EarthQuaking News

We had an earthquake this morning around 10:00 am measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale.

Not completely uncommon in these parts but definitely not a regular occurrence, the earthquake shook the foundation, rattled the windows and scared the living shit out of all the cats. You know it’s not just a big ass truck when you hear your dishes shaking on their shelves and all at once four cats scramble across the hardwood floor and bolt down into the basement. Poor things.

We had a similar earthquake a couple of years ago at the end of June but I was outside when it happened and the difference is tangible. I hardly noticed it that time, most of the area’s earthquakes go unnoticed, and it wasn’t until Daughter came out of the house visibly shaken (pun not intended but it works) and white as a ghost that I realized it must have felt much stronger being inside.

Well, I can attest that indeed it does feel much more unsettling (oh wow, again, pun not intended) surrounded by moving floors and shaking walls. Not to mention the response of the animals was pretty disturbing in itself.

In any case, so far there are no reports of any major damage or injuries and life as we know it merely goes on.

Such is life in the valley, where’s the beer? 

Organize 2013 – Update 4 (Part 3)

Here it is, the final post in this update.  Phew, it was a lot of fussy work and wracking my brain to alter the pattern properly but I did it and Hubby couldn’t have been more pleased.

It really did turn out better than I had hoped considering I’ve never made a jumpsuit before. The pant legs were considerably longer than necessary so I chopped a couple of inches off the bottom and gave them a quick hem.

Doesn’t the communicator badge just make the whole thing? Hubby insisted that it fit like a dream and was much more comfortable than he thought it would be.  I do have to say, I’m rather pleased with my handi-work.  And who can resist a man in uniform, even if it is a pretend one. 

So, just for giggles, I put together this side by side image of actor Robert Picardo as the Emergency Medical Hologram from Voyager and Hubby’s representation thereof…

Kind of freaky, eh?

 

Organize 2013 – Update 4 (Part 2)

Sorry for the delay in getting around to these posts but it was crazy around here getting ready for Comic Con.  Hubby and Daughter are home now and they had a blast. The costume I made Hubby (the subject of this month’s update) was a huge hit and he got asked repeatedly where he purchased his costume. He made no bones about how proud he was to tell people that his lovely wife made it for him.  Awwwww, eh?

Anywho, I’m finally posting the second and third parts to this update.  The official pattern, ordered from Roddenberry.com, was rather complicated and I had to alter it if I was going to be able to complete the project.

The original design calls for a spandex panel to be inserted on the inside at the back.  What?  Yeah, forget that…so, using a carpenter’s level, I drew a straight line through the excess and cut the pattern along the line.

This gave me a tapered piece that would be simpler to construct.  I did the same thing on the side back piece.  Next, it was time to do some more cutting and put it all together.  I started by constructing the collar and adding the lining.

Next, I had to attach the collar to both the front and back pieces of the jumpsuit.

Because the shoulder part of the sleeve is the same colour as the collar, I had to put the sleeves together before I could attach them to the jumpsuit.

Once the sleeves were attached, I added the zipper down the front, sewed the crotch together and then the sides.

Next post will be the finished jumpsuit.

Organize 2013 – Update 4 (Part 1)

This post is a bit unusual, it’s not exactly about organization around the home despite the task requiring a great deal of planning and organization. However, since it will be taking up a good chunk of my time for the next week, it’s all I am able to manage.

Next weekend is ComiCon and Hubby and Daughter are again attending leaving me home alone to fend for myself for a whole three days. What ever will I do with myself…bahahahahaha.  Hopefully you noted the sarcasm there.

A whole weekend, Friday included, to myself at home.  Aaaaah, bliss.  But I digress, that’s for another post.

Anyway, Daughter has had her costume ready to go, well, pretty much since ComiCon last year. Hubby, on the other hand, didn’t wear a costume last year but has decided that this year he would take advantage of his uncanny resemblance to this guy…

…actor Robert Picardo as The Doctor from Star Trek Voyager. It’s almost creepy how much they look alike. Coincidentally, Daughter is going as The Doctor (10th – David Tennant) from Doctor Who. Neat, eh?

Anyway, he could have simply ordered the costume on-line, at no small expense, but he asked me if I thought I could manage it. I’ve been making medieval costumes for over a decade and he has every confidence, more than I do myself I might add, that I could handle the challenge.

For the record, the outfit is a jumpsuit…ack!  Way out of my comfort zone. As it is most of my medieval creations have been dresses, tunics, capes and bodices. Although I have made a couple pairs of pants over the years, they were never my best work. A jumpsuit, what was I thinking?

Hubby ordered the pattern from the official Star Trek website and I spent weeks just going over it trying not to get overwhelmed. When I finally decided that I would give it a try, we went out and purchased the fabric necessary for the project.

There’s Pin Pig, my faithful sewing buddy, more ready than me to take up the needle and get at ‘er. The pattern came with over a dozen pieces, many of which had to be put together because of packaging issues. Whatever, I’m practically an expert right?  Sure, I know what I’m doing.  NOT!  I ended up having to do a lot of research and finally resorted to creating my own diagram.

One steadfast rule I abide by is an old carpenter’s adage…measure twice (or in my case, half a dozen times) and cut once. The fabric for the costume, though much less than the cost of buying the entire costume outright, was not cheap and we can’t afford mistakes.

