things I'd like to do in February

1) figure out a kitchen compost system
2) start sweet peas and appropriate beans indoors (although it's warm enough I could probably plant directly outside.)
3) finish sunburst afghan - I figure I'm only about 1/2 way done, but if I really put my mind to it, I should be able to finish.
4) begin craft supply/ fabric reckoning. It will be a biblical banishment type reckoning. (a Go Forth to Goodwill and NEVER RETURN, kind of thing. I will point my finger and wear a robe and all that jazz.)
5) stay on top of things so there's always something to do, but not so much that I get completely overwhelmed. (ha ha ha! just reading this makes me sort of hysterical.)
6) Write up all books I read in 2010.
7) go to the movies at least twice.
8) Read.
9) figure out writing scheme like my walking scheme. It's within reach! I just have to figure it out.
10) make something I've never made before. This could be sewing or cooking or baking or whatever.

I'm sure I'll come up with a much better list for tomorrow, but this is today's list. Do you have any plans for february?

Sunday nurse

(photo is of Cherry Ames, of course.)

I'm having a hard time coming up with tonight's blog post. (But I can't believe this is the first time I've complained about it! I think this is some kind of blog-a-day record for me - woooo!)

General life update: WEIRD, MAN. But not bad. I think things are going to change one way or another at work sometime in the next few months. (either I will get some nature of permanent position and be weirded out by that, or I won't and I'll be super depressed PLUS weirded out.)

I've also been working on the writing project that I dropped like a hot potato when the holidays came around. I just deleted a bunch of mealymouthed evasions about what it is and how it's coming along - the truth is I'm incapable of giving a straight answer because I'm still making it up. Some days I think it's great, other days I'm so frustrated I could scream because nothing's coming out like I want.  THE USUAL.

As for this blog,  I haven't forgotten that I meant to do a bunch of last year book reviews.  I think those will spill into February, and that will be fine.

history videos

I love this youtube channel! From what I can gather, it's a pair of (high school?) history teachers in Hawaii who make these for their classes. Super fun! The videos are playful and goofy with wigs, costumes, dancing, and FACTS. I kept changing my mind about which ones to include here - I look forward to seeing what they will do next.

note: Most of their videos are done to hits from the 80s, but not all! (all of these are, though.)



WARNING: I had the original version of this song going through my head for 4 days after watching this.




Oh, Alexander. Ma-Ma-Ma-Macedonia!



This is so over the top ridiculous (as were the Borgias!) - I love it. These wigs are particularly hilarious AND there is a poison ring. I  also like the marquee B-O-R-G-I-A over the stage.

code name "clear skies"

My fingernails are currently a color listed on the bottle as "clear skies", only they don't look ANYTHING like clear skies. If the skies were this color, it could only be the still light blue part of a tropical sunset, which usually means clouds. So, nail polish company -- kudos on the awesome color, but it's more of a "teal play-doh" than "clear skies."  (I look forward to my invitation to be chief color namer at your company! I think we can give OPI a run for their money.)

Update on walking:  so far (up to day 4) I haven't had to skip. Although today I did cut it short because I have blisters (argh), and I found myself in the early stages of a minor freak out. There are so many people at the park from when I used to walk all the time. I feel obliged to be friendly and wave or stop if they start talking to me (I always have to pull out my earbuds and ask them to repeat whatever it was they said, which is a drag), and I  realized that I don't want to do that. Or at least I didn't want to do it today. I just wanted to walk and think my thoughts and do my thing. No chit chat! I like it best when it's raining really hard and no one else is there. As I was walking home counting my blisters I thought about it more - this kind of thing might slightly annoy me under normal circumstances, but wouldn't cause me to freak out like I did. What's the deal, Jen?  Then I had a sad, pathetic lightbulb moment: I'm still working with my guilty feelings and embarrassment. I can't walk as fast or as far because I'm out of shape; I'm heavier than when I was a regular - seeing all those people from before makes me feel guilty, which is just ridiculous. It's not their fault! And frankly, who cares?  Most people are too wound up in their own stuff to think much about mine. Now that I've got that sorted (or at least identified), I hope it will be easier to keep on keeping on.

pencils everywhere

(I have a headache looming - right now it's to the base of my skull, which means there's still hope to fend it off -  so today's post will be brief.)

