Saturday, August 30, 2008

Happy Labor Day!



I have no idea who this cat is. But I like his bandanna. And, I like the look of murderous intent he has on his face.

I started to write some long drawn out thing about service men and women and misguided wars and all that, but then I remembered that Memorial Day is the one in May! Durr. I am so dumb sometimes.

Eat a pound of potato salad at your respective cook outs this weekend, or leave this blog in shame.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Over the River and Through the Woods

to Grandma's house Maya goes.

I need a change of scenery and I need to be babied and I need to learn how to sew. Therefore, I spend Labor Day weekend at my mom's house in Wilmington, NC. I am looking forward to this quite a bit.

There is nothing like going to visit your mom as an adult. I love it! It's worth putting up with the concern over my weight, the mentions of my ill fitting wardrobe and the very vocal hopes for grandbabies. Mom will cook for me. Mom will bring me a drink if I ask for one, and Mom will be sure the covers are pulled all the way up to my chin before bed. No matter how old you are, sometimes it is nice to have your mommy.

Maya is excited too! Well, that's a lie because she does not know what's going on. She is coming with me of course, and that is great because my mother has never met her. To know Maya is to love her, and so I am doubly happy that the two will be meeting finally because my mother was VERY opposed to Maya's arrival at first. So it's great that just a few months later she is welcoming Maya to her house with no problems what so ever. Happy sigh. This will be a nice trip to have her along on as well, we can try to go for walks, she can play in the fenced in yard, and she can be out of her comfort zone, but still with me somewhere that is relatively quiet with limited strangers.

And oh joy for the sewing part! My mom knows how, and so I will be dragging my machine up there with me for the weekend. Mom can help me and give me tips and stuff, and we can FINALLY finish with my couch recovering mission that began in April. It is the final thing to be done here in the house, besides the office. It will be SO NICE to finally have the living room done, and no longer see this odd purple couch amidst all the blue and green loveliness.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Whole Lotta Paper

At long last!
My Etsy shop has finally been updated, and this time I added all those millions and millions of random and pretty awesome bits of paper. There are five lots, and you can have a peek at them right here. This post is now littered with pics of a few of the lots that are for sale.

I am feeling like I will be sticking with the selling things in lots approach. That way I can just get rid of stuff. It's tedious to list things like supplies otherwise- I mean when you are selling beads and cabs and such for half of what you pay for them and hoping someone is willing to take them off your hands, well who wants to be in front of the computer for hours on end listing things? Not me, especially when I still need to be spending time weeding through things. I think that at this point I still have a few more books to list, some tools, one lot of random odd things, and then it's down to beads. I have been dreading the beads.


Saturday, August 23, 2008

Things I Painted and A Point of Clarification- and a Maya Story Too

I painted these old ceiling tiles the other day during my surprise day off work. I think they look fantastic, and the color, which I acheived from mixing like 4 different colors layered on top of another color, is just right. they are going in my room. Originally there was a third, done in a rusty red, and it really just looked like dried blood or something, and so I am just going to stick with the two green panels.

Also a point of clarification based on Nancy's previous comment. The destashing is intense. This is true. And I am really consolidating, and it isn't as painful as I thought it would be. I am not getting rid of everything, but I am getting rid of a lot. But, you see, I am restashing. I am afraid that I am re-stashing in a different way, and buying it faster than I can use it. I want to try to quit that, but it's tough. Yarn is so pretty, and so is fabric. I swear, I just HATE having impeccable taste sometimes. It can be SUCH a burden.

