Friday Unrelated Information

1. I was invited to my first knitting group last night (my first in six years of knitting!) and the lovely ladies there taught me how to crochet. Look--a new skill in my crafty arsenal:

2. Here's something to think about, especially for people who share things on the internet:
"Loneliness does not come from being alone, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important." (Jung)

3. I've had "The Rainbow Connection" in my head for two days now. Would you like it in your head too? Watch it here.

Happy Birthday, Charlotte Bronte

Many happy returns to you, Charlotte. I'm glad you didn't die of tuberculosis at boarding school, and I'm glad you gave Jane Eyre a happy(ish) ending, especially when you didn't do so with Villette. (Although I understand why you didn't, given the events that inspired that one.) I just wanted you to know that I've been reading Jane Eyre for about twenty years now, and that I think you (and your sisters) were pretty revolutionary. Happy birthday!

Meeting Face

There have been a slew of long meetings at work lately. They've actually been pretty enjoyable for long meetings, but I have to be careful with my face, as some pictures lately have made me come to the conclusion I have Chronic Bitchface (click for big):

As the image source says, "there is no known cure." I just have to remember to keep some sort of smile pasted on during the meetings.


(Image found first via Kara's Pinterest. Pinterest deserves its own post, I think; I have an account now too!)

Tuesday Project Roundup: Tunic Two

I am not complaining about the cold and wet weather this spring, because if I do, the weather wins. Instead, I am sewing more tunics to keep the skinny jeans in rotation until it's warm enough for bare legs.

This is the final piece of the fancy fabric stash I got last summer, sewn up in the French pattern I made as a dress. As we all know, it's not a hippy smock if the pattern is from France--and I think the print takes the look a little more towards worldly bohemian than drum circle.

What is the print, you ask?

Art Nouveau viking ships, of course--to remind us to be brave, to be fierce in the face of cold Aprils, and to seize whatever prey the heart longs for.

Sunday Night Conversations, II

During a brainstorming meeting at work last week, the subject of what we wanted people to say at our funerals came up. Telling this story to my friend over the weekend, I said, "I didn't even think of an adjective; I just thought to myself, 'I hope someone GOES to my funeral,' " and went on to tell him my latest irrational fear: outliving all my family and dying childless and friendless.

My friend, who is turning 50 in a couple of weeks, looked at me, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Well then, you may want to look into younger friends."

Friday Unrelated Information

1. It's my mom's birthday today! What can you say about moms? They're moms--they're great. And my mom is in the top .05% of all moms (I'm pretty lucky). Happy birthday!

2. Since my mom told me she was looking forward to today's space link, here is a thoughtful essay from the Bad Astronomy blog about the future of space exploration (marking, of course, the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's orbiting the earth).

3. Last night I found myself, as an agnostic, in the interesting position of picking out an Easter card for my deeply Christian grandmother that would satisfy her but not make me sound like too much of a hypocrite (any more than sending a card on a religious holiday does anyway). Fascinating times in the card aisle.

And We Have Mrs. Steinbeck To Thank For The Title

This morning's Writer's Almanac had a lot of good background about The Grapes of Wrath, which was published today in 1939. Originally Steinbeck was asked to do a piece for Life magazine, but when it wasn't published he ended up writing a novel, finishing the first draft in 100 days.

A quote taken from the article:
I break myself every time I go out [in the fields] because the argument that one person's effort can't really do anything doesn't seem to apply when you come on a bunch of starving children and you have a little money. I can't rationalize it for myself anyway. So don't get me a job for a slick. I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this.

I think you succeeded in doing that and more, John. Good job.

The Coat Poem

You didn't think I'd miss a chance to quote from "Le Manteau de Pascal," did you? I had to go read it mid-way through the coat sewing. Here's the whole thing and here's the parts I thought about:

A Jacob's ladder with hovering empty arms, an open throat,
a place where a heart might beat if it wishes,
pockets that hang awaiting the sandy whir of a small secret,
folds where the legs could be, with their kneeling mechanism,
the floating fatigue of an after-dinner herald,
not guilty of any treason towards life except fatigue,
a skillfully cut coat, without chronology,
filled with the sensation of being suddenly completed —
as then it is, abruptly, the last stitch laid in, the knot bit off —

[...]
the neck like a vase awaiting its cut flower,
a skirting barely visible where the tucks indicate
the mild loss of bearing in the small of the back,
the grammar, so strict, of the two exact shoulders —
and the law of the shouldering —
and the chill allowed to skitter up through,
and those crucial spots where the fit cannot be perfect —
oh skirted loosening aswarm with lessenings,
with the mild pallors of unaccomplishment,
flaps night-air collects in,
folds.

