Dainty Kitty

My New Digs & Urban Chickens

My first post in the new squarespace digs.  Woo hoo!

I had a really great lunch with my mom today.  She sent me an unexpected email this morning asking if I wanted to meet up today.  Unfortunately, I'm kind of doom and gloomy and automatically think she must have some bad news for me - something that she needs to tell me face to face.  Nope, she just wanted to give me a ticket to Dad's company picnic on Saturday (all the cotton candy I can eat!). 

Bonus good news - if they buy a new flat screen television, I'll get their "old" one which is fairly new and HUGE.  My tv died shortly after the move and, while I have an extra tiny one, I'm not going to turn down a gift like that.  We also talked about  what else I would need to pick up/replace when I move and it was such easy conversation.  Like a relationship wasn't even involved. 

It's weird to talk out loud about moving into my own apartment when Rick and I haven't even talked about it but as my friend Ginny said, I've already checked out.  My mind is made up and I'm pretty sure he's on the same page but it's too stressful to think about talking it over with him right now.  I know there would be fewer tears this time than last but it's still hard to point to the end of any relationship - especially when the end is still several months away.  So, for right now, I'm going to work on keeping my chin up as much as possible and, like I said, work on making me happy and getting myself into a good place before the move.Speaking of making me happy - I signed up for July's Pink of Perfection Project which is to create and post a list of things that make you happy.  It's something that's also on my 101 in 1001 list and I think this is the perfect time and opportunity to get it done. 

On to the fowl portion of this post - I made the little guy you see on the left for Chris who had commented about wanting to raise urban chickens.  It's a really cool idea but he's probably as close as either of us really need to get to having chickens on our property.

I'm really going to take care of my next camera.  I carry this one everywhere but not in a case like I should and it really takes lousy photos anymore.  Or at least it takes really lousy photos of things that are white.  The white stripes on the scrapghan in my last post practically glow....

I started making a market bag out of sheet I bought at a thrift shop but work on it has been put on hold due to the fact that working on it Sunday night nearly killed me.  Today is the first day I've been able to move my wrist without pain.  Seriously, crocheting with fabric is HARD.  I think the crocheted containers I made last week were easier because the material was kind of slippery.  The bottom of the bag and the few rows I started around the edge look pretty good, though, so I'll get back to it eventually. 

Okay, so far so good.  Posting photos is a little different but I'll get used to it.  At least I was able to get through the entire post without loosing it....

A Little Color to Brighten the Day

First of all, thanks to all of the uplifting comments left on my last post.  I really am going to take care of myself in this situation and make...well, I guess, make the most of it.  

Yesterday I went out to a family picnic at my parents' house and decided to cart a couple of projects out there to take advantage of the sun and the bevy of places they have that would make nice backdrops.  :-)

I pulled three dresses out of two of the bags I've yet to take to Goodwill, cut them up and crocheted them into these:

 

The larger one took all but the sleeves and the very front of two dresses and the smaller one is just the skirt of another dress.  I'm now addicted to crocheting with fabric.  I think it's a great way not only to reuse old materials but also a way to maybe even commemorate a piece of clothing.  And now I can get rid of the ugly oatmeal containers I've been using to hold my hooks and needles!  

And here's the progress on my scrapghan.  Not too far along but, after the initial rush of 10 - 12 rows per week for the first two or three weeks, I'm trying to keep steady at four or five.  And I'm still madly in love with it.  :-)

And now I'm off to enjoy a little morning alone time by reading or watching one of my movies.  Have a wonderful Sunday!

Regret

I stopped at Trader Joe's expressly for charcoal and laundry detergent but walked out distracted and unable to take care of the fact that I'm nearly out of dishtowels.  Distracted to silliness by a man.  

There he was in the frozen foods aisle - I saw him as soon as I walked in.  The much older man, an attorney if I remember correctly, I had a schoolgirl crush on a little over a year ago.  Or rather, it seems, the man I still have a crush on.  He's just beautiful - the perfect mix of grey in his black beard and a style that I've never seen anyone else get away with.  I've seen the man out in a cowboy hat and boots, for Pete's sake.  And his charm.  Sigh.  He's the type of man who kisses your hand and pulls it off - there's nothing cheesy about this man.  Even when he wears a beret and I've seem him wear one often.  The last time I saw him, he kissed my hand and since I was a little buzzed, I stood up on my tip toes, pulled him closer and, in turn, kissed him on the lips.  He was shocked and I was too...but not until a few minutes later when I turned to the Wednesday night bartender and gushed, "I didn't mean to kiss Mr. X!"  She replied, "Well, why wouldn't you?"  I wasn't the only one smitten with his charm obviously.  

