What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

In the words of John Denver, "It's good to be back home again!" 

Thankfully, business travel is over for the year. I have one more trip arranged, but I need to change the dates. A task for later today. 

Everything went smoothly on the flight. It's always "fun" to ensure everything is packed - did I leave anything in the room? Then you'd drop off the car? Did I leave anything in the car? Then I checked my two suitcases, but only after I put my winter coat in one of the suitcases. I was off to security ...

I didn't get to spend too much time on the Virtual Retreat, and it was pretty quiet, and I think it ended early. I promise - I'll be there for the entire retreat next month. My travel will end soon, although I still have one more trip booked, but it's not business. Will I make my 35K status this year? I'm close! The significant benefit between 25K and 35K is the luggage. I could bring THREE suitcases with a weight limit of 70 pounds. Then I don't have to be so picky about that 50 lb ...

Well, I'm home again! 

The weather while I was in the northern part of Ontario -- way -- that's a lie. If you look at the map, North Bay and Sudbury are north of me, but they are technically not the DEEP north of Ontario! So, while I was four hours north of home, the weather could not have been better. There was frost on the car one morning and a little bit of rain on the way home in the dark, but the temperature was excellent! 

Thanks to all my friends in that area for wishing hard for the ...

Yesterday was a long day but also a very exciting day. Not only am I totally relaxed now because I have SEVEN FREE days next week, but just because! There is no point in being frazzled unless there is a very good reason. 

I had prepped most everything the evening before, so all I had to do was write the blog and take the girls for a short walk, which was better than no walk. Then, I was in the car for a long drive. 

I'm not the best with long drives, but I made out OK. I should ...

Travel days are always filled with the unexpected. However, I am grateful because a delay is BETTER than a cancellation!!

The first part of the journey was totally uneventful. The NEXUS card is so handy and well worth the money. I got out of the UBER at the airport. Within eight minutes, I was through security and customs, including having to take my laptop out of the bag twice, once so they could thoroughly swab it and the inside of my carry-on suitcase and the second to go through the X-ray machine. 

Apparently, on the international side, they have yet ...

Well that was a first for me in a long, long time! There was no blog yesterday! Given all the travel and having to blog on my phone with a tiny keyboard -- I can manage all that, but when I'm at home and have access to my computer -- I can't blog? 

It was one of those weird days -- I'm exhausted, yet I'm not. I'm happy to be home, yet I'm restless. I think it was mostly that my routine is totally upside down and I just couldn't get my act together! 

But I ...

Thanks for the comments about quilt stores --- yes -- we are definitely caught between a rock and a hard place. Unfortunately, it's one of the industries that has become so over-commercialized, with every new designer thinking they can make money at this and that one designer encouraging people. There just isn't enough money to go around. 

OK -- so the picture thing for the blog still isn't fixed. There was zero time yesterday. Let's just say that I've had a few interesting travel days, and well -- I think yesterday has topped them all. 

I had two great ...

There seem to be a few travel days this year, and the year is far from over. My Air Canada app is working overtime to keep everything organized! I will say that travel has become a lot easier with access to apps and online check-in, priority bookings, etc. 

I now have my favorite place to buy food at the airport in Toronto, which includes a decent sandwich that is easy to take on the plane. It doesn't come cheap - a bottle of water, a sandwich, and a cookie is $22.00!!!!

The day didn't start well, as I ...

 So this happened!!!!

I'm HOME!!!!!!

Wait -- before you all panic, I'm OK. I'm thrilled to be home, and let's just say that travel days are always an adventure!

Here's what happened. 

In total, I took three rest days. Then I had to cut back the number of KMs I walked each day, and while I still had time to finish the Camino, I knew that I might be pushing the limits, especially if I wanted another rest day. The fact that my knee is a bit messed up didn't help the situation. 

So over ...

I'm home! I thought I might have to sleep at the airport last night, but I managed to get home. It was very late, and I'll nap later today. Wait for that story!

The day started with the daily geocache; although I knew there was an Adventure Lab at the airport, what if I forget? Someone has posted a geocache at many of the hotels in the area, and they are quick and easy to find. 

