tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30772459184073510482024-03-13T08:11:25.387-06:00Craft Rage...Making a mess
of things since 1973Rachelle at Craft Ragehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07352391945047429993noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-13410775645728861922011-07-04T13:53:00.002-06:002011-07-04T13:55:15.687-06:00Swimsuit IssuesI've mentioned before that I'm a plus sized woman - I'm currently hovering somewhere between 22 and 24, and am slowly losing weight (another story altogether).<br />
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Last fall, at the end of the season, I was fortunate enough to find a bin of swimsuit separates in all kinds of colors and sizes, some that went together, and some that didn't, all for three dollars each piece. The only catch is, the tops are all sort of ugly, and the bottoms are all shaped vaguely like granny panties.<br />
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Now, I get the physics of stuffing my fat rump into giant granny panties, but I have to say, I'm not fond of the look. It's not like I go to the beach to pick up guys, but a girl wants to be able to PRETEND that they still look great in a swimsuit. Thus, all my swimsuits have little skirts attached, to hide my tush, and make it so that I can pretend that the tops of my thighs don't touch.<br />
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Thus, my latest project is re-vamping all the swimsuit bottoms and tops. On the bottoms, I'll be adding simple little skirts, and for some of the tops, I'll either be adding a bit of length via a coordinating swimsuit fabric, or else I'll be revamping all the tops altogether.<br />
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The reason my last couple of posts have been light on pictures is because I've been having some laziness issues, whereupon the pictures are either still on my camera when I go to write posts, or else I've taken the time to download them to my computer, but I'm at a different computer when I go to post.<br />
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Yesterday, I solved this issue by splurging on a couple of Eye-fi cards, so that as I take the pictures, they'll automatically upload to my picture server on my network, as well as to Picasa. Next post, I'll actually have things to show you!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-60007910980378688062011-05-25T08:49:00.000-06:002011-05-25T08:49:06.678-06:00Two Dog Night<a href="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080101225326/vintagepatterns/images/4/47/M8159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080101225326/vintagepatterns/images/4/47/M8159.jpg" width="250" /></a>So, last post, I mentioned that I'd found a skirt pattern from what looks like the mid to late 40's and that I was going to try making it.<br />
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I made some pretty good progress, though lacking instructions, I'm having some trouble with figuring out how the pockets fit together. Unfortunately, the skirt is far too small for me, so even if it's a success, I'll still have nothing to show for it, except some pictures.<br />
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Even more unfortunately, one of the dogs got sick, and has been going through the cycle of poop/eat poop/vomit partly digested poop. This is apparently because they changed the formula of the puppy food he was on, so I need to find some old bags of food to mix with the new food. I called the pet store and they have what I need, so the problem will be solved later today, but still...<br />
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But wait, ONE of the dogs? Last time I blogged regularly, we had only one dog, Pepper. Now, we also have Comet, AKA our little Christmas Miracle, AKA the Accidental Dog, AKA the Poo Eater. <br />
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How did this happen? Well, we got in the truck to go to see my husband's family for Christmas, and about ten minutes into the trip, we were like "What the heck is that smell?" Turns out, it was Pepper. Like the old saying says, you never know how stinky your dog is until you put it in the truck with you. If that's not an actual old saying, it should be. <br />
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Anyway, as we drove, I called a groomer in the city we expected to be passing through in a couple of hours, and asked if they could do a rush job on a dog wash. They said sure, bring her in. It was, no word of a lie, a place called Vinny's House of Pets. If Tony Soprano had a cousin who liked kitties, this is the kind of place he'd own.<br />
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Anyway, they took Pepper in for a bath, and The Hotness and I decided to wander around the store while we waited. Big mistake. We went down the aisle with the cages, and I was all "Um, let's not look, okay?" and the Hotness was all "Oooh, look, a puppy!"<br />
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Long story short, the guy told us that the puppy was a rescue, and that we could have him for free if we bought a bag of puppy food. I went to sit in the truck to protest the idea of getting a second dog, and also to hide my "I want that puppy" face, and The Hotness came out with the dog, stuck it in my arms, and off we went.<br />
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Before this, I don't think he'd ever set foot on the ground outdoors. The first time I put him down in the snow to pee, he looked at me like "seriously, lady, what the heck is this white stuff?"<br />
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There was much puppy-related Christmas drama (unsurprising) but the end result is that I secretly love this dog. He's stupid looking, and really needy, but OMG, I just want to stick him in my shirt and carry him around with his head poking out of the headhole, so we're cheek to cheek, 24/7. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-36ril7onewY/Td0We06HzqI/AAAAAAAAAMU/qfgC9_BxcNg/s1600/IMG-20110102-00029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-36ril7onewY/Td0We06HzqI/AAAAAAAAAMU/qfgC9_BxcNg/s320/IMG-20110102-00029.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-30875141177609612422011-05-14T08:21:00.000-06:002011-05-14T08:21:37.642-06:00Building a mysteryI'm going through the process of de-stashing, and I've started by selling off as many of my vintage patterns as I can. Some of them are going in my Etsy store, others will end up in lots on eBay; one way or another, I'm getting rid of the old, <strike>to make way for the new</strike> to make room for me to sew.<br />
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One thing about going through your vintage pattern stash, sometimes, as you go through the envelopes, you find some interesting surprises. For example, as I was going through the envelope for this pattern;<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_570xN.243929034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_570xN.243929034.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I came across the pieces for this pattern;<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080101225326/vintagepatterns/images/4/47/M8159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080101225326/vintagepatterns/images/4/47/M8159.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><br />
I don't have the instruction sheet, just enough pattern pieces to make the front, back, and pockets. I'm not sure why, but I feel compelled to see if I can make this skirt from the pieces I have.<br />
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This is likely a fool's errand, but whatever gets me into my sewing room is fine by me!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-66639833421700650412011-05-11T08:43:00.002-06:002011-05-13T14:22:46.583-06:00A personal epiphanyI have to admit; my new coverlock 3.0 was an impulse buy. <br />
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You may be asking yourself, what kind of dork impulse-buys a six hundred dollar sewing machine? I know I certainly asked myself that question quite a bit as I loaded the box into my trunk.<br />
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As I installed my shiny new serger, I had an epiphany of sorts. I'm not who I thought I was!<br />
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I've always considered myself a fly by the seat of my pants kind of person, and this extends to my 'crafting' such as it is. I like to figure things out for myself, or just wing it, far better than I like looking at patterns and reading instruction sheets.<br />
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Admittedly, this is a huge contributing factor to the phenomenon I like to call the "<a href="http://www.craftrage.com/2007/11/craft-rage.html">crap sieve</a>", but after 37 years of working with the crap sieve, I'm more or less immune to the effects. That sort of last-minute lack of planning just kind of works for me in my personal life, though it can be a little frustrating to those around me.<br />
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Still, as I manhandled my new serger downstairs and into my sewing room, I remember clearly thinking "There, NOW I can get some sewing done!" Apparently, in the dark cave that is my mind, I've had this sense that there's no point even trying to sew knit garments if I don't have a serger that will do a proper finish. I didn't even know I felt this way until I brought home my Pfaff. If someone had said "hey, why aren't you doing much sewing?" I would have given a dozen different answers, none of which included "I don't feel like I don't have the right equipment."<br />
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This is the epiphany that I had; apparently, I'm a crafting snob. <br />
