This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada. It's not quite the big holiday that it seems to be in the US, but I'm in favour of a 3 day weekend that is full of turkey dinners. We hosted our traditional friends Thanksgiving on Saturday night, then my family had dinner on Monday.
After a weekend with a few late nights and lazy mornings, today sucked. I'm still not feeling awake. So let's see what I have to be thankful for...
Health, generally, I'm good. That rash has cleared up, no idea why or what caused it but I sure am thankful that it's gone.
Mr. Lina - we're in a pretty good lovey dovey stage at the moment. All this change feels exciting, so glad to have him in my life. His attention for detail is coming in handy as he takes care of a lot of the details with our lawyer, mortgage broker and scheduling movers.
Finances - sure, it would be nice to win the lottery, but I'm appreciating that I have enough. There is lots of food to go around, a big roof over our head and while money seems to be slipping through our hands because of the move (7 weeks away now), it's all okay, there is enough.
Friends - a big pillar in our our lives, having 18 adults, 5 kids, 2 babies for Thanksgiving sure did make me feel well loved. We'll be moving about a 15 min walk from friends of ours and it was pretty cool to hear their 8 year old daughter say how happy she was about that. You know I'm going to be really close to her school.
Family - gosh I love my niece and nephews. My niece is a chatty 2 year old, loves imaginative play and silliness. One nephew has figured out how to crawl like a marine under barbed wire and the other is ridiculously chubby cheeked and loves to kick everything and anything. He also seems to have good "timing" causing me to need to change my shirt (and his outfit) and then getting me again with a leaky diaper. No one else was puked on. Honestly...
I figured out this week I still have 5 vacation days to use this year. That's going to help me stay sane while we move.
I think I covered all the big pillars there.
We're going to be hosting David Bradstreet on Monday. The guy has won Junos, a Gemini, produced for lots of other artists who are far better known than he is. I'm excited to host someone with this kind of Canadian pedigree but I'm getting worried it's going to be another small audience. Hopefully I get a few RSVP's this week. Anyone local is welcome to come, I'll send details by email if you'd like. Have a listen.
Well that blog break was a bit longer than intended. We spend two weeks visiting Mr. Lina's family in Manitoba. Very restful, saw lots of friends and family. Prior to that, work got well... crazy. It has been a while since I worked that many nights past 7pm. So, not much time for writing. Nor packing for that matter.
But, we're back now.
And life is still busy. My car really does need to be replaced - sooner the better. I'm not putting more money into it and now another light has come on that I don't want to fix. Our real estate agent is coming over tomorrow night to talk about moving. Tonight is going to be a lot of "chuck things in boxes" so there is less clutter when he tours the house.
It's kind of scary to be honest.
I think I haven't written since we returned because I'm a bit scared. I'd rather spend time hiding from all this change rather than embracing it. I had Mr. Lina work with me on packing up my sewing room. Not that he did much, but having him there kept me calm and focused. I get side tracked by little things from high school or medical receipts for the clinic.
As tempting as it is to look at potential new houses (online, not in person just yet) and we all know how much I want to be a mom, change is pretty scary.
On the weekend I went to a birthday party for a university friends' husband. While I do know him, I don't really know his friends and family. Two other girls from the group came and we stuck together. I've been a bit of a hermit. I'm the only one of that group without kids now, while I want to hear about their kids for about 5 minutes, it just feels... stressful to see them. And sometimes it's sad when I leave. Not that much has been going on as large group, but I haven't even been reaching out to them at all. It was good to catch up with two of them and we actually talked more about ourselves than their kids. Kind of refreshing really and a good reminder that I liked them before they had kids and that friend is still in there.
One of my friends is a social worker in the region we're looking to move to. She doesn't deal with adoption, but she will know the social workers that I will be working with (when we get there) and generalities of adoption in that region. It was really good and it brought up all the excitement I've been kind of hiding under the pressure to get the house listed etc.
Anyhoo... I am alive, I'm doing okay. We are almost there.
We hosted Charlie A'Court back in March. Charlie really is that mix of musician AND entertainer. Charlie is good one-on-one, he and my Australian friend had some banter in the show, he knows how to play to his audience and he is a talented guitarist. It was one of the most FUN shows I've ever hosted. Prior to the show, we were talking about what to expect from our audience. It was a Saturday night, I said I was relaxed as far as start/end times went, odds are a board game of some sort would break out after the show because people would stay. And I introduced him to Cards Against Humanity as the game most likely to be played post show.
In short, Cards Against Humanity is a question and answer game. One person draws a question/phrase (some are fill in the blank), each player has 10 answer cards in their hand, they pick the most amusing. The person asking the question picks their favourite and that person asks the next question. Some cards are tame, some are, well... not. Some phrases that sound pretty tame on their own are not when paired with the wrong question. Also, there is a "Canadian Conversion Kit" with answers like Tim Hortons, Mr. Dressup, The Official Languages Act/Loi sur les langues officielles, etc.... So something normal like "_____ keeps our relationship exciting" isn't too crazy a question, but sounds worse when the answer is "Ooompa Loompas" or "Mr. Dress-up". I've had moments in this game where my brother couldn't speak because he was laughing too hard.
We ended up playing that game until 4 or 5 am on time change weekend (I think 4, but with spring forward that makes it 5). I sent a very tired Charlie to his next house concert with perhaps 6 hours of sleep.
So you can imagine how amused I was to see that one of the options in his crowd funding for his next album is Cards Against Humanity cards written by Charlie. Or you can buy the game AND the cards.
It's pretty cool that not only am I being impacted by hosting musicians, but it sometimes leaves an impression on them too. I can't wait for our cards to arrive.
My thoughts are a bit muddled as I puzzle something out at work today. I think it's time for a list while the other stuff filters through. This is going to be a truly random list but it's a start...
Tasha & Friends had it's premiere last weekend at Buffalo Dreams Film Festival
I couldn't go, I had already committed to helping my mom at a craft show, pout.
