My evenings are being spent cleaning up all those baskets of scraps – ironing and then cutting into assorted widths and suddenly my sewing room is beginning to look tidier and more organized and it is inspiring. I can’t wait to start a project using my own 2-1/2″ strips versus a jelly roll.
This system is what Bonnie Hunter uses with her own specialty ruler and I’m willing to give it a try. When I get my scraps under control I’m going to experiment on writing a mystery of my own using her rulers. I have lofty expectations, don’t I? Ha!
And more Harveys – Lois made Big Harvey—
And Little Harvey, too! Talk about an overachiever!
Earlene in AZ sent Little Harvey
And here’s Peggy’s Little Harvey
I made Little Harvey to give to Reed’s little sisters but no binding on it yet.
I have not forgotten the post on color inspiration, making a rug, a quilt from Beyond The Battlefield but right now I have to continue with clean up especially in the quilt shop. I have hauled out all boxes to be burned but they’re still too wet. Bummer. I bought another dehumidifier yesterday. And now I’ll tell you, admit to, my senior moment yesterday which ruined my whole day. And it’s going to take so long to type but I’ll tell you anyway because I feel so stupid!
I walked the muddy snow-drift covered grove looking for Telly yesterday when I wanted to leave for Mason City. I called and called and fearfully looked to the highway hoping I didn’t see a beige dog body on the road. I finally came back to the house to find Telly in the front seat of the van, waiting for me to leave because of course she didn’t want to get left at home. Hazel, now that’s another story – she would not get in the van and I couldn’t catch her to put her in the house since it was clear she didn’t want to go along. So unbelievably I left her in the yard to go back in the house on her own and Telly and I took off for Mason City, 25 miles away.
I went to Walmart first and did some basic shopping and went to the self-checkout to save time because there were lines at the cashier-operated lanes. I clicked to pay and the screen said I needed to wait for authorization. What for???? As I waited and waited I continued to question the price of the kitty litter in my chart – I thought it rang up higher than I was expecting. When I finally got a cashier to come to my lane, I asked what I would need authorization for and she said, “did you buy liquor?” No, I said and then she pointed to the beer in my cart. Oh, yes, I did. So I asked her why I’d use a self-checkout if I had to wait for help. I paid and as I went to leave I decided to go back and check on the price of the kitty litter. Sure enough, I was right – it had rung up at a higher price so off I went to customer service. 15 minutes later the clerk refunded the difference in price and I finally left Walmart.
I went to a Target and then on to Menards where I bought a dehumidifier and then to Kohl’s for socks. Finally I drove home. As I unloaded my van I clearly didn’t have all my bags – on looking at the Walmart receipt, the last 5 items in the final bag were ultimately left at the self checkout lane! I don’t have to tell you how my heart dropped when I realized what had happened. And Walmart is 30 minutes from my home. I could not bear to drive back right then so I called the store. I told her exactly what items were left at the first self-checkout lane and she so kindly said, we will refund that amount when I brought my receipt back to customer service. I asked her if they would believe me and did I have to do something to prove it was an honest mistake. She assured me I didn’t have to prove anything and I could come back at my own convenience. WOW! After all that angst, Walmart came through with flying colors and I tell the story to illustrate my senior moment, anxiety, frustration and utter disgust at myself. I vowed to never let this happen again – when I shop I will check and double check that all bags are in my cart – no matter what!
So today I return to Mason City to celebrate a friendship with someone I haven’t seen in years and catch up with her family and life in general. On the way home I’ll stop at Walmart. Sigh.
This picture made me feel good again – it came from friends in Montana and it was just what I needed to put a smile back on my face. Reed is going to love this picture – the hen looks like Debbie!
Hi Mary, Frustrating day for sure. I choose not to use self checkouts on principle. We are giving these stores free labor. I put myself through college by checking groceries. That could be someone’s job. I realize it’s a losing battle. My husband uses them and we all pump our own gas. Certainly no criticism, just a thought.
Kathy, I love the way you think. My friends Leslie, Bobb and I were just discussing today that we don’t use the self check out lines but I never thought about the fact that we are giving them “free labor”…good point.
Mary, some days are crazy for all of us. I did chuckle about Telly waiting for you in the van! Too funny! Your fabrics look so neat and orderly. I’m going to cut up a bunch of my stash! I bet I would use it if it were already cut up. I have loved seeing all the Harveys! I’ve liked every one of them and think what great color choices all the women have made.
Oh my! Such a day!! Don’t feel bad, many of us have days like that so I, for one, can easily understand! glad you are home safe and sound and that all is well. Love seeing the “Harveys” So cute! Did Hazel do fine at home by herself? Love that Telly wasn’t going to be left behind, That hen looks like she is looking forward to her bike ride. Your sewing room looks amazing – I had better go get mine straightened up!
