A Slipshod Blogger

That's what I've become.  When my time was short (had to get ready for work) I'd knuckle down and get the day's blog entry done tout suite in the morning.  Not so much lately.  Yesterday I got up before 7:30, watched CBS Sunday Morning, talked to Lala on the phone, had a little breakfast, and read the paper.  When I was done reading the paper I was appalled to realize that it was 11:55 AM.  Holy chit!  Did I leap up and blog? No, I did not--because I had absolutely nothing to blog about.  I hadn't made anything, gotten any farther on any yarn project, or done any yard work worth talking about.  So I did what any other self-respecting retiree does (uh, that's the first time I've ever called myself that and I'm not sure I like it, sounds old), I plopped down on the couch and read a book.  Yes, a book.  Not a real, paper book, no, but not an audiobook either, an ebook so it kind of counts.  I didn't have paper pages to turn but I did have to swipe across the screen.  That's something like real reading, right?

A baby robin came to the birdbath yesterday while I was sitting at the kitchen table and as soon as I got the camera up and ready it fluttered over and hid behind the suet feeder.  Darned kids. 




About mid-afternoon I decided to go downstairs and sew that other Tunic No. 1 I had cut out.  Since I had barely eked out the front and back in that red linen (and had a notch in the seam allowance where the front shoulder overlapped the back side) I decided to insert a gusset of the black cactus cotton in the sides. Knowing that the first one I sewed together had been just a bit snug in the chest area, I carried the gusset up through the armpit.  That worked very well and I figured out how to adjust the pattern the next time so it won't need a gusset.  (and there will be a next time, probably more than one next time)  That left me with the very wide neckline and shorter than desired length.  After perusing the Instragram postings of Tunic No. 1 I saw that everyone's neck opening is as wide as mine so I decided to let it go and see if I couldn't come up with a solution for next time. (see parenthetical above)  I tried it on and looked into the mirror--yep, it was quite a bit shorter than I'd like--so I got out the pattern pieces and the remaining black cactus print cotton and cut a band to add to the bottom.  The sewing goddesses (or maybe it was Mom) were watching over me because my guesstimate of how much to add to compensate for the gusset was right on.  I seamed up the band, sewed it on, and hemmed the sleeves and bottom.  The only annoyance was the bobbin of the Pfaff I have been sewing on for the last month decided to start eating thread.  (are you listening, Mom? that's your machine that's misbehaving) Thank god I have my trusty old original Necchi machine right there so I could finish the job with a minimum of cussing and thread wasting.  I like it.  I like all the things I have made with these three 100 Acts of Sewing patterns and love wearing them.  I can't wait for Pants No. 2 to come out; it looks like it'll be leggings.  Woohoo!  Can't wait.  My next project is to mock up an easier to use carrier for Durwood's new shorter, squatter O2 tanks.  The one that came with them is impossible.

The new Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 4 came in the mail on Saturday.  It's on Log Cabin Knitting, which is one technique I've considered for finishing the @$#%& Sudoku afghan.  (I confess it took me more than a day to figure out that the background on the cover is a close-up of a log cabin, duh *face, palm*)  Each field guide has three original patterns in it and some description of the technique.  Getting the paper book with a code to download a digital copy is a bit pricey at $20 but I like them and want to keep them in business.  That's a good enough reason to buy one, don't you think?

September 4--Jean Benner-Fries, Exotic Flowers from Tropical Countries.  The bird of paradise plant's flowers looked like a flock of birds peering at me from the corner of the villa.  The slight breeze made them bob like those novelty birds that dip their beaks in a glass of water.  One of the flowers blooming in the garden smelled so sweet that I would swear that the fragrance crept across the sandy lawn and slithered through the screen to pool around my feet.  I was convinced that the vines spent their days inching up the house's walls probing for anyplace to get in.  Neeldess to say I was not having the restful vacation I had planned.  Phillip laughed when I told him about the bird plants and the vines.  I think he's part of the conspiracy between the jungle plants to absorb this house and me in it.

I am happy to report that the rain held off on Saturday evening so that I could grill our two little NY Strip steaks.  They were pretty good, cut a bit thin so the timing was tricky but we made one of them go away.  We were going to dispatch the other one last night but can't resist an ear of corn and a tomato salad first, then neither of us is hungry enough for meat.  We'll manage to eat it soon enough.  I'm off to the JoAnn Fabrics for some white flannel.  LC asked if I could make her baby doll a new diaper.  Her wish is my command. After a lunch of toasted French batard slices with some olive tapenade  I got at the new Fresh Thyme Market last week, that is.  With a few baby carrots and a Clementine it makes an excellent lunch.  Later.
--Barbara