(no subject)
Jul. 17th, 2025 08:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
totchipandaI said to our group chat, we could probably come out tonight (yesterday evening), for one last visit. An hour later they said they had an appointment at 5:30, the latest they could get. He was refusing food, not moving much, not himself at all. No, we are not dragging this out just for us. Absolutely, this is the last kindest thing we can do for our pets, this is the right decision.
Traffic was awful and we couldn't get out of the city in time, but M and Mama M wanted to remember him the way we saw him on Sunday. We went to our friends' house and spent a couple hours just chatting and reminiscing and playing with the puppy they adopted in December. N talked about how each of their OG group of doggos had been progressively worse when they passed, they wanted to let him go while it was still easy and peaceful. He will be missed! All of our pets are now young, the oldest being 4 or so. Not gonna be needing to do this for at least a decade, right everyone?
Got home at like 8:30, ate dinner, and farted around a bit with my Amazon purchases. I bought a box of fun coloured envelopes to redo my pattern stash, so all the ones that didn't have homes now do and I will continue with the rest when I have time/feel like it. Also got a gigantor roll of 1" cotton twill tape to make ALLLLLLLLLL the waistbands with. Tonight I might finish up the petticoat.
Made plans to watch a show with a friend, which will be great for sewing time. I am ready for another quiet night of becoming one with the couch.
Traffic was awful and we couldn't get out of the city in time, but M and Mama M wanted to remember him the way we saw him on Sunday. We went to our friends' house and spent a couple hours just chatting and reminiscing and playing with the puppy they adopted in December. N talked about how each of their OG group of doggos had been progressively worse when they passed, they wanted to let him go while it was still easy and peaceful. He will be missed! All of our pets are now young, the oldest being 4 or so. Not gonna be needing to do this for at least a decade, right everyone?
Got home at like 8:30, ate dinner, and farted around a bit with my Amazon purchases. I bought a box of fun coloured envelopes to redo my pattern stash, so all the ones that didn't have homes now do and I will continue with the rest when I have time/feel like it. Also got a gigantor roll of 1" cotton twill tape to make ALLLLLLLLLL the waistbands with. Tonight I might finish up the petticoat.
Made plans to watch a show with a friend, which will be great for sewing time. I am ready for another quiet night of becoming one with the couch.
(no subject)
Jul. 17th, 2025 08:45 amm_of_disguiseThe whole meeting/early lunch situation worked out just fine yesterday, and I was able to get the baby down for an early nap before leaving to head back to work.
Because I took lunch so early, the rest of the day just dragged on forever. Got home and heated leftovers for M's dinner, but I wasn't in the mood to eat. Baby got a grilled cheese sandwich and some fruit. She struggled a bit to go to sleep; I think she could have used a second nap since her first was so early in the day, and that she was probably overtired by the time bedtime came around.
M was already in bed for a while before the baby went down, so once she was asleep I crawled into bed, too. I had been hoping to catch up on sleep, but I had a terrible night and feel even worse today. Hooray. Very tired, very spacey.
Can't wait for this week to be over.
Because I took lunch so early, the rest of the day just dragged on forever. Got home and heated leftovers for M's dinner, but I wasn't in the mood to eat. Baby got a grilled cheese sandwich and some fruit. She struggled a bit to go to sleep; I think she could have used a second nap since her first was so early in the day, and that she was probably overtired by the time bedtime came around.
M was already in bed for a while before the baby went down, so once she was asleep I crawled into bed, too. I had been hoping to catch up on sleep, but I had a terrible night and feel even worse today. Hooray. Very tired, very spacey.
Can't wait for this week to be over.
Belated WTF Wednesday
Jul. 17th, 2025 09:07 ambrickhousewenchI had this article open in a tab yesterday, but didn't read it until this morning, so I'm going to go ahead and post it as a WTF Wednesday. It's about the "reasons" why the White House and Homeland Security are deporting people (besides Steven Miller's raging racism).
Afghan nationals are losing their protections, the Department of Homeland Security said, because the Taliban "is promoting tourism to shift its global image," including with "a year-over-year reduction in the use of improvised explosive devices by 72%."
WTF, we can deport Afghans because they're blowing up fewer IEDs now? What the ever loving fuck? Do they KNOW how INSANE that sounds? "Afghanistan is safe now because there were 72% fewer explosions last year." But the State Department has a level 4 DO NOT TRAVEL advisory for Afghanistan for Americans. "Do not travel to Afghanistan due to civil unrest, crime, terrorism, risk of wrongful detention, kidnapping, and limited health facilities."
This entire administration is batshit crazy.
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/15/trump-strategy-deport-legal-immigrants
Afghan nationals are losing their protections, the Department of Homeland Security said, because the Taliban "is promoting tourism to shift its global image," including with "a year-over-year reduction in the use of improvised explosive devices by 72%."
WTF, we can deport Afghans because they're blowing up fewer IEDs now? What the ever loving fuck? Do they KNOW how INSANE that sounds? "Afghanistan is safe now because there were 72% fewer explosions last year." But the State Department has a level 4 DO NOT TRAVEL advisory for Afghanistan for Americans. "Do not travel to Afghanistan due to civil unrest, crime, terrorism, risk of wrongful detention, kidnapping, and limited health facilities."
This entire administration is batshit crazy.
https://www.axios.com/2025/07/15/trump-strategy-deport-legal-immigrants
Things
Jul. 16th, 2025 06:11 pmkoshka_the_catThe machine sewing on the skirt is done. I want to hand sew the organza part of the seam and the hem. Still not sure what I want the beading on the bodice to look like.
I'm mostly used to my car being automatic, but I still don't approve. Shifting helps me focus when I'm fizzing, which I've been doing the last few days, and I have to focus hard on focusing while driving. It's weird, but shifting is just enough to keep my attention there. Thankfully, I'm aware of the issue and can force my attention where it needs to be, but I so miss having attention be natural.
