Soapbox

Mylo Update

2012-01-30T21:42:00.003-06:00

Previously:

Tonight:

At one point I thought I might be messing things up, but now I think I'm still doing well.

I was fighting with the paint tonight. The air was so dry, the paint on my palette kept forming skins. I think I've figured out now which colours I need on my palette, and which I can leave in the tube until needed. Maybe. I'm also considering using my wet palette, even though I don't plan to save paint between sessions. (I only paint at most once a week, and a wet palette would go moldy if I used it like that.)

Remember how another artist asked why there was so much blue? Well, as I was cleaning up tonight, he asked if I had been working on a darker German shepherd before. (Nope, same painting, just further along.)

Mylo Update

2012-01-16T21:25:00.003-06:00

When last you saw Mylo:

(I actually finished off a bit further along than this, if you remember.)

At the end of tonight:

I started off with the highlights on the chain. Then I added a few more colours to my palette, and re-marked the line between the dark patch and light patch below his nose. A few more colours, and I worked on the dark patches of fur. A few more colours, and I started working on other areas of his fur... except they weren't turning out the way I wanted. I think it's because when I work on something like Mylo's fur, I like to pick out and arrange the colours I'm planning on using on the palette, but this time I had everything all over, and not enough of my yellows, browns, oranges and rusts. So I stopped working on his fur and cleaned my palette. By then it was a little late to put out all the fur colours, so I picked four for the stucco and did that, and then cleaned up a few more separating lines. I may glaze the stucco with blue to push it back a bit, but I'll see after I get Mylo done.

Mylo is more of a challenge to paint than Raffi. I'm still enjoying the process, though, and I'm sure I'll get him looking good in the end. ;) For now, the chain looks awesome, at least, and the stucco looks stucco-ish.

Income and Expense... and Nice Things

2012-01-11T21:33:00.004-06:00

Yesterday evening I sold a painting while drinking hot chocolate and eating a raspberry chocolate brownie. Then I snuggled an eight-week-old baby instead of knitting. (Well, a few other people wanted turns with the baby, so I did do a *bit* of knitting.) Then, on my way to the bus home, I petted a puppy. Can an evening get better than that?

There's an art supply store in Winnipeg going out of business (sad!), and so are having a sale on everything (happy!). Since I made $100 on the painting yesterday, I decided to reward myself with some new supplies: some nice paints to replace a few I didn't like, plus get some colours I thought would help with painting Mylo, and some brushes I discovered I needed the other day... and went a bit overboard.

I bought:
10 tubes of paint
1 bottle of satin varnish (I wanted to see how I liked it compared to the gloss)
4 paint brushes
1 mechanical pencil holder
1 sculpting tool (aka really cheap shawl pin)
1 charcoal pencil
2 8" x 10" x 1.5" canvasses

Everything was 40% off (canvasses were 50% off), I didn't pay PST (a benefit of belonging to the art club), the paints actually scanned lower than the price on the shelf (and then were marked down), and the canvasses actually ended up over 75% off, because they had been mispriced and *then* were marked down... and I still paid $120.

Granted, the paints and brushes will last much more than a single painting, but I definitely don't have to worry about declaring any of my sales income at tax time. (You get to subtract the cost of supplies from what you make... and if you keep declaring a loss, they apparently classify it as a hobby. ;) )

Mylo

2012-01-09T21:36:00.003-06:00

Mylo and I had fun together at the art club tonight. When you saw Mylo last, he looked like this:

I wanted to improve the eye, so I wiped off the chalk around the eye to get a better idea of how it looked:

Definitely needs work!

This is the last photo I took of Mylo tonight, as I started to clean up:

However, I decided I should get a *bit* more colour on the body before I stopped for the night, and so he actually ended up a bit farther along than this photo shows.

So that I didn't forget what colours I was using on the fur tonight, I put the tubes together and snapped a quick shot:

(No chewing on the painting... that traffic cone orange has cadmium in it.)

I find it hilarious just how much blue I'm using in Mylo, given he's a rather orangish dog!

I also found it amusing when a newer painter asked why there was so much blue in him (referring to the straight blue parts). He thought Mylo was finished! I still have quite a way to go. :)

Caulking

2012-01-02T02:39:00.003-06:00

I hate gross caulk. The stuff in my tub was gross. Plus it was not adhering in places. It looked like the mold was coming through from the back for the most part, and the places that weren't adhering definitely had mold on the backside of the caulk.

So, I bought supplies, fetched my caulking gun from my mom's, and ripped out the old caulk. (Yes, I probably *could* have asked my caretaker to do it... but then it wouldn't be done on a schedule convenient to *me*, and I wasn't confident he'd do a decent job, given the muck-up of the previous caulking.)

For some reason, there was large quantities of *sand* behind the tub surround:

(In this spot it was clean sand, in other places it was black and muddy.)

After cleaning out what I could, I made a paste of borax, packed it in everywhere, and let it dry. Then I washed it off, and let everything dry again.

I had bought some tub surround adhesive to reattach the loose portions of the surround, and rigged a method to get the adhesive behind the surround:

Unfortunately, squishing adhesive behind the surround appeared to have *no* effect. (I suspect whatever backing board *might* have been there once was now the sand I had swept out.)

The caulking gun also had problems when I tried to apply the adhesive:

I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but the handle goes all wavy back by the pin... basically it crumpled. (WTF?!? This is the first time *I* used my caulking gun! Did I break it? Or did it get messed up when my uncles borrowed it this past summer? It certainly worked fine for the first pull, it was the second that it ceased to work.) Well, since I still had the whole tub to caulk, and I want to have a shower tomorrow, I found a way to fix it: vice grips and various devices to "unmash" it, then a piece of wood to reinforce the handle:

We can't forget the duct tape, to hold everything in place. Much better!

Another disaster when I took down my clothes-drying (aka shower curtain) rod from over the centre of the tub:

Yup, it stuck to the wall. On one side, the rubber piece is still stuck to the wall, on this side the wall stuck to the rubber. Curses. I'll have to patch that, or my caretaker will have a fit. (I wish my landlord had given me some of the leftover paint like I had asked!)

Since the adhesive wasn't doing squat, I ignored it's curing time. I braced the sides of the surround as best I could, and caulked everything:

It is definitely *not* my best caulking job... but it was hard to work around the braces. :(

This is not too bad:

(There hadn't been *anything* there before.) Yes, I left the bottom open so that any water that did get in there would come out below. I had planned to do stuff to the handle area, but my patience gave out... I'm just going to hope that the caretaker used the correct gaskets and plumbers putty properly. (I did tighten the loose screws as best I could... there wasn't much clearance with the handle.)

I also did the spot behind the kitchen sink faucet:

All that was back there before was plumbers putty, and it was getting mildewy from splashed water.

Now my apartment smells like curing silicone caulk. I've closed the bathroom door now, but I should have closed it earlier. Of course, the smell is just going to come pouring out when I open the door the next time I need to use the washroom. (The question is, can I get away with not using it tonight? I don't think so... perhaps I'll use my respirator for that.) I think I'll crack the window open in my bedroom as well... too bad it wasn't warmer out! (The forecast low tonight is -14 C.) At least it's not as cold as it sometimes is at this time of year!

Scotty Bells

2011-12-29T22:18:00.003-06:00

Whoops!

It looks like I got rosin on my bent needle nose pliers at the stained glass workshop! I washed these with soap, water, and a rough green scrubby, and all is well again. :)

Scotty has a bell now too:

Not bad... I'll keep him this way unless I think of something better.

Scotty

2011-12-29T14:03:00.003-06:00

I got this adorable little enamel and rhinestone scotty dog brooch yesterday at Sears:

(That's not a scratch, that's a bit of dust... this photo is really showing the dust!) Original price $16.99, marked down to $3.99. However, he's missing something that used to be dangling from his tummy. I'm creative, so I wasn't bothered by that... I could find something to dangle there, or, as a last resort, snip off the loop. One possible dangle is this little golden bell I happen to have on hand. It's not "perfect", but I think it works. What do you think? What do you suppose originally dangled there? I tried googling the information on the card it was on, to no avail.

Mylo

2011-12-28T12:00:00.002-06:00

Today I started applying paint to the sketch of Mylo from the art show demo:

(I liked the sketch, so even though I don't officially have a commission, I'm finishing him.)

Mylo has some interesting blue tones, so I roughed those in. (It may get covered, we'll see.) I also did the under-layer for the stucco, plus an approximation of the far background. I may warm up the tones after I get Mylo painted... they seemed way too bright at first, and so I toned them down. I also worked on Mylo's eye. (The printout I'm working from didn't have a good eye, so I want to have a look at the original photo on my computer to see if I'm getting it right.)

If you want to see the photo I'm working from, coopersita has it on Flickr.

Hrm...

2011-12-23T19:58:00.002-06:00

Old laptop keeps re-bricking. Battery won't charge. (I suspect this is causing the re-bricking.) I've had to open up and remove the PRAM battery twice today. (~20 screws to remove and reinsert each time.) Trying various things found on the web. Archiving a few files I don't think I have, then am going to wipe it. I'm *really* hoping I can turn sad-mac into happy-but-old mac by tomorrow evening...

Stop the Violence

2011-12-23T13:08:00.002-06:00

A local kid created this video in response to violence in his North End Winnipeg neighbourhood.

Let's give him some "views" to show our support.

I decorated

2011-12-20T01:15:00.003-06:00

The back window is even less impressive. (I doubt the lights would even show in a photo.)

Privacy frost is currently privacy condensation... weather's been warm the past few days.

I am sooooo tired! I only got home a few minutes ago... my students had their exam tonight, and there was some work I *had* to do before I went home. Ugh.

Buses make good time after midnight. I even had a good connection. (Shockingly.)

The number of stroller-age children out and about at this hour of night was also shocking.

g'night...

Dirigible In The Atrium

2011-12-20T01:08:00.002-06:00

Dirigible is a funny word. This dirigible is a blimp. It appeared in the atrium of the building I work in. Now you know as much about it as I do.

AppleCare

2011-12-18T14:30:00.003-06:00

I find this hilarious... it's from the work authorization form for my missing foot:

Issue: One rubber foot missing.
Steps to Reproduce: Visually, rubber foot has fallen off.
Proposed Resolution: Replace bottom cover.
Cosmetic Condition: Good condition minus missing foot.

(No shit, Sherlock. Well, I guess they're required to fill in a standard form.)

