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Glasses-Wearing Reading Geek
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Sat 22nd Apr 2017 05:58 pm - end of an era
This will be my last cross-post from Dreamwidth to LiveJournal, as everyone has now made the transition. I am still deciding whether or not to delete my LJ account altogether; doing so would break almost all of my image links. (Dreamwidth did not originally do image hosting, so I had continued to upload my images to LJ and link to them there. I found out today that that had changed; future images will be uploaded to DW.)

I will disable comments on LiveJournal as soon as my last import succeeds.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Please comment on DW, as comments here may not be seen.
Sat 22nd Apr 2017 04:29 pm - bush baby
Twenty-five years ago, while weeding the craft section at the library, I came across a book on making stuffed animals and remembered how fun it was to make simple ones as a kid. Since the book was set to be discarded anyway, I took it home with me. The patterns aren't the greatest, but the instructions are clear, so it wasn't a horrible book to start on.

The first, or maybe second, animal I made out the book was a bush baby, about six inches tall and a very simple pattern; I've long since lost track of it. It didn't come out very well; I've never been sure if the problem was my lack of skill or deficiencies in the pattern, but I've long suspected it was a combination. I have now made another one (below), which is proof that it was indeed both. I've improved a lot in twenty-five years, so this new one is pretty cute, but it's not what I want for the project I have in mind.



Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sun 16th Apr 2017 06:02 pm - tired
I don't think I'm sick, but I've been unusually tired since last weekend, and not inclined to do all that much. I even took a nap this afternoon (a short one). On the other hand, I've been energetic enough to take walks Friday and today. It's just hard to get up in the morning, and to get motivated to do stuff during the day.

Friday I did no sewing whatsoever, which is very unusual on my day off. Today I did some, but took that nap instead of another session. Not that I'm on a deadline or anything, but it's not like me.

I did unpack the CDs Friday, and am still planning to unpack the DVDs today.

So. Maybe I'm coming down with something. Maybe I'm just feeling lazy. Time will tell.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sun 9th Apr 2017 06:12 pm - Lunacon Sunday
Got up early again this morning. Lots more sleep last night, but still not rested. I had decided to skip the breakfast buffet, so I had a granola bar in my room, followed by a bagel with cream cheese once the staff den opened. I packed up all my things before leaving the room the first time, and had time to take one suitcase out to the car. I was parked so close to the front door that the extra trip was easier than trying to schlep everything down at once.

My first panel--program, really--was at 10:00, Sewing 101. We had two people come in for basic instruction, starting with threading a needle, how to use pins, and why it's important to buy good scissors and don't use them for anything but fabric.

After that, I took my other bags out to the car and checked out of my room, then went back in to the art show, which was closing at 11:30. I had picked up one more bid since last night, making three on the candy 'corn. I helped close and start packing up the fragile art in before sales/pickup started at 12:30. I also picked up the two pieces I bought (which almost, but not quite, equalled what I made on selling mine).

After a quick sandwich in the staff den--I was all nice-mealed out--I met up with a friend and went over to our final panel of the con. This one was titled something like Why Adults Like YA, but our one audience member wanted suggestions for books for her grandchildren, age 12, 13, 14, and 15, so we spent most of the time giving titles and speaking about them briefly.

When that was over, I retrieved the big suitcase from my car and packed up my unsold art. One piece less than I thought; someone bought Bigwig at the close-out price (equal to the quick sale price while the show was going on, so 50% higher than the minimum).

Usually the drive home Sunday afternoon is faster than the drive up on Friday, but not today. Traffic was terrible on the Hutchinson River Parkway, just crawling along the whole ~10 miles, and not much better on the Cross Island. It took me over an hour; I had expected 45 minutes. But I made it home just after 4:00. My main suitcase is unpacked, I've eaten dinner, and the second load of laundry is finishing.

It was a good con, but they need to scale back their program offerings until attendance picks up. And they need more variety in the dealers room.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sat 8th Apr 2017 05:45 pm - Lunacon Saturday
Got up early this morning, ate at the breakfast buffet, then had back to back panels starting at 10:00. Neither had any audience to speak of, but we had some interesting conversation among the panelists.

First up was Childhood Favorites Revisited. We had each re-read one (or more) old favorites from childhood and compared experiences. We all enjoyed our respective rediscoveries--always a relief--although we found a few problematic things. And the books that several of us were familiar with we discussed with enthusiasm. There were only two audience members, one of them the teenage son of one of the panelists. The other audience came in about 5-10 minutes into our discussion (which had started late because we were waiting for audience).

Next was Being Geeky about Art (not the official title, but I'm not getting up right now to check it). One of the panelists didn't show, and we only had one person in the audience, who was there early for being on the next panel in that room. We had a professional painter (one of the artist guests of the convention), an amateur seamstress and knitter, and me. We ended up geeking out about sewing machines for half the panel; it was great. We also talked about a wide range of other stuff along the way.

