random thoughts – Day 2,227 (Wednesday) – sweatshop saga - waist and third tier

And just like that, the week is half over in a blink. There was a trip to WalMart this morning for two-inch elastic for the big skirt and a few other things. There were challenges inserting the elastic into the casing, despite deliberately making the casing a half inch larger than the instructions said. It was tight feeding the elastic through the casing, then, after I stitched the elastic ends together, I discovered I had twisted it when I stitched it and it couldn’t lay flat. Got that fixed, tried it on, and the waist was too loose. After a few more missteps, it was finally done. I hope.

Third tier pleated and pinned in place.

Mid-afternoon (3:00), it seems I was possessed by Saint Tabitha, patron of seamstresses and tailors. Instead of organizing the donation that is scheduled for pickup Thursday morning, I decided to start the third ruffle tier. The 6.25 yard tier looked sweet and innocent but the 12.5 yard ruffle layer that needed to be pinned into it was intimidating. The 25 yard tier that will finish it might also finish me.

The instructional video I’ve been following features a very chipper sewist who makes it all seem very simple and easy but that must be some happy pills or white wine mixed with some editing magic because it isn’t quite that simple. 

I marked the front, back and sides of the waistband with colored clips – red for center front and back, blue for the sides, purple for the points halfway between. Then I marked the corresponding points on the ruffle, matched the clip colors, and started pleating. Easy-peasy. Nope. Not so fast, sister.

It started out well and then fell to crap. At first, it was easy setting the pleats, but it turned out to be like the false spring we enjoyed last week. The clips ran out and I started using pins. Very stabby pins. There was blood. Then, I kept running out of ruffle and had to backtrack and respace the pleats to fit into the smaller tier. In the end, it was finally pinned, and at 9:00 I called it done for the day, despite really wanting to get the seam stitched today. There were lessons learned that will carry over to the fourth and final tier. I hope. 

random thoughts – Day 2,226 (Tuesday) – sweatshop plans

Four seams available
for adjustments.

The sweatshop operated on the production operations management rule in grad school – do the quick jobs first to get them out of the queue. Psychologically, it means something got done and the daunting to-do list might not be so long and I needed the mental boost, so the afternoon was absorbed with a couple projects that are quicker than the laborious 25-yard skirt. 

Today’s successes were letting out the seams on an Indian choli top and working on the coin bra. Ideally, there would be a local warehouse selling thousands of belly dance costumes and I wouldn't need to do all this labor, but that is not the case, so I sit and I sew and I sew and I rip out stitches. (Or, if you prefer the tongue twister Mummu used to love, "She sits as she sews and she sews as she sits.")

The choli was bought with a companion saree over the weekend. The brilliant design of the tops is that there are multiple seams stitched in. If the top is too small, stitching from the seams can be removed. This particular top had been taken in smaller, so in addition to four machine stitched seam lines, there was an additional hand stitched seam. That was the easiest one to pick out. Two machine stitched seams were removed after that. It needs to be tried on again and reevaluated. It’s also a little too short, so I’ll need to add a band of fabric at the bottom, which I’ll cut from the saree. At least I have the comfort of a plan.

Coin bra in process.

The second project that got moving along is the coin bra. Digging through my swimwear, I found the black swim top I hoped I had not donated away before moving. Whew! To add stability, a bra that didn’t fit quite right was disassembled for parts. Some parts were set aside for potential future use and the cups were hand stitched into the swim top. This will provide a sturdy foundation for two triangular panels of coins to be stitched on. For now, those have been tentatively pinned in place. They need a little work, as some coins are missing and the panels could be a smidge smaller, but at least I have an idea of the look.

Then it was off to dance group. We ran through many of the dances in the June show, except the two large numbers which were impossible to run due to absences. It’s hard to rehearse dances with nine or ten people three or four are absent. Hopefully next week we can run them.

random thoughts – Day 2,225 (Monday) – sweatshop saga

Lightly frosted.

The day kicked off with a hint of frost on the lawns, hedges, and rooftops. The sun was out, but it still felt very disrespectful. The temperature hovered in the 40s today, which is not nearly as nice as last week when it was in the high 70s/low 80s. Spring is so fickle. Once again, I'm glad I didn't buy any plants for the yard yet.

