April Showers Bring ............Snow???????

Ok Mother Nature is apparently having a moment, a snit if you will. The woman needs to get back on her Meds and stop with the shenanigans, On May 9th we woke up to this nonsense.

Now granted by mid afternoon it was all gone and things were green once more but it certainly spoiled the day. It was rude to say the least. I know we did not get as much as other parts of the country but really it was pretty nervy if you ask me. My furnace is still running on a regular basis. I can;t even talk about it.

Lets move on to more positive things. Before that snow hit, I got the veranda cleaned off and it looks a hundred times better. It feels so good to get the winter dirt washed away.

The tiles on the table look white once more not a dirty gray. The leaves have all be swept away, Every time I do this I am reminded that someone has my leaf blower that I only got to use once. The nerve.

All the furniture, bird houses and plant pots got a bath and are now shiny clean. It will look decent for my next veranda visit with a friend. It is a job that I am very happy to have done and over.

I also got my room cleaned at last. I have put it off for so very long that its embarrassing, How do you know you need to dust??

Yeah I have no excuse. The up side is its all clean now, I just have to get the floor washed. Then its done and will be added the the maintenance rotation list. My goal is to never let the house get as bad as it did, ever again.

I finally broke down and made myself a mask. I think its something we cannot avoid wearing at some point. I have to have one to go to my podiatrist appointment so I caved. Teddy Bear asked me to make her a couple when she saw the ones I made for myself, so I did that as well. They are not hard at all and I do have all the supplies on hand

I have even started to do some baking. I made a cookie cake the other day. SUPER super quick and simple. Its tasty and that is what I was going for..

Its made with a cake mix which is why its called a cookie cake but its more cookie than cake like. My next thing will be to tackle some bread. I am out of bread and its not just that easy to run and get some. Once again I have all the stuff on hand, just have to get myself to do it.

Things are starting to open up. Fabricland is open again but its still limiting how many people can be in the store at one time but its a start. I am hoping they do not go too fast on one hand and on the other I just want to be able to go out and go to the store without thinking you are doing  something wrong or waiting in a big long lineup.

I am going to do the next row on my "row by row" quilt today. Then I may start a crib quilt to keep on hand as a gift or donation item. I have to wait for a couple of fabric orders before I can work on and complete the three other quilts I have started. Orders have been placed and am just waiting for them to arrive. Thank goodness for on line shopping.

Toodles
Linda

Switching Gears

I cannot tell you how much I do not like the fact that my furnace is still cutting in in the mornings. I have it set to 15 degrees and its turning its self on!! Its May for goodness sake!! I usually do not hear it run after the beginning of April. Yeesh. Hurts my feelings and my bank account.

So I had sort of thought that this Monday I would get outside and start the  yard clean up. The lawn needs to be raked and the flowers from last year need to go and live in the compost bin. I had great plans, I knew it would not be easy but it would be good for the yard to get it started and good for me to get the exercise. Switch gears!! I am way to stiff and sore today to do it. I'm not sure why, I give up trying to figure it out, I just know its a day to day thing for me. Plus its cold, cold enough for the furnace to cut in so will do this another day. For now I will content myself with watching the tulips thrust their young green selves up through last years detritus searching for spring

I really need to get that grate spray painted, its getting so rusty

You know you are an old lady when you get all excited about a grocery cart. I treated myself and got a new one. I did have a small one that I got at a yard sale which worked fine but I wanted one that was bigger and stronger, with four wheels. Meet Rosie the grocery cart

She is shiny, new, strong, capable and has four lovely wheels. This means I can push it with ease instead of having to pull it behind me. It holds the entire grocery shop and the bags do not drag on the ground. I am toying with the idea of making a liner for her but for now I am super tickled with my new addition. The only down side is now I  have to find a storage spot for the girl.

Last week I tackled a job that I have wanted to do for some time. I sorted most of my quilt scraps into colours. I did two totes worth. I think there is another tote filled with cotton but I ran out of steam before I got to it. It will get done in time

Once I had them all colour coded, I bagged them. I thought that would keep them in their category. That last tote looks a mess but trust me its far more organized than before. I even culled out the material that I knew I would not use and passed it onto the Banker's Mom. She and her friends make quilts for the Woman's shelter and they are running low on material.

So in the spirit of reducing and reusing, I finally got around to this little project. Prepare to be dazzled by my brilliance!!!  Seriously I know its not much but it pleased me and this is my blog, so there. This box came with a flower delivery at some point.

