Squaring up a VERY WONKY quilt

Although I didn't have solid plans for yesterday - there was a quilt to trim, applique to cut, etc. —I got none of that done. 

Instead, I was repaying a favor, and someone came to use the long arm, so I spent the day helping with that. WAIT—that was the easy part. She also brought a wonky quilt that we attempted to square up. Hmm—that was quite the mental exercise, and before we knew it, it also turned into a physical one. 

I will say (and I told her) that I disagreed with the construction method, and something strange happened in this instance. When you take one strip of fabric, add a second strip of fabric, and then continue in that fashion, the result (after adding MANY strips of fabric) is that the end is usually longer than the beginning. Not so with this one - the end was much shorter (or narrower by at least 11 inches) if you want. And it had quite the bow in it! 

The task of the day was to try to salvage the quilt. Of anything I've been asked to do, this one stumped me. 

We started by clearing off one work table to see if we could square it up. Hmm—that wasn't working well, so we tried folding the quilt in the opposite direction, parallel to the seams. Then, one side of the quilt was trimmed. We tried using that edge as a guide to cut the other edge. 

To our horror, that first cut did NOT look good at all. One half of the side was straight, and then at the fold, it took a crazy angle. 

So we laid it out again and tried to square it up—again with it folded in half, but in the opposite orientation. But NOT before I gave the darn thing a good press with steam. This is what it looked like. 

Trimming a quilt by folding it

You can see how the end on the bottom was significantly longer than the top edge, and it had significant bows in it (I wish I had taken a picture), which resulted from sewing row after row in the same orientation. I believe this was a tutorial online! Sigh.....

That wasn't working, so I moved more furniture so we could lay the quilt top out flat. Oh boy—this is pretty wonky. What to do? 

Then, I decided to use a floorboard as a guide. So we lined up one side with a floorboard. Then I took MANY rulers to continue that straight edge on the quilt top. Once I was happy with that, I marked the line with chalk. The ends aren't going to be square—the ends of the strips, that is, as some of them have a bit of an angle. But the edge of the quilt was STRAIGHT. The mat went on the floor, and she trimmed it along the chalk line. Ignore the pink tape measure - it makes the side look wonky, but it was just lying there at this moment. 

Trying to get a straight edge

We used THREE long tape measures in our journey, as well as many rulers. NO—the quilt sides are not 90 degrees to the top and bottom, and I'm hoping that can be fixed when it gets quilted. 

It took a lot of finagling to get the other side parallel to the first. Do not ask me why this wasn't a simple task, but it wasn't. I think the curved seams gave off an optical vibe that was very distracting to work with. 

Attempting to square the other edge

However, we persevered, and the second side is now parallel (more or less) to the first one. This quilt ended up being 73 inches wide or somewhere in that range, and it's much longer than the width, so it was a challenge to deal with, not just the wonky seams but the optical illusion from the curved seams and the size. 

But here it is - more or less trimmed and ready to be quilted. 

The quilt is salvaged

So here's some good advice - just because someone posts a video on how to make a quilt - don't believe it! If someone thinks they have a better method for making a jelly roll quilt, don't believe them. While I think this was to emulate a jelly roll quilt, with the goal of making it larger, there are better ways to make a larger jelly roll quilt. Speaking of jelly roll quilts - the construction method dictates that the quilt is a specific size. You can mess with that to some extent, but you will run into significant issues if you're not careful. It's a simple mathematical formula to resize a jelly roll quilt. I should explain it one day. 

The second thing is NEVER just take one strip of fabric and, without measuring it, add it to another piece of fabric and then repeat that process. The lengths will NEVER be the same, and they will skew, as happened here. I'll equate EACH new strip in this quilt as a border, and one should NEVER just sew the border onto a quilt. It needs to be measured, cut to the appropriate length, and PINNED. 