Afterward, I finally managed to get my Participant ribon, then wandered away to check my stuff in the art show. Several more bids! And I have not yet been outbid on the beautiful rocket that I want. Money-wise, what I'm selling so far and what I hope to buy pretty well cancel each other out.

Then I dumped my stuff in my room and had a tiny bit of lunch. I also wandered into the dealers room again. Still not much there. I caught the tail end of the Tiny Hats make-and-take, which is always fun. I like craft programs at cons. I was thinking about going to the Rocky and Bullwinkle panel at 4:00, but I ran into a bunch of friends about 3:30 and spent the next hour-plus talking to them instead. Then I retreated to my room to read for a while and eventually ordered dinner from room service. The Green Room never seems to be open, but with my Art Show Staff ribbon, I've been able to get into the Staff Den for the occasional snack or something to drink.

The masquerade is this evening. I'm going to go down later for that, and undoubtedly another swing through the art show. I'm planning to make it an early night, since I'm short on sleep and have another early panel tomorrow. I want to pack before that, because afterward I'll only have about half an hour to check out of my room before the deadline. I probably won't have time for an update in the morning, so if I don't post again tonight, it will have to wait until I'm home tomorrow afternoon.
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Later: I managed to miss the masquerade, because I had a coughing jag just as they were announcing the judges and had to leave and get my inhaler. I didn't try to go back. Before the doors opened, I overheard that there were only four entries, so I didn't miss a whole lot. I would have liked to have seen it, though.

I did make another swing through the art show, to find a bid on the snow furries and a second bid on the candy 'corn. That makes six pieces going. Then I went up and hung out in the staff den for a short time. Soon I will go to bed.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sat 8th Apr 2017 08:53 am - Lunacon Friday
[posted Saturday morning]
Drove up to Westchester Friday afternoon to Lunacon's new hotel. The trip up was fine, despite a little bit of traffic leaving NYC. I got here just after 2:00, checked into my room, then found the art show, which is hidden at the end of a looooong corridor, in the other half of the hotel from everything else. I helped set up some, then retrieved my stuff and set it up. I wound up with an extra half-table again, but I had brought extra in case of a double-sider, so I filled the space really well anyway. When I was taking my big suitcase back to the room, I picked up my badge. But there was still no sign of Program Ops. (The program is online so I had seen that, but I still don't have my Participant ribbon.) Then it was back to the art show to continue helping set up and unpack mail-in art. They gave me a Staff ribbon!

The arts show opened at 7:00, and I got a few bids already. One of my pieces sold before the show was even open. The toddler son of one of the artists glommed onto the supercorgi and Would. Not. Let. Go., so the staffer watching him said she'd pay for it. His mother apologized to me later (it's fine! really!) and said he'd clutched it tightly during his nap that afternoon.

The dealer's room, which I found later) is tiny and not very enticing. I did buy some sugar-free fudge for friends at work. But I then felt free to blow my entire con budget bidding on one of Johnna Klukas's beautiful wood rocket ships. (If I get outbid, so it goes.)

The art show reception started at 10:00. I'm glad I stayed up long enough to attend that, because I was able to chat with a number of friends. A little after 11:00, the reception was still going strong, but I went back up to my room to crash.

It took me a while to get to sleep (as always), and I had to get up far too early because I have an early panel. More later.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sun 2nd Apr 2017 06:16 pm - stained glass
Oh, man, this stained glass weekend is tempting. I was planning to take vacation then, too, so I should be free. But the price!

..I'll have to think about it.

::perks up:: It's cheaper than flying to MuseCon again!

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sat 1st Apr 2017 05:55 pm - calico flat cat
I made a third Martian flat cat today. This one is a calico:

Martian Flat Cat #3: Calico (top) Martian Flat Cat #3: Calico (underneath)

Like the others, it is about 8" in diameter. The fur is cream, fox red/brown, and black with red undertones.

I would like to make another plain one (in the fox fur) to display with it at Lunacon, but since the convention is next weekend and I have to work tomorrow, the timing is pretty tight. Particularly since I also need to cut out a project to work on at the Lunacon sewing circle and beginner class. I may be leaving for the con a little later than originally planned.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Fri 24th Mar 2017 06:24 pm - oh, dear
Found out yesterday that the upstairs neighbors (landlord's daughter and her boyfriend) are moving out April 1. They've been good neighbors; I hope the new ones are tolerable.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Thu 16th Mar 2017 06:57 pm - could be worse
The library roof leaked badly in the storm on Tuesday, so we've been closed all week while that gets cleaned up. The damage mitigation company has been hard at work drying things out and repairing walls and ceilings. You'd think it would only be the second (top) floor that got wet, but water made it down to the first floor as well. One of the reference computers got wet. (All of the floods cascade down to the front of the reference desk. All of them.) But after it dried out it booted up okay, so hopefully it's all right. Of *course* it's one of the brand-new computers that we bought this winter.

I was off yesterday as well as Tuesday, but we all went in today. The staff isn't doing much toward the cleanup--mostly just staying out of the way--but we have lots of other projects to catch up on. I was scheduled to be off tomorrow and work Saturday, but with us being closed I'm going in tomorrow and off all weekend.

