kiss me goodbye, Oh Nein.

Thursday, December 31, 2009 Jonette 0 Comments



2009 has had its ups and its downs. It's been a test of courage, endurance, and independence. Through all the trouble, there was loveliness and cheer in heaping portions, and for that I say the year has been good to everyone.

To all of us.

Here's to 2009 and 2010. To all the grace and beauty that sends the planets spinning and keeps us breathing and loving. To Life. 

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Thelma moves in.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 Jonette 8 Comments

December 22nd saw me up at 8am with merely two hours of sleep. The night before that, my workmates and I had a spledifurous chocolate fondue party (to christen the fondue set my mum had sent) which would have not been possible without a little help from my friends.;)

So. I was dazed, hungry, and I looked a mess. Life was grand, and my dad was pulling up the drive-thru lane in his rickety, faithful dusty-blue Toyota.


This is my dad, by the way.

We were on a trip to Aduana to buy a new sewing machine, and perhaps ask the shopkeepers if Bernina still had a fighting chance. the trip was peppered with the kind of talk I missed sinking into, much like a comfy, familiar, and impossibly humongous bean bag. we talked about how mp3 players changed the way we treat information and how deeply we listen nowadays. Plans the day I lay my hands on my first credit card (if it's to be). The theory of obsolescence.

Don't you find it odd how sometimes, some events turn into blurs when you try to recall certain details, but you remember the feelings that came with it with vivid clarity? I find it comfortingly strange.

We soon got to Aduana, and we were greeted by a man who ran the shop -- I was thankful he seemed to recognize my face, and thus we were saved the embarrassment of introductions on a fuzzy memory. I asked them if they could recommend any good sewing machines within my budget, and his lady partner immediately set to work pulling out all the newer models she thought I might take interest in. My dad pulled up a monobloc stool with his back to another machine in the midst of repairs, naked with all its levers and inner workings exposed and humming with life. He sat and watched the demos silent, with a quiet sense of fascination around him. At least, I could see it in his eyes.

It seems the newer models sent in were operated via pulling up a lever switch to get it going and pulling it down to stop the needle's mechanism. Comparing with a foot pedal switch, I think the foot pedal would serve my sewing style better. My two pudgy hands can only do so much in an instant, after all.

My father spotted a number of interesting models in the shop, ones I might've never noticed had he not pointed them out. One hefty Janome model went for the price of P5,500. It boasted a turn-about feature: average, no-frills sewing machine in front, and two-thread edger at the back. All you needed to do was swing it around to start edging. However, it seemed the demo lady had a difficult time operating, and I surmised so would I with twice the difficulty. So, not this model.

Soon, my dad told me he'd meander around the area to see what else Aduana offered. No sooner had he left, I saw a Brother Pacesetter and fell irrevocably in love.

My dad and I soon packed the beauty into the car, extra freebie sewing feet, bobbins and screwdriver jangling in one of the valise-like container's pockets.  He took me to lunch at the Magnolia factory's Cremerie along aurora Boulevard, the same place where I'd been fascinated by barquillos as a child. He taught me about why artists have been griping over the implications of Postmodernism over spicy fish and and rice.

We even had to pull over to some strange corporate building for an emergency loo break. Haha, that was some adventure. :D

I do relish trips like these.

and here she is, the beauty from the outside in.



Tweed takes advantage of the quilted interiors of the valise every chance he gets.


the extension sewing surface is held in place to the valise door with a swivel.




Lights on.




21 lovely stitches. even the functional ones (extreme right) are pretty.
Stitches 1 to 10 are decorative, as you may have guessed, but man -- fish and pups and flowers on the hem. It was just too cute to resist.


Despite the lady saying it was assembled circa 1994, the entire look -- font, design, color, even the dial selector -- screams 1950's at me. I love it. 



My sewing machine can do this.



And this. God, I love it. I love my dad, and I love my sewing machine. 

We also relayed to the shop keeper about Bernina's plight, and the concerned look on the man's face a he listened to the horrid details was somehow reassuring for me. He said the botchy pedal reaction might be the result of a ground in the wire, among other possible mishaps with the machine's speed, but all I really needed to do was bring the sewing machine back to the shop and they'd fix it right as rain. Music to my ears.


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All my love in the mail

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 Jonette 2 Comments

And just what is this sweetheart doing?



Modelling a hat I made for her, of course!



Dear Jennie~♥ commissioned a slouchy hat in either cream or pink. I found some luscious Lion Brand CottonEase in Almond, which really looks and feels just as yummy as its given name.