How would I have done this? I could have measured the first strip, and then I would have cut the next strip to the EXACT SAME length, and I would have sewn a pair of strips together after pinning them. Then I would have sewn the next two pairs and so on. Then, when I had a pile of pairs, I would have started to join (always pinning) the pairs. Continuing to sew to the first row (column) means that the strip gets handled a LOT, so it tends to stretch, while the final row was handled once and didn't stretch. 

By sewing in pairs, each strip is handled the SAME number of times - zero stretching! 

I want to find the instructions to see if this was, in fact, how the instructor said to sew this quilt because EVERYTHING about the construction, as I understand it, is WRONG!!! This is from a YouTube instructor, where I saw in a short video this morning, earns about $8K monthly from her videos. I hope the others are better than this one. I'm missing out on making a lot of money! But I do NOT want to be tied to making videos. I have better things to do! I could make videos on decluttering! That would be entertaining. 

Happily, the quilt on the long arm turned out beautifully. 

The quilt turned out amazing! 

I did accomplish a few things. I sorted through two of the boxes of novelty prints and removed FOUR large pieces that can be used for quilt backings. They were measured and moved to the quilt backing area. 

Four quilt backings are measured and on the shelf

I removed a couple of fruit fabrics as I have a separate storage area for them. 

Fruit fabrics

And those new plastic bins hold much more fabric than the cardboard boxes. It was a fun trip down memory lane as I went through all those prints. Gosh, I seem to have everything on fabric. Do you see the matches?

A bin of novelty fabrics

The next quilt is loaded on the long arm and ready to go today. I have some applique to do, and it's Monday Sewing, so it'll be the perfect day for that. 

Here are some photos of what's in bloom in the backyard. Two lilies have appeared in the pond. 

The first two lilies in the pond

Oh dear -- I need to find out what this flowering shrub is. Gardening was never my strong point. Where are the bees? This one is also quite fragrant and beside the gazebo, but it has been a few days since I've been there. No time!

Another flowering shrub

My one peony is starting to bloom. I had a better picture than this, and I think I should plant a few more plants (bushes) behind this one. It seems to thrive in that area, and there's a lot of empty space there. OK—where do I get peonies? I want colors that are different from the fuchsia I have. 

My peony

After our water issues were resolved, I could get the pump to the pond going, and Miss Murphy was again fascinated by the waterfalls. Oh, and you can see the remains of our irises. We have yellow ones. I'm surprised they are still living because they are right where Murphy likes to tramp. 

MOM -- there's water flowing!

Meanwhile, Lexi just watches. She's so calm compared to Murphy. She's my "hero" and will save the world. Do you see the resemblance? 

MOM -- I'm on watch duty!

On that note, I have a ton of follow-up emails to complete today. I'm a tad behind in that, but I also have stuff to do in Studio B since I didn't get much of my stuff completed yesterday. And I was OK with that. I'm glad I could help with those two quilts, and now she can move forward on completing them. 

And I'm off to spin class and want to find those instructions! Just because you can doesn't mean you should! 

I managed to get a bit more put away in the kitchen, and the spice drawer is almost finished. Why is it taking so long? I have to wash the little funnel after every use, and rather than take the time to dry it, I let it air dry. When I have a minute or two or just pass by, I grab the funnel and fill another jar. I thought of a great idea to store the excess spices. If I had ripped through the process, I wouldn't have time to mull over the ideas, so slow and steady is how I work because I'm problem-solving as I go. 

This method has worked for me for years - I will NOT change it, despite all your "protests" that I move faster. 

I hope you are all tackling your drawers or some areas of your house. It doesn't need to take hours - a few minutes well spent in any area can start to make a difference!! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!

A walk in the flowers

It was another LONG exhausting day; however, I listened to another page-turner audiobook, and I didn't want to stop. But I was so tired that I was falling asleep, even listening to the thriller. I tried listening to the rest of it this morning as I was prepping my presentation for the classes, and I had to stop because it was distracting me. OH! What a great book -- another page-turner by Shari Lapena -- The End of Her. 

