Photo-ish blog

Aw, my first sewing project: lounge pants. When I ran out to the garage to show M after I finished hemming them, his response was, "Um. You're not going to wear those, like, out, are you?" Sigh.


I'm proud of my first pillow. I got the fabric for two bucks at a flea market and Mom gave me the cording and trim material. I also attempted my first potholder from the same fabric, but those little suckers are trickier than they look.

Today

[I thought I posted this on Saturday, but apparently didn't...]

Cat on lap? Check. Laptop on lap? Check. Latte within easy reach? Check. All blogging systems go.

And so many things have come together to check off the boxes for a good weekend ahead. Sky is clear, daffodils smiling from their vase, Saturday and Sunday stretching before me with nary a plan but to meet the writing gals for a jot down tomorrow morning. Shall I knit on the tote bag project or hem my pants? Or both? I should tackle a few household chores, but I'm thinking of proposing something wild and crazy to M--that we go to the beach. I have a hankering to hear the wave and smell the salt, and rain is apparently on the way tomorrow.

*****

Need a tear or two of joy? Watch this broadcast of a high school basketball game.

A Good Day

It was a red letter day for me, my friends--I put myself out there not just once, but twice, for others to judge. I sent away my God essay to a local contest (hundreds of dollars at stake for the laureates!) and then dropped off my Mediterranean tostada recipe at our local Trader Joes (a $20 gift card possible there!). Not that it's about the prizes. Right? Just the zen of doing, crafting something for public scrutiny, is all worthwhile.

The essay was the first personal writing project I've spent significant time revising in ages. Usually I just bring a first draft to writers group, take copious notes, then stuff it in my cute polka dot expandable file folder. For this essay, the writers group gals had a couple of cracks at it and even M chimed in. It definitely improved, but is it good enough? Is it done? Well, nothing is ever done, in my mind. Having a deadline helped. And I used every moment of the time allotted, throwing it in the mailbox just ten minutes before pick up on the final day of the contest.

I thought about not entering after all, even after I'd told a couple of people that I would--and I told them so it would be harder for me to back out. But as my time for revisions shrank, it felt harder and harder to complete. In fact, I used one of my precious evenings this week to answer work email rather than revise! Dork. Anyway. But now my white envelope is in the mail, and that's that. I know I'll feel bad if I don't win any of the prizes, but I hope it won't be so discouraging that I'll stop altogether. I have a few other essay submission plots/thoughts for this year.

*****

In other news:

- Mom is coming down for long the weekend, bringing various sewing supplies. I'm looking forward to shopping and food. It's chilly, Mom, so bring your sweatshirt!

- I'm planning a road trip with a friend to Hearst Castle in May. Maybe we'll even be able to work in a soak in the Esalen baths. Neither road trip nor Hearst Castle nor Esalen have I been to in years, so I'm excited about it.

- Back is definitely better. On track for going back to the gym next week.

- I'm starting to use instant messenger. I know, I'm a Luddite, I know! I can see where it might have a certain place in my life, but even if this multitasking mode of life becomes the norm--three IM windows open while you answer a call on your cell phone, listen to music, and watch the latest video on your laptop--I don't know how much I'll use it. Email was cool for a while too, and now it's just another, albeit more convenient, piece of mail. In some ways, I like knowing when other people are online and available to communicate with, but I think this is going to become a given soon. I wonder if people felt this way about the telephone? Convenience, almost a freedom, to reach out and touch someone instantly, but also one more possible intrusion.

- On a related note, I'm also starting to get the hang of MySpace. I can see why people have so many friends--that's the only way you get any new action. Which is why I don't keep up with Orkut and a couple of the other networking sites I joined. I have a grand total of 17 MySpace friends now, and if it weren't for my cousin's daughter, I wouldn't have much new stuff to look at at all. Yet I'm getting to know her and a couple of other people better this way. But for this passive communication, I don't know that I would keep in touch at all, so I'm grateful for it, and I'll keep it up as long as they do. I did just get my first bulletin from Elvis Costello--that was fun, if impersonal!

- This new schedule is definitely making it harder to blog as much. I'll have to find a way to remedy that.

- Ushered for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy last night. An excellent show, made me want to take dance lessons with M again. Well, maybe after he passes the Bar.

Happy V (which rhymes with "vie") Day

I just turned pro on Flickr, so now there are 92 wedding photos for you to enjoy! And so much more. I have lots of image rearranging and organizing and more uploading to do…

Back is better. Saw (and felt) the chiropractor on Friday, and spent a total of seven, maybe eight minutes with him yesterday after work. Which is just as well. It was odd being alone with a man I don't really know, face down and legs strapped to a strange padded table that he moved to stretch out my lower back. My goal is to return to the gym next week. I feel so sluggish…I will never take my back for granted again!

More to post, but M just arrived, laden with roses and ice cream.