Now I'm going to go around muttering, "Oh skirted loosening aswarm with lessenings" all day.

Tuesday Project Roundup: The Coat

Today's project reinforces why I'm glad I can sew: I wanted a new spring coat that was long enough to look good over dresses, but there just wasn't anything out there. So I made one:
Looking good over a dress, oh yes.

I used an out-of-print Simplicity pattern (which I sewed once before, about four years ago) and made it in striped canvas from IKEA, cutting everything so the stripes were horizontal. Here's a hanger shot, so you can see how the stripes line up across the front and the sleeves. (Check out the yellow lining, too!)

This came together easily and quickly--I worked on it nearly non-stop for a week, just because I was so excited that what I saw in my head was working out. I like it over dresses, but I think I like it even more with skinny pants and ballet flats , all buttoned up and looking like some mod character from a Fellini movie.

(That, or the Hamburglar.)

I'm going with Fellini, though. See?

Dramatic collar, weekend hair.

The Brain

As I try to deal with some emotions and make sense of others, I've been thinking about the brain a lot (not The Brain, although I have been enjoying this, too) and about the cerebral cortex, as described by my science boyfriend Carl Sagan:

The cerebral cortex is a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited patterns of lizards and baboons...No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain, we can change ourselves.

The "reptile brain" is in charge of aggression and territoriality and a host of other things that the cerebral cortex can overcome, a comforting thought.

Naturally, I was delighted by this "Ode to the Brain" from Symphony of Science (the same people who brought you this) which contains that Sagan quote, along with lots more good stuff.


Because the reptile brain isn't in charge!

Friday Unrelated Information

1. In addition to the fact that there are tigers Photoshopped onto surfboards, the names of the tigers also delight me: Princess, Laser, Proudy, Bravery, etc. Oh yes, it's tigersonsurfboards.com.

2. Since there's been a space theme here for the last few weeks, here's a link to It's Full of Stars (recognize the quote?), a roundup of space news and really subtle animated gifs.

3. Found via friends (whose tweet was featured!) here's Peanutweeter, in which random tweets are inserted into Peanuts cartoons. Who knew the cartoon lent itself so well to parody?

The Unbearable Adultness Of Decorating

I have made some serious purchases for the house lately. I know refrigerators and washers and dryers are serious, but these latest purchases feel more weighty, if only because they're essentially frivolous. (Bear with me here.)

Remember how I wanted to copy a painting instead of buying real art? Well, the artist has been doing a lot of smaller work lately and I just went for it. Meet "Amber":

The long view:

I love "Amber." I think she needs a frame, but she is gorgeous.

And remember when I wanted to buy a love seat for my old apartment--because a real couch wouldn't fit--and I found one at Target.com? (That was so long ago that the images got lost when I moved to the new Blogger.) I remember back in 2007 that I worked two jobs to get the $400 to get that foam masterpiece.

Well, things have changed a little, because Monday I ordered this baby:

Made in Virginia to my own specifications, with my own upholstery choice (orange, of course), in six to eight weeks? I kind of can't believe it. Because I remember working two jobs to get $400. Yes, I was in debt then, but not only am I out of debt now, I bought a house; and lately I just plop down money for non-essentials like real art and real furniture without batting an eye.

Tax returns help with the plopping down of money, of course, but regardless--it just sunk in that I'm not a struggling 20-something anymore. The unbearable adultness, indeed.

My Job Is Great, Except When It's Not

Writing for a living sounds difficult and mysterious, but the truth of the matter is, it's pretty easy for me. Except when it isn't. My agency job is usually great, but there are times when writing for clients is like the most dreaded and tedious school paper you've ever been assigned--if that school paper went on for weeks and you had to make sure the paper made your professor money and you had to act really excited about the whole process and your ability to pay your mortgage depended on the grade you got.

Which is why I was so happy to see this last week: a graph of the levels of fun involved in the writing process. Let me tell you, it's 100% accurate--especially that last step.


(click for bigger--from the Not Exactly Rocket Science blog, found via BoingBoing).

Tuesday Project Roundup: Sticking With A Theme

My sister-in-law had a second baby shower over the weekend, which meant more BABY THINGS. Since the sweater for her other shower turned out so big, I wanted to do newborn-sized things for this one. I didn't think I needed to move away from my randomly-picked theme of "elephants," though:

Elephant blankie!

Elephant bib!

Onesies decorated with iron-on elephants! (and a lion)

Little knit diaper cover!