I may have to listen while walking the dogs this morning. Again -- secrets and families -- are NOT a good mix. So if you have family secrets -- watch your back! 

A super productive day and I'm pretty pleased with the results. I'm not out of the woods yet with deadlines, so there won't be any celebrating today. Two more things NEED to be done by Sunday PM. NO -- make that three things! But it's all good, and I shouldn't be rushed to get them done. 

Everything is ready for this morning, and I must say that with technology, I'm getting much better and faster at taking and editing pictures and making up the presentations! Yeah me!!

I did not have a chance to tackle those few items on the cutting table. There was NO time for a break yesterday. OK -- I did sit outside for a bit. Not because I wanted to, but because I needed to make a call, and yep -- the phone isn't working correctly again! So I need to go to the store, but that won't happen until next week. When things are a bit more relaxed. 

I have to fly for work (and pleasure) in a few weeks. It was a trip that started out entirely as a pleasure trip, then turned into a work trip for part of it. Thankfully, in the same city that I was going to be in. However, it required that I make a change to one of my flights. I HATE making all those travel arrangements, as it's not my thing. I kept getting notifications from Air Canada that my flights had changed due to their scheduling or whatever, and I needed to accept or change my flight. Since I knew I had to change one flight, I was waiting for confirmation of the dates. I managed to change the DATE of my flight at zero cost! 

But now, since I have a specific timeline to follow, there are a few more changes to make and another flight to book. I'm NOT good with that stuff. Where's that darn admin??? As much as I hate doing that, I'd have a hard time letting someone else do it. I learn so much in the process!

Here are some wise words of wisdom that I found on the internet somewhere. 

Honestly, it's like someone looked inside my head and wrote down what's inside. I see some people stuck on any number of those things. It drives me NUTS because I wouldn't give two thoughts to what some people consider earth-shattering. YES -- we all march to the beat of a different drum but go back to that rule of FIVE. In five seconds, will it matter, in five days, in five weeks, in five years, etc.? 

I will admit that my biggest fault is number one. I do tend to dominate the conversation at times. I try to sit back and let things go, especially when I think I know better than someone else. I'm trying -- and I'm going to stick a sticky note to my laptop (for Zoom) to remind myself to sit back. 

OK -- I have a few issues with number four, but I'm working on that. I'm much better than I used to be! The rest --- I never overthink EVER. I'm the number one focus in my life (well, maybe the girls come first sometimes!), I never cheat myself, I'm the first to admit I made a mistake, and I detest wasting time on social media! I love that list! 

I also no longer save things for a special day. Here's one of my fancy bike teatowels that gets everyday use. I don't think there's a single thing in our house that we're saving for special occasions. To me, every day is special. My bike tea mugs get used every day, and I rotate them one day, it's this one, and the next day, it's the other one. 

Using the "fancy" tea towels

I will say that some things don't get used because we have too many of them. Too many cups in the cupboard. There are only two of us, and unless one of us starts to break things, we have too many. The same thing with clothes -- I tend to wear the same things repeatedly, and there's stuff in the closet that needs to go. I should do another cull one day!

OK -- I think I mentioned that our local grocery store is undergoing renovations. And they've moved the Starbucks from the bookstore (many Starbucks locations closed forever during the lockdowns) to the grocery store. The way the grocery store is set up, you come in one door and out the other at the other end of the store. As I walked Murphy past the store yesterday, I saw the sign, and it got me thinking. 

The coffee shop is at the ENTRANCE to the store. If you were a shopper, wouldn't it make more sense to have it at the EXIT? Who wants to walk around with your coffee in hand while you push a cart and grab groceries? And do I want to see spilled coffee on the groceries? I'm guessing they sell goodies as well -- well, wouldn't it be cheaper to purchase a pack of cookies from the grocery store rather than buy an individual one from Starbucks?? I don't know, but this doesn't seem well thought out. Or is it just me? 

