Crafty adventures of a 30 something Chinese American
A friend just clued me in about the macro function on my little point and shoot camera. I must have skipped that chapter when I was reading the manual. Anyway, my camera is like a new toy now that I know how to shoot macro-ly! Oh, I can’t wait to take some pictures fuzzy doggie and kitty toes.
I cleaned up my community garden plot over the weekend and this swiss chard was the only veggie left standing. The nights are getting colder, the days are getting shorter, and I had to put on my winter jacket this morning … sure signs that the seasons are changing. I did see a man walking this morning with NOTHING but a pair of pajama pants and socks on though. He was talking on his cell phone and picked up a copy of a free newspaper from a newspaper box. It was 32 degrees out this morning. The dude was topless. What is wrong with this picture?
A little progress on my winterizing to-do list:
Caulk around windows
Turn down water heater temperature
Foam insulation for pipes
Foam insulation for outlets
Door sweepers and weather stripping
Turn off bathroom vents
New filters for heater
Move furniture away from heating vents
DIY window insulation
Draft stoppers
Get a humidifier
at 8:47
I picked up this vintage pyrex bowl and tupperware pitcher from the thrift store when I was looking for heavy winter curtains. The pitcher has a lid that seals so my iced tea will stay fresh. I heart vintage.
So since I brought 2 new (to me) pieces into my home, I will gather up some of the stuff I’ve been collecting to donate and actually donate them this weekend. I haven’t been decluttering as much as I would like to but I’ll start up again. Here’s a good link to some decluttering tips.
The holidays are approaching and every year around this time I think about whether or not I want to do the Show and Sale at the ceramics studio and other holiday craft shows … and then I think, wait, I should’ve started making things 2 months ago if I wanted to do the shows. Sometimes I don’t feel like making things so I have to force myself into working when I really don’t feel like it. It’s kinda like dragging yourself to the gym when you rather lounge on the couch … and eat potato chips.
So that got me started on thinking about making conscious decisions and I’m doing a little experiment with that. Everytime I feel like opting out of something I know I should do but don’t feel like doing (like cleaning up my mess in the craft room), I choose to do what I should do or something that’s a compromise (like at least cleaning up the craft table). The “I don’t feel like it” is not going to be one of the multiple choices. I feel quite masochistic.
So, I guess that means I better start making soaps and pots and stuff soon, I mean today.
Winter in New England is COLD and EXPENSIVE. This year, I’m going to do all I can to keep the heat in and save money. Hopefully I’ll get to cross all these things off before it gets really cold. Here’s a good link about winterizing your home.
My to-do list
Caulk around windows
Turn down water heater temperature (I think I did this before but at the time I didn’t know that electric water heaters have TWO thermostats and you have to turn down the temperature on both of them. My water is still scalding hot so hopefully I’ll get it right this time.)
Foam insulation for pipes
Foam insulation for outlets
Door sweepers and weather stripping
Turn off bathroom vents (they suck the hot air out of the room!)
New filters for heater
Move furniture away from heating vents
DIY window insulation (this is my secret project, if it works, I’ll post a tutorial)
Draft stoppers (like these)
Get a humidifier (moist air feels warmer)
I went to the Head of the Charles today to see my cousin’s team (Washington University, St. Louis) row. She’s the third girl from the left. I recognized her bobbing ponytail right away. I’m pretty sure this is her team even though she did say their uniform is black with green stripes and here they’re black with red stripes. Anyway, the weather couldn’t have been any more beautiful and I’m glad I didn’t miss her rowing.
Steph, hope you guys had fun!! It was great seeing you!
The Head of the Charles is this weekend. In the past, that meant AVOID DRIVING THROUGH HARVARD SQUARE AT ALL COSTS, but this year, I’m actually going to go see the races because my cousin Stephanie is rowing! She’s a senior (already?!) in college and has turned out to be a wonderful kid, I mean young woman. My secret goal is trying to get her to move up here after she graduates. Go Washington University, St. Louis!!
I figured out why my first attempt at the Jaywalker socks failed miserably … I used the wrong size needles! I thought my size zero needles were my size ones for some reason so no wonder I couldn’t get my foot through the sock. I frogged the sock and started over with the right needles last night and it looks like it’s going to fit just fine.
Speaking of knitting, I think I squealed when I saw Emerson Cod (played by Chi McBride) knit on Pushing Daisies. He made a couple of gun cozies (very crafty), a vest, and he keeps his stacks of cash in knitted socks (I think they were socks at least). How cool is that?
I started knitting the jaywalker socks this weekend and when I had about 4 inches of the cuff/leg done, I thought I’d try it on to see how it fits. It DOESN’T!!! So now I have to rip the whole thing out and start over. Boo. I might try casting on 84 stitches instead of 76 stitches and use #2 needles instead of #1 like I did. I swear my feet are not that big…
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