Overall, I'm happy enough with the Subaru, but I really wish the Mazda 3 that came with a manual transmission had cloth seats. Leather seats in 120+ weather are worse than automatics.
I also figured out something about one of the air vents today. It's super skinny because of the giant stupid screen, not the traditional shape. I thought sliding the tab made it point down. It doesn't. It closes it. No wonder I didn't get much air from it. It moves side to side, but the only option is for it to hit you directly in your face.
Also, as much as I'm trying not to play with the air controls because it's a touchscreen that you have to look at instead of dials, auto air just doesn't work the way I want it to. It was fine in southern California, but just can't figure out what I need here. Yes, I need the air on my feet before ten minutes into the drive. And yes, I'm very fussy about the air. Running hot is not fun at all.
Tom is doing fine. He's getting better at hobbling naturally. I'm actually excited for his appointment on Monday to get his splint changed.
He doesn't know how to play, and can't really play much now, but I bought him a new toy, a base with a large spring and a ball. Sid stuck his whole head in it, and that was before he ate half the catnip plant I also bought. Poppy ate one of the feathers off the toy.
They're such good boys!
I'm mostly used to my car being automatic, but I still don't approve. Shifting helps me focus when I'm fizzing, which I've been doing the last few days, and I have to focus hard on focusing while driving. It's weird, but shifting is just enough to keep my attention there. Thankfully, I'm aware of the issue and can force my attention where it needs to be, but I so miss having attention be natural.
Overall, I'm happy enough with the Subaru, but I really wish the Mazda 3 that came with a manual transmission had cloth seats. Leather seats in 120+ weather are worse than automatics.
I also figured out something about one of the air vents today. It's super skinny because of the giant stupid screen, not the traditional shape. I thought sliding the tab made it point down. It doesn't. It closes it. No wonder I didn't get much air from it. It moves side to side, but the only option is for it to hit you directly in your face.
Also, as much as I'm trying not to play with the air controls because it's a touchscreen that you have to look at instead of dials, auto air just doesn't work the way I want it to. It was fine in southern California, but just can't figure out what I need here. Yes, I need the air on my feet before ten minutes into the drive. And yes, I'm very fussy about the air. Running hot is not fun at all.
Tom is doing fine. He's getting better at hobbling naturally. I'm actually excited for his appointment on Monday to get his splint changed.
He doesn't know how to play, and can't really play much now, but I bought him a new toy, a base with a large spring and a ball. Sid stuck his whole head in it, and that was before he ate half the catnip plant I also bought. Poppy ate one of the feathers off the toy.
They're such good boys!
Getting Shit Done
Jul. 16th, 2025 07:02 pmbrickhousewenchWork today included four hours of meetings, sprinkled throughout the day. Which makes it so much harder to get work done, because just as you get started on something, you have to stop for another bloody meeting. My strategy for days like this is to try to multitask during the meetings, listening with one ear while I catch up on Slack and my email, so that when I get that half hour block of time, I can try (I don’t always succeed) to get some actual work done. But it's hard to do focused, concentrated work in short bursts like that, so I never feel like I get anything done.
Things I DID manage to accomplish today (mostly before work, during lunch, and after work):
Walked 30 minutes (in three 10 minute “exercise snacks”). My body is still cranky about me starting to work out again, but it needs to be done.
I almost got caught up on washing the dirty dishes. Just a few more glasses and items in the sink and I can declare All Dishes Are Washed (and that will last about 30 seconds…. Because then I’m going to want a snack, LOL)
Assembled the vacuum (HUZZAH). Honestly, the hardest part was opening the box, which they had taped ALL around Every. Single. Edge of the box. Which made it almost impossible to figure out which flap was supposed to open to get into the darned thing. But it was a single screw assembly, just to attach the handle to the body, and then I was ready to rock. Vrrroooooom!
I vacuumed the living room, hallway, and bedroom carpets. At least everywhere that the vacuum could easily reach without me moving things. This weekend I’m going to have to shift all the side tables, chairs, and bedside stands, and probably pull out the attachments to get to the dust bunnies that I can see hiding from me. And I need to “spider vacuum” with the long attachment, because there are too many cobwebs in this place. I swear the spiders take advantage of how dark it is during the winters around here, and then the summer sun comes in and all I can see are cobwebs.
Hauling the vacuum boxes and the dead vacuum out to the dumpster is going to have to wait for the morning as we got well into the high 90s today and it’s still too goddam hot to go outside. If I can get out early tomorrow before work, at least it will “only” be in the high 70s. *sighs in heat wave*
Things I DID manage to accomplish today (mostly before work, during lunch, and after work):
Walked 30 minutes (in three 10 minute “exercise snacks”). My body is still cranky about me starting to work out again, but it needs to be done.
I almost got caught up on washing the dirty dishes. Just a few more glasses and items in the sink and I can declare All Dishes Are Washed (and that will last about 30 seconds…. Because then I’m going to want a snack, LOL)
Assembled the vacuum (HUZZAH). Honestly, the hardest part was opening the box, which they had taped ALL around Every. Single. Edge of the box. Which made it almost impossible to figure out which flap was supposed to open to get into the darned thing. But it was a single screw assembly, just to attach the handle to the body, and then I was ready to rock. Vrrroooooom!
I vacuumed the living room, hallway, and bedroom carpets. At least everywhere that the vacuum could easily reach without me moving things. This weekend I’m going to have to shift all the side tables, chairs, and bedside stands, and probably pull out the attachments to get to the dust bunnies that I can see hiding from me. And I need to “spider vacuum” with the long attachment, because there are too many cobwebs in this place. I swear the spiders take advantage of how dark it is during the winters around here, and then the summer sun comes in and all I can see are cobwebs.