Oh, and that reminds me... when I went in to the Apple Store, I started off with the following conversation with a pair of store employees:
Me: I need a replacement foot for my laptop.
Them: (blank looks, look at each other for help)
One of them: Foot?
Me: You know, those things on the bottom of the laptop?
Them: (still blank)
Me: (pulls out laptop, showing the gaping spot where a nice black rubber foot normally resides.
One of them: Oh, that...

What do they call them these days, if not feet? Or am I the only one who has had one self-destruct on them?

Sounds like a recipe for disaster...

2011-12-17T23:30:00.001-06:00

...sounds like drunk guys (drunk enough to be singing) doing free weights in the apartment below me. Somehow I don't think that's a good idea...

Weird Stuff

2011-12-17T21:23:00.004-06:00

Approximate e-mail conversation with my brother:
Me: Can I come over and borrow a teeny-tiny hex wrench? I need to take the PRAM battery out of my old laptop because it's not starting.
Brother: Sure, I have a T6 Torx.
Me: I don't need a Torx, I need a hex wrench.
Brother: The instructions say T6 Torx under "tools required".
Me: But the actual instructions say you need a hex wrench, but you can get by with a T6 Torx.

Since I was going in that direction anyway, I decide I'll just stop in at the hardware store and buy the correct hex wrench.

Approximate conversation with store employee:
Me: Where do I find teeny-tiny hex wrenches?
Him: (blank look)
Me: Allen key? A teeny-tiny one?
Him: I know. What size do you need?
Me: One that fits this. (Pulling out bricked laptop, pointing to screw.)
Him: Take it to the Apple Store.
Me: It's a *six* year old laptop that I want to fix for my sister. (Probably older now, and technically step-sister.) I just want to take out the PRAM battery to see if that fixes it.
Him: (Holding it close to his face to see better.) That's a security screw.
Me: No, it's not. Security ones have a post in the centre, this one doesn't.
Him: It's a security screw. We don't have screwdrivers for those.
Me: It's *not* a security screw, I just need a hex wrench.
(He takes me over to the right area.)
Him: We used to have security screw drivers, but we don't have them any more. (Starts looking at screwdrivers.)
Me: (Points to contraption with many hex wrenches.) Hey, that one has a teeny-tiny hex wrench! I bet that will work.
Him: No, you need a security one.
Me: *No*, I *don't*. Let me test this. (I pull out the laptop again, and insert the hex wrench.) Hey, it's the right size!
Him: You're sure? It looks like a security screw. (Still somewhat doubtful, but willing to let me buy a set of hex wrenches if that's really what I want.)
Me: It has six sides, and is convex. I'm pretty sure it's a hex wrench I want, and not a star.
Him: Convex?
Me: Well, since we're talking about the hole, technically it's concave.
(He wanders off, deciding I'm a lost cause. I look at the options for hex wrenches, and end up selecting a somewhat cheaper store-brand set that includes both metric, imperial *and* torx of various sizes... in case, one day, I want to open something that needs a torx.)

After the hardware store, I stop in at the big box bookstore next door, since it has free wireless (so that I can access the instructions) and decent places for me to sit and disassemble my laptop. (If taking the PRAM battery didn't work, the Apple Store was on my list of places to visit, and I was going to ask how much it would cost to de-brick.) Plus it has calendars, and I was looking for one for my grandma.

Shockingly, no one seemed to look at me funny for disassembling a laptop in the bookstore. (Or, if they did, they all did it from behind me, where I couldn't spot them.)

Happily, removing and reinstalling the PRAM battery fixed the problem. :) (Oddly the battery isn't just a battery, it's apparently permanently attached to a bit of circuitry... but the fact that I couldn't disassemble that didn't seem to be an issue.

Finding a calendar with both big numbers and pictures I thought my grandma would enjoy was *much* harder. (I suspect she will either enjoy or hate the one I finally got... but if she hates it, I'm willing to use it myself, and go back and buy the second choice, of which there were *many* copies.)

I did stop in at the Apple Store, but to get a replacement foot for my laptop. (I figured out where that black plastic was coming from... the part that went between the rubber foot and the laptop was disintegrating, and the other day it completely fell apart.) Apple used to supply free replacement feet. Apparently, for this model, they don't have them separate... but, since I'm under AppleCare, they're going to replace the *entire* bottom of the laptop for free. (WTF? The foot has a bit of double-sided tape, plus a snap-in bit. It really is possible to *just* replace the foot. Whatever... I want the foot, and if this is what it's going to take, I'll take it and be glad that it's free. *sigh*)

Also weird: The six-foot extension cord I bought came with a 7 3/4 inch warning label. Really? Are we really that stupid, that we need that many warnings on an extension cord?

Well, now I'm off to do my laundry after when I'm officially supposed to stop for the night. However, given the sounds of drunken revelry coming from Mr Party-Of-More-Than-One (He seems to have acquired friends), I don't think I'll be bothering him.

Whoops

2011-12-16T00:36:00.003-06:00

I keep thinking I'm good at math, and then I do something like this:

This is a second pair of "Double Mittens with Angora Lining". I'm not fond of after-thought thumbs (buttonhole thumbs? ...whatever they're called), so this time I decided to modify the pattern to have a thumb gusset. I looked up how many stitches wide the afterthought thumb was, then calculated how many increase rounds I'd need, and thus where I needed to start the gusset.

I reached the point you can see in the photo, when it dawned on me: I had calculated how to get enough increases for the width (13 stitches), not the full circumference (26 stitches).

Whoopsie!

Now I'm trying to figure out what my options are... besides ripping back half of what I've knit, of course. *sigh*

Christmas Tree

2011-12-15T00:33:00.003-06:00

Tonight I decorated Mom and B's tree:

While going through the ornaments, I checked the stained glass ones I made way back when I was a kid:

I'm thinking the reason I couldn't remember if there were two or three is because only two (the bird and the house) were still intact and able to hang. The sailboat needs some repair.

Raffi In Daylight

2011-12-13T11:55:00.003-06:00

"Daylight" was pretty dim today (overcast), but I think this photo is a winner:

Now to figure out how to bend Photoshop to my will. (I miss GraphicConverter... but it seems silly to buy a new GraphicConverter licence when I have Photoshop. I may break down and purchase a new GraphicConverter licence one day anyway.)

Raffi

2011-12-12T21:28:00.002-06:00

Raffi is basically done now. I need to clean up the sides (I forgot to do that at the club tonight), take some decent (outdoor) photos for cards, and then apply the varnish. I really like how he's turned out.

Stained Glass Class

2011-12-03T23:11:00.004-06:00

I've wanted to take a stained glass class for ages. I'm not sure why I didn't. Back around kindergarten I remember doing a bit as part of an art class I was in. It was in the copper foil method, and we assembled bits of broken glass into various things. I think I made a house, a seagull, and a sailboat. (I'm saying "I think" because I remember all three items, but I thought I had only made two... so one of these things is wrong.) I should find out in a week or two when I put up mom's Christmas tree. (They're a bit broken now, but they're still in with the rest of the ornaments.)

Recently I decided to look at what was available locally. I discovered there was a one-day, no-experience-necessary "Lead Came Christmas Ornaments" class. Count me in! Since a friend was half price, I checked with a friend who also likes crafts. Amazingly, there was still space in the class, and I signed the two of us up.

Today was the class, and I made six ornaments:

(I realize there are seven there, but the candle was made by my friend, and she gave it to me as an early Christmas present. Isn't it pretty?)

Of course, I had *intended* to make a bunch of ornaments for presents... but I'm rather attached to most of these. (I might be able to part with one or two... maybe.)

I still need to wash these to remove the flux. I figured I'd take a photo first, in case I somehow broke one.

Tag, I'm Back!

2011-12-03T19:11:00.004-06:00

(...Opposite side is front!)

I've been having trouble determining front from back on my black, seamless bouclé sweater. So I added a tag.

Apparently not straight... but then who is going to see it? I took a straw poll of my knitting group, and we decided I didn't care that it was crooked.

The tag is a bit of cute grosgrain ribbon left over from making pattern magnets. :)

Waiting For The Bus

2011-11-28T17:24:00.003-06:00

While waiting for the bus, I amused myself by reading the signs on the convenience store door:

"THIS PERSON IS NEVER ALLOWED TO COME TO THIS STORE."

"IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHAT TIME IT IS, WE HAVE A CLOCK IN THE RIGHT HAND SIDE WINDOW."

"STORE NOT FOR USE FOR PEOPLE TO WAIT INSIDE FOR BUS. THIS STORE IS NOT A BUS SHELTER. PLEASE WAIT OUTSIDE FOR BUS. If you want a bus shelter here, call city of Winnipeg Transit at 311 and request one!"

"SORRY WE DO NOT PROVIDE CHANGE."

"Fresh Popcorn"

I came to the realization that posting the answers to frequently asked questions like this makes one sound rather crabby. (Whether they are or not, I don't really know.) Would that be your impression too? (I'm trying to learn how to present myself better, and so insights like this help... but only if they're correct.)

Comment about the clock: when you're looking at the sign, it's actually to the left... and in the left hand corner of that window. It's small too, and so took me a while to find it. (Even though I remembered seeing it before, once I spotted it. It probably didn't help that I started looking in the wrong window.)

What I'll do for my grandma...

2011-11-28T17:13:00.004-06:00

She wanted nail polish. "Pink, but not too pink." You can't really tell from the bottle how it will look on the nail, so I decided to test them.

Luckily I ran out of colours I thought might potentially work before I ran out of nails. (I even had one spare!) I did feel rather silly in the store, though.

(The ink you can see on the sides of my fingers were where I wrote down colour information for the better candidates.)

Critters

2011-11-28T16:48:00.002-06:00

Last night I had some odd visitors for this time of year. One was this ladybug, which I think was imported with my spinach. (I don't think the ladybugs around here have red legs, although they do tend to come in the houses in the fall.)

The other was a mosquito. A *mosquito*!?!? At this time of year?! It was in my bedroom. It's been frozen for a while outside... I wonder how long it's been hanging out inside? Just how long do they live? (Off to google...)

Things I Love

2011-11-20T16:43:00.003-06:00

Things I love:

1. My big "box of fasteners".

Today: I need one or two bolts (with matching nuts) about yea big. In a moment of inspiration, I held up my clear tub, and had a look at what was rattling around loose in the bottom. Voila! Two bolts the exact right size! And hey, what's that nearby? A baggie with some nuts that look the right size! (They were!)

