Happiness

I am beyond happy today. Here's why:

1. The biggest and most crucial ingredient to this state of mind is that I'm not at work, and I keep remembering that I won't have to report back to that dark place until Monday. Since I suffer from a serious condition called pre-work depression, I can clearly foresee several days of impending happiness. That knowledge in itself just feeds the happiness. Yeah, I need a new job....

2. I have just completed a HUGE landmark in my sewing career which I am currently wearing as I write this. I have taken measurements, drafted a pattern on craft paper, cut out the pieces, and sewn a freakin' shirt! This shirt, the most beautifully simple shirt in existence, FITS. Since all commercial patterns are fitted for a B cup bust, I've never created a shirt that fits exactly right. For this peasant blouse, I sized the front piece about 6 inches wider than the back piece, and then I created a casing for for elastic to fit just underneath the bust and pull things in. I'm pretty sure I will use this pattern again for a sleeveless shirt, and possibly for a peasant dress.

3. I finished a quilt for Baby Reese...and if there are any mistakes to be seen on it, they were all intentional. Yeah, I'm sticking with that story. It's still really cute, despite some uneven stitching.

4. I saved Ginger and Meg, my Buff Orp and Ameraucana from the grip of feral cat fangs this morning. I had all the chicks grouped together in their little yard, and when the chicks saw a cat lurking around, Ginger and Meg panicked and flew outside the walls and went a walkin', hoping that fate would defeat their clawed foe like in Rosie's Walk. I looked outside and saw the danger just in time, chased off the cat and plonked those feather-brained chicks back in their own yard.

5. Chicken pot pie is on the menu tonight. Not Ginger and Meg, some poor cruelly treated factory chicken...but we'll try to forget that fact.

6. I keep reflecting on the fact that I am officially freakin' CATHOLIC as of last Saturday, and it's only a few days until I can receive the body and blood of Jesus again! It just speaks to the mercy of God that someone like me, who was so negative on Christianity for so long, would come to see that joyful day! I just wish I could smell like holy chrism all the time....

7. My sweet husband gave me half of his sheath-making money, so now I have $20 which will be spent on some jersey knit so I can make this comfy looking dress.

Crafting resolutions

Yeah, I know it's a little late for a New Year's Resolutions post, but I just joined Pinterest and that means that I am overflowing with sewing inspiration. So here are some goals for this year.

1. Learn to do the Full Bust Adjustment for commercial patterns. Since all patterns are designed for a B cup, it is essential for me to adjust the bust for tops to fit right! I think this would fix all the problems I've been having with my hand-sewn tops.

2. Sew some summer dresses.

3. Sew some potholders/cast iron skillet holders.

4. Do more quilting. I am already becoming more enthusiastic due to the clear gridded rulers my Grandma gave me and the purchase of a cutting board and rotary cutter.

5. Learn the home-brew process so I can really be a self-donative assistant to my husband in his brew hobby.

6. Make that damn soap finally.

7. Learn how to can vegetables. This works in partnership with that learn-how-the-hell-to-garden resolution I mentioned before. Need pressure canning equipment.

8. Become more efficient with housework and budgeting. Learn to actuall STICK to the budget.

9. Learn to wear dresses/skirts in the winter. I've been wearing pants all this winter, but I miss my pretty skirts. I think this venture may involve tights and boots plus sewing in more wintry materials like wool, corduroy, or at least dark colored cottons.

10. Start projects and books and then FINISH them.

2011 Firsts

First articles of clothing sewn from pattern.

First time being on Youtube

First fully memorized banjo song

First time in Louisiana

First time riding in a streetcar

First time attending Christmas Mass as part of the Church (catechumin, baby!)

First fig ever eaten

First batch of delicious, delicious jam
First time trying goat milk (it was good, but I still have a mental block due to the word "goat")

First baby quilt 

First doilies

First postcard ever received from Asia

First time reading more non-fiction books than fiction

First half square triangles

First dahlias

First time knitting cables in a hat
First time trying creamy, rich raw milk from Miller Farms in LaCoste, TX

And most importantly,

First MONTH owning a home! Thank you, December! Thank you 2011! 

I got lots of plans, you better believe it. I even got my first chicken...it's ceramic. I will definitely write more and include pictures soon when I have internet again.

Looking forward to see what 2012 brings!

