Simply Curious

Yup.  We went on another cruise. 9 days, Royal Caribbean, out of Baltimore on Enchantment of the Seas.

Pictures are here, here, here, here, there, here, and here.

I was going to do a play by play, but 9 days is a long time.  Let's see if I can sum up.

Day 1-3: Baltimore and at sea.  Got a US coast guard escort down the Chesapeake.  Teeny boat with a mounted machine gun.  Got oriented on the ship.  Made a few friends or at least people we waved to when we saw them in the hall - The Hershey couple, Dave and Clarissa 'we're not alcoholics' (seriously, that's how they introduced themselves - they were just NY Italians), the hyper short newlyweds, Jerry the drunken Scot (I repeat myself) (he kept trying to hire Brian to play piano at his Glasgow club) Frank and (probably Linda) the quilting couple who taught the classes, and crew members Resa, Fitzmorris, Yadira, Orce, South African jewelry shop lady, two Australian dancers (one who looked a lot like my Dad when he was young), and Captain Gus, who seemed to be doing more PR stuff than running the ship.

Day 4: San Juan.  Took a Walking Tour of Old San Juan.  Was fun and informative, and based on the amount of cars just SITTING in traffic, I was glad we didn't take the bus tour.  Amusing to be walking down an old, narrow, brick road and see: people having a party in a Hummer, since traffic wasn't moving, lots of cats, a Marshalls, a street beggar all in black, playing an accordion.  Found a cannon.

Day 5:  St Thomas.  Brian went snorkeling, I made a necklace.  We wandered around, ate lunch at Cuzzins, tried Conch, wandered in a local fabric store and an overpriced antiques shop, and a few random shops. They drive on the left side of the road, but in cars where the wheel was also on the left.   Pretty much EVERY car we saw had some sort of damage to it, but they were also more into customizing them.  Saw some interesting airbrush work!

Day 6: Dominican Republic.  Took a cave and mangrove tour, mostly by boat.  Beautiful national park (Los Haitises.)  Lots of birds and even some bats.  Didn't bother with the town, but to get to our tour boat we got to go to Deck 1 and through part of the crew quarters.  We also got to see how they loaded the tenders back on the ship.

Day 7:  Labadee, Haiti.  The cruise line's personal land resort.  Wandered around and took some pictures, but Brian slept in. It was soo humid I didn't want to do anything else.  Found some cannons, but no one was around to take my picture with it.

Day 8-9: at sea.  lots of cruise activities, lots of food, lots of sleeping. There were mostly comedians as guest performers for the nightly show, but we did have 'The Unexpected Boys' as a Four Seasons cover band.  The Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers were  OK.  The singers couldn't act, and the dancers couldn't sing, but they worked it out.

It was a great cruise, but I'd like to make a few proposals.

Clocks.  Why are there no clocks in the cabins??  Serious oversight.  Along with putting the phone on the far side of the room instead of on the nightstand.  When there's no clocks you have to resort to call wake up, which is at best awkward when you're sleeping in pitch blackness and have to stumble across the room in the dark.

Classes.  This cruise had arts and craft classes every day.  It was awesome.  Varying levels.  Appliqued towels, pineapple totes, knotted scarfs, tied, bracelets.  They had jewelry making classes, and scrapbooking classes.  Lots of fun.  It was nice to have a free souvenir of the trip that I made.  Not only did I get the item, I got the memories and the bonding with the other class-takers.  Keep it up! 

Other things I'd like to see would be destination introductions.  Before arriving at the next port, have a little documentary - a brief history of the place, a few photos, highlights of special places to visit.  The excursions are fun, but they're not ALL of the possibilities, and they give minimal information.  We did attend one thing that I hoped would be this format, but it turned out to be only about shopping on shore - where they wanted you to buy diamonds, watches, jewelry, etc.  I can do that at home!  I'm in a new place - I want to know what's unique about it!  It was very disappointing.  There were shows on TV, but they weren't specific to the ports we were visiting. 

As for my travel organization, it varied.  My hip bag worked out quite well once I learned the trick of getting the passport in and out.  I ended up cutting the adjustable strap off a spare passport holder that you tuck under your shirt, and that worked much better than the belt.  I made a little emergency medicine bag that was nice, except I forgot to add more aspirin, and totally didn't think about sunburn medicine.  Next time I'm going to take extra, since the shop AND the clinic ran out.  I never did find Tums.  Otherwise it was nice to have.  I had found a little zippered pouch at the thrift shop for a quarter. See through and the perfect size.  I may have to go back there and see if there's any more - they had a big container of them up by the cash register.  I had a little separate bag for clothing emergencies - wipes, safety pins, a tiny roller brush, sewing kit.  I could go right to it when I needed it.  I don't think I really missed or needed anything else - except maybe a travel sized toothbrush.

It's nice to be back, sort of.  It was about 80 degrees the entire time, we come back to 90 degree temperatures!  I think it's time we move to a cooler climate.

The True Cost of A Wedding Knot at Credit Sesame Blog

Average cost is 27k? I don't think we spent much more than 8. AND we had a church, a restaurant dinner reception for over 80 people, a dance floor with DJ, a 1940 Rolls Royce to cart us around, and a photographer. In June!

Where did we save money? My mother made the gowns and the pew bows. I made the invitations, the favors, the place name cards, and the table IDS. (we had a semi-tropical theme and named each table after a Caribbean island so guests would know where to sit.) The photographer was only there to take pictures. She gave us the copyright, and I did all the post editing. (she was awesome, too). The baker happened to be a former boss and was excited enough to cut us a deal. The flowers we got at the grocery store, and I had a tiny wrist corsage that I wrapped around my confirmation Bible. (Why sneeze my way down the aisle?) We kept the wedding party down to a single best man and maid of honor. We were also fortunate that our parents helped with the rehearsal dinner, flowers, and gowns. Brian already owned his tux.
My engagement ring? Pawn shop. Seriously. Not that we didn't try the regular shops first. My hands are so small that every ring I tried on at a regular shop just looked ridiculous, or would have warped the ring too much to have it sized down. I found EXACTLY what I wanted in a bizarre little shop in Leesburg. My wedding band belonged to my great-grandmother. Brian wanted the plainest, simplest style band imaginable as he was concerned that he would hate wearing a ring.

And everybody claims they had a good time, which, I guess is what we were aiming for.

 I added a flap today in the middle of running around doing all sorts of random last minute things.  It's rather useless and just handstitched on.  I cut off the back of the brass button and glued it on for a decorative bit.  I hope it holds!  I have some brown ribbon somewhere that I need to find and test.

I also found a belt strap at the thrift shop that goes ok with it, although it's a little thick, and looks pretty ridiculous as a purse strap, now that I come to try it. While I was there I picked up a cute little NWF book bag for 50 cents.  I couldn't resist.  It's not often I want to advertise a company, but they were good to me, though they didn't share many samples. ;-)   A year or so ago I found TWO NWF travel bags at the same thrift shop and bought both.  Excellent design, lots of room, and even a water bottle/umbrella holder on the outside.  I'll be taking one along on the cruise for land excursions.

Having been successful with not one, but two owl bags, I decided I was going to branch out and design my own bag.

I wanted a hip bag, not the bulky fanny packs of my childhood, but something sleeker, streamlined.  It would hold EXACTLY the vitals and nothing else.  What are the vitals?  Stuff I would likely need on our upcoming cruise without having to deal with a purse.  I couldn't find a pattern that satisfied me, but found enough information online that I felt confident in doing my design.  I wanted it just big enough to hold my passport, phone, camera, credit cards, loose change, and maybe a few bandages and pepto bismol pills.     

I designed and designed and designed in my head for ages as I struggled through finals, and dashed to the machine as soon as I had finished.  What I ended up with . . . was more or less what I planned.  I just don't like it!

Camera fits, couldn't get it in the photo!

My plans for the inside was a zippered pocket on one side, a pocket for my passport and/or ipod, with credit card slots on the front of that.  That part was ok, but I had problems with  the interior fabric I originally picked out.  It was a soft cotton teal plaid, and went well with the outer fabric, but was only a fat quarter, and had . . . issues.  It shifted very easily when I sewed.  Plus, OCD me HAD to line up the stripes.  Eventually I got everything cut out and  lined up where I could live with it, put it together . . .  and discovered it was too small for the passport.  The whole PURSE was too small.  I didn't have enough plaid to make a second bag, so I ended up having to make an entirely new one.

