Cleaning Day

Today was cleaning day........I watched "House Clean is Your House" last night!!!!!  That show and "Hoarders" really gets me motivated.  Our house is far from those houses and I'd like to keep it like that.  Then off to get groceries.  The Co-op grocery store is new.....it was just opened when we moved here.  I love going during the day as there are some awesome staff that work there!!!  Hockey playoffs start tonight so there will be some tv watching/channel switching going on!!!!  I have an redwork embroidery project that I have picked up again so that keeps me busy while the games are on.

I am really enjoying the mystery quilt I am doing on Facebook...Plenty of Fish Mystery Quilt.  We get our next clue tomorrow and I'm actually keeping up with this one!!!!  Some steps are time consuming, but I think it will be beautiful when it's done.  Every once in awhile they throw in a free pattern.  Gotta love Sharon and Devon of Prairie Quilt Mercantile!!!  With the last free pattern here is my project:

 

I'm using it as a small table topper on our coffee table in the livingroom.  Fun and easy and something I can quilt myself!!!!!  :o)

Off to get the mail!!!!  My exciting life!!!!!!!  HAHAHAHA!!!!

 

Holy Wind Batman!!

It is sooooooo crazy windy here today!!!!!!  We went out to the Trade Show here in town, did some shopping in Okotoks and came home to coral our patio furniture!  There are waves on our lake!!!  Wind makes me anxious and grumpy.  I have no idea why!!!  I don't like the sound....weird.  I hope it calms down soon.  Sounds like the whole province is getting it.  It's sunny and would be scorching hot if it wasn't windy and not all of the province is like that so I guess I'm thankful for the sun and warmth.  I'm hoping tomorrow is calm.............

Yard Maintenance

We've become citified!!  LOL. We had a guy come to do the aeration of our yard today......next week is power raking, mowing and general cleanup.  Our neighbors had it done and it looks amazing!  When we asked the cost we knew it was so worth it!!!  I cleaned flowerbeds yesterday....well, basically got rid of dead stuff.  Until things come up I won't know what I have that needs thinning, removing or replaced.  Since I have never seen the flowerbeds in full bloom it will be a surprise.

A yard full of tiny holes!!!!  It will be nice when it's totally cleaned up!!

Oh someone is waiting for me!!!

Road Trip!!

I went on a solo road trip today!!  Village Quilts in Lethbridge was having a sale so I decided to go check it out!!  There was also a quilt shop in a town close by that I wanted to see.  I follow them on Facebook and the shop looked cute!  It was a beautiful day here.  I grabbed my coffee in my travel mug and headed out the door.  Plugged my tunes in, set my GPS and hit the road.

Below are the treasures from Village Quilts.  They threw in three panels as a bonus.  ;-). I had a great visit with Lacey, Natasha and their mom!  It was great seeing them again and I hope their sale week goes well!!!!!

When I got to Coaldale and found the shop they were closed (Sunday and Monday!). Why I didn't check that before I planned my road trip is beyond me!!!!  DUH!  I did find a clothes shop where I found a few things to bring home!!!!  I will go back one day to checkout the quilt shop.  

Organization and hoarding

Are you a Hoarder or a Purger?  (Is that a word??). Do you live in organized bliss or organized chaos??  The 'Virgo' in me would LOVE to be uber organized, everything in its place and not having excess anything.  The 'Matthews' in me is a bit of a hoarder keeping things because I'll either use it (for sure!) or I just can't part with it for one reason or another.  One of my to-do list items was taking my stuff out of the garage and into our new shed.  As I was doing this I was thinking 'do I need this?', 'will I use this?'......but off it went into the shed because I just might!!  I might need it and I might use it.  Most of it was seasonal.....some Christmas garland I hadn't used this past Christmas, a wreath, some garden decorations.  I told myself IF any of it is not used this year it's gone!  When we sold our place up north we had a house, shop, garden shed, storage shed (just for my holiday decorations), two other out buildings for general storage and my quilting studio.  We moved into a house with an attached garage.....it had a shed we tore down and have now replaced.  Needless to say I did a ton of purging, selling and giving away before we moved.  I still have too much stuff! When B's uncle passed away suddenly in a motor vehicle accident years ago and we had to clean out his mobile home with attached garage, I remember thinking then how I did not want to do that to my kids if something happened to myself or B.  He was a hoarder and enjoyed auction sales and Liquidation World!!!  He had no children and his wife had passed away years earlier.  My kids would still have a big job but not as bad as before we moved (and my quilting stuff will be taken care of by my quilting pals!!).  I will continue to work on getting rid of excess......and try not to continue to accumulate stuff!!!!!
Note:  Dad, if you're reading this get, PURGING!!  😊

Whew!!

Even though I don't work (outside the home) I do have a routine.  Mornings usually consist of sitting with my coffee and yogurt checking my emails, etc, treadmill, shower, throw in a load of laundry....kind of a slack morning really.  I love it!!  Well this morning my husband booked our sons truck in to get something done and it had to be dropped off between 8 and 9.  It's a bit far to walk home from so I needed to get our daughter to follow me and drive me home before she went to school.  That meant I had to be ready and out the door before 8:30.  Now for those of you with jobs, this is nothing new and you do it every day!  For me, I usually don't have my face on or hair done until about 11.  Anyway, I did it and that sparked some get-up-and-go and this is what I accomplished all before 10:30 AM!!:
-beautified and dropped truck off
-took cardboard to recycling centre
-mailed parcel and some bills at postoffice
-made a deposit at bank
-refilled my washer fluid in 4Runner
-cleaned out empty water bottles from 4 Runner
-walked the dogs around both lakes
-scooped poop from the back yard
-threw load of laundry in the dryer

Let me tell ya....it feels good!!!!  For those of you who are reading this thinking "big whoop dee do!  I do more than that before the sun is up" I say good for you!!!!  Really!  It really isn't much but I sure feel a sense of accomplishment.  I'm sure it helps that we have blue skies and sunshine this morning...that sun always fills me with energy! This afternoon I will be watching my daughter play mixed doubles badminton as it will be the last of her school badminton.  Tomorrow maybe I can have a fun day....meaning sewing and once again enjoy a leisurely morning!  What will happen if I find a job?!?!  (Okay B....when I find a job!)

Exercise, etc

Okay...so I'm trying once again to exercise and watch what I eat.  Just got off the treadmill.  I walk/jog (and I use that term loosely...someone with long legs could easily keep up to my 'jog' by just strolling) for 5 kms.  I keep track of my food and exercise on an app called myfitnesspal.  When my Mom was sick I had lost 45 lbs.  Not because I couldn't eat...I'm the exact opposite...I'm a stress eater.....but because my progress reports made her so happy.  She was once a Weight Watchers leader and struggled with her weight.  I would give her my reports weekly and she would smile and praise me......well, as she got worse and was in palliative care, my willpower broke and I'd eat the treats people would bring in and there was always candy in the room...Mom craved it.  So now 30 of those 45 lbs have come back....creeping at first but now BAM!  Combine her passing with a move with being menopausal with almost hitting the big 5-0 and needless to say, I'm struggling with my weight.  I remember how good I felt with those 45 lbs gone.....physically and emotionally...so I am going to try and work hard again to get rid of it and maybe a bit more.  Will myfitnesspal be enough?  I don't know.  I was successful with Weight Watchers before.  Here in town there is also a Curves which I've contemplated joining.  For now I will do what is free and easy.
Wish me luck and I must go...sweat is dripping on the keyboard and I have to take an Aleve!!!!!!!