Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!

We have a beautiful cold blue-sky day here in St. Louis. Perfect for a....walk!? Maggie sure hopes so. Dig the crazy plastic bag rug my mother crocheted. 193 bags!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Why I Love Christmas

1. I like making fabric-based Christmas cards (although that didn't happen this year).

2. Shiny! And sparkly!

3. I have 2 weeks off to get addicted to 90210 reruns and to be mesmerized by Tori Spelling's stiff boob valley (cleavage) and fake tan.

4. My Christmas cactii are blooming. In fact, Lowe's has them on sale for a quarter, but I'll warn you I bought the last 2 healthy ones.

5. People give you things.

6. Eggnog, with or without rum.

7. "My Favorite Things" by John Coltrane.

8. The feeling of giving gifts to my usually overlooked coworkers, like our day custodian and the secretaries. I omitted the evening custodians because they leave the girls' bathroom window open ALL FUCKING NIGHT and then it's like 3 degrees in there in the morning. Shut the damn window already!

9. The first batch of sugar cookies makes me happy. Not the fourth.

10. Christmas fabrics!

11. Remembering the feeling of still believing in Santa Claus.

12. Did I already say SHINY and SPARKLY?

Why I Hate Christmas

1. It's hard to get excited about Christmas when one of your parents is either not speaking to the entire family (except the cats) or is off hunting on Christmas morning.

2. Too much sugar cookie rolling gives one a sore back.

3. Boom! It's over. Even Lowe's has all their Christmas decor on clearance.

4. I have too many choices of who to donate stuff to. Should I knit a million pairs of mittens for needy families in shelters? Should I donate them to the families my school sponsors? What about my own students who are in crappy families?
For example, I noticed *Juan*'s deformed thumbnail today.
"What the heck happened to your thumb?" I asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," replied the normally annoyingly conversative kid. He's always all up in everyone's Kool-Aid and doesn't even know what flavor it is! Seriously, if you are talking to someone else and turn around fast, *Juan* is there. He never wants to go home, and is always hanging out after school with us. He's a sidler!
I know it's his dad's fault that his thumb tip is all deformed, but I really don't want to ask. Cause, if the Mayor of Brittany Woods ain't talkin', it must be pretty bad.
Things like this break my heart.

So, 4. is that I am too ADD to pick one charity to do nice things for. Plus, the procrastinating gene in me is STRONG.

5. You go to church on Christmas Eve and everything is so pretty and sparkling with the candlelight service and a church full of warm bodies singing your favorite songs. It's full of a beautiful warm feeling and you think that maybe Jon King is looking at you like he might like you and he says "Merry Christmas" to you all close and romantic (for church).
Then, you go home to a house of tension and misery where we all walk on eggshells and only come out of our rooms for meals.

6. I hate packing up the ornaments. Conversely, I dislike unpacking a suitcase and the dishwasher.

7. I know there's lots of people out there worse off than me, and then I feel like an asshole for blogging about it.

8. 8, 8, I forget what 8 was for.

9. I am totally serious about #1. Dad wouldn't talk to us usually from Thanksgiving until my birthday (January 28th. I like green, chocolate, and organized living). He would even get his OWN beer!

10. Brown Christmas. Or, like tonight, Black Sheet of Icy Death Christmas. Seriously, go salt your steps, folks.

11. I get hooked on 90210 reruns and follow the story line for 2 weeks then have to go back to work.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Perfect

This made me laugh until it hurt.

The entire website really appeals to my sarcastic, feisty and citified ways.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Snow Day!

Woo hoo for snow days! Although, I guess it is technically an "ice day". The rain and sleet started shortly after 9 pm, and I got to lay in bed listening to it beat against the plastic sheeting we put over the screens in the stained glass windows above our bed. Sounds hoosierish, but there weren't any storm windows for these specific windows. God bless 1939-era windows :(

Here is what I just saw in the yard, hopefully catching pigeons:

Yes indeed, that is a big-ass hawk (not the official name) sitting on the telephone wires. That's the view from my kitchen window. What you can't see is the sad brown garden or the hiding chickadees, juncos and house finches or our garage. But a hawk is pretty cool, too!

