Below are the 17 most recent journal entries recorded in gaffall's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 17 ]

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
5:53 pm	New Mexico world I've been enjoying eating breakfast in the Davidson household. We sit at a small table eating frozen blueberries, pistachios, muesli, and yogurt in lovely ceramic bowls in the gentle morning sunshine. How wonderful. Kevin has just arrived - he drove from Long Beach over the course of two days and brought baked goods from Gayle, which I anticipate being delicious. Speaking of delicious, Uncle Donnie cooked spaghetti last night for dinner, and GOSH was that tasty. There were also familial backrubs and much singing of SteelEye Span together. Well, since we've arrived: - we saw features of NM - we explored two homes of our relatives. Laurie and Donnie's has a marvelous family picture room and very high ceilings; Maggi and Bill's is a delightful maze of interesting things to look at. - I have made use of the guest room basket, which contains useful items for guests. I would like to make such a thing for our guest room! I must confess that I do not know what all of the items in the guest basket are; this makes me inclined to add mystery items to such a basket in my home. - We went out to White Sands National Monument. There are many white sands. It was really something - and lunch was very welcome. The weather here is so strange. It is beautifully sunny all day - but if you're in the shade, it is suddenly much colder! To continue with the things we have done: - Miss Quis is suspicious of Kevin for some reason? - we went to a farmers' market and craft sale this morning and enjoyed walking up and down the aisles - we saw some museums together. I greatly enjoyed the Abraham Lincoln exhibit - he is my favourite president. Kevin's hair is longer than last time. Pizza for dinner tonight! (2 plunks | plink)
Monday, November 23rd, 2009
3:16 pm	Las Cruces! I finished my second night of ushering for Candide yesterday, after a rather full of things weekend, including a surprise Thanksgiving meal masquerading as Timmy's birthday party. Excellent. So I worked opening and closing night, and this time I wore better layers and was altogether warmer. I met Crystal and George, whose names I am writing down for the sake of remembering. All those things I said would happen in my last post happened: - The 5 hour rehearsal went well and we learned lots. I like the willow dance best. It was also loooooooooong. - We sang at New Hope for a very small audience, but had a great time together. - We performed at Passavant for a very large audience, several of whom told me I reminded them of their granddaughter, so that's probably the highest compliment I could get. That performance was a really great time... we ate at the Kaufmann house beforehand with good conversation, and I was wearing my new pink sweater which I really like, and when we played the (18)90s medley, they knew all of the songs and shouted out the titles with excitement afterwards. Good. Other things also happened: - I went on a date with Kaitlin... or maybe two. Not sure exactly when they were. We love going to Bistro 19 together and nomming enthusiastically. On our first date is when I bought that new pink sweater that is so fantastic. - Training week. The trainees told me I was an excellent teacher, which I always enjoy hearing. - Testing at work. Good. Writing and improving automated tests is very extremely satisfying. - Gilly doesn't like the Cat Genie. John is working on it. - Nora came home in order to go on this Thanksgiving trip with us. We all met up down at Light-Up Night, above Cello Fury, who were headbanging away. The fireworks were excellently satisfying. Later, we watched Matrix movies. - On Saturday morning, Nora, Carol, Kara, and I went to yoga at the library together. It was fun! I feel a bit wimpy because my muscles were full of soreness the next day, but whatever. - I have shown Nora how to cross stitch. She likes it so far and is making an N. For Nora. - We made John come see New Moon with us. - Patty, Travis, and Timmy were around, and the Sprouls and AMB also made an appearance, on Saturday night. Gramma cooked Thanksgiving for us, which I didn't know was happening! Surprise! Travis and I killed /that/ set of dishes. 1 down! Probably 2 to go. So Mom & Dad & Nora and I are in New Mexico with Aunt Maggi, Uncle Bill, Aunt Laurie, and Uncle Donnie for Thanksgiving. So far, I have learned a little bit about the area - they whitewash giant letters on the hillsides and have roadrunners - and seen cacti. We are now relaxing in a room full of chairs after a delicious soup, bread, and cheese lunch. I anticipate many family times. On Friday, Nora and I will go home and help clean up from John's family Thanksgiving, which he keeps on telling me about to make me a jellyfish so that I will not go away next year :) Then we will have a cookie-baking party on Saturday and go to see Star Wars music on Sunday. So there! It may now be naptime. (2 plunks | plink)
