Author: Karen

Friday Links

Karen

1. “A new study documented wild wolves using ropes to pull crab traps ashore, offering what may be the first proof of tool use by these animals.” (There’s video!) I, for one, welcome our canid overlords.

 

2. A longer essay from a dad about his adult child realizing they’re trans. The love is palpable.

 

3. Do I need to make a giant Thanksgiving centerpiece using Trader Joe’s flowers? Probably!

@casavfloral Back by popular demand, let’s make a Thanksgiving centerpiece 🍂 #traderjoesflowers #thanksgiving #centerpiece ♬ original sound – Alicia 🌷

We Have (Some) Tile!

Karen

Since the last basement excitement, the drywall has gone up and been taped and mudded and sanded and the window has been replaced. The tile guys have been here for three days, building the shower curb and getting everything prepped (LOOK at their tile saw!).
A drywalled basement with a deluxe tile saw set up and lots of gear scattered around

 

And as of last night, there’s some tile down!
A shower stall that's ready to be tiled. There is black and white mosaic tile on some of the floor

I’ve always liked mosaic tile and I realized that I could just…use it! For the bathroom I’m having built! From scratch! That I’m not doing myself, and WHAT a good decision that was!  (I will need to reference this post when the interest rates on the HELOC go up in January, but still. I’m glad I didn’t try to DIY this.)

Tuesday Project Roundup: Baby’s First Barrel Legs

Karen

I made the brown twill barrel leg pants I was thinking about at the end of September, because what else am I doing with my time now that I don’t have a senior cat to take care of?
A pair of sienna brown barrel leg trousers hanging on a white closet door

 

I used the Coe Trouser pattern from Daughter Judy and some Ventana Twill I’d had in my stash since before the pandemic.

I should have made a straight size 12 but graded to a 10 at the waist…and then had to let the seams out at the waist as much as I possibly could, so the onseam pockets are less integrated into the seam line than they’re meant to be.

But they weren’t hard to make and they fit, especially now that the twill has broken in. But how do I feel about them? Brown trousers, fitted at the waist but big in the hip, tapered at the ankle, hmmm where have I seen this before? OH WAIT:
Still from a Looney Tunes cartoon showing Yosemite Sam wearing barrel leg pants in a saloon

 

I might just be too old for this style? I saw this the other day about Pant Fashion and it’s extremely accurate: screenshot of a tweet that says, "Whatever style pants look like shit to you are the pants you're supposed to wear, and as soon as they start to look normal to you, those are not the right pants anymore. You should always be wearing pants you think look stupid."

Rain Words

Karen

We had a rainy Sunday at home, so no nature pictures, just this screenshot I’ve been saving for when it rained again. I can’t stop saying “piripiri”–it sounds like what you’d say to a cat to get it to come see you.

Screenshot of a page from a dictionary of Japanese words for rain. Text says, AKEBI-KUSARASHI: Never-ending autumn rain that rots the akebi fruit BAKEAME: Rain in the sunshine CHI NO AME: Blood rain during a war DEIU: Rain mixed with ashes EMORI: Rain that leaks through the umbrella FUCHIKUNUN: Rain that comes indoors GŨU: Rain that one encounters by coincidence or chance HIF SAN-U: Merciless rain and wind that provoke a feeling of sorrow ISOSHIGURE: Rain that falls on the coast or in the bay JUU: Rain that falls at just the right time KAISOU: Rain that melts frost to protect crops MEGURUSHIGURE: Rain and clouds sent by the wind toward the mountains NAMIDA NO SHIGURE: Rain that falls like tears ONIWAARAI: Rain after a religious ritual PIRIPIRI: A little light rain RIHAU: Rain that loosens the earth for farmers to cultivate SAIKAU: Rain that makes the flowers bloom TERMI: A sudden sprinkle of rain WAKABA AME: Rain falling on new leaves YAYOSHIGURE: A drizzle that falls over and over again ZANTEKI: Remaining raindrops after rain

Thursday Poem

Karen

This is a tender one: “I think about them, in their hollows, in forest and field, millions / Of tiny hearts racing and parents trying to cover their nestlings.”

You Too
by John Jeremiah Sullivan

I saw a YouTube video of an owl inside its nest during a storm.
The scientists had installed a hidden camera in its little hollow.
The clip surprised me, in that the owl appeared very frightened.
I hadn’t pictured birds as being scared of thunder and lightning.
They’re at one with nature, I figured. It could never shock them.
But this one staggered backward until its back ran into the wall.
It moved just the way someone will when an earthquake begins,
Or after walking into a hallway only to find a wild animal there.
Ever since seeing that clip, I do not experience storms the same.
Now when the lightning flashes white, and I wait for the boom,
I think about them, in their hollows, in forest and field, millions
Of tiny hearts racing and parents trying to cover their nestlings.
The landscape is full of that feeling. An owl in a video looks up.
Its eyes are big and round, not certain what any of this portends,
And follow the sound of the wind-driven rain outside the room.

Sometimes You Get A Gift

Karen

It was a normal Tuesday night when our friends pinged us that you could see the Northern Lights in Utah?! I wasn’t expecting much, because when this has happened before we weren’t able to see anything, but LOOK AT THIS in our front yard:

I’ve always wanted to see them before I died, and here they were coming to me. Sometimes the universe just gives you a gift and doesn’t even make it a secret.

Tuesday Project Planning: Gifts For Contractors

Karen

I think I’ve mentioned that the general contractor on the basement project is a woman. I love her: She wears heels and swishy coats and Chanel earrings and is organized and formidable. Meanwhile her husband, who works with her (she is clearly the boss, though), is an outdoor guy–he drives a tan Toyota with a lot of gear strapped to it and was eyeing all the camping stuff on our basement shelves.

So guess which fabric is going to be a tech pouch for each person as a thank-you gift when this project wraps up around Christmas? Tan outdoor fabric and black trim on the left; orange and pink tweed fabricand satin lining on the right.

Once again, I had everything in the stash except for black trim. Eagle-eyed readers may remember that tweed from the coat I made in 2021–this is why you always save the scraps from the good stuff!

I”m going to use the LearnMYOG Tech Pouch pattern again. In the outdoor fabric, it’ll look like a cool way to organize chargers and pencils and things. In the tweed, it might look more like a Chanel clutch but will still hold her double phones and notebook. (And if they don’t like them, their kids can use them for art supplies and Legos.)

Something to fill the time! Hooray!

Looking For The Light

Karen

Late afternoon light filters through pine trees onto a calm stream.

A sign that says "please clean up after your dog." There are icons of a dog and a hand picking up poop on it. Someone has put googly eyes on the dog icon.

We’re just…going on with our lives while we get used to living without our boy, I guess. I’m trying not to rush out and adopt a dog and to actually let myself grieve but it’s hard; the house is awfully empty.

The googly eyes on the sign in Millcreek made me actually laugh, though. And everyone has been so kind–people delivered dinner, sent flowers, wrote sweet notes, cried with us. It’s nice to know everyone loved Toby like we did.