Tuesday Project Roundup: New Jeans

I finally sat down and finished the summer jeans that had been waiting and I was right–they’re exactly what I wanted and I’ll wear them a ton.

These are the Daughter Judy Worship Jeans again (I’ve made three un-blogged pairs, oops) but this time I made the straight leg version exactly as drafted. In that light blue denim, I think it’s giving an 80s vibe and that’s just what I wanted.

The denim is 9 ounces, not too heavy, and I made a straight size 12, giving myself a little extra room in the hips by fudging the seam allowance. The waist of the 12 is a little big but I would rather have that than the opposite; there’s a temporary regular button on there right now instead of the metal jeans tack, just to see if I need to move it over more as they relax.

But yay! Fresh comfy jeans. They’re not the blinding white architectural trousers I was craving at the beginning of summer, but they’re probably going to get worn more.

Cleaning, Coping

It was another long weekend of cleaning–we did the 21-day re-spray for bedbugs after vacuuming everything again and checking the baseboards and the closets. I’m feeling hopeful that chemical warfare did the trick!
Image of a coral upholstered headboard and frame pulled apart in a carpeted room.

 

But wow, everything still feels like such a struggle: the extra cleaning, the everyday living, the elderly cat, the future. Maybe this explains it?
A Tumblr post that reads: Me: I don't get it. I thought I was doing a lot better than I was a few years ago. I'm like 10 times more on top of things than I used to be. How does everything feel terrible now? The Tiny Me in OSHA-approved Hi-Vis Gear Who lives in my brain and pulls all the levers: Boss, it's the fascism. You're completely gunked up with cortisol due to the fact that your entire daily life is now underscored with a haunting awareness of the rapid erosion of your rights, dignity, and any and all social safety nets, and you're also bearing witness to the most vulnerable people immediately being persecuted. This creates a natural stress response that basically means you're going to continue having memory and organizational problems, as well as emotional imbalances. Me: BUT I HAVE A BULLET JOURNAL AND I MEDITATE NOW. Tiny OSHA Me: BOSS, THE FASCISM.

Thursday Links

It’s probably a long weekend for most people for the Fourth tomorrow. America, I’m sorry your party has been crashed by assholes. Hang in there (said to America and also to all of us).

1. Incredibly sobering read on the “immigration enforcement” budget in the spending bill:

America is about to fund and build a huge secret police force that will, I promise you, be used to attack and imprison and exile the president’s enemies, of all sorts. Better to look this fact square in the face than to continue to kid ourselves as long as possible as we march down the road to the gulags.

 

2. It’s funny cause it’s true:
Text reading, "It's a good thing Congress isn't alive to see this."

 

3. Maybe gorillas with helicopters can save us?
Text reading, "why is the president the only person testing the limits of his power? everyone should see what they can get away with. what if zookeepers gave helicopters to gorillas? nobody has tried this"

 

4. How being alive feels right now (“that’s awful”):

 

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It Always Helps

This newsletter from Cheryl Strayed arrived this week as I was getting news about company layoffs (I’m not affected but I was RIGHT to be worried) and wow what a good reminder (emphasis mine):

Every time I’ve made or done something, I’ve felt better. It’s a fact I’ve returned to over and over again in these past months/years/decades in order to save myself or toss a lifeline to someone else. Action and creation are a salve, a balm, a cure.

Perhaps making and doing things is so powerful because in doing or making you break out of stasis. Even if only fleetingly, you get unstuck and, afterwards, have proof of that. Something exists because you made it. Something happened because you did it. You baked the cake and decorated it attentively and inexpertly. You showed up at the protest with longing in your heart and a smile on your face. You shot and edited the footage and now you’ve got a movie. You stitched the scraps of fabric together and ended up with a quilt. You put the seeds in the soil and eventually a flower bloomed. You put one foot in front of the other and then looked back and realized you’d covered all that ground on your own steam. Your troubles were not over. Your problems were not solved. But you had something. You did something. You could not deny that. You made it this far and making it this far meant you could keep going.

Keep up those hobbies, friends.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Waterproof Pool Bag

This might be Unsettled Summer but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be Pool Summer, especially since the Millcreek stream is out of the picture. (I saw a post earlier in the year of someone saying, “sure I lost my job but then I went to the pool for 60 days straight,” and THAT thought is helping me deal with work uncertainty.)