I'm really glad she got it late afternoon on Christmas Eve. She told me on SMS that she loved it, and that she'd curl her hair and wear it to Noche Buena. My heart did little happy somersaults on that one. :)

A few more action shots taken before shipment to the lovely lady:

















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see you soon, hopefully sooner

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Jonette 0 Comments

Since I've taken a leave for the holidays, I'll be on hiatus for the remaining weeks of the year. Unless, of course, by some miracle, my internet provider decides to darken my doorstep and set me aright once again for internet. Paint job be damned (for now), I need to keep in touch for the holidays!

Nonetheless, should worse come to worse, I wish you all Happy Holidays and a bright New Year. Here's to the Us we've turned into this year, and the Us that we will become. Quite honestly, I can't wait to see what's next in store for us. :) Cheers!

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I'm all broke over you, Bernina.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 Jonette 2 Comments

But first, on local news: Arnis is now officially the national sport of the Philippines! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah! This is a glorious, glorious day for Philippine martial artists and sportsmen everywhere. :)

A-hem. Now then.

I think I'm going to buy a new sewing machine come next week.

To be honest, I'm not particularly happy about it.

Let me explain.

Ondoy's waters revealed my sewing machine, muddied inside out, laying flat on its side like a fish gulping for air. I could only do so much cleaning it and hauling it up to safer ground, wishing rather fearfully that it still stood a chance for repairs.




A week after, my aunts mentioned that they had spotted a traveling sewing machine repairman doing the rounds in our area for their neighbor seamstress, and thought perhaps it would do my Bernina some good to have her looked at. Perhaps it also works for them, since I had lent them the sewing machine they were using right now, and that piece needed some heavy cleaning too. So, pretty much, I hauled my baby to my aunts' home, entrusted a thousand pesos to them should there be anything in need of buying or paying, and turned my attentions back to other more urgent tasks at hand.

Days passed. weeks passed. A month passed. I asked my aunts about how the sewing machine was, if it was making any progress or showing any signs of life. Oh, it's actually working quite well now, they said. It does sew, but the repairman would need to check the motor. you wouldn't happen to have the transformer for this engine now, would you?

With the original transformer gone, that's where most of my P1k went to.

Two weeks ago, however, saw James and I back in my aunts' home to pick up the supposedly-now-repaired sewing machine with Mang Julio waiting for us at our gates. Quite frankly? I did not like what I saw.




The Bernina had two sewing speeds: normal, and hyper-speed. After the repairman had gone through it, Hyper-speed was now Slow, and Normal speed was now Mega-slow.

The foot pedal that had once been so sensitive now needed a lot of coaxing and foot-paddling to even convince the needle to move up. And down. At a consistent pace. Which was most of the time nonexistent.

The same thing went for my bobbin spool winder -- it now staunchly refused to wind thread, and had to be fed and watched like some spoiled child.

The pastiches? Oh gods. The stitches have now become mangled ghosts of their former selves, and what's worse, the thread tension has now gone catatonic. Its springs have come undone, and it simple refuses to show any signs of tightness recognition.

And all because, according to my aunts, the repairman refused to open her up because he said "he might ruin her".

Clearly, I had never felt more duped or cheated in my adult life.

There went the money, and there, quite heartbreakingly, went my sewing machine. It's painful to see my best soldier all huddled up under the corner of the new computer counter, huddled under her cover.

Quite honestly, I don't know what else can be done for her. I'd want to see her alive and working again, true, but I fear that if the cost of r having her repaired will outstrip the cost of a new one, then I'm afraid practicality must win over.

A part of me refuses to give up on her, though, and give up I shall not. I refuse to let go of her, at least until I've made sure she hums with life again, and will be of good use to either me again or, perhaps better yet, someone else who may be in greater need of her.




I love you, Bernina. I wish I knew how to let go of you. 

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Video: Vendr.TV

Friday, December 11, 2009 Jonette 0 Comments

I love my friends. I really, really do. They make me smile, laugh, cry, and make the trip on this mortal coil a lot more awesome than usual.

They also send me great videos, like the one below, that make me go wide-eyed, rapt, and tight-lipped just to keep me from squealing in glee.

Food, good food in particular -- one of the best things we were put on this planet to enjoy. among other things, of course. And Food. don't forget food.

This video is brought to us by fellow Stumbler Mon Suba, HungryNation, and the letter W. For Wheeee! 





That cookie tub looked really yummy. Yessiiirree.

** Hey! If you enjoyed this video, you may want to check out their other gastronomic street-side adventures over at their channel. Or better yet, subscribe!

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Pundar 6: The computer table-shelf

Thursday, December 10, 2009 Jonette 2 Comments

... which, I wonder, should be renamed The Mini-bar/ Cafetia Counter instead.



Junior marking out where the nails and the big boards go on the wall. Be vewy, vewy, quiet.




Behold, a miracle!