The sweatshop was back in operation. The fullest tier was remeasured (twice) to confirm the volume and was trimmed to the correct length. The waistband received buttonholes for the drawstring and was attached to the top of the skirt, and that is where the progress hit a hiccup. The two-inch elastic in my supplies, left over from another project ages ago, is a couple inches too short and won't work. There was no interest in running out to fetch more elastic today, so the production line was paused and the laborer (me) was granted the afternoon off.  There is always tomorrow.

Another day, another bucket.

It was another day with a bucket truck in front of the house. This time, there was only one guy. He parked the truck, then got out of it to enter the bucket and raise it up to the top of the utility pole. This seemed unusual and also like a safety issue and I was worried for the guy. What if something happened when he was up at the pole? What if the bucket got stuck? While he was in front of my house, I watched, ready to call for help if needed and hoping it wouldn't be necessary. 

The evening saw the weekly meetup with the duet partner to run the choreography we’ve been working on and compare costume making notes for the dance group we’re both in. Last year’s costumes were easy and we didn’t need to buy or make much, but this year’s costumes don’t seem to include anything we can just pull from our closets and wear. We’re each going to need additions on our homes for dance costumes.

random thoughts – Day 2,224 (Sunday) – sweatshop day shift

The gray, drizzly day turned out to be perfect for a quiet day at home sewing in the makeshift sweatshop. The 25-yard skirt is coming together and the machine (and my back) are getting a semi-abusive workout. Sitting on the floor to deal with miles of fabric because the table isn’t large enough (even when empty), is tough on the lower back. I always seem to forgot this detail.

Sewing the strips to make the tiers.

This skirt is a textile engineering marvel with each tier double the size of the one above it. In today’s progress, the first tier, which measures 3.1 yards of fabric, was joined with the second tier, which measures 6.25 yards. The larger tier is tucked and gathered to fit the smaller. The smaller top tier will be gathered into the waistband and the bottom of the second tier will have the 12.50-yard third tier gathered into it. Then the 25-yard final tier will be gathered into the bottom of the third tier. And just like that, it will be done.

It was around 11:45 when things got started today, fortified by a late breakfast of leftover risotto, scalloped potatoes, and fried salami. The breakfast powered me through sewing the strips together to make the tiers and verifying the length of the tiers, and suddenly it was 2:00.

Gathering, clipping, and hand-basting.

Mom stopped over at some point in the afternoon and we had a quick visit, during which I showed her the sewing project that was consuming the dining table and hard to miss. She sewed a lot when I was young, and taught me how when I was kid.

Fabric clips were used for the gathering and it took 100 clips to go halfway around the tier done today. I may need to order more fabric clips because the tiers are only going to get larger. When the 100 clips were securing half the tier, I switched gears and hand basted the gathers in place so I could use the clips to gather the rest of the tier. It is tedious, and probably not the sort of drudgery endurance test some people would find appealing. I kind of wish I had started with joining the fourth and third tiers, because then the remaining tiers would have been the shorter tiers. Lesson learned for the next time, if there is another one.

Done for the day.

There was a supper break with some freshly prepared sauteed veggies and rice, and then it was back to the sewing. I finally stopped sewing around 8:45. The rug was covered in pieces of thread and metallic bits from the fabric, so vacuuming seemed necessary because I don’t want Kiki picking up metallic thread with her paws and ingesting them while grooming herself. In the sewing times before pets, vacuuming would have been delayed until the end of the project or guests were coming, whichever happened first.

I didn’t plan to work on a skirt for the equivalent of an entire sweatshop factory work shift, but sometimes that is what happens when things are on a roll. I would complain to management about the paltry (nonexistent) wages and harsh working conditions, but I talk to myself enough already.

random thoughts – Day 2,223 (Saturday) – saree day and plans

Some days have nothing scheduled and other days have more going on. This morning was occupied with an appointment to look at Indian sarees for potential use as dance costumes or fabric parts for costumes. The afternoon was booked with a meeting of the planning committee for my class reunion.