It won Best Short Comedy and Mr. Lina got to meet his idol in independent film, Lloyd Kaufman
Toronto folks can see Tasha at Blood in the Snow, I'll be at the 2pm showing on December 1st at the Carleton Theatre, the Saturday show sold so fast they booked a second slot for the short films
Which is a good thing since I'm going to see Great Big Sea on the Saturday night
Last weekend we went to see The Drive By Truckers at the Phoenix in Toronto
The day of the show I woke up WAY too early, didn't nap and by 1am my feet were killing me from standing through the show
You'd think I'd learn that the Phoenix requires comfy shoes even if I look silly
On the drive home, I fell asleep
Not remarkable in and of itself, but I started singing to Mr. Lina
At least, that's what he told me, I don't remember, I was asleep
I altered the words from "You are my Sunshine" to "You are My Snuggle-Mr. Lina"
Which does flow better with his first name
Good to know I'm cute even when I'm sleeping
Thus bringing the silly part of the blog title
I have had a bit of a rough week - migraine, a sad day (but just one day) and perhaps a little too much time to myself
Work has been busy and occasionally contributed to the overwhelmed feeling (notably on my sad day), highlighted by leaving work at 8pm on Friday night
I needed people to leave so I could get my own work done and Mr. Lina was already in Buffalo so no rush to get home really
I am gradually working on the house, but it's a pretty slow pace
I don't have the love of organisation that others do, packing and tossing stuff doesn't come easy for me
I did tons of laundry this weekend and a lot of clean clothes are not going back in the drawers
I don't want to pack anything that doesn't fit and has no sentimental reason to keep
I had the weekend to myself, looked forward to sewing, but a migraine put the kibosh on that, I stuck to doing laundry.
Migraines suck, but it's been a long time since my last one so I'm really thankful for that
Monday I was still kind of struggling with noises, particularly loud voices
Sounds odd to cover noise with noise, but soft jazz in my headphones was soothing compared to talking, it's reminded me how much I like jazz from the 50's-60's.
Next Thursday we're hosting Bill Bourne, winner of both Blues and Folk Juno awards
That's going to be super cool.
I get to make dinner for him. How cool is that?
I've already got 21 people confirmed for the show, that leaves about 10 seats and some time to go before the show (let me know if you'd like one of those 10 seats)
The founder of the organisation for our house concerts, Mitch Podolack, was recognised for his contributions to folk music in Canada at the Canadian Folk Music Awards in Calgary, the CBC has this article on him
We spent a lot of time with Mitch this year at the Folk Music Ontario conference, I am truly lucky to have had the chance to get to know him.
To end this on a sewing note, I have a strange itch to make pants.
I even bought bothSewaholic pants patterns when she had her Thanksgiving sale
But it's kind of scary.
Here's a little music so it's not without something pretty. I like the words to this song. As much as I'm dragging my heels, I am looking forward to building a brand new house full of love. :)
In trying to promote my house concert shows, I've found attendance is good for the people with youtube videos of live performances. It seems like most people say they didn't listen, but the proof is in the pudding. When I find it challenging to find good videos, it's hard to get bums in seats. Case in point, 100 Mile House have quite a few videos available and we had our best turn out for a Monday night ever last night. The basement was pretty full, it was a great show.
So today I am listening to music while working and thought it would be good to start finding things to link for Jaxon Haldane, our next guest. I've seen him as part of the D. Rangers, so that's easy to promote, but his solo stuff... a little harder to find.
Now how does all that relate to the title? I have no idea why YouTube suggested Little Miss Higgins while looking for Jaxon Haldane, but I am a fan and I didn't recognize the song. She's got a lot of innuendo and tounge in cheek kind of music (like "I'm Gonna Bake My Biscuits", pretty sure that doesn't mean cookies). And this made me laugh, I had to share with someone and I thought the thrifters out there would like it. Imagine what kind of spam/hits she gets with this...
It's been a while since I went to a mid week "big venue" (aka not my basement or the Cameron House) concert. We went to see Peter Hook last night at The Hoxton. Peter Hook was the bassist for Joy Division and New Order. We paid about 5 times as much for our tickets to see New Order and I think I had more fun last night. The energy, the crowd, the sound, the venue... it was just... FUN. I have blisters on the bottom of my feet from dancing. If you have fond memories of Blue Monday, Love Will Tear Us Apart... you have to see Peter Hook. Well worth staying up past my bedtime and today totally sucking on 5 hours of sleep. This isn't from the Toronto show but this was the second last song of the night and I loved it. The crowd was into it even more than this crowd in Manchester.
And on Monday, I get the opposite music experience. We're hosting 100 Mile House from Edmonton. Anyone local who would like to attend, let me know and I'll send the details. I'm happy to share music with others. Thrilled really. Talk about extremes though, New Order synth sound vs 3 people with acoustic instruments. I've found a lot of live performances for 100 Mile House on YouTube and every one of them has better vocals than Hooky above (it's just not his strong point). I'm looking forward to hearing them in the acoustics of my house. Here they are at a performance in Calgary.
Happy weekend everyone. I'm helping my brother move tonight and tomorrow afternoon and then I have some costume sewing to do for the next short film. Which reminds me, both of Mr. Lina's films have made a travelling film festival in BC, the Fake Flesh Film Fest. Granted, I'm sure you're not all interested in horror, but if you know someone who does, send them along.
When I was a kid, summer seemed to last forever. There were the weeks of swimming lessons, a week of family adventures for my dad's holidays, hours and hours on my bike. But I just went to Summerfolk, the CNE has started and that means that my birthday and Labour Day weekend is not far away. How crazy is that. I feel like three blinks ago it was June with the summer ahead of us.
I have multiple blog posts in my head - a little update on the Toronto meet up, the 2 Sorbettos and the A line skirt I've made, a Summerfolk review, our house concert schedule is set... but I need to get pictures off of Mr. Lina's camera (he was kind enough to take a few pictures for me) and much as I love writing, I seem to like sewing more than writing, Sorbetto variation #5 just needs a hem. That's a good thing. :)
So while I get pictures organized... I got a little recognition for my mentoring at work. A project we worked on to build up my coworkers skills was recognised by her client with a reward that has never gone to a research partner. Shiny gold star for her and I am so very proud of her. On the plus side, people are recognising me as her trainer and I really appreciate that. I got a certificate to put up at my desk and I get to pick a prize from over 200 options. That sounds like a lot until you start ruling things out, I don't want a watch/jewellery, I don't have kids, don't golf, I don't need many kitchen appliances. There are quite a few cool, nice to have things, but nothing that is the clear winner. I have narrowed it to a few things.
Hammock for two with stand - the stand means I don't need trees to use it, but if I'm moving and it's the end of the summer, this is just another thing to pack.
