Author: Karen

The Post I Never Wanted To Write

Karen

We had to say goodbye to Toby yesterday. He’d been slowing down and having more accidents, but he’d gotten through so much–getting his thyroid under control, diabetes, the remission scare–that I thought he’d just keep going.

But Wednesday he started having balance issues and was lethargic; blood work at the vet showed something was wrong and he’d lost a lot of weight. We wanted him to be at home, so he got some heavy-duty pain meds and had a good night. Then the mobile vet came Thursday morning and he left us in his cozy bed hearing us tell him what a good boy he was.

I had nearly 18 years with my boy–he was my orange shadow, my fabric inspector, our midnight singer, my constant companion, the other half of my heart. He had such a big personality. Seeing these photos of earlier years, I realized how much of that personality was fading the last couple weeks. So I know this was the right decision. I’m glad we could give him the gift of a peaceful exit at home. We just had to break our own hearts to do it.

Tuesday Project Roundup: A Case For Every Piece Gear

Karen

I’d been meaning to make cases for our traction spikes as part of the car organizing spree in September but I ran out of sewing steam a little. But after I knocked out Doc’s shirt, I sat down for a couple hours and got the spike cases done:

 

The case is just a big zipped rectangle with a slip pocket inside to hold thin foam to pad them against the spikes. For that inside slip pocket, I decided to use microfiber towels to absorb water, because we’re putting these away after snowy hikes and they’re wet.

I cut up an old stripey dusting towel for the inside of mine:

And Doc got an old car wash towel inside his:

 

I used the free tutorial from Stitchback DIY Trail Gear. I had to make Doc’s case a little taller (the pattern comes in one size) but that was just a matter of adding an inch to either end. Stitchback’s instructions for the zipper were fantastic–I’ve never gotten such nice corners before!

I had everything on hand (foam, Cordura fabric, grosgrain, old towels) except for a long enough zipper for Doc’s case, but a quick trip to Salt Lake Sewciety fixed that. (I miss Joann but they sure didn’t have zipper by the yard.)

Flowers In Good Light

Karen

It was the semi-annual orchid show at the arboretum yesterday and the afternoon light was doing the most:

(Hand for scale on that last one–I’ve never seen an orchid that shape and I wish I’d thought to take a picture of the tag.)

 

The light continued its heroics out in the gardens, where there were still roses blooming in November.

Friday House Things

Karen

1. Toby seems to be just fine again, so our stress levels have decreased by at least 70%. Here he is being very cozy and relaxed last night: A senior orange kitty sleeps in a fleece bed. His back legs are pulled up and he's hugging them with his front legs.

 

2. The water line got fixed and the insulation got finished and inspected yesterday midday, so the drywall delivery got moved up to late afternoon yesterday. Then, because we’d passed inspection, the guys wanted to start hanging so I said, “Sure, but don’t work past six.” An unfinished basement with piles of drywall and cement board in it. Something looks off with the window.

 

3. Guess what happened at 5:40? Closeup of a double-paned basement window. The inside pane is broken.
I think they’d already put the window back (they had to take it out to get the drywall in) and someone just misjudged a turn, but it’s unclear. The damage was to the inside pane of the double-paned window, so at least there isn’t a hole in the house?

 

4. And since we’re looking on the bright side–it’s the weekend! Enjoy it, friends. (Did I play this last night? Maybe.)

Needs An Editor

Karen

I don’t know who was writing yesterday’s episode of our lives, but the amount of inconveniences piled on in just one day really needed an editor:

  • We had to get new springs in the garage door
  • We weren’t sure what was wrong with Toby but he was pacing and yelling all day*
  • I discovered our sink disposal is leaking
  • Matt came home with a flat tire on his new car
  • The insulation team was 2.5 hours late showing up, which put them here from 7:00 to almost 9:00 pm…
  • …and then they stapled through the fridge water line in the basement ceiling.

I put our contractor on speaker phone and she sent them home; they’ll be back tomorrow to finish, along with the plumber. Until then, I took matters into my own hands so we could keep the water on:

Vise-Grips for the win!

 

*We think Toby needed to poop. Once that happened, the meows stopped. As of writing time, he’s pretty chill, but we’re still ready to head to the urgent care at any minute today.