Hauling the vacuum boxes and the dead vacuum out to the dumpster is going to have to wait for the morning as we got well into the high 90s today and it’s still too goddam hot to go outside. If I can get out early tomorrow before work, at least it will “only” be in the high 70s. *sighs in heat wave*
(no subject)
Jul. 16th, 2025 08:55 amm_of_disguiseBaby was in rare form yesterday. I got home for my lunch break just as M was finished cleaning up a poo tsunami. Seems that she managed to take off her dirty diaper without taking off her clothes, and had made a mess all over the living room. As I arrived home, he'd just finished giving her a bath and scrubbing the living room. Yeesh.
I tried to put her down for a nap, but she flung her little leg up over the railing of her nap pen and was ready to make her daring escape when I scooped her up. -_- Like I said, rare form. Eventually got her down in her crib, which is still too tall for her to spiderman her way out of.
Was only back at work briefly when I got the email from the genetic councilor that the amniocentesis results had come back as normal. Hooray! I couldn't stand the thought of being at work the rest of the day after that, so I took the rest of the day off and headed home. M was grateful for this, and disappeared soon after I got home to take a very long nap.
The baby also decided she wanted a second nap (probably because she'd been awake some many times the night before), so I had a solid chunk of the afternoon to myself, during which I did absolutely nothing and it was great.
Dinner was ham, green beans, and Spanish rice, all things which took very little effort and time. Baby went down pretty easily for bed, despite having two naps, so she was a tired girl. After dinner I made a passing remark about wishing I hadn't finished off my ice cream the other day, and before I knew it, M had his shoes on and was on his way to the convenience store across the street to procure ice cream. So despite shenanigans at the start of the day, it ended on a nice note.
Today's nonsense is that the state jail inspectors have finally made their appearance, so things are a bit hectic, and M needs me home earlier than usual during lunch because he has a meeting he has to attend, so thinks are a tad wonky. Meh, it'll all work itself out.
I tried to put her down for a nap, but she flung her little leg up over the railing of her nap pen and was ready to make her daring escape when I scooped her up. -_- Like I said, rare form. Eventually got her down in her crib, which is still too tall for her to spiderman her way out of.
Was only back at work briefly when I got the email from the genetic councilor that the amniocentesis results had come back as normal. Hooray! I couldn't stand the thought of being at work the rest of the day after that, so I took the rest of the day off and headed home. M was grateful for this, and disappeared soon after I got home to take a very long nap.
The baby also decided she wanted a second nap (probably because she'd been awake some many times the night before), so I had a solid chunk of the afternoon to myself, during which I did absolutely nothing and it was great.
Dinner was ham, green beans, and Spanish rice, all things which took very little effort and time. Baby went down pretty easily for bed, despite having two naps, so she was a tired girl. After dinner I made a passing remark about wishing I hadn't finished off my ice cream the other day, and before I knew it, M had his shoes on and was on his way to the convenience store across the street to procure ice cream. So despite shenanigans at the start of the day, it ended on a nice note.
Today's nonsense is that the state jail inspectors have finally made their appearance, so things are a bit hectic, and M needs me home earlier than usual during lunch because he has a meeting he has to attend, so thinks are a tad wonky. Meh, it'll all work itself out.
(no subject)
Jul. 16th, 2025 07:42 amtotchipandaI'm glad we saw Darcy on Sunday. DogDad texted us this morning with a video of him with a full bowl of food in front of him, completely uninterested and actually walking away from it. I cannot understate how much this ridiculous creature will eat literally anything food-shaped:
The floor was always clean
He ate the other dogs' poop
A whole bunch of grapes and promptly threw most of them up
A packet of mint M&M's, including the packaging
Raspberries off the canes
More poop
11 and a half dinner buns (the last half of the 12th was too much, apparently)
On Sunday he was still very happy to eat all the treats M gave him and we knew he was still eating like a champ. For him to not even consider his bowl... it's not good. DogDad got him to eat some chicken and take his meds, but I think we will be heading out there much sooner rather than later.
Last night I did a lot more farting around instead of working on the fart jacket (heheheheh snickersnort) but I did sew up the last sleeve and got to having it prepped for hemming. Even the poly thread shredded and broke so, thicker linen thread it was. My prick stitches are extra tiny to hide that more.
Dinner was veggie fajitas, and I changed the water fountain filter. A neighbourhood bunny with MASSIVE ears visited me again, as did a juvenile magpie.
Back on the anti-depressant finally, and none too soon. Between Darcy and therapy and boss on my butt about it, I am feeling some kind of way.
The floor was always clean
He ate the other dogs' poop
A whole bunch of grapes and promptly threw most of them up
A packet of mint M&M's, including the packaging
Raspberries off the canes
More poop
11 and a half dinner buns (the last half of the 12th was too much, apparently)
On Sunday he was still very happy to eat all the treats M gave him and we knew he was still eating like a champ. For him to not even consider his bowl... it's not good. DogDad got him to eat some chicken and take his meds, but I think we will be heading out there much sooner rather than later.
Last night I did a lot more farting around instead of working on the fart jacket (heheheheh snickersnort) but I did sew up the last sleeve and got to having it prepped for hemming. Even the poly thread shredded and broke so, thicker linen thread it was. My prick stitches are extra tiny to hide that more.
Dinner was veggie fajitas, and I changed the water fountain filter. A neighbourhood bunny with MASSIVE ears visited me again, as did a juvenile magpie.
Back on the anti-depressant finally, and none too soon. Between Darcy and therapy and boss on my butt about it, I am feeling some kind of way.
Skirt
Jul. 15th, 2025 06:51 pmkoshka_the_catI did a tiny bit on the skirt today--cut the shape for the overlap in front. I should cut it out, but inertia...
Clean All The Things!
Jul. 15th, 2025 07:36 pmbrickhousewenchDid I assemble my new vacuum and enjoy clean carpets last week?
Of course I did not. Work was too busy, so it didn't get done in the evenings. And then I spent my weekend napping and lost between the pages of a book, in 1919 England. Avoiding my housework as hard as I could.