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In all other aspects of my life, I'm content to make do, to be slapdash, to cobble together a solution to overcome whatever obstacles are in front of me. But when it comes to my creative side, I don't feel comfortable even trying if I don't have the right gear. <br />
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Goodness knows, I've got a terrible lack of skill, but still, I DO have the ability to sew a zig-zag stitch, which is really all you need to knock together simple knit garments. Most of my sewing machines actually come with several nice stretch stitches, PLUS, I've got a perfectly good 4-thread serger.<br />
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I'm very exasperated with myself, but also, I'm feeling very good about getting started. Now if only I could get the new dog to stop pooping next to my sewing room, I could go sew something!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-66475185812070781472011-05-11T08:28:00.001-06:002011-05-11T08:29:45.171-06:00Back in the gameIt's been a difficult two years; several deaths in the family, some serious illness (not my own), and a lot of other family stuff has kept me from sewing. But with the advent of spring, and with most of the bad stuff behind me, I'm starting to feel it. "It." My sewing mojo, back and in full swing.<br />
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To celebrate its return, I went ahead and bought myself this;<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M9S5kmzsrkk/TcqZHKhM6XI/AAAAAAAAAH4/hwbS2lW-XNI/s1600/f72150e300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M9S5kmzsrkk/TcqZHKhM6XI/AAAAAAAAAH4/hwbS2lW-XNI/s320/f72150e300.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, Mr. P, let's make a knit dress together!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
My very own Pfaff coverlock 3.0. <br />
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I'm proud to say that during my hiatus, I didn't buy so much as a single scrap of fabric, though I really wanted to; more than once, I found myself in a fabric store, fingering fabric and thinking about the possibilities. I'm know for certain that I'm not the only sewist out there who feels a real sense of comfort from their stash, but I may be the only one with a 600 metre stash, who has yet to complete even one single wearable garment.<br />
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Well, that's untrue; I did make myself a knit top three years ago, which I still wear. It has unfinished edges, and I have to wear it backwards because I cut the front too low, and when I wear it the right way, my bra shows.<br />
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It's time to up my game. Here's to me making a shirt I can wear the right way around! Wish me luck!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-65940045675849084542009-09-03T11:15:00.001-06:002009-12-14T13:48:25.332-06:00I'm a married lady!My last post was Feb 25 of this year, and I was all "I'm back, and I'm going to post every single day!"<br /><br />On May 22nd, I had an epiphany. My wedding date was August 15th, and I had NOTHING done. NOTHING.<br /><br />Now granted, The Hotness and I were aiming for a small, backyard ceremony, with very few guests, but when May 22nd rolled around and I realized that I had NO plans at all, I figured it was time to get rolling.<br /><br />If you're still out there, Dear Reader, stay tuned; I'll be back with photos and embarrassing stories shortly!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-43015178777022315272009-02-25T08:16:00.003-06:002009-02-25T08:25:09.132-06:00Packed full of whimsyOkay, I said I was baaaaack, but I know it appears otherwise. In reality, I am more back than you think. Worst grammar ever, but just play along with me, here.<br /><br />Since I cleaned up my craft/sewing room, I've been going like a madwoman. I've made a pair of shorts, a necklace/bracelet/earrings combo, and am halfway through a reversible dress that I'm making without the benefit of a pattern, but rather from a picture in my head. <br /><br />I've hauled out my papermaking supplies, my corsetmaking supplies, and my scrapbooking supplies, did a little bit of preliminary work on each, and then stacked them neatly so that when I'm ready to do a few more minutes, I can easily get to what I need.<br /><br />I've been learning how to use my new camera, teaching myself how to really understand the whole f-stop thing. Seriously; I can do complex corporate bookkeeping, but for some reason, I can't figure out how to take a properly focused picture, even though my camera has a higher IQ than I do.<br /><br />In short, I've been on a roll, creatively, and have found it difficult to stop and take a breath so that I can write about it.<br /><br />Stay tuned; tonight I'll post some pictures!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-70921341786698198302009-02-18T17:41:00.004-06:002009-02-19T08:20:20.603-06:00I'm Ba-aa-aa-ck!This blog isn't ALL about my crafts, but honestly, when I don't have the opportunity to be creative, I find it really hard to blog about ANYTHING. Since Christmas, my mojo has been missing, not because I haven't been feeling creative, but because my craft room / sewing room has been looking like this;<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; width: 350px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_zPCIFyyVLBM/SZydLpWsZJI/AAAAAAAAACA/fNaAizj-G5w/before.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304287284540761234" border="0" />I wish I could explain how this happened, but I just can't. Well, except I can explain the dog and cat food; we bought bags larger than our storage containers, so what the heck; excess pet food obviously belongs in Rachelle's craft room, right? Thanks, Hotness. :P Unfortunately, I can't really blame him for anything else in there.<br /><br />As the picture says, that was the room on Saturday morning. On Sunday afternoon (yes, a full day and a half later!!), this is what it looks like;<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_zPCIFyyVLBM/SZydLrYhBpI/AAAAAAAAACI/3zdERikBKqg/after.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304287285085275794" border="0" />I noticed a couple of things while I was cleaning out my sewing room. First, I have a nasty habit of buying a minimum of 8 metres of every fabric I purchase. I'm not sure why this is; I'm a large woman, but other than my wedding dress, nothing I make for myself REQUIRES 8m of fabric. I'm not complaining or anything; the extra fabric gives me a bit of wiggle room when I'm working on a project; at least I know I won't run out of anything.<br /><br />Second, I noticed that my sewing room chair, a full-sized manager's office chair, is completely inappropriate for sewing. Not only is it oversized for the room, but the huge armrests are ALWAYS in the way. So for now, I'm on a folding chair, which is proving to be surprisingly comfortable, and I've been sewing like a fiend for the past few days! I made Pepper a new dog bed for her crate, as well as a pair of shorts for our upcoming trip to Mexico. I'll show those in my next post.<br /><br />Third, I noticed that I need to keep better track of the Christmas gifts I buy; as I excavated the room, I came up with a few gifts for The Hotness, which I'd purchased, forgotten, and then piled stuff on top of. I should have told him they were Valentines Day gifts, but I'm just not a very good liar.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-25489426400668632332009-01-28T08:15:00.002-06:002009-01-28T09:22:56.075-06:00Holy Macaroni!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9M-AyT9pkIg/SX3tVsN2GnI/AAAAAAAAAFg/u3gP320AVus/s200/kreativblogger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9M-AyT9pkIg/SX3tVsN2GnI/AAAAAAAAAFg/u3gP320AVus/s200/kreativblogger.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/00449229622474314815">Karen</a>, from <a href="http://sewingbytheseatofmypants.blogspot.com/">Sewing By The Seat of My Pants</a>, has nominated me for a Kreativ Blogger Award, and I'm both excited and kind of embarrassed.<br /><br />Excited because this is my first award, and embarrassed because I've been a bit lax in my posting.<br /><br />It's a little like being chosen, say, Miss USA, but then having the camera and spotlight turn on you just as you're reaching into your dress to adjust your cleavage.<br /><br />At any rate, thanks so much, Karen, for your continued faith in my ability to NOT sew my fingers together!<br /><br />Part of this award, as you know, is nominating five others. I have a large number of blogs in my Google Reader list, all of which you can see on the right hand side of my page. I'm exceptionally pleased to be able to pass this award along!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/00245673986722217155">Camilla</a>, from <a href="http://camillaknits.blogspot.com/">CamillaKnits</a>, because she makes ME want to knit, even though I'm perfectly terrible at it. Plus, I yearn to shop at <a href="http://www.clementinesdrygoods.com/">Clementines</a>!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06219012195697842766">Kristin</a>, from <a href="http://quiltilicious.blogspot.com/">Quiltilicious</a>, because her quilts are amazing, but her sewing studio purely takes my breath away!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/11306402827007809895">Barbara</a>, from <a href="http://moxietonic.blogspot.com/">MoxieTonic</a>, because I love her style. And that <a href="http://moxietonic.blogspot.com/2008/03/dress.html">Flamingo dress!</a><br /><br />Gigi, from <a href="http://behindtheseams.wordpress.com/">Behind The Seams</a>, because I can't stop staring at her <a href="http://behindtheseams.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/379/">gorgeous</a> <a href="http://behindtheseams.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/dresses-2/">knit</a> <a href="http://behindtheseams.wordpress.com/2008/09/06/kimono-dress-almost-done/">dresses</a>.