Lagostina 7L pressure cooker that I really don't have space for in my kitchen and I've never cooked with a pressure cooker, but it seems kind of cool.
Coleman All in One Cooking system - we have a traditional 2 burner Coleman stove, this has multiple cooking surfaces so you can fry and grill as well as use the traditional burner. But I worry it's a bit small, like you can't be boiling water while cooking eggs which I can do with a two burner stove. So cool, but not fantastic.
DeLonghi Professional Ironing System - this is where I'd appreciate your feedback. I have a basic iron that I am generally happy with, it does what I need it to do and throws enough steam to hurt my fingers when I'm not careful. Still... this looks like a neat iron and given the general price point, it should be better than my little iron. I generally work on the principle of making do with what I have and that makes it hard to pick an iron that doesn't need replacing.
Decision making isn't always my strong point. I got this award in June and I got an email reminding me I hadn't picked something. Two months hasn't helped although I guess I can rule out picking the baby oriented stuff. The crib and baby monitors were looking tempting in June. This isn't sad, it's just replaced by the thought that some of the older kid stuff (bikes are one of my options) will be a good choice at some point.
And can I reiterate I hate being told people are pregnant in person? I feel stunned every time. It is like I'm a wooden replica of myself that doesn't know what to say. I say congratulations, but I'm not sure it actually sounds convincing and I don't have any follow up questions. I immediately start thinking of myself and how this times with either my last loss or how many weeks farther they are than I've made it. I need time to see this through their eyes. It just sucks and I hate that I'm probably making them feel awful by not looking happy.
You can imagine that rant didn't come out of the blue. My youngest brothers wife is pregnant again and they told us last night over Skype. I will be happy for them, I do love my niece, but I'm not sure I am today. She is at 7 weeks and my first thought was that I didn't make it that far. I don't think I realised how much that was bugging me until I started to post. I really didn't mean to go there, but now I'm leaky for the 3rd time today. Not the most work appropriate behaviour.
So let's leave this with Vance Gilbert. I didn't get to see nearly enough of him this weekend at Summerfolk. This song, Goodbye Pluto, it is about Pluto losing their planetary status, but it's a song that makes Mr. Lina and I a little leaky. It's a song worth a second listen for the words.
I don't have to wash my hair this morning, I can sleep a little longer.
I hit snooze again because it's Friday, meh.
My drive is predictable on Friday, snooze a 4th time won't hurt.
I finally got up and turn the radio off.
It's Friday, no need to reset it for tomorrow.
I brushed my teeth and thought about the upcoming long weekend.
I'm not ready for camping, so it must be next week.
'Cause, you know, it's Friday.
I got into the shower and start to wake up.
And realised it's Tuesday.
Tuesday.
3 days to get through before it's Friday.
That's a whole lot of time.
It's like my brain wants a reboot, restarting from May 10th.
Sigh.
I mentioned we did a lot of visiting over the weekend. On my quest to make better decisions for my health, I think I get a shiny gold star. Twice chips (a serious weakness for me) were around and I ate a grand total of one handful of chips. It did help that at the second party they didn't refill when the first chips were gone. I had lots of fruit, vegetables, small piece of birthday cake, was the DD for both events so no additional alcohol calories. Actually, I did such a good job of having normal portions, my stomach was grumbling at 1am both Friday and Saturday night. We stopped for late night food both nights but I aimed for smaller portions, cheese quesadilla (LOTS of salsa and cilantro) that I shared with Mr. Lina and a small chicken wrap at Wendy's. I managed to weigh a little less this morning (I didn't weight myself Monday, I needed a full bladder at 8am for the ultrasound, I start drinking the second I wake up) than Friday, so again, a weekend win. Tonight I'm going for a walk with a friend I carpool with to bowling. We both want to get moving and it's more fun to do it together when schedules allow.
I've just confirmed we'll be hosting with Home Routes again in the fall/winter. I don't know all of the artists that we'll be hosting, but I'm super happy to have Bill Bourne coming to my house in November. He's from Alberta, has a very wide range of styles (so hearing one song is not really representative of everything), and a great stage presence. I get the impression he's kind of quiet, we'll see if that's true.
I need to take more pictures to do a proper post but I'll sum it up in a few bullet points for now.
The Toronto meet up was awesome - need to take pictures of my purchases prior to going into more details on that.
A week in Mexico was just what I needed.
Weather was good, resort was fantastic, friends were great (picture above courtesy of friends who were more organized than us and already put pictures up on Facebook).
I really should make a dress similar to that one, Mr. Lina is a fan and I feel quite sexy in it.
I don't understand why no one is bringing me margaritas on the rocks, I have my pesos ready for tipping but they don't show up at my desk.
My hair goes wavy in Mexico, I miss those curls, it's so much easier to pull my hair up and look pretty, now it just looks boring.
My manager quit while I was away, next Thursday is his last day.
I will miss him but I understand his choice to move on.
You know I don't think I'm good for managers. Not one of the 6 managers I've had over 7 years still work for my employer.
I've come back to more things being put on my plate, not so much work for me to do, but as the person who needs to know what's going on when he's gone.
And it's all up in the air as to what's going to be done to fill his role, it won't be me directly (way too much of a sales role for my personality), but it might shift what the department needs from me.
And did I mention that I have had to make my own breakfast? There is no buffet of food waiting for me in the kitchen.
Life after all inclusive resorts is hard. ;)
Now to switch gears and prep for a house concert Sunday afternoon (GTA bloggers let me know if you're interested) and then packing for Germany!
We get amazing artists through Home Routes. One of our previous concerts, Annabelle Chvostek, is nominated for a Juno (the Canadian version of the Grammies) for her album Rise. So very cool. But, this week it's The Sweet Lowdown from Victoria BC.
Things are improving somewhat since Monday. Deciding that it wasn't just a headache that all the signs of being fuzzy headed and feeling sensitive to noise probably indicated a migraine. Somehow this made me feel okay about feeling crappy. So I took Wednesday off work and while I'm still feeling a little stressed, and yesterday I was still a little fuzzy around the edges, it's not as bad as it was.
Clothing for my vacation is packed.
Work is still crazy but will be ending for a week by the end of the day.
I have ticked off enough on my to-do list to feel somewhat better.
I have actually opened (most) of my email.
Did I mention I'm packed?
So what should I do on Saturday... No need to pack, can't be bothered to clean up the house. Haven't bought groceries so there isn't much in the fridge to toss out.