And while I'm messing with pictures, this is the sunset from Friday night.
Even with the wire in the way, it's beautiful.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Back on the Estate Sales Again

For a while, Tiny Montgomery and I were rummage and estate sale hounds. I quickly learned that garage sales are usually not worth the time, unless they advertise "fabric" or sewing stuff.

We went to a sale this morning which turned out to be great. I had been talking about needing a roasting pan for a few weeks, and lo/behold, in the basement, along with 1298 trophies and a vintage box of Christmas mica snow (which freaked me out), there it was!


Check out those cute tea towels! I really love the one of the little....bear? with the name "Evelyn" and "1985".
Please also note the pink fruit and the massive Tupperware container with lid and pouring spout.

We also spent some time in the closet, surrounded by bad polyester, which Miss Lemon would like, and incredible couture brocaded gowns. And embroidered sweatshirts. If anyone needs a turquoise suit, heels and clutch purse, it's there!

Now to wash the rest of the creepy stick-in-your-eyes mica snow.

Monday, December 08, 2008

Yowza!

First of all, a massive thank you to everyone who picked up a little Squaresville for the holidays. I am SO happy that you're helping me clean out my craft storage box!
Rock and Roll Craft Show was totally kick-ass, and then yesterday's Green Living Expo was also awesome! Thanks to you customers, I will be sending a fat check to my grandparents for Christmas. Grandpop is 96 or so, and Grandmom will be 89 in January. I know they struggle to make ends meet, as he is a retired farmer and she is a seamstress. They're on a ton of medications, heating bill, blah blah blah. Would you be happy to know that Grandpop recycles? And, he was excited to "put a woman in the White House" in the April primaries in Pennsylvania.
Anyway, Grandmom has been in her house since 1939, and it needs tons of repairs. Naturally, I sorta hope she leaves it to me in her will, because I have nothing but wonderful memories of baking, cooking, canning, cleaning and fabric-messing-around-with in her house.
I figure the money will come in handy for them.

Here is a picture so you can see my newest frock, straight from the bowels of Value Village:

I like it, even though the picture makes me look oddly-shaped. And why do I always have that "I'm going to kick your ass" look?

Monday, December 01, 2008

Modish Marketplace!

Buy, buy, BUY!!!

At least from my shop or others listed on the December Modish Marketplace blog, that is....

Rock and Roll Craft Show was a big hit, and I don't have too much stock left, so please help a sistah clean out her craft storage box!
In fact, if you purchase a goodie from my Etsy store, mention you read about it here, and I'll throw on a wee lil' discount...how about 15% off? Just make sure to send a "Message to Seller" before paying. You can do the math or I can send you an update invoice.

In other news, it snowed today! I let the dog out at 5:45 and saw a beautiful dim snowy morn. It was all blowy and big flakes and quiet and peaceful. Thank god I bought an ice scraper last week!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Thanks

So, several things have happened lately that I am thankful for:

1. Gas is $1.33. This is the cheapest I ever remember it. EVER. Now, that might mean my memory sucks, but it's still cheap enough for me to consider a road trip to PA after Christmas.

2. My brother's girlfriend is kickass and nags him into calling me.

3. I live in a neighborhood where several different nationalities are represented. For example, yesterday, I saw Mohammed and Bismallah cruising their bikes down the street howling at the top of their lungs. Howling, because I'm sure it was super fun to do as they were flying downhill.
Also, I heard my Vietnamese neighbors rocking the karaoke at 10 am. It's in their basement, so what I really hear is a thin, tinny high-pitched noise. Hi (spelling?) isn't the best singer.

4. My partner-in-law is a great cook and we never have to pretend to like her food. In fact, everyone in Matt's family does a good job in the kitchen.

5. Rock and Roll Craft Show lets me sell my crap without having to be there. Let's hope it all sells so I can start fresh in 2009.

6. I am thankful to live in a city where I can email complaints about the Hoosier Neighbors to the city and they'll do something about the old phone books, the prairie in their backyard, and the rotting pumpkins on their porch. Now, the pumpkins have been moved to the side of their house, but I'm wondering when is the best time to go snatch them and turn them into compost.