I discovered it is the perfect size to hold my clear stamp sets for scrapbooking. It corrals them into one place

I found some contact paper in the craft room that I have had for some time and I made the little box pretty

Its useful, it was made with things that were laying around the house, it did not cost me a dime and it saved the box from being thrown away. It made me happy

I finished The Nurses quilt. Its had a bath and is all dry and ready to go to her house. I wish I could find a lint brush to take the little fuzzy bits and threads off it. No cats in the house means there are not the plenitude of lint brushes about the place anymore that there used to be.

My dear friend Rosemarie made this quilt for the Nurse many years ago. Rosemarie was The Nurse's favourite aunty. The backing had holes and the seams had given in certain spots but she did not want to throw it out. She asked me if I thought it was worth mending and if it could be done. Apparently I said yes because here it is, all ready for a bit more life. I was so happy to be able to do it for her.

It is one month to day since I began this new chapter of my life. I am still enjoying it in case you were wondering. I now use my weekends as total crafting times. Housework can be done during the week as I have time to do it not to mention the energy. So my weekends are free to spend time doing what I love best, creating.

This weekend I decided to start a quilt that I can use as the raffle quilt for the Safe and Warm Shelter, if I can figure out how to sell tickets. Not working means I have lost that lovely situation where lots of people would come to me to get a ticket. Something will work out, so I decided to get a quilt made in case.

I need 12 of these big squares and so far I have 8 of them made. I worked on them while watching the Last Kingdom (?) on Netflix. I am nearly finished the series and I still am not sure of the name. The quilt is a Celtic knot that once I get the whole top finished you will be able to see better.

My coffee is done, my blog post is almost complete and I need to get on with my day. My kitchen  needs to be cleaned, behind my chair in the living room needs to be purged and I am sure many other things need to be done. I best get at them .

Toodles
Linda

Monday Monday So Good To Me

Yet another up side to this retirement gig is that Mondays are no longer dreaded. They are just another day and who would have thought that? In fact now Monday has become laundry day for me. I love it. So right now I am finishing my breakfast, enjoying my daily cup of coffee, the laundry is sorted and waiting to be done, and I am blogging. Its all good. The jury is still out on the financing of this endevour but I have every faith that it will all work out.

I actually washed the kitchen floor last week. I will not tell you how long it has been since I did that. (My mother would be so disappointed in me). However its done, I cleaned all the crap out from under the table and life is good.

I even moved all the stuff that was piled in front of the hutch. Its a gathering space for things that don't want to be out away right away.

I finished the Easter table runner. I may have mentioned that before but I can't remember

I got my material order so I could finish my Orla Keily quilt top and I could get the Nurse's quilt back  under construction. I am actually nearly finished it. /I decided that I could spend Saturday and Sunday mostly quilting. So I worked on that and binge watched tv.

The best best best thing of all........We had a No Cook Friday forbidden coffee party on Friday night. Well its not really forbidden we did the social distancing thing. We all went to the Banker's place, armed with lawn chairs and our own coffee. Seated 6 feet apart we had the best evening. It was beyond wonderful to get to see everyone. To talk, to laugh to just be together. It was excellent. We will do it again, weather permitting. We were together as long as our bladders would allow.

So that is what is happening around here this morning. Its quiet, its calm, its lovely. I am going to linger over my coffee and then get at the business of the day. I am hoping that we are starting to ease up on this covid confinement. NOT that I want it to happen too fast so we don't end up back in the same situation. Just slowly get back to a more interactive life.

One thing I have discovered is that I need to find a system to keep me on track in regards to what day it is, what payments are coming out of the bank on what day, appointments and grocery pick ups etc. Not having that by weekly pay day to keep me on track, its hard. So I don't know, a white board, a big calendar, the reminder thing on my phone? I have to see what I think will work best for me. While I have not had any catastrophes yet I have had some near misses. I will get on that.

Toodles
Linda

Like a Comfy Old Slipper

Its how I feel about this being retired lifestyle I have found myself living. I have slipped into it like a comfy old pair of slippers. I cannot express how much I enjoy being at home. Its been wonderful so far, inspite of the social distancing covid19 pandemic we are living with.

