projects

 shiny new shoes! these count as a project, because finding shoes that were not horrid, clash-y neon colors took several frustrating days. i had a pair of Roos as a kid, and still think they're terrific - even with the useless velcro pocket. eight-year-old me managed to wedge a quarter into that pocket, but could never get it out again.

 this hat is a Christmas present for my older sister. the yarn is Lion Brand Amazing, in the Regatta colorway, and as soon as i saw the word "regatta", i thought of A, who used to do a lot of competitive sailing but is now land-locked in Colorado. she's very musical, and going through a belated Joni Mitchell period, so i'm making her a slouchy hat to wear while she plays her guitar.

(Christmas is THREE. MONTHS. AWAY. hoooooly cow!!!)

 THIS. i'm very excited about this. we have a lot of downed tree limbs around this year, courtesy of a string of bad storms, and i've found a use for this one. today, i bought an 18" round unfinished table top for $7...now all i need are some wood screws and a borrowed saw (i own a drill already), and Houdini will have a custom-made scratching post!


i haven't got a picture for my next project, but i'm closer to getting my massage license! they received my application, my high school transcripts (to prove that i graduated) are ordered and en route, and today i dropped off the education verification paperwork at my massage school. three down, three to go: verification of my WA license, verification that i passed the NCBTMB exam, and fingerprints/background check.

this isn't a project, it's just something i meant to talk about and forgot. back in mid-August, we got to tour hand-built replicas of the Nina and the Pinta - two of the ships that brought Columbus to the New World. i'm not a fan of Columbus...the New World was already inhabited, and had actually already been discovered by non-native cultures (the Vikings for sure, and possibly even the Chinese), and he ushered in an age of genocide that absolutely does not deserve to have its own national holiday. however, i'm a huge history buff, so getting to step aboard historically accurate ships from an historically important voyage was pretty damn cool!

you know what? they're small. SO SMALL. both ships were under 100 feet long, and not very wide. imagining three of these crossing the Atlantic Ocean, when they were dwarfed by the freighters on the Detroit River, was staggering - even more so considering that ships of this time period pre-date the invention of the nautical steering wheel by a couple hundred years. and yet those three little ships are the culturally accepted launch point for American history. from those three little ships, came all of this. as grateful as i am to be alive, i just...wow. i can't stop thinking that exploring the replicas was like looking at a couple of Black Death bacteria under a microscope. so tiny, and responsible for so much destruction.

mind-blowing.


  

the week

* Lola the Jeep did NOT need any sudden repairs! the "leak" was nothing more than leftover fluid in the old brake line making its way out. i'm jubilant! i'm ecstatic! i'm...wishing they would've told me that could happen and saved me hours of panic!

*Dallas (aka Tripod, aka Sir Pups-a-lot, aka Nibbles) is settling in nicely. he's getting plenty of exercise, and we're working on sitting, staying, and the all-important Get Down. he loves to fence-race with Ruger, the neighbor dog, and he barks his fool head off at every person he encounters...including drive-through cashiers. E took him downstairs yesterday for an official cat visit (there have been a few unofficial, tearing-down-the-stairs-after-him visits), and Houdini puffed her fur out, sized him up, and swatted him. personally, i consider this progress - she's getting used to his noise and scent, and has figured out that she can mount an offensive instead of running for cover. also, we are in contact with a trainer who does the temperament tests for the shelter, and who promised a free training session to the next adopter after Dallas was returned. so, to sum up, pupperton will get some proper training, and eventually the cat will free-range in the house again.

*Mom's foot surgery went perfectly, and she is now recuperating in her recliner. we took up all the area rugs in the house, and she's been scooting around in a wheeled office chair. you'd hardly know she's injured - she's been keeping up on the dishwasher (MOM! you need to let me do some of this stuff!!!), and today she made herself a grilled-cheese sandwich.

*sometimes you really need a bucket of fried chicken, some biscuits, and a tub of coleslaw. don't ask me why. it's a mystery of the universe.

*i'm making progress on the licensing. high school transcripts have been sent; next up, i drop off education verification paperwork to my massage school.

*you know what's marvelous? getting through an exhausting, stressful, pulled-in-all-directions week, crying a few times, wondering why your anxiety seems out of proportion, doing some navel-gazing...and realizing that that sense of being in perpetual disgrace that you've been carrying around for 13 years (encompassing your failure to graduate from college, several bouts of depression, several horrific endings to relationships, being fired from a job, being unable to find a job, several moves across state lines, and several poor decisions that seemed right at the time) is complete and utter bullshit. you are not in disgrace. you were NEVER in disgrace. the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for FORTY YEARS - you only wandered for eleven, but it took you two more to figure out that you were free. FREE!!!

dog days

so, this happened:

we rescued this guy from the animal shelter on Friday morning and, apart from some mild separation anxiety, he's fitting in just fine. he's a judicious barker (except for barking extra-long at men), and a big snuggly baby who likes to nibble on clothes and ears. he's f*cking adorable, and we really don't understand why someone gave up such a great dog!

he and Houdini have yet to be formally introduced...she's still at Mom's, but Mom is having foot surgery this Friday, so the cat was slated to move back to E's mid-week before we got Tripod, and we're just going to have to stick to that plan and see how things go. i'm not expecting it to be a bed of roses, lol...but the pup is very chill, and the house is big enough for the cat to have her own space when she needs it.

in other news, after leaking something that looked suspiciously like brake fluid in a client's driveway yesterday afternoon (yet not last night or this morning), the Jeep is back in the shop today. sigh. Lola does have a history of cluster repairs, and it has been a couple years since the last cluster, so here's hoping we're just getting things out of the way before winter!

the weather has cooled down dramatically, and i've been pretty giddy about it! fall has always been my favorite season - the leaves, the smells, the hoodies and hats, Halloween and Thanksgiving...this is tea-drinking, soup-making weather, and i am loving every minute!

power(less)

it's been quite the interesting week!

on tuesday, i mailed in my license application and a money order for $95. on tuesday evening, my brake line rusted through as i was driving home from work. fortunately, i was only two blocks from my street, with very light traffic; even more fortunately, the repair shop we've used for years is, literally, around the block - i passed it, actually. had i been thinking clearly, i would've parked the jeep there and walked home! instead, followed by E, i drove it (sloooooooooooowly) there by the back streets early the next morning. the beautiful thing about working opposite shifts from one's beloved is, as long as you've got one working car between you at all times, you're going to be ok.

long story short: new brake line, $197. working car, priceless.

on friday, we were expecting some inclement weather, and it did not disappoint. i was camped out in Mom's recliner, catching up on Pinterest, cat on my lap, listening to the approaching storm. the minutes ticked by. the wind picked up, the rain came down, the lightning flashed, i unplugged the laptop and said, to the cat, "ok, here we go..."

...and the lights went out.  "Seriously?!", i said, indignant; but we're on the same grid as the police station, so i fully expected the lights to come back on before bed. they didn't. and they were still out the next morning when i drove to work...where the power was also out. yours truly performed three massages by the light of her headlamp before driving home, fingers crossed...

...nope.

i did as much cleaning as possible with no vacuum, hand-washed some dishes, straightened up the house, mourned my leftover Chinese food, took a nap, then went to dinner with E, where we discussed weddings and wedding bands before i left to pick up Mom from the airport. "Welcome Home, sorry the power's still out!"

this morning, our neighbor ran an extension cord from his generator to our kitchen, so we could plug in the refrigerator and (HALLELUJAH) coffee maker, and then we walked down the street to check out the generations-old willow tree that came crashing down, taking the power lines out with it:

currently, the estimated repair time is 11:30pm on tuesday. we remain optimistic. in the meantime, i'm staying the night at E's, and letting Mom have the rest of the hot water at home, lol. E is napping before work, and i am going to make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots for dinner, praying all the while for a less interesting (read: expensive) week ahead.

labor day

after a lovely rainy morning spent eating chocolate cake, drinking coffee, and pretty much just hanging out while listening to the Ani DiFranco/Utah Phillips album "Fellow Workers", E headed home to do laundry and get ready for tonight's shift.

tomorrow is the traditional first day of the school year, and that's probably why, for me, September has always felt like a more appropriate time to make goals and resolutions for a new year. so much anticipation in the air! new supplies, new clothes, a heart full of potential, ready for a Fresh Start.

*dreamy sigh*

*arranges notebook and pencils*

here are the goals i'm working on right now:

-Minimize possessions
-Become an active participant in activism for things i believe in
-Get my MI massage license
-Pay off credit card and student loans
-Get new shocks, struts, and tires
-Build a $1,000 emergency fund
-Learn new modalities/broaden my skill set

today, i'm taking lots of small steps - doing laundry, sorting through and consolidating boxes of things in the basement, joining my MichFest sisters in emailing the NCLR's board of directors, finishing my license application, window-shopping to compare tire prices, and rewarding myself for all the above by trying out a pattern for a crocheted baby cowboy hat. progress and yarn go so well together, yes?

enjoy the holiday, and take a minute to thank those who went before us and fought for better wages, hours, and working conditions...and remember the millions around the world for whom these rights are still a dream.