Friday, July 9, 2021

I picked out some wide backing this morning and in no time at all I had a piece cut for that last quilt top. I intended to buy some flannel but I liked the colour of some of her cotton better. It’s a bonus that the cotton doesn’t have to be pre-washed so the quilt and backing were put together in no time. I was tempted to try some Fireside (a newer type of fabric) but since this is meant for someone I didn’t want to mess it up trying something new.

I dropped off a bag of books for the Kiwanis book sale and then picked up another book at the library. I’m going to need a reading week to get through the five that I have. The book I’m reading now is slow going; I’m enjoying it but the story is very put-downable. I read a chapter before turning the light out for the night but don’t have much desire to pick it up during the day.

I dropped off another bag at the thrift store. Slowly but surely I’ll get the closet cleared out. I also cleaned out another drawer in the kitchen – I don’t know what has gotten into me with all this decluttering.

I finished the cutting for my Laundry Basket mystery. There is still a lot of sewing to do before it is ready for the design wall though. I managed to pull out almost every scrap bin and bag so my room is a mess again.

I think I’ll finish for the day and do a bit of cross stitching downstairs.

Thursday, July 8, 2021

I didn’t sleep well last night so I decided not to go out and work in the yard today. I was still sore from yesterday’s work and my head was still aching from the allergies.

I should have got a lot more done with my day than I actually did. I had just a few stitches left to finish the latest clue in the stitch along so I got that done and crossed off the list. I had someone coming over with Hall mail so while I waited for him to arrive I did a bit of cleaning. And you know how that works; clean one drawer and there are several more wanting attention, clean one cupboard door and front all the rest need to be done.

I had some time to sort out the backing for the last quilt top on my list. Between shrinkage when I washed the fabric and adding the last border I would have had barely enough fabric for the back. I’ll go up the hill to the “old” quilt shop and get some wide backing for it and I won’t have to worry about piecing anything to get it to fit. It was disappointing not to get it all done today but it has languished in a bin for a long time and then even more time on the floor so I can wait another day. My pile for sandwiching is growing and it will take a day or two before I have them ready for quilting.

Clearing that last quilt top meant I was back down to my Laundry Basket quilt layer. I had Blocks 1-5 pinned out on a flannel tablecloth and Blocks 6 & 7 in a project bin. I managed to sort out the first five blocks, along with a picture of where they go in the quilt. I printed out the last remaining blocks (8-12) and I hope to get at least some of them cut out tonight. I’ll work at piecing them together next week. Once I have all the blocks done I’ll take them to Texada and put them on the design wall and get the top put together.

I had a late afternoon meeting with the Hall President to go over our Covid Phase 3 re-opening. She had the document well put together but we talked a lot about how we will go about implementing it. We both ended up with more work to do hopefully before Monday when we have our Board meeting.

It was a much cooler day today and, as I type this, I’m enjoying a cool breeze coming in my window.

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

It was time for some real work today and I headed out to the yard quite early as I wanted to be finished before the heat of the day. I was working on the small sitting area we have at the back. The ivy was completely overgrown, a couple of trees that had died needed to be trimmed off and there were piles of dropped leaves. I know I did this area earlier in the spring but apparently I didn’t do a very good job.

Pat came out to help me but when he finished trimming the ivy and was helping to pick up the debris he was coughing so hard I told him to go pick the blueberries and I’d do the clean up. After picking a few blueberries (he thinks they will be better if we leave them for a week) he came back with a mask and helped tidy up.

I had three bags of green waste by the time we were done so we decided to make another trip to the dump. Yesterday we had a few boxes of branches that wouldn’t fit in the truck so we got rid of everything today. We brought the boxes home and I’ll start filling them again; the boxes are much easier to dump than the bags.

As I wandered through the yard on various trips to and from the shed I noticed we have a calla lily in bloom, as well as a gladiola and a tiger lily. Many more still to come.

We were home again by 10:30. After a shower and some breakfast I headed out on a few errands. I had four books to pick up at the library; it seemed every time I looked at my mail I had a new notice for a book pickup. I also had a package to get into the mail so I drove to the drive-by mailboxes and they were gone. There were mailboxes on the outside of the post office building so I dropped off my mail and went in to ask if the drive-by mailboxes were gone for good. Sadly they are; apparently they were considered a safety hazard. I’m sure it had nothing to do with my rather unpleasant chat with Canada Post concerning them.

I had a bag of crafty odds and ends that I wanted to take to the thrift store. While I had my shower Pat went through his closet and found four bags of shirts and pants that he was willing to part with. He doesn’t “divest” very often but when he does he is pretty thorough.

I had to have a little nap after lunch. My allergies had started to kick in and I was getting a headache. My arms and legs are much sorer than usual; I think it is because I did more leaning and reaching and less work down on my hands and knees.

This afternoon I got the border on the last table topper and all the borders on another quilt top from my pile. I still need to piece the backing for that one but when it is done I’m down to the last layer.

Pat has an online event tonight so I’ll work on this week’s clue for my Peppermint Purple stitch along.

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

We headed out to the dump this morning with a truck load of green waste. I had a meeting at ten but Pat was sure we could get the job done and be back in time. I was doubtful but thought if I was a bit late it would be okay. Turned out we made a good team; Pat unloaded and cut the bags and I emptied them. We were home by 9:30 in lots of time for my call.

I spent the rest of the morning working on the Hall accounting with the accountant. There were some things I entered wrong when I switched to the new accounting package and there some other issues with another account. She left me with a number of things to sort out and I thought that was that.

This afternoon I put together the 30 four-patch pieces I need for one of my mystery quilts. Adding the orange fabric worked out well and I have pretty good contrast in all of the blocks. I added the borders to one of the table toppers and I’m halfway done the second one.

I was about to call it quits for the day when the accountant called me back with some more questions. It was like we weren’t speaking the same language; she was talking debits and credits but the form where I make entries doesn’t use debits and credits, at least not in a way that I could tell what I was entering as which. We ended up by deciding to give her access to the files and she will make the necessary adjustments. Even that wasn’t easy as she gave me the wrong e-mail to use and she wasn’t getting the invitation to sign into the account.

Once I got everything figured out I was more than done. Pat had an online event this afternoon so I was in charge of supper. I thought I had some time to kill (maybe get some cross stitching done) but when he heard me downstairs he told me he was going to finish early and I should start supper right away.

Supper is over and Pat’s on his second online event of the day. I’ll go downstairs, do the dishes and try not to obsess over my accounting issues.