We should be able to reopen Monday morning if all goes well. What's still up in the air is the music festival scheduled for this weekend. We can open just the auditorium (and nearby bathrooms), but naturally that was one of the places with the worst damage, so it may not be ready in time.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Tue 14th Mar 2017 04:00 pm - heavy, man
Just spent half an hour or so cleaning off my car. It is still (or again) sleeting, so I'll have to scrape ice off the windows again in the morning, but the bulk of it is done.

The top of the car had about five inches of what looked like snow but was actually ice pellets, mostly but not entirely stuck together. Shoveling that stuff was extraordinarily heavy. Usually I care shovelfuls around the end of the fence to dump them, but this time I just stacked it up next to the fence. It's solid enough to stay where it's put, so it should be fine.

I would have gone out a bit earlier, while the temp was above freezing, but the upstairs neighbor was out with the snow blower and I didn't want to get in his way. He was finishing off with a shovel when I went out. He salted the front steps and part of the walk; his bucket is now empty, so I left my salt out for him for morning. He has to leave at 4:30am (poor sod), and I don't have to leave until noon or close to it. The library is opening late tomorrow--noon, in fact--but it's my late night so I don't have to be there until 1:00 anyway.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Tue 14th Mar 2017 10:16 am - oboy!
The blizzard warning has been cancelled, and we're only expecting a few more inches. Of sleet.

That's right, it's sleeting heavily this morning. I'd rather have the foot-plus of snow.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sat 11th Mar 2017 06:23 pm - just checked the weather forecast...
Eleven to seventeen inches of snow on Tuesday!!?!

AND a blizzard watch.

Holy suffering cats! No wonder the doctor's office cancelled my check-up already.

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ETA, Sunday morning: Make that 12-20". At this rate, by Tuesday it'll be three feet.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sat 11th Mar 2017 06:09 pm - ooof
I unboxed and reshelved the rest of my books today. It took all day (which is why I had prepacked them in the first place). I do need to shift them; I knew I had weeded out enough to empty an extra shelf, but it turns out to be two shelves, not one, if I rearrange things a little.

This is not quite a definite decision not to try to move after all, but it's very close to one. I have my Reasons, and in a couple of weeks I may enumerate them.

In the mean time, I wanted to have my other ~1000 books out where I can read them.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Fri 10th Mar 2017 07:26 pm - not snow much
This morning, there was maybe half an inch of snow on my car, but the pavement--streets and sidewalks--was just wet. Some of the sidewalks got a bit slushy later, but by 3:00 the snow had stopped and the sun was out. Driving home tonight, the roads were dry, so it should be fine tomorrow despite the bitter cold coming in tonight.

...And Tuesday there's a possibility of "a significant coastal storm with significant snowfall". Joy. Right now, the NWS is only giving it a 50% chance, but my doctor's office called to cancel my checkup that day.

O March, why must you be so March-y?

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Thu 9th Mar 2017 06:31 pm - March is being March
Today was 60+ and sunny, but winter's not quite over. Tomorrow we're expecting 4-6 inches of snow. It's supposed to be in the upper 30's, so you'd think it wouldn't stick. But tomorrow night the temp is dropping into the teens. So anything slushy or wet will be solid ice by Saturday morning. ::sigh::

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Mon 6th Mar 2017 03:50 pm - Black Rabbit of Inle
Also from Watership Down, the Black Rabbit of Inlé:

Black Rabbit of Inle

Same pattern as Bigwig, in pure, undifferentiated black. What looks like a tiny white spot in the middle of his face is a reflection off the nose. I had wanted to make the eyes starry, but couldn't get it worked out.

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Wed 1st Mar 2017 08:21 am - fun!
You may not know it, but you need this Random Pig Generator. Yes, you do.

(I had to turn NoScript off. It was worth it.)

Crossposted from dreamwidth, where there are comment count unavailable comments. Comments welcome here or there.
Sun 26th Feb 2017 10:14 am - still more Doctor Zoo
Dogtor Who:

Dogtor Who

About 14" tall, a new pattern for me.
Wed 22nd Feb 2017 09:56 pm - all righty then
I had my ears cleaned out a couple of months ago. This week I finally got the bill, for a lot higher than my usual copay, simultaneously with a notice from my insurance company that that doctor isn't covered. Argh.

I called the office today to complain--because they knew darn well what insurance I have--and to cancel my next appointment. The office person's immediate response was (very slightly paraphrased) "Oh, no! Of course we take your insurance! Call the billing department directly to get that straightened out." She gave me the number (which I then belatedly realized was on the bill), and I called. Her reaction, after checking my file (again slightly paraphrased): "That's not right! Sorry about that! Here's how it got screwed up. I'll resubmit it, so disregard that bill. You'll get a corrected one later."

Whew!

I mean, I do have the extra $150, but I'd really rather use it for other things. Like the new glasses which are likely to be rather more expensive than I expected because the discount place I've been going to is now closed.

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