My geocache of the day

So all was good in that area, and I had to take the car to get breakfast ...

You will think I dropped off the face of the earth. No -- it's called a horrible travel day!

I took the second last flight to Winnipeg, so I could get stuff done at home, and I didn't need to be here early. I had a great day - I spent part of the day with the Monday sewing group and got a few things done. I finished packing, and all within my weight limit. By taking a slightly larger than my usual carry-on (but still within limits), I can fill half that case with samples! And if you keep ...

 Well, that was an interesting trip home. I traveled to the airport with two people from my group, and we had loads of time to have breakfast and get to the gate. The airport was pretty much deserted when we arrived; our flight was 7 AM. The plane left on time, although I was fast asleep before the plane left the gate. 

Yep -- I do NOT do well on sleepless or near-sleepless nights. I had an aisle seat which is unusual for me, and of course, I was in the row where people needed to go to the washroom. Poor ...

Another day - another city - another time zone. 

But first --- look at the Murphy! She's an attention seeker, to be sure, as I was trying to play ball with her and accidentally threw the ball into the pond - I would NOT make a good baseball player, to be sure. I grabbed the net, rescued the ball, and tossed it -- into the flowers, and she took that as an invitation to plop down. 

MOM -- thanks for the cozy spot!

I'm back! There was no way a blog was going to happen yesterday -- I was exhausted!

I had a last visit with my Mom and Dad on Friday morning and then headed to the airport. I knew before I left that the plane was late, but I didn't say anything as I needed that time to prepare my presentations for yesterday. 

My brothers and I had been talking about where in your house to go if there was a tornado, and well, if you are at the Saskatoon Airport --- you don't have to worry --- head to the ...

Yes --- ME time is essential, and while I get some every day, I WANT ENTIRE days, not just a few hours here and there, so that is scheduled for later. Right now, I need to deal with what's on the schedule. 

But someone mentioned something that I've been contemplating for a long time. I use TWO computers, and there are times when it's a challenge to keep everything organized. I've often thought of moving to one computer, but I don't think I can! 

Why? I LOVE having a large screen for working at home. My ...

 I remember years ago when I had to travel for business thinking how glamorous --- wow -- I get to go to crazy places and see wild things. And I get to TRAVEL. While I have had some pretty cool experiences with the companies I've worked for (I got to host a client at a major golf tournament in San Francisco once, and our goal was to see Tiger Woods in person!), I was stuck in a wild wind storm in Atlanta, Georgia, while staying on a very high floor in the hotel (not fun!), and many more. 

While travel is ...

I'm home! 

It was a long journey home! And while I appreciate help when packing up, I really don't need it or want it. I always feel RUSHED, and I shouldn't, but I do! But I got the luggage packed, and then the question was -- how much does that suitcase weigh? I knew I would be borderline as I had left some room for the samples I needed to pick up in Montreal, but when I weighed the case, it was just over 50 lbs, and that won't do. 

I switched a couple of things around ...

Sorry about the time that this post gets online. I'm in a different time zone, so I'll be later than usual. My brain also doesn't appear to be functioning since I landed, so if something sounds amiss, what can I say!

So my morning did NOT go as planned. I had an early afternoon flight to catch and was off to the gym. That's where I left the story. Then I realized I would be getting in quite late and had better find another direct flight. I was on my way out the door to the ...

 Another AMAZING day with Karen. It's incredible how much one can learn by observing, and I did a lot of observing. I'm thankful I had that opportunity!

Once the event was over and I could cash out (more on that another day), I was on my way home. It had been raining like cats and dogs earlier in the day, with gale-force winds. Did I want to drive in those conditions? However, the rain stopped, and the roads were dry on the way home. But the wind? It was windy, and I had to keep a firm grip ...

The last day of the show is always the best and the worst! It's exciting because you get to pack up and go home, but we've made new friends and had fun looking at the quilts, checking out the vendors, and bonding with colleagues and dealers. But it also means we can get back home, back to "work," and proper food and all that fun stuff. Let's not forget about sleeping in your own bed, although the bed at the hotel was quite comfy. 

Since I was on my own for breakfast and had a muffin from ...