<br /><br />And finally, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/06736176758196612844">Erin</a>, from <a href="http://www.dressaday.com/dressaday.html">A Dress A Day</a>, for many, many reasons, but mostly because of the <a href="http://www.dressaday.com/2007/02/no-luke-i-am-your-duro.html">Darth Vader Duro</a>.<br /><br />Thanks for the nomination, Karen!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-41354253945624995962009-01-08T08:17:00.004-06:002009-01-08T14:43:52.725-06:00Oh dog, my dogFor your viewing pleasure, I'm presenting an art installation which I like to call "Thirty Seconds Alone With The Dog."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SWVfXtWt8pI/AAAAAAAABvc/JMLGcoc-0Rs/s400/dogglasses.jpg"><br /></div><br />The pair on the top were The Hotness' brand new, $200.00 fancy glasses, which he spent an hour and forty minutes picking out.<br /><br />The pair on the bottom were my brand new, $8.00 cheapo glasses from <a href="http://www.zennioptical.com/">Zenni Optical</a>, which I learned about on <a href="http://missceliespants.blogspot.com/">Cidell's blog</a> ages ago, but only worked up the courage to try recently.<br /><br />Though officially We Are Not Pleased about the chewing, I'm actually secretly relieved about the green Zenni pair; they were very comfortable, but the colors looked HORRIBLE on me, and let's face it, now I <strike>get</strike> have to order more glasses, and really, what's the point of only ordering one pair? Might as well get three or four!<br /><br />I currently have six or seven pairs from Zenni, including two pairs of prescription sunglasses, and I'm not entirely certain that I've spent more than $100.00 yet.<br /><br />I heart cheap glasses. Thanks for the great shopping tip, <a href="http://missceliespants.blogspot.com/">Cidell</a>!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-7856677239571249622009-01-07T11:24:00.007-06:002009-01-07T16:47:56.075-06:00Sick DayUgh.<br /><br />I love a good sick day, but I surely do hate actually being sick.<br /><br />So, we had a bit of family drama yesterday; Pepper, The Hotness, and I, came home from work in the city. The Hotness went to my office to google something, while I stayed in the kitchen and started dinner. After a few minutes, Dinger came running into the kitchen with Pepper hot on his heels, and when I looked down, I was startled to see Dinger covered in blood.<br /><br />I didn't get a picture, but I'm ashamed to admit that my second instinct was to run and get my camera. My first instinct, however, was a bit more noble; I "rescued" Dinger from the awful dog.<br /><br />Two things you must know; one is that Pepper is Dinger's best friend. They spend hours playing and napping together. The other is that Dinger has grown from the emaciated kitten he was when I picked him up,<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 350px;" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SWTwcE0XmLI/AAAAAAAABu0/sMqsFwuN05c/skinny.jpg" border="0" /><br /></div>into some kind of hybrid between a cat, a rabbit, and a badger. He's a rumbly, purring, fluffy, solid mass of claws and teeth.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 350px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SWTwlKSbmiI/AAAAAAAABu8/Lku4vhCm_iY/skinnynomore.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288616383647291938" border="0" /><br /></div><br />He's not large in size, but his mass has grown so much that I wonder if he might not collapse in on himself and create a black hole which will suck all the other animals into it. If I suddenly disappear from the blogosphere, you may assume that Dinger's belly has reached critical mass, and our whole house has been sucked off the map. Picking him up is very much like picking up a furry, squirming bowling ball, and not just a little five-pin ball, but a hefty, fuzzy, 10-pin ball.<br /><br />Anyway, my point is that Dinger can take care of himself, and he and Pepper really get along. So much that sometimes I wonder what their offspring would look like. It's disturbing.<br /><br />Back to the story; Dinger, covered in blood.<br /><br />I've typed out the whole story twice now, but both times, it was just a bunch of blah blah blah, so long story short, nobody was hurt; Pepper lost her first tooth, and then went and licked Dinger. <br /><br />The Hotness immediately took Pepper off to give her a bubble bath and lots of tummy rubs, and I sat down with Dinger and wiped the blood off his fur, while the other cats looked on with envy in their eyes, so I ended up wiping EVERYONE down with warm, damp paper towels, and dinner was an hour late. The end.<br /><br />Except it wasn't really the end. Neither The Hotness nor I will admit it, but we are both looking for that lost tooth. Since I'm having a sick day, I think perhaps I'll go and have another look. Wish me luck!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-8072320099051437512009-01-06T08:10:00.007-06:002009-12-14T13:22:22.503-06:00Ad now I hab a codeThe Hotness has become The Hot Male Version Of Typhoid Mary, and has succeeded in infecting me with a vicious sinus cold.<br /><br />It occurs to me that describing my symptoms might be oversharing just a little, so I'll spare you that, at least, but honestly, how can one human body manufacture this much slime?<br /><br />At any rate, I'm back to work (and have I mentioned that I love my job? <a href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/11/short-one.html">I have</a>? Well, good!). I'm working like a crazy person, and I also still haven't unpacked all of our combined Christmas presents, so all the other wonderful stuff I planned to blog about is still in suitcases.<br /><br />I will say, though, that The Hotness did an exceptionally good job with his Christmas shopping this year; he always does pretty well, but this year he actually got creative with my list and bought according to themes, instead of just what was on my list.<br /><br />Normally, he Christmas shops for me by hounding me for a Christmas list for two months, and when I finally give it to him, he gives it back to me and tells me to write down where to find everything on the list, and how much it all is. When I've done the research, I give him the list back and he goes shopping. The accountant in me LOVES this, because I know he's paying the best possible prices, but I have to admit, it's not terribly romantic.<br /><br />This year, I gave him just the list of items and told him to be creative, and darned if he didn't do that! I asked for a new set of pots and pans, and he came across with the stainless steel Rachel Ray set, AND a couple of matching non-stick pans and a dutch oven type thingie, and some matching utensils, AND the Big Orange Cookbook.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 196px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SWNsaYTk2fI/AAAAAAAABuA/lDQqH2-FhK0/s320/rr.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288189587920050674" border="0" /><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 187px;" src="http://images.booksite.com/img/ing_img/0808/9780307383198.gif" alt="" border="0" /><br /></div>I'm a HUGE fan of Rachel Ray as a chef; I love watching 30 Minute Meals, and I've actually tried many of her 30 minute recipes, though honestly, it only takes 30 minutes if you know exactly what you're doing, and if your kitchen is clean to start off with. :)<br /><br />On the other hand, I'd rather poke at my eyeballs with a sharp stick than watch her talk show. Seriously. I'm not sure why.<br /><br />For those of you out there who might be laughing about the possible lack of romance in asking for pots and pans for Christmas, you have to understand how much I love to cook, and how difficult it is to cook a decent meal with what I had before.<br /><br />My entire kitchen set consisted of one HUGE stock pot, sized to fit both a turkey carcass AND two small children, the <a href="http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/20139322">Ikea KAVALKAD</a> set of three pots, priced at $9.99, the largest of which was the perfect size for a cereal bowl on a hungry morning, and a pink non-stick frying pan I bought at Wal-Mart two years ago.<br /><br />Now that I have pots big enough to make soup, I've been doing so with a vengance; baked potato soup, chicken lemon rice soup, and a few of my other favorites. I'd post some pictures but my kitchen is actually too messy to photograph right now, but as soon as I get that sorted out, I'll do that. And I can do that because in addition to my other as-yet-unmentioned gifts, The Hotness also bought me a new camera.<br /><br />And not JUST a new camera, but a <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012403canoneos450d.asp">Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi</a>!!!!! Eeeeee!<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SWNyKXwRd1I/AAAAAAAABuI/JHLZ873Zl4c/s320/c.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288195909963839314" border="0" /><br /></div>I cannot even express my joy; I've always been interested in photography, and while I've loved my point-and shoot cameras, I've always secretly yearned for a really good camera with a couple of lens options. This baby will do everything I could possibly want, once I finally learn to use it.<br /><br />Now if only my house was clean enough to take pictures in! Maybe if I ask Mrs. G, she'll let me borrow <a href="http://derfwadmanor.blogspot.com/2009/01/bigger-love-episode-55-new-year.html">one of her husbands</a> to come over and whip my home into shape!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-49304330510436285062009-01-01T22:10:00.006-06:002009-01-01T23:04:40.756-06:00Happy New Year<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">It's been an incredibly busy Christmas season, but we came through it rather well, and all of us (the cats, the dog, The Hotness, and myself) got spoiled quite rotten.