From the Work Basket: January

Here is a new monthly feature I'd like to introduce that involves this basket

which is filled with a variety of projects, mostly sewing related, that have been sitting around for some time. Don't worry - these are not my only unfinished craft projects. There are plenty more stashed throughout my craft room in various stages of completion. But, this bin sits out in the open, and is a daily reminder of my failure to finish (many) projects.

Counting through the projects in the the bin, there were exactly 12. Coincidence? Pinky swear I did not add or subtract any projects before deciding to undertake this endeavor. Some projects will be easy (mending), and some, like my mom's quilt, will push my crafting and time management skills to the limit. I am glad there is a mix of easy and more difficult projects. There are also a lot of apparel projects, which are not my forte, so we'll see. Should be a challenge on may fronts to complete all of these projects before the end of the year.

The inaugural January project was a pair of pants I intended to finish before Hank was born. They were cut out and ready to go, but that's how things go sometimes. They may be a little short now, but with the elastic waistband they will be comfy for my little pot-bellied boy.

Here are the rest of the projects I will be completing this year - one per month (in no particular order)

- Quilt for my mom

- Unfinished baby quilt (using BT's baby blanket)

- Sandwich wrap

- Carpet bag

- Tunic

- Apron repair

- Hooded towel repair

- Vest for Hank

- New bulletin board

- Men's shirt refashion

- Skirt

If you would like to join along with your unfinished projects, let me know!

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Favorite of the day: Sooo perfect for our Valentine theme this year!

Working on: I didn't forget about you, ladies!

Well, maybe it depends who you talk to

It appears that there is some debate amount my general level of preparedness

After posting yesterday about my inability to be prepared, I could hear my mom through the Internets, clucking her concurrence. This is the woman who knows I have forgotten my makeup bag, entire toiletry bag, all of Hank's clothing, food for Chuy, and numerous other things on trips to go visit her.

I received an email, though, from a friend who thinks I am the most prepared person she knows! She said she is always impressed at how I am ready for anything, particularly when it comes to Hank. What can I say - I'm an enigma.

One thing I know for sure we are not prepared for at all is a large earthquake. As residents of southern California, this is, of course, strongly encouraged. I do not know how to turn off the main gas line. We have no extra food or water here at the house. Our animals have tags, but do not wear them. I hope with BT's help we can soon figure out how to be better prepared for a terrible event (with the hope that one never happens).

There is one thing, though, that is even more important for me to have after an earthquake than any of these items and that is my glasses. Without them, I would have a hard time doing much after a disaster, as my vision is so poor. Of course a spare pair in an eventual earthquake preparedness kit would be good to have, particularly if my main pair was broken. But, I felt I needed to come with a way to have them at the ready next to the bed (as nighttime is presumably the only time they would not be on my face). Glasses left on the (glass!) shelf above my bed would probably not be there after a quake.

I made a little pocket to fit under the mattress to hold my glasses at night. This would probably work better with a mattress - box spring combo, but we have a platform bed. The rest of the holder you cannot see that goes under the mattress is fairly long, so it would take a lot of movement to dislodge it.

It is a small step in terms of overall earthquake preparedness, but has already helped me feel better about putting my glasses away at night.

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Favorite of the day: Got my own ideas brewing today

Working on: Hank's belated Christmas present

Prepared women...

...have rain coats, proper footwear, and pants that don't drag on the ground for going out in the rain to run errands.

As a Pisces, I am a bit of a dreamer, and often poorly prepared for changes in my regular routine (and don't have much desire to be prepared for the next time). Therefore, my rain attire consists of a 10-year-old wind breaker, leather skimmers (no socks) which quickly became water saturated, and jeans that were too long and were soaked by the time I made it the grocery store.

Oh, I do have a cute umbrella, though :)

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Favorite of the day: Sorry to be so crass, but I was compelled to look up what a "flip and f*ck" is after seeing one for sale as part of an ad on craigslist (we were looking for a kegerator, if you must know). The seller also apologized for labelling the chair as such, but didn't know the proper name. I laughed for 15 minutes straight.

Working on: Still preparing for our weekend away from home.