He's friends with an old bar friend of mine and I hung out with them a couple of times when I was going through my "going to the bar alone" phase right before I started dating Jake.  I remember one Wednesday night when he and I sat at the bar alone.  I was thrilled to no end and blushed happily when his friends showed up for a few minutes - like even anyone thinking we were together (even in a clandestine fashion) was better than nothing at all.  And I remember that he stayed with me while they moved on.  Beautiful, just beautiful.  

Anyway, there he was - in a beautiful camel colored coat and jeans.  So handsome.  And then there was me.  Freshly showered, hair wet, make-up-less, wearing black running capris, a bright blue t-shirt with a robot on it and pale blue flip flops.  Top that off with the pounds I've gained recently and I didn't feel like I could possibly smile and say hello.  So I made my way to the charcoal via the side aisle, rounded the corner...and there he was at the end of the frozen foods aisle, just inches from the end display of charcoal. I lowered my head and looked in the other direction as I snatched a bag and hurried past him, only taking a moment to admire his hands (oh how I love a man's hands). But I watched for him as I stood in line and got a few last glimpses before I left.  

It was so lovely to see him but I really wish I was at a point in my life where I could have spoken to him.  I don't feel good about myself much right now.  Like I said, I've gained weight because I'm in the Don't Care phase and that same phase makes me skip the whole make up thing or the dressing to look and feel good thing.  Give me clothes that don't restrict and less time in the bathroom, thank you very much.  I just don't care.

I think it's the realization that my life is on hold until the lease runs out on this apartment and I can move on.  It's heartbreaking and I wrote a whole post about it a couple of days ago which promptly locked up as soon as I started to add a photo.  I was just too drained to write it again and don't feel much like going into into it now either.  I just need to realize that I can't put my life completely on hold, though - I can't hibernate in an unhappy body for another five months.  It's time to stop eating pretty much constantly and maybe to take a walk after work (it would at least be some form of alone time, too).  To wear something that makes me feel good (which might mean a shopping trip some time in the near future, Ginny - I might need a little pick me up).  To put on make up and walk with confidence because I want to be happy with me even if I'm not happy with everything that involves me at the moment.  

Dear TypePad,

I'm really beginning to think you and I can't be friends any more.  I'm losing too many posts mid-entry and posting photos is a pain.  My entries are awkward and I'm uncomfortable which means I'm not around as much. 

You used to be the best.  I mean, I've shopped around and nothing compares to the way you were when we first met. You gave me everything I needed but, unfortunately, you felt you needed to give me even more.  I wish you'd known that I liked you the just the way you were.  I told all of my friends but I never told you and for that I'm sorry.

I'm going to hold off ending things for a little longer, though, just in case.

Emily

I Crocheted a Ski Hat in June

'Cause I'm all crazy like that.

Tahoe Ski Hat pattern from Crochet Hats! by Candi Jenson (which I picked up at Marshalls the other day for a mere $2.99 - go me).

Granny Squares & Wild Things

I picked up 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton at the library the other night and tried out block 161 - Daisy Chain.  I might make another and two plainer squares for a pillow cover.  Or maybe this'll just end up on my wall in the craft room.

While I was at the park, photographing my little granny square, I caught a flash of yellow out of the corner of my eye. This was all I was able to capture with my camera:

I had to run but I'm going to go back later.  If I can manage to capture this elusive fellow I think I have a friend who could provide a very good home for him....

In other news, I spent Tuesday night going through my clothes and dropped four bags off at Goodwill this afternoon.   Egads, did that feel good!  I got rid of two-thirds of the clothing that hung in my closet and I still have my summer clothes to go through. 

I managed to only hang on to a couple of things that I should have given away: the sweater I had my senior photo taken in and a light brown, men's corduroy jacket that I love love love.  I'm going to cut the jacket up and make it into a tote bag.   If the sweater were feltable I'd make it into a bag as well but it's not - I don't know what I'm going to do with it.  It's too tacky to wear but too sentimental to get rid of.  If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

On the Net for Reasons Other Than Blogging

The Alefest was voted Best Festival in Dayton and they used a photo of us!  It's not the most flattering photo of me but I can pretty much guarantee that I was feeling full and more than a bit inebriated by that point in time, hence my relaxed state.