I don't have my tea until I'm back in the house after walking the girls, so I can sit and enjoy it with a couple of digestive cookies. 

As I walked the girls yesterday, I snapped a couple of pictures of flowers. Here's a dandelion in the seed stage. Hmm -- that's probably not the proper term, but I am fascinated by this stage of the dandelion. It's so delicate and beautiful. They are everywhere at the moment. 

And here's a flower so the bees will still be happy. 

And I spotted one lone tulip in the forest. Now, how the heck did that get there? It's beside the sidewalk, and I bet a squirrel dropped it!!

We've seen a lot of wildlife lately. Two days ago, I spotted two skunks on the walk. Of course, Muphy can't handle herself like a lady when there are skunks around. Either she or I have learned how to get her back in control much faster than before, but she still freaks out. 

Then we spotted a fox the other day with breakfast in his mouth. Well, Murphy went ballistic. "MOM - I NEED to play with that." It took a lot of convincing, talking, and leash pulling to get her back on track. The next day, the fox ended up on our front lawn, and she almost crashed through the window in an attempt to get at it. Sigh......................   She is better -- that's all I can say. 

It looks like a blistering, cold, windy day outside, but I just stepped out, and it's warm! But it might rain. Umbrella or not? I don't trust the weather app!

On that note, I'd better get moving as my first Zoom starts at 9 AM. It's an exciting day, to say the least!! And there will be some FANTASTIC show and tell tomorrow. 

Now, where are those earbuds?

Have a great day!!!

Ciao!!!

Back to Normal

Back to normal - what exactly does that mean these days? We're now able to go to the movies, eat indoors at restaurants, meet in small groups, and a whole lot more. But wearing masks and social distancing is probably with us for a long, long time.

I'm OK with that. I think, as a society, we're a whole lot healthier because of it. I haven't heard many sneezes or hacking coughs. People are either too afraid to do either in public, or they are just healthier!! Which goes to show that if you're sick, you should be staying home. Now, if only the workplace can figure that one out. Hey - have your employees work from home!

I don't have a lot of allergies, and I'm thankful for that, but gosh - I'm becoming super sensitive to perfumes. We accidentally bought laundry detergent with a scent. The window in the office was open the other day, and I was doing laundry. The dryer vents outside close to the window, and I was about gagging from the smell. It was the laundry detergent scent intensified from the dryer - we don't use dryer sheets. Holy - we better not make that same mistake again. How can people tolerate that stuff? And my clothes smell - it's awful.

When I pass some people these days, I'm wondering if they've gone back to the tricks of the Victorian era where they would layer on the cologne and perfumes to mask the lack of hygiene??  Holy people - you do NOT need that much.

The boomerang project is very much under control and almost out of my hair. Yeah!!! I had other stuff that I had to get done yesterday, so I had to take a wee break, but I did still work on it. I feel like I've been chained to the computer the entire week! I hate that!

But I'm happy to report that I spent some time prepping for the retreat. Yeah!! That makes me feel like I'm actually getting something done.

I got the topstitching from the second little pouch ripped out. The lining is cut, even the corners (to make the box corners). This is now in a bag with the matching thread.

Zippered pouch number 1

And here's the second zippered pouch - all ready to be sewn together.

The second zippered pouch

I've got one more pouch to make from this fabric, but I need to find a strip of Decor-Bond and some webbing to finish it. Oh, and a buckle. So that's on the agenda for this morning - find the missing stuff and put it in the bag, so it's all ready to go. Before, I'd just shove that in the retreat basket and hope that everything was in there - only to find that I was missing stuff to finish it. Well, no more.

I think there are three other zippered pouches that I can make from some orange fabric that was prequilted. I hope to get those ready for the retreat as well. I might just be able to steal a few minutes this weekend to get that stuff prepped. I have a quilt of mine that HAS to be quilted and bound by Monday. It's a custom job, so it's going to take some time. It's my focus this weekend.