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />The last month or so has been a pretty bad one for blogging. Most of this is because The Hotness is home a lot these days, and it's hard to maintain a "secret" blog when he's around, because he's wicked curious. I guess there's no real reason for me to keep it a "secret" - it's not like I ever say anything on the blog that would make him feel exposed or disappointed; heck, y'all don't even know his name!<br /><br />Still, I don't know - I don't have a circle of girlfriends or anything like that, so this kind of feels like my social outlet.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />Wow. Pathetic, party of one!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">At any rate, starting this week, I'll be back to my normal three or four posts a week; I'd love to promise daily posts, but a dirty lie is no way to start the new year!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">I have all sorts of great gifts I'll probably mention in upcoming posts, but my favorite was actually one I gave to The Hotness.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">As I mentioned in an earlier post, </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-did-it-on-purpose.html">The Hotness got a dog a few months back</a><span style="font-family:georgia;">. The dog, whose name was up in the air for a few weeks and is now named Pepper, is going to be a bird dog when she grows up, or so The Hotness believes.<br /><br />Since she still </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/12/oy-with-vey-already.html">can't figure out what the word duck </a></span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/12/oy-with-vey-already.html">means,</a><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I worry that he's setting his sights a little high, but who knows!</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />At any rate, one of the gifts I bought him for Christmas is the Retreiv-R-Trainer, which is a thingy that launches bird-shaped or vaguely bird-esque dummies into the air so that you can train your dog to hear the gunshot and look for the falling bird.</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;">It looks like this;</span> </span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 307px; height: 110px; font-family: georgia;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SV2b-iAaZMI/AAAAAAAABtw/9rPKqeg0_g4/retriev.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286553036185560258" border="0" /> </span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">So essentially, you slide a fake duck on the silver part, then pull down at the bottom and let go, and it fires a blank 22 shell. The gas expansion fires the fake duck way up in to the air, and the dog is supposed to see it fall and go after it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Pepper does not understand this. She hears the shot, and doesn't flinch or bark or anything, but she just CANNOT connect the idea that if a shot is fired, a duck will fall from the sky. </span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br />Anyway, my kind Brother In Law actually picked this up for me at a gun dog shop in Manitoba, and wrapped it and brought it to the cabin for family Christmas. During the shopping phase, he and I had this brief email exchange;</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">BIL:</span><br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">I got this launcher. The guy at SIR recommended it. He has one. You can get all kinds of other attachments for it, including one that you can use to brace against your leg so that when you shoot, it doesn't hurt your hand.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Me:</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />YOU ARE MY FREAKING HERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</span> </span><div id=":dg" class="ArwC7c ckChnd"><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >This is AWESOME, and PERFECT! </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" >Thank you so much, </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" class="nfakPe" >BIL</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" > - I REALLY appreciate all the work you did tracking this down!!! The Hotness is going to be over the moon!</span> <span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><br /><br />BIL </span>(<span style="font-weight: bold;">a few days later</span>)<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">:<br />I found the attachment for the launcher, the </span></span></span> <span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">one you can use to shoot off your leg.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Clearly, he is referring to his earlier email. I, however, did NOT put two and two together.<br /><br />This is the response I sent.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Me: Hmm.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"> I think The Hotness needs both his legs. Maybe we won't get the leg-shooting-off attachment for a few years.</span></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" > </span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 310px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SV2fbn5GvyI/AAAAAAAABt4/ZTwGM_VSqP0/Pepper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286556834516614946" border="0" /></span><br /></div></div></div></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-62719626668480443592008-12-17T07:50:00.004-06:002008-12-17T10:12:27.603-06:00Oy with the Vey, already!My life is moving along at a somewhat ridiculous pace, and my blogging has suffered as a result. In the end, it's probably ME who suffers, because blogging is a nice outlet for me.<br /><br />At any rate, this is a catch-up post; read at your own peril (as in, if you fall asleep on your keyboard and wake up with a J imprinted on your forehead, I take no responsibility!).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Job</span><br /><br />Hoo doggies, do I love my newest job. Many moons ago, <a href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/01/holy-holiday-season-batman.html">I posted</a> that I'd left my employer to start my own business. I did this, and with enough success that I was still bringing home about the same amount of money as when I was working for The Man, or in my case, The Terrible Woman Who Had A Troubled Relationship With The Truth, And Wanted Me To Lie To The Auditor.<br /><br />Anyway, a few months back, I went from being pretty busy to being run right off my feet, when I accepted a part-time position at a local non-profit. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say it's both challenging AND rewarding, and even though I was hesitant to work for someone other than myself, I'm exceptionally happy to go to work in the morning.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Dog</span><br /><br />Her name is Pepper. I love her to bits and want to nom her floppy ears, but I also secretly want to clean her teeth with The Hotness' toothbrush, because seriously, at 1:00AM, when his dog starts to whine to go out, I KNOW he can hear her, but he'll just lay there quietly, waiting for ME to get out of bed and let her out, and that's making me a bit resentful and passive-aggressive - he's had nothing but breakfast food for supper for, like two weeks. Bacon soothes my savage breast.<br /><br />At any rate, she's ridiculously cute, but also REALLY stupid. I bought her a stuffed duck the first day that we got her, and from the very first night, I've been training her that This Is Your Duck, and to Go Get The Duck. She's probably heard both The Hotness and I say "Duck, Duck, Go Get The Duck!" about nine thousand times since we got the thing, but she still doesn't connect the word "duck" with the stuffed toy.<br /><br />Her manners are improving, though; she's pretty much housebroken unless The Hotness totally misses it. Like last night, when I was working in my office and he was playing Socom on the Playstation, and she peed on the couch two feet away from him because he got all wrapped up in his game and forgot to let her out.<br /><br /><sigh>Also, the hidden cost of owning Pepper is tallying up fast. <br /><br />The Hotness' brand new glasses: $200.00<br />The Hotness' brand new cell phone: $600.00<br />The Hotness' replacement cell phone: $150.00 (repair bill)<br />The Hotness' fancy Playstation charging cable: $49.99<br />The living room coffee table: $189.00<br /><br />She also has found an accomplice in Dinger The Deaf Wonder Cat. The two of them are remarkably good friends, and somehow or other, though Pepper isn't smart enough to Go Get The Duck, she has found some way to instruct Dinger to climb onto the kitchen table and kitchen counters, and knock things off so that she, Pepper, can drag them throughout the house and chew them up. We did a sweep to make sure that anything small enough to actually be swallowed was out of their reach, but even if she doesn't manage to swallow something totally inappropriate, I see a huge dental bill in my future. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Wedding</span><br /><br />Last night, I had my first wedding dream/nightmare. I dreamed that it was a week to my wedding, and I was just starting the planning, and that I was too fat to fit into my dress, so I had to sew a new one from scratch. I was sitting at my sewing machine with my BlackBerry taped to my head, sewing and weeping while I used voice dial to call caterers and beg for perogies. I woke up with a wicked facial twitch, and have decided that it's time to pull out that stupid wedding book and start making some actual plans.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Christmas Shopping</span><br /><br />Ha. This is an easy one. My family doesn't do a gift exchange; I stuff money in envelopes and take each of my nieces for a shopping trip to spend it, because they're teenage girls and say what you want, but teenage girls, no matter how kind and sweet and wonderful, would rather have cash.