Back, and Further Back

I get it. I get it now. Why small, ancient women from the Mediterranean dress in black to sweep their stoops (is that where the posture adjective comes from?) and haunt the streets in angular anguish. They are mourning the loss of a pain-free back. It's odd being the one to move slowly, moan inadvertently while turning to take in traffic, pause to think long and hard before picking up or placing anything on or near the floor. That's supposed to be the role of other, older members of my family, but today I'm the leading player in the drama of "The Incapacitated." Enough whining. But you do know that redheads can take pain more than other hair colors, right? And do you know why I'm really suffering? I don't know what the hell I did to throw my back out. I hope this won't affect my sewing class, which debuts tomorrow, but I don't think I'll be able to haul my Singer Stylist into class on my own unless something miraculous happens in the next 24 hours. Oh great FSM…

*****

Speaking of sewing class, I checked out McCalls Sewing Book from 1967 from the library (see, Katch, I utilize that fine institution!) and would like to share some 40-year-old wisdom with you:

Because it is difficult to see oneself as one really is, don't rely on a mirror. A snapshot or two (one full-face, the other side view), preferable in a bathing suit, will give you a better answer. Flaws never seem quite so realistic in a mirror as they do in a picture. And don't be disheartened. Once you know what's wrong, there's a great deal you can do to correct it.

Because the appearance of clothes is improved when placed on a well-proportioned figure, now's the time to begin correcting any irregularities. But whether you try to change your proportions or not, measurements have a disconcerting habit of changing…

The ideal facial shape is oval.

The flat, angular look may be right on the pages of fashion magazines, but in real life you're apt to look scrawny. A rounded feminine figure is more pleasing to the eye.

The homemaker often makes the big mistake of thinking she does not have to look her best when doing her daily chores. Actually, ill-fitting clothes lower her morale and make her less able to cope with everyday trials.

For shopping: By this, we mean shopping in a city department store. Slacks and shorts are taboo. Again, simple dresses and suits are best.


*****

Nancy tagged me on a meme, so here she blows. (Rebecca and
Julia, you're It!)

4 Things Meme

Four jobs I’ve had:
Gas station/car wash cashier
Pre-school snack -n- playdoh prepper
Life model
Stained glass studio apprentice

Five movies I can watch over and over:
It's a Wonderful Life
The Quiet Man
Say Anything
My Fair Lady
Guys and Dolls

Four places I’ve lived:
Bradenton, FL
San Bernardino, CA
New York, NY
Minot, ND

Five TV shows I love:
Cooking with Jacques and Julia
Sex and the City
Six Feet Under
Felicity
The Daily Show/Colbert Report (OK, Six shows)

Four places I’ve vacationed:
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Florence, Italy
Island of Lesbos, Greece (well, it was supposedly a class, not vacation)
Lake Ontario, New York

Four of my favorite dishes:
Yukon gold potatoes, onions, and garlic roasted in olive oil til smushy
Gelato
Thai green curry
Chile relleno burrito from El Mariachi (when oh when will they make a chile relleno chimichanga?)

Four sites I visit daily (every day I'm online, that is):
Gmail
Blogger
Flickr
MySpace

Four places I would rather be right now:
Bed with fresh sheets and a little dog (hm, that sounds funny)
The beach on a sunny day
Cuddling with my hubby by a fire
Thirty-three years old on a Saturday night in Manhattan

These meme things smack of the many questionnaires on MySpace. Sort of an introvert's self-interview, or passive communique. Perfect for moi!

Superbowl Sunday

It's one of those days--I feel guilty living the life I do. After weeks of dreary weather, the sun embraced the sky uninterrupted all day. We had breakfast on the deck after a delicious sleep-in til nearly 9:00 a.m. Pure luxury! Then M drug his books and snacks off to the library and left me to my own sun-filled devices: pruning the roses, working on a God essay, reading email, painting my nails (red), sitting outside for almost an hour watching Rex performing his sun sauna ablutions--nap on one side in the sun, turn over, nap in the shade, turn over, repeat. The neighbors watching Superbowl XL drove me inside--ah the joy of suburban life. The stench of their noxious charcoal starter fluid adds to that joy.

It's amazing, though, that I feel like I still don't have enough time. I wanted to knit and try a warm-up sewing project before my sewing class starts on Wednesday evening, but I just couldn't seem to get to it. I'll blame the sun. Well, there are still a few hours left in this Sunday…

No big news to report. I did make plans to visit Grandma in Washington in April, and I'm taking my 16-year-old niece. I'm really looking forward to that trip. M and I met up with some of his law school friends Friday night to see a live comedy show. Not enough people in the audience, but luckily a hearty laugher in attendance seeded our merriment and it turned out to be a very good show. I completed my first week of the new schedule, working on Wednesday, but coming an hour later and leaving an hour earlier. It will take some getting used to. I love commuting in the daylight, but traffic is worse. And the rhythm of both my work and home time has changed. I'm used to just being able to feed myself and the animals, maybe squeeze in a chore before tumbling into bed after work--now I have a bit more time, and should use it wisely.