A Checkbook Cover and a Challenge

Yikes. Between skipping lunch and the heroic effort it took to make this thing, I have the WORST headache. Even my eyebrows hurt. But- I finished it!

Here is my checkbook cover I made using this tutorial. I am sure for most people it was fun and easy. And for me, it has absolutely nothing to do with the pattern itself when I say this thing nearly fucking killed me to make. First of all, you have to baste every piece to every other piece. I realize the purpose behind this and I think it's nice. But for me from now on I will be going without. Basting is for the birds. It took me longer to get all the flipping basting stitches out than it did to do all the rest combined. Imagine the moment of panic I had when I thought I somehow made the damn thing like two inches too small, when it turned out I hadn't taken out the basting stitches. I am SUCH a dodo sometimes.

Anyway, I know this thing looks a hot mess but it's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen at this moment.

Here's the inside, complete with wonky pocket placement (the OCD part of me that needs straight lines hates it but whatever) and strange things at the top that would have held the pages of the register up if they were actually functional. But since they aren't, I feel like it's a good thing I don't have a check register anyway.


Here's the full view of the back:


and here's what it looks like all folded up. Note the not even half assed attempt at top stitching. I just kinda said enough's enough, and there ya have it. So funny.


You gotta admit, the fabric combo is cute. This checkbook cover has that going for it.

So, I got to thinking while I was working on this checkbook. I have LOTS of supplies with which to make stuff. In fact, I have so many that I am starting to think that I don't like making stuff as much as I like gathering materials for stuff. So, I am challenging myself: I want to see how many days in a row I can Make Something without having to buy anything. I have so many things on various assorted lists in various stages of completion- I bet if I really used my head, I could make something every day for a while. Like 30 days or more. Maybe even 60! What marvelous things could I actually complete if I stopped focusing on what I don't have to make something else? How far out of the box could I think? How much money could I not spend? Would it give me new eyes with which to see the stash I have? Could it help me in my Resolution to try to free myself from the want and need for accumulating things?

I think this could be really fun. And this could be Blogging Gold, considering my propensity for Really Messing Things Up. Also, I believe that creativity can really flourish with limitations, so I am imposing a few rules:

• At least an hour a day goes into the making of something, or The Thing has to be completed, whichever comes first.
  
• Confession is on Sunday, where I tell what I really bought (sometimes you have to have thread and such). If I HAVE to buy something, I will keep it under $5 per week.
  
• No more than 1/3 of my time spent making something can be knitting. I can knit for longer than an hour, or as often as I want, but it can only be counted for the day's project every third day or the equivalent.
• Multiple days can be accounted for in a single entry. This isn't a cop out- as most of you know, blogging is really time consuming, and the whole point of this challenge is to actually do, rather than shop for or talk about.
  
• Pictures or it didn't happen. They may be shitty, but I promise to take them.
  
• Food does not count unless it is a recipe I devise all on my own out of things I already have on hand. Hey, it could happen, right? Probably not, but that's okay.
• Stealing and purchasing are not okay for materials, but any other method of acquisition is.
  

Now, what should I call this Challenge? My first thought was Make Something, Buy Nothing. But then I googled that and it looks like that is already something. Most of the entries on the first page went to a site called God Spot, or God Land, or God Something. I'm not going there, although I bet divine intervention could be helpful in this. Help me think of a name, seriously.

This Just In: Unwashed Masses Actually Wash

Footage at eleven.

Well, today I went to the Congressional Advocate Training. I gotta say, it made me feel good. There was a diverse group- retirees, college kids, a young married couple with their well behaved children, and anyone and everyone else you can think of. It was just what I hoped; people from every background and demographic wanting change badly enough to go and work for it.

I realize that we may never get to meet with our Representative. I doubt he will vote yes on the Recovery Package, and I may never get to tell him what sort of Royal Douche I think he is. But that's okay. Just trying is exciting!

So, we talked about his record, the Very Narrow Victory he eeked out over his opponent, and how he most likely is running scared from the new shape his constituency is taking. Good Ole Boys are going by way of the polar bear here, and I think that's great. He is a Good Ole Boy, so sooner rather than later, this Rep is going to have to face the people he serves. We talked about how we can appeal to him, and relate it to all politicians' favorite flavor: What will ensure support in an election year. And we talked about personal stories, and what led us there in the first place.
That was hard.

