv flannel blocks from them, and I'm sure I'll get a couple of quilt tops from that basket. I've already pulled a small bag of scraps] to take to the retreat next week. 

Flannel that still needs to be dealt with

The bag is filled with green pieces. The other three baskets are more or less sorted by color. All of that is flannel! We ran out of time before Diane could finish. 

I've already been there this morning and rejigged it a bit. While lying in bed (pain-free) thinking about the day, I knew I had to further sort this. I pulled a couple of large pieces of red and put them in the backing pile. The green (in the paper bag) went into the now empty basket where the red used to reside. What remains is a basket of scraps and four baskets of flannel pieces that could be made into backings or could be cut into squares. I'll wait and see what happens when I get there. 

But I have made it my goal—and I need to write this down somewhere—that I want ALL the flannel in this area dealt with by the end of 2025. You thought I was going to say 2024, didn't you? 

I'm going to hazard that there will be about FORTY (that's being generous) more quilts of flannel to deal with! And I should be able to handle that next year. Slow and steady, focus on what's set out, which is the laundry basket at the long arm. Plus, I inherited a partially pieced flannel quilt from that donation. That is going to the retreat; I'll deal with it there. 

I'm using my batting bits, and I'm sure I'll have enough for all those quilts! 

What is nice is knowing there's a plan. A plan to use up the closet of batting, a plan to get rid of the flannel, and then it'll be time to tackle the cotton tops. But that's for another day!

Oh—and then some flannel quilts on this rack are done and ready to be donated, as well as a handful upstairs. I must dig those out. I've decided that I'll donate them at the end of the year. Yes, it would be nice to have them ready for Christmas, but that isn't in the cards, so they will get donated when I'm ready. I'm not rushing to meet a deadline. 

Quilts ready to be donated

Then, I spent some time dealing with computer files as I have to migrate from the old laptop to the new one. My desktop was sluggish, so I deleted some of those OneDrive files that were synced to the desktop. Oops—that also started to be deleted from the OneDrive shared drive, so I CANCELED pretty quickly.  

I wish someone would tell me exactly how that DARN OneDrive works. I have an account that allows me storage and space to save my work. I dislike that we are FORCED to use that drive if you want to use AUTOSAVE, which I always use when writing a document. You don't want to write for hours and realize you didn't save. And you can NO LONGER do that on your computer. 

OK—so move on! Then, when the sync function is turned on, it somehow links the files to the hard disk on your computer. NOT an external hard drive—oh no—you can't do that. It has to be the computer's hard drive, which I hate as it takes up a lot of space. 

When I realized what I had done, I thought, "Great—I just deleted some files that I need." Many files I don't need are gone, and I'm OK with that—they needed to go. Then I went to my laptop and found the files still on OneDrive, but they didn't appear on the desktop OneDrive. Why? Yes - it's all about syncing, but it's a mystery and how it works. 

I was able to save the missing files onto an external hard disk. 

I don't understand why the darn thing doesn't sync to everything simultaneously. I'm glad it didn't, but what a mess. So, if anyone knows a guru who understands OneDrive, I would like to talk to them. Or I should Google it as part of my paperwork this morning and get it set up once and for all. Wait -- it's set up, but I want to know HOW it works. Reading anything online is like having your teenage grandchildren show you how to do something. They just do it, but you don't learn anything from it!

I believe the files have been transferred from the laptop, and the missing files have been saved. So, I can now start deactivating my programs on the old laptop and reinstalling them on the new one. 

OK—I found the Microsoft training for OneDrive. It tells me how, but I want the WHY. 

I had a good chuckle as I was digging through a journal. Oh my - this was when the EPIC 2 was released. And the lighting makes me look like I have a clown nose on!!! What fun! 

Three Amigos

A quick update - the physio thinks my issue is nerve-related, not strictly muscle, since I've done everything I can to release the muscle, and she doesn't think it's that tight. So she gave me a couple of simple exercises to take the pressure off and told me that the ones I was doing were likely exacerbating the pain. I've learned to sleep with a pillow under that leg and NOT move at night. Side sleeping was my issue the previous night, and I paid the price. She suggested I get an X-ray and see if a disk or something is out of place. So I'm good. I'm just careful, and today, everything is good! 

