Timber is still a "Good Boy"

Just in case you were wondering, Timber is still a good dog.

Oh yes he is, what a good dog!
by the way, I am incredibly relieved to be done with MTP Workshops. Whee!

PACKING TAPE!!!

Christmas fun begins NOW! I received the keystone of my Christmas wrapping paper in the mail today--holiday themed packing tape!

Top to bottom, we have the Baroque Frame Tape, the Partridge of Joy, the Todd (just kidding, the Mod Blooms), and the Snowflake. The Snowflake and the Partridge are last year's designs; 15% off. The Todd was added to help us break the $15 dollar mark, which in turn yielded the Baroque as a free gift! Whee! If you are inclined to go crazy at Tapeswell like me, use the coupon code TSOCT  which will get you the free roll of Baroque in addition to 20% off.
Gifts and letters from me will look so awesome this year! They won't look like trash! I am totally jazzed, in case you can't tell.
TAPE!

The Injustice of It All

Because of the extra night-time hours I've been logging the past few weeks, school was still in session as I ambled home past a nearby elementary school this afternoon. I couldn't help but notice a large cluster of 2nd and 3rd grade boys gathered at the base of a gnarled, mature sycamore. They covered a wide area on the southwest side of the tree, looking up and chattering. The group wielded two weapons: a football and black and red multi-purpose ball, the type claimed for basketball in the absence of a Spalding. These weapons were hurled and kicked at the southwest branches with all of the might of each eight-year-old boy given a chance, which is considerable if you take their size into account. On the eastern side of the woody mammoth, one impetuous boy continually tried to display his undeveloped climbing skills, likely thinking that if he could simply reach that first branch twenty feet of the ground, he could solve this problem.
In spite of their unwavering attempts to free whichever piece of sports equipment was sacrificed earlier, they next lost the football to the substantial branches. The bell rang a minute or two later, signifying their cruel defeat; California Sycamore 2, 2nd Grade Boys 0.
Washington Elementary School could use your extra footballs, or maybe just a large ladder would suffice.

Experiments with denim--opinions please!

Michelle and I were emailing the other day (before the desert claimed her) about fall fashion, she brought up a blurb from Robert Geller that she had run across in a NY Times article about the very same topic:

"ROBERT GELLER, designer I’m excited to get back to layering. One of my favorite things about cooler weather is that you can build up an outfit piece by piece and put together something really interesting — such as finishing up a look with a nice big scarf. I’m also looking forward to seeing denim used in a non-typical way this fall as well as a return to beautifully constructed coats that are well made and designed to last a long time."

In Michelle's brain, this triggered a thought process which culminated in the utterance, "denim obi!" Oddly enough, the same idea had been bouncing about this illiterati's brain (why don't I read the Times more often?), though I hadn't yet busted out the sewing machine. Thus, out came the denim scraps and now I have a four-panel strip of denim which is about eight feet long and five to six inches wide. 

Enter another problem: How do I pull this off without looking like a girl wearing a pair of pants around her waist?

I will obviously do something to treat the edges of the denim, but will it be a simple once-over hem, or should I use some accent color bias tape? My machine (and needle) can only handle a once-over (that just means that I would fold the denim over once and sew it down--the raw edge of the fabric would still show on the "inside" of the belt, instead of having nice-non-fraying folded fabric--I don't know the technical term for that kind of hem unless "lazy" is technical) hem because the denim would be too thick for it to handle three layers of denim. My machine could handle my ample supply of bias tape, but do I have over 16 feet of bias tape?

I meant in one color, and you know that. *folds arms
So, thoughts? This could be a total bust, but I'm willing to try!

Clear Lake...

was awesome, just in case you were wondering.

the view from my tent

magazines!

weird creek in downtown Kelseyville, all 'osed down

the most perfect dog's first camping trip

and Olive tried very hard to behave

I ate a shocking number of s'mores, Chris made lots of fires, Melissa's cast was pretty clean, Scott didn't drink nearly his share of Coors Light, Jenn had a hotel in her pop-up tent, Michelle made salami/cheese crackers, Olive kept vigilant guard against the raccoons (her brethren), and Timber got tangled. Repeatedly. 

Everyone took a bath once we stopped camping. Victory!

Problem with the Ponies

Last night we went to the harness races in celebration of Scott's birthday; I can assuredly say that Michelle and I, like Aunt Sharon, have a problem with the ponies. Aside from the fact that there was no parking fee at Cal Expo, no entry fee, $1 beer, and $1 hot dogs, it was more wonderful than I could have imagined! All members of my family got the "crazy eyes" as we placed ill-advised bets.

The race near the finish!

 The choicest part was when we found out that we (Jenn, Michelle, and I) could ride in the motorized starting gate, aka the wing car that starts the race. It was so wonderful because you're in this 1970something Cadillac with eight horses thundering behind you pulling little carts holding grown men. Not only that, but they've installed this odd cockpit type of thing in the car so you are sitting, looking backwards at all of the horse noses! I was incapable of speaking throughout this part, instead opting to desperately clutch both Jenn's and Michelle's shoulders while Michelle filled the role of announcer.

Clinging to the fence, rooting for our horses!

There weren't any big wins (or losses) amongst us until the last race of the evening; I placed a $2 bet on "Only in Lodi" to place (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), which yielded $28. Whoa! Hot dog! Not only that, but I thought I lost my  original ticket for that bet so I had Chris and Scott buy me another while I took a joyride in the wing car. I found my other ticket (the original bet) this morning, so guess what has two thumbs and is going to spend some more time with the ponies?

This girl!

Pattern Weights, the solution

What is something I have in abundance at my house that makes an excellent impromptu pattern weight?

Yep. Wine bottles. I actually remembered this at the beginning of July (the 1st, to be specific), but I didn't want to drop any hints about what I was making for Michelle's birthday.

Bloomers!

Also, some of you might remember the stories of how Jenn and Michelle used to make me cry by putting my clothes on the dog.

Revenge is sweet.