Surprisingly, even measuring twice didn't help.  It's STILL too small, but I was still able to wedge my passport inside. Everything else fit inside with it, so I'm calling it good for the moment.  



I need to get cording or a small belt, and quickly, too, because the scarf doesn't go so well with it.  The way I designed the straps on the back, I can wear it over my shoulder or around my waist.  I could probably add a smaller strap and make it a wristlet.

I also need to do something to it to make it look more like a purse and less like a pillow.


Things to remember for the next hip bag:  make it even wider, use less interfacing, and try once more to make it flat bottomed.

Inspiration Bag - visit her blog!

While browsing for bag patterns one day, I came across A Wednesday Afternoon and the wonderful tutorial on making an owl bag.  It hopped up and down and hooted "make ME! make ME!"  After sharing on Facebook, my sister subtly hinted that she'd like one.  Why not?  This looked doable!  And I could always make two . . .

My finished bag

Off I went to JoAnns, where in the remnant pile I found a lovely heavy home decor fabric in a minty green.  I grabbed it and wandered the aisles, looking for complimentary fabric.  In a section filled with random fat quarters I found the gold paisley for the wings, its stems exactly the same shade of mint.  It came with me and refused to be matched to any dark browns.  I finally tried the gold and the whole thing just went POP. Sadly, the wing fabric was the ONLY fat quarter I could find of it.  I searched everywhere in the store, with no luck.  I have no idea who makes it!  It was just a leftover.  Hopefully I can find it in another store, because it's really pretty.
I bought buttons to use for eyes, but they turned out to be too small.  (No one likes a beady eyed owl.)  An image search for owl eyes turned up beautiful amber stares, but I couldn't get any fabrics that worked properly without seeming too weird.  Eventually I found the right golden shade in my own stash to use as eyes, but it took a lot of tries. I then decided that it would be a good idea to use four layers of fabric: black, brown, gold, and black to define the eyes properly.  It's REALLY hard to cut out a cloth circle!  Eventually I used iron-on interfacing, after failing twice to come home with the right double stick iron on whatever it is I needed.  Yes, I glued the eyes together and on the bag.  If they fall off, glue them back on, please? 


I made a few changes to the original pattern.  I separated the front panel, wings and body, to make into a pocket.  The body fabric was folded in half and cut out, with interfacing on one side for added strength.  Pull on his beak and it opens!  I also altered the inside of the bag, making the top three inches of it the same fabric as the outside. (The rest is a soft tan colored fabric.  Possibly challis?)   For the strap, I used D-rings, and found a tutorial at Sew Loquacious that allowed me to make a fabric slide so the strap can be adjustable.  I couldn't find the right kind of metal part to do this, at least, not big enough.  If it doesn't work well it will be really easy to undo. 

The instructions were excellent and I had no problems with assembly.  I drew out the owl on oversized paper and then drew all the parts on separate pieces so I wouldn't have to cut it apart.  I added a seam allowance, just in case.

Owl Bag, Jr.

I had JUST enough fabric to make myself a second, smaller bag.  I like small bags, as I need to put my purse in my backpack while at school, and it needs to fit! This bag is a little over 8.5" wide and about 7.5" tall.  I made an interior pocket for my ipod, and added a metal magnetic snap enclosure, along with the front pocket.  I used buttons for the pupils.  I took a picture of the bag full, to be sure everything that I wanted to carry fit inside, and which is why his eyes look so crooked.  At least, that's what I'm hoping!  I gave the bag to Erin last week, which is why I didn't photograph them together. Too bad!

Fun, fun project!  Now I'm experiencing a small bag-making addiction and making plans for two or three others.

It finally dawned on me that my blog looks awful.  I had stubbornly tried to change it to make it match my web site and it just didn't want to work.  So I'll be playing with it for a few days until I find something that's more satisfying.

I suppose I should work on my web site, too. 

Travel Safely: Create your own DIY first aid kit for the road | Gadling.com

I've been thinking about the last few trips I've been on in preparation for our next cruise. The bad thing about a cruise is you can't always find some essentials, like when I developed a canker sore. I could find deodorant and mouthwash in the souvenir shop on board, but nothing for mouth pain! I was recommended to the ship's doctor, and wound my way below decks to the clinic, just to discover it was unmanned, and gave up. I also neglected to bring a watch, and Brian didn't have one either, and neither one of us wanted to turn our phones on. There were watches for sale on the ship, but they were either REALLY expensive, or the most horrible over-sized impersonations of watches I'd ever seen. Cruises are lovely, but expect to feel a bit isolated from the comforts of society and CVS.

I've been eying 'first aid kits' when I come across them in the stores, and have been increasingly appalled at their lack of content. Several different sizes of (latex) bandaids and a single handiwipe? No good. I need to make my own, then! I've been mentally creating a list of things I want in my own kit, and then came across this useful blog. I'll need to adapt it to my own needs, of course.

First, non-latex bandages, and neosporin.
Possibly petroleum jelly -Vaseline's lip Therapy should work well in a travel kit. It's good for keeping germs out and bandages from sticking to wounds.
Benadryl for allergy attacks - ones you can take without needing water. ( I was going to try to get an epi-pen for my husband, but research and his own experience suggested that the epi-pen is just a temporary solution to get you to the hospital so they can give you benadryl. I HAVE accidentally peanutted him before, and his reaction is slow enough that I think it'd be sufficient to just have it always nearby in my purse.)
Pepto Bismol and Tums, because we have sensitive stomachs that like to complain.
Painkillers. I like buying the travel sizes because they come in awesome tiny tubes that are great for reusing.
Hand sanitizer.
Nail clippers/nail file, because a torn nail IS an emergency! And, well, handwipes. And Ambesol. And a watch. And a bandanna.

I think some of the things on the blog list are a good idea, but they're not particularly something I would want to carry with me on a regular basis. Bug spray and sunscreen are only useful when spending long periods of time outdoors in sunny, buggy areas. I'm thinking I should split these up into 'items I should keep in my purse', 'items to go in my suitcase', and 'items to take on an adventure.'
I also need to figure out (hopefully flat) storage because I like to keep a tiny purse, so I can stick it in my backpack for school. I don't want to get carried away, although I do admit I like being prepared. My favorite moment of preparedness was the last time Dad and I went to the movies together. He sighed and complained about the loudness of the speakers and wished he had earplugs. I whipped a pair out of my purse and handed them to him. he just goggled at me, but I felt awesome. (I then had to explain that I had them because the machinery in the editing room at work was so loud that it was driving me batty.)

Lots of ideas here, and I need to get started. I'm hoping it will involve eating the M&Ms sold in the tube packaging . . .

I think I've been planning this ever since we had the house painted.  I know how I wanted it to look, but it took well over a year to get it produced!



I found the fabric at JoAnn's, and fell in love.  I was even more excited to discover that it would work well with the color in the master bathroom.  It's a kind of greeny blue that I can't describe and can't photograph accurately, but it feels a bit beachy.  These photos are a bit too green, and my attempts at photo editing do not produce the proper results.  Just imagine more blue. 

Finding the fabric was the easy part.  Patterns produced nothing close to what I wanted.  I think I bought half a dozen 'this might do' pattens before I found what I was looking for in those do-it-yourself books.   I found that for 50 cents at the thrift shop.  Thank you, whoever decided to weed that from your sewing library!

I've never made full sized curtains.  I've mastered hanging them at this point, but always started out with well-researched draperies.  It's nearly impossible to find curtains in the stores that aren't plain rectangles.  Thank goodness for JCPenney and Burlington Coat Factory.  Making them was . . .  an experience.  Math was involved; actual patterns were not.  I may have memorized the instructions trying to understand them.  I'm pleased to say my math was accurate.  Cutting and sewing in straight lines?  Not so much, but fortunately this design was very forgiving in that respect. It was a bit ornate - if you were to turn it around, you would discover actual rigging with a dowel, plastic rings, and cording.  The instructions even made them adjustable - all's I would have to do is pull a cord once I set up the 1x2 spaced with screw eyes - but I settled for tying them off at the top. 

I will spend the next several days wandering in and refluffing them.  I am very grateful there's only one window.  My next project will be redoing the sheers.  This window is an odd shape - roughly 4 feet square - so I will have to do some trimming.