I'm like Murphy. All I need is a stick, and I'm good!

Murphy and her stick

But it's a challenge to get any exercise in with her around. The instant she hears that mat touch the floor, she is there, rolling around and trying to be helpful. You can't help but laugh, and laughter is good! Love you, Murphy!!!!

Here is another blog post on QUILTsocial. 

All about embroidery with the Husqvarna Viking Designer Quartz 29

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Murphy is cold!

I don't want my personal issues to become an ongoing topic on this blog. Let's just say there are good days and bad days. So far, it's been a bad day!

I had to finish editing something this morning, which was way overdue. What does one do? You get creative. I tried sitting down, but I couldn't even edit one sentence without having to walk. So - I have a stand-up desk of sorts in Studio B. 

Holy—that's so different from sitting down, and at times, I felt a bit of relief. The biggest issue is that the pain is constant. But as I walked around (almost 1000 steps so far), I felt I could sit down a wee bit. So I grabbed a stool from Studio U, and that helped marginally. 

A creative way to work

After taking twice as long to edit, the document was done! I should have finished it last night when I wasn't hurting as much, but I was tired and didn't want to. Lesson learned with new condition -- do what you can when you can! You never know what the next day will bring. 

Yes, I've tried muscle relaxants, creams, and stretching. NOTHING is working except those magid little pills, which I'm not taking. Wait—the walking helps, but it has to be a lengthy walk, and if I walk too fast, I get a Charlie Horse. Ah—the fun of not taking care of oneself! How I "hate" myself for being lazy, and I'm paying the price. 

But enough of all that nonsense! 

Some of our Monday sewing group members live nearby, which makes sense since we used to sew in a nearby church. Eight of us got together yesterday for lunch, and yes - I could sit pretty well by that time, so that was a bonus. Seeing everyone in person and chatting without waiting our turn was awesome! Let's just say it was pretty noisy! 

Whenever I know I'm meeting someone, I have to think about the staging area of the Pony Express. What can I deliver? There are quite a few things at the door, including some things I need to do errands for. After this weekend, it'll all look a lot better, as I'll see a few people at the sewing retreat and can get rid of some of the stuff. 

I'm trying to figure out what's up with Murphy. As a rule, she's hot! I call her the menopausal dog because she loves to lie flat out, so her tummy is on the cool ceramic floor. But then, other times, she comes in and plops herself by the gas fireplace. And if you have a gas fireplace, you know if the pilot light is on, it's generating heat. She sits right in front. 

MOM -- I'm cold!

What a silly girl! And yes - she helped me with my exercise last night! The girls will NOT be happy this morning as I have an appointment with a physiotherapist at 8:30, right in the middle of their walk time! Oopsy! 

We finished the EXIT Game last night. Oh my gosh --- we would never be able to solve that thing individually, but together? We're a good team. We were totally stumped last night. Well, I should say the puzzles are often multi-part. So, you start by determining what the puzzle is. Then, you have to figure it out, which might involve multiple steps. One part might come together very quickly, but another part does not. DH came to the rescue last night. Then we had some searching searching to do, but we found it and all was good! 

We laughed at the backpack, which wasn't needed until the end. As we were choosing the items, we discussed them, and the thought of killing a vampire came to mind. Depending on which items were picked, the game had multiple "endings." OK, so we didn't kill the vampire, but we had loads of fun! 

The next one is the 2024 Advent Calendar, but we'll have to start a week late because I won't be here next week. 

I got most of the homework stuff out the door yesterday. That takes a lot of time, so I spent most of the morning accomplishing that. There is still ONE last thing to do, and I must prep for one class this weekend. 

Now for some additional reading today: This week, my QUILTsocial blog posts are up, and I'm reviewing the NEW Husqvarna Viking Designer Quartz 29, an entry-level sewing and embroidery machine. It's adorable and so lightweight!!!