A further but essentially non-related note:
Saint's Name Generator says my saint of the year is St. Therese de Lisieux which is freaky weird because I was thinking of making her my patron saint when I get confirmed in April, and in fact I checked out a book a couple days ago called Shirt of Flame: A Year With St. Therese of Lisieux. Reason #432 why I'm not an atheist.

My options are looking better already...

I have an interview tomorrow morning. I was off work today, so naturally I have not been doing much other than knitting and dreading the interview. Brooding. Pitying my sorry self. But I have managed to compile a list of things that are worse than going to an interview. I'm pretending that I had to choose the interview or one of these fun items:

1. Get abducted by the anal-probe variety of aliens.
2. Have an appendage forcefully removed.
3. Be burned as a heretic a la Joan of Arc.
4. Get kicked by a farting horse.
5. Be a contestant on Fear Factor heights edition.
6. Eat the worm in the tequila.
7. Give birth.
8. Be naked in public.
9. Have a conversation with anyone on Jersey Shore.
10. Listen to Top 40 radio for twelve hours.
11. Brazilian wax.
12. Get a Twilight tattoo.
13. Be Henry VIII's wife.
14. Jump off Emory Peak.
15. Kill, gut and barbecue my Gatsby.

The interview now seems very appealing.

Simplicity in 13 measures

1. Did the dishes by hand today.  It was satisfying and it saved some electricity, plus the dishes look cleaner.  I get to appreciate my prettiful Fiestaware plates more than just eating off them.

2.  Yesterday made Danish wedding cookies which are/were dangerously delicious.  I ate about 12 of them and threw the rest away to banish the temptation.

3.  Cleaned the whole apartment yesterday in a single hour of determined frenzy.  It all started after I washed the dishes by hand in preparation for my IHOP pancake recipe.  I was done cleaning at almost lunchtime, so I didn't make the pancakes after all.  Meatball sandwich.

4.  Bought some fresh millet bread, organic apricot jam and loose-leaf chai tea at Central Market yesterday.  It made for an outstanding breakfast today.

5.  Trying out this recipe--I've got two loaves rising.  I've had the recipe printed for weeks, but just bought some more local honey.

6. Went to the park and marveled at the Medina River this morning, and felt like a pilgrim at Tinker Creek, even though I've never read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

7. Resolved to try and learn Spanish after all--give it a good go.

8. Almost done knitting my Grandma's swallowtail shawl.  Discovered I enjoy nupps.

9. Looking forward to the end of school and beginning of leisure.

10. Decided we will buy a house this year since we are both finishing school.  This dear hope all rests on the prospect of either or both of us snagging full time jobs.

11. I am all set to graduate this December.  I applied to be a children's librarian, but we'll see if I get the job.

12. Been off work for four days and haven't watched any trash television whatsoever, only Survivors on Netflix.

13. Witnessed and documented on film some top-notch feline hilarity.  The Christmas tree didn't think it was so funny.

Overdue for a post...

Facebook makes me not want children.  Yeah.  Here's why:

1. Posts about being headbutted by a two year old.

2. Posts about cleaning up vomit.

3. Potty training foibles.

4. Posts about staying up all night with two sick kids.

5. Posts about nursing ALL NIGHT.

I seem to be one of the last in my graduating class that is still unburdened, which I find sad because we are only 25/26.  Yes, I respect your choice (or accident) to have a child.  It doesn't make you any more worthy than someone else.  And your posting scary things about your children on Facebook make me less likely to join you in the 'hood.  Motherhood.

Alright, that takes care of commentary on this morning's assault.  Holy shit.

So I don't want to join the mother cult any time soon.  I love having time for hobbies and soul searching.  I think I'm going to join the Quakers, but have never been to a meeting yet.  Been working every Sunday.  I did a drive-by scope-out of the meeting house yesterday just as a lot of people were arriving for some unknown event which was not advertised on their out-of-date website.  Anyway....I WILL be going to meeting when I have a Sunday off.  I would love to feel a sense of community and belonging again, so I hope it works out.

Agent Smith at Amy's Ice Cream?

1.  Ready for autumn, tired of sweating all the time.  Air conditioners are dying from exhaustion.  I like to have blankets strewn over me while I sleep (I like my neck covered to guard against vampires), and lately I have been sleeping with either sheet or nothing at all over me.  And we have the A/C on--am I going menopausal already?  Sheesh.