Now, like the title suggests I have a Maya story for you- something I have not shared in quite some time. While I have come to realize that she may just be bat shit crazy, tonight she did demonstrate that there is a normal, obedient dog inside her. We are in the midst of a three day torrential downpour here, so my umbrella has taken up residence outside. When it is fully opened, but not held over my head (and thus out of her line of sight), it is terrifying to her. The more it hangs out on the porch, the more scared she gets. I guess she tells it to go away, and when it doesn't it scares her more, I dunno. Any way, she scrambled past me this evening to get away from The Umbrella of Doom and yanked her leash out of my hands. She ran all the way down the stairs, and took off down the street! I think that she was also spooked by the little canister of Poop Bags that hangs on her leash- it was dragging behind her. So I am then running after her terrified that she will get hit by a car and yell at her to SIT. I yelled it just like that, all big and bad. And she did! Right there in the road on the first try. She took off again, but when I told her to SIT AND STAY, she really did it! she sat right there in the middle of the road and waited for me to grab the leash and then off we went to the grassy place where we pee. Well, where she pees and I turn away and look for the moon so she can have the illusion of privacy. So yeah, proof of her training paying off and proof of her being a very good girl underneath all the anxiety.

And now, a picture of her in the tub, looking indignant. She hates baths, but loves being towel dried. Sorry it's blurry. I was giggling uncontrollably and couldn't use flash- it makes her eyes do the crazy thing they do with flash photos and she is far too sweet for that.

Friday, August 22, 2008

The Spoils of Internet Fasting


Okay so I know that picture does not look very interesting to you.

But. BUT! Guess what is in those giant envelopes. Just guess! You'll never guess, so I will tell you- there inside those bubble mailers is roughly 7 pounds or so, give or take, of paper.

All kinds of paper.

There are Chinese papers, pages from books written in foreign languages, hand made papers, old pictures, religious ephemera, National Geographic pictures, labels, image transfers, transparencies, blank jigsaw puzzles, game boards, postcards, ads, snippets of random things, you name it. It's all there, and it's going up in my ETSY shop. I am hoping that someone wants to buy nice cheapo packs of really awesome stuff for collages, mixed media stuff, ACEOs, ATCs and random altered art fun. I am hoping to get it listed tonight.

I hope for beads and some random tools and MORE BOOKS to be listed soon.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Sewing Update

In case you were wondering, yes I have played with my sewing machine.

It has been interesting to say the very least. I have an incredibly huge amount of stuff to learn, and I think that I may break my long held tradition of teaching myself to do everything and I may just suck it up and sign up for a class. It has become terribly apparent to me that I am not naturally good at this, and also that I really want to be. Further I have learned that I love nice fabrics, and that I want to not waste a bunch of money and time learning how to do things.

Therefore, I am online looking at my county's community ed site. Holy smokes. the good thing I can say about it is that it is apparent that the cost of classes does not go to upkeep of the website. Wow. I have also accomplished a great many things while looking at it, or attempting to. I re-started the laundry I left in the wash two days ago (I hate when I do that) and I also started dinner and wrote the drafts of like three blog posts- all while waiting to see if there is a sewing class to take somewhere. I sure hope so. For god's sake the only class that has loaded so far is beginning floral design.

Okay it finally loaded and YAY! There is a class and it starts in October. Hmmmm. Perhaps I will check somewhere else. I don't wanna wait a month to learn how to use my sewing machine. I could teach myself by then.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

And This, My Dears, Is What We Call Fail

So today was another surprise day off, and I thought that I might get a few things done while I had this most glorious time. One of those was the uber bright idea to paint the interior of my bookshelf a fun color. Like this odd lime greenish color. The good thing is that more than likely, this bookshelf will not be going when I move out of this place. The bookshelf is one of those Target things, made of compressed cardboard or something. So, what happened is not exactly a huge loss because it isn't like the damn thing is a family heirloom or something.

Obligatory Before Photo

And I don't knwo what the hell possessed me to do this but I used spray paint inside. Yeah I know, stupid. Do as I say, not as I do. Well, don't even do as I do. Here's a somewhat in progress shot:

And then finally, what it looks like with a box of books taken out for the thrift store:


And now, let's all say it together:

Meh.