 The colored pencil picture is from last year, but I've currently got them all over my desk. Everywhere! Alright, maybe they're not EVERYWHERE, everywhere - but it's pencils to the right of me and notebooks to the left. Time to clear off the desk. Tomorrow.

foggy but timely

Get this! I'm actually writing this before 1AM. I'm so proud.

GET THIS X2: I took these pictures THIS MORNING. Holy hell. Next thing you know I will have all my work done ahead of time. I will get so far ahead I'll have to travel back in time in order to ... do something! something something! (it made sense in my head before I started typing. I call time travel shenanigans.)


I included this picture so you could see the green and also see that it's not that I fiddled with some settings to remove the color from all the other pictures - that's just the way it was. Nature's own black and white ye olde tyme no-color vision. It was beautiful.


This is looking directly at the sun. Can you see it?


Then after a bit the sun started to break up the fog for real and it became a blue sky beautiful sort of day.

And now I'm off to trivia! I may do another post (videos) when I get back. Who knows what will happen in this mixed up ahead of time day?

plan activation

I activated my Walking Plan today. (note to self: need catchier name.)  It's been in the works for a while, but sometimes (most times) I have to work things out in my head first. Basically the plan comes down to this: for 21 days from the first day (TODAY), I have to get outside and walk every single day. On days I'm working, it can be shorter, but I still have to do it. I even built in two days where I can skip without guilt if it's absolutely necessary, but my hope is that I can get through it without using either of them. I used to walk almost every day without fail - not only did my jeans fit better, but I felt better all around.  The 21 days part is just to get myself accustomed to doing it again - once I get going I want to do it so here's hoping it goes to plan.

THINGS I LEARNED while out on my walk today:

1) I will have to re-toughen my feet!

2) I need to freshen my ipod, make new playlist, something something something. I've got a lot of great music, I just need to get it where I can get to it.

3) I missed seeing the dogs! Now I don't have to miss seeing them anymore.

4) The Garden Gnome ran by me today and it was fine, not weird. It was weird for a while when I'd see him in the library for two reasons: one was because I don't like people to know more about me than I tell them, and two because I felt so guilty about not walking.  Now neither one are an issue since he knows what he knows (which isn't much) and I'm not not walking anymore.

5) Crows, man. There was a whole flock, no wait - MURDER - of crows at the park today. They were hanging around the horseshoe pit like a gang of surly bad seed teens, but flew up into a tree when I walked by (squawking all the while).

6) the crocus are starting to come through the mud - just the leaves so far, but the purple won't be far behind. Camellias are also getting ready. Woo!

best question today

the best question I was asked at work today was "Is that a crocodile? On a bicycle??" To which I responded, "no, it's an elephant on a bicycle." She was asking about my necklace, which for some reason everybody always wants to talk about.

one possible reason: ELEPHANT ON A BICYCLE!!!

(it's a locket, which was bought at Crafty Wonderland a couple of seasons ago from the fine people at Locket 2 You.)

sunday conundrums

I'm having Small World Syndrome in the most boring, literal way. I've been sticking fairly close to home, not going anywhere but work and the fabric store. I've had a lot of inside projects going so it made sense at the time, but I feel myself growing more resistant to doing anything else. This is bad! I have to move my feet before they grow to the ground or engage in some other homebound metaphor!

Part of it is a reaction to the weather - easier to stay inside and watch movies and sew or read, right? (the answer is: right.) And I've gotten a lot of things done, which makes me happy. But I've hit the point where it's just about to tip over into cabin fever, which is no good at all. Fortunately, this malady is treatable by opening the door and walking out.