<br /><br />The Hotness' family, on the other hand, has a complex set of Christmas rules, the clearest of which involves the mandatory spending of $50.00 plus tax on each person. When we were just a bunch of couples, this was kind of fair, but now that each of his brothers has two children, it's gotten pretty expensive. After the first year, I begged out, and told The Hotness that he is solely and completely responsible for selecting gifts for his family, and monitoring the spending, and the whole nine yards.<br /><br />I won't even pick things up for him anymore, because two years ago, he made a huge fuss over making sure that we got a copy of this one kid's movie, so he called me long distance and made me stay on the phone with him while I got in my car, went to the video store, located and purchased a copy of the movie.<br /><br />Then on Christmas day, he was shocked and disappointed to "discover" that I had purchased the movie "without telling him", because he ALSO bought a copy, and obviously I was the crazy one. He had no recollection of the phone call, and I had to bust out a copy of my cell phone bill to convince him that there'd even BEEN a 45 minute long distance cell phone call. And even after seeing the bill, he was pretty sure we'd talked about something else, even though I also produced the receipt that showed that the time and date of the purchase was the same as the date and time of the call.<br /><br />Sooo.... with one thing and another, I only have one person to buy for; The Hotness himself. And I'm all finished, except for a few stocking stuffers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sewing</span><br /><br />Yeah, if I've had no time to blog, I've had no time to sew. <br /><br /></sigh>A couple weeks ago, I made a creditable attempt at making Pepper a dog bed. There's a big fluffy pillow in her crate, so I figured I'd sew a simple oversized pillowcase for it, and around three sides, I'd attach a hollow tube with some fluffy fill in it so she could lean against it; she's kind of a leaner.<br /><br />Unfortunately, I sewed the pillowcase completely shut, and sewed the tube wrong sides together and with the ends sewn shut, so that when I tried to turn it right side out... Well, imagine turning a sock inside out, sewing the top shut, and then trying to turn it back the right way.<br /><br />The worst part was that just in the split second that I realized that I'd made a couple of mistakes, The Hotness poked his head in and asked how it was going. I'm a very poor liar, so he's STILL laughing at me, and it's been three weeks.<br /><sigh><br />Since the mishap with the dog bed, I've avoided my sewing room as though there's a hungry giant in there. Don't get me wrong, I'm YEARNING to go in there and make things happen, but this is the wrong time of year for me to get all involved in a project, only to leave it behind when we go away for Christmas.<br /><br />I've run out of both things to say and time to say them. Next post, I'll share some pictures of some of my more notable knitting failures.<br /></sigh>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-82778234963088284252008-12-12T07:50:00.003-06:002008-12-12T07:54:09.806-06:00Is this thing on?I'm here, but BOY, am I tired!<br /><br />A real post will be up soon, with pictures! Tomorrow, at the latest, I swear!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-21673399193689714682008-11-12T18:25:00.005-06:002008-11-12T19:03:40.490-06:00A short oneIn our beginning, there was The Hotness. And The Hotness said "Let there be cats." And the cats said "Meow," and life was good.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SRt2lpnvbWI/AAAAAAAABp8/I0XbUksqLzQ/lettherbecats.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267934578339704162" border="0" /><br /></div>And time passed, and the wheel of time turned, and The Hotness spoke again, and said "Let there be dog." And the dog said "I like to chew electrical cords," and life was messy, but also very good.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SRt2mNWcRvI/AAAAAAAABqE/mW0YItZ3Te4/lettherbedog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267934587930822386" border="0" /><br /></div><br />And between the new dog and a new job, I am overwhelmed. I've been sewing a little, and hope to have something to show for it soon, but mostly, I am trying to find time to sleep and clean my extraordinarily messy house.<br /><br />My new job is for a church-based non-profit that runs affordable housing in a nearby city. I LOVE it. I've worked for non-profit organizations before, but this is something completely different; this place has soul, and is chock-full of unpretentious goodness. <br /><br />Not the kind of goodness that feels forced and a little grating, but just solid, homely, "Hey, Rachelle, have these shoes on your first day of work!" goodness. <br /><br />No kidding, my very first day, my office mate was playing Cinderella with a pair of lovely little brown leather kitten heels, trying to find someone whose feet fit them; her sister is a costume designer, and these were bought for a play but never worn. They magically fit my feet, and now I have a part-time job I love, AND some wicked cute shoes!<br /><br />At any rate, more posts to follow; the ball-skirt is done, as is most of the drop-waisted skirt. I have only to finish the mock-up of the corset, and then I can post pictures of me trying everything on.<br /><br />For now, this will have to hold you. This is what I found on the living room couch while The Hotness was "watching football".<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SRt8qnVzhgI/AAAAAAAABqM/i2U6ezyyRZw/crashed.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267941260696716802" border="0" /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-85233563779862383202008-11-04T07:06:00.003-06:002008-11-04T07:23:05.659-06:00Kind of lostI have all the pieces cut out for two test dresses, but I just can't seem to get it together. Mentally, I mean.<br /><br />Several times this weekend, I sat in my sewing room, looking at all the carefully folded stacks of pieces, in two colors of taffeta, and got intimidated. <br /><br />I don't know why it just happened now. Why NOW? The hard part is over. Granted, I made it up as I went along, but all the seams are measured and double-measured, and will match up fine; all I need to do is sew everything together and try it on, and make adjustments if necessary.<br /><br />I know that part of it is the fact that I can't keep my needle from railroading my taffeta like crazy. I can't seem to find microtex needles in any of the local sewing stores, although I have one more to check this afternoon. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SOTSo42bzJI/AAAAAAAABhI/DA5KA8TVLq0/railroad.jpg%20/" /><br /></div><br />These are only test dresses, and I really shouldn't spend so much time worrying about a defect that nobody will ever see, but still; if I can't keep THIS taffeta from railroading, what's to say I'm going to be able to keep the fabric of my ACTUAL dress from doing the same? Part of this whole test thing is not only to test the pattern pieces, but also my equipment.<br /><br />Gah! I'm not really a person who spends a great deal of time being full of angst and worry, so it's really frustrating to look at those two partly-finished garments and be unable to force myself to proceed. I actually sat at my sewing machine for TWO HOURS on Sunday, and didn't sew a stitch. I walked away and made lunch, then returned and sat for ANOTHER hour before I finally picked up a pair of dress pants that needed to be let down, and did that instead. <br /><br />Sometimes I feel better after a good rant. Hopefully, this was it. Thanks for listening. Or whatever.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-62889553397085101272008-10-30T06:52:00.004-06:002008-10-30T07:17:52.013-06:00My very first "Dogs On Thursday"The Hotness is SMITTEN.<br /><br />She who once was nameless, has now been tentatively named "Misty". As a silver-factored lab, apparently there's a possibility that when she grows up, her guard coat will grow some silver hairs.<br /><br />I'm not sure if naming a dog based on a possibility of what she might look like in a few months is the best idea, but Misty is an easy name to say, and sounds different enough from all of the cat names so as not to cause confusion.<br /><br />All the animals are getting along surprisingly well; <a href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/08/no-more-cat-posts-after-this-one.html">Dinger</a>, the deaf kitten, has been a real ice breaker. He's either not smart enough to be scared, or else nearly <a href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/08/what-do-you-name-deaf-kitten.html"><strike>being eaten by coyotes</strike> starving to death</a> has made him largely immune to regular fear. So, they've pretty much been best buds since Misty walked in the door.<br /><br />She's hard to photograph, because she doesn't sit still very long.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SQmx_7Ac_OI/AAAAAAAABpE/VVtj2yKWz18/dog2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262933351288601826" border="0" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SQmx_gaqtfI/AAAAAAAABo8/61jkuFCdOu4/dog1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262933344150795762" border="0" /><br /></div>She spent the day at work with The Hotness yesterday, which is where she is today, and where she'll probably be during the week for the rest of her doggy life, or at least until it gets cold. Apparently his employer has a fairly open "bring your dog to work" policy, which I think is pretty great, since I'm now working ALL OF THE TIME, and can't be home during the day to care for her.<br /><br />All day with The Hotness. Lucky dog!