(That's my dad in the red hat and my mom to his right - the other guys, I think, work with my dad)

Tagged

Tagged by Squeezleknits

 

What were you doing 10 years ago?

I was working on my craft room yesterday and pulled a water damaged photo album (I had a window that leaked in my last apartment and it must have been on the shelf under said window) out of a box.  I flipped through it, wanting to see if I should keep it or just take some of the photos out and trash the album.

Oddly enough, it was from ten/eleven years ago.  There were even photos in there from June 9^th, 1998…nearly ten years to the day!  I had graduated from Wright State a year earlier with a degree in English with an emphasis on Creative Writing and was working as a copy writer for a financial company (which later went under and the founder is now serving time for doing some pretty bad things).  I was with my first real (I had another but I don’t count him) live-in boyfriend, Nate, and just months away from a pretty bad break up and a major (for me at least) shift in my life. 

 

I never thought I’d be the type but I wore combat boots (that I actually need to photograph because I’m finally going to throw them away even though I still love their cracked soles) that Nate bought me when we very first started dating.  When I think of Nate, I think of his comic book collection which was…um, almost like living with a third person who never left behind any dishes for me to wash.  I collected teddy bears and had just gotten a sewing machine.  And I ate a lot of hot food – something I haven’t cared for since.    

What are 5 things on my to-do list?

1. Take care of all the account transfers on my desk
2. Buy yarn to crochet a summer hat
3. Spend at least an hour working on the craft room
4. Get the chicken ready to make Baked Fried Chicken by the Barefoot Contessa tomorrow night
5. Find a dessert to take to the family reunion this Saturday (suggestions welcome!)

It was actually kind of hard to come up with five things.  Mondays don’t motivate me much – I’m going to guess that maybe three of these things will actually get done today. 

Where have I lived?

Bah.  Dayton and Columbus – both in Ohio.  Oh and, if you were at the dinner before my five year reunion, there was that small stint in California where I lived with Pierce Brosnan. 

What would I do if I was a billionaire?

I have thought about this WAY too much.  What to do with my cats while I traveled the world kept getting in the way.  Since this isn’t likely to happen I’m going to pretend I don’t have cats.

I’d quit my job (ahem) and pay off all of my piddly little debts.  Take care of my family.  Travel and buy a home in a little town in Italy as well as in Charleston, South Carolina.  Meet my blog friends in cool places.  I’d take lots of photography and cooking classes and outfit myself with a kick ass kitchen.  And of course, I’d knit and crochet with whatever yarn made my little heart pitter pat.
 

And, because I’m terribly likeable and now well known, meeting celebrities would be a breeze.  I’d have dinner with Elvis Costello and make a failed attempt to woo him away from Diana Krall. Oh well – it was worth a try.

Who would I like to know more about?

 

Kim - Hand Eye Crafts

Delly - Delly Bean (if she ever gets a chance)

Bertha - Karma Kitties

Lisa - Punch Pink - because I love Ginny's idea of having her answer the questions with photos.  :-)

and Mary - Mary Love - because she's fallen off the face of the earth and I keep meaning to email her.  :-)

My Political Heart

There's not much room in my heart for politics but Tim Russert took up what little space there was - I'm really going to miss him.

Kitschy Crewel

I spotted this from across the room, high up on a shelf at the Salvation Army (which used to be a dance club/skating rink called the Bus Stop because the dj booth was the front of a school bus and the back end stuck out into the parking lot).  I walked across what used to be the skating rink, sure that it would have a large price tag because a.) retro is "in" and b.) the Salvation Army puts stupid ridiculously high price tags on some things but was delighted to find that it was in excellent condition and the frame was just as unique as the piece itself.  And what's the price on that little blue sticker?  $4.99?  Hooray! 

I love this nearly as much as I love my scrapghan.  No, wait...I might actually love it more.  Maybe.



This kind of kitsch is representative of how I'd love my entire apartment to look.  I've always loved that seventies look even though you'd never know it to see my apartment now.  My last apartment, that is, since the current one is a serious work in process.  I also found the most amazing hide-a-bed couch at a second hand store a few weeks ago.  I nearly purchased its green, yellow and white flowery goodness.  It was a bit steep at $250 but it was in fantastic shape and, honestly, how great is a hide-a-bed?  I'm sure someone snapped it up but it's been on my mind like a boy I met at a bar, talked with for hours and then let get away without a name or number.   Finding that bed, this picture and starting that afghan has made me think about how I thrift shop (mostly books) and I think I might focus more on this kind of stuff - the stuff that makes me happy.