Everybody keeps reassuring me that it's OK to not totally decorate a room/house all at once.  Sometimes it takes time to find that right piece, and to just relax and keep my eyes open.

Lately I've been concentrating on the bedroom.  It's a big room, fairly bare, and yellow.  Very, very yellow.  Daffodil yellow, in fact.   I hate it.  Mostly what I'm trying to do is make it seem less yellow.  I tried to tone it down with browns, but it hasn't worked too well.  Now I'm trying whites and creams to soften it.  I was fortunate in finding a great deal at Burlington Coat Factory.  A soft creamy colored damask set of panels that have an attached valance.  It's got a pretty, unusual drape of sheer fabric attached, too.  Best part - only $20 a panel.  They replaced the dark maroon curtains I bought when Brian first got sick.  He didn't even HAVE curtains, and I figured he'd have a better time sleeping with room darkening/noise dampening panels.  They worked well until we painted the room and bought the fancy bedspread, when they took on a primary color aspect.

The bad part about the new curtains is that they weren't lined.  I had to get blackout liners, and again lucked out, this time at Wal-Mart.  Shockingly, they were on clearance at $10 a panel, and turned out to be eco friendly, which meant no smell!  Boy do they work.  It's actually kind of unnerving to have it THAT dark in the room.  The LED on the fire alarm is annoying now.  I did have a problem with light coming up between the top of the panels and the wall, but solved that with a strip of cardboard wedged between the curtain rod and the wall.

Having new curtains also meant new curtain rods.  I wanted something fancy, and while I couldn't match the flame finials on the bed and the monster chest-of-drawers, I did find an oval shaped finial that mimicked the reeding on the bedposts and details on the chest and nightstands.  I'm still working out how to use holdbacks.   They sort of push the curtains away from the wall, which doesn't look so good.

Since my attention has been devoted to that room, I started thinking about other areas and what I wanted to do.  The new curtains actually make the room look bigger, or at least that wall farther away.  I was afraid that the absence of dark color on that wall would make the chest of drawers loom even larger, but it seems ok.  I turned instead to the bookshelf that stood on the opposite wall from the chest.  It's not quite as tall, and actually looks kind of small and sad.  I thought a vase of flowers would help - something to look at while in the room, plus add height and balance.


With that in mind, I wandered into Michaels to see what they had pre-made.  (More luck - a big floral sale!)  I found one sample on display that I liked, except for the bright yellow tiger lilies in it.  I didn't want to add MORE yellow to the room, and frankly, I have an aversion to tiger lilies.  I know it's weird, it's just they have an awful smell, and it makes me dislike even the fake ones.

So I looked around, and started picking out stems to design my own arrangement.  I found some cream dogwood-like florals, and some big flower things - possibly gardenias? - that matched.  I added some green leaves to the bottom, and also some tall stemlike bits with berries hanging off.  I matched it all with a metal vase made to look like wood - matching the mahogany of the rest of the room. 


I've never really done much floral arranging . . . just a lackadaisical arrangement in my bathroom: pink and blue flowers shoved in a Snapple container.  I enjoyed the challenge of trying to figure out how it should look and how to solve what I felt was missing.  The gardenias made it cohesive, the berries added dark bits of interest.  The greenery was a bit too much, and I still need to mess with it a bit to get a better balance.  I couldn't figure out how to easily take pieces off without resorting to cutting them.

I'm very pleased overall.  Now I'm thinking about wall decorations, as there's nothing hanging on the walls at all.  That could take ages, so I made a side trip and am now working on curtains for the master bathroom.  I've had the fabric since last summer, I think.  It's just taken me all this time to figure out the instructions.  I'm used to one inch scale curtains, where I can just glue them on the wall.

I admit, I have lots of tools.  Not just screwdrivers and hammers and glue guns and my don't-call-me-girly yellow DeWalt drill, but little tools, scissors, and X-Acto knives, and tools that really aren't tools, but I use them to create things so they're now designated as tools. 

I have a hard time keeping them organized due to their widely varying shapes and sizes.  Now that I have a big work space, I wanted to reorganize what I had so I didn't have to keep opening various boxes.  Craft organizers didn't meet my needs.  My favorite easy-action Fiskar scissors were so top-heavy that I couldn't store them upright, and I had lots of little items that needed to be within easy reach.  I poked  around on Etsy and eBay, hoping for ideas, but only one thing stood out.  It was a fancy cardboard sewing box with lots of reach-in compartments.  It wasn't what I needed, but it DID remind me of the cardboard suitcase box my grandmother gave me for my birthday a few years ago.  It had done its service in storing ALL of the accouterments for my Archaeologist's Study when I moved, and was quietly sitting empty on top of the bookcase.  I did a little thinking, scrabbled through my stashes, and came up with something I hope will work.


The ruler, the knitting needle, and the dental tool are held on using clip-on earring backs.  The long razor, tweezers, nail file, and doll sewing needle are held on by a magnet.  The compartment with the sculpting tools and pencil was the lid to a small gift box.  The long, narrow pincushion is simply the cotton from that gift box rolled up tight and glued into some extra fabric.  The fancy box is what I use to store my X-Acto knives and blades - I try to keep those as safe as possible to avoid any more damage to myself than necessary.  There is plenty of room for my scissors, wire cutters, and anything else I might need in there.  The glue box has a false bottom to keep the bottle semi-upright.  I glued fancy ribbon to the sides to hold the lid up.  I'm fervently praying that the hot glue I used holds.  I hate that stuff.  If I lay the glue bottle down flat, the entire thing can be closed and moved about by the handle on the front, just out of the photo.  I haven't tested this too thoroughly yet, but I'm pretty sure that everything will stay in place - except maybe the doll needle.  It's metal, but doesn't like to stick to the magnet too well. 

So far, I'm pleased, but I haven't yet had time to do a project and test it out.  Of course there's plenty of other things I can think of to put in there, but I can't put in EVERYTHING.

And here's the finished doll! 

Inspiration Gown

She decided she wanted to be called Igraine.  Not after King Arthur's mother, but the time period is hopefully about right.

Her hair gave me some problems, and is still giving me some problems.  The doll had a hole cut out of the top of her head so you can use it for hanks of hair, but I couldn't get it to work right.  I stuffed it with paper and some extra hair to fill it up and just went on without it.  I still need to fix some overly loose strands, and take better pictures.
I think I need a tripod, as I just can't hold a camera steady.  Although, as Harvey would tell me, a monopod works perfectly well.  AKA, get a tall stick.  I have a fancy light box my Dad gave me a few years ago.  On my 'things to do' list is retaking photos of all of my dolls using it.

After ages of not doing any miniatures, I've finally been able to  finish one doll, Jane, and have started another.  Both dolls have been heads that I have owned for many, many years.  Jane I sculpted by hand, and the current project was the medieval doll kit I bought from Swallowhill Dolls, my first porcelain acquisition.  (sadly they seem to have gone out of business.)  I've tried for years to dress her but could never get the look I wanted. 

The process changes a little every time.  Yesterday I went feet first, and then made the body.  I got my inspiration from a gown on Arm Street, but the particular doll I had in mind had old fashioned heels on her porcelain feet.

My attempt to disguise this turned into a strange wedge shaped heel, while the shoes appear to be made from burlap.  The nice thing about a macro feature on the camera is that you can see a lot of detail.  The bad thing is you can see all the BAD details, too!    I can see now that I'm going to have to go after some glue.

Inspiration Dress from ArmStreet

I rarely take unfinished photos of my dolls, but here's one so you can get an idea of what's underneath the clothing.  Generally - a big mess.  Since these dolls rarely get their outfits changed, the whole point of the underneath is to support the layers of clothing.  Since the fabric isn't to scale, you have to make adjustments to the body to compensate for the thickness of the cloth in order for it to appear 'normal'.  It's why fashion dolls have tiny waists - imagine making a skirt out of carpet - the gathers would take up a lot more room!  Yes, I took a few shortcuts this time, and the bust on the doll is so narrow I'm having a hard time getting it to fit on the body.  In the end, though, none of this will be seen. 

I'm still debating over her name.  Mentally she's been Lady Hannah for years, but that doesn't seem to be a name that would go with her dress.  I'm considering Hannelore or Rosalind.  Maybe I should let her pick.