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-19685476459619082212008-10-29T07:02:00.004-06:002008-10-29T07:32:32.687-06:00We did it on purposeThis wasn't an accident. Or a whim.<br /><br />The Hotness has talked about it for six and a half years. He's dreamed about it. He's spent countless hours looking at dog breed websites, making lists about what kind of dog he might want to get, what personality traits are important, what kind of activities he might want to do with a dog.<br /><br />So we didn't just wake up yesterday morning and say "Let's go get a dog." But that's what we did.<br /><br />Meet She Who Remains Nameless. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_tuimNTa6aF0/SQhkJ-CNS4I/AAAAAAAABoc/zW69c7FGYmU/nameless.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262566287016283010" border="0" /><br /></div>She's a registered, purebred, silver-factored black lab. She spent the night snoring peacefully in The Hotness' arms. I spent the night wide awake, nosed and clawed and purred at by four slightly put-out cats who couldn't figure out why this interloper was taking up their spot on the other side of the bed.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-89119116773123114262008-10-27T08:17:00.003-06:002008-10-27T08:48:08.360-06:00A week, goneThis past week has been a bit of a mess; last Tuesday, I flew out to visit my Mom, mostly to see her new place, which is great, but also, to do some exploratory wedding shopping.<br /><br />I live near a good-sized city, but it has very few wedding shops, and those that are here all carry the same dresses, the same invitations, all that stuff. So I figured that if Mom and I did a surgical strike on the phone book in Edmonton, we'd be able to spend a few days filling out some of the vague ideas floating around in my head.<br /><br />She has a bunch of extra vacation days she needs to burn off before Jan 1, so she took Wednesday and Thursday off to drive me around and give me her motherly input, which I greatly appreciated. Her taste and mine differ greatly (GREATLY) when it comes to fashion, so a couple years ago, when I showed her a few dresses I liked, she was kind of horrified, and said that she thought they looked like draperies that just fell off the rods. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/craftrage/R1M7GWw5SlI/AAAAAAAAADU/LE16BoCE0gg/dress.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /></div>Apparently two years of mulling it over has given her a slightly different opinion, because at every wedding store we went into, she pointed to that same style of dress and exclaimed how wonderful it looked. <br /><br />At any rate, in all our searching, we did NOT find anything but garden variety a-line dresses, which I found pretty disappointing. And on top of it, we also found some incredibly poor service, which kind of put us both off. <br /><br />On the other hand, I found a store in Edmonton that sells the most amazing bridal lace, and in fact, if some other woman hadn't beaten me to it, I probably would have left the store with a bunch of gold re-embroidered lace priced at $139.00 per metre. That would have made it my largest ever impulse-buy, so it's probably for the best that the woman bought the last eight metres for her own dress. At least now I know where to go when the time comes for the real dress.<br /><br />Before I went on my trip, I bought The Hotness the newest version of <a href="http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/Games/SOCOM_U_S_Navy_SEALs_Confrontation">Socom</a>, a game for Playstation 3, which I find difficult to explain. Essentially, it's an online babysitting service for adult males. He can entertain himself for hours, and I can clean the house, or sew, or set the house ablaze and dance around it dressed like a clown; he won't notice until the TV starts to burn. The thing is, it's also kind of fun to watch, so I didn't actually get anything done this weekend, but I think I'm over the initial shiny newness of the game, and am ready to start taking advantage of the free time!<br /><br />I realize that all this wedding talk isn't very entertaining. Hence, I will be piecing together the test skirt tonight, and should be posting pictures tomorrow. Wish me luck!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-45326193983471858812008-10-20T07:29:00.004-06:002008-10-20T07:54:53.699-06:00More vintage patternsYou'd think after all the patterns I've dragged home from garage sales, I'd start to get a bit ho-hum about the whole experience. Apparently, not so much. I had to restrain myself from doing the happy dance on some lady's lawn when I found a box of vintage patterns.<br /><br />The lady sewed for herself, her three daughters, and all her friends, so there are patterns in a variety of sizes, right from size 10 teen to size 23 1/2 woman. Most are from the 50's and early 60's. There are a few from the '70's, which really isn't my favorite style period, but for the most part, they're still patterns I think are interesting, and a few are actually items I'd sew for myself, which I don't often say about '70's styles.<br /><br />Here are a few of my favorites;<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/craftrage/SPyIvALiGxI/AAAAAAAABiY/ztytdiIMUCE/s3918.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/craftrage/SPyIvlp882I/AAAAAAAABig/nvRxc4PeXgM/s3892.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/craftrage/SPyIvhZfPJI/AAAAAAAABio/ndTaqMWfSKE/s3076.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/craftrage/SPyIvzw3dAI/AAAAAAAABiw/KutRBizigYM/s2602.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/craftrage/SPyIwV_rAoI/AAAAAAAABi4/DGx7kEVPqJk/b6995.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="width: 375px;" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/craftrage/SPyJXTWn1fI/AAAAAAAABjA/qLvPfpv2qQg/s3580.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></div><br />I'm starting to think it's time to do another giveaway, because once again, my collection has now overflowed the two dressers I bought solely for the purpose of storing it. Stay tuned!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-30132209583210617502008-10-15T06:31:00.000-06:002008-10-15T06:31:00.414-06:00A bit of wedding planning.I suck at making plans. Especially party plans. This runs in my family; I swear, it's not just me.<br /><br />For example, my mom was dead set on throwing me a Sweet 16 party. Even though the previous 15 birthday parties had been poorly attended, because my birthday is in August, and there's generally nobody around, my mom really, really wanted to give me this experience.<br /><br />She rented a hall, did real invitations and sent them out, and organized pizza for 50. 20 people showed up; eight of my friends, and twelve of their PARENTS. Nothing says "party down" like a bunch of parents. <br /><br />Still, I loved that not-party, because the friends who DID attend were actually great friends, people I totally loved, and all of them saw the humor in sitting in a huge empty hall, eating cold pizza with their parents watching. We still laugh about that night, and I think my mom might still have some of the leftover pizza in the freezer.<br /><br />Anyway, ever since that day, I've always had an intense fear of party-planning. What if nobody shows up? What if the food arrives cold? What if everyone's parents are there, so everybody is too shy to dance? What if everyone goes home at 8:00pm?<br /><br />Thus, I resist being a hostess, but apparently, since I can't talk The Hotness into eloping, I have no choice on this one.<br /><br />In order to help me plan a successful wedding, I've purchased and discarded 5 (FIVE!) different wedding planner organizer thingies. I hate organizers. I hate having to carry one little book with me everywhere I go. I hate my handwriting, mostly because I hate writing by hand - why can't I just beam my thoughts onto a piece of paper? Why has nobody invented a microchip for my brain that will do this?<br /><br />I hate being touched by strangers, and people in wedding boutiques? They want to hold my hands and stare at my ring, and hug me, and squeal with congratulations. And put their fingers in the bodice of the dress I'm trying on, and muck around with my hair to show me what it would look like with a veil. It makes me jumpy and flinchy and twitchy. Gah! I appreciate their kind wishes and their desire to help, but I also wish they'd keep their dirty paws to themselves. <br /><br />That said, I love The Hotness to tiny little bits, and can barely wait to get <strike>knocked up and start gestating his zygote</strike> married.<br /><br />I've now located one of the organizers I "lost" last year, and have started actually using it, even though it feels awkward to do so. Of the five planners, this is the one with the most manageable checklist; honestly, I don't need a list that gives me a separate place to note whether or not my flower girl has gone to the bathroom right before the ceremony.<br /><br />Thus far, we haven't finalized our guest list, which we need to know in order to figure out our venue. We wanted to get married at home, in our own backyard, but since we no longer have any sort of grass, or fence, or anything like that, it seems like this might not work, so we'll have to seek another location. There's a lovely little United church in our town; I need to speak with the pastor to see if he'll do the honors, and there's a hall in town that will do nicely, even though it does look just like a school gym. Who cares - it's covered, so if it rains, all will be well.<br /><br />The food is up in the air; we're not fancy, though, so it's likely to be pretty basic, hearty fare - again, we need to know how many people we need to feed before we can finalize this.<br /><br />The dresses are in motion, as are all the accessories; my mom's making my veil and headpiece, has given me her pearls, and is making my bridal party's bouquets and boutonnieres.