Sunday, July 24, 2022

I’ve sometimes been able to finish a card in a day but I’m sure I’ve never finished a calendar block in one session.

I left the project yesterday knowing I had done something terribly wrong and gave up on it. But overnight (I sometimes do my best thinking while asleep – what does that say about me?) I thought I figured out the right way to approach the project. It took a lot of work and some seams were done four times but I finally got to where I was at the end of the day yesterday and things were looking okay. Not great, but okay.

I managed to get the quilting finished this afternoon and I’m ready to sit and stitch the binding tonight. My knitting hasn’t been going well – the pattern is a bit too complicated to do while I watch TV. Hopefully this bit of hand stitching can be done while I catch up on a new season of “The Other One”. It is quite a silly series but it’s mindless so it works for me.

Saturday, July 23, 2022

I got an early start to the day’s work and had my first load of laundry on the line before eight. Mind you while the load was washing I was sitting out on the deck with my crossword puzzle book and coffee.

I wanted to set the kitchen and living room to rights today and I’ve almost accomplished that. I packed two boxes that will be mailed to Kathryn on Monday and then I did some vacuuming. I probably should have scrubbed the floor but now that the sand has been collected I can live with a few spots.

I’m pleased that I have the final member for the Guild’s Program Committee. I sent a reminder out yesterday regarding the survey and I’m getting a few more responses. I want to send out one more before we make decisions on what we’ll do for classes and demos during the year. I must get on that tomorrow.

And there is always more Hall work to do. We have a couple of shows booked in August so I had to update our website. The newsletter is due out at the beginning of August so I’ve made a start on that.

When the work was done I came up to my sewing room for some fun. I had a specific pattern in mind for Kathryn’s next calendar block; the one that came in the series I have been following didn’t feel right. I found a different one but I’m struggling with it. The pattern seems a little unclear and the template doesn’t match the size of the strips you are to cut so I went online and found a tutorial for something else that I’m hoping will work for this pattern. Time will tell but if it isn’t the right size I can add borders or cut it down as necessary. I’ve made a start but I hope to get this out in Monday’s mail as well so I’d best keep at it.

I think I’ll spend the evening knitting and watching TV. The house seems cooler today so I think I’ll be able to keep the back door locked, the patio doors open and still have a reasonably cool house when I go to bed. I have a fan if my plan fails.

Friday, July 22, 2022

We had such a good time with Kathryn, Dave and the boys; we were busy every day and the time went by too quickly. The weather cooperated for the most part; we had a few showers on the first afternoon at the beach (the afternoon they arrived) but after that it was all good. For the most part the tides cooperated as well.

Monday was a beach day and Tuesday we did our Desolation Sound trip. It was high tide when we went out so there weren’t as many things clinging to the rocks but we saw eagles, seals and sea lions. We went a different route than past trips and saw a lot of cabins in the back country and lots of beautiful yachts anchored. We thought we might get in another afternoon at the beach but we got out the games when we got home and no one wanted to quit so we stayed put. The bonus at the end of the afternoon of games was whale watching off our deck; Kathryn had the eagle-eyes and spotted the tail and we all had a good look before it disappeared. Will and I stayed up late enough one night to see a cruise ship go by.

I dug out the Rummoli game after supper. I didn’t have many chips so we used the money from our coin jar with the understanding that all the money went back into the jar. We went in search of poker chips but couldn’t find any at the $ store. I picked up toothpicks but then saw a package of buttons and realized I had more than enough buttons at home that we could use for our next game.

Wednesday was a hike day; Will wanted to see waterfalls so we found a hike with two of them. It wasn’t easy and both Pat and I were quite “done in” at the end of it. It was a difficult hike but Pat and I are also out of shape so I’ll get on the treadmill and see if I can up my fitness level a bit. The boys would have liked to have seen a bear (we did the last time they were here and hiked); I’m glad we didn’t see one as I’m sure I’d have been the slowest to get out of the way and probably end up as dinner.

We had enough energy to get in another afternoon at the beach. But seriously, how much energy does it take to sit on a chair? The cool water felt good on my feet after the hike. We had another night of games – Monopoly Deal and more Rummoli on the back deck.

Thursday morning we did a round of mini golf with an ice cream treat at the end. Alex won but then he’s had lessons. The kids had an early evening flight so we had time for a few more card games in the afternoon.

The house feels too quiet today although I’ve been sewing with Stacia and Deloise. I had to do a bit of tidying up in the sewing room but most of what was in this room just needed to go across the hall. I’ve put through a few loads of laundry and there has been a good breeze so they dried quickly on the line.

The sewing today was challenging so I’m going to keep at it so I don’t forget what I’m supposed to be doing.

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Pat and I were at the grocery store shortly after seven this morning. Pat had an online session at nine so we wanted to be finished in plenty of time for that. It didn’t take long to get everything on the list. Pat had the cart and walked through the store while I zeroed in on specific things on the list. While Pat did the fruits and vegetables (I noticed there were none of those on Kathryn’s list) I got the cereals and snacks. I don’t know the store well and their signage is terrible. I was looking for Kraft dinner but it isn’t in the pasta aisle. I was looking for Mio and it wasn’t with the drinks but in with the juice. Eventually I gave up shopping on my own and just followed Pat around.

I wanted to clear the boulevard before our company arrived but I had to wait until Pat finished online so the mower didn’t disturb him. As it turned out before I got the mower out he had the weed whacker going and did the whole boulevard with that. We were wanting to let it go natural; the poppies and some other purple flower that blew in were lovely but the grass got out of hand. Pat said he didn’t think the mower would have been able to handle it. I’ll keep up on the mowing going forward.

I felt somewhat at loose ends this afternoon – nothing to do but wait for tomorrow. I made a card and wrapped it for the mail. I don’t know what I’ll do to fill my time tomorrow.

Company is here until Thursday; I won’t be back until Friday.