So over the holidays I decided to branch out into an area I feel more comfortable with - making cookies. 
Growing up, cookie making was a major part of the winter celebrations.  We'd go all out, turning the kitchen and dining room into a production site, playing Christmas carols, or watching related movies as we worked.  Mom had given me several recipes that I wanted to try and/or perfect. 
I was fortunate in that I had discovered that Bloom carried two vital products that would enable Brian to eat my cookies without getting sick.  The first was Enjoy Life's soy/peanut free chocolate chips.  The second was Earth Balance's soy free margarine.  While the debate is still out there regarding butter vs margarine in both health and proper cookie science, I felt a bit better knowing I was using margarine, particularly in regards to cholesterol count.  Along with Trader Joe's sunflower seed butter, I felt set.

First up, of course, was Mom's egg free chocolate chip cookies, from the cookbook Bakin' without Eggs.  These are the favorites of  most of the family.  Brian had requested that I make them smaller so he could pop them in his mouth all in one go. (having to bite into a cookie results in crumbs, and we can't risk losing out on eating any part of the cookie!)  Fortunately Enjoy Life's chips were mini, so they baked up nicely.

Secondly, I made Nestle Crunch Snowball cookies.  As I couldn't use actual Nestle crunch bars (Thanks a lot for your peanut compromised factories, Nestle!) I attempted to make my own.  I used chocolate chips and crisped rice (found some designed for candy making) and poured it into the bottom of a gladware container.  Unfortunately I got it too thick, and it was too difficult to break up into chunks, so I just started randomly dumping the various types of chocolate chips I had around the house into the mix.  They turned out rather well.  The second time I made them I discovered that Enjoy Life made their own crunch bar and used those.  Again, they were a bit too thick to easily break up, and the food processor managed to make a mix of big chunks and fine dust.  I'm going to invest in a chocolate bar shaped candy mold and see if I can't get this right one day. 
There is a LOT of butter/margarine in these cookies, and the dough comes out looking and feeling like stiff cake batter.  I have to stir by hand because it chokes the mixer!

Thirdly, I made the colonial sugar cookies, using the Christmas cutouts my grandmother had given me the year before.  I never got around to attempting icing, so they weren't all that wonderful, but looked festive!

A few days later I attempted to make Rice Krispie treats.  I remember only doing them once before and it being really difficult to stir, but I had no problems this time around.  I pressed in the chocolate chips on top and they came out great. 

Fourthly, I was determined to make Peanut Butter Blossoms.  I love them - I'd even eat them without the kiss on top!  I used the 'easy' eggless recipe from Betty Crocker and the sunflower seed butter.  They turned out great!  I'm so pleased that the sunflower butter works and acts the same way as peanut butter.  Brian was able to eat one, but didn't like it.  I got the rest! 

Finally, last night I tried Muddy Buddies, again with the sunflower seed butter.  I made a mistake and didn't buy enough Chex, so had to cut down the rest of the recipe.  I'm pretty certain I miscalculated, as the finished project had more of a peanut butter than a chocolate taste.  I guess I'll have to try again!

I am so very grateful to Earth Balance and Enjoy Life for caring enough to make these allergen friendly products.  It really made my holidays and gave me a little confidence boost in my kitchen attempts.

What are the first words you learn when you study a new language?  Yes, no, thank you, hello, sir, ma'am, numbers and colors, right?  And you're EXCITED to be able to use them.  I know how to say something without having to think hard! 

So here's my rant.  In movies and on TV, whenever you encounter a 'foreigner,'  he speaks perfect English, except for those basic words!  "Si, Senor, the ruffians absconded with the assets.  Will you pursue them?  Gracias!"  Characters pretending to be foreigners can get away with this, too. 

 I'm certainly not going to get into the old Native American movie jargon, where they appear to be unable to produce proper English grammar, in spite of hearing it regularly.

 I realize it's just a simple, quick method of establishing a national identity, but . . . but . . . it shouldn't work!

When we bought the Monster Bed, there were a few issues we encountered.

Issue 1:  Height.  It comes up to my waist.  I had problems getting in it, and was reluctant to step on the side rail for fear of weakening it.  Solved by tracking down bedsteps.  Most annoying part?  The influx of bedsteps available in stores/catalogs AFTER I stopped looking.  It's like they were just waiting for us to give up.

Issue 2:  Bedspread.  It seems that almost all bedspreads these days are designed for beds without bedposts or footboards. Our Monster Bed, of course, is a four poster.  This problem was pretty much ignored, and so the corners stick out kind of funny.  However, purchase of bedspread led to

Issue 3:  Bedskirt.  The bedspread came as a set and included two pillow shams and a bedskirt, which was naturally too short for the bed.  I liked it.  I wanted to keep it.  It matched.  So I sat and pondered how to make it work.

Buying a second one was apparently out of the question, as it only came in a set.  I couldn't put it underneath the box springs.

Eventually, staring at the way it currently hung on the bed, I realized that the side rail would block the view of the top of the skirt if it were at its proper location on the floor.  All's I had to do was add fabric to the TOP of the bedskirt rather than the bottom!

I took a sham with me to the fabric store and ended up buying a basic brown cotton fabric.  I had to cut off the bedskirt from the white cotton that goes between the mattress and the box springs, as it had been overlocked, and I didn't want the fabric to come ungathered.  Then, I took the white cotton and added about 10 inches of brown cotton to three sides.  This fabric covers the box spring entirely so you don't get any glimpses of white between the wooden side rail and the edge of the bedspread. 

I ran into one problem at this point.  The side rails are attached to each other by means of three metal bars which run crosswise under the bed - the box springs and mattress sit on top of these.  They interfered with the bedskirt hanging down.  To get around this, I decided to use velcro.  I cut three slits in the bedskirt where they would meet the bars, and attached velcro to the bedskirt and the brown cotton.  Then I attached the bedskirt by bringing it up under the side rail and the metal bars, while the white cotton and the brown cotton cover the box springs.  I am explaining this very carefully because of the blank looks/huh? comments I am getting when I try to explain it in person.  I may have to resort to drawings.

It took a while to figure out how to do this and then get the nerve to actually carry it out.  A side problem I ran into is that a king sized mattress is REALLY HEAVY.  I needed to check my measurements every once in a while, and of course I had to take it off to sew.   I had decided to sew the bedskirt to the brown cotton along the foot of the bed, and today I ended up doing that by hand because I wanted to check and be sure that everything fit properly before I attempted to permanently attach it.  I didn't feel like wrestling it on and off the bed again and really wanted to get the whole project done.  (I think it's been a year!) It's just as well, because I cannot sew in a straight line by machine. 

I think this might be my first full scale decorating project.  (I don't count hanging things.)  It's a little strange to walk in the bedroom and not be able to see under the bed.  I'm imagining all the stuff I can store under there now. There's so much space I could even rent it out.

Oh yes.  I found a site only two days ago that sold extended length bedskirts.  I had a backup plan.

So far, I'm grateful to say, my kitchen experiments have been edible.  I've even managed several cakes and cookies.  Brian and I have been sharing meals back and forth.  He's more interested in heavier meals with it getting colder out, and I'm not very good with big hunks of meat.  I did help to make beef stew in a preparatory sort of way, although the little shallot onions thought it would be funny to attack my eyeballs.  I had tears streaming down my face, and couldn't see a thing through the burning sensation on my eyeballs.  It was totally unexpected, as I'd never had this problem with regular onions!  

I had mastered chicken in a skillet, but wasn't too certain about other types of meats.  Brian had bought a pork tenderloin in anticipation of making it with spaetzle, bread and a veggie, but his rough work schedule this past week made him ask me to do it instead.  I admit to balking and whining.  I know nothing about pork or how it should look, and have never done more than wash a roasting pan, and had almost no time to research.  I squeezed it in after class and an unpleasant shopping trip at Wegmans (oh how I hate that store!  I could rant for quite a few paragraphs about it)  and then Giant to find bread without a peanut allergy warning on it. 

Brian's instructions had been 'throw it in the oven and cook it til it's done.'  This, as my mother well knows, is not a good thing to tell me.  Years ago, when I was a teen, she needed to run out around the time she wanted to put a casserole in the oven.  She had it all made up, left it on the counter and told me the same thing.  'All's you need to do is throw it in the oven, I'll be back before it's done.'  I obediently did so.

I'd like to point out that no mention had been made about removing the saran wrap covering the dish. 