Then I pulled out this other project. It's on my UFO list for 2020. It's a string quilt made with busy green fabrics. I'm using newsprint (yellow pages) for the foundation, which is a 60-degree triangle. I had a bunch made, but how many more did I need to make??

60-degree triangle string quilt

I had no idea, so now I have a map that I created in EQ8. I counted the triangles that were sewn (149), and I need to make 31 triangles. There's PLENTY of green strips in that case to make 31 triangles. Then I can start to sew the triangles together. This project has been sitting around for several years, and I'd like to get it done.

I pulled out a Yellow Pages from my ample supply of the darn things. I think this one is from 2010. And nope - they don't make them any longer. I wonder when they stopped? It's been several years now.

Yellow Pages from 2010

I thought I'd have a peek at the Quilting category. I got a laugh out of that. I don't think all the listings are retail, and quite a few of those are closed now.

Quilting in the Yellow Pages circa 2010

Then I ripped out 31 pages so I can cut them down using my 60-degree ruler so this project will be ready for the retreat. I do like to be totally prepped, so all I have to do is sew.

Yellow pages need to be cut into 60-degree triangles

And here's the retreat basket to date. Some stuff is sitting outside because it needs some more work before it goes in or is waiting for me to find the pattern, cut something, or whatever.

The retreat basket

The laundry basket is FAR from full. Oh, yes - my backpack is back in there. But only to work on the straps. I need to find the pattern for the straps. It's here somewhere. That's why I've been feeling out of sorts lately. Things are strewn everywhere as I tried to get things under control. I wasn't that successful, but now I can get back on track. The pattern is actually on my desk as I need to order the buckles which I might do today since I wasn't able to buy them at Fabricland.

While the basket is far from full, there's quite a bit of work in there. I have two bags that I want to add and the orange zippered pouches. That's it. There's already so much in there to do, and the basket is not full. Gosh - I'm becoming so much more reasonable!!! I'll have no problem fitting the toolbox in there.

Little Bear and I took a walk to the library yesterday to return some books. Now that things are moving, albeit slowly, at the library, I had some books that were due. One of them I hadn't read, so I need to put it on hold once it clears off my account. And there are 6 or 7 new books that slipped through the system, and I had to make an appointment to pick them up. I should have delayed that pickup as long as possible, but still, the earliest I could get was August 11. No worries - I have a lot of reading material here.

On our way home, we passed these gorgeous flowers. Where are the hummingbirds??? I think these are called trumpet flowers??? I have no idea how I know that.

Trumpet flowers

 I discovered something else yesterday. Oh, first, I LOVE my new FitBit. The bracelet is so much more comfortable than the old one. It's softer and more supple. It does a lot more, and of course, I don't know how to do any of that yet. But I'll figure it out. I do know how to find the weather app on the Fitbit, so that's a start.

So the four of us - Ronda, Shelly, Laura, and I signed up to do the Big Canada Run as a team. It's a virtual walk/run. I'm so used to seeing our individual progress on the map for Route 66 that I was missing that for this run. Well, yesterday, I found the map.  Yeah!!!!  We started in St. John's and walk around the northern route in Newfoundland. We've walked over 900 KM, and we're almost at the ferry landing.


Our marker is the greenish one pretty much right in the middle of the map. That's pretty exciting. There are a lot of individuals who are doing the run and a lot of teams. Some teams consist of two people, all the way to 27. Our small team of four is doing great, and I think we're in second place for teams of 4. Way to go, ladies!!!  We rock!!!! We should be able to do the distance in 10 months, and that gives us two months of leeway in case we start to slack off. Not all of our group has logged their miles, so I bet we're probably closer to 1,000 KM.

Almost at the ferry dock for the Big Canada Run

I love these Virtual Walks and can't wait to finish one, so I can start another. I'm at 67% of the Route 66 walk. Almost in Arizona. Yeah!!! 