7. I am thankful that I am a decent cook and can plan a week of yummy, somewhat nutritious meals. Turkey enchiladas, anyone?

8. My friends talk me into buying 60's beaded-neck dresses that I secretly love but have no real use for. Thanks, guys!

9. We live in one of the best countries in the world, barring angry mobs and illiteracy and pregnant middle-schoolers (she's not one of mine....)

10. *just now* I am thankful our doorbell doesn't work, so people who I don't want to talk to (I'm looking at you, man with the clipboard) don't realize I don't know they're there, unless the dog barks.

11. I am thankful to have a gentle, lazy, loving dog with a fierce bark and fierce looks. Here she is in one of her usual positions, looking out the window.

12. Teaching has given me a kickass immune system. When I'm sick, I am seriously SICK.

13. The Internet. How great is it?! Without it, imagine the rise in productivity of this world! We would get things done! There'd be no failing economy!

What are you thankful for?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I Am Famous.

Well, only sorta famous.
Here's the article on Metromix.com that mentions yours truly.
Like any of you needed a reminder/excuse to go to the Rock and Roll Craft Show!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

It Is Done.

Soooo....I just emailed my Rock and Roll Craft Show inventory over to the headmistress at RRCS. If you were lusting after a mitt, tough! You'll have to snatch it up November 28th to the 30th at Third Degree Glass Factory on Delmar Boulevard.

In honor of my newfound freedom, I worked on our t-shirt quilt today. It's pretty much done, and pretty much all my t-shirts. Matt disapproved of my Babes In Toyland shirt (the band, not the sex toy store) but those riot grrls are on it anyway, along with my cherished Upper Hand and Billy Idol shirts. Yes, him again.

Other notes:
1. We watched the movie Eastern Promises. Best part was seeing Viggo Mortenson's weiner during a fight scene. As I said to Laurene, if I had a body that looked like that and I was a dude, I'd walk around nude all the time. Oh, and the Russian accents were charming.

2. I bought a Christmas present for myself today. Teal and chocolate brown snowflake flannel sheets, now on sale at Target! I bought a queen size set, in hopes that a queen-size bed will appear under the Christmas tree.

3. Why are my calendulas blooming like mad? It's cold out for plants!

4. I am about to experiment with bulk hot chocolate mix like my mom did when we were little. It involves large boxes of powdered milk, Nestle Quik and powdered sugar and Cremora. We shall see how it tastes.

5. Please go buy stuff at the Rock and Roll Craft Show, namely my stuff. Remember, it's all much cheaper and I'm not making any more for a while! Recession, you say? Recession, my ass! You tell that to the throngs of South Countians at Target today. The economy is alive and well, now that gas is for some reason the cheapest it's been in 7 years. Can you say "cartel"?

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Oh. My. God.

Many things to discuss.
First...I grew up without cable. Only my friend Holly, who lived in town, had cable. So, whenever I went over to her house, I was a total hose beast about watching The MTV. The only way I ever saw music videos was if I stayed up with my brother and father to watch Friday Night Videos. Daniel and I mixed drinks for my dad all night and had a great time hanging out with the old man. Is it bad if a 11-year-old girl gets her father drunk?

Anywho, Laurene alerted me today, via Very Short List, that MTV's website has EVERY FUCKING VIDEO they ever aired. Now, you know I rarely cuss in my blogs. I save that for the motherfucking classroom. But GOD, am I catching up! I mean, DECADES of music trivia will be MINE! Smiths! Echo! New Order! Finally I will get what the Flight of the Conchords guys sing about in their David Bowie tribute!

Second, this:


Now, it's usually a bad thing if you go to bed with a guy and there's a bloody handprint on his pillow, but I'll make an exception for Billy Idol.
And the glove? He sleeps and bathes with it!
And the shower scene? Get the fuck out! (to use one of Dad's favorite phrases)
Dear sweet Christ on a crutch! I should not be feeling these feelings! My mouth actually fell open. You have to love the close up shot of the lather on his chest. I know I do. It beats Harrison Ford's sponge bath scene from "Witness" any day.
I fell in love with this song when I took the cassette tape with us on a family road trip to Montana from Pennsylvania in 1989. Daniel and I were trapped in the back of our truck for weeks, but we brought plenty of tapes. I'll bet I'm the only one who associates Wyoming and Montana with this song.