I think I will go shopping.
Let's see, non-work people, walking outside, retail therapy, and the opportunity to take some fabric for trade. What a great start to a vacation.
The meet up is finishing near The Cameron House, where Corin Raymond is playing from 6-8. We've hosted Corin both for his solo work and as the Undesirables, I've written about him a couple of times. Corin is paying for part of the production of the album Paper Nickles with Canadian Tire money and I have another $1.15 to drop off. He's only $500 from his goal, it's absolutely crazy how much he has amassed. I don't know that I'll stay right to 8 (my flight is at 6:15am, I think I'm going to have to get up at 3am) but it's pay what you can and worth what you can afford.
This is the view from my front door. You can see my neighbours foot prints in the snow, I haven't ventured out to shovel yet as it's still falling.
This is by no means a crazy amount of snow. The flakes are actually pretty small but they say it's falling at 3cm (a little more than an inch) per hour. It's enough to keep us home instead of risking life and car on the roads. It will all be over later today and not impact our house concert tomorrow. Hopefully we can get out on snow shoes on Sunday because Monday it's going to rain and the snow will disappear. Again.
I mentioned that I transplanted my aloe plant and scratched my hands and forearms up nicely in the process. While I had the camera out, I thought I'd take a picture. Here's hoping I didn't kill it in the move, it's been a week and it seems fairly happy.
Try hugging that.
I also mentioned that we're going to a Central Ontario bowling fundraiser. I haven't been to this event in the past, we've often had other plans. I haven't been to a dance in ages, I have no idea what the dress code would be like. I mean, it's bowling. Our dress code is generally jeans and lower. At some tournaments they might require a collar, dress pants for a national competition, but that's about the extent of it. I put a few inquiries and found out someone actually wears a tux to this event. I swear I've never seen him wearing a shirt without a wolf printed on it. Now he was given to me as an example of the extreme (and considered over dressed), but it does show that there are many levels of dressing up and if dressing up is vaguely appropriate, then I don't want to wear jeans. But... so many of my dresses are either for work and feel too professional or summer weights, or I dunno, like the tux, a little too fancy. It does have me thinking that Tiramisu in red ponte might strike the right tone (I have purple and black fabrics in the stash too, but red has been catching my eye). I keep picturing it looking like Tanit-Isis in her New Years dress. Wouldn't that full skirt look fun moving around while dancing a cha-cha? Food for thought with a deadline of next Friday. Nothing like a real deadline to make me do something (mental deadlines do not work, I can't trick myself).
You know emotionally I've had a good few weeks. In early January I felt a few red flags going off as I was passively letting time go, maybe hiding from what I should feel, but it's been okay lately. Not a lot of bad thoughts, I did some sewing for Mr. Lina, I've enjoyed spending time with my niece. It's been okay.
Well, that's come to a grinding halt.
I've had a few headaches since Friday. Not overly painful, but they leave me with the fuzzy headed feeling I have while taking migraine medications. Things like... more word slips (like saying to the waitress on Sunday "We'll have the calamari as a sausage"), slower to make connections between things, struggling to figure out the best way to get from A to B (be that analytic process or driving), forgetting about training that was in my calendar (that was yesterday). I didn't get everything done on Friday that I wanted to, but chalked it up to my headache and figured I'd make it up on the weekend. Alas, I did not.
Monday and Tuesday, I started to ignore emails. Then I'd feel my heart beating when I thought about that unread email. But I didn't want to read it because I knew what was in there was more work. Or a query about work I was suppose to have done on Friday. Overwhelming is the word I keep coming back to.
I am fine face to face. I am fine with Mr. Lina. I am fine emailing non-work people, having lunch with a friend yesterday, but things just aren't right. Yesterday I had a coworker ask me on communicator if I was okay, I didn't seem right to him. Seriously, you can tell from a chat window? That was actually what pushed me from "it's just a day" to "what the fuck". Next email was from my manager asking if I was okay.
I had a bath last night, went to bed a little early, put my book away and promptly started to cry. I don't know why. I'm not sad, I'm not particularly baby sad, I have no bad things to associate with February. I have really negative thoughts circling around about not being able to do things (which is reinforced by sausage vs starter moments) or not wanting to be here or just wanting people to go away. I don't get it. I don't even know what to talk about to get it out. I don't have the words to explain why, this post is all about "what" so maybe when I reread it, I'll see the why.
I just found a mistake in work I wanted to send off today. Actually I wanted to wrap it up on Friday to look proactive with this quarterly project that I typically fall behind on, it's really due tomorrow. But here I am finding a mistake at 6 pm.
On one hand, I'm happy I found it.
On the other, why can't I just do it right? I went slow, I checked along the way, ARRRRGH.
And now it's snowing and really windy so my drive home is going to be crappy.
And I still have to fix that mistake and prep for a meeting at 9:30 tomorrow morning on something completely different. AARRRRRGH.
I don't know if I should wish that the weekend was here or not because it just means there is that much more to get done in that much less time.
Thanks for listening. I just couldn't face redoing my work without getting some of this out first.
I am so tired today. We had our team Christmas party last night and although it wasn't a late night, it was past midnight by the time I got home. When the alarm went off this morning, my eyes hurt because I needed more sleep. I think I hit snooze 4 times.
That said, I am in a good mood. Here are some things that make me happy today.
Tiramisu arrived! It was wonderful to see the package on the dining room table and know what was inside.
It is Friday, that is enough to make me happy.
My drive to work was awesome, 38 minutes from driveway to parking lot is a record for this client.
We have no plans tonight, I can have a glass of wine and relax.
We have no plans on Sunday, I think we'll spend part of the day getting our Christmas tree.
Yesterday, someone noticed me babbling a bit and asked if I had coffee. I mentioned this to Mr. Lina this morning. He lamented that I've become a little more adjusted to caffeine and rarely sound like a little kid explaining a day at an amusement park to her grandparents. It made me giggle when he mimicked the little kid (including puking after too much funnel cake and rides). It's not often I'm laughing that early when I feel so tired.
I've signed up for Rdio and am now listening to music at work.
I love Jamiroquai. I know it, but sometimes I get listening to a lot of folk/independent music and time passes without listening to Jamiroquai and when I listen again, it's like falling in love all over again. I almost caught myself singing along yesterday (not a wise choice in cubicle-ville), I love how it makes me feel.