Sorry you had a frustrating day. I’ve been there. Your organizing will give all of us inspiration!! The Harvey pictures are great. Good job, ladies! The chicken in the basket made me laugh out loud.
Today will be better. I have been working on my sewing room but not as much accomplished. I have made a dozen jelly roll rugs with my own strips and just cut a whole basket of more scraps for some more. Good luck with your project.
Great picture of the hen in the bike basket. Wouldn’t it be convenient if she laid eggs there for easy collection?
I think we get these ‘senior moments’ when we feel rushed. I used to be impatient around people who seemed to be slow, but now I realize they were probably making sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.
I didn’t want to use the selfcheck . To save jobs but was told by Walmart personnel they did’t have enough people for check outs anyway. That they do have someone hired in self checkout. Which is true, but gripes my soul. Won’t go to self checkout At post office tho, my son & his wife both work for USPS. They definitely don’t hire enough people. My son always reminds me it’s still a bargain to mail a letter across the country. !! Lol. I buy the stamps & mail.
OK, several comments. The mystery quilt, remember when you did the free block of the month quilts? I made them 2 different years used quilt fabrics. Everybody loves to use those quilts, on the couch, the bed, I have one on my chair as a cover. Yes, we all have those moments, I went thru a bad spell, kids were here and they just remembered for me. No, I don’t use self check, matter of fact I don’t do walmart either. I go to Waterloo/Cedar Falls often enough that it’s not a problem. And cleaning the sewing room, or just straightening is always a good feeling. Good to know that Telly knows where the important place is. I thought you’d say Telly was in the house! Take care,
Really I used CAT fabrics!!!!!
Hi Mary – Please tell me again how to order the Harvey patterns. When you get old, you misplace things; and I misplace things. Thanks so much. I also would like the book (I can’t remember the name). See what I mean about getting old? I think it is a book you and Connie wrote. I will need your address also. Thanks again, Linda
Linda Hanley – OK, glad to help – with everything except the address. Have you never noticed it below our picture? Harvey is $10 and Beyond The Battlefield is $31 so send a check for $41 to Country Threads – this is a test. Find our address on our home page below our photo.
Mary I had a similar day yesterday. I cooked some chili and cornbread to bring to my nieces home that is 20 miles from me. Her 14 year old daughter has cancer. We have several people who are bringing meals 3 days a week to help. So after doing my good deed I left her house and drove back with plans to stop at Kohl’s a couple miles from my home. Get in the parking lot and I have no purse ☹️. Drove back to North Saint Paul to get my purse and back to Kohl’s to return a few things and pay my bill. Then home in Bayport where my husband was wondering where I was. My phone was in the purse to so I couldn’t call him. I’m not a fan of senior moments ☺️
Julie Erickson – now YOU’RE the one making ME feel better. I just have to slow down and think!
A sunny, cool day here, but predictions for a stormy weekend. Still have plenty of snow all over and some turns to slush. I envy you, Mary, with a close WalMart; mine is two hours away in MT. No sales tax there, tho. Shopco is closing in June! I hope something good goes into the building!
Betty’s twin looks so coordinated with the basket liner! Great place and photo!
Enjoyed seeing your cut scraps and the Harvey pictures.
Mary,
I love your blog, and I have left beer in my cart in the parking lot I’m sure I made someone happy.
Wanted to let you know I still see no ads to click on.
Oh Mary, don’t be so hard on yourself! We’ve all be there, done that! I had a friend who used to say, “Remain calm at all times.” Easy for them, huh? Lol!
On another note, you were in my thoughts last night as I know how much you like watching March Madness basketball. I got to go to the 1st round, session 1 game at the University of Dayton Arena. Had a great time. I have been seeing ads and have been able to click on them.
Susan Sundermeyer – and we could not get those games on TV so I hope you know how lucky you are! And how jealous I am!
My sewing room is such a mess I can’t being myself to take a picture! I love in a very rural area and have those senior moments when I make the long drive to shop and it is frustrating to get home and not have gotten all the things I needed even though I have a list. I had started cutting up my small pieces of fabricator use in scrappy quilts and was getting out of the mood, thanks for getting me regenerated!
Dang autocorrect! Bring myself to take a picture. Live in a rural area. Lol
So impressed with you cleaning up your sewing room and cutting your strips! I love the idea of making my own jelly rolls. It’s time for me to spend a day clearing out and organizing. My room is small and I always feel like I’m trying to pack ten pounds of sugar into a five pound sack. We are supposed to have a rainy Saturday so that may be a sign. I’m finishing up your Civil War pattern, Opposition – all the blocks are complete and on my design wall so just have to sew them together. Then on to the first “Beyond the Battlefield” project!