But, as it turns out, I could not avoid my housework forever, as I was supposed to have a technician in the house today. And of course the place is a complete disaster, because I decided to do one of those Purge 30 Bags in 30 Days decluttering challenges this month. So I had pulled a whole bunch of stuff out and spread it all over the living room.
So the past two days have been frantically washing dishes, doing laundry, hauling stuff out to the dumpster, and then throwing random books into the boxes that I just emptied. And the kicker? It was all for naught. I got a call this afternoon. Apparently my technician fell down and might have broken his ankle. Their boss was calling to let me know that he wouldn’t be out (because he was heading to the hospital) and they’d have to reschedule.
But at least the house is SO MUCH cleaner.
And reader, the vacuum still is not assembled. By the time I got done with work today, I just didn’t have the energy. It will get done. Just not today.
Of course I did not. Work was too busy, so it didn't get done in the evenings. And then I spent my weekend napping and lost between the pages of a book, in 1919 England. Avoiding my housework as hard as I could.
But, as it turns out, I could not avoid my housework forever, as I was supposed to have a technician in the house today. And of course the place is a complete disaster, because I decided to do one of those Purge 30 Bags in 30 Days decluttering challenges this month. So I had pulled a whole bunch of stuff out and spread it all over the living room.
So the past two days have been frantically washing dishes, doing laundry, hauling stuff out to the dumpster, and then throwing random books into the boxes that I just emptied. And the kicker? It was all for naught. I got a call this afternoon. Apparently my technician fell down and might have broken his ankle. Their boss was calling to let me know that he wouldn’t be out (because he was heading to the hospital) and they’d have to reschedule.
But at least the house is SO MUCH cleaner.
And reader, the vacuum still is not assembled. By the time I got done with work today, I just didn’t have the energy. It will get done. Just not today.
(no subject)
Jul. 15th, 2025 07:47 amtotchipandaI accomplished most of my list. Easy when the majority of it was "do nothing" lol. Dinner was a sandwich and I just did whatever dishes were closest to the sink for as long as I had soapy water to do them. I did not do the fountain, which I WILL do tonight.
Moved all of the sack pieces to the couch, minus the sleeve ruffle pattern. I dropped the sleeves (pinned and ready for stitching) almost immediately so once everything was placed, I worked on one right away. I followed the directions in the book*, which did make a very pretty sleeve but also was maybe not the best choice on a densely embroidered fabric. I'm committed now, bc I've finished the sleeve that way! Top was basted together and the hem done. That all took most of my sewing time for the evening. I started doing the visible stitching with silk thread, but it kept breaking on me so I switched to a poly thread in a similar colour.
*Lay sleeve and lining WS together, fold so that the linings and one layer of fashion fabric are prepped. Baste. Fold under the seam allowance on the other side of the fashion fabric, arrange on top and prick stitch through all layers. Pretty! Would be prettier and easier on plain or figured silk!
I could have started the second one, but I was quite tired and it was after 9:30, so I opted not to do anything else. I took the book with me to read more of the further steps, but I don't remember a single thing that I read. Period started yesterday somewhat unexpectedly and while it let me sleep last night, I doubt I will be so lucky tonight. Good news is that it should be largely done by the weekend, where I have a birthday party to attend!
Top of my hand has been bugging me again so I am trying to remember to do stretches and the like with a stress ball for resistance.
Moved all of the sack pieces to the couch, minus the sleeve ruffle pattern. I dropped the sleeves (pinned and ready for stitching) almost immediately so once everything was placed, I worked on one right away. I followed the directions in the book*, which did make a very pretty sleeve but also was maybe not the best choice on a densely embroidered fabric. I'm committed now, bc I've finished the sleeve that way! Top was basted together and the hem done. That all took most of my sewing time for the evening. I started doing the visible stitching with silk thread, but it kept breaking on me so I switched to a poly thread in a similar colour.
*Lay sleeve and lining WS together, fold so that the linings and one layer of fashion fabric are prepped. Baste. Fold under the seam allowance on the other side of the fashion fabric, arrange on top and prick stitch through all layers. Pretty! Would be prettier and easier on plain or figured silk!
I could have started the second one, but I was quite tired and it was after 9:30, so I opted not to do anything else. I took the book with me to read more of the further steps, but I don't remember a single thing that I read. Period started yesterday somewhat unexpectedly and while it let me sleep last night, I doubt I will be so lucky tonight. Good news is that it should be largely done by the weekend, where I have a birthday party to attend!
Top of my hand has been bugging me again so I am trying to remember to do stretches and the like with a stress ball for resistance.
Hmm...
Jul. 14th, 2025 06:40 pmkoshka_the_catThe bodice is done, except for beading, and I have no idea what I want it to look like. The sketch the dress is based on doesn't translate for me somehow and looking at other dresses isn't helping. I'll figure something out, but it's rather annoying until I do!
(no subject)
Jul. 14th, 2025 07:49 amtotchipandaI feel like I've been run over. Probably due in part to dehydration, it feels exactly like that. Possibly also because I've been out of a brain drug for over a week now. No zappies this morning, like I had Friday-Sunday. I wish I could have stayed in bed this morning, especially since I was so rudely awoken by feeling like I had a large beetle crawling on me. (The peri-menopausal folx of Threads tell me this is a common symptom, feeling like insects are on you.) Period ought to be starting in the next few days too. Whee.
Saturday I ran some errands in the AM and then M and I decided the times didn't work out for a movie so we've tabled that until after Mama M goes home in 2 weeks. Had begun hemming the petticoat the night before so I finished that, and then tried it on just by pinning it around my waist. It's too long -_- Even accounting for a 1" tape for the waist and heels, it's barely clearing the ground. Dang it. Easiest way to deal with it is taking some off at the waist since that's still largely open (tape is ordered, won't be here for a couple days more). Re-hemming would be a little better bc I could have straight strips then for further trim but ugh, it took me SO LONG to hem! Grump grump whine complain.
