January 2008 Archives

the dog, who is a 40lb purebred mutt, is drugged.  i drugged her.  i gave it to her in the peanut butter.  tasty, tasty, peanut butter.  why, you ask?  because it is storming here and she wigs out sometimes.

this is of no interest.  what is of interest is that she is lying down, facing the corner, trembling and twitching like that dude in the blair witch project at the end... except, in this version of the movie, there is no witch, and i am not laughing at the stupidity of it all.

why must i get sick?  what purpose does this serve?  on the evolutionary scale, does this change me genetically?  i mean, i get the whole survival of the fittest and me giving my genes that are clearly able to survive the monkey sars epidemic* only helps future generations of humans...

but it is keeping me from my morning walk in.  i want to walk in.  and the monkey sars is making me drive to work.

*by epidemic, i mean that one person is infected with monkey sars... we shall refer to me as ground zero, and ground zero is spreading by getting fat from not getting to walk in...

right now, if you were to go upstairs into my loft area, you would probably drop down to the floor, twitch and cry from fear that it will swallow you alive.  it is that much of a mess up there.

and just like that, this blog has become a mess.  i went up there today to start organizing it.  i friend of mine who does EVERY kind of crafting imaginable has been working on getting her area sorted and organized.  and quite frankly, i love sewing up there, but i only like sewing up there when i can turn my back to the room.  at some point, i inevitably have to turn around and face my demons. 

that was today.  so i decided to create a list of what needs to be done up there and to cross it off my list publically as i get it done.  this is only for my peace of mind, by the way.  the mess up there does not prevent me from finishing projects at all.  but i feel that i would love that room and be in that room so much more if i didn't frown every time i walked up the stairs.

voilà la liste :

-organize wrapping paper, boxes and cards
-organize cards and card making supplies
-organize scrapbooking nightmare of a mess
-organize fabric
-organize gift basket (pre-purchased gifts, yes, i have this)
-repack boxes that are lingering
-remove boxes from house to garage or basement as appropriate
-buy short bookshelves (cheap ones from target, nothing but the best for my sewing room)
-organize quilt tops
-organize cards i have been given (i keep every card everyone has ever given because it is the one thing i am a packrat for... your sentiments)
-organize books, patterns
-take photos and show them off that it can be done and then pretend that it didn't become an unorganized mess within a week of said photoshoot

my goal date for this wee project is feb 29.  wish me luck.

*i heart the word utter.

*now that would be an interesting injury story.

but that is not my story.  today, i got so much sewing done that i was essentially on fire.  it is great to go in with focus and get something done and then be able to work on two other projects as well.  hopefully, by monday, i will be able to say that i gave away two quilts.  i hope.  you never know.  things could go poorly over the next few days.

since it is a long weekend, at the beginning of the semester, i am at the moment profiting by sitting on the couch and doing nothing.  i am afraid it may not last, but eh, it is a long weekend after all.

i know a lot of people who always pick up and go somewhere when they get at least three days together, but i need at least five for me to think that that is worth my while.  long weekends are excellent for putzing about the house or watching movies, getting some work done, hanging out, or reading.

i finished one book two days ago and now i am moving on to the new one.  maybe, if it is good, i will finish it by the time i cross the bridge back into the work-week.

so this afternoon/evening i went to hell.  otherwise known as the mall.  this is my most natural environment as a beast.  i can be seen exhibiting all the beastly characteristics unbecoming of a fine, upstanding, young lady like myself. 

i was there seeing if one of the stores, where i had a gift card, had stuff that the other store didn't have.  oh my!  they did.  and i proceeded to lose my mind.  i will admit, it is not hard for me to lose my mind while i shop.  i experience a mild form of lunacy in front of sale bins.  i am willing to dig and shuffle until i find whatever it is that i am not really looking for. 

most people avoid shopping with me because i will totally displace my lunacy onto them and start shopping for them as well.  this usually causes one of two things.  one, the person enjoys this but ends up cutting off their right arm to pay for the experience.  two, they start crying from the stress of the beast foaming at the mouth because she got a top for $3.50 that was originally $32.  i am not kidding.  it is so adorable!

we have three cats.  butter who will be 9.  socks who will be 7 and maple who will be 5.  our cats are insane.  and to be quite honest, i do not understand them most of the time.

this evening, they have taken to running around like crazy animals who look like they are running from a burning building.  only thing is, the house is not on fire, and there is really their commute from one room to the next is not that large, so speeding, kind of a moot point.

now, i would also like you to know that it is colder than a witches tit outside and the dog has decided that being out there, lying on the deck is clearly the only way to go at 10:35 pm.  i mean really, where else would you want to be?  certainly not a warm bed near the heating vent.  or on one of the couches curled up (blankets provided). 

i dunno.  they all seem crazy to me.

recently we watched a documentary called helvetica.  i know what you are thinking, a documentary about a font does not sound appealing, but let me say, it was really good.

not only did it give you the history of the font, but it showed you where it is in our world, who uses it, what it tends to represent, and even now, as i am typing this, movable type has me typing in helvetica.

one of the things about the documentary that is so fascinating is the question of what does font/typeface represent to the people who use it.  and nothing is more powerful than when thomas put some work thing in helvetica the other day and got tons of compliments.  the power of font.

and this evening, i stumbled upon this, discussing the power of font for a student.  little side note, i force my students to submit in times new roman 12 and this article gives a fabulous hypothesis as to why i do this... and it even goes so far as to explain to me why i like georgia more than i like times new roman.  who knew that font meant so much?

if you really want to understand me, then you should read this.  i am not kidding, i understand this to the core of my being and this guy says exactly what i think and feel.  seriously.  except, apply jif where he is talking about that other brand.

yesterday, we got three new movies from netflix.  i had switched the list around to have a range of movies that would be "appealing" to everyone involved, including roxie the dog. 

one of the movies i had put in the queue was lady in the water.  now, i will mention before hand that i had already listened to a podcast called watching the directors.  i love this podcast and listen to it and their thoughts on different movies and directors.  i really enjoy it and they happened to feature shyamalan.  this movie was one of the movies in their discussion and i was already familiar with some of the major criticisms of this film.

about 30 minutes in... it was turned off.  i will finish it because i am a glutton for punishment or a masochist or isn't that the same thing?  ; )  anyway.  even if you let go and agree to the idea of the movie and agree to the story world that exists in it, it is quite boring.  there is one character that is more fascinating than any other, and she is just comical. 

my suggestion is not to get this one unless you have decided to see every shyamalan movie out there.  or you are a masochist or a glutton for punishment or the same thing...

*the most creative blog post title ever.  a little side note, i think it is silly to go around to everyone and wish them a happy new year.  it isn't that i think it is a bad thing to do, but it bothers me if people get huffy and their panties in a twist because you don't say it.  and then, at what point can you get away with not saying it anymore?  no other time of year do you have to do this, and i think it silly.

so.  if superstition holds true (the one where you will spend the rest of the year doing the exact thing you did on new year's day), i will get a lot of sewing done.  i got one quilt top finished, one set of blocks done for another quilt top, one quilt top ready to be sent to the quilters (it's a queen size and no i am not willing to quilt something that big myself...), another one ready to be quilted. 

i guess it does not count that last thursday i got two baby quilt tops done in one day.  one for a baby boy and one for a baby girl.  both are adorable and now i have to get my act together and actually get them quilted before said babies pop out.  i've always gotten the quilts done before the babies come out, but you never know. 

all in all, happy new year to my sewing room.  to the rest of you too...