The saddest part is that he ruined himself on drugs. Children, Billy Idol is why you should never do drugs.

Did I ever tell you about the best dream I ever had? In said dream, I was hanging out with Billy Idol in his tour trailer before a concert. It had tons of plants. He offered to make me some tea, and I accepted. When he brought the tea back to the couch where I was, I thought, "Holy God, Billy Idol is about to kiss me" AND THEN I WOKE UP.
Cruel, cruel fate! I never got to finish the dream! It still pains me!

Now, back to Billy.


Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, as a true statement of my dorkiness, I used to spend a lot of time listening to the radio and acting out my own videos in my room. Of course there was a camera following me! Of course I was an awesome singer and millions of hot guys were hot for me!
The sad part is that (and I'm a little embarrassed to admit) I actually would put on accessories if the appropriate song came on...scarves, my mother's cool silver high heels......and dance and lip sync to the radio. Sometimes my brother would join me as a backup singer. Remember, we lived in the country and only had 4 or 5 television stations. Summer nights were spent on marathon Monopoly games or driving aimlessly around Solebury Township when I had my permit. It was a kinder, gentler life.

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Allison's Search For Meaning

Check out those SWEET Descendents Vans! They're old enough now I can wear them to river banks and other muddy spots. You know you're jealous.

I have decided to put Squaresville on sabbatical for the next year or so. The constant craft fairs and sewing and fabric overload have killed my love of pot holders and oven mitts....for now.
So, hop on over to my Etsy shop and pick up some early holiday presents. All oven mitts, pot holder sets and grocery bags are just $10.00. The initial pot holders are $5! And, I still have a ton of items to photograph and upload!
These new prices will be in effect at the Rock and Roll Craft Show and at the Green Living Expo in December. I will be making some obligatory holiday-themed goodies, but not too many. Actually, right now, "holiday" looks like "Christmas", as I haven't found any tasteful Hanukah prints....yet....

I'm strangely relieved to be sabbatical-ing Squaresville. I don't want to look at my heavy-ass craft fair tent for quite a while.
What will I be doing instead?

1. Culling and culling and culling my fabric hoard.

2. Making some clothes for myself. This means cutting into the precious red-with-silver-flecks wool and the wonderful vintage green-on-cream nubby plaid wool. Shrunken blazers, ahoy!
Also, the emerald green bathrobe my brother bought me in Saudi Arabia will be repurposed, as I don't wear a bathrobe. If my hoosier neighbors happen to catch a glimpse of my lovely lady lumps, too bad. I doubt they will, though. The blind in their window has been crooked for MONTHS and they never open the curtain. They haven't mowed their yard since August and a phone book has been laying on their stoop since phone books were delivered this year.

3. Finish t-shirt quilt.

4. Quilt Chinese Coins quilt and Maple Leaf quilt.

5. Make wonderful things for my friends and their babies. Oh yeah, Miss Olive, I've got something planned for you :)

6. Paint our porch. Paint Laurene's porch.

7. Experiment with tea towels, bunting and boxer shorts.

8. Rip out all the overgrown garden and start prepping next year's corn patch.

9. Knit?

10. I don't know.

Today was a weird First Day of Not Sewing. I went to the wake and funeral of one of my last year's students. He was 14 and died from leukemia. It was very sad, but gave me closure after a godawful week of parent-teacher conferences until 8 pm on Monday and Wednesday combined with trying not to cry during class. It was a nice ceremony, if not a little...culturally different. Lots of testifying and hallelujahs.
When I came home, I messed around in the garden, did laundry and took a nap. Now? I'm about to Google "Repairing chipped china", since I nicked one of my dear Blue Dandelion plates. Damn, damn, damn! Any ideas?

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Defiance....Missouri, that is...

It can't be a bad day when this is what you see first thing in the morning.