2. Fixing something broken.

Today: I have a dolly that was designed as a cheap folding dolly, and the gears sheared off making it useless. Using my el-cheapo drill, the two bolts, a hammer, screwdriver, and vice grips... I now have a completely functional dolly. (It can even be folded again if you're willing to remove the bolts.)

In a few minutes I shall be using the dolly to take my laundry over to my mom's to use her washer and dryer. (It's warmer at mom's house... it's been about 13 degrees lately here, which is kind of nippy.) We shall see if something else decides to break on the dolly. ;)

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down...

2011-11-20T15:06:00.003-06:00

Disappointing:

Minute Maid has shrunk its packaging for one of my favourite juice concentrates. (I like its taste, and it doesn't contain apple juice, or anything else I'm allergic to.) I actually bought this a while back. I noticed the packaging was more squat, but I thought that they had realized that they can use less packaging that way (shorter and wider = less surface area for the volume, yay environment!). It was only after I got home that I realized the diameter was still the same, and so they had shrunk the packaging *and* volume without shrinking the prices. Boo! First off, I hate that sort of dirty marketing, where they subtly increase prices not by changing the price, but by including less product. Second, now I have to wash the pitcher more often, because I get fewer glasses of juice per pitcher. *BIG* thumb DOWN!

I haven't bought this product since I made this discovery, I'm so peeved.

Disappointing:

Turtles (real and fake) normally have 12 turtles per level. Sobeys brand has 10... so you end up four short of other packages. I feel this is another example of misleading packaging, making you think you're getting more than you are for the stated price. (Yes, there's a little number stating then umber of grams, but that's not as noticeable as the box size.) I will not be buying this brand of fake turtles again. Thumbs down!

Also disappointing: the package is now empty. (They were good while they lasted, though.)

Big thumbs UP:

Yum! So far I've just tried the chana masala, and it was great! No artificial colours, no preservatives, no MSG (MSG is a big NO THANKS for me), easy to prepare, and pretty healthy! I had it with rice, and so it ended up being a gluten-free meal too. (Mom wants me to try eating less gluten.) And, for those who look for such things, they're also vegetarian and Halal certified, and it looks like Kosher as well. :)

The package claims to have three servings, but I polished it off in one. Probably if I had other things besides it and rice, and wasn't quite so hungry, it would have been more than one serving. (Or maybe it was meant to serve one, but counts as three servings of protein? Those food guide servings are weird.)

Thumbs down: I bought a lovely mug at a craft sale yesterday, and managed to break it on the way home. I feel like a stupid clutz. It's only chipped and cracked, but still in one piece... so now I have another pencil holder. *sigh*

More Workshop Photos

2011-11-17T11:01:00.003-06:00

I made more progress on my Adelie penguins Monday night at art class.

I really love how this is coming out.

This is also something I did at that workshop, but forgot to photograph before:

It's ink dripped on yupo paper, then spritzed with water.

Finally, on Sunday, I took a "painting with fiber" needle felting class.

I didn't get very far, but we got to keep the supplies, so I can finish later. I had brought some of my own photos to work from, but then decided the class was really designed for us to follow the instructor's provided pattern.

Art Update

2011-11-12T19:21:00.003-06:00

Today I attended a pen and ink workshop. I spent the first part of the workshop getting used to dip pens:

(The bottom smears are so I can do a light-fastness test.)

Then I started a real picture:

I'm quite happy with how it's turning out. :)

Last weekend was a watercolour workshop on negative space. I painted two small practice pieces before feeling tuckered-out. The first one is a close up, cropped image of an aspen twig and leaf stems:

(Not that it's at all clear what it is.) The second is much more recognizable:

I rather like how this one turned out.

Finally, here's another photo of Raffi:

I haven't done any more on it since the last photo, but this one was taken in daylight, and so is a bit better.

Art Show Display

2011-11-07T22:53:00.001-06:00

This is my display from the art show:

And my shrinkwrap area:

Garden

2011-11-07T22:46:00.004-06:00

I took this photo of my garden on Saturday:

It's probably looking rather whiter and fluffier now.

The cardboard is where I stood while planting my garlic, so that I didn't sink (as much) into the mud. The area between the cardboard and railroad tie is planted with two rows of garlic and/or onions, plus one row of random perennials (next to the tie) from a neighbour. The part starting just past the cardboard still needs to be dug. Looks like that will be spring, now. ;)

Raffi In Progress

2011-11-07T22:29:00.005-06:00

Sheesh, this is a *hard* painting to photograph! (Especially indoors at night.) I think this was the best of the four I took, but it was hard to tell. (Do I prefer this reflection or that, this under-exposure or that over-exposure?)

This is one of the two dogs I worked on at the demo I did at the art show. Tonight I painted the background, painted the lips and worked on the nose, and also made the eye bigger. I still need to do a bit more work on the mouth, and then add the rest of the fur highlighting. I didn't make any progress on the other dog tonight, so it's still just a chalk sketch.

I gave B my camera during the demo, and he took tons of photos of me. Here's one:

During the demo I sketched the second dog, and painted the eye, tongue, and did some fur highlighting (around the eye) on the first dog.

Evaluating the Freezer Contents

2011-11-06T14:28:00.003-06:00

I have some meat that's been in the freezer for probably way too long. (It's been in the fridge freezer for a really long time... probably more than a year.) Is it just garbage now? Can it be rescued by using it in a stew? Can stock be made from it? Any ideas? It's a shame to just throw it out... although my dad's dog would probably take care of it.

Art Show Prep

2011-10-24T21:00:00.001-05:00

I'm now prepped for Sunday's demo. :)

Art Show

2011-10-23T12:54:00.002-05:00

I'd like to invite you to an art show that I'm in next weekend:

I'll be doing the pet portrait demo on Sunday, and will be there the whole time on Friday and Sunday if you want to say hi.

Gardening in Transylvania

2011-10-23T00:36:00.002-05:00

Since I was behind on my sleep, I let myself sleep in this morning to catch up. Then I was slow getting moving... so it was rather late by the time I got moving to do some gardening.

This is the chunk of dad's old yard that I plan to devote to veggies:

A neighbour has been parking his truck in the back. Annoyingly, he parked such that I couldn't get the wheelbarrow through to the garden, and had to go around to the side gate. (There's a step at the side gate.)

Although this morning was dry, the clouds did open up shortly after I started. I decided that I didn't care, since I was going to get sweaty and dirty anyway.

Shortly before the sun set, I decided to take a progress photo:

I could tell that was going to be blurry from the low light, so I turned on the flash... and my camera decided it didn't have enough battery for that. (I had a spare, but didn't feel like digging it out, since it's one that has trouble holding a charge, and might have been flat anyway.)

Shortly after I took that photo, the rest of the light left. Then it started raining harder. With lightning. And there I was, planting onions and *garlic*, at night, in the rain and lightning. I felt like I was in Transylvania or something.

The motion-light didn't have it's sensor pointed in my direction, so I had to keep going over to turn the light back on. After I had some perennials in the ground (which will eventually be transplanted elsewhere), plus two rows that included three types of garlic and a winter onion, I decided that was enough. I got some of everything planted, so even if I don't get the rest in, I feel like I didn't waste what people gave me. (I had intended to do separate rows for the four varieties, but decided that the light and weather dictated otherwise.)

It was *really* pouring by the time I packed it up for the night. I was able to wash my hands by holding them in the drips from the eavestrough (where there shouldn't be drips). The garden tools were wet and muddy, but there wasn't much I could do about that. I put the box of weeds by the trash, took the tools back to my mom's, and then headed home.

Yeah, I'm glad I didn't bother having a shower before I headed out.

Looks like I brought some of the garden home with me:

I stripped on the entrance mat, then put everything I was wearing, plus the gardening gloves, in the shower for a pre-laundry rinse. Thankfully Red River gumbo comes out of clothes fairly easily. After doing laundry, there was still a green stain from some of the weeds, but all of the mud came out.

If I'm lucky, I'll get another chance to garden before winter hits, and can get the rest of the onions and garlic in. (I have more than I can possibly use... but it seems a shame to waste the baby bulbs.)

Stunned Junco

2011-10-23T00:33:00.004-05:00

When I went over to my mom's to borrow the gardening supplies, I found a little junco who seemed a bit stunned.

I suspect he was recovering from an encounter with the kitchen window. I took the opportunity to take a bunch of reference photos, before he eventually decided he had enough and flew away.

Beret's Blocked

2011-10-23T00:30:00.000-05:00

One for me:

One for my grandma:

Mystery

2011-10-22T15:36:00.002-05:00

Sometimes when I pull my laptop (13" MacBook Pro) out of it's case in the morning, there's these little bits of plastic.

(Pen tip for scale.) I have no idea where they're coming from. Not from the case: the case is blue felted wool. They don't seem to match anything on the computer either. Anyone have any ideas?

Meow

2011-10-22T15:33:00.001-05:00

My latest pet portrait:

Signed, but not yet sealed or delivered.

Julekuler

2011-10-22T15:17:00.003-05:00

I knit my first Julekuler (Arne & Carlos Christmas ornament):

Of course, since I didn't check the gauge before going yarn shopping, this ended up rather large... about the size of one of those large navel oranges or a grapefruit.

I'm going to try the same yarn on smaller needles to see how it looks.

Crafty Stuff

2011-10-10T15:09:00.003-05:00

The other night I whipped up a potholder out of some leftover Malabrigo to see how it felts. (It seems like sacrilege to felt Malabrigo. However, I have ideas for a Christmas present... should I finish it in time.)

I tossed it in with two loads of laundry yesterday (I forgot to leave it in with the third), and it definitely still needs more felting. Results to come.

I also finished a beret for me out of Royal Alpaca:

(I haven't blocked it yet.) It's the Meret, but with my "own" lace pattern (modified from a Barbara Walker edging), more rows, and a nub at the top. So I guess it's just the stitch count and the brim that's from Meret. But it's not the regular Meret brim, it's the alternate one listed that knit-along knitters used. So I guess it's not really a Meret, is it? Whatever it is, it's done (except for blocking), fits, and should keep my head warm in a (hopefully) non-hair-squishing way.

Now that the needles from my beret are free, I've started a present for my grandma.

I'm heading over to my mom's for Thanksgiving soon. I made the cranberry sauce.

Pet Portraits

2011-10-08T16:44:00.002-05:00

I'm working on another pet portrait. Here's what I've done so far:

I'm not sure I'll finish it in time for the show at the end of the month, though.