Here are the posts so far this week: 

Monday - Unboxing the machine

Tuesday - Sewing mode features

I've had loads of fun playing with it! 

I think that's it for me today. I might have time to squeeze one dog walk in before leaving, throwing the other dog into a tizzy! But it will save time later. For obvious reasons I did not go to spin class today. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

Progress is happening everywhere!

I am whispering this so as not to appear to be gloating, and I certainly do NOT want to jinx myself. I managed to stay in bed until it was time to get up! I woke up a couple of times but was able to get back to sleep. Yes, there is still pain while lying down, but I've found a way to sleep by putting a pillow under my leg to elevate it slightly. YES - I tried that before, but it did nothing at the time. I can only say that waking up with a good night's sleep is precious! 

I've been stretching, although there is a challenge to that. Yes - my muscles are tight, and the movements are small, but my challenge is a bit more daunting than that. Have a look. 

Murphy doing her dead dog exercise routine!

The second I lay out my mat, guess who is there! She's hilarious and seems concerned, or she's just happy I'm on the same level as her! 

Everything went well for the test in the morning—it takes about 30 minutes to walk to the hospital. The doctor was late, but everything was great! There are no issues, so that was good news. There is nothing serious wrong with me, but the latest buzz these days is all about the health of our pelvic floors. As soon as I was back home from the test, I was on my way to the gym to listen to a lecture about pelvic floor health! 

And YES --- it is all related to my tight muscle in my butt. I have to solemnly vow to myself that I need to strengthen a LOT of muscles in my body and learn to stretch them out. That is the bulk of my issues, and I swear that even the pain in my knees is all about having too tight of muscles. 

To help me out, I have appointments with a personal trainer and a physiotherapist later this week. I must make an appointment with my yoga mat at least once a day—more often would be better, but once a day is better than nothing. If I don't, I will be one rounded ball of muscles that are so tight that I can't unroll myself! I'll be like those balls of rubber bands! Eventually, the bands (muscles) will break down and be useless! 

So with Murphy's "help," we might just get there! 

I walked the girls later in the afternoon, and you could tell they were not happy that they hadn't gotten their walk in the morning. I had errands, so I took them with me—one at a time, of course. 

Here is Murphy waiting outside the bank. What a goof!!! 

MOM!! I'm trying to be patient!

I almost lost one of my little hand-mended gloves here. I had stopped to do my dog duty, and when I left the bank, I couldn't find one of my gloves. Oh, no—did I mend that thing only to lose it? Nope—I backtracked a bit, and there it was! 

And when we got home - guess what? There was a package waiting for me. 

MOM - you've got mail!

 What did I get? When discussing some embroidery designs that used buttons the previous day, some ladies suggested I get KAM snaps instead. So I ordered them, and they arrived yesterday. 

Colored KAM-snaps

And here's the tool to attach them. 

The tools to apply the KAM snaps

Someone reminded me that I couldn't buy anything if I didn't have a home for it! AHA—I got that covered as well. I just happen to have an empty drawer in Studio B, so that's the home of the snaps. 

An empty drawer!

If I were smart, I'd go through my container of fastener "things," pull out all the other snap-related things, and put them together. That's a task for another day. 

It is so refreshing to have empty drawers! That's what this decluttering is all about. If I can empty a drawer, I don't immediately refill it. Let it breathe! Something will come along to fill it as happened here. 

Because of the topsy-turvy day, I only got to the long arm after dinner. But a customer quilt is done! I'll trim it later today. 

Customer quilt - DONE

I pieced the backing and the batting for the next community project quilt. It's loaded and ready to be quilted later today. 

To vary the work routine, I'm trying to alternate between a community project quilt and a customer quilt. Prepping those community project quilts, making the backings, and piecing the batting takes work, but I'm plowing through the batting, which is great!!

I joined the Monday sewing group for a few hours and assembled all the outer border blocks for that donated UFO. 

Blocks for the outer border

Then, I had some extra time this morning, so I got the first two borders on the panel. 