It actually looks better in the picture than in real life. Not sure what I was thinking. They can't all be winners, I guess.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Internet Fasting

Alright, so I have done some thinking, and I think that it is time to take some drastic measures. I have realized that I spend WAAAAAAY too much time on the internet. I mean, it's really really awful. Terrible even! So I decided that with Christmas just a few months away (fuck off with your protests, I am not getting screwed and spending time in the mall this year) and tons of yarn and things I want to make just piling up, along with house stuff that needs to be done and just isn't, and TONS of other projects I have all ready to go, just waiting for me to get my act together and actually do them, it's time to get serious. Let's not forget that my sewing machine arrived on Friday!

I am gonna go on an internet fast.

Yep, I really am gonna do it this time. Here are the exceptions I am going to allow myself:


*Online banking
*Fantastic blog updates here

*E-mail

*Etsy- only store updates and the like. No shopping.

*Tutorial/Pattern printing and referencing

*DIY and design blogs- gotta stay inspired.

And that's it! Nothing else. So let's see if I can actually get back to doing things, or just blogging about how I WANT to do them. I am hoping to do this as a Master Cleanse of sorts, and get back to actually doing things, finishing things, accomplishing things, crossing things of my lists of things that need to be done, finished, and accomplished.
Wish me luck! I am gonna start with two weeks of no internet, and see what happens.

Friday, August 15, 2008

In Which A Wonder Cat Goes to The Vet


I am filing this post under the Charlie label, but if I felt like making a more accurate one, it would be something like, "OMG are you fucking KIDDING ME?!?!?!" Now that I think about it that would be a great label- very useful.

Anyway.

I took Charlie to the vet the other day. Nothing important, just an annual exam and shots, and to get him switched over to the new fancy shiny vet that Maya has been seeing. They are terrific; I love them. Well, we got to the portion of the program where the nice vet lady looks in his mouth. Now his teeth don't look like Austin Powers' teeth or anything, but they are not Simon Cowell's either. Ha, I am now laughing hysterically thinking about my sweet little kitty cat having giant bright white crazy chicklet teeth. Ha! So they tell me it's most likely time for a cleaning. I begrudgingly agree, because we have been heading towards a dental cleaning for 3 years now, easy. So the exam ends and then the little vet nurse gal comes back in to give me a quote.

Uh huh.

The low end of what it would cost to clean Charlie's teeth is $350. Three hundred and fifty dollars!!! That is INSANE! Now before you go telling me that they sedate them and blah blah blah, I know that. I KNOW. But come on- I can go to see Dr. Hotass and get like 3 fillings and half a cleaning for that!
So now I am moving on to figuring out alternatives. I will buy the stupid tartar control treats. I will try again with the toothpaste. I will consider hitting him over the head with a frying pan and cleaning the teefs myself. I am not above sewing a little kitty cat straight jacket for him and doing it that way. But $350 for a kitty teeth cleaning? You are out of your fucking mind. I will let him just keep cleaning his teeth using the method pictured above. I think he's got a handle on it, don't you?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Another Upcycling DIY Day

I think that everyone is aware that not too long ago my fish ran away. Stop laughing; it isn't funny. I kept his room just the way he left it in case he decided to come back. When it became apparent to me that he would not be coming back, I figured it was time to upcycle his old house.

That's where this tutorial comes in. I thought it was time to give building my very own terrarium a try. A quick run to a few stores (including the pet store where I did not buy ONE THING for either Maya or Charlie. Impressive!) and I was ready to go. Here are the supplies:

and because you are more than capable of reading the tutorial yourself, I took no in-progress shots. But here's the finished product:
Sorta cute, huh? Those too strange things in the front are just, well, strange. I hope they last, but I am pretty sure they won't. However, the little plastic deer will. I had no idea I even had that guy. He came as a bonus gift along with a bunch of odd little miniatures I bought on Etsy once. So did the ballerina. I had much loftier plans for her, but I could not find a Tyrannasaurus Rex the right size. Oh well, the terrarium will just have to be a work in progress. Still, it is a decided improvement over an algae-filled abandoned fish tank, don't you think?