Moodboard

Karen

Things are going well–I have a full workload again at the job, the basement is going so fast and smooth, Toby’s doing well–but at the same time everything feels like too much (there are deadlines, strangers are in the house, Toby needs constant supervision). I want a day off, or a day as a pine cone:

Screenshot of a post that says, i just want a day off from life. maybe be a lil pine cone or something

 

Maybe I should knit or sew more. “Helps a little!”
A fake toy with packaging that reads, "I'LL JUSTBE OVER HERE DOING MY LIL HOBBY NOT SURE WHAT ELSE TO DO Helps a little!"

 

Where’s the lie?
screenshot of a post that reads, "I'm not sure you can get more marie antoinette than taking away food stamps before thanksgiving while you build a gold and marble dance hall so the other crooks can bring bribe you over a badly-cooked (argentinian) steak"

 

At least I canceled Spotify so I’m not getting served ads for ICE. “Finally, a job for a loser with a vacant stare and a raisin brain.”

 

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A post shared by Vinny Thomas (@vinn_ayy)

Tuesday Project Roundup: Cat Shirts Forever

Karen

I finally finished a shirt for Doc that had been languishing since I cut it out in August. Good thing he runs hot so he can wear short sleeves year-round:

Pattern is New Look 6197 again (like last year’s version) but I used the instructions from the Daughter Judy Genra Shirt for the facings (you sandwich them in for a clean finish–no hand sewing!)

I got this fabric when I got the longer cuts for me for that Pool Dress, back before the tariffs (cry). This is a screen print, not a block print, but the base is the same–light and soft.

Trying New (Cold) Things

Karen

A few weeks ago, I started getting Instagram ads for saunas/bath houses in Salt Lake City. I had no idea there were so many (with increasingly weird names): Hot House SLC, Glow, Perspire, Plunj, Sweathouz (ew), and Sauna Public. Sauna Public was the closest to us with a traditional heated sauna vs. infrared, so we checked it out yesterday.

Photo above is from Google, but you can get an idea of the layout: the door in the tile leads to the sauna with two heaters and three levels, and you can see the showers out in the open to rinse off between sauna and cold plunge.

 


And here’s my photo, looking the other way out into the entrance and reception–it’s not a big space. That cold plunge pool looming ominously in the foreground was SO INCREDIBLY COLD. I thought I was tough sitting in the stream in Millcreek in the height of summer, but this was even colder. (It didn’t help that the open showers and the private showers in the changing room didn’t get hot at all–I think the water heater was having a hard time keeping up.)

The vibe was definitely more public pool than luxury spa, but clean and chill. Every guest besides us was an athletic guy in his 30s and they seemed to be subtly trying to out-stay each other in the cold plunge. I guess I was expecting more of an “old European guy” vibe but it makes sense that the bros would be all over hot/cold therapy for recovery.

Will we go again? I might try it alone to really see how much I can cook myself in the sauna, but I might be more of a sento/hot springs person. Or a backyard sauna person, someday, where I can make my cold plunge an indulgent 60 degrees versus 45.

Friday Links

Karen

1. I’ll always read a long piece about Costco. “Can the Golden Age of Costco Last?”  (We got our first rotisserie chicken from Costco this week! A whole new world!)

2. This history of the @ symbol is delightful:

The ancient Greeks were fond of a style of clay pot called an amphora. … as time went on, an amphora became a standard unit of measure.

“Merchants had to communicate the idea that ‘I’m going to sell you a certain number of amphoras of something or other at a particular price’ quite a lot,” [author Keith] Houston says. And eventually, people started drawing an “a” with a long tail wrapped around it and skipping the rest of the letters.

3. Good news everyone, I found the cure for anxiety: Screenshot of a post that reads, "The cure to anxiety is completing all the tasks you have to finish for the day early and doing them phenomenally and being physically perfect and on everyone's good side preferably even their favorite."

4. And I found something that makes SO much sense:
Screenshot of 2 posts by Patrick Cosmos. Text reads, working on a new unified theory of american reality i'm calling "everyone is twelve now" "I'm strong and I want to have like fifty kids and a farm" of course you do. You're twelve. "I don't want to eat vegetables I think steak and French fries is the only meal" hell yeah homie you're twelve. "Maybe if there's crime we should just send the army" bless your heart my twelve year old buddy