So, we're all back from our weekend in Defiance. Maggie went with us and had a great time too. Yesterday we rode scooters to Hermann/Drunk Fest 2008, Missouri.
Look at the girl in the back. Click on the photo to see the silver SEQUINED racer-back tank top she's wearing. I couldn't tell if it was attached to the outer shirt. Each time she leaned over, we totally saw her boobs. She was wearing a nude bra, and at one point, I could see between her boob cleavage and the bra.
The whole Oktoberfest experience just reminded me of my drunken post-college days. Slightly embarrassing to think, "good lord, was I THAT girl?"
But I did get to see a coal train go through Hermann and a girl in a Penn State t-shirt.

From Hermann, we rode to Swiss, Missouri, for the renowned Swiss Meat Company.



Here is what Maggie and I found this morning on a 7 am walk to the lake at the property where we were staying.
Beautiful misty meadows....

A pale green spider in a dew-enhanced web...



And the aforementioned lake. Unfortunately, the ducks flew away, but the fish were jumping.




Then, we sat and watched a flock ( A FLOCK!!) of bluebirds. Life couldn't be much better right now, even with my sewing anxieties and other life issues. All one needs is a 7 am walk to a lake with your dog, a flock of bluebirds and a 1971 camper trailer to sleep in, curled up with your honey and the dog.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

A Few Items

Well, it's the end of summer here in St. Louis. The garden has a mind of its own, and I am not too concerned about its productivity at this point. Scroll down for my delicious carrot harvest!
Testament to how much cargo space a Mazda 3 5-door has. This is a small rocker chair and in front of it is a 3-drawer plastic cabinet. Much thanks to Laurene for helping load and unload it!

A few months ago, Laurene also gave me some bags of top soil. I laid them down in my Kill The Grass Area to, well, kill the grass. Today I flipped them over and found two beautiful slugs. I like how I can see myself reflected in Slug's slime.


Carrot harvest. And check out that gorgeous pepper! It puts store-bought peppers to shame!

Other items to ponder:
1. Why does Loughborough Schnucks attract such a large percentage of Jabba The Hut-like humanoid blobs? I was totally depressed the other day after seeing all the troglodytes cashing their paychecks with their 34 children each. I mean, besides the girl who was on her phone the ENTIRE time I was shopping, and the women in sweatpants and size XXXL faded t-shirts, it was an okay experience. I like my Schnucks. But Jesus, what a downer otherwise!

2. What did I do before iced coffee?

3. Who wants to come harvest all my basil and make my pesto?

4. Who wants green bean seeds for next year?

5. Why do my neighbors insist on letting their yard grow to a foot tall? The newspaper on their porch finally disappeared/decomposed, but the gas tank is still there, surrounded by weeds. Plus, why do they leave their kitchen light on all night long so it shines into our bedroom?

Just some thoughts, folks. Enjoy this perfect day!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Strangefolk!

A million zillion thanks to everyone who came to Strangefolk, bought something from me, and have now found my blog.
(Alice, I need you to contact me.)

Some high points:

1. On Saturday, Matt and Maggie came along. They both had a nice nap, which was photographed by a roving photographer. Is there anything cuter than an aging punk rocker and an aging boxer/pit bull mix snoozing in the shade? Didn't think so.

2. Laurene sold a yeti!

3. Meeting people who knew my husband "when".

4. The totally perfect weather.

5. Chillin' with the Cranky Yellow boys.

6. Coffee frappes.

7. Having a booth in the shade.

8. Being able to now buy a new television. Our current one has a big yellowish blob on the screen. We're so used to it by now, but you know, the HD and all that.

9. Selling out of my Halloween pinup mitts. Mitts must be the wave of the future.

10. Matt helped me set up and take down. God bless the child!

11. Receiving bags of scraps from Curious Cat Clothing. Thanks for thinking of me! Your fabric rocks cocks!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Squaresville Update

The sewing machine has been busy, busy, busy here in Squaresville!
Check this sweet pile out:

Those are all kickass potholders, including some Halloween ones!
Now for the trimming, the looping and the binding. Then, the tying together and the tagging and adding to my inventory spreadsheet. No rest for the wicked, eh?

I'm mildly panicking about not having enough ready in time. I still have to put oven mitts into production! Still, I'm excited about Strange Folk and hope it goes as well as I feel it will.