The saree viewing turned into an hour spent chatting with a delightful woman. She showed my friend and me the six sarees (some with coordinating tops), bangle bracelets, and a couple necklaces. There was a conversation about her daughter who studied classical Indian dance, and our new friend offered to teach us some Indian dancing. She told us about BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham which is the largest Hindu temple in the Western Hemisphere, and the second-largest in the world. And it’s in not so terribly far away Robbinsville, New Jersey and now I want to go there. 

Sarees and tops.

The sarees were beautiful and my friend and I each bought two. Now I will be laying out a harem pants pattern on the pink and green saree to go under a skirt. The June show is costing me a fortune in costuming and I don't even want to add up how much I've recently spent in fabric, skirts, and clothes to dissect and rebuild, but it's been fun planning it. 

The reunion planning meeting was fun. Most of us don’t see each other often, and it’s always a good conversation when we get together. We are organizing our class reunion that will take place in 2028. We’ve narrowed down a list of venues and a set a date. One of the biggest challenges we’ve had with previous reunions is locating classmates. We’re hoping with the long lead time, we can cast a wider net and reach more classmates.

There was a lot of food at the meeting and I overate. This happens when I am parked for several hours at a table filled with food. I start out okay, then I turn into an eating machine as the minutes tick away, especially if I’m not actively taking notes and we’re just reminiscing. Hours later, I feel really yucky.

random thoughts – Day 2,222 (Friday) – busy day

The visit with the dermatologist was today. It’s been an annual event since about 2017 when my primary physician saw scarring across my shoulders and put in a referral. Three or four years before that, a different doctor at a different healthcare office noticed the scarring and asked if I had acne as teen. When I said I did not, they called in the dermatologist at that practice, who looked at my shoulders, said, “yeah, I’ve never seen anything like that before” and left the room. And that was that. Cool, thanks. Very not helpful.

At the dermatologist.

The current dermatologist looked at my shoulders and recognized the situation immediately. Then she pulled up images on the laptop to show me while she explained it. It turned out to be lichen sclerosis, which is a delightful autoimmune disease where the skin attacks itself and turns to scar tissue. I have no idea when the scarring on my back began, but for years, I had noticed random, smooth white spots on my arms, especially after being in the sun, and thought of them as reverse freckles (if I thought of them at all). There weren't that many, and I don't spend time in the sun like I did when I was young and reckless, so they weren't obvious. 

Now, after sun exposure, my shoulders and upper back are a dotted, mottled pattern of white scar tissue and light suntan, which I know, because now I check (or other people comment on it). Off the shoulder and low-cut back styles, which I used to like, are out for me now (self conscious, or vain?). Thanks, random autoimmune disease.

After the dermatologist visit (everything is fine, see you next year), I explored thrift shops. An Internet search of “thrift shops near me” done in the medical office parking lot sent me a couple miles down the street to a shop in a church basement. They had a lot of clothing set aside and under wraps for a fashion show tonight. The shop was small and tiny and mostly overpriced. I could buy similar items brand new for the same prices or less. 

Before leaving that parking lot, I did another Internet query. A couple miles away in another direction there was a consignment shop with beautiful displays and reasonable prices, but nothing I wanted. I was on a mission for dance costume components and things that are inexpensive enough that when I cut them apart, I won’t feel bad. 

Outside the nicest thrift store.

The next parking lot query led me to another church shop. This one had multiple rooms and hallways organized by logical categories – books, toys, housewares, craft items, cookware, dishes and glassware, and clothing – and true thrift store pricing in a boutique environment. It was possibly the nicest thrift store I’ve ever seen. The selection was great, but not what I needed.

Heading back home, I peeled off at the Fitchburg/Leominster exit for gas at my favorite station which happens to be near Salvation Army Family Store (coincidence?). It had been months since I shopped there and things have changed. There was still the annoying, perpetually flickering light, but the store felt cleaner and neater. There was a beautifully arranged spring clothing display on a wall. A rack of wedding gowns along a wall was stunning. The clothing racks were a bit overstuffed, but everything was hung nicely. Here, I found some of the items I needed for dance costumes for the June show at reasonable prices, plus a silk shawl for 99-cents (yes, please!). Nice score, thank you very much.

random thoughts – Day 2,221 (Thursday) – producing

Forsythia.

