peekage.

No, not at your presents! Rather, I sewed today, with my vintage turquoise & lime floral linen that I got last week! No sense in letting it languish in the fabric closet. After all, its been languishing under some Nana's bed for 4 decades.

I chose the circle skirt from the Sew What Skirts book, but didn't have quite enough fabric for that, so a half-circle skirt was deemed good enough by Fat Kitty (the only person at home to give an opinion.)

I LOVE this book. I would marry this book if it was taller than me and had a good enough job that I could stay home and sew and write snark all day.


While I cut & sewed up my screamingly cute vintage linen skirt, I watched this with Doris Day & Rock Hudson. Because is there any better inspiration than Doris Day in a wiggle dress??


I ran into a tiny snag at the home stretch when I tried it on (Oops. That should probably come near the beginning, huh?) and the silly thing was already the perfect length UNHEMMED. In a stroke of genius I busted out the pale chartreuse FOE (fold over elastic).


It wouldn't be my first choice for a hem, but it actually worked surprisingly well for a circle skirt.

Next, just gotta handsew that waistband facing down.


Fat Kitty tired out way before we got to this part.


Pictures of me in amazing vintage linen skirt forthcoming. When Fat Kitty wakes up and finishes the waistband.

And it's Christmas Eve Eve!! Just two sleeps til Santa!


Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I traditionally spend this day & evening alone, as my children go to their dad's. It makes for a lonely day, but the payoff is I get to have them on Christmas Day. I don't think there are many others out there like me, who will be alone tomorrow, but just in case you will be...I'll be thinking happy thoughts and saying a prayer for those who find themselves without family and loved ones at Christmas.

I wish you all safe travels if you are on the road this week. And may you have a very blessed and merry Christmas!

Trans Siberian Orchestra

Christmas Canon
link via youtube

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like...

Halloween.

Gotcha. You thought I was gonna say Christmas, huh?

Well, in that strange and wonderful land called eBay, Halloween is selling big bang right now. I'm just giving the people what they ask for. This little set was photographed in that other strange and wonderful land known as my back yard. Pretty, ain't it?


Colonel Shepperd supervised the photoshoot:


Remember when he was just an itty bitty little guy???


I go back to school in 5 days. Am very sad.

Well it ain't Mickey

So I go to feed the cats last night before bed...dip the cup into the kitty food bag under my sink, scoop up a cupful and feel a weird brush of "something" over the top of my hand. Probably just a string from the top of the bag, right?

I go back for the second scoop (Kitties are so selfish. They won't share a bowl!) and before I reach in it occurs to me (because I'm a sick and twisted whacko) IT COULD BE A TARANTULA!!!


Now why I thought "tarantula" and not "common house spider" or more aptly, "brown recluse" (eek), I'll never know. My overactive imagination maybe?

In any case, I had a sad, meowing kitty at my ankles crying because his bowl was still empty, while his fat brother paused in his chomping to smugly purr now and then. So I stand there staring at the bag, thinking..."Do tarantula's jump? And if so, how high?" I take a breath and open the sack, keeping my head a good distance from the bag opening.

It wasn't a tarantula.

Or a string.

It was this...
Still ew. I quickly clamped the bag shut (and I'll admit, briefly considered the broom and dustpan leaning against the cabinet beside me...seemed plausible until I envisioned MISSING and the little bugger running rampant around my kitchen while I haphazardly slapped thin air with my broom) and went out the back door. Opened the bag away from me and Mickey bounded across the yard. Free at last.

Did I mention this entire saga occurred while I was FEEDING THE BLOOMING CATS???

Geez Louise. Maybe I should feed them less. So I got out the aluminimum foil & that steel wool stuff and replugged all the cracks, etc under the sink. (Old house. I skimped on this over the winter because it's been forever since I had a mouse!) Guess I'll have to grab some sticky traps this weekend just to be on the safe side. And fewer kitty treats.

Must be softball season...

Bright, sunshiny day. Check.

Lopsided, left-side-of-my-body-only sunburn. Check.

Pinging sound of a softball hitting my side fence at 35 mph. Check.

Practicing after a day long, I just played 3 games tournament ... Check.


The strike zone ...


and a hindcatcher....


Because our usual hindcatcher was busy doing this...


Ump for a Day...

Whaaa??

Summer's comin!!