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
1:17 pm	day of meetings, week of chicken noodle soup Today I have meetings from 10:30 until 5, straight through. You might say, "But Jean, you're in that time period right now!" and I might say, "Yes, well, the 'meeting' from 10-12 is really just an on call sort of thing (a tech test, in fact) and I am eating lunch at my desk therefore." This week, so far, I have been sick, but not sick enough to stay home in bed. Therefore, I have been eating chicken noodle soup for lunch and being proud of not succumbing to the urge to never climb out of the warm covers. I have also purchased a thermometer and am enjoying checking my temperature. Rite-Aid was running very low on thermometers. I ushered for Quantum again on Friday - it was the coldest cold of any cold that has ever colded, cold, but the show was pretty awesome. They did the musical version of Candide... If you have a chance, I'd certainly recommend going to see it. More information. Something that I really enjoyed about it is how much all of the actors, including the ensemble and orchestra, work together so very closely. Something that I did not enjoy about it was that it was in a rather unheated warehouse type of place and that I sometimes could not properly hear folks facing away from me and far away on the very cool thrust stage. I have just now thought to wonder if sickness and coldest colds of all colds are related. Hmm... I will dress much more warmly for the next performance. And the rest of the weekend was visiting Nora - the Juniata concert choir had a performance, which was also excellent in parts. I really enjoyed running about campus and playing frisbee in the beautiful beautiful weather. I tried really hard to stay awake for car rides and succeeded until the last 20 minutes of the drive home. We also enjoyed: - hanging out with Mick a bit - drinking & discussing tea at a shop in Juniata - sleeping in the weirdest hotel room ever - talking about the next steps in the Shadowrun campaign that John is running. I wonder which plotlet he will do next! - the weather even more - Nora loaning me a teddy bear We did not particularly enjoy: - waiting for an hour for our drinks at a coffeeshop. John's been playing Dragon Age lately, thereby kicking me off of Oblivion, so I've compensated by starting a new Titan Quest game that I can play in the same room. We sit companionably and play computer games together. I also watched Office Space for the first time ever, so I feel more like a human being. Upcoming events! - sing performance at New Hope (our usual nursing home) on Saturday. Kaitlin and I will do 'Dream a Little Dream of Me'. I am supposed to make some prizes for the whistling competition, and I soon hope to think a think about that. - quintet performance at Passavant (the other 'our' nursing home) - 5-hour dance practice on Sunday. I have talked to Natalie about these extra practices and how I feel about them, and that was good. (4 plunks | plink)
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
7:48 am	Big news! We got a Cat Genie. And four of us spent half an hour downstairs last night cheering it on through one entire cycle. It's something else. Mark says that somewhere, somewhen, the inventor of this said, 'Hey, honey, come look at what I've made!' and his wife said, 'Oh, so that's where my mixing bowl, strainer, and hairdryer have been...' We're so exciting, right? :) Also, Mark picked me up at the T stop on his motorcyle, and it wasn't as cold as I thought it might be. I spent all of yesterday pair programming as the backseat driver, and anticipate doing so again today, but in the front seat. We solved a problem, and I definitely learned some stuff, and I think I was helpful, so that's good. Now to clean up my (virtual) desktop in order to continue with the program! Today I am /very fashionable/ in a long-sleeved shirt under a short-sleeved shirt. So there! (2 plunks | plink)
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