I have been hurling myself whole heartedly into cleaning my house. Not a down and dirty spring clean but definitely a good freshening up. I am currently in the craft room making a real effort to find the counter tops and the sewing table once again. Just putting things back where they belong makes a big difference. (Hear that noise, that's my Mom shouting "I told you so" from heaven)

I do have one before and after picture for you

And an after

The rest you have to trust me. It was a mess, piled high with just stuff, stuff everywhere but now its starting to look not too bad

This makes me so happy. Not only is my house getting tidy, I feel like doing it. I have the time to work at it and it does not have to all be done on a Saturday. If I get tired I can stop, go back to it as I wish, there is no pressure. I do think its good to have a routine, goals and things to do. I could quite happily sit and craft non stop but that is not the best idea.

The Banker stopped over for a veranda visit the first nice day we had. We were  careful to keep the proper distance apart. It was so nice to see her and have a chance to really have a visit. She was in BC for 53 days and then when they got home they had to self quarantine for two weeks. Its just this week she can be out to do her own getting of essentials.  We sat and chatted for the entire afternoon.

Another thing that is happening is I have been reminding myself I do know how to cook. Since I can't be out with friends eating and I had already decided that going to a drive thru myself was not going to be the same habit  it always was when I was working, I have gone back to the stove and am actually making meals

And then there was Saturday night. I was so hungry and nothing I could think of appealed to me for supper so I did this. You win some, you loose some.

My big struggle in this whole social isolating thing is CHOCOLATE. It drives me mad. If I have it in the house I cannot stay out of it and if its not in the house I am obsessed with it. Why I do not know because I do not have it in the house all the time normally. Once in a while but its not a staple. Snacking has taken on a whole new life in this strange time. Its a fight I will continue to wage as running to the store for a treat is not easy at all these days.

I have been crafting as well. I did not have enough heat and bond in the house to make bunny appliques for an Easter runner so I had to change gears. I found a nice tulip pattern through the Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorials and this weekend I gave it a go. I had some scraps from Sweet Peas quilt and I went to work

The top got sewn together yesterday and I got it quilted today. I will get it bound tomorrow and then I can figure out a table square to match.

I have been watching lots of Netflix, taped tv and YouTube. I got an iPad from my work as my parting gift. I am in love with it. It makes it so much easier to watch stuff than watching things on my phone. I ordered a case for it and cannot wait for it to get here. Then I can prop it up and be hands free. I have wanted one for a long time and now its mine. Happy Dance of Joy!!

Well I think that is all for now. I may even start to blog more often that once a week now that my life has moved into a new chapter. Who knows, stranger things have happened.

Stay safe!!

Toddles,
Linda

Captive Log Day Unknown

So this social distancing, staying home, only go out for essentials because of Covid19 still holds us in its icy grip. I have not found it terrible but I do resent the fact that I could not be with my family at this time. Ususally the Easter weekend means family, being together, good food and lots of good times. Well that was not meant to be. So I am a tad bitter but I know this will not be forever, we will get together again. The Pilot, the Teacher, Wee Girl and Sweet Pea face timed me this morning which was so nice. The girls all dresse up in their new Easter frocks. So pretty. I got pictures of Tater Tot and  his lovely coloured Easter eggs. Its the next best thing to being with them. Texts and messages have been flying around, its all good.

So I am one week into this retirement gig and its going well. I have been cleaning the house and crafting, making myself be on a sort of routine, not just lounging around and doing nothing. The best of all was I took a round out of my arch nemesis, the kitchen. It has been a long time since it was this clean

The counters and surfaces are all disinfected and all that is left is to wash the floor. It so clean I am reluctant to cook because it will mess the place up again.

I have cleaned the living room, the dining room and the downstairs bathroom. It feels so good to have it done and back to once again being clean. I do not mind my house being cluttered but I do not like it not to be clean. Clean is where we are headed once again. Yahoo. Next week I am goind to start in on the  upstairs. One room a day until its done and then its just maintenance.

Finally the ice has melted on my back sidewalk so once again I can walk out there without fearing for my life. The extra plus is that I can once again take out the garbage and recycle without having to drive it around the block. 

Yesterday I went out to pick up a few things and when I got home, I retreived my spade from the neighbours yard. They liberated two shovels and a leaf rake from me over the course of time that they lived there. A snow shovel and a spade. The snow shovel has never been seen again but the spade made its way home. The leaf rake was never seen again as well. They always managed to break every rake they had so I imaging mine met a violent end. The spade is little worse for wear but still useable.