And yes, I resisted the urge to try any of the clothes on Toby.

Sunday Night Conversations

My best friend and I check in once a week (sometimes more), usually on Sundays. Last night's conversation ranged from one's capacity for self-delusion to what happened at the store this week, and ended on the weather:

Him: "The snow is not helping."
Me: "But think, everything that's blooming now has adapted to being snowed on. It's like magic, but it's science."'

Friday Unrelated Information

1. I'm late posting today because I slept in--because I took the day off! AND it's sunny out!

2. Have you seen the images coming in from MESSENGER, now in orbit around Mercury? Here's the first one:


3. Similar to Garfield Without Garfield, 3eanuts has discovered another genius comic strip omission:
Charles Schulz's Peanuts comics often conceal the existential despair of their world with a closing joke at the characters' expense. With the last panel omitted, despair pervades all.

Let's Not Be So Hard On Ourselves

The bud

stands for all things,

even for those things that don’t flower,

for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;

though sometimes it is necessary

to reteach a thing its loveliness,

to put a hand on its brow

of the flower

and retell it in words and in touch

it is lovely

until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing

(From "Saint Francis and the Sow," by Galway Kinnel)

Will The Projects Never Cease?

It's all projects, all the time here at Chez Cat Hair lately. (Idle hands are the devil's playground, after all.) I didn't think this should get a spot on a Tuesday Project Roundup because the only skill involved was stapling, but there is fabric---specifically, a yard of Schumacher "Chiang Mai" linen stretched over a frame my dad made.

It's art!

It hangs on the east wall of the main floor, in what will be the dining area if I ever find a kitchen table.

I barely had the fabric art hung before I moved on the the NEXT project: Drapes for the main floor. Must stay busy!

Tuesday Project Roundup: Tunic

I feel as if I've been wearing skinny jeans and big sweaters and boots forever, but it's still not warm enough for dresses. So how can I make the skinny jeans I've worn ALL WINTER exciting again? Make a tunic!

This is the Cynthia Rowley pattern I've made before, this time using a cotton voile. It's light and springy and has an exploded stars print--what more could one ask for in a tunic? I may even mix it up and wear it with BALLET FLATS, not boots. The excitement!

Virginia

The Writer's Almanac tells me that 70 years ago today, Virginia Woolf drowned herself in the River Ouse.

In Mrs. Dalloway, shell-shocked Septimus hears birds sing at him in Greek, which I've read was her own experience during a depressive episode. I'm glad she was able to write what she did--and that we can treat mental illness a little bit better now.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. It was cloudy here for the super perigee moon last Saturday, which kind of made me feel like the girl who misses the sun shining on Venus in that Bradbury story. But then I read that another full moon that will be almost as bright will happen on May 6 next year. I guess its full phase will be pretty close to perigee--not coinciding perfectly with it like the one that just happened--but it made me feel better.

2. Dr. Sagan would be ashamed of me, but I'm going to say it anyway: I think the "super moon" wreaked emotional havoc over the last week and a half. At least, that's what I'm blaming.

3. And finally, Toby's garage explorations are getting a little out of hand:
All he wants to do is play on the Ford Kitty Gym--and of course I can't say no to him. Spoiled Toby!

Oh, Evelyn

The way you describe finding love as opening a "low door in a wall" that opens to "an enclosed and enchanted garden" makes my heart happy.

But I was in search of love in those days, and I went full of curiousity and the faint, unrecognized apprehension that here, at last, I should find that low door in the wall, which others, I knew, had found before me, which opened on an enclosed and enchanted garden, which was somewhere, not overlooked by any window, in the heart of that grey city.

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisted.

(I watched Downton Abbey last week, which reminded me of the Granada Brideshead series from the 80s.)

I Feel As If I've Been A Crazy Cat Lady For Much Longer

Today marks three years of Toby in my life! Here he was the first day he came home--so small and worried.

And here he was Monday, large and sassy and inspecting fabric:

You already know that I get pretty ridiculous when it comes to Toby, dedicating poems to him on Valentine's Day, reading him The Tailor of Gloucester on Christmas Eve, saying he's the love of my life on our last "anniversary," etc. So it's not crazy of me at ALL to put up the theme from Love Story to mark this year's anniversary. NOT AT ALL. Because I think the lyrics suit the occasion:

He came into my life and made the living fine
and gave a meaning to this empty world of mine
...I reach for his [paw], it's always there

Tuesday Project Roundup: Little Elephants

As I said back in December, my brother and his wife are expecting a little boy in about a month. One of the baby showers has now passed so I can finally show you some BABY PROJECTS!

