my eighth owl May 8, 2013

Phew, I’m a little behind!  Here’s a barn owl.  The owl that looks most (to me) like an alien.  Not so much in a “wow I can’t believe that animal lives on the planet that I live on” sense but in a legit, they look like little grey aliens sense.

I’ve been using these owls as an excuse to post boring journal entries, and now I’m way behind.  Let’s see if I can catch up:

On Wednesday I went to the Pour House to celebrate Sasi’s birthday.  It was fun and delicious, and I drank beers.  I drove by myself because Chris was playing Magic.  I listened to Animals on the way home.  I think that is probably the best album to listen to whilst driving at night.

(Oh, and on Wednesday both Gray and Curt said that they like my owls!  Hooray for non-Facebook-having friends that check Google+.  Thanks, guys!)

On Thursday I went to a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon.  This was kind of awesome because I was home by 3:30.  I read my book (2312, I’m liking it a whole lot) on the deck and then got sleepy so I laid down on the outside couch and took a nap.  Taking naps outside is one of my greatest pleasures in life.  Then dudes came over to play Polish Bowling Shoes.  I played whilst they needed a fourth (I am pretty terrible at it usually) and then bowed out as soon as I could.  I went to the front to plant my annuals in the ground — I was going to wait until after the professional landscaper dude came but they were looking, well, dead, so I planted them around the daffodils.  Then I watered them and watered some of the other annuals and one thing led to another and I ended up weeding most of the front slope, between the periwinkle that we had planted in the fall.  So I ended up being productive in that fashion, when my intent had been to be productive in a sewing-my-dress fashion.

See, this is why I shouldn’t leave these things for a whole week, because I have no idea what we did on Friday.  I guess maybe I worked on my dress and watched a whole lot of Deep Space Nine?  That’s possible.  (They’re doing a re-watch on tor.com and I’m going to try and keep up.)

Then on Saturday during the day . . . at first I was angry at Chris about something.  Once again it’s mostly a matter of communication, but I think I caught this one earlier than the last one.  So we had that little discussion.  It was a beautiful day and I wanted to be outside, but I also needed to make up for the dress-making that I didn’t do on Thursday and Friday.  I kept the winders open, though it’s not really the same thing.  Chris and his dad cut down a big-ass bough from a tree in the front yard.  That evening we went into Philly to the . . . uh, something.  Some sort of a fair.  They had part of South Street closed off and made into a Fußgängerzone.  We watched a band called . . . something Heat.  I thought it was Feet but then it turned out to be Heat.  They were good!  I was dancing!  They had a trumpet!  There were a gaggle of tiny kids dancing in the street behind me with bouncy balloons.  Those kids ruled.
Then we were summoned to Gray’s apartment.  It’s a studio and I tried to imagine Chris and Indiana and I living in a studio.  I think we could do it.  Then the whole gang appeared and we went out to eat at a Mexican place.  We were outside even though it was chilly.  I ordered tacos that were essentially big slabs of barely-cooked tuna on a soft taco, topped with an enormous slice of avacado.  THEY WERE FREAKING DELICIOUS.  Then Chris and I walked the thousand miles back to our car and went home.  My heels hurt.

The next day Chris got up and went to his hunting exam, and then to work.  In the meantime I worked on my dress.  I made a lot of progress!  I finished the bodice completely (buttons and everything) and sewed the skirt together.  When Chris got home we went to the first Hammonton Wine Festival.  Indiana wore a backpack and was a huge hit.  I bought and drank wine, and we saw Jess & Leah at their booth (and I bought another infinity scarf things for May for her birthday, shh don’t tell.)  I also had a delicious cheesesteak sandwich with broccoli rabe.

 

UGH this post is so BORING see this is why I have to do this more often, to spread out the boredom.

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my sixth owl April 30, 2013

This is the burrowing owl.

He doesn’t have pants on.  I like birds that have pants on.  But the burrowing owl does not have pants, and I cannot put pants on him.

Yesterday I went to sewing class.  It’s held in the tiny community center that is located in the park that is situated directly next door to my house.  Therefore, it is quite convenient.

It’s run through the Gloucester Township Recreation Department.  (Going to a class that is held by the township recreation department makes me feel like a legit grown-up, for some reason.)  This is my second session; each session is eight weeks long.  For the first week or two there is a group project, which uses some technique or other that it is useful to learn.  This time we made a pot holder.  I learned a) how to use the little dongle on my sewing machine to quilt in a straight line, and b) how to make my own bias tape (for edging.)

Then you get to work on your own project for the rest of the session.  This time I’m working on a dress to wear to Lisa and Curt’s wedding.  I am prettttttty excited about it.  First I constructed it (most of the way) in cotton muslin to help ensure two things:  first, that the fit is correct; and second, that I would know all the techniques I’d need to complete it.

I finished the muslin version last week, and last night started working on the actual real fabric.  I am still pretttttty excited about it.  I definitely think I have time to finish it if I don’t fart around.  I also want to wear a petticoat with it; at some point I have to determine whether or not I’ll be able to make that myself as well.  I have a pattern and everything, but it’s a timing issue.  I have a whole list of things I want to get done before the wedding/Jeff & Steph arrive.  So we’ll see.