I'm not sure if this event led to my OCD need for detailed instructions or if it was something that I've always required, but I have a need to do lots of research before I attempt to do something.  So upon coming home I rushed straight to google.  It turned out to be a bad idea.  There are lots of pork recipes out there, although a lot of them kept getting mixed up with pork loin recipes, which is a different thing.  Many of the recipes called for a marinade, which I didn't have time to do.  It also took me some time to find a web site that properly explained what a roasting pan was and how it worked.  With pictures, because I wasn't sure how it went together, or if what I had WAS a roasting pan and not something else. 

Eventually, hands still shaking from my Wegman's anxiety attack, I crept down to the kitchen to narrow my search options to cookbooks.  The only consensus I could reach was the oven temperature and the time, and worked myself up to a mental stage where I could, in fact, throw the pig in the oven and cook it til it was done.  Determined to make some sort of effort, I sprinkled it with minced onion & garlic and some thyme and stuck it in the V shaped rack in the roasting pan.  There was other metal bits of the pan that I couldn't figure out where they belonged, so I decided I was going to ignore them.  In went the tenderloin and I started the spaetzle on the stove, with easier directions.

Then, I ran into the thermometer dilemma.  I had forgotten to research how to use it.  Cookbook instructions just said stick it in the fattest part with no bone.  They neglected to say if I should remove the meat from the oven first.  So, again, I winged it.  Other instructions said to give it a slice and if juices ran clear it was ok.  It did, so eventually I stopped fussing.

In the end, Brian got home an hour later than normal so everything got reheated.  It turned out very tender, although a little heavy on the spices, but since I like garlic and onions, I wasn't too concerned.  He ate the rest, even taking some to work for lunch, and neither of us got sick, so I figure the meal was a success.

I hate doing things if I don't know if I can do a good job, and don't feel fully prepared.  I'm very detail oriented, even down to physically measuring out margins on custom stationery and labels.  I get very frustrated at recipes because they don't have the amount of detail that I require.  What kind of oil/butter/salt?  Can I substitute this?  How can I eyeball it, if I don't know what it's supposed to look like in the first place?  What does 'done' look/smell/feel like, anyway?  What kind of cooking utensil should I use?  A baking pan? a glass pan?  What's the difference between a baking pan and a cookie sheet?  Can I switch them?  I won't even get into nutrition here. 

In the end I suspect none of it actually matters and I'm some sort of paranoid control freak.  Maybe I should write a recipe book.  "Cooking Basics for the Confused and Suspicious."

I had a wild, crazy inspiration that won't go away. Isaiah Mustafa . . . on a pumpkin.  Sadly, I don't think I have the talent for it, but I did have fun doing this, at least. Following the very useful instructions on The Okuda Family website I was able to create a visual for my madness. 

A growing problem with my website is that it has been growing. For every new project page I add, I also have to add a link to a number of pages. On the plus side it means less clicking for my three visitors, but it's a lot of work on my part, trying to make sure that I've added the proper link to every page, particularly in the Miniatures section.

After conducting some research, I came to the conclusion that the ideal solution would be to have all of my links on one page, and have that page added, called, or whatever the term might be, to each web page. This way I could update in one place but have it show up everywhere. At first glance this seemed to not be doable in CSS, and I was afraid that I'd have to change the whole site over to PHP. Fortunately I found out about SSI, Server Side Includes. The only changes I had to make were to switch the .html files that would display the menu to .shtml files.

About halfway through the redesign it dawned on me that EVERY page in my website had a link to minis.html. I had a few seconds of horror and then decided that my quickest fix would be to do a redirect to minis.shtml. It seems to work. I'm very uncomfortable doing it that way, though. When I originally designed the site I thought for sure that those links at the top of the page would never change. Now I'm debating changing all of the files to .shtml and just having all the menus imported. Most likely I will just go through and edit the entire file list in my free time.

After figuring out that this was possible, I wanted to make one more change. One of the features I do like about this new blog is the menu on the right hand side, and being able to minimize portions. I thought it would be perfect for the miniatures menu. I wanted to split up the dolls by material, and of course I had the sections for links, houses, and random projects. Eventually I figured out the best way to do that - through javascript - and found myself a nice little pre-written script.

So yes, I totally blew the afternoon off, but accomplished a long desired goal. Go check it out. Try to break it. I don't mind. I need to know if things work, or don't work. I will fix the minis link above right after I publish.

Now we need to get our area to pass something like this.

I hate gyms. I feel like I'm on display, which is a guaranteed 'ok I'm leaving now' situation. I'm glared at by the older women, eye-rolled at by the permanent resident gym bunnies, ogled by the men, and peeping tommed in the showers by three year olds whose mothers don't bother to teach them any sort of locker room etiquette or to even stay by their side in public. I thought maybe going with someone else would help, but no luck. While I just want to turn on my music, shut my eyes and pretend I'm somewhere else, my husband wants to play games. Games that require me to look all around the room to come up with a thing for the other person to guess. Trust me, you don't want to look around a busy gym. Nasty, gross places and people. Ugh.

Having said all that, I readily admit that exercise is important and should be done. I also admit that I need to get back into it, especially since I discovered that all of my gym shorts are too tight. I'm not comfortable walking around the neighborhood (playing human Frogger is really not as fun as it sounds) so my concession is a small stairclimber. I would have preferred a treadmill, but they're really expensive and take up a lot of room. My stairclimber has a roughly 24 inch square footprint and can be shoved under the bed or in the closet if needed. It even came with arm poles for balance and arm exercise, but I could never get them tightened enough for proper resistance. It's a simple machine that even includes a timer, a step counter, and it calculates calories burned and other things. It took me a year to dig it out of the corner in which I first stuck it when I moved and place it upstairs for use, ideally 30 minutes a day, but realistically it hasn't happened yet. 30 minutes is about my limit, I get motion sickness on it and it takes a while to adjust!

Now that I am on it again, I'm back to my old problem - what to do with my brain in that half an hour. I get BORED. I tried television and just got motion sick within 10 minutes. I tried reading, which I could manage, but the books I NEED to read are my textbooks, and it's not a good combination. I finally turned back to my trusty iPod, and spend that half an hour trying to match songs to fit the beat of my feet.

That's right. I spend that half hour self DJing. I have a stairclimber playlist. I critique songs based on the speed of the beat, its consistency, and speed. I get excited when I hear new songs on the radio that I think would work well. And yes, I DO sing along and wave my arms about like a fool, because it's that kind of music.

I have certain requirements that need to be filled. If there's a long, slow intro or a slower interlude halfway through, it messes with the pace. The lyrics need to be upbeat and exciting. The song also needs to be fairly short - I don't have much of an attention span. Also, a few years ago I adjusted the length of the step and discovered that the songs I had been working out to no longer matched the beat! I think I managed to fix it and now I'm afraid to touch anything else on it.

I was rather disappointed that my swing music didn't work, but the beat is wrong. Dance music works well - Kesha in particular has been rocking my afternoons. Techno music sometimes works, but tends to be too long in length. I shouldn't have to touch my ipod during a workout. (I don't WANT to touch my iPod. The stupid shake-to-shuffle feature is a problem if I accidentally knock it.) I'm pondering posting this playlist in the hopes of getting even more suggestions.

The result of all this is that I'm actually enjoying myself. If I stay on the stairclimber just a few more minutes because I like the song, well, all the better! I'm getting more energy, and hopefully soon I'll be able to fit into those gym shorts again. I don't want to buy new ones.

I've never been much of a kitchen person. Sure, it was where the food was, but food never interested me all that much. I took a home ec course in middle school, and was generally around to help make desserts, but otherwise I had no interest in being in the kitchen.

Sometimes I wondered if it was just that the kitchen was not a place I felt welcome. Sure, my mom tried to encourage me to use it, but she turned out to be a kitchen tyrant. She hovered. She said, 'here, let me do that.' And eventually took over. I found it very frustrating, but I imagine she did, too. My mother had a system. It worked very well for her, and she didn't stray from her routine. Watching me trying to figure out step 1 when she would have been on steps 6 and 7 simultaneously must have been painful. I didn't end up learning very much.

While Brian was sick I realized just how helpless I was when it came to the kitchen. It was rather humiliating to not be able to cook for him when I came over to help him through chemo days. (not that he wanted to eat, but still!) After we got married, it was HIS kitchen and HIS routine that I had to learn. Yep, another kitchen tyrant, but this one had different food allergies and a primitive style to cooking. ("Measuring cup? I just eyeball it." "I'd be perfectly happy cooking over an open fire.")