Today was spent going to Leftovers with Senora Muertos and Senorita Muertos. I scored a massive Christmas tin for storing birdseed (remember the squirrel invasion?), a bunch of plastic for the shrinky dink factory at Strange Folk, some sweet vintage and not vintage fabric and some ribbon for hanging loops. Oh, and 70 blue folders, chalk, and a mess of pencils for my real job. Senora Muertos also hit the jackpot and will have a unique display at Strange Folk.

Then, I came home to find Matt had brought my newly refinished desk up from the basement. He was trimming our bushes that had grown over into the Hoosiers' yard, and cut through TWO extension cords in the process. Poor Matt.
After much time spent rearranging my sewing room, everything is in its place and the room now smells like delicious varnish.

Check out the cool accents under the handles! I got the desk for $12 from Value Village, and have spent way more than that refinishing and buying the cool art deco handles. The top is totally beat up and scarred, but those marks are fascinating. What the heck happened to it? Was someone hammering grommets on top of it?
It was well worth it, though, especially when I found a juicy letter jammed in back of the middle drawer. It was written to someone who had really pissed the author off. I will try to scan it and post it. Lord knows I love some juicy gossip!

I really liked this project because it took me back to my youth....When I was growing up, my parents' friend Bob Kling had an antique restoration shop that Dan and I used to stop in at on our jaunts down to Carversville. The smell of varnish always reminds me of being in that wonderfully dusty and crowded shop. It had once been a nightclub of sorts, complete with a little stage for a band. Posters from Philly's classical music station adorned the stairway up to the shop. When I got older, my father would let me pick out one thing from Bob's shop for my birthday. We might have been a blue collar family, but I was surrounded with antiques and learned to appreciate them at an early age.

In other news, my famous oven mitt is now on its way to Canada! I wonder if the customer saw it in the Daily Sauce newsletter?

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Mystery Fabric Goodie Bags!

In a wonderful sewing marathon last weekend (Matt was in Chicago), I got like 50 new sets of potholders started. I also worked on an idea I'd been kicking around for a while: scrap bags!
They are A: a great way to destash, B: a great way to get new generations interested in sewing. It sure worked for me, C: sheer capitalism.
The bag is actually a piece of muslin that I printed instructions and suggested uses on. Thank god I haven't jammed my printer yet!

Here's what they look like:


I crammed as many scraps as I could into each roughly 11" by 7" bag, plus a spool of thread!
Look for more at Strangefolk Festival!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Dorkathlon

Finally, all those years of being teased and bullied by the cool kids are going to pay off!
I am SO in the Dorkathlon, people!
I mean, you used to read my 8th grade diary, right? I left off at 9th grade, during the Mike Pirnik Unrequited Love Months, right? Remember all those dumb things I used to write? There's 3 more years of that, and some of those years are heavily Smiths and Cure-influenced! Some diary pages have candle wax from my "I am obsessed with flames" stage!
Maybe it's time to whip that baby back out and stop blabbing about my garden or sewing or Maggie.
I could start in on my infertility woes, but...hmmmm...Dorkathlon or uncomfortable topic? Dorks trump incalcitrant reproductive parts every time. (and that's the second time today I used the word "trump" as a verb)

Vote for me. You will not be disappointed, my friends.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Woo hoo!

I was pleasantly surprised at Tower Grove Market this morning by my friend Dana. Apparently, Squaresville was mentioned in The Daily Sauce last week. Figures that I canceled their daily newsletters!
I'm so glad to see that they noticed the "meticulous" craftwomanship. I do love some meticulosity.

http://www.thedailysauce.com/issue/L/3822

And now to: add the rest of my inventory to my Etsy site, do laundry, finish a pair of pants, sweep the floor, think about trimming back the tomato and gourd vines, make chocolate zucchini bread, grocery shop and run a package to a customer.
Maybe I'll just make some iced coffee and bask in my glory.

Oh, while I'm here, I need to let you read about my friend's battle with her insurance company over her adopted child. It's completely crappy how companies are just in it for the money. Where are the businesses that use The Fred Factor?
Here's the website for the adoption/insurance woes.

Now back to that coffee...

Thursday, August 21, 2008

*yawn*

So very tired...