9:02 am	Happy Halloween! On Friday, I went on a date with Kaitlin. We stopped by St's to look at pictures from last week's party, then shopped at New York and Company (there was a good coupon, and I got some good shirts), then wore some of our new clothing to fancy dinner at Bistro 19, which I love so much. We had a spectacular time. And on Halloween, I had the most fantastic morning. Mark pointed it out when I cheered HAPPY HALLOWEEN at him, but it was really excellent. Full of a bit of Oblivion (but not too much), washing dishes in the sunshine and nice hot water, wearing sparkly leggings, etc. The rest of the day was good, but the morning was really topnotch. I went running with John later, which has left me oddly sore; obviously, I haven't been gym-ing enough. We helped Ian with moving a bit, then had the fastest Costco shopping trip ever and came back home in time for handing out candy. If the kids were older, I interrogated them, especially if their costumes were substandard, and I had a great time doing so, so there. (What are you? A librarian. Can you tell me a fact? ... No.) The kitties were very interested in what was going on outside, but did NOT want to be out with the door closed, and it was freezing, so... We went to Mike&Melinda's annual Halloween party, which was good, and I took my normal M&M party nap on their couch, which was good. I found Hancock and Amanda's costumes to be especially excellent... Hancock was Matt Loch and Amanda was Hancock, and it was hilariously accurate. Early Sunday was hanging out with Mark. I played a bit more of Oblivion before he came over (I'm exploring the Isles of Madness at the moment, where I've never been before... I wonder if it's a part of the addon? Sheogorath is crazytown, appropriately enough), then we hopped off to Ikea where I got some new dressers, which I had been needing, and spent the rest of the afternoon (after a quick stop at an open house, which was interesting) happily putting them together while listening to musicals (Don Quixote, The Last 5 Years [twice], and Title of Show) I clonked out early, which was great. JBN told me that my costumes for Halloween are creative, which pleased me. The last three years have been: PPG Place, a pinata, and Prince Valiant... and they were good. This morning I am still sore, but slightly less, and I am starting to read The Gathering Storm, and I have a lunch of leftovers that I am pleased to be using. So there. (3 plunks | plink)
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
10:39 am	Success! I'm feeling very happy at the moment, as I've just spent (probably too much) time figuring out how to do a formula in Excel - and it worked! I wanted to know what was the average time people spend taking their tech test, and compare that to the average time people who succeed at their tech test take, and by gosh, I figured it out. And I feel triumphant about it. (5 plunks | plink)
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
10:07 am	gosh, it was a party Biking home from work went very well. As soon as I got home, I had an undeniable craving for pickles, so I proceeded to consume bread & butter pickles, bread, cheddar cheese, and blackberry cider for dinner. Nom. I then took my bike helmet off and proceeded with the night Which was LATE. We stayed up painting backdrops or doing things to the house until 2 or 2:30, and it was most excellent. Kaitlin and I had a spritzing and ironing party. Friday, both John and I had taken off of work. We held hands and went to lunch together, then came home to clean the crap out of the house and paint the other backdrop. I had so much fun painting. Barb and Ted came over with their new kitten Inky, and when John took Ted shopping for stuff for party (which didn't include chips and other random edibles? I think it should next time, John), there was the worst traffic ever, which meant I got to keep Barb for hours. Which meant the house was hella cleaned up. Sorry Barb, but yay house :) There was a lot of sewing to do on John's costume and on mine, and all was good. Here's how the party went: - 1 million people in the kitchen. - all (?) Rocky antagonists were present - I helped people with costumes and enjoyed it - Steph Chav showed up, who knew?! - Rockband - pictures, pictures, pictures! - Stephen was a hilarious Charlie Chaplin and I kind of loved it. - I nommed a hamburger like whoa - later, I nommed a hotdog - Nora and friends from Juniata arrived. - I put Kaitlin's hat back on several times - There was an alien test tube down my costume that decided to stick to me in unpleasant ways - So I changed - and took the opportunity to relax in bed for a while - kitties were hiding in the closet all night - but they came out a bit for that - later, went back downstairs - it was so late - people were fantastic - John rubbed my knees with the octopus - Nora and I fell asleep. - At about 7:30 this morning, some party goers who had been up all night went out to breakfast. Good job, troupers. Time to start cleaning up for the sing today. I enjoyed that party item. Gosh, am I glad that I can go to bed when I'm ready to. It makes life enormously better. (5 plunks | plink)