So here is a little Jamiroquai, hopefully it cheers up your Friday as it has for me. Cosmic Girl is my favourite song. In an interview, Jay Kay talked about this particular video. They were still working on ideas for the video and the girl he was dating at the time was asking who his "Cosmic Girl" was going to be, kind of hinting it should be her. To side step that, he made it about his car (he is a petrol head as they say on Top Gear). The purple Lamborghini is his own car, the crew crashed it once loading it from his home to take it to the location in Spain. They bought another (keep in mind, only 3 were made like this particular car), it was also damaged with precision drivers. In parts of the video, there is no front windshield to the car.
Friday night, we hosted Tim Williams. Oh my, if you ever get the chance and are remotely interested in blues, music history, Hawaiian guitar, make the effort to see him. It was a really fascinating night of music and stories.
Saturday, we were off to Local Focus 5, a Kitchener-Waterloo film festival. The Post Lifers was aired yesterday with other short films. We went, some friends of mine came as well as the guys involved in the film. It was nice to go for a beverage after the show. Just a few minutes ago they were awarded best short film. That's three festivals now that they have won best short film.
Today Mr. Lina is at the awards ceremony and what am I doing? Work. I have a lot due tomorrow which is why I haven't been posting much this week. Way too much. A presentation in the morning and a huge map project due by Tuesday. Not fun. Well, the presentation will be fun, but getting it ready is not so much fun.
So, I'll be sitting here with my computer, listening to the Grey Cup game on the radio. Oh wait, that isn't going to make much sense to the majority of people if my stats page is correct. Canada has their own football league, CFL and the Grey Cup is the final game of the season. Toronto is playing Calgary and hosting this year, the 100th anniversary of the Grey Cup. Hosting is decided before the season starts so there isn't always a "hometown" team playing but it lets the city really plan ahead for the game. I don't really follow football much, although I have to say the games are hella fun to go to and people who are fans are pretty rabid fans. But given that Toronto is in the game, well, I gotta say AAAARRRRRGGGGGOOOOSSS!
Progress is slow but steady on Burda 2012-10-118A. I had to grade this dress up and I did an awful lot of flat pattern measuring, measuring me, comparing to the chart, figuring ease, etc. I marked the seam line, I cut wide seam allowances.
For some reason, I don't trust any of that work when the needle is going in the fabric.
This weekend I sewed up the side seams and it looked, well, like a sack. You could see both bra straps, if I bent over you could see right down to my panties. Not so good. I didn't take any pictures because I really don't want to see it. Without any shape to the dress all I see is a fat sausage in the mirror. It's like I'm drowning in the dress (particularly since in a fear of cutting it too short it's about 3" from my ankles) like a little girl in her mom's high heels. Not a bit of it was doing my ego any good.
This is not to say is a wadder. The issue is that I made it too big, sewing in the big seam allowances rather than trusting my seam line. I didn't take the back darts in enough. The side gathers could start higher (that's a petite issue). I have seen improvement just taking in those darts and side seams, but more will have to be removed from the dress before I put the sleeves on. I do like the way Burda have you put the folded fabric of the cowl front into the back like a little sandwich, it's very tidy on the inside. And when I cut away some of the extra seam allowance and moved the seam up, both bra straps were hidden. I think it's always going to be the kind of cowl that you can't lean forward in, but at least we've moved to a little cleavage rather than panty viewing.
In other news... Blood work for STD screening has been done for both Mr. Lina and I. Wednesday morning I'm going for the sonohystogram and probably going to work from home. It seems my doctor will be doing it which is good and baffling. He's running a clinic with 3 satellite offices, that's a lot of patients. There are other doctors who work in the clinic who could do tests like this freeing him up for other things, but I'm not going to argue, I like him. However, I do not like that in order for him to do this, my appointment is at 7:10am. That means I have to get up at 5:30 (because I know I'll hit snooze and get up at 5:45) to leave the house at 6:25 to be sure I'm there in time with Advil already coursing through my blood (while not the worst test, it's not fun) and breakfast in my belly (I feel remarkably stupid without breakfast). On the plus side, I paid for it on Saturday so I don't have to add that time prior to 7:10.
Friday we're hosting a house concert with Tim Williams (side rant, why can't people commit? We could have 8 people at the show or 22 based on all the replies of "maybe"), Wednesday night we are going to listen to Henry Rollins speak. On Sunday I went to make something for lunch for us and realized I had no milk, no eggs, no tuna, no salmon, no cereal, it seemed like nothing at all. And yet I had a cupboard full of food, a cold room full of food, freezers that were full. The cold room is admittedly full of my mom's pickles, pickled beets, tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes. The upstairs cupboards? Well, I found a lot of expired food. It felt good to clean that out but it did mean a stock up trip was in order last night.
With a busy week like this, I couldn't see J. P. Hoe in Toronto last night nor tonight (bowling). Bah. He was so good at OCFF, so personable, I really want to go but it just was adding one too many things to my plate. Hearing him on CBC2 this morning was like salt in the wounds, so close and yet... I can't go.
I know New Years Eve is typically the time for resolutions. It is the mark of a new year and all. But I feel like September is actually more of a fresh start in a lot of ways than January.
In January, we've just come off some time off for Christmas and New Years. It's generally pretty crazy through December with parties to go to, shopping to do, people to see. For a lot of companies, it's year end that comes with a push to get last sales in (particularly if you're behind at the end of Q3). It doesn't really feel to me like it's the start of something new, it's more the end of craziness. Winter sports continue on through to spring, the weather isn't changing all that much. Maybe more snow, but December is pretty cold here.
As fall arrives, it's a real shift. I don't have kids, but the start of school impacts my commute and changes traffic patterns. At work, fewer people are on vacation so you aren't perpetually waiting for someone to return to make a decision. It is the end of summer hours for a lot of companies so Fridays go back to a full day of normal. Winter sports start up, new routines exist. As the weather shifts to cooler nights, you can just feel the change happening all around you.
With my birthday being September 2nd, it's also a time I find myself a bit reflective I suppose. It's another year gone by and I find myself thinking of what's happened in that year and what I thought might happen in that year. That second half? I really should not follow that line of thought, better to look forward.
I've caught myself crying driving to work a few times in the past two weeks. It feels out of the blue, like I don't know why I am crying, some song lyric just turns into tears. And there is misplaced anger. For example, there is construction on the highway entrance I generally use on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and last week it was closed leaving people to find another route. I was ready to extend a middle finger to someone turning around who was ignoring my right of way. I mean, it was stupid, but that stuff usually makes me shake my head, not yelling at them from my car and feeling such... hostility. I spend too much time driving to be upset by bad drivers. I suspect something is rattling around in my head and heart and coming out in weird places.
In our house, bowling starts tonight. I am looking forward to it. It will be nice to see people, bowling is a very social activity. I am not very good (really and truly) so I am certainly not there to only throw strikes. Hopefully my friend from aquatics can join our league, last I heard she was still firming up her kids schedule but it was looking promising. Mr. Lina is getting a last round of golf in tonight, curling starts up for him soon.
This fall will be primarily about Mr. Lina and his movies.
September 22nd - day of filming for the next movie, I'm going to be helping out with food etc.
We were pretty excited to go to New Orleans, but they are airing it on the Saturday and it conflicts with the OCFF conference we've already paid for. We found that out at about the same time as they got the acceptance to Boston so now we're switching gears to go there. Neither of us have been to Boston so it's a good reason to visit a new place. Google says it's a 9 hour and 20 min drive so we'll probably just tack on a day at either end and drive down. Hmm, driving means no weight restrictions...
House concerts are also starting up. We'll be hosting David Ross Macdonald (drummer for The Waifs) again on September 26th. We hosted David in May 2011. He played oh, two days after arriving from Australia and he was a trooper through jet lag. He is such a lovely person so it will be nice to have him stay the night again. Well, and perform. I suppose the first time we hosted him, it was the music I was keen to share because it is what I knew. Now, I can't wait to hear him live again, see who comes for the repeat viewing, but it's going to be like seeing a good friend for the night.
Again, I have not been sewing. Part of what is holding me back is clutter. With the birthday party and a friend of David's will be staying with us next week, my house is cleaner than it's been in a long while - at the expense of my sewing room. Things have just been put there as a place to put it. I really should find the push to clean it out (again). The blanket for my niece needs the last two rows of shell stitch put on but it's going to be "thinking crocheting" to get that started, not the mindless repetition that is good while watching television. It is another "should" at the moment. In the summer, I'm not overly keen on being in my sewing room because it's just too hot. It's not fun. I want to see the return of fall as a return to the sewing room. I'm not sure when I'll get to it with the trip to Montreal looming and a guest all next week, but the pull is returning. The need for clothing will be an added push.
Yesterday was our first step up on the Couch to 5k program. It wasn't so bad. My legs don't hurt. I wasn't having problems breathing. Week two changes from 60 seconds of running/90 seconds of walking 6 times to 90 seconds of running/two minutes of walking 4 times. We ended up covering about the same distance in about the same time. I think the repetitions were harder than just pushing on the extra 30 seconds. And on the big plus side in my books, one night last week after running, Mr. Lina said to me that he was feeling really relaxed. I am not so worried about the specific weight lost as I am about his blood pressure coming down. Hearing him say he's feeling more relaxed already has to be good for his blood pressure.
Speaking of weight, I mentioned he has a contest going on at work. Week one is over and the leader at the moment lost 9lbs in a week. Mr. Lina is not the leader because he's in this for the long haul. Apparently one of his coworkers flat out didn't eat lunch yesterday and the guy in second ate carrots. Men are crazy. Meanwhile Mr. Lina went to work with a sandwich, nectarine, and Greek yogurt. The sandwich wasn't as light as it could be, but it was better than the restaurant food he was generally eating for lunch. Success by one metric does not always mean real success in the big picture.
I'll leave you with a little bit of David Ross Macdonald. 15 days until I hear it live in my basement...
One is for it being an early close day.
Two is for it being a long weekend.
Three is for my birthday on Sunday.
I'm tired, it's time for a list...
Ragweed season has firmly hit me.
My sinuses are somewhat under control but I would like my ears to stop being itchy.
Oh and that palate itchiness? Yeah, that can go away too.
A card must be going around my office. I'm at my client site and I'm getting birthday emails from people I'm not friends with outside of work, how do they know?
I like birthdays.
Well, maybe not the number associated with it specifically, but that's more of a biological clock thing than a "oh no I'm getting older" thing.
Really, would I want to not experience any of the years I have? Then why would I wish them away by lying?
I brought new meaning to labour day weekend for my mom in 1975.
Isn't it lovely that many of you have a long weekend to celebrate with me?
I have done good work this week.
You may have noticed a reduction in commenting on blogs, I blame work.
And house cleaning.
I only really clean for company, a lack of house concerts and visitors has lead to a whole lot of clutter over the summer.
A Manitoban friend will be visiting over the weekend (although staying with someone else).
I hope I like his new girlfriend.
Some people have very bad radar when it comes to picking a partner.
This makes me suspicious and protective if I feel the slightest red flag go off.
We're going to wineries tomorrow, lunch in Jordan by Cave Springs, probably hit Angel's Gate, maybe Fielding, Flat Rock, perhaps Megalomaniac, Organized Crime...
Much as I love Chateau des Charmes, Palatine (which we often refer to as Palpatine from Star Wars) and Sunnybrook, I'm kind of suspecting that our money will be spent before we get to Niagara on the Lake.
And we're all coming back to my house after.
2 drivers and roughly 6 very happy adults.
I think I better stock up on some wine absorbing snacks.
Is it sad that my plan for an early close day is grocery shopping?
Whatever, it's not work.
My body has a sense of humour.
So one day of spotting (July 27) since the last FET cycle ended in early June.
Yesterday, my uterus decided it was time to rejoin the land of women.
Because I just love cramps as a birthday present.
The happiness I feel for Day 1 ends the minute the cramps start.
I think they are making up for lost time.
I should buy some Advil stock.
I wonder if the Advil folks make Arius, my favourite antihistamine.
That would double the reason to invest.
Samantha Martin did a house concert with us last June and is entered in a television contest on CMT "Big in a Small Town"
She's got a crazy powerful voice (see below), a lovely, bubbly personality, and if you agree with me, you can vote for her on the link above.
Okay, time to do some work so I CAN leave early. Take it Sam...
I babbled a bit about Stan Rogers yesterday, today I want to talk about his song, The Mary Ellen Carter. Summerfolk closes out every year first singing Good Night Irene and then The Mary Ellen Carter. The song is about a boat that sank and the crew figuring out how they can salvage the ship they feel so strongly about.
She went down last October in a pouring driving rain.
The skipper, he'd been drinking and the Mate, he felt no pain.
Too close to Three Mile Rock, and she was dealt her mortal blow,
And the Mary Ellen Carter settled low.
There were just us five aboard her when she finally was awash.
We'd worked like hell to save her, all heedless of the cost.
And the groan she gave as she went down, it caused us to proclaim
That the Mary Ellen Carter would rise again.
Well, the owners wrote her off; not a nickel would they spend.
She gave twenty years of service, boys, then met her sorry end.
But insurance paid the loss to us, they let her rest below.
Then they laughed at us and said we had to go.
But we talked of her all winter, some days around the clock,
For she's worth a quarter million, afloat and at the dock.
And with every jar that hit the bar, we swore we would remain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
Rise again, rise again, that her name not be lost
To the knowledge of men.
Those who loved her best and were with her till the end
Will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
All spring, now, we've been with her on a barge lent by a friend.
Three dives a day in hard hat suit and twice I've had the bends.
Thank God it's only sixty feet and the currents here are slow
Or I'd never have the strength to go below.
But we've patched her rents, stopped her vents, dogged hatch and
porthole down.
Put cables to her, 'fore and aft and girded her around.
Tomorrow, noon, we hit the air and then take up the strain.
And make the Mary Ellen Carter Rise Again.
For we couldn't leave her there, you see, to crumble into scale.
She'd saved our lives so many times, living through the gale
And the laughing, drunken rats who left her to a sorry grave
They won't be laughing in another day. . .
And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.
Rise again, rise again - though your heart it be broken
And life about to end
No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend.
Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.
You know the first bunch of times I heard The Mary Ellen Carter, it was exciting. It was fun to clap and easy to sing along with the crowd, it has a strong beat and energy. The chorus of "Rise again, rise again" - how can you not feel the power? But over time, it means more to me.
And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.
Rise again, rise again - though your heart it be broken
And life about to end
No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend.
Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again.
After all the pregnancies that haven't gone right, the hope that has been raised only to crash again, this takes just a more personal meaning that brings tears to my eyes. Sunday, I couldn't even sing along because my throat was tight with tears.
The song is a bit vague as to the outcome, they know they have everything in place, and tomorrow they will try to raise her but we don't find out if it works. I feel like that now. I have all these people hoping, wishing and praying for us, the plans are in place. I believe something will go right, but I don't know if and I don't know when. All I have is my bruised heart and hope to rise again.
Words have power, music has power, when the two come together like this, it is formidable.
This song has actually saved someones life. In February, 1983, the Marine Electric sank in a storm. The chief mate got trapped with the boat, but managed to escape and found a partially deflated lifeboat to cling to. The words to The Mary Ellen Carter came into he head, he sang them over and over, the inspiration of "Rise Again" kept him awake while the storm crashed around him and hypothermia set in. You can hear him tell this story in his own words (and hear Stan sing) in this clip from a Stan Rogers documentary. Well worth the 6 minutes if you have them.
As mentioned, last weekend we were at Summerfolk in Owen Sound, Ontario. It's a weekend that goes by quickly, it's tiring but it's so good for the soul. This is going to be a bit of a two part post. I have more to say about The Mary Ellen Carter and visiting my niece on Monday, but it's a lot to cover in one post.
Mr. Lina and I go with another family, R (who spent New Years with us), his parents and usually one of his sisters and whatever friends she's brought with her. His mom and I are are really good friends. She was commenting to me this weekend that conversation just doesn't have limits between us. I don't see them all that often during the year, R comes for respite with us about twice a year, plus Summerfolk, but when we do... there just aren't any walls. The part I found interesting in her comment is that she didn't mean it one way as me spilling my guts out to her. She's got a social work background, she has 4 kids and the oldest with Downs Syndrome. I admire many of her parenting strategies even if her kids don't always. I've found her to be a good sounding board when I'm making big decisions. I'm glad to hear she feels the same way.
But Summerfolk is about music. Lots and lots of music.
The more Mr. Lina and I host concerts and go to OCFF, the more musicians we know. My first Summerfolk (I had not quite met Mr. Lina yet) I didn't know a single performer. I remember R's family talking about who they wanted to see, what was new to them and looking at that paper and thinking, how do you know any of these people? By contrast, this year I knew...
Nathan Rogers (who with JD and Leonard Pedoski - I know his dad as the founder of Home Routes - forms Dry Bones)
Ennis
Suzy Vinnick
Al Simmons
The Crooked Brothers
Jory Nash
Plus a few other people like John Samosei who are just there every year.
And I had heard of...
Royal Wood
Lynn Miles
It's a big difference when you can walk around and recognize the artists off the stage as well as on.
We got a chance to talk to Coco while she was at the autograph table with Royal Wood. We saw her daughter Ellie a couple of times around the festival, but it was never a good time to interrupt. The first time it looked like it was lunch time and other times she was with someone I didn't know. It was good to see her even from a distance. She took her first steps in my house, Mr. Lina and I have a soft spot for her.
I'm still absorbing the music from the weekend. We saw so many great performances. Like Coco and JD singing Hit the Road Jack as a duet with Al Simmons and Lynn Miles joining in the jam near the end, or Lemon Bucket Orkestra getting the whole amphitheatre on their feet and the 12 member band coming off the stage to dance with the crowd.
Dry Bones was great, 3 fantastic musicians who look like it's three buddies having the time of their life. Nathan Rogers is Stan Rogers son. Those are some huge shoes to fill. Stan is a legend in Canadian folk music, it's unbelievable how much material he wrote given that he died at 33. We spent a fair bit of time talking about that this weekend, how Stan has probably become more of a legend because he died. Nathan sounds a lot like his Dad and he did sing a few of Stan's songs like Northwest Passage (we were in the audience for this version in 2007) and he sang The Mary Ellen Carter for closing (which he also did in 2007). It is great to hear, it gives me chills, but I think his own music suits him a little better. When other people sing a Stan song (YouTube has around 350 hits for Barrett's Privateers, only a few are Stan), it's their own version of his song. Nathan can't help but sound like he's trying to be his dad. I like a lot of his solo work, it was interesting to see him more playful with Dry Bones. Sadly this clip from the Winnipeg Folk Festival starts part way through the song but they played it twice on the weekend and I loved it. JD and Leonard are ham boning while Nathan is singing. It's an old song to the days of prohibition where alcohol was banned but you could get your hands on just about anything else, I give you... Cocaine...
The evening shows take place in two spots, "Down by the Bay" (which is the beer tent), and the Stan Rogers Amphitheatre. It's quite the process to get the seats and if I didn't have R's family to show us the ropes, I'm not sure we'd figure it out. Early in the morning, people line up. To the point that some people set up a little tent this year and slept at the front of the line. Usually R's dad and Mr. Lina get up around 6:30 to go line up. Around 8, they start handing out numbers. Everyone goes for breakfast (maybe a shower), leaves their chairs lined up in order. At 10 or 10:30, people line back up in their order and 40 people at a time are let into the grounds to set up their chairs (4 per person max). This is what it looked like on Sunday all sped up to fit into 2 minutes. There are a few red chairs about 3 rows up, I'm pretty sure that is where we were sitting.
Those chairs sit there all day. People don't touch them. There are volunteer "security" walking around during the day, but most of them are post-menopausal women. These are no wanna-be police officers with attitude, it is people wearing fanny packs, tie die, or "mom jeans" under their official vest. The closest thing to a weapon they might have is a wind up flashlight and hot flashes. It's funny looking at all the empty chairs and tarps and blankets like it's a multicoloured theatre.
One last video for KLine. I put this in her comments, but I have to mention it again. She has bought a new bicycle, a lovely one well suited to her urban needs. Coco is also a huge cycling fan. She has not only one bicycle song, but three. Three. Can't have the bikes getting jealous, she might think she loves one more than the other. She performed this one at our house and again at the Gazebo, it makes me giggle every time I hear her sing it, she has an amusing anecdote to the song midway through. KLine, this is for you.
The end of the week is nearly here. I have again been done in by the tasty mochaccinos and feel a little flighty and headachy. I should know the second one is just not as good (physically) as the first. So time for a list...
HOTCHA! are coming tomorrow
Attendance is looking promising, somewhere around 14-16 adults and I think 9 kids
Even with fewer adults than ideal, it's going to feel like a full house with 9 kids running around.
No clue what I'm feeding anyone yet. I need to plan out lunch for the 4 of us and snacks for the bigger group and a "just in case we need it" dinner
Grocery shopping is in order to feed people something other than pickles.
House cleaning is also required, Mr. Lina gets full credit for cleaning a lot already, I have been a slacker and the kitchen is a mess.
I finally got to chat with the person with CAS today. First step is attending an information night that is hosted monthly. Mr. Lina will be on a training course during the June session, they don't offer one in July, so... my choices were Wednesday or possibly August.
August seemed a long ways away, so we're going next week.
Mother's Day is usually a really hard time for me, I feel a lot of should have-could haves and I hate all the sentimental radio contests and commercials about how wonderful mothers are.
I'm pretty wonderful and I'm not a mom (not to knock all you moms out there, but in my warped mind, it starts to feel like I can't be wonderful if I am not a mom based on their phrasing).
YET.
Maybe it's being midway through this FET or being too busy to notice it's nearly here, but it's not hurting as much as past years.
Of course, Sunday isn't here yet so I'm not exactly out of the woods.
I really should see if my parents are expecting us to see them Sunday. They will be at the house concert and I am planning on sending her home with the fuchsia hanging basket.
Maybe that's enough.
My mom used to buy my Nana a fuchsia plant every year, so I always buy her one now. This year is white with a purple interior, it is very tempting to keep it myself.
Archer is a very funny, very adult content cartoon. Think... Arrested Development (much of the voice work is from that cast) meets Johnny Quest/Venture Brothers (similar art) in a James Bond/Get Smart/Austin Powers type spy world.
And it's on NetFlix
And Stephen King, bah, it's his fault I'm drinking so many tasty mochaccinos. Mr Lina didn't come to bed until quite late and I didn't realize what time it was because I was reading. I should not stay up until midnight on Thursdays.
Just realized I have two Sencha blouses that I have not been wearing since last summer.
One needs new buttons, the fabric on the covered buttons came off in New Orleans.
I have a feeling there is a reason I stopped wearing the other one too.
And some music for your weekend. New Years Eve we hosted Dave McEathron and Bryan Butler. Dave put 3 clips of the show at our house on YouTube, this is "I Will". You can see Mr. Lina very briefly near the end in the right corner. Welcome to my basement...
I did a little bit of work in the sewing room this weekend and will be returning after posting this. Friday night I washed up all the fabric (except the swimwear) and it all came out just lovely. The cotton/silk was still feeling so very soft, the red cotton twill is still vibrant and ironed well. So, all is good.
I cut up another vesion of my pants blocker with the tweak to the front suggested from the last pair. The wiggle at the side seam is gone, there was some extra fabric between the legs, I'm still finding the right amount to tweak there. Sad thing is I did that version in some striped fabric passed along by my mom that could be cute pj bottoms. I should have noticed how clearly I could see the green cutting mat under it. Let's just say I'm not taking pictures of myself wearing those shorts even for myself just to be safe. Mr. Lina was very happy with the view from the back so a big high 5 to The Consultative Dressmaker for that. He is sometimes vague when things don't look right because he doesn't have the vocabulary (it comes out like "there are pleats there" even though nothing is pleated, the fabric is folding into itself), but when things are right, he finds the words. At this point I feel confident enough to try the red twill shorts. That's up for this afternoon.
I am quite certain I was dreaming about fabric last night. I don't remember the dream, but I do remember rolling over and thinking "Oh I'll have to put that on my blog tomorrow". Damn it, why can't I remember what the heck was going on in the dream itself? Bah. I'll take it as a good sign that I want to be in my sewing room and my brain is probably working on the shorts issue and what to do with that cotton/silk stripe fabric.
Given that I have no pictures to contribute with my poor choice in muslin fabric, how about some music? May 12th we're hosting HOTCHA! There is a bit of audience noise, but you'll get a feel for the pace of most of their music.
UPDATE: Picture of my red shorts that are still a work in progress. I still have too much fabric between my legs but wow, pinning did not work out. Sure, I pinned out the extra fabric but the back side became a sea of wrinkles. I'll keep fiddling around, but I thought I'd share my afternoon of work with you.
A little extra fabric in the thigh, but not bad through waist/hips. Invisible zipper at centre seam.
Hmm, what's that extra fabric poking through by my leg...