The weather was nice again in the sunny and warm (but not too hot) I wish it was always like this kind of way. The forsythia at the edge of the front of the house is flowering and I paid it a visit today to apologize for thinking it was nearly dead. I need to read up on the care of forsythia. 

Then I took the winter rubber grippy mats off the front stairs and took them to the shed and to have a look at the back yard. The fiddleheads out back are multiplying, with eight clusters now emerged between the shed and a rock. I'm so glad there are ferns in the yard.

The forecast for tomorrow calls for temperatures to drop about 10 degrees and there is a chance of rain. It sounds like a good day to stay in and sew dance costumes. 

We had a supper meeting tonight to talk about costumes and eat some delicious food. It was good to get the costumes formalized and noted so we scavenge and sew as needed. A lot of them are based on who already has what components so that helps to a certain extent. It’s usually fun sourcing costume parts, so that is good. 

While the yard is busy producing pretty things, I have my own pretty things to pump out with a skirt to finish, plus a coin bra, some harem pants, and possibly a top or two to whip up for for the June show. And maybe a veil. Not sure. I need to double check the list. My brain short circuited somewhere during the meeting. 

random thoughts – Day 2,220 (Wednesday) – spring is springing

It was nice again today, and not quite as warm as yesterday, which was startling with the sudden heat. There were gentle breezes moving through the house from the front windows and the side door under the carport and it was comfortable. It feels like spring is springing to life.

While driving downtown to the post office I saw people who are not me wearing shorts, sandals, and short-sleeved tee shirts. I was in jeans, loafers, and a long sleeve shirt, but only one layer of shirts today and that was liberating.

Fiddleheads!

The mystery plant in front of the house that I thought might be forsythia has bloomed and proven me correct. It's kind of scraggly looking and probably needs some love and attention. 

Fiddleheads are poking up through the leaves and near the rocks behind the shed. The trees are sporting buds. Still no sign of flowers in my yard, but Mom’s are starting to come up. Mom doesn't think the former owner of my house ever planted any flowers. She was more of a hanging flower basket person which explains the two chains hanging from the carport and the hooks on the shed.

Instead of frolicking in the spring weather, I did errands and visited the thrift shop for half-off day. I found several useful and sparkly things I can tear apart for dance costumes and if I screw it up, at least it didn't cost much for the materials.

Afterwards, I started sewing the purple tiers of the big fancy skirt and discovered another glitch. The fabric I thought was 44-inches wide has been the subject of shrinkflation or something – it’s only 42-inches wide. That means the tier with ten panels came up short by quite a bit. Luckily there was some fabric left and I could add another panel. The actual sewing part is going well. I haven’t sworn once! Today. About sewing.

random thoughts – Day 2,219 (Tuesday) – making the cut

The fabric was unfurled.

As foretold yesterday, the cutting of the fabric commenced today. The fabric (5 yards at 55-inches wide) was unfurled on the floor because no tables or counters are long enough. The first cut, to even the edge of the fabric, met with resistance in the form of a rotary cutter blade that has seen better times. It required multiple efforts to achieve the objective of the single straight edge. That led to a break for online shopping for replacement blades, which are about a dozen projects overdue. Blades were ordered and will deliver on the morrow with fabric clips and magic tools for threading cording like hoodie and sweat pant strings through a casing that were ordered a couple hours earlier.

This rotary blade issue did not delay production. Fortunately, there were other cutting implements available. Using the calculations calculated yesterday, pinking shears were used to cut the many strips that form the tiers of the skirt. There was some minor slippage of fabric and the strips are not 100% straight but I can deal with that when sewing.

After each couple of strips were cut of the black, purple, and gold metallic fabric, the strips were counted. While in the home stretch, with 17 strips cut and just four left to go, the status count revealed an issue and illuminated the one calculation I hadn’t verified. It turns out that 21 strips of 9” fabric total 5.25 yards, but my fabric was just a hair over the five-yard mark and I would be one strip short at the predetermined depth. 