This is a little sweater with elephants on it (the green blobs), from this pattern. It turned out pretty big, so I think Nephew will be able to wear it his second winter.

And what does a stylish baby wear with his cardigan? Matching pants, of course, with elephant fabric on the cuffs. (I even tried out flat-felled seams on these, so they met my 3+1 Things goal.)

I finished both of these before I moved, but getting them wrapped for the shower got me excited again to sew tiny things. What should I do next? Doesn't every baby need a Hawaiian shirt?

Happy Birthday, J.S. Bach!

Today the composer I'd listen to if I couldn't listen to anything else was born. Bach was also my favorite composer to play, back when I was playing (especially this). I'd always think of a Bradbury quote from The Martian Chronicles when I was practicing:

He built an architecture of Bach, stone by exquisite stone, raising a music cathedral so vast that its farthest chancels were in Ninevah, its farthest dome at St. Peter's left hand. The music stayed and did not crash in ruin when it was over, but partook of a series of white clouds and was carried away among other lands.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. If you've read more than one post I've written, you know I keep things pretty insular (solipsistic) here. So of course I haven't talked about Japan, because what can you say about such destruction? What can you say about images like these? At least they have something left?

If I could be spared anything, I'd want it to be Toby. But what about those who weren't spared anything?

2.Ruth Reichl has a way to live with that question. Mostly.

3. When things are upsetting, I like to think about space: This Saturday, a "super perigee moon”--the biggest in almost 20 years--will be out. According to NASA, that's a full moon that coincides with being closest to Earth in its orbit. But that doesn't fully explain why it will look so huge:
"For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects."

There. All it takes is some mystery (not of the "why all this misery?" kind but of the "something incredible is waiting to be known") and I feel better.

What's This?

I was joking when I said I'd tell Toby the tiger painting was a portrait of his ancestor, but apparently it really is:

He spent a good part of yesterday evening next to the painting in the hallway, giving it these deep looks. I asked if he was "communing with his ancestor" and I got a cat blink in reply.

Burning Bright, Tangled

Last week I had an idea to search Etsy for "vintage paint by number" and look what that got me:

(I'll tell Toby it's a portrait of one of his ancestors.)

And my friend Kara pointed me to the work of Stasia Burrington, where I found this print called "Tangled." I had to buy it--it has Japanese kites and the artist described it as "about relationships and sticking out your neck."


So, despite thinking I needed to branch out, I have two more Asian-influenced things to frame now. I might as well embrace it and just call my decorating style "chinoiserie," I guess.

Tuesday Project Roundup: In Which I Wield A Staple Gun

This week's projects are all for the sewing room. In the 5-year plan, I want to finish the basement (I use the term "I" loosely) and move the sewing stuff downstairs. But until then, I wanted to get the room a little more done. That meant a table and lamp from IKEA and some fabric projects.

First I got my dad to deliver and cut some Homasote and loan me his staple gun (thanks, Dad!). Then my project supervisor had to approve my plans:

Then I stretched some fabric over the Homasote and stapled and in about 20 minutes I had a bulletin board. (I still need to get it mounted on the wall--and pin things to it--but this gives you an idea. That's the new table, too.)

I also made a new polka dotted ironing board cover. I used this tutorial and it worked like a charm:

And here's one last shot of everything together--the "ironing" view:
Now I just need some real blinds for the rooms upstairs...I guess I can't make those.

Knowing When To Stop

(From the Married to the Sea archives.)


I got some new books from the library Thursday and jumped right in to the easy one--and then I stayed up too late all weekend finishing it.

I always have to laugh at advice for insomniacs that says, "Read before bedtime to relax," because I've never been able to stop reading to sleep. Even if the book isn't particularly gripping or particularly good, I still just have to see what happens next. (If you remember, that's also my m.o. for living.)

Friday Unrelated Information

1. As if I needed a reason to love Carl Sagan more--check out the letter he wrote arguing for the inclusion of women into The Explorer's Club. I love one of his closing lines:

But we presumably are adults, with a special responsibility for interacting with all humans on this planet.

It's exactly what I want to tell people who go on and on about gender differences.

2. Have you heard that the Kilauea volcano is erupting like crazy? You can get the latest updates from the USGS here. This picture from the 6th has perhaps the most understated caption I've ever read:
"...lava pouring from the fissure into a seemingly bottomless crack. Napau Crater in the background. Helicopter [top right] for scale."

I personally would have captioned this "ZOMG earth is opening huge waterfall of LAVA RUN AWAY!!!!"