I cut the lining for the jacket from the offcuts of the banyan mwahahaha, and then HASHTAG YOLO!!!! into the silk. It worked out largely like I'd planned and I think I could even shorten it and have enough to do a sleeve ruffle too. Right now it's just the pieces laid at the top edge of the fabric and not trimmed for hemming at all. The sleeve was cut from the gap between front and back.
No time to do much more. I got the back edges of the lining hemmed and pinned the front and shoulder straps on to test fit against an ill-fitting set of stays. It was right before I needed to leave so all I could really say is yes, it should work just fine. Then I left to pick up M and we went to the airport.
I knew we didn't need to be there so early but ~*~ anxiety ~*~ so we got there just as her flight was expected to land. They'd touched down 10 mins earlier, but because that was actually half an hour before they'd been scheduled even, they had to wait for a gate to open up lol. Then it took a long time to get the luggage clear. FINALLY we were on the road again an hour later. We'd noticed some backed up traffic on the way in and thought it would be clear on the way out. It wasn't, but I braved it anyway. It took, no joke, an hour and a half to get out of. It was impossible to see what was going on. Accident? Construction?
Nay! It was three lanes of traffic being forced into ONE to exit the highway. There were four vans under the bridge and they were power-washing the highway. What the heck? We found out later that a rendering vehicle had lost its load of offal all across the road. The best comment was "it was the worst smell I've ever tasted". Glad we missed that! We detoured around the city and took a very scenic route, where we saw a pair of moose in a field of canola and a pretty part of the river valley. We finally got back to the city and into a fast food place for dinner at 9:16pm. An hour later I was finally home.
Sunday was a showing for the Lion King Broadway show, which was at 1pm instead of our usual 2, and threw off the entire day. It was FABULOUS of course! Third time for me and OH. I was already crying like a minute into Circle of Life. It's just so good. Then we packed Mama M up and drove out to see our friends' dogs, where we spent a couple hours just loving on them. I was worried that Darcy didn't have much time left, but honestly for his age and health issues, he still looks really good and was still interested in treats and food. I'm still glad we did it. We'll be going out again in the near future so we can see the humans too.
Popped into a restaurant for dinner and then back home, just before 9. I scooped the cat box and laid out in bed for a few hours. At least I slept through the night, terrible wake up aside.
Tonight I need to do some more house chores. My dishes are in a state, I need to change the fountain filter, and while I'd like to vaccum, I probably won't have energy for it. I need to get cat stuff in the next couple of days but it's not necessary to do it today. I think I need an evening to mostly rot and sew.
Oh, on my erranding, I was SO CLOSE to the leather supply store so I popped in to get gum tragacanth. Man that store smells SOOOOO good. I poked about quickly since I had fridge-items in the car, considered a deer hide for stay binding (decided no, I'm not even close to being able to do that so I'll wait until I am), admired all of the things available, and then at the checkout I picked up a knob of pure beeswax. My sewing-store blob/container has been on its last legs for awhile but it did last me almost 10 years, I am SET now for like the next 25 years with this one. Very pleased with that purchase, definitely planning to go back when I have more time.
Saturday I ran some errands in the AM and then M and I decided the times didn't work out for a movie so we've tabled that until after Mama M goes home in 2 weeks. Had begun hemming the petticoat the night before so I finished that, and then tried it on just by pinning it around my waist. It's too long -_- Even accounting for a 1" tape for the waist and heels, it's barely clearing the ground. Dang it. Easiest way to deal with it is taking some off at the waist since that's still largely open (tape is ordered, won't be here for a couple days more). Re-hemming would be a little better bc I could have straight strips then for further trim but ugh, it took me SO LONG to hem! Grump grump whine complain.
I cut the lining for the jacket from the offcuts of the banyan mwahahaha, and then HASHTAG YOLO!!!! into the silk. It worked out largely like I'd planned and I think I could even shorten it and have enough to do a sleeve ruffle too. Right now it's just the pieces laid at the top edge of the fabric and not trimmed for hemming at all. The sleeve was cut from the gap between front and back.
No time to do much more. I got the back edges of the lining hemmed and pinned the front and shoulder straps on to test fit against an ill-fitting set of stays. It was right before I needed to leave so all I could really say is yes, it should work just fine. Then I left to pick up M and we went to the airport.
I knew we didn't need to be there so early but ~*~ anxiety ~*~ so we got there just as her flight was expected to land. They'd touched down 10 mins earlier, but because that was actually half an hour before they'd been scheduled even, they had to wait for a gate to open up lol. Then it took a long time to get the luggage clear. FINALLY we were on the road again an hour later. We'd noticed some backed up traffic on the way in and thought it would be clear on the way out. It wasn't, but I braved it anyway. It took, no joke, an hour and a half to get out of. It was impossible to see what was going on. Accident? Construction?
Nay! It was three lanes of traffic being forced into ONE to exit the highway. There were four vans under the bridge and they were power-washing the highway. What the heck? We found out later that a rendering vehicle had lost its load of offal all across the road. The best comment was "it was the worst smell I've ever tasted". Glad we missed that! We detoured around the city and took a very scenic route, where we saw a pair of moose in a field of canola and a pretty part of the river valley. We finally got back to the city and into a fast food place for dinner at 9:16pm. An hour later I was finally home.
Sunday was a showing for the Lion King Broadway show, which was at 1pm instead of our usual 2, and threw off the entire day. It was FABULOUS of course! Third time for me and OH. I was already crying like a minute into Circle of Life. It's just so good. Then we packed Mama M up and drove out to see our friends' dogs, where we spent a couple hours just loving on them. I was worried that Darcy didn't have much time left, but honestly for his age and health issues, he still looks really good and was still interested in treats and food. I'm still glad we did it. We'll be going out again in the near future so we can see the humans too.