The whole first year, I struggled with work, school, a ton of painful commuting, and trying to settle in to a bachelor's house and its subsequent renovations. I avoided the kitchen as much as possible. Brian cooked, or we ate out. I was too exhausted to think about it.

Now it's a year later, and I've left work to concentrate on getting out of school. I have more time and less commuting on my hands, and the insane whirlwind has slowed to a fresh breeze. I have hours alone at home so I can think without having hoverers nearby. I feel mentally ready to take on learning to cook, but it's taken me a long time to get to this point.

I have the feeling that when I'm done, I'll be yet another kitchen tyrant.

Yet another photo altering attempt.

1. Oh good, it's not as heavy as I expected.
2. So that's what new sewing machine smells like. It's not at all like that new computer smell.
3. Ooh, shiny. Ooh, accessories! Wow. Lots of accessories. Look at all the feet! and needles! and bobbins! And what the heck is this? And that? Oh boy, a seam ripper!
4. Instruction book! Nice instruction book. Impressive. In order, from diagrams to threading to troubleshooting. Well laid out. I am in awe. Someone, somewhere, knows how to write a manual!
5. OMG IT HAS A NEEDLE THREADER! That is so . . . so. . . cheating. But clever! Look how it works! I push this and that moves down and this tiny metal bit actually goes through the eye and then the thread goes this way and you let go . . .*pushes lever over and over*
6. *Tucks accessories neatly away in the storage compartment and tries the cover on for size*
7. OK, must attempt first project. I've got an apron pattern and some fabric for it. Can't get much easier than that, right? It's mostly straight lines!
8. Crap, I need to iron the fabric. *long interlude of dealing with iron, ironing board, and a stubborn crease*
9. Wow, pattern pieces are huge. I'm used to miniature clothing!
10. Whoever folds up patterns and puts them in the envelope is sadistic and twisted.
11. I wonder if you get a special prize for successfully returning a pattern back to its envelope?
12. Uhh. I need one of those cardboard thingies. This piece of foamboard will do for now.
13. Selvage edge. . . selvage edge . . . I KNOW this, I swear I do. But am I right?
14. Fabric Grain. That aligns with the selvage, right?
15. Why am I questioning all this? Go grab your iPod touch and look it up on the internet!
16. Rock on. I was right both times.
17. Wow. pins certainly expand when you open the box.
18. So . . . when it doesn't specify on the layout map which side is up, is it automatically right side up? Considering everything is pretty much symmetrical I don't think it matters in this case. I'll research next time.
19. *pin pin pin* Is it still flat? *smooth smooth smooth*
20. OK. Cutting time! These scissors are awkward.
21. I appear to be unable to cut in a straight line.
22. Yes, I KNOW I intentionally picked fabric with too big a pattern to be useful for miniatures. Stop trying to reuse the scraps for once!
23. OK, step 1! pocket!
24. Wait, must thread machine first.
25. No, must plug machine IN first.
26. Ok, we have power! Right? The light came on, but no other noise? Where's all the . . . oh, maybe it's just Mom's fancy machine that does all the extra self checks. Ok, it works, I'm good!
27. Is the bobbin winder going to stop on its own? Is it? Is it? That's looking pretty full . . . whew!
28. Yes, I cheated and used the needle threader, just for the novelty, I swear!
29. I need sharper thread snips.
30. DO NOT THROW THREAD ON THE FLOOR! That's Mom's bad habit, don't make it yours!
31. Am I channeling my mother? *eyes the floor warily for pins*
32. OK, next step, make the pocket. Edge stitch? Edge stich? *grabs iPod* see topstitching. Oooh. ok.
33. Crap, I have to iron AGAIN? Maybe I'll finish this tomorrow.
34. *goes to bed*

This bears investigating.

A few years ago, Brian, in a fit of creativity, built a storage ottoman out of plywood. He wanted it padded and covered in navy blue canvas, with a big padded lid. We accomplished both, eventually, but a slight miscalculation led to the bottom of the ottoman slightly wider all around than the lid. (he forgot to allow for padding in the dimensions between the lid and the box.) Another miscalculation in the thickness of the foam padding for the lid meant that it was too tall to comfortably use when sitting on the sofa. We ended up buying a leather ottoman for that spot, and the poor blue ottoman was banished to odd corners of the house.

I felt bad. I WANTED to make it work and look good, so I sat and thought about how I could go about fixing it without taking the thing apart. I finally came up with a cover, somewhat like a tablecloth, out of a heavy enough fabric that it would fall evenly over the lid to the edges of the box. Coming up with a proper look took a little longer, but I decided to make it look like a map, and rim the edges with a ropelike trim. I set about looking for the right kind of fabric. The closest I could find was almost perfect, except for the fact that it was emblazoned with words like "Tommy Bahama" and "Couch Potato Bay" and suchlike. So I turned to the next best thing and bought plain tannish canvas fabric. I'll draw my OWN map on it.

Mom and I got the cover made, and it works! The ottoman looks, well, normal. I just need to decorate it now. Fun new creative project!



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Dandyism.net

I'm not sure what to make of this site, but what an awesome resource!

I've always struggled with learning languages. Sure, I can count to ten in french and spanish, and say hello and goodbye and thank you and other basics, but my brain freezes after that. I am in awe of polyglots like my husband, who randomly interjects foreign words into his sentences and doesn't even realize it. I laughed when my french teacher expressed surprise when I said I struggled with language. School language courses are easy. Show up, pay attention, do the work, and if you get confused, do a web search for exercises in the topic and practice. Fake the rest. I managed to get through my french oral presentation by creating a complicated powerpoint presentation that was so detailed that it was all the teacher could talk about for the next ten minutes. (I'm sure she never noticed I was shaking, stuttering, and reading off the cards because she was watching my hot air balloon graphic bouncing around the screen.)

I've completed the language requirements for my program, and feel disappointed. I haven't learned enough! Things haven't sunk in. I'm missing bits. I am not the least bit confident of being able to carry out a conversation in french. (Granted, it's possible this is entirely due to my inability to carry out a conversation in english.) It all went by so fast. I would have preferred more time to work it out and try to get that last bit to click.

I don't have to even worry about it any more. It bothers me. I took these courses and I didn't learn how to speak french! I acknowledge that there was always more I could have done. There's more I could still do, I suppose. X, Y, or even Z would make it easier, I just know it. Ah, well. I did the best I could, given the situation.

Drift� Ground Cover Roses — The Next Big Thing for Small Gardens

These are the roses we planted in our front yard. They're supposed to be REALLY hardy. We'll have to see if we can kill them.

HAH! Found the lyrics again, finally. Posting them here so I don't lose them again.

Lyrics to La Ziguezon (AKA Hero):
M'en va t'à la fontaine
Pour y pêcher du poisson
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
La fontaine est profonde
Je m'suis coulé au fond
La ziguezon zin zon

Refrain
Fille en haut, fille en bas
Fille, fille, fille, femme
Femme, femme, femme aussi!
Pis la bottine - tine - tine
Pis le rigolet ha! ha!
| Son p'tit porte-clé tout rouillé, tout rouillé
| Son p'tit porte-clé tout rouillé gaiement (bis)

La fontaine est profonde
Je m'suis coulé au fond
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Par icitte il y passe
Trois cavaliers barons
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Par icitte il y passe
Trois cavaliers barons
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Que m'donneriez-vous belle
Si j'vous tirais du fond?
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Que m'donneriez-vous belle
Si j'vous tirais du fond?
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Tirez, tirez dit-elle
Après ça nous verrons
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Tirez, tirez dit-elle
Après ça nous verrons
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Quand la belle fut à terre
Se sauve à la maison
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Quand la belle fut à terre
Se sauve à la maison
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
S'assoit à la fenêtre
Compose une chanson
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

S'assoit à la fenêtre
Compose une chanson
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Mon petit coeur en gage
N'est pas pour un baron
La Ziguezon zin zon

Refrain

Mon petit coeur en gage
N'est pas pour un baron
La Ziguezon zin zon (bis)
Mais pour un homme de guerre
Qui a du pouel' au menton
La Ziguezon zin zon

I never expected to be married, so wedding gowns were never anything I paid attention to. All I knew was that I wanted my mother to make it, and it would probably have to be white and long. When the time came, I found myself doing a mad research rush on wedding dresses in order to figure out what I wanted. SO many gowns. So many websites. SO many ugly dresses. So few patterns.