I finally mustered the confidence to start cutting the fabric and I have to say, so far, it’s working out well. I have all the pattern pieces cut out* and put together properly and started on the top portion (department colour).

Because the fabric for the coloured part of the jumpsuit is not as sturdy as the rest, I’m lining it with black, light weight, cotton. This will make the jumpsuit sit better at the shoulders and make it look more polished.

*I had to alter the original pattern to leave out a spandex panel that supposed to go inside the jumpsuit. For the life of me I just couldn’t figure it out and I don’t have time (or frankly, the inclination) to dick around with making a test jumpsuit. We’re not aiming to win any costume contest, just trying to get a workable and comfortable facsimile.

Next post will be about how I altered the patterned and putting the pieces together. The final installment will be the finishing touches; the zipper, the shoulder pads and the elastic waistbands.

Wish me luck!

Broom In Hand

I’ve been braving corners where neglect has reigned
I’ve been taking a flashlight to dark places

Deciding I’m done hiding
Exposing truths once and for all

Life is shorter than I could have imagined
Once believing I had an eternity

I’ve been seeking out the long forgotten
Hoping to finally make peace with my nightmares

Because somewhere among them still rest my dreams
I’ve been wrestling with my fear of remembering

Once I believed in me and all my determined trying
I once knew that I was actually stronger for all my crying

This stoicism has served it’s purpose for stiff upper chin
For not falling apart at a moment’s notice, what good does that do

Broom in hand, I sweep up after decades of yesterday
A determined top to bottom spit shine

And I see you, remember how you were there for me
And I can only smile in gratitude and thanks

 

 

Organize 2013 – Update #3b

Wow, two posts in two days, I’m on a roll!  

It’s a dreary day here with grey skies and rain though I’m not complaining. The air is still nice enough that we got out for a wet walk around the neighbourhood this morning. Besides, the rain is washing away the last of winter’s remnants and, after 6 months of snow, it’s a welcome relief.

Anyway, seeing as how any work outside has to wait ’til it’s dry, I got my pics uploaded and even had time to work with them for some cool before and after views.

My big organize project this month was our bedroom. It was years and years in coming but something more pressing always seemed to come up and take my attention away.  Sorely in need of a fresh coat of paint, purging, reorganizing and sprucing up, the room was a bit of an embarrassment. Thank Goodness no one but us ever saw it…well, until now I suppose. 

This was Hubby’s side of the bed, and no, a neat freak he is not.  Basically it was a dumping ground and with the room being as small as it is, it cluttered up pretty quickly.  We decided, last minute actually, to try moving the bed and see how that would work. We were surprised to see how much more room we had.

These pictures are wall for wall, I just basically went around the room and took a couple of shots of each one before and after. Doesn’t it look like a totally different room. I will never again underestimate the difference hanging a few pictures will do to brighten and liven up a space.

This picture is the most telling about just how neglected our room was. The before picture is exactly how the room looked 15 years ago, just after we bought the house.  Though we primed the walls and painted most of the trim purple, as you can see we never managed to get around to covering the black trim around the closet (who paints anything in a bedroom black???).  What a world of difference and, again, I find that even that small picture above the door just adds something.

Again, more contrast. For the cost of a can of paint, a few decals and a simple decorative piece (from the Dollar Tree, of course) the room is literally transformed. I’m realizing more and more as I do these projects just how much of a minimalist I really am. I’m all about simple, clean and uncluttered.

So here we are, the last before and after pic. What was once the ‘entertainment corner’ is now my side of the bed and I love it. It may look a bit cramped but frankly, it’s more room than I had before and it’s much nicer. The calendar also adds a bit of changing scenery which is also nice. I’ve never had a calendar in my room before, it’s neat.

That’s it for now, I’m taking a break for at least a week. I have regular housework to catch up on and it won’t be long before it’s nice enough to start working outside. I’m really looking forward to that.

Organize 2013 Update #3a

Well, I guess now that Spring is finally here and the sun is shining my motivation to get crackin’ on my Organize 2013 projects is in full gear.  I know we agreed to a monthly update but I’ve been getting so much done that to save it all for one post would be long at best, tedious at worst.

Having said that, I’m also not trying to show anyone up, I just want to document all the little (and big) organization projects I actually managed to follow through on this year. So no worries Shady, I’m not holding you to keeping up with my updates.

I have two though, this post will be about the smaller of the two projects and next week (only because I have to yet to finish uploading my before and after pics) I’ll post about the bigger one. (No spoilers!)

This week’s post is about organizing underneath the bathroom sink. I didn’t exactly get the before picture I wanted, I had already emptied the cabinet before I thought to grab my camera. Just picture all of the stuff in the following pics crammed into a small cabinet. There, easy peasy.

and…

I found 5 bottles of shampoo! Unbelievable the things that get forgotten when you can’t see them.  So I sorted and purged and wiped out the cabinet. In the meantime, I got a visitor who came by to see what I was up to.

Awwww, too cute.  Anyway, I’m fast realizing that the Dollar Tree is an organizers heaven. So many bins, baskets and stackables in all kinds of colours for dirt cheap.  If you need a little push to get yourself motivated to do an organization project, I highly recommend a visit to your local Dollar Store just to check out all the neat things they have to help get you started.

So there it is.  For the sake of $5 and 30 minutes, I actually know how much shampoo, razors and extra toothbrushes I have.  That would be 12, btw. Sheesh, I don’t even have that many friends.