There's some work stuff going on too, but I'm still sifting through it in my head. Nothing bad! But there's change with the potential of more change on the horizon. Transitions can be tough, but I'm trying to take the wider view. In some things (like this thing) I tend to fixate on how I must've done it wrong rather than the possibility that it will all work out as it should. I don't even know how it "should" and I think that's what freaks me out. I'm not quite sure what I want, or how many stages I'm willing to take to get there. SUNDAY CONUNDRUMS.

(photo: is of a completely unrelated to anything vintage embroidered tablecloth.)

various facts and adam ant

fact: I am playing Adam Ant videos in another tab so I can listen to them while I get this post together. Oh, Goody Two Shoes. Before that it was the Waitresses! They know what boys like. They like to dress up like pirates and wear peach lipstick. (what? That's what Adam Ant likes, or so his videos lead me to believe.)



fact: I love these pictures! I took them at the Grotto - I think they look like embroidery or shooting stars or the spectacular end of the world. Or sparklers. It's fun taking them, because there are so many variables. It's hard to plan for how they will turn out - you just kind of have to go with it.

fact: Somehow now I'm listening to  What I like About You by the Romantics. Hee hee. What I like about you? Your skinny tie!


fact: More The Romantics: keep on whispering in my ear, tell me all the things I wanna hear/ cuz they're true, that's what I like about YOU. ha ha. You know what's weird? There are no Duran Duran suggestions coming up for any of these videos. Hmmm. The Romantics were okay by me, but I held no truck with REO Speedwagon (ptui!) or Loverboy, both of whom are showing up in the youtube sidebar.


fact: I am tiring of this FACT gimmick, but I am too tired to think of something else because I waited too damned long (again) to write this.

On further listening, I would say What I Like About you is the Romantics song that I like and am unable to listen to any of the others in full. So what I like about you is this one song, but I really like it so don't worry. It should be used in an 80s montage in some nostalgic movie. Hollywood: GET ON IT.

fact: I've switched back to Adam Ant. I spend my cash on looking flash and grabbing your attention, he says. It worked! I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something wild and wonderful about those Adam Ant videos - I think it's because they're varying degrees of silly. Adam and his Ants are willing to look ridiculous, which is actually kind of badass. Prince Charming, Prince Charming, ridicule is nothing to be scared of. (It's like the Scarlet Pimpernel, kinda.) I'm not even talking about the Highwayman costumes or the war paint, but more the playful yet dangerous attitude - it's unpredictable, which I think is one of those basic components of pleasure.

little something

I'm going to go to bed and read - I'm sorry I don't have a more substantial post for tonight, but some nights are like that. I hope to have more soon. (I think if I did one of those wordle clouds for this blog, MORE and SOON would be enormous.)

ANYWAY. Before I go to bed to read*, I will say that the photo at top is from The Grotto at Christmastime. I'll have more of these pictures later. I was having a fine old time by the end.

* I'm reading Running the Books right now - it's due day after tomorrow and blah blah blah. After I finished Jane E, and another book I read for bookgroup, I just wanted to read one of the quick novels I have piled up around here. I even literally said "I want to read a novel!", but then I saw that this was due and I probably wouldn't be able to get it again for 6 months, so I opened it up and it started pretty strong, etc. etc. etc. But I swear, novel next! Anyone have a recommendation? Read anything novel-y lately that you think I'd like? I can't promise I'll read it next, but I would add it to my list.

4:30 wakeup call

I woke at 4:30 this morning because there was this rustling/crinkling/ TROUBLE noise at the bottom of my stairs. I staggered down and found that Dash, the clever orange cat, had found a bag of cat treats and dragged them to the rug in front of my stairs so he could slice them open with his switchblade claw. The rustling/crinkling/ trouble was from his attempts to get the treats out. I got that sorted (treats put in cupboard with secure latch) and realized that I had a headache, which was probably from the weather shift. I took some headache drugs and tried to go back to sleep, but then I started fussing about my headache which morphed into some work anxiety which morphed into me never going back to sleep. I am so tired! My head hurts again, but I think it's just from being awake for so long. (I didn't go to bed early at all last night, which compounded my problem.)