In a nutshell, I went to lovely Lewiston, Maine last Thursday for a wedding and flew back home Sunday and started school Monday. All this is after working super long days at school getting my classroom ready for the Youth of Tomorrow, mind you.
Maine was wonderful, as it was last year. I stayed with my dear old pal Kate in her new creaky and well-loved house. There were kitties, there was a cemetery full of crows, and there was the obligatory lobster.
The wedding was nice. I even got a manicure and an emergency dress for the rehearsal dinner! In times of stress, I totally snap into calm, cool and collected. "The General", you might say. I got to do that this weekend and it was fun. I even got to read Corinthians 2 during the service and did not get shaky or stuttery. Sweaty hands, but nobody saw them.
I'm the short one with the granny purse, not the statuesque cutie in the palest blue silk dress. (Sorry, Kate, but we'll never be sexy. We're cute to the end! Besides, sexy takes too much work) This was taken shortly before it rained, a la Guns'N'Roses video of "November Rain". Did you know Rikki Rachtman was the guy who dove under the table in that video? Neither did I. Let's just hope this marriage turns out better than the video one.

While pics were being snapped, I walked around the church and thought you might like these pics.
The Androscoggin River ( I think):


And a rustic barn and patch of monarda:
I drank spiked punch at the reception. Well, one sip. One sip was enough for my brain to yell, "DO NOT SWALLOW THIS POISON THAT SHAUN HAS OFFERED YOU" so I listened to my poor brain for once. It fears weddings with open bars.

After the reception, I hung out with some old Boston friends at a coffeehouse. Some band from New Hampshire was playing and the drummer looked just like a smaller Matt. Shaun bought me a tasty beer and we all felt old.

I spent the night in the same apartment we stayed in last August. In the middle of the night (or wicked early morning at this point), I opened my eyes and saw a man standing in my room with his arms crossed. Not threatening or anything, but it startled me enough to close my eyes and keep them this way. Ghost? I didn't have my glasses on, but he was so clear in the dark shadows. And how could I see anything without my specs? I don't know if I was dreaming or just deliriously tired, but it was cool.
The betrothed couple liked their gift ( and I think it was the coolest) and modeled it for me. Watching them explore the thousands of one-inch squares and seeing Kate recognize so many fabrics really made my whole trip.
Awwwww.....

The whole weekend made me really appreciate Matt and what an awesome person he is. Somehow we have gone two years without a major or minor argument. It's rare that we use a harsh word with one another, and if it happens, it's usually me retching about soggy corn flakes in the sink ( the only thing that makes me vomit). How is it that people who are perfect for eachother find eachother? Do we have options and one of them arrives in our lives?
Besides being on time at the airport, he had done laundry, cleaned the skanky bathtub and run the dishwasher! We won't discuss that he let my potted plants out front die.....the geraniums will make it, but the lovely scented pennyroyal is done for.

School has been okay so far. Already, I've discovered some knuckleheads! Where's my 2 week honeymoon?
I'm also mildly stressing about making enough product for the multiple craft affairs coming up. Strangefolk, Tower Grove, Rock and Roll Craft Show, blah blah blah. Part of me just wants to say "Eff it" in order to avoid the anxiety. But, the other half wants a new tattoo. Give me some motivation, people!

My whole self, though, wants to just sit on the porch and eat ice cream right now, so off I go.

P.S. The other day a squirrel freaking chewed through a screen on the porch to get to the container of bird seed I have out there. Then, he couldn't find his way out and ran circles around the porch, knocking over many plants. If he had broken my vintage McCoy planter that matches my mother's, he would have been a dead squirrel. Finally, he figured out that I had propped the door open and he zipped out, bypassing the steps. Just a big leap and he was gone.
Bastard! Next time I won't drag the dog off him! She might be down 2 teeth, but she's ready for blood!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Get Your Mitts On These Mitts

But first, a self portrait. I like how the sun is all hazy over the tall grasses. Too bad you can't see the GIANT dead spot in the neighbor's yard, left by their mosquito farm/blow-up pool.

Look at the freaky green color my eyes are. I was watching for a blue jay.