I do.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The Mid-Week in Review

I figured a nice miscellaneous post would be good for the middle of the week- kinda wrap up some things that I have been thinking about and just haven't gotten around to talking about. Here they are:

  • I find it terribly amusing that this is turning into a crafty blog. I really meant for it to be a blog where I tell you about the psycho things I do sometimes. Like the time I photographed the license plate because it belonged to someone I hated in high school. Anyway, rather amusing.
  • I hate the color scheme of the blog now. It sucks. I think I am gonna switch it up but deep down I am a bit scared. I am afraid of fucking it up and ruining like 40 whole posts worth of drivel that a select few people read anyhow.
  • The Austin City Limits Fest ticket auction ends this week. Go bid on it already! Come on, you don't really think I deserve to lose my ass on it do you?
  • I bought a sewing machine!
  • I got an etsy sale last week! My first one! Hooray! I need to get motivated to post more shit, don't I? Yes, yes I do. And I intend to do just that this week, along with work on the cleaning and organizing of my office/artsy fartsy/ SEWING room.
  • It's fucking hot here.
Well, that about wraps it up. Now, go OD on Michael Phelps some more.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Happy Happy Happy Day!

Wow, this never happens to me, EVER. Today i got non-paycheck related MONEY!

Yay!

I got a bonus at work today. Apparently it was a thank you for the trying summer we have had. I was not aware that it was even that trying, and that is a bonus in and of itself. Throw in some cash, and now you are really speaking my language.

What does one do with unexpected money? I mentally slaved over this idea. First of all, some of it had to be spent on a plane ticket for the beginning of October. I am going to MSG's sister's wedding with him, so that took care of that. Otherwise, I would have had to save save save this whole month, and that would have sucked. Plus, with my luck I would have saved based on what the price was when I last checked (about 2 weeks ago) and then it would have gone up something awful like $100 or something. So, I got that out of the way and that is nice. Well, that leaves a pretty decent sum of money. What to do with it? Give it to the credit card company? No, that's no fun. I decided that in an attempt to thwart the early (okay fine, well-entrenched to semi-advanced, you asshole) stages of Dimple Butt, I would buy a new pair of sneakers. Mine are in way past awful condition. Okay, so that leaves what I decided would be money for clothes. Or a haircut. Or a steam clean for my car's interior (billable to Maya, of course). Or various assorted home things, like storage bins and those fun canvas bins that I have admired from afar. Or tons of knitting shit, including yarn so fancy and expensive it must be made from the pubes of angels. Or hell, I could start dying my own! But no. I decided that today was the day that I would make something happen that I have wanted for well over a year now:

Yep, I finally bought myself a sewing machine. And because I was a smarty britches, I bought it on Overstock.com and paid like 60% less than retail. We all know how i love a good deal. Well I got one. With a nice little sum to stick in savings just because I can.

What a happy day this is.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Help for Gluttons Everywhere



Look at these two handy little treats I scored the other day! This is hope for gluttons everywhere- when you want cheese dip, but you know you should not eat an entire jar, just get a single serving! When you know you want ice cream, and you could eat an entire tub faster than you could run the 40 yard dash- little baby cups! Mandatory portion control, I will have you know that you are really giving Spanx a run for their money when it comes to being a Hungry Girl's Best Friend.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Mail Call


This came in the mail and is going to be Christmas for some very lucky people.

In all honesty, this will maybe be Christmas for some people, but also a bitching felted market bag for me, and if I am being honest, probably a purse too.

I also went to the yarn store and bought some Malabrigo for myself as well as some buttons. It's gonna be a Celtic neckwarmer that may also be a present if I can bear to part with it. I bet I won't though.

Also in the mail this week was 3 months worth of flea stuff (for kitty and doggie) and 6 months of Heartworm prevention for the pooch. Very expensive, even when it's cheap. But it's not very interesting so I didn't take pictures of it.