Thrift Shopping

2011-09-17T23:09:00.003-05:00

It was a long week, ending in a long day. I was going to go to a spinning group today, but decided I needed to sleep until I woke up, and not to an alarm. By the time I was up and dressed, it was too late to go spinning, but early enough I could go to the MCC thrift shop on Watt, and properly check it out.

Mom and I both think this category is funny:

(Especially since it's misspelled.)

Hey! I took that shops class too:

(Since my father is a pack rat, I somehow doubt that mine has ended up in a thrift shop, though.)

I was tempted by this folding rocker:

It's actually my height. :) It's good wood, although it could do with either reupholstering, or cleaning the existing upholstery, plus reattaching the braid. It was $75. I decided against it... I have no space, no time, and little money.

I thought some of my knitting friends might be interested in these sock blockers, so I took a photo to post on Ravelry:

I've never seen resizable ones before!

This rocker is just like some chairs we have up at the lake:

Except ours are regular chairs, and painted black. (With the paint chipped & worn.) This one is $125... I wonder how much ours are worth? (Priceless... they belong at the lake!)

My haul:

That's 17 assorted glass containers (tea light holders, shot glasses, etc.) for mixing paint (I'll still need more to run a workshop), two plates, 30" of fabric that felt like wool, a doily, a decorative plant watering thingy, and some garlic bulbils. All for $5.90. :)

When I took the price tag off the fabric and opened it up, I found an unused label in the folds that looked like it belonged with the fabric:

Googling, I found this kit, which comes with 30" of wool fabric. A good sign! I snipped off a bit of selvedge anyway, so that I could do a burn test. Set-up:

After holding a match to the narrow point:

It's self extinguishing! And the ash was brittle, not like melted plastic. :) I pronounced it wool.

I'm very happy with my haul!

Election Season

2011-09-14T01:46:00.002-05:00

This political advertisement was *NOT* brought to you by the Green Party.

(The Green Party hand delivered (I think) packets of flower seeds.)

I passed a Liberal candidate in the hall today. I *thought* he invited passers-by in to his room that had couches, food, and *weed* (the guy next to me thought he said that too), but someone at lunch suggested it might have been *wii*. I think perhaps the Liberal should work on his diction/phrasing, to avoid confusion.

In the media, the NDP is attacking the Conservatives, the Conservatives are attacking the NDP, and the Liberals are attacking the fact that the NDP and Conservatives are attacking each other. (The Liberals only have one seat, which is why the other parties are ignoring him.) I oppose attack ads. I'm considering voting Green.

Other reasons to vote Green:
1. My riding, which has been NDP at all levels for as long as I've been alive (I think), went conservative in the last city and federal elections. (Oddly, the world has not come to an end, and I have yet to see pigs fly.) If my riding is going to do wacky things, I might as well too.
2. The Green Party is actually considering fare-free transit. An idea I proposed to my other representatives (as a way to cut carbon emissions and promote downtown), and no one was interested.
3. I like Elizabeth May, although she's federal, not provincial.

Reasons to *not* vote Green:
1. It puts the PC candidate one vote closer to getting the provincial seat.
2. The NDP candidate is a hard-working, honest guy who sends us flower seeds every year, plus reports on what he was doing in parliament until he got edged out by the Conservative in the last election. (I haven't heard a peep from the conservatives, and don't even remember the name of the federal conservative.)
3. The leader of the green party looks potentially younger than me, and that makes me feel old... and him not nearly old enough.
4. They misspelled "Flin Flon" on their website where they list the candidates.
5. The candidate in my riding isn't even committed enough to have a photo and short bio on the website.

Anyone want to say something to sway me one way or the other?

Home From The Chiro

2011-09-09T17:43:00.004-05:00

Crunching better today, but still not 100% yet. Two more appointments scheduled for next week.

Spotted on the way home:

Yeppers. Although I used Transit's trip planner to find a bus schedule that would get me there 10 minutes early, or on time if the 2 minute transfer time was insufficient... I arrived 10 minutes late. Thanks, traffic. :P

(I like that the businesses at the corner near my place like to put up fun sayings on their boards!)

I got this great old hoe at an estate/yard sale not far from my place:

Old tools are the best... they're actually built to handle the Red River gumbo we have around here! Even better, when I asked how much, the guy said $1! I tested it in the front garden before coming up, and it uprooted a bunch of weed seedlings like a charm! (Once I have a place of my own, I really should have my own tools.)

I have no clue what the hole on the blade is for. It looks original, rather than added later. Perhaps for hanging?

Chocolate Pudding Recipe

2011-09-07T13:35:00.003-05:00

A friend asked me for my chocolate pudding recipe. I'm sure I got it off the web somewhere, but I didn't mark down the source. (Sorry. If someone finds this who knows the source, let me know and I'll put in an attribution.) I did make two small modifications (half the sugar, orange extract instead of vanilla). My version:

3 squares unsweetened chocolate (3 ounces)
3 cups milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp orange extract

In a saucepan, cook 2 2/3 cups of the milk with chocolate, stirring until chocolate is melted and milk is scalded. Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt; stir in remaining 1/3 cup milk. Add to scalded milk and chocolate mixture and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes to thoroughly cook cornstarch. Cool slightly; stir in orange extract and pour into serving dishes. Chocolate pudding recipe serves 6. (Assuming the 6 have willpower.)

Note: if you're too impatient to let it cool, it's just like the thick hot chocolate they serve in Barcelona. :)

It's been a *long* time since I've made this... I need to remedy that!

Heron Silk Painting

2011-09-07T02:24:00.003-05:00

I've finished. It's not perfect, but I think I'm happy. This photo was taken before I ironed, washed, and ironed (again) the painting, so the white resist lines aren't showing yet. Again, I've put some white paper behind the main part of the painting, but it's not right up against the painting in all places. I have done the ironing, washing, and ironing, but, of course, now it's not stretched. I'll take another photo after it's been stretched. (However, since it's now 2:30 am, and I don't have the backing board, stretching will wait for another time.)

Good night.

Ow.

2011-09-03T10:45:00.002-05:00

Either I overdid it yesterday, or I slept wrong. I'm moving slower this morning than yesterday. :(

Progress?

2011-09-03T01:30:00.004-05:00

I put my back out on Wednesday morning, just as I was about to leave for the art club. The last few days of my vacation, that's really thrown a wrench into my to-do list progress. Oh well... it would have been even less convenient if it had happened when I needed to go in to work. (Except that then the chiropractor appointments might have had some coverage.)

Wednesday morning, I had to crawl to get back in the apartment, phone my mom (to say that I wouldn't be meeting her downstairs), then make it into bed. (All of those took plenty of time, with lots of pain.) Wednesday lunch time, mom came over and helped me to the bathroom. I had to get her to hold my upper body, because the weight of it pressing on the sore spot was too much. She also brought me some ice packs. By Wednesday evening, I was able to walk on my own, *very* carefully.

Thursday I went to the chiropractor, but that was it.

Friday I had another visit, followed by a few hours at the art club. That was too long to be vertical, and so more icing and lying flat followed. I did get the first coat done on several canvasses (for acrylics), and made progress on my heron:

Random Notes:
1. There are some white lines that will be visible once I wash the resist out.
2. The areas that looked too dark at the club, aren't. In fact, I need to darken them.
3. I was having trouble getting the colours I wanted. (I wish I had painted both herons at the same time!)
4. I had trouble getting the texture I wanted in most places.
5. I'm upset about a goof I made.
6. I don't think I should do silk painting with a sore back.
7. Hopefully I'll get this looking like I want it. I really hope it goes well with the night heron when it's done.
8. I like how I got the legs and lower belly. (Sadly, that's not a focal point... or, it's not supposed to be.)
9. I still need to paint part of the background.
10. I put some paper behind the painting, so that you can see the colours a bit better, but it wasn't staying tight against the back. The right hand side is a bit more accurate than the left.
11. I like the single-colour, tone-on-tone of the night heron background... I'm worried that the day heron might be too "busy" (colour-wise), once the trees/ground gets painted in.
12. Apparently I flipped the light/dark of the beak on the day heron, but I think that's okay.

At least my back is slowly getting better.

Well, it's well past time I ice my back again and go to bed. Good night.

Whee!

2011-08-28T21:03:00.001-05:00

I biked up to the park and back in about 40 minutes, I'd say. :) (I forgot to look at the time before and after, but I remember the clock saying 8:12 before I went to get my bike out, and it's now only 9:04, and I've been home for a few minutes.

I love riding my bike!

(Of course, now I could do with another shower...)

sigh

2011-08-27T22:39:00.002-05:00

Dear President's Choice Blue Menu,

I buy your fish for two reasons:

1. I like eating fish.

2. I would like to continue eating fish in the future, and your fish has the sustainability logo on it.

However, I am single. Thus, when I buy your package of two fillets, I intend to eat each fillet at a different time. Eating two fillets at once is both too much food, and dramatically raises the cost of the meal.

My mother taught me that re-freezing fish is not safe food handling practice. Thus, when you package your fillets together in such a way that the two are solidly fused together in a single block of ice... well... I regret having purchased your product.

I suspect you chose your packaging because it reduces freezer-burn. (Unless you didn't want to buy equipment to flash-freeze the individual fillets?) However, I would rather risk a little freezer burn, and be able to choose my portion size. Please consider changing your packaging methods.

Thank you.

Ow.

2011-08-27T19:29:00.004-05:00

Gardening hurts. (It's not just me, right?)

Today I filched a bunch of mom's compost

(well, I asked first, so I guess it's not filching)....

...and turned this:

...into this:

That last bit didn't get any compost or peat moss dug in... I ran out... both of the "magic soil" (what my landlord brought when I asked for peat moss, but beggars can't be choosers) and of "get up and go" (it "got up and left").

Notes:

The area with the orange annuals also needs the soil amended, plus the dirt in front of the other shrub.

The shrub on the right is also smaller. (The caretaker came out while I was gardening, and complained again that it was bigger than it used to be... so I dug up parts of it.)

The bare spot will get plants once the soil is amended.

The crowd of day lilies will also be dealt with later. I'm "storing" them there until I have their final spots ready for them.

Weird

2011-08-27T18:51:00.002-05:00

After I came in from gardening, there was a message on my answering machine, entirely in French. I figured it wasn't for me, and deleted it. Out of curiosity, I checked my caller id just now, wondering where the phone call came from. The area code was 704, which google tells me is a NC phone number. From what I saw on the news, NC is getting walloped by hurricane Irene today.

I sure hope that wasn't someone calling family for help. Even if it was something like "I'm okay, mom", that's also a message that would be best to get through.

Whoever you are, I hope you're okay, and are able to reach whomever you were trying to call. (R: Did I use who/whom correctly there?)

Goodby, Jack Layton

2011-08-27T13:34:00.004-05:00

May your memory live long in parliament, and encourage its members to be better.

Update: Thank you to R, who pointed out my stupid mistake/typo. I'm not sure why, but I've been making that one a bunch lately.

Thrift Stores Rock

2011-08-26T17:46:00.004-05:00

That's eight glass containers suitable for silk painting, for a whopping $1.35. I'm a big spender, I know! ;) (Although I only use a couple at a time, I need a bunch for when I'm teaching silk painting, for the students to use.)

I didn't make it to painting Wednesday (I was up too late finishing my colour design for the heron), but I did go with my mom today. :) I added a resist line that I decided I wanted, picked out mats for my block print, and then painted the sky and river on my heron painting. I may be able to finish it the next time I go!

Square One

2011-08-25T22:25:00.003-05:00

Square? Check.

12 inches? Check.

Suitable for a man? I would think so.

Exactly as pattern described? That would be boring. (Right?)

Challenges overcome: hook one size smaller than pattern called for, and the green yarn is actually DK weight. Plus I ran out of cream. (The danger of using scraps.) Would you have known it wasn't intentional, if I didn't tell you that? Okay, even if you did, it still looks nice, right? (If you say "no", I'm going to tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially since this "horse" doesn't need food or housing.)

Felted Lamp Shade

2011-08-24T15:45:00.002-05:00

darklamp

Wow!

Poll

2011-08-24T15:03:00.006-05:00

Suppose you were a burglar, and saw a light on in a room that you know is a storage/laundry room for an apartment block. Would you think:
(a) the door might be unlocked, this is a good time to break in, or
(b) there might be someone in the laundry room, this is a bad time to break in?

Note: The lock has been replaced with one that locks automatically, but the burglar won't know that until the next time (s)he tries to break in.

Yay Bike Ride!

2011-08-24T01:49:00.003-05:00

Bike rides, actually. These photos were from a bike ride three trips ago.

Me, looking well padded on top of the Chief Peguis Bridge:

Manitoba parfait:

(I had a scoop of chocolate brownie in a waffle cone.)

Weeding update:

The trash people actually *did* pick up all the weeds!

Today was brutally *hot* (by Winnipeg standards, and I am a wuss). Tomorrow is supposed to be better, but, instead of bike riding or gardening, I'm going to the art club with my mom. (Yeah, I'll have all afternoon, but I'll probably have a nap then. After all, I'm getting up at 8, and it's already 2 am!) Thursday is supposed to be *hot* again, but Friday I may get out and dig in the dirt. I guess that means Saturday is bike riding day! :D

Hip To Be Square

2011-08-24T01:17:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine, R, learned to crochet a month ago. After finishing a pair of slippers, she decided to tackle an afghan. (She is fearless.) She was finding the instructions for one of the blocks a bit confusing, and so asked me to help her figure it out. The directions were rather complex, and so I decided to make it myself, to figure it out properly. So, I dug some leftover superwash wool out of my stash, and had a go at it.

Another friend of mine, P, is helping to make a comfortghan for the son of an online friend who had a rather nasty car accident. The squares are 12" (what this one is supposed to be, but is working out a bit smaller... but an extra-wide border will fix that), no colour restrictions, no fibre restrictions. Assuming I finish in a reasonable amount of time (which it is looking like I will), that's where this square will end up.

Two "good deeds" with one square... not bad. :) The fact that it uses up some stash yarn leftovers is a bonus!

Lovely Day!

2011-08-21T03:06:00.003-05:00

This morning a friend picked me up, and we drove to another friend's place for spinning group.

Across the road, there was a flea market, so we stopped in for fun. I got a kick out of this old "wool winder":

Definitely hand made! The hooks are bent nails. I found an antique shoe stretcher for $2. (My grandma usually needs her shoes stretched, and mine could often use it too.) Plus it was neat, and only $2. (I left the $10 "wool winder" behind... I don't think I could use it.)

Then we continued on to the spinning group, where there were lots of animals to pet as well. :)

The llamas didn't come close, but Mikey the dog loved attention. And, of course, as the person allergic to cats, I was the only one who had the barn cat jump onto her lap. (Thankfully it jumped back down when I looked at her and said "NO".)

We spun outside (some in the sun, some in the shade... I chose shade), had lunch, then spun some more. (Some people knit, but that's okay too.)

It was a *beautiful* day, and not too hot. :)

After I got home, I had a nice nap (I didn't go to bed early enough last night).

I watched a movie I got in the "previously viewed" bin, it was quite enjoyable.

About an hour ago, I went out to take out some getting-stinky trash (I had shrimp for dinner last night), and did a little star-gazing. There were some clouds, but the rest of the sky was quite clear. I saw one shooting star (Perseid?), Cassiopeia, Polaris, Ursa Minor, part of the big dipper, and what I'm guessing was a satellite (moving south to north at a constant speed, but not an airplane) and possibly the space station (something extremely bright, to the left of the moon, apparently stationary). The police helicopter also circled overhead several times.

Hmmm... googling, it says that the space station isn't in geosynchronous orbit, so the bright thing isn't the space station. I tried looking it up on a star chart, but am having trouble wrapping my head around the placements. (I think I'd need to take my laptop outside, and hold it above my head... but I'd rather go to bed now.)

I hope you had a lovely day too! (I suppose tomorrow I'll have to actually cross something off my list... or at least tackle the dishes that have, somehow, once again stacked themselves up.)

How Am I Supposed To Know?

2011-08-18T20:03:00.003-05:00

The gastro doc prescribed an acid-suppressor. In the patient information sheet that came with my prescription, it says "before taking esomprazole, tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are allergic to it."

Um... how am I supposed to know before I take it?

Miscellany

2011-08-18T17:11:00.004-05:00

When the doctor or nurse tells you that something they're about to spray in your mouth tastes foul, they *mean* it. The nurse described it as tasting like extremely rotten bananas. It was more like "OMGWTFBlechAwful!!!" with an aftertaste of bananas... and then a sensation like your throat is swelling up, and you are going to finally experience anaphylactic shock. (The fact that I have a mild allergy to bananas, and they had already put a plastic oxygen tube in my nostrils that smelled like plastic I'm allergic to didn't help.) However, the sensation is misleading, and I didn't die. Also, once I confirmed that I was, in fact, breathing just fine, all initial panic subsided. It was amusing that the spray to prevent you from gagging later does make you gag when being applied.

I was considerably less groggy from the woozy-juice than the other people I saw staggering out earlier. I even remember watching the monitor for parts of the procedure, but I do think I was sort of out of it. However, I was good, and did avoid operating machinery (including stoves) or signing legal documents. ;)

Unsurprisingly, shoving a pipe down ones throat and taking biopsies does indeed leave one with a bit of a sore throat. The doc didn't see anything (so I don't get any nifty pictures), but hopefully the biopsies will provide some answers as to why I sometimes have trouble swallowing.

In the news:

1. Recently I've heard on the radio that someone is (once again?) circulating a petition that Sesame Street allow Bert and Ernie to get married (to each other). Personally, although I can possibly imagine Bert as being gay, I always saw the two of them as brothers, and wondered where their parents were. (They didn't seem old enough to be living on their own, and they look so similar.) Sesame Street is saying they're just friends/roommates, and don't have sexual orientations. What's you're opinion? Gay, brothers, or friends?

2. One of the new Winnipeg Jets players committed suicide. (The death was reported as "sudden, no foul play suspected, and he suffered from depression".) Depression is a serious disease, not something to be ashamed of. If you have it, please get help. (You wouldn't expect someone with cancer to "just snap out of it", would you?) If you know someone with depression, please encourage them to get help.

3. Neti pots can KILL YOU!!!!! Well... maybe. *One* person who lives in the South, and used plain tap water got a funky brain-burrowing amoeba. I use distilled water, as recommended. Blowing your nose can kill you too, but that doesn't stop me. ;) (I'll save my worries for crossing the street, and similarly dangerous daily activities.)

Success!

2011-08-16T15:42:00.003-05:00

With the summer heat, I haven't been bothering with a blanket on my bed, just a sheet. However, just a sheet sometimes isn't *quite* enough. Laying my terry-towel housecoat on top works, but isn't really blanket shaped. I was at Mitchell Fabric yesterday, but terry fabric costs more than I felt like spending. Then I went to Superstore, and found these:

That's a set of eight facecloths for $5, and a pair of bath towels for $10. (I also bought that awesome, squooshy, apple-green bathmat yesterday, but it's going to remain a bathmat... my current bathmat is a bleach-stained, ratty old thing.) The towels and facecloths are thin, but I was looking for something on the thinner side anyway. Here's what I ended up with:

Awesome! I love it when my hair-brained ideas work out! Now to run it through the wash, and I can use it tonight. :) (Hopefully the dark blue doesn't bleed all over the white, but I was too lazy/cheap to pre-wash the blue.) It probably won't lay as flat after being washed (the edges and trims of towels always seem to shrink more than the terry part), but it will certainly lay flatter than my housecoat. ;)

WTF

2011-08-14T01:50:00.002-05:00

I've had a string of annoyances today.

First: I have an appointment next week where I'm supposed to stop my vitamins a week before. My antidepressants aren't working as well without the help from the B Stress supplement. I tried eating a banana at my mom's yesterday, but that didn't help.

I suspect my headache today is because I stopped taking my magnesium supplement. (Frequent headaches is the reason I take that one.)

Then, when I synced my iPod, it decided to remove all of my podcasts from the iPod. Some fiddling got them back.

When I went to cook dinner after washing dishes, I accidentally turned on the wrong element... heating up an empty pot that was drying, rather than the pot full of water. (I don't think it did any real damage, but there is some discoloration.)

Then, when I was done listening to a podcast, the dock didn't want to switch back to the radio function. (Unplugging it cleared that, but meant I had to reset the clock... I need to get a 9V battery for it.)

Time to go to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. At least my mood is a bit better at the moment, and my headache has stopped.

