Who Am I, and What is it I Do Here?
Took Friday off for traffic school (which was excruciating, but that’s rather aside of the point). Spent the long weekend in a round of sleeping, pottering about home, and pointless errands, punctuated by the large annual lobster party on Sunday, and a smaller household-and-a-few-guests dinner on Monday. Arrived at work today with an amazing lack of memory regarding the six stacks of paper decorating my cubicle.
It’s a good think I write all this stuff down.
Needlework: Finished the Assisi outline! And the filling stitch is ripping along with amazing comparative speed. Have already completed ¼ of what had remained to be done. Might have the whole thing done this month, at this rate.
Started the blackwork for the first curtain on the Gothic Sampler. Blackwork always seems to take longer than it looks like it ought (especially, these days, in less-than-excellent light).Making progress, though, and have every reason to think I can get it done before Halloween (pictures someday). On the down side, the DMC cotton floss I’ve been using is all fuzzy and awful (and a nightmare when you have to rip back): next time I’m trying something else, like tatting thread or a 12 perle cotton.
Also strung a Lyondemere pearl necklace (green and white pearls, interspersed with gold pearl drops across the front) and a bead necklace using quite most of my large orange beads for Queen Kofinna for Festival of the Rose.
Sewing: Repaired Thomas’s hose for Festival of the Rose, and altered my sleeves to make the cuffs a bit more snug (I still spent half the evening pushing them up-if I do this dress again, the sleeves just have to be a bit shorter, or at least on a shorter lining).
Monday before last, Thomas asked me to make a proper bag for the very handsome sign that Calafia made the barony a few years back, so I did. Found a hunk of polyester suedecloth and a hunk of plush brown corduroy in the first bag I checked in the garage, cut, sewed, added Velcro and a strap and was only a little late for bed.
Man, if I could do that every night, I’d be invincible.
House: I had thought the bedroom would be a pitched battle of short duration: it has turned into a grim war of attrition. I am winning (Thomas insists I’m merely pushing the front into the dining room), but it’s been a fight for every square foot.
The art on the walls has had a surprisingly humanizing effect. The wall switch is in place and it’s rather nice not to have to reach into the wall to turn the light on and off. I had bought a little cubbyhole thing for shoes some months back, and I assembled it Friday night. Although it really is designed for shoes, it only fit mine with a bit of squeezing and it laughed outright at Thomas’s. So my shoes are sorted, but I still need to come up with a corral for his. Will cruise the Target for a shoe rack tonight; it’s on to the IKEA if nothing appeals.
Meanwhile, back on the left side of the bed, Thomas’s pile of crap was beginning to reassert itself. He really needed a bookcase-I have a lovely little one on my side, passed on from Tetchubah years ago and only 7” deep-but I couldn’t find anything shallower than 12” and I was afraid that would make everything too squeezed together. (Understanding that our bedroom is really more like a bed with walls around it than an actual room with a bed in.) Last week, staring at the fake Mission furniture in Target, I had the revelation that a CD storage unit with adjustable shelves would fit my requirements nicely, so on the way home Thursday I picked up the cheapest one I could find. Assembled it on Saturday, eliminated two shelves and adjusted the rest for book-height, and it works a treat: got the books off the floor of the bedroom, and another fifteen or so out of sundry piles in the dining room.
Once I’ve dealt with Thomas’s shoes and the pile of stuff on his dresser, I’ll be willing to declare victory and move on to the next front.
Weight: Per promise to Thomas, signed myself up for Weight Watchers through Kaiser this morning. In the spirit of not delaying the inevitable, will leave work in time to catch the 6 o’clock registration this evening. In between, I’m afraid I’ve eaten altogether too many dark chocolate M&Ms.
Reading: Interrupted Shopping in the Renaissance to re-read Dress of the Venetians for the third time: I’m having anxiety about getting Thomas’s wardrobe right. It’s a very entertaining read, at least if you’re me.
It’s a good think I write all this stuff down.
Needlework: Finished the Assisi outline! And the filling stitch is ripping along with amazing comparative speed. Have already completed ¼ of what had remained to be done. Might have the whole thing done this month, at this rate.
Started the blackwork for the first curtain on the Gothic Sampler. Blackwork always seems to take longer than it looks like it ought (especially, these days, in less-than-excellent light).Making progress, though, and have every reason to think I can get it done before Halloween (pictures someday). On the down side, the DMC cotton floss I’ve been using is all fuzzy and awful (and a nightmare when you have to rip back): next time I’m trying something else, like tatting thread or a 12 perle cotton.
Also strung a Lyondemere pearl necklace (green and white pearls, interspersed with gold pearl drops across the front) and a bead necklace using quite most of my large orange beads for Queen Kofinna for Festival of the Rose.
Sewing: Repaired Thomas’s hose for Festival of the Rose, and altered my sleeves to make the cuffs a bit more snug (I still spent half the evening pushing them up-if I do this dress again, the sleeves just have to be a bit shorter, or at least on a shorter lining).
Monday before last, Thomas asked me to make a proper bag for the very handsome sign that Calafia made the barony a few years back, so I did. Found a hunk of polyester suedecloth and a hunk of plush brown corduroy in the first bag I checked in the garage, cut, sewed, added Velcro and a strap and was only a little late for bed.
Man, if I could do that every night, I’d be invincible.
House: I had thought the bedroom would be a pitched battle of short duration: it has turned into a grim war of attrition. I am winning (Thomas insists I’m merely pushing the front into the dining room), but it’s been a fight for every square foot.
The art on the walls has had a surprisingly humanizing effect. The wall switch is in place and it’s rather nice not to have to reach into the wall to turn the light on and off. I had bought a little cubbyhole thing for shoes some months back, and I assembled it Friday night. Although it really is designed for shoes, it only fit mine with a bit of squeezing and it laughed outright at Thomas’s. So my shoes are sorted, but I still need to come up with a corral for his. Will cruise the Target for a shoe rack tonight; it’s on to the IKEA if nothing appeals.
Meanwhile, back on the left side of the bed, Thomas’s pile of crap was beginning to reassert itself. He really needed a bookcase-I have a lovely little one on my side, passed on from Tetchubah years ago and only 7” deep-but I couldn’t find anything shallower than 12” and I was afraid that would make everything too squeezed together. (Understanding that our bedroom is really more like a bed with walls around it than an actual room with a bed in.) Last week, staring at the fake Mission furniture in Target, I had the revelation that a CD storage unit with adjustable shelves would fit my requirements nicely, so on the way home Thursday I picked up the cheapest one I could find. Assembled it on Saturday, eliminated two shelves and adjusted the rest for book-height, and it works a treat: got the books off the floor of the bedroom, and another fifteen or so out of sundry piles in the dining room.
Once I’ve dealt with Thomas’s shoes and the pile of stuff on his dresser, I’ll be willing to declare victory and move on to the next front.
Weight: Per promise to Thomas, signed myself up for Weight Watchers through Kaiser this morning. In the spirit of not delaying the inevitable, will leave work in time to catch the 6 o’clock registration this evening. In between, I’m afraid I’ve eaten altogether too many dark chocolate M&Ms.
Reading: Interrupted Shopping in the Renaissance to re-read Dress of the Venetians for the third time: I’m having anxiety about getting Thomas’s wardrobe right. It’s a very entertaining read, at least if you’re me.