getting sick, and sewing again

Thursday, July 22, 2010 Jonette 0 Comments

I've done it.

I decided to take five days away from work for the latter part of last week. I was hoping that I'd be able to finally (finally!) get started on all those sewing projects I planned on, but Life is what happens while you're making plans.

Saints George, Paul, Ringo, John, bless the sickbed I lie on.

The five free days were spent meeting up with April, a good friend of mine, doing the groceries, changing the bedsheets, putting away the laundry, and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning the horrors out of my bedroom and general first floor.All in roughly 26 hours nonstop, tops.

And I got sick. Blasted flu.

*sigh* I'm quite glad James was there to take me to the doctor's and nurse me as much as he could. The cats also did their share by having a grand goose chase every fifteen minutes or so and distracting me from my misery.

Cats? Oh, yes. Everyone, meet Mink.


My good sewing friend Mary entrusted this two-month-old bundle of softness and sass to us. Mink is all purrs and twinkles and sugar and spice when she's on our laps, but she certainly knows how wrap Tweed around her little pink-padded paws. I personally don't know if Tweed's figured it out by now and is just playing along or if he simply can't see the forest for the trees... but we're bound to believe it's very much the latter.

I'm glad to say I've taken my first steps to sewing again. I've decided to take things slowly for now. It now seems better to take something step by step and spend your energy in manageable measures than to to spill everything in big messy Huzzah!, only to lose steam when you're hardly at the end of it.

The panels have been cut, the allowances pressed for easier sewing, and are waiting for me to get work done on them.

*Sigh* A thought: sometimes, spending an entire afternoon cleaning and getting reacquainted with your sewing machine's quirks, screws, and gears make for a happy accident.

Totally worth it before you start sewing, trust me.

Video: Test Your Awareness -- Whoddunit?

Friday, July 16, 2010 Jonette 0 Comments

Brought to us by my workmate/CastleAge Warlord friend Irl, and the storm Basyang. ^_^*


Did you spot all 21? I could only spot 15 -- and, uh, I had to constantly go back-and-forth for them. ^_^"

Nights like these

Friday, July 16, 2010 Jonette 2 Comments

(written July 14, 2010, 8:30pm)

are very good opportunities to do some housework while it's still light, then head out to the next city's mall for dinner, a few supplies, and cellphone juice when it gets dark.

A storm hailed at Signal #2 raged all night Tuesday evening. A number of colleagues and I who lived in the same area decided to stay at the office for a while longer to wait out the storm. By the time the winds had tamed a bit, we decided to head home -- and find the power gone from our respective areas. Word is out that electricity won't be back until tomorrow. Looks like it's survival mode (of sorts) for now.

Gladly, the evening was not without its dose of fun. ^_^*


Meet AJ's back. AJ has a very quirky and awesome skin condition called Dermatographic Urticaria. when the skin gets scratched, bumped, or even sometimes slapped, it develops raised wheals. AJ says it's not itchy or painful -- and gives the artist in her hours of endless biological fun. She invited me last night to decorate her back with something pretty and handed me what seemed to be a broken-off plastic fork tine.

I'm not sure if I got the pretty bit right, but you see the result above.

It started as a bird, then the bird was a-perching on a branch, then I wondered what the branch was supposed to grow out of. I thought, "Ah, well, let's make it grow out of a book. It sort of makes sense, and AJ loves books."  I'm not sure what the liquid pooling under the book's pages are supposed to be, but I'm guessing it's ink. So, yeah.

AJ was pretty cool throughout the whole experience. She was giving a lesson quite collectedly and effortlessly while I did my thing. Amazing woman, this one. 

Drawing on skin was interesting. It stretches and bounces back, and you have to constantly adjust to it, unlike paper.

The best thing about it, I think, is it's not permanent. It's like drawing on the seashore: you draw on it, then after sometime, it vanishes. I took this shot at the very last minute before my camera's batteries died. I ran down to get a fresh pair, and when I got back in 10 minutes or so, the bird was already too mottled to be recognizable. I guess it was a lucky shot. ^_^*