In the end, we took my favorite, the Grace Kelly style gown by Maggie Sottero, found a similar pattern, and revamped it to our liking. Away went the odd sleeves and the awful victorian corset lacing, to eventually be replaced with translucent bell sleeves and rosettes. I found a rose embossed white fabric and borrowed a beautiful antique brooch. I left out the train so I would be able to dance with no problems. The bouquet was a rather large wrist corsage around my dedication bible.

A Paper Craft Castle On the Ocean � Tokyobling’s Blog

Reminiscent of TIM. Prepare to waste your afternoon!

Happy birthday to me. I'm exhausted.

For my birthday this year, I celebrated by considering alternate modes of transportation. This was not my original plan but Brian's, who kept me in the dark til the last possible second.

We first drove out to Edinburg, where I had a blast cruising at high speeds with no stoplights and light traffic bordering down to minimal traffic. It was a wrench coming back, let me tell you! At one point we passed a big tank being hauled on a trailer. Yes, a tank. The destructive kind Made up in desert camo, as far as I know. Alas, I didn't get to drive it. Not even sure if it was real, but it was definitely tanklike in appearance. We checked in to a little B&B that had a darling little cupola on top - or belvedere, as the owner called it. The stairs to it were in the bathroom in the hall - I would have gone back up to take pictures but I was afraid someone would come in to use it while I was up there!

Right after that we proceeded to the Wal-Mart in Woodstock, where we waited until someone arrived and I found out what my present was - a hot air balloon ride! (check out my picasa album for pictures.) Me and my big mouth had, a few months back, facetiously told Brian that I wanted a hot air balloon ride for my birthday. He takes me seriously . . .

Being up in a hot air balloon is the most beautiful and frightening thing I've experienced. Getting it up and getting it down is scary, but once up there . . . wow. So many senses at work! The heat from the gas keeps your head warm. The basket is quite stable so long as everybody shifts properly when moving from one side to another. There's plenty of room for 3 people, I'd have been ok with four, but more than that, too tight a squeeze for me! There were no noises and no smells (my sinuses felt pretty good up there!) but we could hear the dogs barking at us as we passed, and cows mooing in the fields below. Some of them actually noticed we were up there and moved about uncomfortably. (I've never thought about cows looking at the sky . . . ) And the view . . . oh, the view! The valley lay spread below like an extremely clear google map. We could see for miles, yet still be able to discern sheep and goats and dogs. Too bad we couldn't read the street signs! We got to watch the sun set behind the mountains, and then when the balloonist took us higher, we got to watch the sun set again. My hands and legs were shaking so bad that I finally handed the camera over to Brian, but it looks like my anti-shake button took care of that problem - pretty much all of my pictures came out.
See the map below to see what area we were in!
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The next day we ended up considering a second form of transportation that has long been neglected. We went horseback riding at Fort Valley. Having thoroughly enjoyed Biltmore's horse tour, we felt we were ready for a four hour mountain guided trail. We're still trying to decide if we overreached. Four hours on a horse is a very long time. Certain body parts are STILL complaining. And the trail! Up the mountain and back down. Like the rest of the valley, rocks all over the place. Goats would have had a better time of it. I'd just like to state that going down a steep hill covered with loose rocks on the back of a horse is extremely unpleasant, and closing your eyes doesn't help. And I don't think my horse liked me. He kept walking under low hanging branches and near trees. The guide had told us to let the horse pick their own path on the rough patches (most of the trail for that matter) but the horse and I had differing opinions about what was the easiest way to get down. Towards the end he also kept turning his head and trying to bite my ankle - not sure if I was tickling him or if he was tired of me. (I was certainly tired of him! He was a very bouncy horse - I was suffering from motion sickness when we stopped for lunch!) We kept having to stop and let people on ATVs or dirtbikes go by. They were very courteous and went by slowly, and for the most part the horses took no notice of the machines.

As I got back in my car, wincing, I couldn't help but appreciate how smooth it rode and how well it handled. It stopped and started on my power alone and didn't try to eat tree leaves or take a side route without my permission. (granted, this was before I noticed that my dials were out of whack again - the gas gauge was pointing to places that didn't exist! I think there's a problem with leaving things charging in the cigarette lighter when I turn the car off.) I could park almost anywhere without worrying about power lines and travel without being concerned about darkness.

It was a perfect weekend - little wind, no haze, nice temperatures . . . ideal for a trip to the mountains. We found a tea house in Edinburg and had an enjoyable lunch, and a nice supper at an italian restaurant. After we got back we treated ourselves to DQ - a perfect ending to a fantastic weekend.

I'm not sure which is cooler, the artistic talent and creativity of Kratzer, or the 3D image that rotates around the room.

I'd totally be drawing on my walls if I could just figure out WHAT to draw on them . . .

Hey, it beats climbing them.

I want this. I wish I had the room for it.

And here's me thinking our family rabbit cake was cheesy . . . .

Movie Review: Hellboy 2 - The Golden Army

Worthy, beautiful, interesting bad guys pitted against our misfit heroes. The resolution was far too quick and simple. Liz's angst continued. Abe demonstrated what happens when a brain falls in love and does stupid things. Laughed my head off at the Barry Manilow scene and the fight scene in the locker room.

This was a no-brainer movie, but I do like Hellboy himself. Easy going, likes a good laugh, but always ready to kick some ass. The odds against him never deter him. Great character.

Movie Review: Batman - Dark Knight

Creepy and depressing.
I hate downer movies, because they send me plunging down into gloomy blahs, and it takes a while to recover. While this movie was creepy gloom, it was SUPPOSED to be creepy gloom, so they hit their mark beautifully. Heath Ledger's final role was a masterpiece of insanity. I was highly impressed and repulsed by the character, and by myself, as my thoughts of what I would do if I wanted to cause extreme mayhem were along similar lines of what he was actually doing. Not that I ever think about plotting things like that, just a 'what's the worst thing terrorists could do?' kind of thought.
There are a few amusing moments to provide audience relief from the gloom. My favorite line of the movie . . . a Wayne accountant has discovered discrepancies in the accounts, and found out that Fox (Morgan Freeman) has been designing the batmobile and other items. The accountant approaches Fox and states that he knows who Batman is and wants 10 million a year to keep quiet about it. Freeman stares at him in that wonderful way of his and quietly says: "Let me get this straight. You think that your employer, one of the richest men in the world, is spending his nights running around the city beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands? And your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck."

I was kind of disappointed in the messiah-like role they gave Batman. (What's up with the superhero-in-a-negative-light movies lately?) He is being persecuted and hunted for his crime-fighting deeds, even taking the blame for some things that he didn't do just to save the reputation of another. Accepting punishment for the sins of Gotham . . . what happened to plain old crime-fighting?

The acting is incredible and the special effects breathtaking. Just don't go see it if you're feeling the teensiest bit blue, because it's not meant to be a cheerful film.

Because I am a geek.

Um. Live action hamster video game. It can't be explained. Just watch.

You've got to admit it's a unique way to remember your journeys . . . and a great way to bond with the natives!

Movie Review: Hancock

Will Smith is awesome. This movie . . . wasn't. It was more of a biography with some bits exaggerated more than others. It's not your typical superhero movie, because for most of the film Hancock is the anti-hero. There's no villain. Or rather, they had a hint of a villain, but compared to the hero he was just a blip on the screen, a nothing. There was NO POINT to him. I felt as if a large part of the story was being left out, and perhaps it was, considering the short length of the film.

There were good points. The character itself was fairly well developed. While he had all the super qualities, bulletproof, able to leap tall buildings, etc . . . he also had his unusual form of kryptonite that weakened him and made him mortal. The storyline surrounding him might have made a good tv series in a Highlander sort of way.

Bits were missing, that's all I can say. If they weren't there at all, then they should have been developed. But hey, it's Will Smith!

Ian's Shoelace Site

Because I am a geek. And I use the Straight(Bar) lacing method for my shoes.