Janine – don’t be too impressed until you can see the floor and the tables in the quilt shop – ha! Would be email me Karen’s address?
Oh Mary! We all have those moments, especially if we are hurrying or something else on our minds. Just forget it and go on! The Harvey s are so cute in every variation! The first looks like a tux! The chicken picture is perfect!
Just ran across this quote from WS Merwin “I do my part and release the rest to grace.” This is what to do for Senior Moments!
Ellie – such good advice!
I’ve done the same at self-check- the clerk that monitors that area lists the items left in a notebook. They also now have cameras at each self check so they could probably print your picture and put it with your stuff at Customer Service…and they probably know who you are from your credit card information too!!!!
Rosalie – and this time I paid in cash!
Felt your pain through your whole story about your senior moment day and then I saw the chicken picture! Suddenly all was well again! Animals can do that.
Annie – animals DO have that special power, don they? Smile!
Mary – I did that same thing couple years ago at Walmart. They put the items back on the shelf when that happens. They won’t hold the bag for you. Now I check each bag and have gotten home with everything I purchased. These Golden Years are hard. Nancy Pleimann
Mary – I did that same thing couple years ago at Walmart. They put the items back on the shelf when that happens. They won’t hold the bag for you. Now I check each bag and have gotten home with everything I purchased. These Golden Years are hard.
Enjoy your lunch or rather hope you did enjoy your lunch with your friend and mine.
Senior moments happen to us all at this stage of the game and I am happy to get by with only one per day.
I wanted to be in NE Wisconsin in Lakewood by now but our next scheduled departure from LV is after April 7.
Love you ❤️❤️❤️😀
Rhoda
Rhoda – Carolyn and I talked about you and so I know the story of you wanting to be in Wisconsin now. I haven’t had any senior moments today so far – hallelujah!
That is good to have a day with no Senior moments.
Talking with Carolyn is always a lift.
❤️
Hey, we ALL have those moments! I feel for you. Loved the chicken picture! Made me smile, too.
Mary, I love the chicken picture in the bike basket. I was given a bike for my garden to display, and I have always put flowers in the basket. This year I think I will get myself a chicken and put it in there instead. That will really give people a laugh. 😊
I also have a Walmart story. A few weeks ago, my sister who has cancer, was given a benefit by her daughters. It included a spaghetti dinner and drawings of dozens of items donated. During the early part of the benefit, the girls, (my nieces), realized that they did not have enough raffle tickets. My husband volunteered to go to the nearest town which had a Walmart in it. When he got there he noticed the parking lot was empty and the store appeared closed so he went to the area where some people were getting into their cars. He asked why the store was closed and was there a manager among them. Turned out the town had lost power, Walmart included. The manager was pointed out to him and he frantically told her about needing raffle tickets for a cancer benefit going on right then. The manager went into the store with a flashlight and came out with two big rolls of tickets for him. That’s when he realized he had almost no cash and the store couldn’t take a credit card with no power!! He explained all this and the manager smiled and said to take the tickets for free. It would be a small donation from the store. He thanked her profusely and we were very grateful to Walmart. Generally I don’t go to Walmart, but I’ll make an exception any time I’m in the small town of Sandusky, Michigan.
Sunflower – what a GREAT Walmart story!
Oh,Mary. I feel for you! I do the dumbest things too and get so mad at myself. Looking for my glasses the other day and I was wearing them. I won’t bore you with “the rest!” I brought spring back from Arizona; enjoy the nice weather.
Diane Deibler – something like the mom who was frantically looking for her youngest child….and she was holding him! Thanks for bringing Spring to North Iowa! Let’s have a round of applause for Diane!
You made me feel better for some dumb moments I have had lately…so much back pain and it seems like I don’t pay attention to what I am doing like I should..
Linda – if you’re in pain, everything is twice as hard. I was not in pain – just “out to lunch”, I think.
Mary,
Don’t feel bad! This morning I made a “quick” trip to Krogers for sugar. (We needed to make sugar water for the bees.) Put the bags in the trunk of the car and then set my purse (with phone and keys inside) on top of the bags so it wouldn’t slip off my shoulder while I bent over to retrieve the nine bags of sugar from the cart bottom. I NEVER put my purse in the trunk. As soon as I shut the trunk, I realized what I’d done and cried! Krogers was nice enough to let me use their store phone, so I could leave a message on my home phone. Anyway, I really felt stupid.
Paula N – you mean the keys were locked in your trunk? Message on your home phone? What was the message?