 The non-shiny version of the counter. see that slot on the table? That's where the stair support will fit in.




 And here's Tweed sitting quite prettily in the hamper. I reckon he exchanged the buzz and racket downstairs for the warm sun-glow and the cushion-y comfort of human clothing. Smart cat.



Fitting the table...



And it's done! Mang Julio cut out a hole on the table for all the computer cables and wires to fit through. Clever, clever.



Here's the opposite end of the table. The connection of the second step and the table will undoubtedly be of creative use to our cat. At some point, I thought, "hey! I could probably fit my sewing machine here and whirr away while James is on the PC!", then realized that I'd forgotten to ask Mang Julio to cut out another hole for that idea too. Uh-oh.

On another occasion, I wondered -- what if I had the sides of the knick-knack display shelves ripped off? Wouldn't that achieve the feeling of more space? (I also realized this would give the cat more avenues for exploration, turning it into embedded staircase of sorts.) I put the idea away for another event when we found we'd have more time and money on our hands. The very next day, my mother says, "anak, why don't you tear down the whole display shelve piece and extend the table and make it end-to-end? Wouldn't that be better?"

Um.

I'm also giving a lot of thought to the unused space below the counter. I'd like to make good use of that one day. All that space would be good for CD carry-cases, maybe even a scanner or a printer. We could also have comfy padded stools that double-served as a stash-away box for other items, the kind that'd fit right well under the counter. Think of the possibilities!

I must say, I also have some ambitious plans for that wall. Do we make it an accent wall in brown, with lights about it? with display shelves for books or photos or pictures? What about placing my mother's bronze Natraj somewhere to oversee the kitchen and dining area across him? Or better yet... why not a forged Kris displayed above the PC for protection, and to be honored by the many battles won and fought beneath it in the glow of a modern machine?

I still have many, many plans brewing in my head, but they will have to wait, for now at least. The best plans are best executed when there are enough resources at hand.

First, we paint the PC table. Then, paint the first floor walls. And then, we tear down the landing shelves, and then rebuild a much more efficient shelving system, and then build shelving awnings for books, and then fit in a full-length mirror beside the bathroom, and then, and then, and then...

Sssh. All in good time.

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Slouchy Hat is Nice and Slouchy :)

Wednesday, December 09, 2009 Jonette 3 Comments



Ta-daaah! 
As modeled by annabanana, co-teacher and awesome buddy.


The slouchy is finally finished, ready for a goad soap-soak and some fabric-conditioning, and into a pretty gift bag. Yay!

I'm not sure if my cousin's into hats, but I do hope she likes it.






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handmade giftses

Wednesday, December 09, 2009 Jonette 5 Comments



It's 4:19am and I'm still here in the office. If I were chatting with my boyfriend right now, he'd be all " go home, NOW, you're just going to get all sickly again", but he's not, and so I'm here. Wait, what for again? Oh right, to do this:



I used a Bernat arm-warmer pattern I got free from the yarshop I frequent. They like to spell themselves "the yarnshoppe."  You don't see that kind of spelling too often nowadays.







Then there's this slouchy hat. Kudos to Miss Lovely Craftypants for this lovely, lovely pattern and for being so pretty. Isn't she pretty? That's what happens when you stay a happy person, kiddies. Learn well and stay beautiful.





 You see those puffs right before the edge of the circle? I've already made two more rows of them. Honest. I'm pleasantly surprised it took only about two days (including work, food, and sleep time) to get this far. Cool. :)

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Kell's Monsters: Epilogue

Wednesday, December 09, 2009 Jonette 0 Comments

To read where this all began (as well as a promise of the pattern I used), head here.





At last!

The Monster socks are done, done, done. I had a lot of fun finishing the eyes, making them nice and big and googly. Adding the eyelids made them look quite muppet-y to me. my workmate Ray told me they reminded him of the crocodile's eyes in Peter Pan. Even now, the song's starting to tick-tock in me head. :D


 
Once upon a time , he was just a wee cell... 

My workmates and I had a lot of fun with the eyes just before I attached them to the tops of the socks. It was fun eliciting the surprised smiles from being stared at by a pair of disembodied warm brown eyes. Okay, the last phrase might've sounded creepy, but it was actually quite fun playing puppeteer to just a pair of eyes. so there. :)

A couple of officemates of mine had ideas of their own, like so:




 

Mary getting all googly-eyed.




Guia and the retarded reptile of DOOM!




 The socks themselves, looking quite bashful.



The socks brave the fearsome and weird lights of the IT area, to seek an audience with their Master-to-be.


 
They finally made their way to Overlord Kell, unaware of the fate that was to befall them... which was to warm his lady's toesies, is all. :)




Kell took more pictures. Here is one excellent sample of his work: me grinning like an idiot, and him listening to the thoughts of this strange, little person, wondering what in hell's bells she was doing, holding his girlfriend's socks.

