(Via xkcd. Check out the hovertext on the original.)
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Goodbye, Old Paint
So last night my trusty little iBook (circa 2006) bit the dust. I left it open to make dinner and when I came back not only did it not spring back from sleep, it wouldn’t turn on.
I knew this day was coming, but it’s still going to be a headache to decide on a new one (and see if I can retrieve music and photos from Old Paint. They can do that, right?).
I have a plan for a machine until I decide on a new one, but just in case I don’t post here until Monday or so, don’t be alarmed.
Tuesday Project Roundup: The Definition Of Insanity?
My old roommate used to say, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again, but always expecting different results.” By his definition I must be crazy, because I’m going to try to make pants again.
I’ve tried to make them a handful of times and they’ve never turned out how I want (when they turned out at all). But this fall, colored pants are everywhere; I’m a sucker for color; and it’s almost as difficult to find pants that fit/are affordable as it is to make them. So I’m going to try again. It will be different this time, right?
I’ll make a test pair as a muslin so I still have time to decide what color. Pink? Blue? Mustard? These pants are going to be so successful. I can just feel it.
(Images via my Pinterest; click through for credits.)
Something To Keep In Mind For The Week
Friday Unrelated Information
Trivia
The Writer’s Almanac posted all sorts of trivia about Michaelmas today (and got a little far out at the end of their sentence here):
In the Christian world, today is Michaelmas, feast day of the archangel Michael, which was a very important day in times past, falling near the equinox and so marking the fast darkening of the days in the northern world, the boundary of what was and what is to be.
Other activities for the day that don’t sound like Led Zeppelin lyrics included settling of accounts, giving geese to the poor, and eating blackberries, because “it is said that when Michael cast the Devil from Heaven, the fallen angel landed on a patch of blackberry brambles.”
And there’s your trivia for the day.
I Want To Write For The Ball Cookbook Company
Thanks to generous family and friends with fruit trees, I have both peaches and pears to can this week, which means I had to break out the canning cookbooks. Before this, I’ve skipped the chapter introductions in The Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving, but now I know what I’ve been missing. From the chapter introduction to “High-Acid Foods”:
As you gaze with pride on the colorful jars in your pantry packed with nature’s best, the sense of accomplishment you feel is rivaled only by the sumptuous goodness you’ll enjoy when you unseal them–for one delicious meal after another.
Or consider the lead to the “Soft Spreads” chapter:
Preserving is about more than food. When your home is filled with the fragrant aroma of sweet spreads simmering on the stove, you are preserving memories that last a lifetime.
Questionable use of “sumptuous” notwithstanding, well done, Ball Cookbook Writer. You are selling the hell out of the concept of home canning. Maybe I need to join your team, because I haven’t been able to muster that sort of enthusiasm for technology, hotels, or insurance benefits in a long time.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Hear Me Roar, Etc.
Look! I finally finished the leopard pencil skirt!
This is a direct copy of a now-sold out version I admired at J. Crew. J. Crew’s was unlined stretch cotton. J. Crew’s was $118. Mine is lined, with a kick pleat (versus a vent), and put me out about $18. J. Crew, who needs you?
Now that this is done, I’m thinking about a jacket of some sort in this black and white leopard. Because cat ladies love dressing like cats.
Better Living Through Profanity
It’s Monday and it looks to be another Not So Fun week so I am coping with cat videos set to catchy songs that involve swearing.*
I love the faux excitement throughout and especially, especially the opening line. I’m going to go around humming “Holy [redacted], it’s another [redacted] day, it’s the best day ever AGAIN” today. And of course I’ll be humming it ironically.
*Disclaimer: There’s swearing throughout this, so d0n’t watch it if such things are offensive to you. And of course I don’t think cats are stupid as a rule, but you have to admit that there are some animals you meet that are happy for exactly the reasons the song states.
Friday Unrelated Information
1. It’s the autumnal equinox today, which I would like a lot more if it didn’t signal the beginning of the long descent into darkness. At least it’s only three months to the solstice, right?
2. Blue Moon Ranch is having its seventh annual Open Barn Days this weekend. They’ve expanded to have the event on both Saturday and Sunday, so if you’re attending a yoga retreat one day, you can still see alpacas and crias like Jethro here on the next: