Train of thought

So … it’s 9:30 am Monday …

1) It’s the first day of vacation. Last week, after making half a dozen really stupid mistakes and realizing how much more irritable I was than I normally am, I said you know what? I need a break. Luckily, I have a kind boss, and thus here I am having a decompression week. I have no big plans, I have no bananas. I’m just having a 9-day weekend. Woo!

2) I love Sundays, because they result in sights like that over there –>. I love pancakes. This is the best pancake recipe ever. It’s from the Betty Crocker 195X cookbook. Classic. I’ve been making these pancakes since I was very young.

Oddly, I prefer Karo syrup. That’s right, plain old light corn syrup. I don’t know of anyone but my brother and I who like to eat pancakes with Karo.

<– several hours later –>

3) Whew. I totally forgot how irritating I can be. I realized about 1 pm that I’d inadvertently scheduled my entire vacation week into 2-hour increments. I say “inadvertently” because I really didn’t mean to have any schedule at all, this was supposed to be relaxation time. However, while I was running madly about the house accomplishing things today (seriously, isn’t this supposed to be a break?!) I realized I had very specific plans for each hour of my next 7 days.

OK, so I need to relax. Or perhaps, learn how to relax. I don’t seem to be very good at it. Boy can I schedule and plan, though. A week or so ago I emailed all of my coworkers with a document that was originally named “Schedule and Plan.” I have to laugh at myself sometimes. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be on the receiving end of my scheduling/planning/organizing/editing OCD issues, but I imagine it’s kind of like having a drill sergeant around. Fun!

You know what? I probably can imagine how it feels easily, because I do it to myself, too.

4) Whew again. Aside from cleaning and reorganizing my entire house today, I stopped for a bit and made dinner. It was the same slow cooker rosemary tenderloin with orzo I made over the holidays. This is the first time I’ve had a chance to make it since. I am hopeful. Others have made this from my recipe and it turned out well. I had meant to try it before now - when I post recipes, etc. I like to try it out to make sure I wasn’t smoking something when I wrote it. My cooking tends to be of the “throw stuff in until it seems okay” method, so writing down what I do? hahahaha riiiiiiight.

5) I’ll leave you with my kitten. She’ll be 7 months old in a week. I expected her to get bigger than she is, if only because her parents were bigger, but she’s still a shrimp. A fat shrimp. One would think with all the “leaping tall buildings in a single bound” she does every day, she wouldn’t be chubby, but she is. If only she was this sweet all the time … Maybe when she grows up? I do love those little tufts of fur between her toes, and I love that she’s ticklish :D. (Me=sucker for animals.)

Tomorrow will be more restful, right?

Beautiful things

It’s been a while since I did an outfit created with indie things, so I think it’s time again. This time, I’ve figured out how to use Polyvore, which is a very dangerous sort of tool that will no doubt lead to additional shopping.

You might not know that I’m a shoe fiend. I don’t actually wear a lot of the shoes that I covet - in fact, I do believe I have 5 pair of very similar black or gray Mary Jane flats, and that’s pretty much my comfort zone. But for fun? I do love shoes. Pretty shoes. Shoes with color. And oh, I do love heels. That last might be because I’m on the short side and secretly (or not so much) have a complex about it. My brother is over 6 feet. I’m barely 5′2″. Where’s the justice, I ask?

So this whole set today is inspired by a post from U-Handblog about Hetty Rose handmade shoes. I have long thought that in the crafting world, there aren’t enough handmade shoes. Why? Shoes are not easy to make. Shoes are costly to make. Shoe-making (aka cordwaining) is not a terrifically popular craft, but it’s one of those that really epitomizes to me what the word “craft” means - it means skill, it means handmade, and it it means tools.

So enjoy … apart from the shoes, everything’s from Dawanda, which is a truly fabulous place to buy things you never knew you needed. I decided to go somewhat elegant, ’cause the shoes really kinda demand it.  Hope you like.

Dress: This orange silk dress is by Lyra Amber.

hoes: Hetty Rose Handmade Shoes clearly makes fabulous shoes. Seriously, you should go look at the other shoes she has in her shop. Really incredible. Most are more colorful than the ones I’m showing, but I really love that fabric and the toe cutout.

Pendant: Lotus Blossom pendant and earrings by Stone Soup Jewelry. Cut from 2 sheets of sterling silver with silver beads, on a black silk cord.

Bag: This evening bag is silver and brown silk from East Haven.

Status Update: Flowered Lapghan

Ah, one of the freaking longest projects EVER … the flower afghan.

Goal: 40 squares, 20 with the flower design (9 red, 4 orange, 4 yellow, 4 purple) and 20 brown squares of my design.

Status: All the flowered squares are done! I have 11 brown squares done as well.

What’s Left: 9 brown squares, and of course putting it all together. I also plan to crochet a row of double crochet in between each square as well and around the whole thing.

So here’s the squares, and I also put a few together in the checkered pattern I’m planning on now that I have all the colors done. What do you think? Keep in mind the sun was really, really bright and the colors are brighter than they really are. I’m going for a checkerboard of autumn colors.

As usual, I’m convinced it’s going to be horrible. Typical.

Did I mention about the blanket that my grandparents made is now residing by the front door and being shown to everyone who shows up? My grandma told me about showing it to her card ladies last week.