This Ad

This Cole Haan ad makes me covet that grass-green satchel (naturally), but "THE HEART IS A..." in the background also makes me think of Franny and Zooey: In the first part of "Zooey," he has a script for a play called "The Heart is an Autumn Wanderer," which inspires one of my favorite Salinger conversations.

"'The Heart is an Autumn Wanderer,'" [Mrs. Glass] read, mused, aloud. "Unusual title."

The response from behind the shower curtain was a trifle delayed but delighted. "It's a what? It's a what kind of title?"

Mrs. Glass's guard was already up..."Unusual, I said. I didn't say it was beautiful or anything so just--"

"Ahh, by George. You have to get up pretty early in the morning to get anything really classy past you, Bessie girl. You know what your heart is, Bessie? Would you like to know what your heart is? Your heart, Bessie, is an autumn garage. How's that for a catchy title, eh?"

I wish I could go around telling people their hearts are autumn garages, but the insult really only works with Salinger fans. (Wish I had that purse, too!)

Next Poem, Please

I picked the next poem in my 3+1 Things project--most of the final section of "Ash Wednesday," by our buddy Tom Eliot--to coincide with Lent and Easter. (Actually, they're all seasonally appropriate--"Starlings in Winter" falls in December, Dark Harbor comes in summer, etc.)

Since today is indeed the actual Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar, I guess it's time to move on from "The Poems of Our Climate" and start memorizing this one:


Although I do not hope to turn again
Although I do not hope
Although I do not hope to turn

Wavering between the profit and the loss
In this brief transit where the dreams cross
The dreamcrossed twilight between birth and dying
(Bless me father) though I do not wish to wish these things
From the wide window towards the granite shore
The white sails still fly seaward, seaward flying
Unbroken wings

And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices
In the lost lilac and the lost sea voices
And the weak spirit quickens to rebel
For the bent golden-rod and the lost sea smell
Quickens to recover
The cry of quail and the whirling plover
And the blind eye creates
The empty forms between the ivory gates
And smell renews the salt savour of the sandy earth

Tuesday Project Roundup: Camouflage!

This is what happens when you like pink and orange furnishings and clothing indiscriminately--you blend right in!

Here it is, un-camouflaged:

I used the basic shift pattern from the out-of-print Built By Wendy Dresses book and even made a muslin to test it out first--because it would be a shame to waste any of that enormous paisley fabric. (The fabric is from the stack I bought right before I closed).

This is the first of what I classify as "spring" sewing,* and it was all sewn up in my new craft room, and boy is it nice to have a space where I can just leave projects out. No more living in 500 square feet for me!

*I AM IGNORING YOU, FOOT OF SNOW OUTSIDE! I DON'T SEE YOU!!

I Am Ignoring You, Predicted Snowfall

I see bulbs coming up in all the planters downtown, and the bulbs are not only up but blooming at my parents' house. So I think it's time to re-read my spring book, The Secret Garden. Here's the scene where Mary is finding bulbs in the titular garden:

There had been a flower bed, and she thought she saw something sticking out of the black earth--some sharp little pale green points...she knelt down to look at them.
"Yes, they are tiny growing things[...]Perhaps there are some other ones coming up in other places," she said. "I will go all over the garden and look."
She went slowly and kept her eyes on the ground. She looked in the old border beds and among the grass, and after she had gone round, trying to miss nothing, she had found ever so many more sharp, pale green points, and she had become quite excited again.

Friday Unrelated Information

1. Check out Ray Bradbury's awesome letterhead (and awesome advice).

2. I got a land line at the house this week and this may make me technologically backwards, but I love it: A land line always gets reception! It doesn't drop calls! I can talk as much as I want and not get charged extra!

3. That's all I have; it's been a a busy week. This is what I thought waking up today:

Which One?

I think I need another t-shirt in my wardrobe (I don't have that many), but which one should I get? The one that says, "I'm so literary"....

...or the one that says, "I'm wearing an illustration of Carl Sagan's eyebrows--and I like it"?

Hmm.

It's Like My Car Has A House, Too

I got home last night and you know what I did? I went out into my garage and got my car cleaned up from moving. It was great. Toby thought so, too. I think he's plotting how to drive it so he can do this:

Tuesday Project Roundup: A Deocorating Equation

These 2 items:

plus 1 bedskirt from IKEA add up to this:


That total, when combined with 2 lamps from Home Goods, 1 new headboard, and 1 more IKEA "Rast" chest finished by one's father, gets you a new total of:


100% FANCY. Oh yeah!