Saturday, September 30, 2017

I headed out the door at about nine to catch my bus. It was a short trip up to the mall and then a long wait for the bus that would take me to Cranberry Hall. I was surprised when I got on the second bus to see the same driver and a couple of the same passengers. I don’t know where the bus went between where I got off and then got on again but it would have been more enjoyable riding the bus than waiting outside.

I really enjoyed the QiGong class. Some of the things we did had been done in a TaiChi class I took a long time ago. There were some yoga-type moves but they were done very slowly and very gently. Of course there was about 15 minutes of meditation as well. The 90 minutes went by really quickly and I’ve decided to sign up for her six week session starting near the end of October.

The trip home on the bus took a bit longer. I waited about 45 minutes for the bus to pick me up; it was raining slightly but I was at one of the few stops that actually has a shelter so that was lucky since I had neglected to take my umbrella. When we got to the mall where I was to catch my bus home I got off but noticed that once everyone was off, the bus number changed to the one I wanted. I asked the driver if they always switch between the routes; he said usually but not always. If I have to take the bus again I’ll ask about the route numbers.

It was almost one by the time I got home. I had decided to get the rest of my cleaning done but after an hour my back was really hurting so I decided to lay down and read for a bit. That, of course, led to a little nap.

I did a bit more late this afternoon and got the basement finished – our guest will be using the room downstairs. I’ll have to finish the rest of the upstairs tomorrow.

Friday, September 29, 2017

I’ve had a busy but productive day. I spent the morning in the kitchen wiping down all the cupboards and drawers, as well as scrubbing the vertical blinds over the sink. I didn’t get as much done in the kitchen as I had hoped, but at least I know the parts that are done are done right. One of the members of the Guild, in general conversation, said she wipes down her cupboards every week. Granted the job might be easier on a weekly basis but I think I’ll stick to my “whenever I get at it” schedule.

I’ve spent the afternoon quilting and, again, I’m making good progress. If I work this evening I can probably get all the blocks outlined and stabilized which means I could be ready to free-motion quilt by tomorrow. And if that happens I just may be able to have the piece done for Show and Tell at the next Guild meeting.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

I headed out the door to my movie last night as planned. When I opened the gate to go out to my car I noticed my hazard lights were flashing. Right away I thought of my battery and sure enough the car didn’t have enough power left to turn over. So I wasn’t going anywhere last night and not for a few days.

I have jumper cables in the car but with Pat on Texada I had no one to call for a boost. Actually there were people I could call but I didn’t know who might know the ins and outs of jumper cables and I haven’t had to use them since I bought them.

Before we left the Lower Mainland the lights on the car started doing funny things – coming on and going off as if possessed. We had the electrical system checked but they were never able to figure out what was wrong. The easy solution was to turn off the automatic lights and go back to manual, and that seemed to work.

Over the last few battery issues (before I bought a new one) at least once when the car was started it was noted that the hazard lights were on. Now I’m wondering if they haven’t now been possessed by the same demon.

I thought I didn’t need to go out until Pat was home and we could get the car going but this morning I got a reminder about my QiGong class on Saturday morning. I checked the bus schedule and it isn’t a difficult trip to make by public transit. It is possible I might be able to get a ride home with someone in the class but if not I can walk back if the bus time doesn’t work out.

This morning I did a bit of sewing and prep work for my afternoon of hand stitching. I decided to go with the group project, although today I seemed to be the only one working on it. It will be a quick finish and it will be part of a Christmas gift. I learned how to make a bias binding so I’m glad I’m still learning new things.

Before Pat left for Texada he picked most of the apples off the tree. Sometimes we get good eating apples but not in this batch. I made a pot of applesauce this morning as I wasn’t even sure I’d have enough good pieces to freeze for apple crisp.

I may start quilting tonight – I would really like to have this piece done for the next meeting. But right now I need to find something for my dinner.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

I think I’ve caught you up on my entertainment from the past week. Without internet on Texada (and because I do a lot of reading when I’m over there) it means all the updates have to wait until I’m at home.

Last night, after the parcels were wrapped, I almost finished another project I’ve been working on. I’m not sure yet whether I’m happy with it but it was destined for me so I guess it doesn’t matter too much. I hope to finish it off later this afternoon and then I’ll know for sure.

I spent the morning deep cleaning the living room – washing all around the windows and the sills, pulling all the rugs out and vacuuming them, dust mopping the floor and then putting everything back. Well not everything; since several of the coffee tables and lamps have to be moved out when we set up for the house concert I decided to put them in the closet today rather than wait until Sunday when we set up the chairs.

After lunch I went up to the post office with my mail and then stopped at the thrift store. I needed an extra set of needles for my knitting project; I think I gave most of my duplicates to Emma when she was here this summer. I made one last stop at the fabric shop to pick up the last of the fabric for the Guild challenge. Deb was holding the remainder of the bolt for me and it didn’t seem fair that she went without payment. I still have some challenges ready to purchase; if I don’t run out I can always use the fabric I have purchased for something else.

Once I was home I decided it was time to get a quilt sandwiched. I haven’t tried my new table for sandwiching a larger piece and the sun was shining so I thought it would be a good day to get at it. Before I got waylaid by this computer, I found and cut some backing and the batting. I’ll take my ironing board and iron downstairs so they are handy to the table where I’ll be doing my spray basting.

It’s movie night tonight so I’d better get that sandwiching done.