Popped into a restaurant for dinner and then back home, just before 9. I scooped the cat box and laid out in bed for a few hours. At least I slept through the night, terrible wake up aside.
Tonight I need to do some more house chores. My dishes are in a state, I need to change the fountain filter, and while I'd like to vaccum, I probably won't have energy for it. I need to get cat stuff in the next couple of days but it's not necessary to do it today. I think I need an evening to mostly rot and sew.
Oh, on my erranding, I was SO CLOSE to the leather supply store so I popped in to get gum tragacanth. Man that store smells SOOOOO good. I poked about quickly since I had fridge-items in the car, considered a deer hide for stay binding (decided no, I'm not even close to being able to do that so I'll wait until I am), admired all of the things available, and then at the checkout I picked up a knob of pure beeswax. My sewing-store blob/container has been on its last legs for awhile but it did last me almost 10 years, I am SET now for like the next 25 years with this one. Very pleased with that purchase, definitely planning to go back when I have more time.
(no subject)
Jul. 14th, 2025 08:56 amm_of_disguiseBaby woke up just as I was getting dressed on Friday morning, so I was a bit late getting to work. Mainly because she wouldn't stop hugging me and looking sad whenever I went close to the front door. How I can I just walk out the door when she's being that cute? Thankfully, her early morning meant that she went down very easily for her nap while I was home for lunch. Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner.
Stared at the cassock embroidery some more, and discovered there is way more metallic embroidery on there than I first realized because it's done in silver and is super tarnished. Spotted some plaited braid stitch, my nemesis, I hadn't noticed before either. Not much, though, so I'm taking it as a good opportunity to practice the cursed stitch where it won't be very noticeable if I flub it.
Woke up Saturday feeling the best I have in months. Rode that energy wave and made blueberry muffins for breakfast, and cleaned the dish pile and scrubbed the kitchen so it's finally in a decent state again. Baby went down for her nap easily, so I had the time to make a big pot of mac & cheese for lunch. After eating, I started tracing out the loose kirtle pattern onto some gridded interfacing so I could alter it into the cassock pattern. Got halfway through before the baby woke back up.
Rest of the day was pretty quiet. M went out to the range for a little while, and came home fairly late. The baby had a supernova burst of energy in the early evening and went completely crazy running around the house. Wore me out, I tell you what. Wore herself out too, though, and she passed out pretty easily at bedtime.
Once she was down, I finished tracing and cutting out the cassock pattern, and drafted out the sleeve. The body of the thing seems to be pretty good, though it needs some extra length at CF and CB, which is an easy enough fix. The sleeve, however, doesn't work at all. I had drafted out the original sleeve from the embroidered cassock in an attempt to make things easier when I transferred the embroidery pattern, but alas, it doesn't fit at all into the armscye. I should have anticipated this, since the back of the embroidered and plain jackets are extremely different, but my brain glazed over that. Ah, well. So instead of futzing with the current pattern, I'm going to draft out the two-part sleeve, and I'll just have to make the embroidery pattern work on that instead.
Stayed up way too late working on patterning, and paid for it dearly on Sunday. The baby woke up at the crack of dawn, which meant I was up, too. I had enough umph to make us all some breakfast sandwiches, but I quickly lost steam with so little sleep. Thankfully, she went down for her nap without a fight, and I passed out on the couch. Woke up a couple of hours later because I was suffocating in the heat, so since the baby was still asleep I crawled into my own bed in the nice cool bedroom and tried to get a little more shuteye. Only managed about an hour more, but at least it was something.
M made a trip to the store to pick up some beverages and some fruit. We had leftovers for dinner, and I just tried to stay on the couch and not move much because I was feeling pretty lousy. Felt the baby kick for the first time, though!
Because of my wonky sleep over the day, I wasn't tired enough for bed until 11:30 or so, so I'm not at 100% today.
Today is M's birthday! He took off today and tomorrow, but I didn't have the time available, so I'm at work today. He's made no plans to celebrate today, but maybe he'll think of something for this evening.
Stared at the cassock embroidery some more, and discovered there is way more metallic embroidery on there than I first realized because it's done in silver and is super tarnished. Spotted some plaited braid stitch, my nemesis, I hadn't noticed before either. Not much, though, so I'm taking it as a good opportunity to practice the cursed stitch where it won't be very noticeable if I flub it.
Woke up Saturday feeling the best I have in months. Rode that energy wave and made blueberry muffins for breakfast, and cleaned the dish pile and scrubbed the kitchen so it's finally in a decent state again. Baby went down for her nap easily, so I had the time to make a big pot of mac & cheese for lunch. After eating, I started tracing out the loose kirtle pattern onto some gridded interfacing so I could alter it into the cassock pattern. Got halfway through before the baby woke back up.
Rest of the day was pretty quiet. M went out to the range for a little while, and came home fairly late. The baby had a supernova burst of energy in the early evening and went completely crazy running around the house. Wore me out, I tell you what. Wore herself out too, though, and she passed out pretty easily at bedtime.
Once she was down, I finished tracing and cutting out the cassock pattern, and drafted out the sleeve. The body of the thing seems to be pretty good, though it needs some extra length at CF and CB, which is an easy enough fix. The sleeve, however, doesn't work at all. I had drafted out the original sleeve from the embroidered cassock in an attempt to make things easier when I transferred the embroidery pattern, but alas, it doesn't fit at all into the armscye. I should have anticipated this, since the back of the embroidered and plain jackets are extremely different, but my brain glazed over that. Ah, well. So instead of futzing with the current pattern, I'm going to draft out the two-part sleeve, and I'll just have to make the embroidery pattern work on that instead.