Speaking of walking, it's almost time to get the girls ready. I now have to do two walks each morning. It's too much to take all three, especially with Murphy and her harness situation. More on that another day. So I do two shorter walks, which makes all of them unhappy because I'm the only one who gets to do the entire walk! Too bad - I'm the one with the hungry FitBit!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

Retreat - Day Two

Another day at Fireside Retreat and another hot day outside. Not so hot that we didn't sit out on the deck for quite a bit yesterday afternoon (in the shade of course) and not so hot that we didn't eat lunch and dinner in the screened-in porch. And not so hot that I didn't take a bike ride in the morning and then a walk in the evening. YES - we're totally crazy, but if you're just sitting around on the deck, the heat and humidity are not so bad.

The other saving grace with the heat and humidity is the trees. There are lots of trees surrounding the property, and that's what helps to cool off the air—same thing at home. Trees will help to beat the heat. Become a tree hugger today!!

I don't have a whole lot to show for finishing yesterday, but I did get some work done. I can't even remember what I was working on in the morning. Isn't that awful?

Anyway - I got my bike out first thing when it wasn't too hot and went for a 32 KM ride. It's so beautiful up here and not a whole lot of traffic, and that really makes it pleasant. A wee bit of gravel on one road near the quarry, and it wasn't a lot of fun to ride on the gravel as it's quite loose. After riding 800KM on the Dempster Highway in 2010, gravel isn't really a problem.

There's a large hill right by the house, and if you go down that hill, you have to come back up it. There's no way to get around it. I thought if I went far enough in one direction that perhaps the hill would be less. NOT! I think the hill coming back up was even steeper. But I did get a great view as my reward for struggling up the hill. 

The view from the hill

You can see the lake from the top of this hill. So hard to capture the actual essence of the land with a camera. I guess you have to be there.

OK - I confess, I had to stop on that hill. I'm not used to riding up steep (over 10% grade) hills, and I stopped for a few seconds. I did NOT walk up but just stopped. I could say that I stopped to take this picture (which I did), but that wasn't the entire truth! I'm OK with stopping.

Tiger lily

Here's my flower of the day picture. The poor flower looks a bit beat up - probably from the heat.

Then it was back to the house to have a well-deserved shower and back to work.

Actually, I wanted to finish the secret project that I started at the last retreat.

That Ronda - she finds things, gets an idea that we need to work on it, and well - we had another project. Actually, yesterday was all about Ronda! So when she was shopping online, she came across a panel. She showed me the panel and said we should make this for Katheleen. Hmm - that seemed like a great idea at the time. So she bought the panel and gave it to me. It was my job to make up the panel.

So what was the panel??

Aunt Flossy and Phyllis

A mommy cow and a calf!!!! I know - totally crazy. Katheleen loves cows like I like bikes. And it was her birthday while we were here, so she got two cows for her birthday. I wasn't going to sew those buttons on for eyes, and she happened to have some glue, so I borrowed glue from her to glue on the eyes on HER cows.

I had to sit upstairs in the dining room while I finished the work on the cows since Katheleen was sewing in the main sewing room.

The cow even has an udder that was a total pain to hand stitch on. We won't look too closely at that. And the poor cow needs a good lint rolling. I used a different kind of stuffing, and it was very fine and a good producer of lint!

The cow's udder

Those cows have pretty red ribbons, each with an appropriately sized bell and not a jingle bell either. Oh no - I was given strict instructions - no jingle bells allowed. Fortunately, I have a small stash of bells and found what I needed. So if you remember that picture of the day, I went shopping in my stash for ribbons and bells? It was not for a Christmas project - it was for Aunt Flossie and Phyllis.

I have to say that they are cute, now that they are done!!!  Happy Birthday, Katheleen!!!

The cows

Then I had no choice but to get back to that darn backpack. I don't know why it's such an issue. The backpack itself isn't that huge of a deal. Loads of pieces, but doable. Ronda took the easy route and made her backpack with no inside pockets, no straps. That cut out a whole lot of issues.

