The International Wolf Center is a fine organization, and I get their emails because I bought their 2008 calendar. Today they sent a message about holiday gifts that help support their work.
Which is cool, but this illustration puzzled me:
So, do these sweaters make it easier for the wearer to be attacked and eaten by wild animals? If that’s the case, then I’m thinking my family might not appreciate the sentiment.
It’s a beautiful beginning to the month, and I spent most of the day shopping in some form or another. Kohl’s was having a big sale, so Moon scored bunches of jeans, socks, sweaters, pajamas and unmentionables while I got a sweater and a nightshirt. Then we stocked up on our usual foodstuffs at Trader Joe’s. I bought caulk at Ace Hardware, swim goggles and shampoo at Simply Swimming, and a new mascara at Sephora.
Quite a bit of economy stimulation for just one day. At least for us.
This morning also marked my first swim lesson since… well, since Water Babies when I was a mere toddler. I’ve already learned a lot (elbows/kicks/breathing) and I can’t wait to try it out when I do laps on Monday. The new goggles ought to help because I’ve been opening and closing my eyes as I crawl, which often leads to running into the side of the pool.
In other news, I’ve been thinking a lot about this. It’s been about six weeks off meds, and this past week or so has been a struggle. I know it’s my brain, because there is no good external reason for all this angst and anxiety. On paper, my life is pretty damn sweet. But my brain keeps sending waves of dread at random times, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to be dreading.
What’s more, I have anxiety related to going back on meds, even though I’ve got lots of experience with them, and I’m able to get results with a much lower than normal dose. It would be awesome if my dietary changes, exercise habit, spiritual practice and so forth would be enough to make me feel like my regular self. Not sure I’m willing to wait much longer to see if that’s going to happen.
Let’s see what happens this month, shall we?
Today was our second try at having a garage sale. Pete and I did some serious garage cleaning during the Olympics, and found many items which potentially could be attractive to budget-minded strangers. So we set up a sale last Saturday, but ran into a problem. Labor Day weekend. Slow traffic.
It was no big deal to store everything for another week. Good decision, because today was much better. Between the four of us (including the kids) we made over $100 and sold some very junky, bulky stuff. The weather couldn’t have been nicer for sitting around and shooting the breeze with customers.
We hauled the leftovers off to St. Vincent de Paul, so now our garage is much less cluttered and messy. Our basement is much improved, too. I actually accomplished my summer home improvement goals: painting the upstairs, getting bookshelves for the basement, de-cluttering, and having a garage sale.
Don’t I deserve a new t-shirt? I’m kind of in love with this one. This one, too. I’m seriously thinking about spending some of my newly earned cash.
On Saturday, we went to Home Depot and picked up Freshaire paint color chips so we could start experimenting at home. Specifically, Moon and I went around the house and taped the chips to the wall so we could see what they looked like in our lighting conditions. Then last night, I used my pendulum to douse on which colors would be most auspicious in various places.
These three colors are what we’re using in the living room. Even though we’re not starting the project until after school is out, Moon is eager to get started. Maybe we can do the taping the week before.
We’ve also picked out colors for the kitchen, hallway, bathroom and master bedroom, but first things first. After all, I’m only taking a week off.
So I could order one of these without the crappy exchange rate or the extra shipping. Cute, cute, cute!
Last winter, Moon and I agreed that our home, with its stark white walls, needs an infusion of color. Pete said, whatever, as long as he didn’t have to be involved. So… once school is done for the year, I’m taking vacation time for a Paint Adventure with Moon.
I’m starting to realize that it’s only a few weeks away. We’ll have a lot of prep work (dusting, removing clutter, taping) to do. We need to pick out paint.
I’d like to use Home Depot’s Freshaire Choice. Right now I’m leaning toward Rhythm of Red or Evening Peruvian Lily, with Canyon Pebble or Of the Earth. (We want to have one wall in a different color.) We’ll be doing the main part of the house. Bedrooms and basement can wait.
We already ordered a new sectional to replace our two sofas. It’s supposed to come in at the end of June. The store’s photo shows it in the color we ordered.
Anyone want to weigh in on our color choices? Or laugh at the thought of Moon and I tackling this project?
Remember my IndieFixx prize package? Well, I wanted to be sure and share the rest of my photos of the awesome items I received. (Go see the set close up here.)
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I’ve been through chills, fever (103 degrees!), body aches, nasal crap and coughing. The fever and chills seem to have subsided, but I still look like a big plate of death warmed over, and I wouldn’t wish this particular virus on anyone. So far I’ve avoided cabin fever because I’ve been sleeping or nearly sleeping around the clock. Plus, too weak to do anything when awake.
My son was kind enough to hold an ice cube to my forehead while I was swaddled in blankets Monday night. Weird combination of body chills and head-on-fire. Really, the kids have been good to me. When I was all feverish, I felt the need to tell them I loved them, over and over, in case I was dying or something. (I guess.)
Anyway, I feel like I’m turning a corner, which would be great because I’d love to get out of the house and actually do something. I miss work. And I have candy for the candy dish — it’s been in the back seat of the car since Sunday.
Now for another IndieFixx photo. I was especially happy to see this in my prize package, as I am quite addicted to bags. This one is by Becky OH! who makes fabulous handmade bags small and large. It’s perfect for just a few little items (i.e. what I usually carry besides my current knitting project).
Wonderful stuff. Time for a nap.
I’ve been totally remiss in not telling you about my triumphant win of a giveaway from Indie Fixx, a blog/shop that celebrates independent design.
Using my dubious presentation skills, I photographed each of the items in the box so I could share them with you…starting with one of my favorite pieces, this gorgeous bracelet by Sha-Sha.
Keep watching, because I’ll be showing more of these treasures. I feel so lucky!
I am super tempted to buy one of these, even though I have an expensive PDA that should fulfill every one of my planning needs.
This morning, I had a happy surprise at the Starbucks drive-through. The person ahead of me had paid for my drink … after having her drink paid for by the person ahead of her and so on. Already, 10 cars had passed the good will on.
Of course, I paid for the order after mine. And since the barista from last winter seems to have moved on, I gave the barista at the window the knitted handwarmers I’d been carrying with me. She seemed very pleased and surprised. It was the perfect complement to the acts of kindness already in progress.
The cards and address labels are printed, and Kinko’s will be processing our newsletters overnight. I updated the family site with last year’s newsletter, and I can rest until we do the whole assembly line thing tomorrow.
Oddly enough, when I was looking for last year’s newsletter photos, I noticed they were dated Dec. 18. Which means I was doing this very thing on the same day in 2006.
No, I don’t think I’ll start any earlier next year. And I’m not done with the Christmas shopping, either.
As I predicted, Peter didn’t last long. He pooled money with his sister (and me) to buy Guitar Hero II and a controller. His Christmas list has been revised, with Guitar Hero III and Guitar Hero Rocks the 80s newly added.
Moon and Peter have been taking turns with the controller most of the day. They stopped for dinner (turkey soup!) and to watch Hairspray on DVD. I’ve had a few turns using the easy level. My stage name is Fluffi, and my band name is Earwaxx.
Moon thinks she’s going to be dreaming about colored dots floating by on a modified staff.
Tomorrow I’m cooking my very first turkey, and I’m a little nervous. Twelve years of vegetarianism made Thanksgiving pretty easy, especially those holidays where a Tofurky was the featured dish. All you have to do with a Tofurky is thaw it out, baste and bake. (And if you forget to take it out of the freezer, you just bake it longer. No sweat.)
I picked up my fresh turkey this morning, compliments of my awesome-but-unnamed employer. It’s nestled in my refrigerator until tomorrow morning. Over my lunch hour, I picked up a roasting pan and a carving knife/fork set, along with a popup thermometer thing and a string-and-pins mechanism for sewing up the turkey’s opening after stuffing it.
We’ll also be making mashed potatoes and green bean casserole with produce from our CSA farm, and my mom is bringing pies. I need to figure out a stuffing recipe. The kids want Pete to bake his oat and honey bread.
Uh-oh, do I need to get a giant platter for the turkey? And where am I going to store all this stuff the other 364 days of the year?
I’m totally swooning over this skirt, and of course it’s not readily available in my size and in the color I like best (black).
Would it be totally impossible to knit this without losing my mind? I can’t find any lookalike patterns out there in Internet-land. Anyone else?
I have the most awesome bag by the most awesome craftsperson ever, but I still can’t help looking at various knitting bag/purse options. I carry my Hopper everywhere I go. (That’s not me in the picture, by the way.) My Hopper has tons of room. Isn’t it cute? It’s also very well made. People compliment me on it all the time.
Still, I need to indulge my roving eye at times. Want to see?
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Class was really fun, but somehow we messed up the starting time and arrived a half hour late. The other couples had already been working on some steps – we had to try and catch up. I noticed most of them were wearing gym shoes. SpiritMan and I had driven all over last night trying to find appropriate shoes, and we finally succeeded at Rogan’s, 10 minutes before closing. Coincidentally, the manager was a former ballroom instructor and knew all about proper footwear. He was pretty awesome. I was just glad to find some workable shoes that didn’t have 4-inch heels.
So, we were late to class, and I was surprised to see one of my co-workers there with his wife. Do you ever have those moments when you see someone out of context? I said I was there to tell him one of the servers was down at work, because I’m endlessly hilarious. He knew I was kidding, but he looked a little concerned for a second.
I’m surprisingly calm, considering I’m about to head into the fray of convention management for a week. (A 5-day work week, that is.) Today was Packing Day, which involved various lists and containers. (I’m bringing Bammo ingredients, Bammo being my daily lemon-maple-cayenne water beverage. Pete renamed it because he thought I might like it better with a catchier name. It worked, because I actually do look forward to it.)
I also ended up buying a few outfits, because I have so little that (a) fits, (b) is businesslike, and (c) was purchased in this century. But I caught some awesome deals, so it wasn’t as expensive a proposition as it may sound.
In knitting news, I made a set of handwarmers for Moon, from a pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts. They were very quick, actually.
A few weeks ago, I finally made myself some socks out of the yarn Sis#4 gave me for my birthday in 2005. (Or was it Christmas a year ago? Either way, it was a while back.) I had made a water bottle caddy out of the skein earlier, but had more than enough for socks as well. Gotta love gift yarn!
I’m going to bring yarn and needles for my second Jaywalker sock with me this week. I made the first sock eons ago, and never got around to casting on for the second one. Mostly because it was knit on size 1 needles, and I much prefer doing socks on size 2 or 3.
Of course knitting stuff had a prominent place on my What to Bring list. I’d go through withdrawal without it.