I have been making squares for an afghan with my left over yarn. Its a change from the scarves and toques. Its coming along nicely. I figure 80 squares should do just fine. It will be a donation as well I also plan to start making scrap quilts for the women's shelter/ Safe and Warm shelter as well. I have lots of material and now lots of time.

The one and only Easter decoration I put out this year. I still plan to make a table square and runner that are Easter themed. I was going to do that all last year but I think,if I have enough Heat and bond on hand, I will get it done shortly. I have a pattern in mind and I know I have the material.

I have been sewing on this new quilt top. I have gone as far as I can because I ran out of black broadcloth. Rats!! I thought I had plenty but not so. SO I placed an order on line for some. I ordered some broadcloth and some black flannelette.I need that for a quilt I am fixing for the Nurse.

I am getting to be a dab hand at this on line ordering. I ordered material, I have ordered clothes, I ordered thread. Its quite fun. Since so many stores are closed or have reduced the amount of people that can be inside at one time, this is a good alternative for me. I have ordered groceries on line for some time now. I miss actual shopping but this works for me. I cannot stand in a line waiting to get into a store so I have to adjust myself to the changing times. My dear friends still bring me the odd thing but I hate to ask them to do that. In ordinary times it a different matter but now it has health risks to it so I try not to do that. They are good to me and I value them more than I can say. I only ask when I know they are going to the store for things for themselves.

I cannot think of anything else to share. Its always been a bit of a quiet life around here and now it its even more so. So I think a nap is in order and then I will get to cooking the Easter ham.

Toodles
Linda

Happy Retirement to ME

Friday was my last day of work. I have been employed my entire adult life and now I am retired. It is a consept that I cannot wrap my head around just yet but I am totally confident that I will rise to the challenge.

My lovely wonderful crazy friends banged on my door on Friday night with whistles, bells, noise makers and signs

Ths signs say Happy Retirement Linda, and on the back its says celebration to be had at a later date. I got through the entire day at work without a tear, I welled up a few times but no actual crying but THESE buggers made me cry!! Oh my I do know the most wonderful people. I never expected a thing due to these crazy times we live in.

It was a lovely day on Friday. I had so many nice things said to me and about me, I got treats, balloons, gorgeous flowers from the Bug family. They always spoil me

I had my total surprise visit from the No Cooks and their signs, I got to have Chinese food which would have been the meal if we were still able to go out. They tell me there will be a party at work when the social distancing is lifted. So inspite of not being able to get and give hugs on Friday it was a wonderful day.

I have been waiting for this day since the second day of grade one. Being at home makes me happy and I can say with confidence, it was time for me to be done. When I got up on Friday I shut the alarm clock right off, gave it a loving pat, and said, " you have done a good job over the years but now SHUT UP". Its a joy to me to know that I never have to hear that thing go off again unless I want it to.

I have already decided that I am not going to just do nothing and laze around all day. I have already made lists and plans for what needs to be done each day. I need to have a routine and while I will be doing more crafting than usual, I am also going to dedicate myself to housework, to being engaged with the outside world and keeping my mind and body as active as I can. I have a whole lot of housework that is waiting to be done. I have lots of material scraps, yarn leftovers and crochet cotton that is begging to be made into something

Tomorrow morning I will do laundry, give the living room a good clean and then pick something from the "When I'm Retired do this" list. Actually the first thing is going to have to be to find a home for all the things that used to live in my office. Stuff that had to come home. This could be a big adventure. I have been hauling stuff home for some time now. What?? You didn't think I would treat my office any different than I do my house? It was full of mini quilts, baskets and pig ornaments, with the odd bit of pottery. Yes I am me wherever I am.

Today I am going to work on the Orla Kiely quilt. I may start to make an easter table square and an easter runner for the buffet. I have meant to make them all year and here it is Easter time again.

I have discovered I have almost run out of white thread and in general my sewing thread stash is getting low. I will have to give some thought to this as the fabric stores are closed. Busy had a great idea that I should put it on the local swap and shop and see if anyone has spare that they want to get rid of. I can always order on line if I need to. Where there is a will there is a way

See this is why I say I have wonderful friends, this package arrived on my veranda . A gift from one lovely caring friend

Well I am to sew. I guess I am in I-Sew-Lation at the time. Stay safe and stay home!!

Toodles 

Linda