Oh, and an update on the scarf:

I changed my mind. I really, really like it. Now that I have done like 7 or 8 repeats on the pattern, the colors are working up more like I wanted them to. And wonder of wonders, when I was at the yarn store, this very scarf was hanging by the register! I mentioned to the owner, who is so nice (I think she likes me a lot because I am nice to her sweet little miniature schnauzers who nose around in my purse whilst I molest the Malabrigo) that mine didn't look perfect like hers, and she assured me that if I keep the faith and then block it at the end, It will look much better. I have been tugging on it a little here and there, and I think she may be right.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Behold


Charles the Wonder Cat

Friday, August 8, 2008

Dear Scarf, I Think I Hate You

Argh. I am so fucking frustrated I could crap. I never knew that yarn could inspire this sort of rage in me. I really thought that the thousand fiery suns' worth of anger I feel was reserved strictly for Christian fundamentalists and women that wear Mom Jeans.

So, here's this really pretty yarn that I bought at the half off sale I mentioned a month or so ago. I would link to the post but really- you don't need me to. Things were on sale, I bought them. The end. So yeah, among my treasures was this terrific yarn, two skeins worth. Pretty, huh?



Anyway, two hundred something yards isn't good for much more than a scarf, and I thought that would be nice. It's lightweight enough to not be super hot, and the colors are fun. So I thought that a open looking, not really lacy, but lightweight, I have no idea how to describe it type thing might work. Three patterns later, I settled on this one:

I think I might hate it. I ended up casting on like 4 times for it because I read the pattern wrong because I am a moron, and just kept scratching my head like a stupid ogre because I hadn't put on my thinking cap. Well anyway, it is just not working up the way I want it to. The colors aren't doing exactly what I want and it makes me mad. What makes me maddest is that looking at the picture, I like it much more than in person.

Should I just take a picture of the scarf and wear that instead?

Thursday, August 7, 2008

More Unfinished Things

Here is some stuff that I have been working on, just to prove to you that I have in fact been working on stuff. The blasted bag that I lamented forever. For some reason, it seemed impossible to finish- I had no drive to. then I just sat down and like an hour later it was all done. The grafting looks absurdly bad, but it's on the bottom and hopefully the felting process will obscure how ghetto it is a bit.

Next is My first foray into cables. I realized that I love them long time.

And a close up, just so you know I can use the macro function on my camera.
The end.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

If You Really Like Good Music.....


then go bid on this auction! The auction is **HERE** I am so so very sad to get rid of this ticket. I bought it back in April and counted down the days till I was supposed to go. I have booked a room. I talked my sister into going. Now it seems that I cannot make it to the festival. I am seriously sad about it, and I want this ticket to find a good home with someone who will go see Vampire Weekend, David Byrne, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, adele, Ryan Bingham, Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, and so so so many others. Go buy it and enjoy it.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Strange


I took this pic of a funny little mushroom family that popped up in the Carolina Jasmine right by my front door.

The strange thing is that I live on the second floor, and I had no idea that spores could travel that far. I think the tiny baby one is cute.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Slow news day. Whaddaya want.

Monday, August 4, 2008

More Music You HAVE to Listen To

I love when things grow on me.

Wait, that sounds bad. I don't mean like moss or irregular moles or anything like that. I mean like when there is something that you either hear or see or watch or wear or make or eat and it doesn't do much for you the first time around. Then, the second time or maybe it takes till the third time you hear or see or watch or wear or make or eat it, but then all of a sudden it just blows you away.

I especially like it when it happens with music. It's cool how I almost missed out on how great this is, but then I didn't and now I know how great it is. This very thing happened today as a matter of fact.



It's Adele, a 20-year-old English jazz singer. She's fantastic. I can't get over this girl's voice- how the hell does she sing like that? I mean being so young and yet so soulful, not how does she actually go about the business of singing. She's like Amy Winehouse, but without the beehive and scabs and crack pipe.


Sunday, August 3, 2008

The First FO to Ever Hit This Blog




TADA!

Well, the Calorimetry is finally done. Finally.