We were supposed to be working on them together, but well - my mind just wasn't into making backpacks. So Ronda got hers finished last night.

Ronda's backpack

Ronda's backpack

OH - Now I remember what I did in the morning. I had a few things that needed to be fixed on my backpack. Again, Ronda took the easy route, and everything is black. NO - mine has several colors on it, and I didn't like the color of binding on that outside pocket flap - so I had to take that off and redo it. I hate redoing, and I'm slow at it.

This is what my backpack looks like this morning—still a pile of pieces. I hope to get a wee bit more done on it today, and then I'll either finish it at home or bring it back next time. Now that all the pieces (except for those pesky straps) are done, the rest will go fairly quickly. The problem with the straps is that I'm making the straps from a different bag pattern, and there are many pieces to making them. You'll get to see as I go along. And Nina - if you're reading today - can you show me a picture of the straps on your bag? That's what I'm trying to put on this one.

My backpack

The other thing that I made sure got accomplished yesterday was to get the zippers in. While Shelly made us a zipper fork for attaching the zipper pulls to the zipper tape, we just seem to get the job done faster if we're two people. So at dinner, last night, Ronda and I sat there, and within minutes, the last of my zippers were done! As I pulled my chair up, I felt like we were getting ready to play a game.

Making zippers

 It takes a lot of hands to make those zippers. Good thing, Shelly wasn't here so she couldn't see us. But we did it, and the zipper looks fantastic. I got it sewn into the bag pieces last night. The next step required some thinking before I marked and cut, and I wasn't prepared to take that risk when I was tired. That's on the agenda for today. I won't finish the backpack, but I hope to get the pockets attached to the front and back pieces.

It's hard work to make a zipper

The best news about the zippers? We're getting good at it. I love zipper tape now. So if you have zipper tape, you'll never use - let me know.

I have to say, somewhat sheepishly, that I've finally figured out how to cook oatmeal in the microwave here. Isn't that sad that it's taken me how many years? And the saddest part? It's EXACTLY the same way as in my microwave at home. For some reason, I couldn't adjust the power on this one, and when I tried the same sequence of buttons as at home? Well, it worked!!  Sigh...................

Who cares! I figured it out. I will say that for a while, we couldn't get regular oatmeal, and I had to use the flavored ones. Well, we got regular oatmeal back, and oh my - it's a bit bland compared to the flavored ones and in particular this morning when I don't have a banana to add to it.

When I went for a walk last night - after dinner, so I was anticipating it to be slightly cooler - it was NOT. There was no sun, so everything was in the shade, but the air was thick. There were a lot of clouds that potentially looked like storm clouds, and I was ready to walk in the rain and embrace it. At one point, the winds even picked up and whisked all the sweat off my face. There were maybe five drops of rain, and that was it. The winds died down, and I was sweating again!

I came across this little guy on the side of the road. Actually, he wasn't so small. This is the largest turtle that I've seen in real life, and he was about 8 inches across—a positive giant to me. However, I didn't like the fact that he was on the road. I went to pick him up (away from his mouth), and he jumped, which scared me, and I left him alone. I did find a stick along the way so I could prod him off the road on my way back, but when I got back to where he was, he was gone.

A turtle on the road

And that wraps up another day at Fireside Retreat. We did a wee bit of shopping at the quilt store, and I need to get to the grocery store today.

One of the ladies decided to go down to the waterfront to take a walk along the waterfront yesterday afternoon. She was told the parking was $50!!!! It was less if you were a resident, but for out of towners - it was $50. That's a bit much. This is a tourist town, and they should be welcoming the few people that are here to help support their businesses. I get the social distancing thing, but we can social distance just like the locals. Oh well...............  everyone is handling the situation in their own way.

Got to run. The others will be up soon, and I want to get out on that bike before it gets too hot.

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!