8

Marking year number 8 as husband and wife

The "traditional" gift for this anniversary was either bronze or pottery. I went with pottery, and hope BT does as well (bronze roses???? I'll find out this evening.) I found this idea on one of those cheesy sites selling things, like, well, bronze roses, that suggested giving coffee mugs with a note that you would like to share a moment during the hectic mornings with your significant other.

Our mornings are altogether too hectic, with one or both of us usually running late, and the bulk of getting Hank ready for school falling on (ahem) yours truly. It would be great to streamline our routine to wake up before the little one does in order to do our morning chores and to share a cup of joe. But, the reality is that we are night owls who continually push our bed time back for Netflix watching, game playing, or crafting. Sometimes one of us gets up early, but usually we wait for our little alarm clock to sound before dragging ourselves out of bed.

As a sidenote, did you know that consistently waking up before the sun is a genetic mutation? I'm just saying...

BT thought a better use for the mugs for us (purchased for 25 cents each, and fulfilling my long held thrifting goal for to find Japanese nesting mugs!) would be to share a cup of decaf after dinner. That sounds nice, too, and more our style. Croissants are optional.

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Favorite of the day: Nothing new

Working on: Weekend prep

Extra good - if you warn them first

Isn't it interesting that some food items claiming to be reserved for refined palettes often need a disclaimer to make you understand that what you are tasting really is good?

Caviar and escargot come to mind. Not that I've had either, mind you, but in the "real world" it seems they would be things you would spit back out upon tasting. Tell us this is what rich people eat, and we triple the price tag and claim to enjoy these items immensely.

The same could probably be said of these cookies. I was inspired to recreate some shortbread I tried at a local Farmer's market, and found this recipe online. My only addition was a teaspoon of cinnamon and with that they came out pretty darn close to the originals. With so much salt (or fleur de sel - aren't we refined), though, in the recipe (and a little sprinkled on top), it becomes necessary to explain to people that you intended the cookie to taste that way. The salt in theory draws out the cocoa flavor. Or it just tastes like baked playdough.

So far nobody has spit them out, and they claim to like them immensely.

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Favorite of the day: Looks like the kind of country-specific treasures that would show up at kiosk kiosk one day.

Working on: Nothing. Today was supposed to be a banner day on the crafting front - a day home alone. A project primed and ready to go. A sick kid had other plans for me.

Cool fabric

observed today at Ikea (Annamoa line. Note - these are really large prints)

Will definitely keep these in mind for future projects!

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Favorite of the day: Isn't this lovely?

Working on: Toy purge. Hard to do when every toy holds a memory.

A view from my desk

at work



Poster purchased after 2007 southern California wildfires. Letterpress card from this etsy seller chosen because it has a recycle truck on it. Bird from Target. Picture, handprint, and "ghost hands" from the little cutie who I miss immensely while I am here.

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Favorite of the day: Beautiful bathroom. Betcha don't describe a bathroom as beautiful very often, so this one is worth checking out.

Working on: Digesting - I have been eating way to much lately...

Wishing a special friend a happy birthday

Hopefully long term readers know of my love for Japanese kawaii and visiting American versions of 100 Yen stores. There are too many archived posts to link to expressing love for said Japanese cuteness.

My best friend's daughter is turning one this month. They live in Japan, and darling Natasha is part Japanese. What better way to celebrate her birthday than a party pack with Japanese influence?

I had one more onesie left over from this effort, which I embellished with a felt cherry blossom and the number 1. A matching crown was made for the birthday girl as well.

We also sent some pretty Asian lanterns, a Japanese party game, a little pressie Hank picked out for his girlfriend (one of many, I assure you), and a few other pretty pink party accessories. Say that three times fast.

I have had these two picks and Chinese paper cut gift tag in my stash for quite some time. I am usually not so generous to adorn a package with three special items, but that just shows how much we love our little friend.

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Favorite of the day: Nothing new - thankfully. I am on idea overload

Working on: Assembling our latest piece of DIY furniture, wondering if we will ever be able to afford something we don't have to put together with an Allen wrench.

Camellias

in bloom

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Favorite of the day: Love the editing here

Working on: Anniversary prep

Poor Vickie

Found at local Dollar Tree

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Favorite of the day: Dreaming of a Scandinavian winter picnic

Working on: Recreating the best shortbread EVER!

You don't understand - we waited 34 years to do this!

This past Furlough Friday we were treated to a trip to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure by a co-worker

As a sidenote - Don't pass up oh so obvious box of mac n' cheese at a White Elephant gift exchange 'cause you never know when somebody may use the box as a decoy to invite you to the Happiest Place on Earth :)

*Of course* Hank had a now rare crappy night of sleep the night before, so he was a crab all day. We also found that, unlike our last trip, he was not satisfied just looking at things. He spends his days on the move, and thus doesn't do well confined to his stroller or being held.

We tried to find places for him to run around, but it seemed like no matter where we put him, his first move was to run right in front of a group of people. Or climb up onto something.

Even a midday nap did not put him in a significantly better mood. Why were we so worried about his mood? Because *finally,* after 34 years, we got to eat at Blue Bayou.



It is the restaurant you float by when riding the Pirates of the Caribbean. For most of our lives, we were too poor to go there, either as kids or as newlyweds. Later in life, during trips to Disneyland with my parents, we only made it to the park on popular days, and could not get a reservation.

We still had a good time despite the toddler sweeping his arm across his eating mat so his puffs went flying, and the pricey food was actually quite good. It was fun listening to conversations from tables full of Disney nerds around us talking trivia.

We felt a little bad for all the BCS folks visiting the parks as things are totally torn up right now. The Rivers of America at the center of Disneyland was completely drained, and large fences were put up all around it. The same was true at California Adventure, with the center lake drained and large fences put up to hide several construction projects and to channel you through the park. I would hate if this was my first trip to the park and I could see was a bunch of fences!

The other less than desirable thing was seeing the park in limbo after Christmas. Some parts were totally cleared of Christmas, and others had remnants of decorations and the like. I was glad to see this squeal-worthy wreath near It's a Small World

Look at the cute wooden shoes! Anyway, we didn't mind these things because we do so few things at the parks now with Hank in tow. We are lucky to get in a few mind-altering rides before we are pooped out and ready to hit the road. And besides - this trip was FREE! Who could complain about that?

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Recent favorite: This compilation

Working on: Gift for a soon-to-be one-year-old

33 1/3

Probably the favorite Christmas gift 'round these parts for adults and baby alike is our new record player

We already had quite the vinyl collection, with a bin full of Hawaiiana/Tijuana Brass/Exotica records we picked up for the most part in one thrift store outing. Somebody had good taste in music.

The other bin is BT's dad's vinyl collection, and is your standard classic rock (The Doors, CCR, etc.) with a few that make you wish you could ask the man himself how they came to be part of the collection - like Claudine. And more Tijuana Brass. Odd coincidence, or did BT receive an early indoctrination into jet set pop?

The player is really neat. It has built in speakers, and does not require a receiver. It also can plug into your computer so you can record the records. I don't know if it is the nostalgia factor or what, but it is so nice to sit and listen to records - pops, hisses and all. Even if you do have to get up every 20 minutes to turn them over.

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Favorite of the day: Melting snowman cookie (via Junior Society)

Working on: I've been kinda nervous about changes at work, so can't focus on much else.

A look back

Although the next decade *technically* doesn't start until next year, isn't it more neat and easy to say we are starting it now?

Despite sometimes feeling like we are on the "slow track," the list below shows how much has changed. We are all undoubtedly changed people each decade that goes by. I certainly look a decade older than this 20-something college grad

(June 2000 - who are these people?)

In the last 10 years, I

~ earned my Master's degree

~ started my career

~ got married

~ became an aunt 11 times over!

~ proudly watched my husband earn his undergraduate degree

~ started a blog!

~ lost my father-in-law and several extended family members

~ went to Hawaii (finally!)

~ bought a house

~ had a baby

~ got a promotion

~ met new friends, reconnected with old ones, and cherished time spent with people I've feel like I've known decades longer

~ lived, laughed, loved

Thank you all for visiting me here! I do consider blogging a life changing event, as it has allowed me to meet people all over the world, learn new crafts, hone my writing skills, and create wonderful things for my friends and family. I'm sure one day you'll see the inevitable "this blog is closing down" post. But for now, I am looking forward to another decade as The Felt Mouse.

Happy 2010!