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
8:35 am	I am Jack's triumph! I biked to work today! On a real workday! For the first time ever! (I may or may not have posted about it, but Mark and I took a practice ride into work and back one Sunday. Not quite the same thing...) I started out in the dark (With tail- and head-lights all a-flash and helmet on) and rode down Pioneer and up 51 a bit to meet Mark at the Red, White and Blue Thrift store, then we proceeded into town. It gradually got lighter and colder (?)... I should have worn long sleeves and I will if I do it again this year. It was a lovely ride, although the last hill just about broke me. I also enjoyed showering at the JCC and coming into work all clean afterwards. Biking takes just a bit longer than riding the bus (about 1:10 as opposed to :40 - 1:00), /and/ I'm already done with my workout when I get to the gym. I feel awesome. I shared my triumph with a locker-room stranger, which I enjoyed. Last night was WorldQuest. Our team didn't place this year, but boy did we have a good time, especially enjoying the presence of Sally Wiggins, who is a local news anchor? I think? I enjoyed dressing up Ukrainianly for it. Tomorrow I took off of work for getting ready for Halloween, and tomorrow night is the big party! I am very excited. I think backdrop painting will have to happen tonight. Mark is picking me up from work via bike at 5:30 and we shall see how the ride home goes. (plink)
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
8:15 am	Bye, Nora. Nora went to the train station this morning; I'll see her again at Thanksgiving. We had an excellent family dinner last night, after I skipped out of work early to go motorcycle riding. I did a figure eight several times. Also, I dropped the bike very gently after stalling while starting uphill at a stop sign. All in a park with not very many people about, so it was cool. Once home, I tended my garden, harvesting the last harvestables and plucking the plants. The bouquet of frothy carrot greens was amazing, as were the carrots themselves. Apparently they liked that soil. I haven't actually tried one yet, but I hope they are good. AMB came over to pick out some useful tomatoes. I got all dirty, took a shower, and came downstairs clean in time for shishkabobs, which were delicious, and which I will have for leftover lunch today. Tonight is WorldQuest again! It's a quiz bowl on world stuff. I participated last year with a team from Vivisimo, and we won second place. We'll see how we do this year - I am the flag master! Since it is WQ today, I am wearing a Ukie shirt and my boots and feeling sharp, though that may be an illusion :) (12 plunks | plink)
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
9:04 pm	long break Ok, things: - We carved a billion pumpkins tonight and put them out on the railing, yay! - I saw SteelEye Span. It was wonderful. - I danced at the Byham - I went camping with Muppets. Lovely. Good pictures and guitar playing. - Hancock had a housewarming party - I went to Esther Butler's memorial - Nora is here. Her eye looks much better than last time I saw her. - We are having a giant Halloween party - Vic and AC got married, and that was awesome. - We were given a piano - We babysat a kitten who wanted to get up way too early - We did something very exciting that Nora doesn't know about. - We got an order from the Oriental Trading Company! Hilarious! - I learned to make hot cocoa on the stove - I can play some scales. - Um, there was a good party at work. - We cleaned the pantry - Kimahri was accidentally burnt with hot water. It's been so long, and every day is its own thing, you know? I am being prince valiant for halloween, based on my current hairstyle. (7 plunks | plink)
Monday, September 21st, 2009