I decided I needed a waterproof pool bag instead of the cotton canvas tote I was using, so I could put wet towels in there with abandon. I already owned the Daughter Judy bag pattern from when it was a subscriber bonus and I had a yard of outdoor canvas sitting around from 2022, when I thought I was going to make a Kate Spade-style carry on. (I hesitated for a second before I cut into it, but more striped fabric exists if I ever decide to make it.)

The stripes play nicely with the fold detail and this was a really fast project. Plus I got three things checked off the list: not spending money, using up some stash, and being more equipped to Get In The Water.

Hot Unsettled Summer

Compared with “maximalism” or “bro summer” of the last couple years, this summer’s word is shaping up to be “unsettled.” What’s unsettling me? A list:

  • Bedbugs (although I haven’t gotten a bite in two weeks!)
  • My job security (not a great time to depend on public health funding)
  • Thinking of moving and spending money, because job security
  • Toby aging
  • Thinking of moving and upsetting Toby’s routine, because aging kitty
  • Millcreek Canyon being under construction
  • Living under increasing fascism

Other than re-spraying insecticide every 21 days and calling off the house search, I really can’t control any of these things. I can’t even go touch grass/wade in the stream in my preferred canyon spot. Even MORE unsettling!

So I’m trying to just sit with it (ugh) and get myself out of the house when it feels TOO bad. Even a neighborhood walk has delights:

Friday Links

1. The Onion (yes the satire site) took out a full page ad in the New York Times last week to run this editorial mocking Congress’ cowardice. It is AMAZING:

Now is not the time for bravery or valor! This is the time for protecting your own hide and lining your pocket. Now is not the time for listening to your idiotic constituents drone on about what’s happening to their precious democracy. This is the time for getting down on all fours and groveling. Now is not the time to say, “Enough is enough,” and have the tough conversations about resisting the ongoing assaults on American liberty. This is the time to let the wave of apathy and indifference roll over you as you think about getting a really nice renovation to your house in Kalorama.

2. This was really fun to scroll around in: the Historical Tech Tree, “an interactive visualization of technology from 3 million years ago to today.” With links to Wikipedia and related technologies! (Just getting this link ready to post today, I clicked around and discovered Egyptian blue, the first synthetic pigment!)

 

3. This is the best train ad I’ve ever seen:

 

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House Adventure 2.0

I think I mentioned we’re starting to look for another house–one where we could maybe live without stairs if we got too decrepit, and one where we could definitely live without an HOA. We haven’t looked at a lot in person but it all made me go back to a home inspector’s account on TikTok and watch pretty much all of his videos.

Is this encouraging? No, not really. But is it cathartic in a sort of terrible way? Yeah.

@everyones.junk.drawer PART 1 2.5 Milly! what a steal! upkeep? maintenance? never heard of her! #thatoldhouse #expensive #fail #homeinspection #inspection #mansion #troubling #disrepair #rough #shape #notgreat #woodrot #rot #everywhere #uhoh ♬ original sound – 🇵🇸 Inspector Guy

 

@everyones.junk.drawer come with me on a tour of a house Zillow bought and renovated 3 months ago for 330k and is trying to sell for half a million dollars. #fail #flippedhouse #flip #flips #inspection #zillow #corporate #slumlords #flippers #craftsmanshit #lazy #dangerous #greedy #bastards #thishastostop #unsustainable #latestagecapitalism #thatoldhouse #bummer #homeinspection #nightmares ♬ original sound – 🇵🇸 Inspector Guy

@everyones.junk.drawer hell yeah flipping #flip #design #fail #songwriter #justinspectorthings #craftsmans #quality #custom #opendoor #realty #corporate #realestate #thatoldhouse #unfortunate #details #yourewelcome ♬ Chill out BGM (simple) – Hollywood Labo

 

New builds aren’t available in our price range and/or without an HOA in the areas we’re looking, so that’s off the table…. but I’m not that upset:

@everyones.junk.drawer another day, another new house that had a new set of problems. #newconstruction #house #inspection #singinginspector #thatnewhouse #construction #quality #craftsmanship #attention #to #details #well #thought #out #movingalong #downwardspiral #joy #live #laugh #love ♬ original sound – 🇵🇸 Inspector Guy

Someday These Will Be Jeans

I’ve had a pair of the lightest blue summer jeans cut out since May, then I tabled them to make a couple of pairs of gym pants that didn’t fit. I finally started them right before B-Day (the day of the discovery of bedbugs) and now I want to abandon them again to make a waterproof beach tote.

I know I will love them and wear them a lot, but I guess the jeans sewjo just isn’t there yet. Oh well! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