the basin – day 286

Happy New Year

May 2021 have all the blessings of our bountiful earth while leaving the hurt and sorrow of 2020 behind us.

Of all that we do for each other, kindness is the parts of the day best remembered.

Here is the wonder that is the Sooke Basin, 3 seasons of life, love, tears throughout a pandemic – a once in a century event – as a slide show. these are just a few of the photos from the last 284 days presented in a slide show. Enjoy and have a peaceful and healthy 2021.

Be kind, Stay Safe and be well. Thank you so much for taking the time to enjoy this blog.

WPC: Harmony III

Because flowers are always nice.

The Kimono – the makeing

I had an idea that I could sew while camping so I started a Kimono.

I brought a bees wax candle,

thread, needles and sci ssors.

So once I was a bit rested ( a couple of days) I took scissors to cloth after measureing against my sholders. I added a couple of inches and it is was here that I made my first mistake – I did not give enough ease for this type of garment – I should have added another 4 inches for the extra ease that you want in a house robe. Oops but I carried on!

I next made a cut down the centre of the fabric to the just shy of the halfway mark of the full panel. This is where to cut a few inches on either side for the neck opening – a very long T cut is the finished result.

I slipstitched the side seams into two nice French seams and had the beginnings of a small kimono. I then remembered I needed two front panels – oh, the joy of being very tired.

This is where I made my second mistake.

I did not make the front panels long enough as they should be shy of the T top opening. Also, the angle was not necessary but this was how I made my first three kimonos of a Folkware pattern and the method stuck with me. Oops # 2

The distracting woods.

So I had to come up with a fix in the bush and this is what I did. I took a long piece (probably 7 feet) and cut it in half – Oops #3 – it should have been a diagonal cut but I was trying to make up for the first Oops.. So the final fix was cutting the a remnant, matching the pattern and slip stitching to keep it in place and I had the front almost finished.

Once home, I neatened up the panel fix seams with some folding and overstitching the neater seams.

Very time consuming but I was on holidays and had the time. Once home, over the next few days I finished what normally takes two hours on the machine.

Amazingly it still looks like a Kimono! I have more details on the collar and the sleeves as well as the finishing touches.

And if any one is interested I will do anther page to finish the job, just drop me a line in the comment’s to encourage me to find the time this week.

Gentiel the cat and fulfilling her (unbeknowest to her) bucket list of camping on the west coast

I needed some time to disconnect and relax. A vacation was required after a long and busy tax season!

Gentile has only been with us for a short time and only now just letting us get close to her. She came to live with us after her long time (13 years) care giver died. Just before her care giver died, Gentile, went from place to place and lived a very unsettled time. So to leave her alone was not an option! To take her someplace else for our trip would be too much a reminder of when she lost her care giver so the only option left was to take her with us.

So we packed up the gear, the food, Loki (the dog who lives up to her name), Gentile and headed for a little lake outside of Port Renfrew on the west coast of Vancouver Island named Fairy Lake.

She wasn’t too happy with the car ride at first – too many vet visits in the years gone by – but the quilted bag allowed her to settle with ease on my lap.

Once we were unpacked and somewhat settled, we put her on a long leash and she would wonder the site following the sun!

Gentile and Loki enjoyed relaxing in the sun – Gentile even let Loki get very close as long as Loki was still!

As much as she enjoyed laying in the sun whenever possible she was very happy to get home and curl up on my desk.

My partner and I were happy to accommodate the bucket list of Gentile even though she did not yet know that it was an experience that she wanted and would love.

I installed Windows 8 and I love it!

I first installed it on my old laptop Computer as I had heard how it really revitalized the older models. And I was very impressed with the final result Rolling on the floor laughing . It took awhile to get there though!

There was a problem during the install but I prevailed! Just kidding It was my wireless internet security settings and the new program did not like the simple set up.

So, I went around the house, reset the iTouch, the AP client, the second desktop and main desktop, the router and of course the laptop. That took a bit as I had a dyslexic Green with envy moment in memorizing the password for the new settings. The AP client where I stream my music was the most frustrating as I really need my music and this was where I inverted the code for the security. Oops Embarrassed smile ! It was only when I realized that I needed to reconfigure the wireless printer and was entering this long code for the third time that I had switched the position of the code. The light went off and I fixed the AP client and had music once again streaming thought the house. Rainbow This took the better part of my day. (I really lead a quite life but enjoy my toys for my working environment!!)

So, a lot of work to make the laptop faster and easier to use. And it is faster and easier to use. Before, it was a glorified lump of coal Snail in the guise of a snail paced computer. Now, it is fast and streamlined for my work. And I work a lot! Money

The second computer I installed it on was problematic. Confused smile My partner uses this and he tends to keep things simple. A few trusted programs and if they give him any grief, the are quickly removed. Devil So it should have been very straight forward.

The issue that was most confounding was the wireless internet. I had rest the security so it should have been good but the installation bumps persisted. On the laptop I had to hardwire the internet for the install to complete. On the second computer at the third attempt, we turned off the wireless and it installed ok. Punch

The second desktop computer was still weird and that took some hunting to discover the cause. Alien My husband had set the icons to 180% so that he could see the screen. Windows 8 didn’t recognize the odd number but installed anyway. The windows explorer would not show on the screen but disappear in a blue bit of screen. Not a good start! Devil I heard about the non working computer at every moment of his day until he headed off to work. That was not fun! Sleepy smile

So, in the quite of Mozart Note , I took a good look at the settings and changed the 180% back to normal. Then I found the change the PC setting in the charm bar and with a click of the mouse, Windows 8 repaired it’s self Thumbs up . Life is much better with his computer doing what it should. Peace

Third one is the charm they say! And I do too. I learned my lessons, turned off the wireless and let Windows 8 do its own install. I was so confident about it, I started the install and headed out Auto on errands. Upon returning all I had to do was enter my preferences and passwords. Red heart

Aside from my learning curve around the install, I love what I see. I am tweaking this and that with a password or a reinstalling an older program but it is to be expected. Nerd smile

Now to get ready for the tax season. I have my PTIN, my 2012 tax programs so I am ready. Just a dusting in the office and the fabric to put away until May. School