8:32 am	Welcome home, Mike! Also, Majesty. The game is called /Majesty/ II, not Master. Also, that's what I did this weekend. On Friday, I met John in Brookline (both of us wearing our new barefootsy style shoes - I can firmly recommend Terra Plana's Vivo Barefoot brand. They are expensive but very well made and /very/ barefootsy).) for dinner... then we went home and played Majesty II on two different computers. For hours. Until bedtime. On Saturday, I was a bit more human, firmly ignoring the game when I woke up in favour of breakfast and reading over a presentation I'd promised to review, followed by cleaning with Barb & Ted and John (ah, wonderful), followed by lunch at the Rivers Casino. Also, I gambled $2! On Kitty Glitter, the slots. John got slightly sunburnt while eating, which amused me. I was going to check out an origami class at the Squirrel Hill library, but didn't, instead enjoying my mini-desserts. Afterwards, we stopped by Costco to pick up another shelf (boy oh boy are they good) and came home to find Kit & Allie there... I showed them my garden OMG, I FORGOT TO SAY! I grew a broccoli! !!!! It tastes like broccoli! It looks like a bouquet! I was so startled to see it. ... and Majesty, and they showed me a cool game from Real Big Fish (?) called 'Drawn', which is like Myst except not slow and I am capable of solving the puzzles. And then I picked up Kaitlin from the airport... and came home to play Majesty until it was time for Mike's welcome home party! He is home! We welcomed him! He looks like he has spent the last year working out. I brought my embroidery to assist in staying awake and disappointed several people by revealing that the cigar box contained thread rather than cigars. I enjoyed sitting and stitching and talking to whoever was tending bar at the time, including Atom Bomb, Mike's little brother who I have met before, but not actually talked to. And eventually (after finishing that bit of embroidery) I fell asleep on their couch, as I usually do. This time, all of the animals also came into that little side room and slept with me. It was a room of sleep. And on Sunday morning, I woke up and played Majesty... until Mark called, offering bikeride time, which I took, and at which I triumphed! He found a good route out of my house to downtown, which means that I can now bike to work if I am so inclined! It took about an hour, which was fine, and wasn't the most difficult thing ever. The worst part was the last bit of the way home (we skipped Mt Washington by means of the incline), biking up West Liberty Avenue. It's not so very steep, but it goes on forEVER (about 2 miles?) uphill. I might try taking the T instead next time. I'd have to wait until after rush hour time... after 6:30, looks like. But that wouldn't be awful, and then I'd have a much easier ride home. Hmm, hmm. We discovered several lovely murals and looked at the flags out for the G20 (I couldn't remember Argentina's, but knew the rest). And then I took a shower and played Majesty for the rest of Sunday. Good weekend. This week is sort of odd - Today, I work normally. Tuesday and Wednesday, I took off to go see Steeleye Span performing near DC! I am very excited :D I will probably spend most of Wednesday playing Majesty ;) Thursday and Friday, I work from home because of the G20. Thursday night is Kaitlin's birthday party at SingSing starting at 7. Next weekend is a dance performance and a sing. Soon in September is a dentist's appointment, then our final practice for Vic & AC's wedding, then that wedding! (although by then we're in October). Then Halloween, then Thanksgiving in New Mexico, then the rest of our lives! (3 plunks | plink)
Friday, September 18th, 2009
8:52 am	uhoh... John started playing a new game last night... I believe it's called 'Master II'. Let me tell you this - it was a struggle to be a responsible Jean and go to work today instead of staying home and playing it. (4 plunks | plink)
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
9:45 am	Morning of fitness: I wish to share with you all a fitness breakthrough. This morning, I ran for 17 minutes (and 8 seconds). It wasn't very fast running - I just set the treadmill to 'random hills' with a max speed of 5 mph and a max incline of 5 (%?) and then go for 20 minutes, of which the first 2:52 is always walking. It represented 1.34 miles (of running, 1.46 total). This is the farthest distance and the longest time at once I have ever run, to my knowledge. In the past, I have barely gotten to a mile a couple of times. I feel stupidly triumphant about it, especially since I probably could have kept going for a while at the end. Next on the agenda: increasing speed. I have a goal of being able to run at 6mph for 2 miles, or 20 minutes. I do not know if I will reach it or how long it will take me, but that is my goal. I do not have the goal of running in real life. I like the mindlessness of the treadmill, and how easy it is to run toes first, which is much easier on 1. my knees 2. my chest. (6 plunks | plink)
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
