Just home from a visit to my parents' house. This visit was almost identical to my last visit on my own last summer. It's kind of weird to replicate visits. The only thing missing was yard sales on Saturday morning, only because my dad took my brother golfing for his birthday. My family is rather predictable.
Did I do anything exciting? No. We went to a couple of thrift stores. Mom and I went across the border to Prince's and for a drive up main street Oroville (which is almost exactly the same as when I was in highschool, only with a yoga studio); I bought a yard of '30s fabric and scoffed at the pathetic cereal selection. Got to visit with my aunties and my cousin. I watched a lot of TLC, Food Network and HGTV, and a little bit of A&E last night.
OK, watching Hoarders freaked me out a bit. I see myself falling into that if something weird happens to me and I have another one of my episodes, and suddenly they're trying to take my kids and my cats away. Oh, wait... I don't have kids or cats. Whew. I'm fine now.
The big excitement for me was coming back with a bag full of coloured Pyrex and Fire King casseroles (with lids). I say a bag and I mean it: I wrapped it all up in my clothes and carried it on the bus like luggage. My mom tried to make me put it in a box, but boxes are for chumps. The haul: a Verde divided lidded casserole, a Dandelion Duet divided lidded casserole (for a buck!), a 1 1/2 qt Butterprint dish (no lid), two Fire King lidded bowls and a oval lidded casserole that looks like Gay Fad, but isn't marked on the bottom (from my grandmother). I only paid for the one casserole; the rest was from my mom, just stuff she hasn't used for a long time or ever, so thought, since I'm spending money when I find stuff, she might as well give me more. I'm pretty excited to add to the collection. I even have a shelf for it. I figured I might as well get rid of some stuff that was making me feel like a hoarder.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
dj b-side
I've been working with my friend to make a dance mix for a dance-related exercise class we drop into weekly. It's been fun to send emails back and forth suggesting different songs that we both love. After 4 days of serious back-and-forth, I think we've got the setlist sorted and ready to go.
The issue now: choosing a DJ name for each of us.
There are DJ name generators that can give you pretty terrible names. The first one that was suggested was DJ Tastes Like Chicken. Thinking back to some of the DJs I met through my friend, some of those guys picked the most ridiculous names, thinking they wouldn't really do much more than a couple of one-off DJ gigs. Snuggles and Wisk were the worst of them, yet they were both pretty major in the jungle scene. Snuggles had a long-running syndicated jungle radio show.
Rachel nixed my suggestions for her: DJ Taco Bell, DJ Pork Rinds, DJ Oatmeal Cookie... I was thinking of things that other people might really love as far as food products go. I was especially fond of DJ Oatmeal Cookie, but agreed with her that it didn't really roll off the tongue very well. I finally suggested DJ Mixed Tape and she kind of liked that. We agreed on DJ B-Side for me and DJ MixTape for her. She pointed out that one was the song on the other side of the popular song and the other is an outdated format. But at least no one can complain if they don't like our mix. What did they expect with names like that?
Can't wait to give'er.
The issue now: choosing a DJ name for each of us.
There are DJ name generators that can give you pretty terrible names. The first one that was suggested was DJ Tastes Like Chicken. Thinking back to some of the DJs I met through my friend, some of those guys picked the most ridiculous names, thinking they wouldn't really do much more than a couple of one-off DJ gigs. Snuggles and Wisk were the worst of them, yet they were both pretty major in the jungle scene. Snuggles had a long-running syndicated jungle radio show.
Rachel nixed my suggestions for her: DJ Taco Bell, DJ Pork Rinds, DJ Oatmeal Cookie... I was thinking of things that other people might really love as far as food products go. I was especially fond of DJ Oatmeal Cookie, but agreed with her that it didn't really roll off the tongue very well. I finally suggested DJ Mixed Tape and she kind of liked that. We agreed on DJ B-Side for me and DJ MixTape for her. She pointed out that one was the song on the other side of the popular song and the other is an outdated format. But at least no one can complain if they don't like our mix. What did they expect with names like that?
Can't wait to give'er.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
freakout
The clouds in the sky when I walked up Main tonight were weirdly menacing, yet slightly hopeful. Menacing because they were black and gray; hopeful because they were fluffy with patches of white. I really want to focus on the white bits (little fluffy clouds, as it were), but all I can see is the black and gray.
I met up with a guy I used to mess around with last week and he informed me that I'm not putting myself out there and I really should because he doesn't think I should be single. It made me sick to my stomach to hear that from someone who rejected me when I put myself out there. I'm still not at a point where I can fathom being interesting to anyone else, seeing how all I really do is work and sit around my house looking at fabric (lately). And, based on how interesting I am to my friends recently, I can see my doubt is well-founded.