Lunch break.

There was some fast thinking and it was decided to cut the remaining strips at six inches so the circumference was correct and I could make up the length in the remaining tiers in the fabric that hadn’t been cut yet. One of the nine-inch strips gets 45-inches trimmed off for the other layer and then will be trimmed to six-inches to match its own tier. Whew.

After resolving the issue and altering the depth of the last strips to be cut in the fancy fabric, I found myself standing in the kitchen for a drink of water. That’s when I noticed it was 2:30, breakfast had been hours ago, and one of the avocados bought a few days ago was perfectly ripe. So, when the sewing got tough, this tough sewist took an avocado and bagel break. And it was good.

Next up - sewing.

After the late lunch break, the tier depths were recalibrated for the second fabric. Solid color fabric was laid out (4.5 yards at 44” wide) and cut to a newly adapted wider depth to account for the loss of three inches in the fancy fabric tier. And now, it is all cut out, including the waistband casing. 

Tomorrow, the sewing may begin. Or not. It was gorgeous out today and the windows were open and I felt a bit guilty being inside cutting fabric instead of outside enjoying sunshine, but I was finally ready and it needed to get started. The muse was calling.

random thoughts – Day 2,218 (Monday) – another day, another quiche

This morning, it was gray and gloomy and the house was dark inside. The plan was to work on the 25-yard skirt project. I measured one of my 25-yard skirts that I thought was 36-inches long and discovered it is 37-inches and now I know why I keep stepping on the hem. Calculations were recalibrated to make the length 35 inches to minimize the risk of stepping on it and reduce the need to roll the waistband. The overall length dictates the depth of the individual tiers and the measurements were checked and rechecked. The math wasn’t math-ing on the yardage layouts for cutting the tiers.

Another day, another quiche.

When the going gets rough, I tend to head to the kitchen. Sometimes it’s to stress eat, but cooking is also a frequent activity. The next thing I knew, I was standing in the kitchen, cognizant of the facts I was hungry, hadn’t eaten anything yet, and lunchtime was approaching. And suddenly, I was making a quiche with six eggs, multiple cheeses, spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms. The chopping, mixing, cleaning up the dishes and the counter, and emptying the dishwasher took long enough to clear my head.

After eating a piece of quiche with some grape tomatoes, I was at the computer starting a new spreadsheet to figure out the yardage needed for using two different fabrics in the skirt. The yardage calculator from a belly dance sewing site uses one fabric for all four tiers, but my friend and I are using two fabrics. When we bought the material, we bought every inch they had in the patterned cloth and it isn’t enough to make two skirts in the one material. We had assumed that might happen and had also chosen a coordinating solid. To add to the fun, the fabrics are two different widths which requires two sets of calculations.

Another day, another spreadsheet.

I looked at the numbers all afternoon and it felt like my years working in finance. It also made my brain hurt. I found a couple errors in the original chart from the sewing site and while watching the process video I realized I was setting the strips along the length of the yardage and not along the short edge as the creator of the pattern had done. That has a major impact on the number of strips needed to form each tier.

The measurements feel correct now. Tomorrow the cutters will come out. (Sure, I say that now.) It still hasn’t been determined if it will be the rotary cutter or the scissors or the pinking shears, but I can figure that out over coffee in the morning.

random thoughts – Day 2,217 (Sunday) – day of dance

It was a day filled with dance, both doing and watching. The morning had dance group in a new studio space that is spacious and bonus, it has a wall of mirrors, which is a huge improvement over our previous spaces. It’s an Irish Step Dance studio and I had fun looking at the many medals hung on a wall, trophies on a shelf, various dance shoes hanging in a row, and Irish Step Dance warm up notes posted on a wooden pillar. Bonus for me, it’s a smidge closer to home than the place we were renting the past few months.

Later in the afternoon, a friend and I headed west to Holyoke to the Cairo Cabaret Show in an American Legion Hall. The space was set up with tables with cloths and centerpieces. Attendees had been advised that the usual kitchen service wouldn't be available tonight and we should bring our own snacks. That was good to know as the show began around 5:00 which is also my usual suppertime. 