10:48 am	Ah, September Sunday morning: gym with Sara & John, blueberry pancakes with Sara & Drew Sunday afternoon: aforementioned shelf! Cleaning basement; GOOD. large box of magic cards. John geeks out over old games for various systems. We clear out some bushes in front since our garbage location moved and mulch the area well. Good cooperation. Sunday evening: shower, delicious turkey sandwiches, Dr. Who with Kaitlin while Mark and John play tennis. Federer hits that shot backwards between his legs; Djokovic can't believe it. Thursday evening: Many various peoples are over; we eat spaghetti and sing Happy Birthday to John, who is turning 31 (on Saturday, but his parents could be there with a delicious Steeler's cake on Thursday and they were at a wedding the rest of the weekend). Vic & Rachel & I work on Vic's wedding vows and drink red wine. All of last week: I ate delicious leftovers a la Gramma. I was very pleased with last week's lunches. Wednesday evening: Quintet rehearsal, final decisions on music, we try the Lakme Flower Duet for the first time, it is beautiful, we will play it. Friday night: SingSing with folks from work. We sit sadly too close to the stage? I think the sound is better from the railing in back. Nevertheless, it is full of singsingness. I wimp out early and am glad I brought my earplugs. Saturday morning/afternoon: sleep in one billion Saturday afternoon/night: Irish festival! We wait in a 40-minute line to get in in time for surprise Gaelic Storm! ('People are missing the music they came to see.' Oh yeah, lady? Do you mean that /you/ are missing the music that /you/ came to see?) The line wasn't that bad - you could hear the music while waiting. After enjoying the festival a bit, we stepped out to better-food world at Bar Louie, where Dad and Sara and Drew joined us. Mmm, delicious. Also, they have a Belgian white on tap other than Blue Moon? It was Shock Top, and fairly tasty. We went back to the festival for some Solas and Scythian (who I hadn't heard before) and more Gaelic Storm. I was so tired by the end. I have played no (0) Oblivion since the last time I reported!!! I feel like I'm sort of in withdrawal, but I'm also glad that I'm sleeping enough and sometimes going to the gym. Maybe I will dedicate a day to hedonistic Oblivioning in the next weekend. Nora's eye bit turned out to be a severe eye infection. Ick ick ick. She has an ulcer back there somewhere and has to take eyedrops every hour around the clock. Doesn't sound fun at all. Monday night: dance class, frantic rehearsing for the show in two weeks that we need to learn two new things for. One of them, we don't really even have the music yet. Tonight: quintet Tomorrow: Steak & Crossword Thursday: D&D. Oblivion?! Saturday: Cinco de Mike! next Tuesday & Wednesday: Steeleye Span concert in DC! I am so excited. next Thursday & Friday: G20. working from home. My tomatoes are producing... we ate a delicious tomatoes/mozerella/basil bit with balsamic vinegar dressing the other night, ahhhhh. Training today, normal work other days. (1 plunk | plink)
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
8:37 am	For those who have been waiting breathlessly for the next installment of the sewing machine tale... I made it work :) I don't know what was wrong in the first place, but while I was trying to figure that out, I flipped a bit up at the top right next to the first place you hook the thread through. It was a little plate that could rotate inside the machine to two different positions; I put it at the one I thought it was at when I started and went on looking for troubles. Well, much later, I flipped it to the other position, and behold, everything works again! Makes sense; if the top thread is giving you problems, look for solutions somewhere along its threading path. Also, for future reference, the little hooky noggin on it goes on the top, not down under. And then I made a beautiful (machine) embroidered hem on my bluejeans, with flowers and borders and vines oh my. My mom's sewing machine is so nice. John put Oblivion back on the computer, so that's what I did for a bit of Sunday night and all of Monday morning... The rest of Sunday was spent doing not much, and it was lovely. I did trim the bushes and clean up after myself, except on the bush that I didn't finish because the battery ran out. We did not put the new shelf together yet, so I have that to look forward to sometime this week :) The rest of Monday was very productive! There was laundry folding and fixing the mysterious sewing machine problem and helping Nora with a case of pinkeye. There was corn & peach eating, and cleaning up afterwards. There was a watching of Baron Munchhausen, which I loved, as John knew I would. This morning, I finished the last bit of 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes', which is /not/ the last book in the outrageously long Outlander series - one more is due out someday. But phew, I'm done for the moment. And now I have lots of work to do. To it! (3 plunks | plink)