The meeting was held at the pool in his neighborhood. His neighborhood was very cute, and new, and affluent, and color coordinated. But it wasn't a Vinyl Village. It looked like a place where you could let your kids play in the street and if you forgot to lock your door before going to the grocery store your TV would still be there when you got home. It seemed like at the pool there was at least one Ice Cream Social per year, because the neighbors wanted to know eachother.

So.

Our leader is a young personal injury attorney who opened his own practice last year. This year, he's losing his home and renting from the next door neighbors. He's just basically running out the clock and using the time to pack up before they come take the house away. He just wanted his own practice.

I can't imagine.

So yeah, I feel good about deciding to do all this. I hope some good comes from it. The goal is to have this package pushed through quickly enough that it's on Obama's desk soon after he takes office. I don't know how realistic it is. But, even if we miss the mark on that, it's still important to get everyone together and working toward fixing things.

There was only one person I wanted to choke. I only wanted to choke her for a minute, so if you know me and how well I tend to deal with strangers, then that's really a fantastic outcome.

And there was peppermint bark. I just love that stuff.

and while I'm here, let's talk about my morning at the shelter yesterday!

It was splendid. I loved it, even though my knees are still angry with me. I didn't have to clean anything really. I walked dogs ALL MORNING LONG. I took Schroeder first, of course. He's so sweet. After that he was outside in his morning Play Group (I squealed when I saw they pay that much attention to socializing), he'd smile and wag his tail and run up to the fence. Later on I sat in his enclosure with him and petted him for a while, and chatted with him. When I left my hands were covered in the dirt from the yards, just like Maya was. I thought of that right away and my heart aches for him. I wish I could take him home with me.

I also participated in doggie therapy and helped work with Travis, a very sweet dog who has barrier agression. He's got a scar on his neck from an imbedded collar. He's spent his whole life wanting stuff that's out of his reach, and has a chip on his little doggie shoulder because of it. He'll be a good dog someday. It makes me so sad that someone was able to hurt an animal like that, and make it so that he's such a mess. I also took Thurston for a walk. He's got some issues, but he let me walk him and scratch behind his ears. Everyone marvelled at that, and I really felt good. I seem to have the opposite effect on animals that I have on children. That's fine because the reverse is true, and I like animals a hell of a lot better than children anyway. So there! Oh, and you better believe that with there being about 30 puppies there right now, when no one was looking I would grap a handful of them and squeeze them. Their little pot bellies are my weakness. There was a little guy named Dickie that I wanted to grab and run with. We could have gone and changed our names and no one would have known that I stole him because I could not resist his pudgy little gut. But I didn't.

What I did do was some more subversive snuggling. Hairy Gary is still there. He came down from his perch and let me squeeze him for a while before getting bored with me the way cats do. I just love that little guy. I hate how when I see a face i know, I feel so Happy-Sad. All in one flash it's "Oh HI Hairy Gary!/ Sorry you still don't have a home, kitty." It's tough. But luckily I can come home to my own ungrateful turd of a cat and remember that I don't like cleaning his poop box and he sleeps on my head if I let him.

Sigh. Crazy Cat Lady, party of One.

Either a Resolution Kept or a Potentially GREAT Story

So.

Remember how I said that one of my resolutions this year was to get involved in causes I believe in?

The universe is funny sometimes, with the way it can just hand things to you. I checked in my email the other day, and in it was an invitation to attend a training session to be a Congressional Advocate. Sounds fancy, no? Well, it's sponsored (I think that's accurate) by MoveOn.org, and will be held at an organizer (Community Organizer?)'s home. The intent is to educate us on being grassroots advocates for Obama's new policies, and teach us to effectively talk with our state Congresspeople about his policies and encourage them to help quickly enact his plans for the country. There will be snacks. I do not mind admitting the fact that snacks were a factor of me RSVP'ing that yes, yes I would be in attendance.

I had some reservations at first, but now- I'm excited! I am not usually a Joiner, and I never have been. I was not in clubs in high school (except for ones that required no real involvement but could go on a college application, like Latin Club), and I am not in clubs now. I don't do Societies, Associations, Councils, Fellowships, Groups, Teams, and Alliances. I've always preferred to do things my way- All Alone and On My Own. But I realize that doesn't work at all with the direction in which I feel that this country should be headed. In order to get anywhere, people have to get together, and I think that the time is now for that. I also thought it was sort of useless, being here in The South. I live in the buckle of the Bible Belt. My state is often in the news for very embarrassing things, and our representation is composed entirely of Good Ole Boys. Sigh. So, while I doubt that anything that a Congressional Advocate would have to say would change their minds, why not try? They need to hear it now more than ever, and trying always has a better chance of success than not trying.