How Appropriate

2011-08-09T14:56:00.004-05:00

A few minutes ago, I cleaned the toilet. Then I came in my office to cross it off The List. When I sat down at the computer, I noticed I had some e-mails to respond to. One was on Ravelry. So I checked the forums while I was there. A friend of mine had posted the following video link:

Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder

It was funny. So I posted a response, saying that I must have early-onset... but I was combatting it this break using my List. Then I remembered that I had come in the office in order to cross something off The List. Uh... whoops! I guess The List can't fix everything! ;)

Bumble-no-more

2011-08-07T17:30:00.005-05:00

I spotted this little fellow while returning the shovel and broom to my mom's:

He was lying belly-up by the back door. I think he had only recently passed, because he was in good condition, and still flexible. I figured this was a good opportunity to get some reference photos without getting stung. (Who knows, maybe one day I'll want to paint a bumblebee? I saw a neat block print someone did of one, while researching wood block printing.)

Weeding

2011-08-07T17:12:00.004-05:00

I went over to my dad's place to get the weeds over to the trash for pick-up tomorrow. I also pulled some more weeds that didn't get pulled previously.

Hmmm... this box is full, I wonder how I'll get it to the trash?:

Perhaps if I stomp on the weeds to compress them? ...Nope, bad idea:

(Grrr... crap boxes!)

Looking better:

(Not good, but certainly better. Good will happen after I move in.)

Dad asked me the other day why I was gardening at the apartment block, rather than at his place (which he called my place, even though he hasn't moved everything out, and I'm not living there yet.) Possible reasons:
1. It's still his place.
2. It's not yet my place.
3. My brother is living there rent-free, and not doing any weeding.
4. I'm having a hard enough time keeping up with stuff at my place. (I may not be paid for the gardening I do here, but it makes it nicer for me to live here.)
5. Or, perhaps, it's because his yard looks like this:

Really?!? I'm supposed to have incentive to weed around his junk?

The weeds were brutal. They had thorns and spines that went right through my soft leather gloves. Near the end, I discovered this stick:

This stick was my friend. I could use it to push down the weeds, and, using a motion like twirling spaghetti, I could bend the ends of the weeds to get them in the box too. (The weeds were much longer than the box was.)

Here's a before and after shot that I *did* remember to take today:

You know, if the trash people took one look at this, and left without taking anything (they do that when people put out an unreasonable amount of trash), I don't think I'd blame them:

That's six boxes, one garbage bag, and three trash cans all full of weeds and pruned branches. :P

PS: I was hot and foul-tempered after dealing with this many spiny weeds with no assistance from my dad. The other gardening on today's list will have to wait for another time.

Dreaded To-Do List

2011-08-07T03:32:00.003-05:00

I have about a month of unpaid leave between terms right now. I have a *long* to-do list. I keep getting pulled in different directions with all the things that need doing, so I thought I'd make a list of all the things that need doing, and break it down into manageable chunks.

Off the top of my head, and in no particular order, here's what I put on the list so far:

apply for jobs
call dentist
call scope
gardening (inside & out):
- dad's weeds
- dig in soil, (& transplant)
- plant spruce seeds
- transplant vft, amaryllis, (others?)
- dispose of dead plants
- remove stumps
- transplant peonies
- NW garden
- SE garden
- SW garden
- plant crocus bulbs
format hard drive
art:
- prepare canvases
- paint cat
- prepare demo
- hang art
- frame block print
- frame loon
- finish silk painting
- call to arrange silk painting class details
- order silk painting class supplies
- print cards
- print magnets
- renew membership
clean apartment
- clutter:
  - couch
  - coffee table
  - chair
  - desk (office)
  - desk (hall)
  - dresser
  - drawers
  - kitchen table
  - front hall
  - spinning area
- bathroom floor
- kitchen floor
- old air conditioner
- ac filters
- fan from basement
- oil (finish?) lr end tables
- deal with boxes
- mail
- dust
- mop
- toilet
format hard drive
install lion
sew pattern magnets
sew pyjama bottoms
sew t-shirts (pyjama tops)
sew printer dust cover
make stitch markers
finish desk & move it into office
2140:
- prepare assignments
- prepare midterm
- prepare final
medical paperwork
scan & send instructions

Scary, huh? Some of the things are fairly quick, it's the length of the list that gets to me. (It doesn't even include regular stuff like laundry, dishes, etc! Or fun stuff!)

For tomorrow, I've chosen the following:

dad's weeds
dig in soil, (& transplant?)
Laundry
format hard drive
water plants
trash & recycling
office desk clutter
scan & send instructions

Tomorrow isn't supposed to be too hot, and isn't calling for rain until later, so is a good day to do at least a little gardening. Laundry needs doing, and the plants are looking wilty again. I bought a new back-up drive today, and so I should check to make sure it's working, and get regular back-ups going again. (The last two items are only if I have time, although setting up the back-up drive will be easier if my desk has less clutter on it.)

I'm tempted to start the drive right now, but, as it's nearly 4 am, I *really* need to get to bed. Good night!

Monday's list so far has the phone calls and applying for jobs.

Potato Cannon

2011-08-01T21:15:00.001-05:00

Heh... family entertaining itself:

Crochet Socks

2011-08-01T14:41:00.002-05:00

Sock production has certainly gone down, but I'm still slowly cranking them out.

I ran short of the main colour, so I added in some blue from my stash of scraps. I think the blue would have looked better as heels and toes, but (a) that would have meant starting the socks from scratch, and (b) the heels and toes have a reinforcing thread that matches the main yarn, not the blue. (Not that I made sure to line the patterns up, but it still would have looked more noticeable with the blue.)

What's your opinion on the blue?

Apartment Gardening

2011-08-01T13:57:00.002-05:00

1. Looks like my landlord took me literally when I said the stepping stones "don't need to be pretty". I meant it, but I didn't really expect to get leftovers from some other project. Not that being leftover is a problem, but they're a bit on the small size. The fact that there is four, rather than three, might compensate enough. I guess I'll find out when the caretaker goes to prune the shrubs again. (These are to go behind and beside the shrubs so that the caretaker isn't compacting the whole garden when he's pruning the shrubs.)

2. I just noticed in the photo... looks like my landlord bought potting soil rather than peat moss. It'll probably work too, but won't go as far as peat moss would. (I need to work in some (non-clay) organic matter into the soil so that it is looser, and doesn't clump and crack as much.) I suppose potting soil will be easier to dig in than fluffy, dry peat moss.

Weeding

2011-07-30T22:35:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, the back parking pad looked like this:

Today we weeded some more, as you may be able to tell from the many piles of green stuff:

(I count six piles in this photo.)

(Two or three more piles in this photo.)

The parking pad from the same angle as the first photo:

(I kicked the weeds in the back lane into a tidier pile after taking the photo.)

I also did some weeding in the back yard under the spruce tree, and pruned some of the branches that were hanging low over the gate.

On my way back home, I remembered to drop off something at my mom's... which meant I ended up walking past their boulevard trees, which needed some pruning. I had clippers in my bag. I trimmed the water-shoots from the base of the trees, plus low hanging branches and branches over the walk and street.

While stuffing my mom's trimmings into two *full* garbage cans, the neighbour came out with his adorable puppy, so I went over to pet him. (The puppy, not the neighbour. The neighbour has a girlfriend.) I commented that he had some Manitoba maples and elm trees growing in his garden next to the house, and that he should remove them. (This is their first summer in the house... the previous owner was 96 before he passed, and wasn't quite up to the yard work the way he used to be.) Since I had my clippers (and now a pruning saw... there was a thick branch or two that needed removing at mom's) out, I offered to cut them at ground level, and he could dig up the roots later. I also hacked the several-meter-tall elm tree into three pieces for easier disposal.

I eventually did make it home, and had a nice, cool shower, followed by a nap. :)

I still have a heat-headache, though. (It started yesterday.) No matter how much I drink (and I do guzzle the water while working outdoors), I still get those. :(

Whoops!

2011-07-29T18:06:00.003-05:00

Heh... looks like I sat on a raspberry on one of my breaks:

It's funny how raspberry stains react to soap... it immediately changes to blue-black. Here's the stain after attacking it a bit with soap during my shower:

Homemade litmus strips, anyone? (I wonder if it would change back if I poured a little vinegar on it?)

I put a bit of laundry detergent on it, so hopefully the rest of the stain will come out in the wash tomorrow.

Gardening

2011-07-29T16:44:00.004-05:00

Today I went over and helped garden at my(?) dad's(?) old house.

I took a "before" photo of the place that I thought I would be weeding:

Since it's hard to get in and out of that gate, I went around to the side gate.

There are raspberries by the side gate. (By the gate in the photo too, but my favourite ones are by the side gate.)

So I started munching raspberries. However, there were some prickly weeds making it hard to get the as-yet-unpicked raspberries, so I donned gloves, and started pulling those weeds. Then I got out the pruning shears, and pruned some volunteer trees that we didn't want, but were too big to pull up by the roots. Then I tied up some raspberries that needed tying up. Then I pruned a shrub that was crowding out the garbage area and encroaching on the back lane. Then I started shovelling up the dirt and debris that was encroaching on the back lane. (I also pulled a few weeds in the back pad when I went to get the shovel.)

Somehow, my raspberry munching turned into full-out gardening. However, that area now looks worlds better than it has in years:

You'll have to take my word for it, because I didn't take any "before" photos of this spot. Whoops. Oh well. You can partially tell how much we did from the trash cans: those were all completely empty when we started (today was trash day). Yes, there are two piles of debris that still need disposing of, but the trash cans were already full, and dad only had the one garbage bag.

Dad pulled some of the weeds that were in the area in the second photo, plus some weeds in the back parking pad, plus (I think) moved some junk in the back parking pad. Dad's wife picked raspberries and cherries for jam making. (And ate some too, of course.)

I borrowed my mom's step ladder, and picked the high cherries. (My dad's wife's back is sore right now.) Plus I pulled a couple weeds in the front garden. (No photos of either of these.)

So, the back parking pad is slightly better, but still needs a lot of weeding:

Guess what I'm doing tomorrow? We're going to start earlier, though, so that it's not so crazy-hot. (The back parking pad, as you can see, is a rather sunny spot. The raspberries, while partially shaded, didn't have the shade extending very far, and so most of the time was in the sun too.)

For easier comparison, here's the back pad, before & after, side by side:

Bumblebees

2011-07-26T00:31:00.003-05:00

Sunday after family dinner, Uncle B and I went for a bike ride. (Yay bike ride! We rode to the Forks to watch the salsa dancers. Bonus: I didn't fall off!) Afterward I stopped by my dad's for some raspberries. Mmmmm! There were a bunch of bumblebees, both on the raspberries, and on the weeds.