A bit anti-climactic I know, but sometimes mindless knits are hard for me. They are tough because you don't have to pay attention. If I am not paying attention, then I am making terrible mistakes sometimes.

the stats: a belated b-day present for a very dear friend. Knitted in Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted, in a fun color called Turquoise Depths. Little brown button. It's sort of big, I hope it fits her head. Now to find a fun way to wrap it. I feel like if you are 3 weeks late with a b-day present, the presentation should be phenominal.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

An Office Chair Gets Reborn.

No Silly! The office chair hasn't accepted Jesus, or maybe it has and I just don't know because I didn't ask.

Anyway, everyone that knows me knows that I have been moaning and groaning about sitting in that godawful kitchen chair whilst doing my computerly things. It was really starting to get uncomfortable- strangely, this did not limit my time on the computer. Well, yet again How About Orange has inspired me- by helping me to stumble upon this post at Curbly. So, on the magical day off that I got last week for no reason at all, I went thrift store shopping for a desk chair to cover. The Children's Cancer Something Or Other Thrift Store had nothing. But Cobwebs, my new favorite store, had just the thing. Behold, in all it's two toned chocolate corporate cheapo dookie glory:


So with the chair packed in the trunk by the nice Cobwebs man (the South really can be a nice place to live sometimes- chivalry is alive and well here) I toddled off to GDC Home where I got this lovely stuff on sale for $6 a yard. See, even the ever-expanding (note the pot belly!) Charlie Cat approves:


So NOT ME AT ALL, but perfect for how I am envisioning my office, and I like that it is more foliage than actual flowers. And the flowers that are on it are massive and orange, with those odd primrose cluster flower thingies thrown in. I even like those. But yeah, I love leaves and trees and stuff like that, but not huge on flowers.

So I cranked up the Buddy Guy album I raved about last week or so, and got busy. Charlie did not really approve though, because he covered the speakers with his giant self and supervised the whole thing:



Well it was long and hard and involved a few extra trips to Home Depot but it is done and it is utterly fantastic!

here is the point in the blog where I impart some wisdom so that you don't make the same mistakes I did. When shopping for your fun old-but-soon-to-be-better-than-ever desk chair, pay attention to the construction. If you don't the bottom of your chair will come off like a dream and the top may prove to be incredibly difficult. It may just not separate from the wood grain textured plastic, like mine. However, if you find that it doesn't, don't despair. I despaired and it wasn't necessary. Especially once I tried out some heavy duty spray adhesive I just so happened to have on hand. Lots of spraying, careful folding and a dash of profanity- and look! Almost looks like the real thing!

That up there is the top of the back cushion for the chair. It looks like it was made that way, doesn't it! Well, it wasn't. I folded the edges, glued the hell out of it, and wonder of wonders, it worked! I love glue. You will notice that there are some glue boogers on the plastic portion of the chair, but they are drying and proving to be super huge fun to pick off. Remember putting glue on your hands and peeling it off when you were in elementary school? It's like that. Only better somehow.

Project Stats:
Chair: $12
Fabric: $6
Lunch at Chick-fil-A: $5-ish
Length of Time: 2 to 3 hours (it should not take you this long if you don't have major troubleshooting issues like me and just skip right to the spray adhesive.

I am SERIOUSLY considering spray painting the non-fabricy parts of the chair orange like those flowers. How fun would that be?

Upcycling?

I first stumbled across this word a month or two ago while (shocker) perusing blogs. I believe it was in a blog post discussing recycling yarn. Anyway, i really liked the concept. I am all for recycling and using things over again. It's good for the environment, and I love the idea of being able to give something a new purpose, or even just a makeover. It can do wonders, ya know.

Here's the definition from Wikipedia:

Upcycling is the use of waste materials to provide useful products. Ideally, it is a reinvestment in the environment and embodiment of the notion that while using resources one is also contributing to them and their value. This is antithesis of the consume and waste concept in society.

"Upcycling is the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value."[citation needed]

The term upcycling was coined by William McDonough and Michael Braungart, authors of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things.

So I guess I can accept that definition. It's a bit fancy for me, but I like the idea of taking something and not only using it again, but using it again either better or having it be prettier while using it. And this concept lends itself beautifully to before and after pics, and you know I love those.