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Webbie Spotlight: Bad. Ass.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009 Jonette 0 Comments

 Thanks to Mon, fellow Stumbler.



Actors who age well are bad-ass

Click here for more awesomeness. 

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Video: The TV Show

Tuesday, December 08, 2009 Jonette 0 Comments

Fellow Stumbler Mikhal sent me this pretty cool video. I love the use of color, the concept, and the use of the endless picture-within-a-picture idea. Strap yourself in, this is gonna get crazy-cool. :)


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Monday, December 07, 2009 Jonette 0 Comments

"Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less." 
 - Rabbi Julius Gordon 

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Pundar 5.1

Saturday, December 05, 2009 Jonette 0 Comments



Aaaaah.

Finally painted and dried, and ready for filling up.:)



 And here we have a newly-painted kitchen counter. Look at that nice, new semi-gloss sheen.




Mang Julio did a bit of upcycling magic on the old, battered kitchen cupboard. Remember the last two doorless shelves above the refrigerator? That's what you're now seeing above. It now holds out laundry detergents and fabric softeners.



He pretty much patched up the nasty-looking hole on the wooden laundry ceiling.
Fantastic.


Also, something that crossed my mind seeing this:

Tubby cat aside, what is wrong with the side of this bed?



There are no drawers. Must have efficient use of space!

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Pundar 5: The Kitchen Cupboard

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 Jonette 2 Comments


and the kitchen said "... aaaaaaaah."

Last saturday held a lot of pleasant surprises for me.

 At about 3:15 in the morning, I was ruefully finishing up the last of a day's worth of work when my phone rang. James was on the other end of the line, and was wondering just where was I at this time of night? Since it was Black Saturday (the day after Thanksgiving) in the US, they were let off on a half-day basis, and he decided to come home to me.

And here he was, house- and cat-sitting, waiting for me to come home. Isn't he wonderful?

Later that day, we woke to sunlight streaming through our window and Mang Julio carting in the newly made cabinet!  They immediately set to work.



Mang Julio and Junior taking off the supports. Yep, that's Weird Al blaring from James' DS.




Horray! And one rather astonished wee lizard.




Heave-ho!




Right now, the cabinet's been sanded, primed, and painted as I write. (well, not really, since Mang Julio's asleep at this time of night, but you get it.) The whole job costs a pretty penny, but I do believe it's all worth it. :) Now we just have to wait for the paint to dry, then try to figure What stuff goes where now. eliminate the expired foodstuff, and after that, edit, edit edit.

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Pundar 4: Loo pipes and laundry roof, done!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 Jonette 2 Comments

Hi everyone! I'll just make this a quick one. I am very. very happy with how quickly the house is coming to form, and quite amazed at it all, really.

These made my day:



Behold the loo valve. It drips no more. We can now flush in peace, and not worry about the water bill. Huzzah!



And the bathroom sink's water trap. It drips no more! Huzzah!




And the laundry area roof. See that nice, new sheet of corrugated galvanized iron? An ugly, brittle plastic roof used to occupy that space, and now, the washing machine need not fear drippy water damage. Huzzah! (There is still the question of the soft, flaky wooden roof next to it, though. Best we work on that too, and soon.)




A wooden kitchen counter extension fit for a gas range and then some! If you'll look closely, there a small hole in the middle on the edge sticking to the wall. Kudos to Mang Julio for thinking about the gas pipe. And look at all that space down below! Huzzah!




The man responsible for it all -- Mang Julio! (or his back, at least.) Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!




We've also enjoyed buying a few appliances to make the bareness more forgiving, like this bright and shiny microwave (heated homecooked meals! popcorn! er... and sponge disinfecting!),




and this beautiful DVD player. The first one, after having served us faithfully -- with the habitual coughing and wheezing that is to be expected of China-made items -- had at last decided to give up the Great Machine Spirit within it. What fascinates me the most is the additional USB port in front.It is allegedly meant to play video files from any USB drive you plug into it. Hmmm! This will be a worthy experiment indeed.

Looking at the player now, it makes me think of a Manta Ray. Or a Great black whale shark.




The next project in line will be this. Mang Julio had taken the dimensions of the cupboard last I saw him, and I bet he's working on the base and the shelves right now, sawing, gluing pieces together, hammering away atop his own home. He said it was a cheap trick the first builders had done, scrimping on materials and using plywood boards that thin. Why, you can practically see it peeling apart like the pages of a water-damaged book.

When that's done, he'll haul it onto a vehicle, ship it to our house, and install it.

The man. is amazing. We want to buy him shoes. Or anything he and his family needs, for that matter.




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