A movie I've recently discovered, largely on the review of it being the saddest musical in movie history, is Les parapluies de Cherbourg. I watch it and cry, drawing non-existent parallels to my own life, while mental noting the colour combinations and styles of dresses. Any sad movie suddenly mirrors my life while I'm in this state and no amount of denial can convince me otherwise. I worry my life will be a tragi-comedy, where my ironic death will come sooner than it should have because of some stupid single person decision I will inevitably make because I am alone with no one to offer rational advice.
In short, I'm frickin' freaking out.
I met up with a guy I used to mess around with last week and he informed me that I'm not putting myself out there and I really should because he doesn't think I should be single. It made me sick to my stomach to hear that from someone who rejected me when I put myself out there. I'm still not at a point where I can fathom being interesting to anyone else, seeing how all I really do is work and sit around my house looking at fabric (lately). And, based on how interesting I am to my friends recently, I can see my doubt is well-founded.
A movie I've recently discovered, largely on the review of it being the saddest musical in movie history, is Les parapluies de Cherbourg. I watch it and cry, drawing non-existent parallels to my own life, while mental noting the colour combinations and styles of dresses. Any sad movie suddenly mirrors my life while I'm in this state and no amount of denial can convince me otherwise. I worry my life will be a tragi-comedy, where my ironic death will come sooner than it should have because of some stupid single person decision I will inevitably make because I am alone with no one to offer rational advice.
In short, I'm frickin' freaking out.
Monday, May 3, 2010
making the cut
The last couple of weeks I, thankfully, haven't had to think much on Monday morning. Weird, frighteningly unusual Sunday motivation has meant new dresses completed in the evening, ready for the worst morning of the week. Today's dress, while cute as far as fabric goes, is probably not going to be worn a whole lot, unfortunately. This makes me a bit sad since I had high hopes for it.
Problems with this pattern:
1) the stand collar, while cute, makes me look like I have no neck;
2) said-stand collar is lined with interfacing, yet it's on the bias, so I couldn't make it fit with the main dress part because there was no give, resulting in weird bunching on the dress part near the shoulders;
3) the closure instructions at the back give conflicting instructions/images from previous steps, resulting in a bit of a mess;
4) the pleats in front don't wholly line up with the centre front, meaning weird extra fabric that has to go somewhere, but should have been planned for before it came time to sew it;
5) dress is much too full, giving the impression my ass is much larger than it actually is, which, I grant you, is rather full at the best of times (can you call asses voluptuous?)... Still, I don't want it even bigger; and
6) it makes my ladies-in-front look pretty enormous, which is not what you want to put out there at a married-male-dominated workplace.
But now I know that this pattern needs some work and I can figure out how interested in doing alterations I am. (Chances are I'm not that interested.) I've plotted out another one that will require me to make a decision on lining (to line or not to line), so I'll have to check what lining options I have before I start cutting into it.
Rachel was over on Saturday and was impressed by these projects. If I really stop to think about it, I guess I sort of impress myself that I'm able to make things that I can later wear. Just knowing the problems makes it feel less impressive, and when I wear my clothes I am acutely aware of the errors above anything else.
Did I mention I bought more fabric this weekend?
Problems with this pattern:
1) the stand collar, while cute, makes me look like I have no neck;
2) said-stand collar is lined with interfacing, yet it's on the bias, so I couldn't make it fit with the main dress part because there was no give, resulting in weird bunching on the dress part near the shoulders;
3) the closure instructions at the back give conflicting instructions/images from previous steps, resulting in a bit of a mess;
4) the pleats in front don't wholly line up with the centre front, meaning weird extra fabric that has to go somewhere, but should have been planned for before it came time to sew it;
5) dress is much too full, giving the impression my ass is much larger than it actually is, which, I grant you, is rather full at the best of times (can you call asses voluptuous?)... Still, I don't want it even bigger; and
6) it makes my ladies-in-front look pretty enormous, which is not what you want to put out there at a married-male-dominated workplace.
But now I know that this pattern needs some work and I can figure out how interested in doing alterations I am. (Chances are I'm not that interested.) I've plotted out another one that will require me to make a decision on lining (to line or not to line), so I'll have to check what lining options I have before I start cutting into it.
Rachel was over on Saturday and was impressed by these projects. If I really stop to think about it, I guess I sort of impress myself that I'm able to make things that I can later wear. Just knowing the problems makes it feel less impressive, and when I wear my clothes I am acutely aware of the errors above anything else.
Did I mention I bought more fabric this weekend?
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