2.  I've been smelling my sweaty ass self all day.  It's mostly frustrating because I know the smell actually comes from the failure of my homemade laundry detergent coupled with that pungent mildew smell that comes when your husband turns off the dryer when the clothes are still wet and leaves them to sit in there all night.  A smell that resembles sweat.  I don't mind that sweat smell when I'm actually sweaty.  It's not really my laundry detergent's fault.  It's still better than the time kerosene spilled on my clean laundry and it took about 20 washes over a couple of months to get the smell out.

3.  Tomorrow is my grandma's 80th birthday party (go Gramma!!) and I have not finished the shawl I wanted to make for her.  The nupps are slowing me down, though I am really impressed by them.  But it's okay, because her actual birthday is on September 20 and I can give it to her on the actual day.  My cousin bought my grandma a hardcover copy of Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola which is to be signed by all of the grandchildren.  It is her favorite children's book, and she read it to us dozens of times.  She was an elementary school librarian for a long time.

4. Every time someone comes to my apartment and spots my cat they say, "what's wrong with your cat's tail?!"  It's perfectly fine...he just has some Manx ancestors, that's all.  Gatsby Cabbit.

5. I made some delicious banana nut orange cranberry bread this week after being spurred to industry by the sight of black bananas.

6. Got a handheld GPS for my b-day to facilitate more geocaching.  This will work better when it isn't sweltering outside.  It's soooo hooooooooooot.  Sometimes in the early morning the temperature gets into the upper 70s.  I am sick of summer.  Sick, sick, sick of summer.  Seasons, pleeeeeeeeeaaaaase change!

7. My hair is so sweaty right now.  I'm listening to an audio book in which it is winter in the South.  Unfortunately this does not make cool weather come any faster in real life.

8. I just realized that I drink about 2 quarts of ice tea a day on days when I make ice tea.  I drink so much tea that the pitcher does not last into the second day usually.  Once I went to a restaurant in Minnesota with my mom and the waiter asked what we wanted to drink.  We both said, "tea".  The waiter asked, "hot or iced?"  Dude........really?  Does hot tea even freakin' exist?!  Other Southerners would think me unorthodox in that I don't like "Sweet Tea" (capitalized to denote proper respect) in that I like my tea sweetened, but I don't want to drink straight sugar.  I have to ask for unsweetened at restaurants, or half sweet and half unsweet.

9. I haven't made any tea in a couple of days.  I'm turning into a hummingbird.  It's been nothing but diet Big Red. I have a friend who drinks a Big Red every day...I guess for years.  Now that's loyalty. 

10.  My brother delivered and assembled exercise equipment for George Strait a few months ago.  He did not give him a tip.  Oh George.  We used to lease some land from some of his extended family when I was younger, and I used to think that maybe one day we would see George Strait driving around on his uncle's land in a battered pickup truck.  It never happened.  And now I know he doesn't tip.  I still like your music, George.  But I am disillusioned. 

11.  The absolute best ice cream ever gifted by God to mere mortals is Amy's Ice Cream.  There is one location in San Antonio, which is about 30 miles away from my apartment.  I rarely go to the Quarry.  It's too far, and it's where rich people shop on the weekends, and apparently there are a lot of rich people because there is never any parking upon a Saturday.  So anyway, I went to the Quarry on Wednesday because it's usually deserted on Wednesday and there is a Borders that had a book I needed.  After the book store I tried to go to Amy's Ice Cream.  I determinedly tried to walk right past about 4 men in suits that looked like that guy that says "Mr. Anderson" on the Matrix.  They stopped me from going in.  There were more secret agents inside.  So then I thought, "screw this" and left.  Later that night it occurred to me that when I was in Borders I walked past about 10 suit guys just standing around for no particular reason.  I think I missed out on some kind of celebrity sighting, or at least something that should have been recorded and placed on Youtube.  And I didn't get any ice cream.  Pfft.

Sunday sights

1. 500 miles of smiling white clouds and intense sunshine.
2. Frenzied mass of red, white and blue balloons freed into the sky.
3. Crows.
4. Fresh baked Czech Stop kolaches on the way to my MOUTH.
5. Two new postcards in the mailbox from Sweden and Indonesia!
6.  Driving past Holland.  Texas.  Welkom bij Holland!
7.  North Texas through amber lenses.
8.  Cats wearing clothing.
9.  Wonderful, intelligent, flowing words penned by Anne Bronte.
10. Beloved University of Texas tower glowing in evening sunlight.

Despite being in the car for 5 hours, I would say I had a very nice Sunday!