I caught this little fellow napping:

Where are your pollen sacs, little guy? Your orange bum stripe sure is pretty!

However, most were busy working despite the late hour and cooling temperatures, like this guy:

(Anyone know what that weed is? The flower part is stiff-spikey. I haven't tried looking it up yet.)

A Chip Off The Old Block

2011-07-25T01:41:00.004-05:00

I wasn't very good about taking progress photos at the wood block printing workshop. However, when I finished up on Friday, I took *tons* of photos! This is my post about Friday's marathon session.

I arrived at the art club around 11:30, looked at mats (for something else) for a few minutes, then worked on my block printing until leaving at 7:50! Ouch! Except for a few people saying hi, I was all alone. However, that meant I could spread out as much as I wanted:

When I posted about the wood block printing progress last, my block looked like this:

That block produced an image that looked like this on the artist proof:

(It turns out the paper I used for the artist proof behaved a bit differently than the other paper I had. More on this later.) This first colour was printed Thursday, but I didn't photograph it until Friday.

It's hard to see with the flash, but, in that first photo of the wood block, there are a bunch of pencil lines marking all the detail for the bird at all of its stages. However, it turns out that pencil washes off wood. After printing the first colour Thursday night, my block was washed clean:

Friday morning, I got to draw the detail back on:

I didn't put as much detail on, since I knew it was just going to wash off again. I put on enough for this stage of the carving, and to make sure later details would fit.

Then I used my knife to make a V groove beside the lines that marked a boundary between what was going to be printed next, and what had been printed previously:

I was worried about over-shooting with my gouge (since I was using a cheap lino-cutting tool on Friday, rather than my friend's nice, expensive, "cuts like a knife through butter" gouges), so I put a second V groove line in, to act as a bumper:

Then I got to work with my gouge:

Because the areas that would be different colours were separated, I could do two at once with this block:

Next step, drawing the bark:

(Note to self: Bark takes a *long* time to carve!!!)

Here's the bark and next level of detail on the bird:

(This was obviously taken *after* I started printing the next two colours.)

The final product that the block produced:

(It's a nuthatch.)

I printed an artist's proof, plus five prints, for a total of six:

Here's a comparison of how the two different papers behaved:

We're getting together with the instructor again on Thursday, to show her our finished prints. I'll have to ask her why she thinks the AP paper behaved so differently. (It was some older paper that had started to yellow, but it should have been the same stuff.) Weird.

I need to decide which print I'm going to keep for myself, and which I'm going to put for sale in the next art show. (I think the wood block looks rather neat itself, and so am thinking of hanging it in the show too... both to illustrate how the print was made, and in case anyone wants to buy it!) I've narrowed it down to either the AP, or print 5/5.

It was a *long* day, but I'm glad I got my prints done!

PS: It's still healing, but my finger is feeling much better now.

Saturday Gardening

2011-07-24T14:12:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I've had a chance to do some gardening, and the garden was showing it.

Before:

(Those tall things in the back are weeds. I thought they probably were, but I was letting them grow for a bit to be sure... plus I didn't really have a chance to deal with them before.)

These cracks looked a good six inches deep:

The ground was *dry* and rock hard. I really need to dig in some organic matter. I need to ask my landlord for some more peat moss, since he took the last stuff. (He thought I didn't want it... it was just that the ground was so wet that summer, I never had a chance to use it!)

After:

(I didn't notice this photo was out of focus yesterday, I was trying to be quick as it was starting to rain.)

I put some of the grass I dug up along the new sidewalk, because the concrete people didn't fill back up to the same level. (They made it look they did, but they didn't compress the soil at all.)

My apartment's caretaker was out helping too:

Venus Fly Trap

2011-07-24T14:01:00.002-05:00

I am happy to report that my venus fly trap is distinctly *not* dead yet.

(That dead looking bit is the flowers from a while ago... they're supposed to die back.) It's blooming again. It seems determined to bloom, so I'm letting it.

It survived a dry Winnipeg winter outside of any protective enclosure, and then another dry period where I ran two window air conditioners 24/7. (The weather has gotten much nicer now, and so the A/C is off, and the windows are open. It's a little warm today, but *so* much better than Wednesday.)

Even though I was still wilting in the heat myself, it was amusing to hear all the dire heat warnings on the news for what is relatively normal summer weather in NC. ;)

Screech Pop, Screech Pop!

2011-07-23T11:56:00.005-05:00

Subtitle: Why you should obey the speed limit, and keep sufficient distance (2-3 seconds) between you and the car in front of you.

Three-car pile-up on my street:

(I suspect someone ahead of them was turning left onto the side street... which happens often, but people don't expect for some reason.)

How handy! There was an undercover cop car sitting there:

(Guy in the middle is a cop, in case it's hard to see the details.)

Whoa, *three* cops! They must have been getting ready to do a safety check, rather than a speed trap:

Also handy: the truck that started leaking fluid all over the street also happened to be towing a trailer of sand (some of which spilled on impact). Plus he had a shovel! Cop was clever enough to use sand to absorb fluid. I'm not sure why he didn't put some more under the front of the truck so that the continuing leak didn't get into the sewer system... unless the sand is to prevent the street from getting slippery? I always thought it was for environmental reasons.

Additional tip: if you're towing a trailer of sand, allow for even more distance in front of you, because the additional weight will take more time to stop.

Update: Truck guy shovelled more sand to absorb stuff under truck. He's waiting for a tow (driving while fluids leaking out probably a recipe for damage to engine), and everyone else has left.

Making Sawdust

2011-07-21T23:16:00.003-05:00

After the block printing workshop tonight (no new scraped knuckles, yay!) I went over to mom's garage to play with the power tools. I transformed two scraps of wood into a hockey puck with a handle:

Tools used: radial arm saw, band saw, drill press, belt sander.

This gadget I created is for block printing. You use it to rub the back of the paper, so that it absorbs the print. The teacher said we could buy a real one, or use the back of a wooden spoon. I brought a wooden spoon, but it didn't work as well as the gadget another student made. So I made my own. (Apparently the art supply store that was supposed to order the gadgets in hasn't received them yet. I was being cheap... I've already spent tons on this class.)

The real gadgets are larger, thinner, and covered in a banana leaf that is twisted around back to make a handle. The other student's gadget was larger, and with a different style handle. My gadget size was limited by the selection of wood in the scrap bin. (I didn't dig very deep either.) Although mine is smaller, it's larger than the back of a wooden spoon. I think it will be fine.

Note: the correct name for the gadget is a baren. (According to that site I link to, what I thought was a banana leaf is actually the sheath from a stem of bamboo.)

Ow: The Morning After

2011-07-21T11:35:00.004-05:00

Isn't it amazing how something so small can hurt so much?

Knuckle scrapes always hurt, because you're constantly stretching the wound when you bend your finger. This one hurts more than the standard knuckle scrape... it appears I've also bruised the knuckle, so it's also tender and swollen. Thus, in addition to stretching the wound, I'm also compressing the bruise every time I bend my finger. It feels like it does when my arthritis is acting up.

My finger is angry. In short, my finger is giving me the finger.

And Now To Bed

2011-07-21T01:22:00.002-05:00

Homework done, I can now go to sleep. (Yeah, so not going to finish this tomorrow evening. I think I can finish it up at home on Friday, though.)

Ow.

2011-07-20T21:29:00.003-05:00

I'm taking a class on wood block printing. I haven't cut myself with the knife or the gouge. Did you know wood is sharp too?

The gouge slipped, and my knuckle met the edge of the board with great force. Luckily I had a bandaid with me.

Note to self: put more bandaids in emergency pack.

Curses!

2011-07-19T01:37:00.003-05:00

Why does glass have to be so dang fragile?

The handle knocked against the side of the sink while I was washing it.

Is there any way to repair glass? (So that it's water tight, and won't explode?) Would heating it with a propane torch do it, or would that just cause it to explode? *sigh*

I loved that pitcher. It had a lip that didn't dribble, and was the perfect size for frozen juice.

Update: Hmmm found the following on a forum:

I have a slightly unorthodox one for you.

Get a blowtorch. Melt the glass at the crack. However, to avoid shattering it completely, you'll have to heat the entire thing up first - a LOT. Put it in a cold oven and load the oven up with bricks around it to hold heat. Bring the oven up to 500 degrees and keep it there for a good hour to ensure all the bricks are GOOD and HOT.

Then open the oven and, wearing 2 or 3 heavy mitts, grab the glass and using the blowtorch, melt the crack with high intense heat just on that spot. Work quickly so it doesn't cool down too fast.

Then put it back in the oven, leave the oven on 500 for another 20 minutes, then turn off the oven and LEAVE IT CLOSED overnight.

I have no idea at ALL if this will actually work - but from what I remember about glass blowing (my whole 4 hours of it), this might just do the trick. The blowtorch will work - it's the whole heating and cooling bit I'm worried about...

I have bricks and an oven, and I can borrow the blowtorch. (I think I'll leave it in the oven while I torch the side, though... as long as heating from only one side is fine. Of course, I'm not sure I'd be able to get the right angle inside anyway.) I'm not sure this is the right project for the heatwave though... perhaps I'll wait for a cooler day.

Comments? Suggestions? Warnings?

The Evil Plastic Coil Zipper

2011-07-17T15:49:00.001-05:00

Four down, more to go. A particularly evil unravelling zipper:

Two Birds, One Stone

2011-07-17T15:18:00.002-05:00

My lingerie bags have been snagging things with their unravelling zipper ends. One of my tank tops had a tag that was irritating me. Tag cut off tank top, cut in half, then used to sew up the ends of a zipper. Two problems solved. :) (The nice thing about the tag is that I don't have to worry about the sides fraying.)

Now to find more tags to cut off for the rest of the lingerie bags. (Either that, or do a bit more folding for each zipper end.)

Lily

2011-07-12T16:36:00.001-05:00

*sigh*... the last bloom is fading. Now to keep it alive until the garden outside is ready for it. (My poor plants have been getting neglected lately.)

Cats Have Pause Buttons!

2011-07-11T19:03:00.001-05:00

Wow....

Woodworking

2011-07-10T14:43:00.004-05:00

Would you look at the two lovely pieces of wood I created from a not-so-pretty basswood board?

I also made one shoe polishing brush into two block printing brushes:

Impressed? (No? That's okay... I'm sure I'll create something more impressive later. Well, the pile of sawdust and shavings was impressive, but I didn't think to photograph that.)

