The countdowns
What a great Christmas Eve we had! I wasn't sure how many would be able to make the Zoom call, but because of the crazy weather, a few showed up because their plans had changed. Family members got caught in the highway shutdowns and had to make some crazy detours, and we all cheered when they got home! As usual, I went to bed, and some were still on the call.
Sorry -- I'm tired and need my sleep!
Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope your day goes as planned! I bought tickets to the movie, and that's where I'll be later today. I just hope I don't fall asleep. I'm going to need a nap before I go!
My Christmas may be untraditional, but I'm OK with that. And the best part? When it's time to take down the decorations, I just have to remove a quilt from the wall. I'm really OK with that!
And who says you can't have popcorn for dinner? I like to think outside the box and be different, and I'm perfectly OK with that!
So what's with the wind? We've had wind for two days, and it's still windy today! Except the temperature is rising, as is the wind chill factor, so that's good, and WHAT? There's NO weather advisory today. I tell you that if you are dressed appropriately, the weather is always good! And extra pair of fleece-lined pants, my warmest jacket, hat, and scarf, and I was toasty warm when I walked the dogs. It's warmer today, so the extra clothes are unnecessary this morning.
The girls were perfectly fine to take the entire 45-minute walk each, not a single lifted paw because of the cold. Silly girls.
But that wind! As I walked through the forest, I could hear the moaning and groaning of the trees as they rubbed against each other. We only spotted one downed tree on the path, which was right where a tree went down in the last storm. That must be a nasty windy spot, although it seems sheltered.
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| A tree down |
But this tree? I think it's a goner. It's hard to tell from that angle, but the trunk appears broken about 10 feet up, and it was groaning like mad. A few more wind storms and that one is gone. It's a huge tree, but hopefully, when it falls, it's not tall enough to hit those houses! I will likely call the city next week and alert them to the tree's condition so it can be brought down safely and not wipe out the fence behind those houses.
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| This large tree is going to be next! |
How about synchronized sleeping dogs? Lexi loves to lay under the table, and Murphy decided to copy her, but not under the table, as there was no room. Those girls are very silly.
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| Synchronized sleeping |
And Lexi has a boyfriend. His name is Wednesday, and he's a Husky with one blue eye and one brown eye. Whenever she sees him, she freaks out. She NEEDS to say hi! She does not react to other dogs this way at all. It's hilarious. I told the owner that he must bring Wednesday for a play date one day! Murphy will be so jealous!
Murphy, on the other hand, just wants to play ball. No matter how much I clean up the papers on the floor, she finds something to plunk her ball down on.
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| MOM -- Let's play ball! |
I'm happy to report that with the moral support of those on the call, I got the binding sewn to the back of ALL the quilts on that table. I had to make binding for several of them, some of which were very scrappy. But all is done. Phew!! Now all that remains is to sew the binding to the front of the quilt. I'll start with the largest and work my way to the smallest. And I'm going to do a couple a day. Not the entire pile at once! But the good news is that I'm almost done with that marathon, and the quilts can be delivered. I'm pleased about that! I confess that I'm getting tired of binding quilts!
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| The binding is attached to the back of the quilts |
Then I decided to work on the quilt I'm making for our pre-cut class. The pieces were cut for a while, but there was no time to sew.
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| Working on my pre-cut quilt |
I made significant progress last night and got the first step done. All the 10" strips are sewn in pairs, and I finished pressing them this morning. The next step is to measure to see if any need to be trimmed, and then I can move on to the next step.
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| The mini strips are sewn together |
It feels weird to have that Virtual Retreat for one day only. We usually do Saturday night and all day Sunday, so I feel like I should be heading to Zoom later today! But it was great as we met someone new (Kathy), and we reconnected with some friends we hadn't seen in a while. So I'm happy I arranged the call. The next Virtual Retreat is on January 28 and 29, if you want to mark that in your calendars. I have one piece of paper that I NEED to locate this morning, and that's it for paperwork for me.
However, starting tomorrow, I need to get back to work as there is much that needs to be done. Today will be all about napping and sewing, and then off to the movies.
I didn't get a chance to work on the puzzle yesterday, except I found three pieces while waiting for the iron to heat up. But I was there this morning, and I can listen to my audiobook and search for pieces. When you get down to it -- this puzzle isn't that hard. Neither does it go together fast, but there are enough identifiers on the pieces to find the right spot.
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| Progress on the puzzle |
Hopefully, as the number of loose pieces gets fewer, the easier it'll be to spot a piece. I can see where those sorters might help, so I don't have to bend over the table to see those at the top. But we'll see.
Yesterday was a 13+ KM walking day, and I still have 127 KM to do before the end of the year - 7 days! Since the weather is supposed to get nicer and warmer, I have a choice to make. Go to the gym and do TWO spin classes or do the scheduled one on Wednesday and make up the difference by walking. Decisions!
And my throat? It's a pain - it's not sore per se, but I get this tickle, and if I don't drink water and get a lozenge in my mouth, it practically chokes me. Very annoying, to say the least.
Well, that's it for me today.
Have a super day!!
Ciao!!!!