Tonight the plan is to sleep like a log. (Logs! who knew they were such good little sleepers?)

happy blonde lady birthday

Today (the 19th) is the birthday of

BUFFY 

and

DOLLY

both of whom you must agree are awesome ladies!  But they've got more than a birthday and hair color in common - both are high achievers despite being underestimated by FOOLS all the damn time; they work really hard in difficult careers, but stay true to themselves and find success. (I now really want to see Dolly show up in an episode of Buffy! I think they could learn a lot from each other and you know there'd be an awesome performance/ fight scene at the end.)

Today the library (in conjunction with Dark Horse and Cosmic Monkey Comics) had a birthday party for Buffy - I couldn't go because I had to work too late, but it made me happy to just know it was happening. (in addition to being Buffy's birthday, today was also the release date for the finale of Season 8!) I wish I could have been there.

(I went to trivia instead, which started later. We won! But I dedicate the victory to the birthday girls.)

Here's a song from each. Buffy and her existential despair/ Disney heroine song: (That "whatever" never makes me not laugh.)



And Dolly being awesome all over the place. (p.s. Porter Wagoner has some CRAZY suits, but he wears them with conviction.)

full

Tonight is the full moon! I can't see it because there's a bunch of clouds between me and above the clouds, which is where the moon, stars, planets, milky way, superman, super grover, wormholes, black holes ( a lot of holes in space!), satellites, moonbeams, starlight, ziggy stardust and the spiders from mars,  space hospitals specifically for space madness, space camp (the real one! not the one where you jump on a terrestrial trampoline and squeal PIGS IN SPAAAAACE, although I imagine that one's pretty fun), Pluto - even though it's not a planet anymore, Neverland, etc. all are. I'm here, they're there. It's okay, it's just been one of those crabby neverending rain winter blahs random bouts of insecurity kind of days. What is up with those days? Anyway - I looked at my google page and saw that my moon widget (I love my moon widget) said 100% FULL, which somehow made me feel better. Go figure!

The photo at the top is from the winter solstice - I was working at Belmont, which is near Laurelhurst park. I went to the park on my lunch break (which was from 4-5 cuz I was working late) and took this picture right as it got dark enough for the lights to come on. I like it, and since I can't see the moon the lamp will do.

it surprised me too

I finished the quilt! I bought the fabric just after Christmas and finished it 2.5 weeks later, which is a record for me.  It was a simple pattern (simple in the good way) and not that big (perfect for reading on the couch), but DUDE: I got it done!

I used the Wonky Simple Math instructions provided by Elizabeth at Oh, Fransson. She writes very clear instructions and also  often has cat helpers in her pictures. I feel a certain kitty sympatico.


For example? Here Busby waiting for me to move so he could help in the crucial quilt sandwich stage.


Of course once it was done, I noticed squares that I would move, but that would have happened no matter how long I'd taken to do it. I'm so pleased I got it done!


I love the backing fabric, which is a little more olive and a little less brown than it looks in this photo. It was on SALE, which made it even cheaper than the solid fabric I'd chosen to begin with.


Front, back, binding  - I'd never machine quilted something this much before. (I'd only machine quilted one other time!) It was so fun! I'll definitely try it again.


This photo is a little washed out (especially on the bottom), but I wanted to get this up tonight. Because WOO HOOO!

In other news, I've got to get outside more. I had to run to the grocery store this afternoon and the sun was low and bouncing off the dark clouds onto the fir trees and it was AMAZING. They looked like they were lit from within. Then I was sitting in the parking lot (not scenic at all) looking over the gas station, and a flock of gulls flew through that same light and it just made me so glad to see. It enlarged my tiny little winter heart. I don't know what it was, but I felt lucky to witness it.