Ah, the quintessential toe shot.
Here are the aforementioned mitts.



So, I finally photographed all the new mitts in stock. *sigh* It just takes so long to list them on Etsy. Here are some pics:

Friday, July 18, 2008

Garden Update, Part Two

It seems I take a garden photo in the middle of each month, so here's July's.
The bees, people, the BEES! Honeybees have finally arrived and are just bonkers over the dill, the cosmos and the sunflowers. There are at least 3 different bee types, plus big ol' bumblebees. They are peaceful, and don't bother me when I stand watching their work. But, I don't want to chance it, so I linger only long enough to check for ripe corn and to collect cosmos and cornflower seeds for Squaresville Seed packets. Coming soon to a market near you!


Goldfinches appeared in the yard this week, snacking on the cup plants and sunflowers. This, sadly, is the best shot I could get. But, so pretty and yellow!






Here is Brave Little Cardinal with its eyes closed. Look at those tufty little tufts of tuft! It looks like an old man.









The baby cardinals are about 2 weeks old at this point. Far as I could tell, they hatched on July 4th.

The babies have since left the nest and have moved on to other yards, guarded by Mom and Dad. It has been suggested that next year I get a web cam to watch them hatch and grow and go from monstrous alien blobs to fuzzy little peepers.


*sigh* Back to sewing bags. I'll have more bags than you can shake a stick at at the next Tower Grove Farmers' Market. Plus, coasters and rad oven mitts! July 26th-mark it on your calendars!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Six Out of One Hundred? Nay...

This is copied from another blog, but it involved books, so...
Supposedly these are 100 books everyone should read.
The statistic is that most adults have read only 6 titles on this list. Cretins! Peasants!


1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read. (I'm including any books I've started but haven't finished.)
3) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)"

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (well, I read the first one)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (Have read most of it while bored in church)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare ( Read a TON of him in college)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (Started it, hated it)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma- Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini (Probably won't, as it is a "popular" novel)
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (One of my faves)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ( Another favorite)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (en francais)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding (Don't judge me! It was fun!)
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (en francais) (yes, I read it in French AND English!)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ( I keep hearing this is good...)
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (Shouldn't this be included in #14?)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo


Only 52? I have issues with some of these choices, though. Where is the Wally Lamb? The T. Coreghassan Boyle? (horribly misspelled) How about Rabbit, Run?

Monday, July 14, 2008

Coming Up!

Squaresville Goods will be at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market July 26th. Please hope for a mild morning with no rain!

Also, we have a spiffy new site for CraftaNostra. Check it out August 9th.

Strangefolk? Hells yes! Autumn is at it again, and has us for 2 days this year! Like she doesn't have enough to do, what with kids and fixing errant websites!

So, back to sewing....

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Quilts You Can Know

These are the baby quilts I currently have for sale. They are about 40" square, I think. Each one is $130, and if you would like to purchase or find out more details/photos, just comment or email me!
My favorite is obviously the skull one :)





Quilts I Have Known

I'm trying something different with this blog setup. Here are all the quilts I've made that I have pics of. They aren't for sale, as they are already sold. But you can commission one....next year!

We have a lot of records.
I still love orange and pink and zinnias.
Ancient Dresden plate blocks from Grandma and 1" squares from Cat's yard sale-ing.
Don't remember why I look so pissed off...I may have been just squinting or thinking, "Here's your goddamned quilt, asshole!"

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Craft Mafia Event


Tomorrow evening, the St. Louis Craft Mafia will be in effect at "Let Them Eat Art" in lovely Maplewood, MO. We'll have our booths set up in Citizens Park, which I believe is near Citizens Bank....
Times are from 6 to 11 pm. There will be all sorts of cool entertainment, music, and hopefully meat on a stick.
Or, you can just look for our awesome new banner, created by moi!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Babies

Laurene noticed there were three baby cardinals, not the two I had thought.
Here is a surprisingly decent picture of them, awaiting food.
Their nest is hard to get to on the ground, and is above my head. There's a huge astilbe in front of it, and I am certain there are millions of spiders to block my way. So, I have to take pictures through a window.


Here are my scores at the antique mall yesterday:




Now, back to messing with my website!