Two borders on the panel

There is just the pieced border left to put on, and then it needs to be quilted and bound. Hmm -- can I get that done before Sunday? I should be able to, but I've also got some writing and some prepping. At least I'm feeling better, so that's a bonus. The most uncomfortable thing at this point is the first couple of hours after getting up and sitting on the chair in my office. I  may have to just bite the bullet and go for a walk first thing. 

Here's another quilt on the bed. This will be the FIRST quilt from my stash to go in the donation pile. I am trying to remember when or why I made this one, so the quilt goes if there are minimal memories. That's how I'm going to start the great quilt donation giveaway. This will go to Quilts of Valour. 

The first quilt to be donated

It'll stay on the bed for a week and then into the donation pile.

Yesterday, we discussed sewing machines, and I may have mentioned this last week, but I technically own ONE sewing machine. It used to be an embroidery machine, but I would never consider doing embroidery on it. It's 25 years old. Oh my—some people wondered how I could sell that orange and pink EPIC 2. Easy—it's a thing, not something that will change my life. 

Yes, I am fortunate to have the loan of other machines that I'm currently using, and if I no longer had that privilege, I'd buy one with embroidery capabilities. But I do NOT need more than one or two machines. I can only sew on one and embroider on the other, so why take up space in my house? The machines I've sold are now used by people instead of collecting dust in my house. Am I happy? Absolutely, and I have zero regrets! 

NOTHING is sacred at my house! NOTHING! 

Oh - I should mention Susie! Susie reads my blog, and instead of commenting, she sends me emails and regales me with hilarious stories about her decluttering and downsizing journey! I would like to publicly thank her! She was somewhere the other day and spotted a book about bicycles or something to do with bikes. She said, "Oh - that would be something Elaine would like." And then she told herself I would have to figure out when and where to get rid of it, so it stayed in the store!!!  

YES—when we can get to that point, we are CURED! Yes, it might be nice to have, but now I'm thinking about the amount of use I'll get out of anything I buy, where I'll put it, and how I'll get rid of it! If I have an excellent answer to all those questions, I feel good about buying it. If I don't, it doesn't come home. Don't forget that the more you have, the more time you'll "waste" managing that thing.

Having said all that, I will be a hypocrite and suggest you sign up for a new class I'll teach in the new year! We like to sew and need to keep something on the back burner! If you have too many quilts - donate them! I know a lady who is frequently in my classes, and everything she makes, she donates. Seriously!!! That's a win-win. Donating is an excellent solution if you primarily use up your scraps; it keeps you sewing, and you don't want or need another quilt. Or start donating those you never use - but don't hang onto them! 

This is Chatsworth. I'm teaching it at The Hobby Horse starting in January, and you can sign up online. 

Chatsworth class

Some parts are paper-pieced, but this is easy, so I don't foresee this as a problem, even if you are new to paper-piecing. 

Paper pieced sections of the quilt

I'm still sitting and have only had to get up once, so things are moving in the right direction. I have loads of work to do today and a lunch date. But it's all about progress—slow and steady, but progress is still progress!!! 

In addition to decluttering, it's time to start getting our bodies into shape. I'm not talking about pumping iron in the gym, but a few stretches here and there can make a difference in managing pain, especially those caused by tight muscles. If you don't use your muscles, you'll start to lose them and then - big trouble! I'll try to find some links to some straightforward ones that you can even do in your chair. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!

Friends

There is a bit of good news. I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep (with no drugs) - well, I had taken a Celebrex earlier in the afternoon. I felt much better than the previous day when I slept less. It helped that I was able to get 50 minutes of naptime once I came back from walking the dogs. 

The worst part of the day is getting out of bed and waiting for that morning walk. Yes -- I could walk when I get up, but at 3 AM? A little bit of stretching, a little bit of muscle relaxant. I don't know if I need more medical intervention? I'll wait a day or two and see how it goes. 

Once that muscle (or whatever it is exactly) warms up, it seems to allow me to function somewhat normally for most of the day, although sometimes sitting for long periods (more than 15 minutes) is not a good thing. Anyway, the intense muscle spasming is past; let's hope it doesn't return. 

