Miscellaneous Whining and some Road Trip Music

Normally I would be off this week scrubbing toilets for Len. However, he has plenty of other helpers this week, so I am off the hook. Cleaning apartments isn't the most fun in the world, but it is nice to have the extra cash. It's a draw.

I read something today that Blew. My. Mind. Apparently it is no longer acceptable to put 2 spaces after a period. Not only that, it hasn't been acceptable for a very long time and is very annoying to people in the know (which seems to everyone who learned to type on a computer rather than a typewriter). I will try to get used to this new fangled word processing thing, but I cannot guarantee it. My head hurts. (via Amy a la Mode, a sewing blog for cripes sake!)

After a few weeks of iron, I continue to be very tired and cranky. It seems I am a bit hyperthyroid. I have only one symptom: "nervous, moody, weak, or tired." I am, indeed, nervous, moody and tired. The iron took care of the "weak". Whatever. The doctor told me I need to see an Endocrinologist. After much back and forth and someone making an appointment for me without ever speaking with me, I have an appointment in October. Can I sleep until then? As irritating as it all was, at least I have health insurance and I don't have to worry about any of this being covered. Many other, including Len, are not so lucky.

Pajiba had a Roadtrip Playlist Comment Diversion last night. This is my list, which was culled from a much longer iPod playlist. I think it shows my '80s cultural roots:

"American Girl" -- Tom Petty
"Any Way You Want It" -- Journey (I can't believe I just typed that)
"Blitzkrieg Bop" -- The Ramones
"Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show" -- Neil Diamond
"Corona" -- The Minutemen
"Drive South" -- John Hiatt
"Give it Away" -- Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Higher Ground" -- Stevie or the Red Hots or both
"Look at the Rain" -- Meat Puppets
"Love Train" -- O'Jays
"Memphis in the Meantime" -- John Hiatt
"No Fun" -- The Stooges
"Running on Empty" -- Jackson Browne (too obvious?)
"Sabatoge" -- Beastie Boys
"Someday, Someway" -- Marshall Crenshaw
"Teenage Riot" -- Sonic Youth
"These Boots are Made for Walkin'" -- Nancy Sinatra
"Third Uncle" -- Brian Eno
"4th of July" -- X

I really can't get used to that whole Single-Space-After-a-Period thing. Not at all.

It's a Dress!

A crummy picture of a dress, but a dress nonetheless. This is Vogue 2902, it started out as view A, but ended up view B (with the contrasting hem band) because I, um, yeah. I cut it too short. The dress would have been knee length, which might have been ok but the proportion just seemed out of whack. Since the dress is completely lined (which is good since the fabric is cotton lawn), adding the contrast band was a simple matter of trimming the lining piece I had cut off and sewing it onto the outside skirt. As if cutting the skirt wasn't enough of a screw up, I also managed to put the zipper in the wrong side. Oh well.

I was supposed to hand stitch that band to the dress. I am much too lazy for that! Besides, I kind of like the look of the topstitching. I also had to shorten the straps by about an inch and a half. I think this will be fine, but had I made a muslin first I would have avoided cutting the skirt too short (though I do like the contrast hem), I could have fixed the straps more elegantly, and I probably would have managed to get the zipper on the correct side.

I've started cutting for a new quilt. That is all for now.

Blueberries

There is a U-Pick blueberry place down the road from us, the berries are lovely and plentiful. I braved 90 degrees, god knows what humidity, rain and other fun stuff, but picked 6 pounds in about two hours.

Produce

It never ceases to amaze me that, despite my utter neglect*, the garden puts out these amazing red balls of loveliness.

These are my annual Super Sweet 100s, I love these things. They have a lovely balance of sweet and acidic, they are nice straight from the garden, dried or roasted. Once we figured out that it is best to back way off the watering, they don't split as much, and the hornworms don't seem to care for them. This particular batch went into the food drier.

The larger tomatoes haven't started ripening yet, at least as far as I can tell, it is a jungle in the tomato garden this year. But I have so far harvest 3 pounds of beans (green and purple). Yikes. I also have a large basil harvest pending. After my first attempt at raising basil seed failed this Spring, I threw the rest of the seeds into a pot. I got lots of teeny plants, but they didn't look very promising, but when the radishes were done, I put the tiny plants in the garden. They have been very happy. Sometime this week (when I find the kitchen, I'm sure it is in the house somewhere) I will make a boatload of pre-pesto (no cheese or salt) for the freezer.

*It turns out I have an excuse for my neglect this year (not that I really need one to be neglectful). I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago with the very vague complaint, "I'm tired". It turns out I am anemic, which is good news because there is an actual cause and I can do something about it (namely, take iron supplements). The bad news is that, while the cause of the anemia isn't by any stretch of the imagination life threatening, it is caused by something I will need get taken care of, probably in the next 5 years. This time permanently. Not really something to worry about right now. In the meantime, I've been on iron for about a week, so I should be getting back to my normal, peppy self. Any second now.