<br /><br />The decor will depend a little bit on the venue, but again, my mom is the creative director, and will help put together the centerpieces and favors. The Hotness and I still haven't decided on what kind of favors, mostly because we haven't finished our guest list; if it's just close friends and family, which is what we both want, we'll probably spend a bit more on favors than if we end up inviting everyone and their cousin.<br /><br />The colors for my wedding decor are pretty flexible. The groomsmen will be wearing outfits similar to this, but probably without the jacket, depending on the weather;<div style="text-align: center;"><img style="" src="http://www.jimsformalwear.com/images/product/acc_vst_camo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /></div>We may not end up going with <a href="http://www.rockywoods.com/camouflage/MossyOakBreakup.jpg">Mossy Oak Breakup</a>, which is what the vest in the picture is made of; we might go with something a little warmer, like <a href="http://www.lvedecals.com/images/Xtreme/MossyOak-Obsession.jpg">Mossy Oak Obsession</a>, or <a href="http://www.lvedecals.com/images/Xtreme/Realtree%20Hardwood%20Green.jpg">Realtree Hardwood Green</a>. <br /><br />Please note; my wedding theme is not "Hunting", it is "Whatever Works". The Hotness and his family are avid hunters. I feel the need to add that they're not sport hunters, who hunt from vehicles and/or kill things for the sake of killing them, but rather, subsistence hunters who eat what they kill, and waste as little as possible. I'm not sure why I felt I should add that; I'm assuming it's Sarah Palin's fault - that whole helicopter hunting thing just freaks me out.<br /><br />Anyway, the vests are something all the groomsmen will feel comfortable in, and instead of ties, they'll be wearing duck calls around their necks. Since the vests have a fairly broad colorway, I figure what the heck - why tie myself down to one or two colors; instead, I'm going wild.<br /><br />Our regular wedding stuff will be fairly neutral; I plan to try to make the paper for my actual invitations (which I'll post about - I've made paper before with varying degrees of success). If my paper-making fails, we'll be going with plain off-white or cream cardstock for invitations and ribbons and such, but as far as flowers go, well, instead of making arrangements with a florist, I'll be planting a flower garden, focusing on green, gold, russet, and (for variety and for the Minnesota Vikings) shades of purple. <br /><br />Essentially, my decorating plan is that whatever flowers live until August 15th will be in my centerpieces and decorations. The night before the wedding, we'll be stuffing flowers in whatever vases I have on hand, and that'll be it.<br /><br />If the worst should happen, and I find myself unable to grow anything, well, we'll make a last-minute trip to the grocery store and buy whatever's there. I just don't care enough about flowers to spend a few thousand dollars on them. I fully support brides who agonize over their decisions and haggle with their husbands-to-be over the flower budget, and cry themselves to sleep when they find out that the flower they have their heart set on isn't in season, and will have to be flown from South Africa and will cost $60.00 a bloom. For me, though - well, meh. As long as they don't appear diseased, I'll be happy. <br /><br />We don't have anyone to perform the office of flower girl, but The Hotness has a whole slew of nephews, so we'll probably have those trooping down the aisle, ostensibly doing the pee-pee dance all the way down, because I neglected to use the right organizer. If all goes well, they'll make some sort of amusing commotion as we exchange our vows, so that the audience can have a good laugh, and we can end on a high note before heading off to the reception. Please, boys, anything but diarrhea. <br /><br />There's more, but suddenly, I feel the need to go and work on my guest list. And find that other organizer.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-54933560422990225702008-10-14T08:56:00.002-06:002008-10-14T10:30:28.525-06:00I ate the turkey. All of the turkey.I didn't get any blogging OR sewing done this Thanksgiving weekend, because my Mom made a surprise visit.<br /><br />She and her boyfriend live about six hours west of here, but she popped up on Thursday, with the idea of cooking a big turkey dinner on Sunday. Now, since The Hotness loves turkey more than life itself, and the only turkey I make these days generally gets cooked in the microwave, this was great news! We took a trip to the grocery store, picked up what we needed, and headed back home.<br /><br />As an aside, my Mom is a man-magnet. Wherever we go, whatever we're doing, someone ALWAYS tries to pick up my mom. And not only, like, dirty bums, either, but good-looking, well-dressed, age-appropriate men. Currently, she's attracting Silver Foxes, which is what I call hot old dudes - I personally wouldn't necessarily want to see them with their shirt off, but they have a certain je ne sais quois. Like Richard Gere or Tim Gunn. This has happened for as long as I can remember, and happens pretty much any time we go out in public.<br /><br />So just like the Days Of Yore (aka my childhood), I stood by, shifting from foot to foot, sighing loudly and rolling my eyes while the Silver Fox asked my Mom's advice on what size turkey a single man should cook, how a single man should cook it, whether a single man should make stuffing, and if so, what kind.<br /><br />He asked her to help him pick out a turkey, which she did, then asked him where to find ingredients to stuff it with, which she did, before finally seeing where this was going, and excusing herself with a grin and a wave, leaving him perfectly charmed. I know "perfectly charmed" when I see it, because it's the same expression The Hotness gets when he's outside feeding the birds, and manages to entice one of them to land on his finger and look at him sideways for a moment before flitting away.<br /><br />Where was I? Oh yeah, the turkey. It was awesome, and now it's all gone! Except for the two pounds of turkey I have to package up and freeze. I love my FoodSaver. You know, there's really not a lot to say about a turkey dinner. I didn't realize that before I started this post. Sorry to have taken up your time!<br /><br />If it helps, while we were waiting for the bird to unthaw, Mom and I also did a bit of wedding planning, which I'll post about tomorrow.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hey, can I get your opinion?</span><br /><br />I was thinking of buying everyone their bridesmaid dress, and taking them for a manicure/spa day, the day before the wedding, instead of doing the traditional bridesmaid gift. I've received such gifts in the past, and honestly, though I love the picture frames and bracelets, and other odds and ends I've personally gotten, I'm 35, and so is my whole group of bridesmaids; none of us needs another picture frame or glittery piece of color-matched wedding jewelery. Is it tacky to replace the traditional bridesmaid gift by paying for the dress and the spa day, or is this a perfectly acceptable replacement?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-26146667818835506802008-10-07T11:31:00.007-06:002008-10-07T13:10:02.491-06:00No 'Poo AlterationAs I wrote <a href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-no-poo-experiment.html">a few weeks ago</a>, in early September, I tried jumping on the no 'poo bandwagon. I've had my <a href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/09/no-poo-update.html">ups and downs</a>, and have decided to pause and take a new approach.<br /><br />Let me be totally clear; I think this no 'poo thing is AWESOME. I'm not quitting altogether. <br /><br />In the past month, I've saved about, well, only about $20.00 on shampoo and conditioner, since I'm such a cheapskate, but it's more than the money. I'm not exactly the greenest human being in the world, but I really, really liked to pretend that when I washed my hair without shampoo and conditioner, I was saving a fish. Or a dolphin. Yeah, who DOESN'T want to save a dolphin! I'm sure I saved no more than an amoeba or two, but still, it was kind of a nice feeling.<br /><br />Unfortunately, until we get a water softener, I have to radically adapt my no 'poo methodology. My town has exceptionally hard water. I mean, it's so hard that I have to CLR the shower head once a month. The Hotness has to drain and clean the hot water tank completely every three months or so, or the hot water slows to a tiny trickle. <br /><br />My water glasses, once a pretty crystal clear, are all covered in a chalky white substance that makes them all look like slightly dirty etched glass. When I boil tapwater, it turns white, and when left to sit, a scum forms and sits on top of the water, and a layer of sediment that sinks to the bottom.<br /><br />The message boards all said that no 'poo was difficult if you have very hard water, and boy, were they right. Hard water makes rinsing very difficult, and also leaves gunk in your hair so that it never feels completely dry, like you washed it in wax or something. I rinsed a few times with distilled water from our drinking water jug, and had much better results, but honestly, I'm too cheap to buy water to wash my hair with. It just doesn't seem practical.<br /><br />At this current time, here are the recipes and methods I'm using, and which I'll return to after the water softener installation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">no 'poo mix</span><br /><br />This is my shampoo replacement. <br /><br />1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda (also known as BS)<br />two cups of water<br /><br />I mixed the BS and the water in an empty, well-rinsed shampoo bottle, and left it in my shower. When I'm ready to use it, I just give the bottle a good shake to make sure that the BS isn't all sitting on the bottom.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Okay, a few things a person should know before starting</span>.