To accomplish all this, I used (with my uncle's assistance) the table saw, radial arm saw, planer, jointer (well, my uncle did that part, but I watched), and belt sander. (My uncle assisted and did some initial rough sanding on the small block using a different, more aggressive sander, since it couldn't go through the planer.)

The blocks aren't perfect, but I decided what was left was "character". At any rate, I think I will have the prettiest pieces of wood at the block printing workshop! ;)

Things I learned (besides details on how some of the power tools worked):
1. If you wear the same clothes you just came home from the memorial in, they will get really dirty. (I guess that *won't* be the pair of shorts I wear this week! Luckily I was doing laundry right after that.)
2. The table saw sends sawdust flying back at you. (In this case, dark sawdust that gets all over your clothes, up your nose, and in your eyes... even if you're wearing glasses. I wonder if they sell all-enclosing goggles that go over glasses, and whether those work for sawdust too, or if they have enough holes/gaps that you still get dust in your eyes?)
3. Sanding, even with power tools, takes a *really* long time.

Beware Phone Scam!

2011-07-10T00:38:00.003-05:00

This morning I got a phone call from a guy with an east Indian accent, but otherwise fine English, calling from an unknown number. He knew my last name. (He even managed to pronounce it correctly and confidently!) He claimed I had a Windows virus, and my computer was going to crash right away, and he was calling to help me fix my computer.

Uh... really?

I asked him what operating system he thought I was using. He said it was a Windows virus, so it was Windows. I said he was wrong. (I have a mac.) He hung up without even saying good-bye.

I suspect, had I been gullible enough, he would direct me to a website with a virus, or walk me through the steps to give him enough information for him to take over my computer directly. Or who knows, maybe he was going to ask for credit card information or something that he could use for identity theft.

If you have someone call claiming your computer is infected, and they're going to help you fix it, *please* don't fall for the scam! (You might also want to warn your more gullible, less-tech-savvy friends and relatives.)

Note: Here's an article about the scam, published by the Guardian.

And, in case you're interested, my computer is still doing just fine, 15 hours later. ;)

Sweat Stain Report

2011-07-10T00:34:00.003-05:00

Last night I didn't feel like going down to the storage area to fetch the borax and oxy-spray, so I soaked all the items with sweat stains in diluted vinegar. While sorting the laundry, I sprayed some items with oxy-spray, and put borax paste on others. Those treatments had 1.5 - 2 hours to "work"... but they didn't. (At least, not completely. I still have yellow stains.) *sigh* Items with just vinegar didn't work either.

I've brought the oxy-spray and borax upstairs, so next weekend there'll be another experiment.

(Perhaps I should just dye those items yellow? *grump*.)

Sewing (& Spending!)

2011-07-09T23:17:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I went out and spent way too much money. However, none were "frivolous" purchases, so I guess it's okay.

First I went to Lee Valley, and bought supplies for an upcoming workshop on printing with woodcuts. The main expenses were a chip-carving knife, and a pair of ceramic sharpening stones for maintaining said knife.

The stones came with fabric cases, but they looked like they would slide right out if I put them in a bag of art supplies. So I made a case out of old jean material to hold the pair:

I still need to sew on a snap. (The only snaps I appear to have are too small, although I have one or two more places to check before I buy some.)

After Lee Valley, I stopped in at a shoe store that was in the same strip mall. I hadn't intended to go shoe shopping, but (a) my regular shoes are ones I bought in 2006, (b) my sandals have a crack in the sole in addition to the sole being completely worn down, and (c) I can't wear my dress shoes for longer than an hour without my feet hurting. I ended up buying a pair of sandals the same as my old ones (but in the correct size, rather than one size larger, yay!), and a pair of "business casual" shoes that I think I can get away with wearing both as regular shoes (I think they'll be comfortable enough) and interview shoes (I'll check with the co-op coordinator first). Two pairs of shoes isn't cheap, even when shopping in a medium price range store. (Especially since my feet seem to like the more expensive shoes.)

Next came Zellers, since I noticed they had my jeans in stock, but I didn't have time to try them on the other day when I was passing through. (I like to double check that the tags are correct.) Since all my jeans were (I thought) looking decrepit, I bought two pair.

Today I turned one pair of my old jeans into jean shorts. I just grabbed the top pair and started the conversion. After making some cuts (and thus no turning back), I noticed there wasn't much wear on this pair. (There *is* some, but not as bad as I remembered.) Whoops! So I guess now I have two pair of good jeans, one pair of crap jeans (suitable for gardening), a decent pair of jean shorts (not a bad thing), and a crap pair of jean shorts. Oh well.

While in Zellers, I also bought a few more items, including a replacement radio / iPod dock for the kitchen. My previous dock was getting more and more annoying:
1. It doesn't display the time when the radio / iPod are playing.
2. The display flickers while on, and recently started flickering while off too.
3. I can't read the clock from a distance (when the music isn't playing).
4. It takes a half dozen or more button presses to switch between the iPod and radio (the buttons don't seem to be working properly... it should only actually take 1-2 button presses, if they were actually recognized).
5. It was designed for an older model iPod, so (a) it doesn't have the correct dock adapter, and (b) the iPod doesn't charge while plugged in.
While the replacement wasn't urgent, I found one in Zellers that wasn't too bad a price, had a readable clock, and, being new, would work with my iPod. (Turns out it says to go to "your iPod dealer" to get the correct dock adapter, though. At least my iPod doesn't tell me it won't charge every time I plug it in now.) The only downside is that it doesn't have a remote, but, that's not too big a deal. (I don't often use the remote on the old one.) It's also nice that it's smaller than the old one too.

Oh... and today I bought a rough and cracked piece of basswood, and then used my uncle's workshop to make it into two very pretty pieces of wood for the workshop. :)

I think I got too much sun yesterday on my travels... I've had a low grade headache for much of today. :P

Crocheting The Unexpected

2011-07-07T23:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I went shopping for crochet supplies at Home Depot. I found what I wanted in the seasonal section. I was hoping for white, but had to settle for blue, due to their limited colourways.

What did I buy?

Whipper-snipper cord.

I'm crocheting a hat, and am using the cord to provide stiffness. (Some of the other ladies at knit night looked at me like I was a bit loony, but I believe the correct term is "innovative". They did come around after they saw some progress.)

It's working, although a little differently than I had envisioned. After this hat, I may decide to try another, but with supplies from a bait & tackle shop... medium to heavy duty fishing line, instead of whipper-snipper cord. ;)

Pondering design ideas... whipper-snipper cord is what... nylon? Can I melt it and attach the melted ends? Perhaps I'll experiment in a nice, shady patch of concrete somewhere. (So that I don't accidentally set something on fire!)

My Cousin's Video

2011-07-06T00:57:00.002-05:00

A video that my cousin helped make:

There's a people's choice award for the GIFTS video with the most views... so if you like this, can you send your friends to watch? :)

Evolution of CFLs

2011-07-05T18:35:00.005-05:00

The package on the left I bought around three years ago (the two bulbs are dead ones that I need to dispose of properly), the package on the right I bought last weekend.

The package on the left claims the bulbs last seven years (8000 hours). Of the package of four, I've had to replace two, and one just went in a month or two ago. It's not doing well on it's seven year claim. The new bulbs claim to last nine years (10000 hours). So... do you think they'll actually last nine years (as claimed), five years (two more than the old bulbs), four years (20% more), or three years (exactly the same)?

The old lightbulbs have 850 lumens flux, the new ones have 800. (It's daytime right now, so I haven't turned them on for a light output test... I'm not sure how I'd do that without equipment anyway.) They both use 13W.

The old bulbs are "Daylight Extra... Colour temperature is 3500K. Does not comply with ANSI specification C78.376-2001 for Daylight colour temperature (6500K)." New bulbs actually do claim to be 6500K, and are a noticeably different colour than the old ones when I flicked them on briefly to check. (Old one is yellow-white, new one is blue-white.)

The old bulbs came in an excessively large clam-shell package made from non-renewable petrochemicals, with no recycling symbol. The new ones come in more compact, recyclable cardboard.

Regular lightbulbs are being phased out all over, in favour of CFLs. I have two concerns about that:

1. What do you use for your porch light? CFLs turn off when the temperature drops too low. (Not a problem in NC, but does happen regularly in Winnipeg.)

2. Many CFL packages still say not to use the bulbs in enclosed fixtures, or in a sideways or upside-down position. What are you supposed to do for overhead lighting if you don't want a chandelier? (As is the case in my apartment? Is that why they don't last as long as they should? Or take so long to come to full brightness? ...Although I have those same problems with the tri-light in the living room, and it's upright and unenclosed.)

Even ignoring the concerns migraine sufferers have, they still have some issues to resolve.

Update: If I had to make a guess, I'd say the new bulb is brighter. It certainly comes on faster. The blueish light is going to take some getting used to, though.

Laundry: Solution & Question

2011-07-04T15:06:00.004-05:00

I figured out a trick recently. I have this one hand towel that, no matter how many times I washed it, it had a "wet dog" smell (like towels sometimes get if you don't wash them frequently enough.) It could be fresh from the laundry, and would still smell like that. I didn't want to just toss it, because it was one I had knit myself. I decided to try soaking it in diluted vinegar before washing it. That did the trick. Yay! :)

Now I have another problem I'm trying to solve, and thought I'd ask you if you know any good tricks. The problem is sweat stains. My regular detergent (Tide / PC knockoff) isn't working. I tried Sunlight Deep Clean (too scented!, plus didn't work). I tried soaking in diluted hydrogen peroxide (something I saw on the web). I tried a stain remover with "oxy" in the name. (Realizing afterwards that it's probably just hydrogen peroxide with dye added.) Does anyone have a trick they use? Thanks!

PS: I got my dishes washed yesterday! My kitchen is so much nicer now! Now if only I could get the table cleaned off...

Awwwww!

2011-07-04T14:52:00.002-05:00

I met my newest neighbour out for a walk on my way home one day last week!

Isn't he the sweetest?!

(I hope Flickr actually shows the photos later!)

My Mother's Poppies

2011-07-04T14:43:00.001-05:00

My mother's poppies put on a stunning show again this year. Too bad they don't last longer. (Hmmm... should I or shouldn't I plant some in the apartment garden?)

Trökni

2011-07-04T14:40:00.002-05:00

Oh, look, I'm making them in pink (well, coral) too:

I've made four yellow, and am on my third pink one. (I'm keeping one of each, the rest are gifts.)

I like that I was able to find matching buttons in my stash. :)

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