Movie Review: Wall-e

Pixar does it again! They have the amazing ability to tell a story with minimal dialog. The captain of the Axiom spoke the most, but I noticed they managed to sneak John Ratzenberger into the film as a minor character. Lots of good details. Strong messages about taking care of the planet, and not letting yourself become a fat useless slug constantly being fed useless information and liquid diets. (and Elaine should spend less time on the Internet!) Yes, cockroaches DO survive everything, and it's ALWAYS a good idea to have a manual override button for the autopilot.

Great, positive film.

Movie Review: Wanted

Wanted: Angelina Jolie, tattooed, with a gun. Lots of guns, in fact. And not so much attitude as smirky mystery. Y'know, standard Angelina. Clothing optional. Blood, gore, and CGI package included. Oh, and give her a nerd to play with. So's movie goers can pretend they're him.

Um, were there other actors in this movie? Yeah. Wesley Gibson was played by the same actor who played Mr. Tumnus in the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. (Talk about a wide range of roles!) And the plot . . . the plot? Things were left out. But there were guns. And explosions. And rats.

Really, we all know we go to see Angelina beat people up.

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda

The typical story of a bumbling nobody becoming a hero. Very well done, the plot simple but sincere.

Excellent casting. I was only vaguely aware of who the voices were, but when I saw the credits at the end I kept nodding. Jackie Chan as a monkey? I can totally see that. Angelina Jolie as a tigress? Definitely. Lucy Liu a snake? Oh yeah. Master Shifu was a red panda, although I had to find that out for certain on Wikipedia. Fortunately I had recently seen pictures of red pandas so I was fairly certain while watching the film.

Awesome graphics. There's a fight scene on a bridge, fully animated, that just would be impossible to do in a live action film, no matter how many wires you used.

So go and enjoy. Definitely a fun no-brainer. No toilet humor, just a bit of slapstick. Might be a little scary at times for little little kids (honestly, why take a 3 year old to the movies anyway? They're not going to remember!) This one's going on my wish list.

Impressive work by David Malcolm Rose!

"Photorealistic scale models." Gotta remember that one.

Indiana Jones Addendum

I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark last night, and had a realization. They're action films with an archaeological veneer, not archaeological films with some action. (you're thinking, well duh! aren't you?)

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a simple film with a simple plot. Lots of fights and a few surreal special effects. Very little brain power is involved. Indy already knows about the Ark's history, the staff of Ra, Tanis, and the Well of Souls. He quickly finds someone to translate the headpiece. The second half of the movie is simple chases and fights and a dramatic ending involving why you shouldn't open the Ark.

The Temple of Doom was a dark action film, involving a simple search for a sacred stone and kidnapped children. (Frankly, he didn't need to be intelligent or an archaeologist to do either!)

The Last Crusade gets much more interesting and involved. There are lots of puzzles to solve. Who are these men, why are they trying to kill Indy? Where's Dr. Jones, Sr? What do the puzzles mean to get safely to the grail, and which is the grail? It's not solely an action film.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull reverts back to being an action film. There are a few riddles left behind by mad Oxley, and a few physical puzzles to solve onsite (mostly door openers). The mad pace and the bizarre elements of the film keep you on your toes the entire movie, but it just doesn't have that intellectual edge The Last Crusade had.

Having stated the obvious, I realize I prefer movies like National Treasure, with their intricate puzzles and clues and riddles. The Last Crusade will still remain my favorite Indiana Jones film.

I am a geek. I can't help it if I like brainy men who can think their way out of problems and outwit their enemies.

And then easily revert to "Plan B: kick ass" if they have to.

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I somehow didn't think that they could do it and have it be as good as the others, but I was proven wrong. An excellent, fun film. Very 1950's, with hints of the cold war, McCarthyism, Roswell, and greasers. Suitable crypt creepiness. Capoeira style fighting. Other movies crept in - Stargate, Star Wars, Raiders, even a little National Treasure. (I about laughed my head off when Ford said "I have a bad feeling about this.") I was only disappointed that Short Round didn't make a cameo appearance. Classic snakes, bugs, whips, Ark reference, and a fantastic car chase scene. Two, actually!

Go see it. This is a definite purchase for me!

Movie Review: Prince Caspian

Love love love the costumes. and the scenery. And architecture. And Aslan's mane. I want to bury my face in that mane. Music was good too. It's the reason I go to these movies. The costumes and Aslan's incredible CGI-ness. I really don't like the Narnia stories. Yes, I know they're supposed to be very moral, and I do admire the strong female roles, but it just seems so . . . unfair. Having to grow up twice is horrifying to me. Being forbidden from ever visiting Narnia again just because you learned everything you were supposed to from it is WRONG. I protest. But the movies are well done.

This poor 14 year old boy is suffering exactly what happened to my grandfather (except his wasn't caused by a baseball.) I wish the family the best, they're in for some rough times.

Tylenol Cold Medicine.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee for the way you make my head
stop feeling like it's about to explode,
filling the surrounding area with the mucus
that was constantly pouring from my nose.

I love thee for the amusing way you advertise
that you can be a cough expectorant and suppressant
at the same time.

I love thee for your timely appearance
after two days of extreme misery.
Your foe, Sudafed, merely mocked me
and did nothing to prevent
the deep coughing and constant running
of my nose. The Kleenex company
must be in league with them.

I love thee for fighting off my fever
and my aches and pains, and at the same time
turning off the faucet that I couldn't reach.
While I know I am still ill, I can now function
and no longer have to force myself to breathe.

And while you have earned my loyalty
for all future (curse them!) colds, I must decry
your small box with only 12 doses
and your ability to stop up my ears so badly
that I can't help but think I've shifted altitude.

Thank you for the rest, Dear Tylenol Cold. You
came to my rescue when I needed you most. I shall
sleep well tonight.

Loved the piano solo in The Corpse Bride, but was always extremely irritated by the lack of ending. Apparently I'm not the only one - check out this guy's rendition. Beautifully done!

More steampunk stuff. I need to go back and explore more later.

Oak Island Treasure - home of the Oak Island Money Pit mystery - Home

Looks like they're going to start digging again in the near future. I find it fascinating - hope they're able to solve the mystery!

I have been incredibly slow in updating the miniatures section of my web site. The problem is mainly that I want all new pictures of my dolls, using a similar 'professional' background.

First, I have to learn how to do that. This is time consuming, because I seem to want to do it the hard way - try various things until I get a result I like.

Second, I have to drag all my dolls out and set them up. This has proven difficult. While I hate to admit it, I have never entirely finished a doll - with the exception of Pearl, and even then, I can think of accessories I'd like to add to her. Parts aren't glued on, fabric hasn't been draped and set, etc. Plus, over time, the dolls get dusty, bits come unglued, I've discovered my holeless beads are turning colors, hair comes off, things unravel. I have to fix these things, or at least position the doll so they're not noticeable. So, yes, it's taking me some time. I'm starting with the dolls with the worst pictures. Here's before and after shots of Matilde:





Matilde has always been awkward - there's very few pretty patterns for chubby dolls, so I had to improvise as best I could. I also had to do some leg reinforcing because she was so top-heavy. Finally, for some bizarre reason, her left eye tends to reflect the light back - it's worse than red-eye! You can see it in the first picture. It took me quite a bit of angling with the doll and the light to get rid of that problem.

It's about time! I'll have to check it out and see how it differs from my current Photoshop version. Free Web version of Photoshop launches - Yahoo! News

someecards.com | ecards for when you care enough to hit send | home

Definitely not your average smarmy, flash filled e-cards. Prepare to laugh or be offended.

(I fixed my blogThis! feature!)

Thought I'd abandoned this, did you? Sort of did, I guess. I've been busy. Sorry.

Because it doesn't seem likely that I'll be able to do lots of updates, I figured I should just do one major update so that I can leave it for ages and not worry about rushing to update the sidebar girl. It was fun while it lasted, though!

This is your sneak peak at the latest design. It's by Andrew Strojny, called Mint Chocolate Chip. A free download! The code is as neat and clean as the design, unlike my old code. Sadly, it means I get to do what I was trying to avoid doing in the first place - go through and update every. single. page. with the new CSS stuff. *sigh* It also means I'll be cleaning up some of my pages and adding new stuff. At least I hope that's what it means. Way to get myself started!

I was planning on holding out and updating all the pages at once, but you know me. I get impatient to see what it looks like and start doing them live, one at a time. So bear with me! Soon it will be neat and sparkly.