And, there's the snacks.

I figure at worst case scenario, this is a goldmine for blog fodder. Where else do you get material for good stories? Okay fine, I am a magnet for them just by virtue of being...well, of being me. But still, going out amongst the unwashed masses to sit in a Total Stranger's home and eat snacks made by other Total Strangers and talk politics. People, there's gold in them thar hills.

So- that's on Sunday, I will be working at The Shelter again tomorrow (I checked the website- Schroeder is still there. Uh oh.), and (hopefully) filling in the gaps with a heap of sewing and other stuff.

If I don't post again, it's because the MoveOn people tricked me, and they're really a cult and dressed me in a Snuggie and made me eat a live chicken and drink some nice kool-aid or something. In that case, send for help.

And I'm Back

A very happy new year to all of you!

I am back, having just dropped BF off at the airport an hour or so ago. The fits of body-shaking, snot-gushing, tear-filled sobs seem to have stopped for the time being, so I figured I should get something out of the Happy Time (it comes and goes in waves, the whole me being able to function or wailing and moaning and clutching some unfortunate cat or dog and wiping my face in their fur. Cute, I know.). So anyway, New Years was wonderful and just what I wanted it to be- full of great food, music, friends, and lots of good wishes and high hopes for an awesome 2009.

We saw the Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival at the Fabulous Fox and it was fantastic. Our seats were GREAT, and the theater is one of those places that enhances the show you are seeing just by virtue of being a Real Life Theater- it's the Fabulous Fox, not the Verizon Wireless This or the Pepsi That, and is it just felt special. Did you know that it was the location of the first ever showing of Gone With the Wind? It was. And also, my Girl Crush on Susan Tedeschi has grown even bigger. She has an amazing voice, can rock the blues guitar, and has shiny hair. Sigh. And before too long, it was midnight and BF and I were celebrating our anniversary and a new year. I love that two very important celebrations in my life are marked at the exact same moment. That makes me smile.

Anyway- before I have to run off and wipe my face on the cat, let's talk resolutions.

I know that some people hate them. And after reading all sorts of blog posts- some people have lists a mile long, others don't bother with them at all and get sort of resentful about them. Resolutions are important- whether they are yearly, monthly, whatever- it's important to just try. You can insert lots of clever quotes here said by people far more eloquent and accomplished than I, but they all say the same thing. Just fucking try, ok? I mean, yeah I will probably not succeed with a lot of mine. But hey, in the time in which I am trying I am being better than if I just sat on the couch eating chips, accepting the status quo for another 365 days. And if one resolution is a total failure- it will most likely be because I was chasing the wrong thing, and it gave way to something better. That's alright, don't you think. Just trying is good.

So here's my list (even though I told you last week that I wouldn't be posting it. I changed my mind, and I can do that.)

• Embrace change, and accept it as part of life.
  
• Share all the good tidings and crap I hate during the holidays all year long.
  
• Be involved in and vocal about things I believe in. Write congressmen, give of time and money, and generally stand up for what I think is right.
  
• Practice contentment, and stop comparing myself to others. Enjoy and be happy with what is right now.
  
• Eat better, and love cooking again
• Buy locally, handmade, or from companies with a conscience, making my money do more good than for just me and Wal*Fart.
  
• Learn something new
• Regularly send cards, letters, and notes in the mail, because it's nice and makes people feel good.
  
• Take a class. I am pretty proud of my ability to teach myself things with the help of books or the internet, but learning in a group is pretty cool especially when creativity and enthusiasm are contagious. Right now I am considering yoga, pottery, or Italian. Or cooking.
  
• Travel more
• Manage time better, and stop procrastinating by playing on the internet.
  
• Write more- and not just about botched or barely completed projects. I learned this year that I sort of like it, and people seem to find it amusing so I'd like to do more of it. But I won't take a writing class. Pottery sounds like more fun, and Italian too.
  
• Free myself from materialistic/compulsive hoarding tendencies. I would like to learn to trade More for Better or Special. I think that I could apply this to every single thing I purchase.
  

I think that's about it. It seems like a lot, but I feel like if I can put most of it into at least semi-regular practice then I can make my life better, or at least try. It's more about the trying anyway, isn't it?