This reminds me of another time I had a very similar issue. I was on my first long-distance bicycle trip, riding from Vancouver to Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. We had left Dawson City and were on the Dempster Highway—800 km of wilderness, with one truck stop (and electricity) about midway. 

I got a cramp or whatever it was in my left buttock, and it was extremely painful to ride. I had no choice but to ride because there was nowhere to go. Can you believe my luck that one of our wilderness guides was a massage therapist or something in that field? So after dinner every night for a week, I lay on the picnic table while she worked magic on my butt. It worked! I continue to ride each day! 

A steady group of friends popped into and out of the Virtual Retreat all day. At one point last night, we were regaling each other with stories of funerals, celebrations of life, and memorial services. As one person said, when was the last time you laughed outrageously with friends on a Sunday evening? It was a hoot, and I admit that we've had quite the gambit of topics. It's a great community! 

Some people are not a fan of Zoom. I honestly think that it was a gift given to us from the pandemic. The people I've met and continue to stay in touch with are amazing, and what I've found is that it doesn't matter where we're from. We could be in a somewhat isolated community in Northern Ontario or live in a huge metropolis (which can be just as isolating as a northern community), but we've all become fast friends!

But that doesn't mean newcomers can't stop by. A big welcome to Tish from Alabama, who stopped in to chat yesterday. Oh my—I love her accent, and she almost didn't need to tell us where she was from! 

Yes, anyone and everyone is welcome to the Virtual Retreats, and I know that when the gang is on the screen, I'm never alone, and who knows what topic will come up! 

The next one is scheduled for December 28 and 29, but we might throw in a couple of hours of sewing on Christmas morning. I think we did Christmas Eve last year. No, we did New Year's Eve last year. I'll see how it goes, but having a drop-in on Christmas morning might be fun. Let's face it—Christmas Day can be a tough day for many people, and if we can bring a cheer to someone, then let's do it!!

I managed to get some work done! I am a bit behind on my writing, but I decided that I needed a break, so I took the weekend off. This was good, as my brain needed time to adjust to working with this little issue called pain. 

Another community project quilt is done. I was up and piecing the back when I couldn't sleep the previous night. I had pieces of green flannel left, so with about four seams, I had a great backing for the quilt. The batting was also made from four pieces of batting. Little by little, I'm whittling that pile of batting down! 

Community project quilt

The pile of quilts to be quilted (community projects) doesn't seem to be diminishing! And now that everything is trimmed, there's a stack of quilts to bind. 

But progress is being made, and going forward even slowly is better than not moving forward at all. 

This is the UFO that I inherited and is slated for Project Linus. The small four-patch blocks were done last week; I completed these four patches yesterday. Now, these need to be sewn into one more four-patch. Then the blocks are together, and it's a matter of assembly. I think this one will have to wait until next Christmas to donate, as I don't have time this week to finish and quilt it. But that's OK. I'm still hoping to finish my twenty quilts by mid-December, even if it means going into my quilt stash to get what's missing. 

Four-patch blocks

It all has to go, and having small goals is better than saying I have 300 quilts to quilt. I don't think I ever counted how many Diane made in total, but it was close to 300. 

I got my latest Virtual Challenge medal in the mail. Well, since there is a strike, I'm not sure how it arrived, but it was on my doorstep on the weekend. It represents the Great Wall of China, which was 3,513 km long. I started it on January 29, 2024.

Great Wall of China medal

I mentioned the other day that it wasn't as exciting as the mapped ones, but I totally get that Google hasn't (can't) mapped this route!

I'm currently "walking" The Great Barrier Reef (2,119 KM); for obvious reasons, this one isn't mapped either!

Now that I'm getting all the mileage from my Fitbit daily, I shall easily make my targets for the year. Then, I need to figure out the next year's goal. A bit more cycling? Less walking? 

Well, my day is going to be topsy-turvy. I have a medical test this morning (not for my leg), and I'm walking to the hospital for that. Then I'm off to the gym for a lecture and then back for the remainder of Monday sewing. The next quilt is loaded, and I hope to get that done. I must also get back to that final writing assignment. 

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

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!