Month: January 2011

Happy Belated Birthday, Ed Abbey

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Saturday would have been Edward Abbey’s 84th birthday. (I think he’s still waiting for someone to take out the Glen Canyon Dam.*) Here are two of my favorite quotes of his:

“Completely passive, acted upon but never acting, the desert lies there like the bare skeleton of Being, spare, sparse, austere, utterly worthless, inviting not love but contemplation.”

and

“A drink a day keeps the shrink away.”

Amen, brother.

*dear FBI, if you are monitoring the interwebs, I’m not a terrorist. That was just the plot point of The Monkey Wrench Gang.

Friday Unrelated Information

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1. The latest report from people in the know tells me that I may be closing on the house as early as February 4th. That’s next Friday. The Friday one week from today. Oh my god.

2. Look at this fabric that has flying squirrels and Sphinxes on it. What a shame I need to buy appliances instead of fabric.

3. Let’s all think of this quote from Ayn Rand, because Ayn wouldn’t panic at the thought of moving:
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swaps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.

In Which I Go To Sundance And Get A New Imaginary Boyfriend

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Despite being a native Utahan, I’ve never been to Sundance (I’ve never been downhill skiing, either). But a friend had an extra ticket this year, so last night I got to see The Ledge. It was a thriller/love story/exploration of faith and it was really good–but I liked the Q&A with the writer/director Matthew Chapman most of all.

You can get a taste of him in the video linked to above, but he was just so smart and insightful and logical, talking about how the world needs “mercy more than condemnation.” Sigh–rational humanists do it for me every time.

Also, if you want to stick out at Sundance, just wear a color. Especially and orange coat.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Not What I Pictured, But Finished At Last

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Here is the dress I’d been working on since December, using fabric I’d had since August. I used a pattern I’d made twice before, so I thought I knew what to expect, but I’m not 100% pleased with this, for undefined reasons.

Maybe because the fabric is some of the last fancy fabric I’ll be working with for a long time (hello, mortgage) and I expected more from it? Maybe because the print isn’t large enough to handle the big blank canvas of the dress? Or is it because the print is too busy for the plain silhouette?

On the hanger. It needs pockets, or a belt, or something…

On me. Still missing something. (Yes, we like to gather round the space heater here at Chez Kitty.)

I just don’t know. I think I might take up the hem a few more inches and get some bright contrasting tights. Bright tights help everything.

It’s Monday

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I woke up feeling cynical, so here is a picture of Toby.

He was “helping” me sew last weekend and just climbed on top of the machine while I was pressing a seam. He usually sits on the machine when it’s covered, which gives him a little more room–note the paw held up to tell me, “Mama, this is too small. Fix it.”

(Don’t worry, he couldn’t have made the machine go, so he wasn’t about to hurt himself.)

Friday Unrelated Information

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1. Sorry, I put up a broken link to my Twitter stream yesterday (I just assumed it would re-direct to the non-signed-in page but I guess Twitter doesn’t do that). If you want to read 140-character inanities, here’s the right link.

2. Speaking of Twitter, Laura Ingalls Wilder is on it, too.

3. And in space news, Voyager 1, launched in 1977 with the golden record of Earth sounds picked by Carl Sagan, has reached the very edge of our solar system and is almost in interstellar space–the first time anything from Earth will do so. (Thanks to my friend Jason for pointing this out.)

Eyes On The Prize

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If you follow my Twitter stream you will know that there was more lender drama yesterday, which made me nearly inarticulate with fury (all-caps shouting of “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD” was about all I could manage). But I went to see the house last night and if I can ever get in, I will like living there.

Did I mention I have a basement? That comes already insulated?

And that I think I picked the best beige carpeting option from the six other beiges offered?

And that I have a place for a washer and a dryer? I think I will weep with joy when I do a load of laundry in my own house for the first time.

Until then, I just hope I don’t weep.

All House, All The Time!

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I didn’t want to turn the blog into “househousehousehouse,” but you know what? I’m buying a house! It’s exciting! So I’m going to blog about it.

As of Monday, I had countertops:

And carpet pads:

And someone’s jacket and hat:

As of today, I know I have carpet, and I think I’ll have appliances. I alternate between excitement and dread–of the move, of last-minute impediments or expenses, of bouncing around in the big fancy new house like a rat in a can. It’s mostly excitement, though.

(Pictures are from my parents, who have been up there more than I have. But I’ve been securing financing, and renewing my drivers license, and, you know, working so I can stay employed to make the mortgage payments.)

Tuesday Project Roundup: Incomplete and Uninspired

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Guess what? I’m still not done with the corduroy dress I’ve been working on since December. I only had to blind-hem it last night but the thought of finishing and then taking a picture at ten o’clock didn’t appeal to me.

But after the dress is wrapped up, I don’t know what to make next–I don’t think that’s happened to me in a year or two. I’m sure it’s because it looks like I’ll be moving in TWO WEEKS (holy sh*t) and all my creative energies are getting channeled into decor, and picking curtain fabrics, and deciding between Kenmore and Whirlpool for a washer and dryer. (Any opinions?)

So I’m sorry, I know the project roundups have been a little lackluster. Just wait until my entire living space becomes a project.