What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

If you get a chance, go back and read yesterday's comments. There is some very valuable information in there from people who have dealt with or are currently dealing with family downsizing, elder care, etc. 

This ongoing experience is teaching me a lot. See—even when we think we know it all and have nothing left to learn from our parents, they step right back into our lives and teach us more! 

While we mostly learn WHAT to do, we also learn valuable lessons about what NOT to do. Here are some of my insights:

Avoid hoarding: It's ...

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Yep—all three presentations are ready to go. All the sewing was completed, the pictures were loaded and sorted, the reminder emails went out, and all is good in the teaching world. 

It was a fun day, and it was so nice to just sit and sew. I had to take pictures, mind you, but still, it was fun to listen to my audiobook and sew. I had to backtrack a lot because I missed part of the storyline. I really need to connect my new noise-canceling headphones. The open earbuds suck for listening to audiobooks while sewing. 

I can ...

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Well, it wasn't a productive day in terms of visual things to look at, but it was a very productive day for catching up with family. I have a cousin who has recently moved to Toronto, and we spent the afternoon together having a great chat that we haven't had in a long time. It was beautiful outside, so we spent the day visiting in the backyard. 

Speaking of family, this photo has been sitting in my random photo folder for a while. This is my small family. The photo was taken at my older brother's wedding ...

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OK --- I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my face, and I can't help it. They are tears of joy, but still. And even when I got ahold of myself and then came back to edit, these pictures still bring tears to my eyes. 

I just had a quick peek at Facebook before I started writing, and I spotted this post. I knew my nephew, who recently got his pilot's license and bought a small plane, wanted to fly from Winnipeg to visit with my parents in North Battleford. It's about 840 km. 

When I talked ...

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 Oh my goodness - we went back and forth on this one. The decision was not about going there —- it was on our list, but who to go with. It was part of the events for the wedding week, but we weren’t sure we wanted to go with that large group or to go on our own. 

As the week went on and I had still not made a decision, it was during lunch on the wedding day that we talked to the bride and we were once again invited and we just went for it. 

Being part of a ...

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And so ends another exciting day! After I wrote the blog yesterday, I was exhausted from not much sleep the night before, so I went back to sleep. It was raining anyways and we had an outdoor activity planned. That got put on hold for a couple of hours. We had yet another lunch yesterday! It was the 30th birthday of the bride’s only daughter so we had a family lunch. 

It was just a short walk from our apartment, so it was great. A short walk is 15 minutes. We are getting the hang of where we are ...

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Progress happened on many fronts yesterday. I did go for a walk yesterday, but I debated long and hard because there was snow in the morning, and not the deep snow that you know for certain isn't slippery, but just a thin amount that covers any ice, so you can't see it. Then I decided that I needed to get out, and I had walked that path the day before, and all seemed to be good. So I went out, and it was just fine. 

I needed to get out and let my mind wonder and wander --- both ...

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I made a few more mini tissue holders mostly in rainbow fabric.  May gift them at a post Christmas exchange with our local lgbtq group.
Not the best photo since it is in a darkish living room, but here is Chilhowie back from Lora who does beautiful work!  I plan to keep this one at least for the time being.  I gave my sister the one I had (On Ringo Lake) and gave my brother and his wife the first Packer Bliss quilt (Lora quilted).  

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I decided to make my sister and sister-in-law a ghost pillow.  These ones are in Halloween fabric and are super fun.  I posed them here with my pillow.  If I have time today I may try to whip up one more for my aunt since I am headed to visit mom (my sister and bf are coming to visit!) tonight.  

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We planted a container garden again.  Mostly so the kids can enjoy watering it and collecting the vegetables.  They love it.  We have tomatoes in two or three types/sizes and tiny cucumbers as well as green beans that are thriving.  Our sunflower is looking good.  Our zucchini died fast and the yellow squash is slow to grow.  We also ...

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What's that famous line about having a problem in Houston? Never mind Houston, we have a significant issue at my house. 

This is NOT a pulled glut muscle. It appears to be a very TIGHT muscle right under my left butt cheek, and let's say that I've never experienced pain and muscle spasms like I am. The biggest issue is that there is ZERO relief. I can't lie or sit down without experiencing excruciating pain. Even medication doesn't work. 

Yesterday was the most useless day of my life! Everything I touched would not work. The ...

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Thanks for the stories in the comments. I've mentioned this before, but I'm not alone in dealing with hoarding issues. I hate to say that it runs in the family since my parents both have issues. All three siblings have hoarding tendencies, and I see it in M. I found an interesting article about hoarding—check it out because it's interesting. 

Hoarding is now being labeled as a branch of mental illness and is widely discussed, and some companies will come and get rid of the stuff, etc. But it's only recently in my world I ...

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I have eighty-one Moth in the Window blocks made this time around.  I laid them out and then took pictures, stared, changed things around, and repeat several times.  The final layout-ish is this first picture.  Not perfect, but I am happy with it.


Last night we had a game night at Hannah and Jeremy's house.  We played Cascadia!  Kathy suprised me with it yesterday so I watched some videos and played it solo twice so I could teach it.  It is easy to teach and learn and we all liked it.  I won!

 Update on the grandkids:  Lily is ...

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What can I say? This whole trip has been filled with lies and deception! But for an excellent reason! 

And yes, I confess there have been more lies and deception since I attempted to clear things up the other day. But today? I get to reveal everything!!

Some of what I told you before is true. DH and I have not taken a vacation together in many years, and we rarely do anything spontaneous. I might from time to time, but he never would. OK—so that's the background there. 

To keep the record straight and I know someone ...

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For Christmas Becky sent me a Halloween table runner.  It arrived in early February I think, but accidentally went to our old Milwaukee address.  The people there took it in their house and their dog got to the package.  They thought it was not damaged, but one green square was ripped apart.  I did not want to mention it ...

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I participated in the game exchange this year in one of my facebook groups (I missed it last year) and am thrilled to finally own Wingspan!  I cannot wait to play it.  Thanks Secret Santa!

                                      
Kathy hung a clothesline up high in my sewing room!  Super excited to have some of my little quilts on display.  I have two drape rods hung (one in bedroom and one in living room) and I change out the table topper size quilts by season on both of those.  I also use seasonal table runners and table toppers, but I still have many small ...

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WOW ---, it sounds like there are some wonderful Dale Chihuly glass art installations everywhere! Wouldn't it be fun to take an art tour? I'll have to think of that as a road trip - perhaps not this coming summer, but the following one. Pick an artist or a theme, search out exhibitions and installations, and take a tour. It could be loads of fun!

And so another interesting and "fun" day has come and gone! And you will NOT believe what I did in the morning. 

When I was growing up, the house was filled with knick-knacks, and it ...

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