Stayed up way too late working on patterning, and paid for it dearly on Sunday. The baby woke up at the crack of dawn, which meant I was up, too. I had enough umph to make us all some breakfast sandwiches, but I quickly lost steam with so little sleep. Thankfully, she went down for her nap without a fight, and I passed out on the couch. Woke up a couple of hours later because I was suffocating in the heat, so since the baby was still asleep I crawled into my own bed in the nice cool bedroom and tried to get a little more shuteye. Only managed about an hour more, but at least it was something.
M made a trip to the store to pick up some beverages and some fruit. We had leftovers for dinner, and I just tried to stay on the couch and not move much because I was feeling pretty lousy. Felt the baby kick for the first time, though!
Because of my wonky sleep over the day, I wasn't tired enough for bed until 11:30 or so, so I'm not at 100% today.
Today is M's birthday! He took off today and tomorrow, but I didn't have the time available, so I'm at work today. He's made no plans to celebrate today, but maybe he'll think of something for this evening.
Tom's Diary
Jul. 12th, 2025 11:53 amkoshka_the_catTuesday: Hanging out outside. I think I'll go find that food under the stairs and try to get a treat. I'll meow really loud.
Wednesday: I've been kidnapped. What is this place? I heard the treat people say something about a clubhouse.
Thursday: I'm in a small box. I'm in a car. Something is missing. What's happening? Back in the "clubhouse"
Friday: I've been kidnapped again. Two large cats here. Lots of food. Why is the sky exploding?
Saturday: This might be ok. Treat people telling me I'm safe now.
Sunday: Zzz
Monday: So much food. I think I'm gaining weight!
Tuesday: Zzz
Wednesday, almost midnight: The perch looks nice. OW. What happened. Fall. Planter broken. Limping. In small box. Something about a "fracture."
Thursday: Pain meds. Sleep. So much sleep. Not so sure about "safer" inside.
Friday: In small box. Something about finally having an "appointment." Leg wrapped up. Stupid cone on head. Something about another appointment in two weeks. Something about eight weeks to heal. Treat people are nuts if they think I'll stay confined.
Saturday: Sid and Poppy are super nice. Sleeping with treat person. Get supervised break from cone. Get grumpy, but then zzzz.
So, Tom, in keeping with a new tradition I don't like, somehow knocked a heavy planter off the windowsill and fractured his foot. The regular vet couldn't fix it and sent us to the emergency vet who she thought could get him into the attached surgical vet, but couldn't. He got sn appointment for the next day. He's a super sweet boy and doing ok with it, but he clearly is not happy with the situation!
As far as the tradition, when Sid and Poppy were fairly new, they had emergencies too. Poppy swallowed yarn and Sid missed a jump and landed wrong.
Tom will be fine, but everyone is stressed! Poor little guy!
Wednesday: I've been kidnapped. What is this place? I heard the treat people say something about a clubhouse.
Thursday: I'm in a small box. I'm in a car. Something is missing. What's happening? Back in the "clubhouse"
Friday: I've been kidnapped again. Two large cats here. Lots of food. Why is the sky exploding?
Saturday: This might be ok. Treat people telling me I'm safe now.
Sunday: Zzz
Monday: So much food. I think I'm gaining weight!
Tuesday: Zzz
Wednesday, almost midnight: The perch looks nice. OW. What happened. Fall. Planter broken. Limping. In small box. Something about a "fracture."
Thursday: Pain meds. Sleep. So much sleep. Not so sure about "safer" inside.
Friday: In small box. Something about finally having an "appointment." Leg wrapped up. Stupid cone on head. Something about another appointment in two weeks. Something about eight weeks to heal. Treat people are nuts if they think I'll stay confined.
Saturday: Sid and Poppy are super nice. Sleeping with treat person. Get supervised break from cone. Get grumpy, but then zzzz.
So, Tom, in keeping with a new tradition I don't like, somehow knocked a heavy planter off the windowsill and fractured his foot. The regular vet couldn't fix it and sent us to the emergency vet who she thought could get him into the attached surgical vet, but couldn't. He got sn appointment for the next day. He's a super sweet boy and doing ok with it, but he clearly is not happy with the situation!
As far as the tradition, when Sid and Poppy were fairly new, they had emergencies too. Poppy swallowed yarn and Sid missed a jump and landed wrong.
Tom will be fine, but everyone is stressed! Poor little guy!
Embroidery Finished
Jul. 12th, 2025 06:17 amatherleisureThe thread for my pocketbook came earlier than expected so I finished the embroidery for the pocketbook yesterday. The wool tape to bind it with also came yesterday so I have everything I need to finish up the project. There are other things I want to finish first, but I’m glad I’ve got the parts now.
(no subject)
Jul. 11th, 2025 01:49 pmtotchipandaLoud coworker was grating on my nerves yesterday, she is just such an energy vampire and negative nancy. She came in all het up bc an escalator was out of order so she walked around the whole building instead of taking the hallway (that is, yes, largely boarded over for the construction which necessitated this detour in the first place) and it never improved. It's a daily thing, everything is stupid this and fucking that. Girl just shut the tuck up!
Train was majorly delayed on the way home. Two announcements of "major delays" but nothing else, and certainly no trains. After half an hour, I gave up and walked to the bus. Of course that's when a train came but I do not regret this decision bc it was a single car to serve the last 30+ minutes of people gathering. My stop wasn't all THAT bad, but the next one was by the bus stop and it was PACKED. No thanks! I got a nice little walk in on the edge of a storm.
Evening was spent watching fluff (animated movie and murder documentaries). I had pasta and sauce for dinner. Put on a set of stays (with help) and tried on the striped sack (with help). I think that iteration of the sack will be fine. Less work for me! Trimmed my petticoat waist and pleated it, then basted. Finished stitching one pocket hem and then did the other side. I am now prepped for hemming and waist taping. Then its FART JACKET time (snicker snort). Kittens did not fall out of the window and let me sleep.