</span> BS is alkaline, which means it has a high Ph. From what I can discern (and I may be wrong) the Ph of BS is a bit over 8. It's a very, very mild caustic agent, but it IS a caustic agent. Even so, unless you're allergic to it, I can't see how baking soda might hurt a person. Still, one of it's properties appears to be that it encourages the removal of water from things. Since your hair is made up of all sorts of things that I'm not chemically advanced enough to tell you about, but also water, I assume that this means that if I'm going to use a BS mix, I'm not going to dilly-dally and fart around while I'm using it. Just because it isn't going to HURT me doesn't mean it's going to be kind to my hair.<br /><br />Also, BS is meant to be used only on your scalp and roots, not on the rest of your hair. I don't know about you, but my roots are actually ATTACHED to the rest of my hair, and barring the erection of an armed barricade on each individual strand, it's kinda hard to keep the mix out of the rest of your hair. I didn't spend a lot of time worrying about this, since my goal was to keep the BS solution in my hair for the smallest amount of time possible. A lot of folks seems to think that leaving it on longer is a good idea, but given it's water removal properties, that just wasn't the way I personally decided to go.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Now that you know, here's my application method</span>.</span> All I do is put the bottle next to my scalp and tilt my head back, and squirt so that I can feel the room-temperature water run down my scalp. When I feel like I've saturated my scalp, I put the bottle down and use my fingers to really scrub and scritch the stuff through, all over, from the nape of my neck to the top of my head, and down the sides, working quickly but being thorough. It doesn't feel gritty or nasty, so it kind of feels like I'm not accomplishing anything, but like George Michaels says, ya gotta have faith. I'm not sure that quoting George Michaels will encourage any of you, but whatev.<br /><br />As soon as I'm done, I rinse with the HOTTEST water I can stand - this seems to melt the excess oil at my roots, so while I'm rinsing out the BS, excess oil is going with it. While I'm rinsing, I really use my fingertips to scrub and massage my scalp, to try to speed up the process. This feels really good, and now I know why cats like to have their heads scratched.<br /><br />From what I've read, tons of folks just stop right here, finish their shower, and continue on with their day <span style="font-size:78%;">and then complain that their scalp is irritated or their tips are dry</span>. Remembering my high school chemistry, (I loved my teacher, he was the ultimate absent-minded professor, and prone to inappropriate tangents) I recall that BS is alkali, and I personally can't see how leaving even trace amounts of an alkali mixture on my scalp will do me any good. The best way to tone down a mild alkali is by neutralizing it with a mild acid. So I continue on with an acid rinse <span style="font-size:78%;">because I don't want to have an irritated scalp or dry tips - I'm just sayin'!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">acid rinse</span><br /><br />The acid rinse is pretty flexible. Most folks suggest apple cider vinegar (also known as ACV), but I had really bad results with it, probably because the hard water didn't rinse it out well. The texture and shine of my hair was excellent, and it worked shockingly well as a detangler, but the smell was very, very strong. <br /><br />If I were a superhero, my name would have been SaladHead.<br /><br />Some other alternatives are lemon juice, lime juice, white vinegar, etc. Some folks use apple or orange juice, and while I can see myself trying apple juice in the future, I personally think that using orange juice would leave you with really sticky hair, because of all the sugar. Have you ever wiped a partially-dried orange juice spill off the counter? Blech.<br /><br />My current recipe is as follows;<br /><br />2 tablespoons of lime juice<br />2 cups of very strongly brewed green tea<br />1/2 a shooter of vodka. I drank the other half in a Ceasar. It was good.<br /><br />The lime juice is my acid, the green tea is for fun - you could easily use plain water, and the vodka is for preservation. I probably don't need it, but when I made my mix, I meant to put in some honey, but decided not to. <br /><br />I have this in an old contact lens solution bottle, which is perfect; the tip is a tiny little pinhole, which makes it easy to direct the flow. When I start using BS again, I'll totally use one of these bottles for both the BS mix AND the acid mix.<br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My method for applying the acid mix is simple</span>. </span> I apply this stuff starting at the scalp. Once my scalp is saturated, I kind of squish it down the rest of my hair, and squirt more wherever it's needed. Then I put my bottle down and use both hands to kind of squish my hair around so that the acid mix is everywhere. I strongly advise you NOT to get too jiggy with this rinsing step. Any tangles you put in at this point will just make you want to <a href="http://deliciousthoughts.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/britney-spears-shaves-her-head-03.jpg">pull a Britney</a> in an hour, when you try to comb your hair. The acid mix works as a very effective detangler, but don't make extra work for yourself by getting all enthusiastic. Just squeeze it through. To finish, I rinse again, once more with the HOTTEST water I can stand. <br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Magic Secret</span></span> (which actually isn't really a secret, but DOES work like magic) is that when I finish rinsing, I turn down the hot water, and rinse with the COLDEST water I can stand. It doesn't have to be 100% cold, but the colder, the better. This apparently closes the cuticles or punishes you for past sins or something, but whatever the science behind it, rinsing with cold water at the end made my hair shinier. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My Revised No 'Poo Plan</span> until we get the softener is to go with very watered down shampoo and my regular acid mix, less one tablespoon of acid, for a rinse. Since I've been no 'poo for a few days short of a month, my roots aren't greasy at all, though the rest of my hair feels waxy from the hard water. So rather than go back to regular amounts of shampoo and conditioner, I'll use very watered down conditioner about once a week, and use very watered down baby shampoo. <br /><br />Actually, I'll be using up my no-tears cat shampoo, but don't judge - it's not like it's made OF cats. After that, we'll see.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3077245918407351048.post-64747310968603447522008-10-04T16:32:00.002-06:002008-10-04T16:56:42.099-06:00My HeroI've mentioned The Hotness before, right? My fiance, my ball and chain, the guy who makes those great <a href="http://craftrage.blogspot.com/2008/09/personal-cake-wreck.html">handmade birthday cards</a>?<br /><br />Well, The Hotness is my hero. He's kind of like MacGuyver and Johnny Depp and Homer Simpson, all folded up into a neat little package.<br /><br />Today, I rediscovered a facet of him that I see all the time, but never really take note of; his ability to communicate with absolutely anyone. Animal, child, adult, he can make himself understood, and he can AMUSE whoever he's communicating with.<br /><br />We're lucky/unlucky enough to live near a city in western Canada with a very strong economy. Thus, our unemployment rates are very low, and many employers have worked with the federal government to bring short-term contract workers from other countries. Our city has large contingents of Ukrainian, Philippino, and Mexican workers, from all trades and walks of life. The Hotness happens to work for a company that's recently brought in some fellows from Mexico.<br /><br />There are a large number of restrictions and rules on bringing in workers from out of the country, but the company The Hotness works for takes the position that a worker is a worker, regardless of where he or she is from, so the guys they bring in from Mexico make the same wage as the guys they hire locally. They get the same hourly rate, the same benefits, the same everything, which is pretty great. <br /><br />What they're NOT required to do is hire guys who speak a lot of English, which you would think would be a problem. Not for The Hotness.<br /><br />When the Mexicans got here back in May, he knew four words of Spanish. He knew how to say hello, goodbye, nap, and beer. These are the words he learned on our vacation to Mexico this past spring, which is probably obvious just by the words themselves.<br /><br />He now knows about twenty words of Spanish. To the above repertoire, he's added;<br />"one" - the number of coffees he must order per man, <br />"two" - the number of donuts he must order each man, <br />"bathroom" - where the coffee will take them eventually,<br />"girl" - so he can point out the hot chick in the next car<br />"hot mama" - his name for me, like the feminine version of The Hotness<br /><br />As well, they've taught him the slang terms for male and female genitalia, but he doesn't say those around me.<br /><br />At any rate, The Hotness took me and two of his crew for lunch this afternoon, and with these few words, and an absolutely stunning ability to make up sign language as he goes along, he communicated effectively enough that he kept me and the two Mexican guys laughing all through the meal.<br /><br />If they allowed Canadians to participate in <a href="http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/">The Amazing Race</a>, The Hotness and I would totally win; I can read a map, and he can communicate with anyone.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2