Enough?....Too Much?...

When is enough, enough? Or, when is too much, too much? 

This is the first week in I-can't-remember-how-long that I have not had to make the 5-ish hour drive to my parents' place to get my mother (or, less often, my father) to appointments and out for shopping, and I can't believe the literal WALL of tiredness that has hit me! In being able to relax at least a little bit (so much to do here that I've fallen behind on, quilting included) I guess it finally hit me how tired I've been. 

The hardest part of soooo much driving and busy-ness while with my folks (Don't get me wrong.I have REALLY enjoyed being able to spend time in the company of my folks. My mother has always been easy to be with, and there's a softness to my father now that I am really loving) is that I feel the need to sort of cocoon myself when I am back home. This makes it VERY difficult when friends/family want to visit, or want us to visit them. It is MORE! I have to head down to Brantford again on Monday, returning on Wednesday (or Thursday if Mom's dental surgery that starts at 1:50pm runs too late). Today, a very good friend stopped by for a quick visit and wanted us to come for supper. On Friday, other friends of ours who are going to be cottaging in the area would like to come over for the afternoon to swim and visit, and then stay for supper. On Saturday, Steve's sister and other half would like to come to Owen Sound for an event-filled day by the pool (games, challenges, etc.) followed by fireworks at night.

At what point is enough, enough?...or too much, too much? I will do these things because I know my other half is looking forward to them, but for me...they just seem like more demands on my time that take me away from my happy place...the place that allows me to relax and regroup.

Okay...that's enough whinging (win-jing....a British word I learned from a friend. It means complaining).

Yesterday, while I was trying to get as much of my Tula Pink's Butterfly homework done, what I thought was a boat trolling into our little bay turned out to be a seaplane taxiing for take-off. I wish I had my phone with me at that moment 😕. I would have loved to capture it when he/she was so close to our place...right out front, in fact. I think someone must have been getting lessons, or trying to get their pilot's license, since they did several more landings and take-offs. None of them, however, were right out in front of our place after the first one. You'll have to watch carefully to spot the plane. Sorry!

So...working on TP's Butterfly was a real treat this month. I do say that tongue-in-cheek! We needed to make 8 sections with stripes pieced together (easy peasy), and 8 pie blocks (NOT so easy). You needed to use a template for the pie blocks, which was not really a problem. I photocopied the templates (in groups of 4), trimmed them, and then glued them to the fabrics I chose for each block.

I then use a cutting ruler to cut the straight edges of each piece, and my Shark Cutter, a tool I got in my Quilting Gnome Advent Calendar (Thank goodness!!! So helpful for this!), to cut the curved edges. The whole process, while not difficult, was quite time consuming. 

I got ALL the pieces cut prior to beginning them together.

The hard part came when sewing the pieces together. It is QUITE challenging to "sew on the curve" when the pieces are small (the blocks make up to 6-1/2" unfinished). I did manage to get 2 of the 8 done before class. Let's just say I'm not a fan of sewing on the curve and leave it at that!

I might have been able to finish more of the blocks before class, but Steve....who rarely asks me to engage in "down time", suggested we head down to the lower deck to enjoy the lovely weather and breeze, and maybe go for a swim. Enjoy what we love about this place instead of worrying about all the have-to-do tasks???That's a no-brainer!

When we got down to the water, I stepped down the ladder to my knees and thought "Nope...I'm not going in!" (The temperature of the water was only around 69 degrees Farenheit....a little too cool for my liking when I'm not feeling really hot and sweaty). However, himself decided he was going to give it a go.

Psyching up for the leap! And....he's in!

The whoop he made when he surfaced just validated my choice to not jump in! 😁

There are more things to share, but it is getting late and my bed and book are calling, and so...

On that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN