I'm Off

(Vacation starts in less than 24 hours, so this will be the last post until March.)

Said Last Night:

"A bug in my vermouth!"

That was said by me, to me. The roommate was asleep. Have I mentioned that I'm worried about living alone? (At least there was a bug and I didn't imagine it. I guess it could always be worse.)

But maybe I can blame the cold meds for talking to myself. The crafting frenzy of the last three weeks would wear anyone out, but on top of it I had a work deadline and then ate only candy, essentially, for two days. So I caught a cold.

However, if I can make it to Friday I can board a plane (pretending I'm Lauren Bacall in To Have And Have Not! Or Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca! Can you tell I've been on a Bogart film kick!) and go to Hawaii, where I will sit on the beach and drink cocktails. With or without bugs, I don't care.

Just Think What I'll Do When I Live Alone

February has been a very busy month, both good and bad. Between planning a move, planning a vacation, an AWOL not-so-significant-now other, a friend's health issues, and oh yeah, shootings at the mall, there's been a lot on my mind. So of course I cope by doing lots and lots of crafts.

I finished the cable scarf for my roommate (miles and miles of it) and then used my mad cabling skillz to make a pair of fingerless gloves for myself.





















Because of the move, I don't have any disposable income this month but wanted new things for the vacation. So I sewed two tops:




















And a dress.
(The dress was really just a seam and a hem, since the top was already smocked. But it took a long time to hem.)

I will be meeting up with an acquaintance on vacation and I wanted to have a little something for her. So yesterday I finished this purple chenille flower-shape washcloth and bar of Chinese soap combo. (Because every elderly lady wants purple flower washcloths and Chinese soap.)















And oh my god, I'm tired just reading this post. Let's hope I can put some of this energy towards putting stuff in boxes in two weeks.

It Will Be Fine

As depressing as this week of posts may have been, I'm still optimistic about relationships--that in general they can be good, that I will learn more and more from them (Lesson 1: No crazies. Lesson 2: Make them be nice to you.), and that, if they do turn out terribly at the very least I will have more material for the novel.
I remain optimistic about candy, too.

So let's all take this picture to heart--it's not so bad.

The Aftermath: Candy

"Hey, wow, someone brought in cookies! Look, the candy bowl in the break room is full! Ooh, we each got a one-pound box of See's from the agency! Hello, one-pound box of See's! Hello, deadline! My god, was that the most surreal Valentine's day yet? Yes!!"

Happy Valentine's Day

Is it? Hugs time? Please?

I Sure Know How To Pick 'Em

Any Valentine's-Day-themed post needs at least a mention of my...um...suspect taste in men. When I was young(er), I would always fall for boys who were "cultured," boys who liked French cuisine and Ayn Rand books and shopping, boys who were actors and modern dancers. To illustrate:

My first two boyfriends, right there.

Of course, I got older and decided I should only really fall for the ones who were unavailable, or crazy, or both. That was fun.

But there is something to be said for feeling things that intensely--even when they were intensely bad. I miss the feeling of having a crush on someone. I miss feeling: in the last few years, I've realized that anyone I want to start a relationship with will be (given my track record) either suspect, a crazy, or unavailable, emotionally or otherwise, so I don't let myself get very excited about it.

But I have to remember this quote*:
"A lively understandable spirit once entertained you.
It will come again.
Be still.
Wait."

*Theodore Roethke, "The Lost Son." Not about romantic relationships at all. But still very good to quote. (That's the nice thing about literature.)

Minus Three And Counting

(In celebration of Valentine's Day, this week will have a loose theme on love and relationships. And candy. And, if I can pull it off, I'll illustrate them all with CAT PICTURES. Oh yes.)

With the relationships I've had so far, I've always had a hard time reconciling what I wanted with what I actually got. I don't know how much I can blame old movies and the J. Peterman catalog for this (I suspect it's a lot), but I spend most of the time deciding that I want something unrealistic and then thinking I should hold out until I get it. (Dammit.) That's the main reason why I prefer imaginary boyfriends.

Summed up visually:

Hey, I Remember That

In an effort to "get a hobby away from my hobby" I put on some classical music last night. (Okay, I listened to it while I knitted. But not the whole time.) I have a recording of the violin concerto by Jean Sibelius that my least-favorite violin teacher gave to me years ago. Because it reminded me of the violin teacher, I think avoided listening to it. But the violinist is Jascha Heifetz and now I realize I my mistake.

BABY PANDAS!

Because The Yarn Needs A New Home, Too

Sometime last week, I decided the current yarn storage situation needed to change:



















(What this picture doesn't show is the bag of yarn in the closet.)

So I bought a lined basket about twice the size of the current basket. But I wasn't satisfied with the existing lining, oh no. I wanted a drawstring top, and a fancy print fabric, and a pocket inside. After much swearing, starting over, and re-engineering, I got what I wanted:

A pocket and a fancy print lining:


















And a new home for the yarn:

On Marriage

I spent Saturday helping with wedding preparations and being surrounded by married people. (That usually doesn't happen.) And I have to admit, part of me wants a wedding, too--but only if it can be like this:

And that includes a gown by Givenchy and being twirled by Fred Astaire.

Sorry, It's All I Have Today:

The Beginning Of A New Beginning

Yes, it's time for another Druidic festival! This one's a "cross-quarter" day, meaning it's not a solstice or an equinox. (There's also a Christian equivalent, Candlemas, so nobody feels compromised reading this blog post.)

The festival? Imbolc, celebrating the very beginning of spring and all it entails, including lambing season, early bulbs, longer days, etc. Brigid, later a saint but first a Celtic goddess, is celebrated along with it and people used to have all sorts of fun making predictions for the coming growing season (Groundhog Day, anyone?).

So praise the lord God (or St. Brigid, or whomever), we made it through another winter. Here are some fun things to do today:

It is traditional upon Imbolc, at sunset or just after ritual [because you're all performing rituals, I know you are], to light every lamp in the house - if only for a few moments. Or, light candles in each room in honour of the Sun’s rebirth. Alternately, light a kerosene lamp with a red chimney and place this in a prominent part of the home or in a window.

If snow lies on the ground outside, walk in it for a moment, recalling the warmth of summer. With your projective hand [I assume the dominant hand? Maybe it's your most magical hand?], trace an image of the Sun on the snow.

And don't mind the stares from the neighbors.