Soon this will be me.
I haven’t seen this one in years! Also I should get one of those chairs for the boys.
Honestly she makes some good points.
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Accurate.
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Author: Karen
Like A Painting
Being under-employed means we can go to places we’d never attempt on a weekend. Like yesterday’s trip to Mill B in Big Cottonwood, which I don’t think I’ve ever hiked from? We didn’t do the longer trails but the north overlook was just right.
The light was doing its best “German Romantic landscape painting” impression–just a gorgeous day.
See what I mean?
Tuesday Project Roundup: Shocking Pink Sweater
I hope it gets cold this winter because I have another sweater ready, bringing this year’s count of completed sweaters to five, four of which got finished within the same calendar year (!). This is a shocking pink Ozetta Lakes Pullover, last seen in April: 
My version didn’t end up quite as oversized as the sample shown in the pattern–I’m not sure why other than math is hard? (I know I kept going on the sleeve decreases just based on vibes, so…) But it’s still loose enough to be comfy and, of course, not itchy in a 70% cotton/30% merino blend (Cascade Cantata from Harmony).
The pronounced saddle shoulder is what drew me to the pattern, and I really like the detail it adds to an otherwise plain sweater.
(Special thanks to the Giardia Brothers, who arrived at the end of this project but gave it their all to help me block this and take pictures.)
Colors And Cats (And A Turkey)
I’m getting used to underemployment, filling the days with hikes when Doc is around…
Kitty boys when he’s not…
And looking out for surprises along the way:
Friday Links
1. I don’t know how broadly appealing this is, but I love it: Etymystery, a game where you guess, “Where did this word come from, and when did English first use it?”
2. Absolutely they are my heirs; they’re even in our trusts!
3. I think we actually DO need to go full sacre bleu:
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Semi-Retirement Is Pretty Great?
Doc is 55, I’m 46; a few years ago, I told our financial planner my goal is to be able to go part-time in 10 years so when he retires/also goes part time, we can go have adventures.
I currently have about a part-time job’s worth of freelance and he has random weekdays off, so I’ve been dragging him up canyons and trying out my future plan. Spoiler: I love it so much. If I didn’t have to actually earn enough money in the present to make that future plan happen, I might never go back to full-time again.
Wednesday Essay
This investigation by Rachel Handler is a depressing look into late-stage capitalism, a deep dive into a single subject, and a source of incredible sentences: “The Chocolate Conspiracy.” (Subhead: “Everyone in my life agreed: It tastes different now. I ventured into the molten belly of our crumbling world to find out why.”)
Some incredible sentences:
It was a classic American story about men and the things they will do to cheat death (betray their fathers) and how, with enough drugs, you could lose the ability to taste or feel things.
Perhaps for Hershey—or anyone—it’s easier to smile and pretend nothing has changed and nothing will change, that we were experiencing endless moments of goodness. That everything was the same balance of chocolate and peanut butter it had always been. I understood and empathized with this reality; it was one I visited whenever I ate a combo THC-CBD gummy and watched Emily in Paris.
Eating [faux chocolate] evoked in me powerful dystopian fantasies. I imagined Sam Altman’s grandson’s buxom AI servant handing it to me to tide me over as I waited on a line thousands of people long, flames licking my face from a nearby data-center fire, to bid on a bed in his Tesla-sponsored underground-bunker pop-up.
Tuesday Project Roundup: “Artistic Woman of a Certain Age” Vest
Anyone else remember the heyday of the Elizabeth Suzann clothing brand? It had a death grip on my particular internet corner from about 2016 – 2020; pattern designers were releasing dupes (which I sewed in 2018) and I even ordered their Clyde Vest ready made about that time–and returned it, because I didn’t think it was very well-sewn for $200.
You know what’s coming: Elizabeth Suzann has been transitioning from a clothing company to a pattern company since 2020, so I finally made my own version of the Clyde Vest (and made sure it was well-sewn).
This is EXTREMELY Swedish art teacher-coded. It’s giving “Eileen Fisher isn’t cool enough for my collection of handmade beads” vibes. It’s saying, “I take pottery vacations to Taos every winter.” It’s sending a message that you are a certain age and don’t want to get too hot but being dramatically surrounded by fabric is non-negotiable. I like it, in other words.
I used a 7.5 ounce stretch twill from Nick of Time Fabrics, which is fast becoming my JoAnn Fabrics replacement when I need a lot of yardage. The pattern itself is really beginner-friendly, with instructions for clean finishes throughout. I like the deep armholes for layering and the pockets are big enough to hold snacks or a ball of yarn or your plein-air art supplies.
Sun’s Back
That October golden light is back after the rain so everyone’s enjoying it.
(Well, some of us are enjoying biting the bee more than the sun, but it’s still nice that the rain stopped.)
Friday Links
1. How I feel reading the news this year:
@weberstatechoirs You gotta be sure to teach your singers the real classic songs! #choir #weberstate #funny #meme #utah ♬ original sound – WeberStateChoirs
2. This makes me long for a really targeted asteroid but is also kind of funny: “Has No Friends”: Amazon Is Keeping Amazingly Detailed Records on Its Customers and They Are Downright Insulting
3. A game to test your color memory: “Humans can’t reliably recall colors… We’ll show you five colors, then you’ll try to recreate them.” (It’s hard!) 