Busy weekend. Mama M comes in tomorrow evening and we have Lion King show on Sunday. We have to squeeze in a visit for our friends' dog, he is 12 years old and his heart disease is finally catching up with him. He is coughing more and struggling with breathing. We told him back in early May that he had to make it until Mama M came in, and it seems like now that she's almost here, he won't be long for this world. Gonna miss that stinker.
Train was majorly delayed on the way home. Two announcements of "major delays" but nothing else, and certainly no trains. After half an hour, I gave up and walked to the bus. Of course that's when a train came but I do not regret this decision bc it was a single car to serve the last 30+ minutes of people gathering. My stop wasn't all THAT bad, but the next one was by the bus stop and it was PACKED. No thanks! I got a nice little walk in on the edge of a storm.
Evening was spent watching fluff (animated movie and murder documentaries). I had pasta and sauce for dinner. Put on a set of stays (with help) and tried on the striped sack (with help). I think that iteration of the sack will be fine. Less work for me! Trimmed my petticoat waist and pleated it, then basted. Finished stitching one pocket hem and then did the other side. I am now prepped for hemming and waist taping. Then its FART JACKET time (snicker snort). Kittens did not fall out of the window and let me sleep.
Busy weekend. Mama M comes in tomorrow evening and we have Lion King show on Sunday. We have to squeeze in a visit for our friends' dog, he is 12 years old and his heart disease is finally catching up with him. He is coughing more and struggling with breathing. We told him back in early May that he had to make it until Mama M came in, and it seems like now that she's almost here, he won't be long for this world. Gonna miss that stinker.
(no subject)
Jul. 11th, 2025 08:22 amm_of_disguiseDeveloped a terrible case of nausea late yesterday afternoon, so my only goal for the evening was to take it easy and do very little. Thankfully, M had a frozen pizza on hand, so he had dinner available whenever he wanted it. Baby went down at a decent hour, so I tried as hard as I could to take it easy on the couch and not irritate my guts.
We had a power flicker for no damned reason in the mid-afternoon. We haven't even reached our hottest temperatures of the year yet. It seems like every day there's another signal from this apartment that it's time to get out. Just seven more months!
Been poking at the cassock project, and was all geared up to start sketching out the embroidery, when I read on someone's blog (Sibella's maybe?) that it was described in detail in 17th Century Women's Clothing Vol.2. I had looked only at volume 1 when I'd been doing pattern research, so I dug out vol.2 and there it was, with the entire embroidery laid out on the pattern pieces! That makes my job a thousand times easier. There's also a similar, non-embroidered version in the same book, and I like its lines slightly better, so I'm contemplating combining the pattern from that one with the embroidery of the first one. They wouldn't be very different, it's just the non-embroidered one has a collar and cuffs, and a two-part sleeve instead of a one-part. It would push the date slightly into the 17th century instead of being more plausibly late-16thC, but the dates are wiggly enough that I think it'd still be SCA-okay.
Anyway, the plan is to do a wearable mockup of the pattern so I have something to wear to Baronial College in September if the embroidery isn't finished (which it likely won't be) and aim to have the embroidered one done in time for my "lying in" period at the end of my pregnancy, when no doubt I will end up stuck in the hospital again for a couple of weeks because my body is dumb. That would give me five months to do the embroidery, which seems pretty reasonable if I chip away at it a little bit each night.
M finally got the email from HR setting up his third interview for the job he's going after. His friend told him to keep his eyes out for a second email sometime between now and the interview, but didn't elaborate on what it could be. M suspects that his potential boss wants to have an informal in-person meeting, but I think he's getting a bit ahead of things. We'll see what unfolds.
M's birthday is Monday, and he's taken Mon-Tues off for it. I asked him if there's anything he wants to do, but he waffled and said he didn't want to spend a bunch of money. I suggested a few not terribly expensive things he could do, like going to the range for the day or catch a band he likes, or even just going out for a steak, but he was non-committal. I'm sure he'll think of something he wants to do as the day comes around.
We had a power flicker for no damned reason in the mid-afternoon. We haven't even reached our hottest temperatures of the year yet. It seems like every day there's another signal from this apartment that it's time to get out. Just seven more months!
Been poking at the cassock project, and was all geared up to start sketching out the embroidery, when I read on someone's blog (Sibella's maybe?) that it was described in detail in 17th Century Women's Clothing Vol.2. I had looked only at volume 1 when I'd been doing pattern research, so I dug out vol.2 and there it was, with the entire embroidery laid out on the pattern pieces! That makes my job a thousand times easier. There's also a similar, non-embroidered version in the same book, and I like its lines slightly better, so I'm contemplating combining the pattern from that one with the embroidery of the first one. They wouldn't be very different, it's just the non-embroidered one has a collar and cuffs, and a two-part sleeve instead of a one-part. It would push the date slightly into the 17th century instead of being more plausibly late-16thC, but the dates are wiggly enough that I think it'd still be SCA-okay.
Anyway, the plan is to do a wearable mockup of the pattern so I have something to wear to Baronial College in September if the embroidery isn't finished (which it likely won't be) and aim to have the embroidered one done in time for my "lying in" period at the end of my pregnancy, when no doubt I will end up stuck in the hospital again for a couple of weeks because my body is dumb. That would give me five months to do the embroidery, which seems pretty reasonable if I chip away at it a little bit each night.
M finally got the email from HR setting up his third interview for the job he's going after. His friend told him to keep his eyes out for a second email sometime between now and the interview, but didn't elaborate on what it could be. M suspects that his potential boss wants to have an informal in-person meeting, but I think he's getting a bit ahead of things. We'll see what unfolds.
M's birthday is Monday, and he's taken Mon-Tues off for it. I asked him if there's anything he wants to do, but he waffled and said he didn't want to spend a bunch of money. I suggested a few not terribly expensive things he could do, like going to the range for the day or catch a band he likes, or even just going out for a steak, but he was non-committal. I'm sure he'll think of something he wants to do as the day comes around.