Sunday, September 6th, 2009
11:16 am	Alas for sickness... I started feeling yucky when I came home on Thursday after my Dr's appointment. Everyone was there for D&D, and it was good to see them, and I ate some nom spaghetti and then went upstairs to bed and crashed. Stayed home from work on Friday, intending to do some work, but ended up feeling progressively worse and didn't. Instead, read all day and did a bit of embroidery. I eventually wished that Mark would come over and make me a smoothie, and lo! He did! In the next 30 seconds! It was pretty good. My PJs got cat hair all over them and I was pouty about being sick. John came home early and slept on the couch with me while I read. On Saturday, I felt mostly better in the morning, but degraded at points throughout the day. John and I cleaned up in the morning, which was good, and we took a nap in the AC, which was lovely. My parents and Gramma came over for a hemming party and dinner, and I thought that was a pretty darn good time. Mom had a checklist of things she wanted to talk about, which struck me as so very very mom. When they'd gone, John put me to bed posthaste, where I crashed again. This morning, so far, I have read in bed, taken a shower, and listened to John play with Fruity Loops while I search for the solution to a sewing machine problem. The loops on the bottom are all loose. So far, I have tried: * rethreading a billion times, following the instructions very carefully * cleaning underneath the plate, the hook, the bobbin case. There was a lot of lint, but the problem is still occurring with it gone. * changing the needle * changing the thread tension both upsies and downsies * changing the stitch I was using. The internet suggests that I might be using the wrong size spool cap... and I am using a different spool of thread from when things were working... but I don't know if Mom's machine comes with different caps. Maybe I will get some new thread when we go out today. We are headed to Costco for another shelf(ves?) of amazing basement storage. I have a bit of a headache, which combined with a yucky stomach, is what my sick has been like. So we'll see how I do with today. If you have any useful sewing machine knowledge, please feel free to contribute it here. (14 plunks | plink)
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
9:48 am	Some notes: Steak and Crossword night was a beautiful night in terms of weather. We had many vegetables - zucumber from the garden, corn from wherever John got corn from, salad from Mark. That made for a healthier steak & crossword than usual. We walked up to the icecream shop on the blvd afterwards, and brought a milkshake to Stephen's house all walking together, and hung around to talk for a while. He hurt his back and has been laid up for quite some time. It was good to visit. Walking back was extremely uphill downhill in the extremely beautiful nighttime. On Wednesday, we had our icecream party that rewarded us for properly finishing work this sprint. I loved it a little. Ari said that my happy wiggle is the same thing that her two-year-old does. After work, I sped off to that shop that I keep on passing when it's closed - the Beehive. It's a needlepoint store. Now, my usual form of embroidery is counted cross-stitch. You start out with a blank piece of fabric and a pattern written down on a piece of paper along with colors. You buy the colors it says (or sometimes they come with it), then you follow the pattern by making little 'x's over each square. Needlepoint is something different. You use much larger thread and much stiffer cloth, and the design is painted on the cloth. You buy colors that are similar to the colors on the pattern, and then use your judgment and a variety of different stitches to fill in the pattern. Interesting. It's like tapestry making of the once-upon-a-time variety. The patterns are very expensive as compared to the ones I'm used to - probably because they're all handpainted - and there is a large variety of 'fiber' from which you choose your threads that you will embroider with. All sorts of different materials and colours and blends. I spent an hour and a half looking through their shop and talking to the two people there, who were very helpful. I felt like a string art expert, which was pleasing. I started walking home from Mount Lebanon, and Barb picked me up and we practiced a bit for Vic & AC's upcoming wedding. It was good. Today! (plink)