Yep. Phone, keys, purse – all in the locked trunk! The message on the home phone – “Richard whenever you see this message, please bring my spare car keys to Kroger’s. I’m in the side lot by the pharmacy.” We don’t ever answer the home phone in person because 99.9% are sales calls, political messages, or spam. Plus I never know if Richard is spending hours in his barn wood shop, or out with the bees. And he very seldom takes his cell phone along.
I was about to go back in the store and ask if they had phone book, so I could call the neighbor who lives a quarter of a mile away, when Richard drove up. Yay!
Paula N – I get it – the whole scenario now. We even disconnected our home land line and Rick doesn’t always have his phone with him so I’d would have had to call Connie!
Everyone in my family, husband, myself and two daughters at one time were cashiers and a store. So we would be denying a job for someone bydoing self check out. I great thought.
I too have been cutting scraps to share with my quilting buddy to have a variety for the pineapple blocks we are making. A work in process.
Right now on our way to Texas to visit our daughter and warmer weather than Iowa.
Everybody is going to be really jealous. I live about 5 blocks from our big Walmart Superstore!!! And I love it. Everybody, young and old, have those moments. Forget it and get on with life.
I have a pile of small pieces of fabric. When I’m in the mood I cut them up into 2 1/2″ squares, strips of various sizes and whatever. I love scrap quilts plus a book with patterns to make with 2 1/2″ squares sorted into bags by color. Makes it go really fast. It isn’t good to cut for long periods of time, so that is alright, too. Don’t know if I’ll ever get everything cut up. There is going to be a craft fair the first weekend in April and I’ve been going thru piles and boxes of stuff. The old quilting books are very interesting as they sure aren’t like that now. There are some neat patterns so I just copy them. Got a medium box of books to go along with some other stuff. The pile is growing, but it will take several trips to get the books out as they are heavy. Nobody can see it, but we are making some progress!
With everything I have to get done, I have a notebook and make an entry when I do something, get a refund, etc. That way I don’t have to clutter my mind with all the details. They are in the book.
I only find on ad to tap in last several posts!
Ahh, Mary. We all have those moments, but sorry about yours. For about 5 years, we have been taking our own bags for shopping. They are all kinds and hard to miss in black stripes, purple, blue etc. Saves the planet and makes shopping easier. The Walmart checkers don’t mind at all.
Telly is one smart dog🐶🐶.
I have been cutting strips for a rug. Debbie’s s twin is beautiful. My Harvey is cut out. I always look forward to your blog😃😃
I will be rooting for Ohio State on Friday while you root for Iowa State. Maybe both teams can win~~ha!!
Oh, Mary, you are not alone. I have left a bag at Target a time or two. I’m always frustrated with having to drive back to FoCo from Windsor, but I do it. I’m not so sure it’s a senior moment so much as a moment when we realize just how busy and stressed we are. Be gentle with yourself.
Diane Bauer – my sister admitted to doing this type of thing for the past 25 years so she doesn’t think it’s age related – I always try to take on more than I can handle and all week I’ve struggled going to appointments and wondering about the dogs. Today I have a free day that I’ve looked forward to and Rick just happens to be home from work – such bad timing!
Mary, we usually don’t like to use the self- check, but one time we were hoping to save a little time and used it. The machine didn’t give us the right change and it took a while for someone to help us. I used to work for them here in town and they said that they will never make people wait. But nowadays they make you wait.
On Feb. 13 th I went shopping to Fairmont, I knew that we were supposed to get another storm on the 14th, so I went with a friend. A few days later, I realized that I have lost my checkbook. I thought Bill had it and he thought I had it. I called the places where I paid with a check but nobody had found it. So, it happens to all of us. But it is frustrating. I love the Harveys.
Felicia Hamlin – you never did find your checkbook? How did you keep your account safe? Or did the bank put some kind of “stop” on your account? My mistake made me so mad at myself!
Mary, you won’t believe it, but today we were going to walk the dogs for the first time in a very long time. I grab a jacket that I don’t usually wear except to walk the dogs and do things around the house and lo and behold, my checkbook was there. We looked in different purses, and other coats, despite the fact that I knew that I didn’t put it there. It baffles me that I don’t remember putting it there. We had talked to the bank and I am not sure what Bill did exactly. I tell you, I am thankful.
Felicia H – oh that is such great news! I know how much time you have spent looking and worrying and retracing your steps. Honestly it just wears a person out. I am so glad I decided to check for new comments before I went to bed – I am so happy for you!
Thank you, Mary. I was so glad to find it and I cleaned out a lot of little business cards, phone numbers from when I was in college in the late nineties and first decade of the millenium and wonder of wonders! I found a five dollar bill, I was tickled.