I grabbed some crackers, toasted chick peas, grapes, sharp cheddar cheese, and grape tomatoes. My friend, who has instincts like a caterer, could have fed the entire room with her bag packed with sliced veggies, fruits, goat cheese, sliced cheese, tiny pita breads, hummus, and stuffed grape leaves. We had a nice feast.

The dancers were amazing. Some we recognized as fellow dancers in the Natick Showcase we have performed in and others we saw dance a month ago at the Molten Show at the LAVA Center in Greenfield. 

It was a sparkly and impressive couple of hours filled with bright and glittery costumes, coordinated cane work, top notch zill skills, and gorgeous dancers dancing. Some of the music was new to us, and some we knew intimately and immediately from the first few notes, having performed to it in dance group. It has taken some digging to find local-ish shows, but it seems they are out there. Each time we attend one, we hear of one or two others. It’s almost as if it’s some secret underground belly dance show communications network.

It was dark and drizzly on the ride back home, which made it feel later than it was. My 8:40 arrival home felt more like 10:30 or 11 and it was a nice surprise to see there was time to relax before bedtime.

random thoughts – Day 2,216 (Saturday) – a miss and a mystery

The morning included a trip next door to visit with Mom. Now that the weather is more civilized, we plan to resume our morning coffee visits which had been suspended during the winter cold. The funny part is, we learned this morning that each of us has cut back on coffee consumption. My recent fling with strep throat saw three consecutive days with no interest in coffee. When I felt better, my interest in coffee was greatly reduced and I scaled back how much is brewed each morning to minimize what gets dumped down the drain or into the plants.

Suddenly, the morning was gone and it was a mystery where it went. Any plans for the day were forgotten or cast aside if they involved any chance of spending money. I thought about low-budget entertainments and took action on none of them. I thought about trimming the undercarriage of the smallest hedge in front of the house. I thought about sewing. I thought about reading a book. Places in the yard that might be suitable for planting flowers and herbs were considered. 

None of the mulled topics received any sort of action beyond the confines of my skull. The main accomplishment was taking a walk to the mailbox and getting another book from the neighborhood Little Library. I took the long route back home for a change of scenery and it was 19 minutes of walking. Last fall’s personal best was 13 minutes round trip on the shorter direct route.

Not very tasty supper.

Dinner was cooked after a crazy train of thought. I saw the avocado on the counter and thought rice and beans might be good to go with it. Rice was made. Somewhere between the pantry where the beans and salsa live and the spice cabinet next to the stove, things shifted from a Mexican inspired meal to Indian. I ended up cooking chicken with tandoor masala spices, onion, and mixed frozen veggies to go with the rice. 

There was plenty for supper and leftovers, but unfortunately, it was not very good and it seemed I had wasted a bunch of ingredients. Such is the cost of cooking without consulting a recipe, Internet advice, or having any sort of a clue. Live and learn. Maybe I can administer some sort of culinary first aid to the leftovers to make it more interesting.

Ceiling light spots.

Around 7:00, the sun streamed through the open curtains in the back windows and caught the prisms on a hanging piece that has been temporarily hung on the corner of a mirror. It cast spots of light on the ceiling and walls. The effect was amusing, or I’m easily entertained, but I sat there looking at my sunshine and prism ceiling lights until they were gone.

As suddenly and mysteriously as the morning was gone, the whole day was gone. It keeps happening. Time is flying by, it’s been 9.5 months without a job (or any hope of one) and I’m doing very little beside taking up space but I’m not bored yet. 

random thoughts – Day 2,215 (Friday) – yard labor on a nice day

The thrift store item rework continued, but on a small scale. The pink skirt had the waistband and zipper removed yesterday, and today the panels of the skirt were ironed to remove the creases from the box pleats. Instead of making a hip belt, today’s idea was to make a top with it and the pattern pieces were tested on the fabric. The pattern fits without issues and with a little fabric left over, but the working and thinking stopped there.

The next costuming challenge was working out the depth of tiers for a four tier 25-yard skirt. The objective was to see if there is enough fabric on hand or if more is needed.  There are options for the number of tiers which affects the yardage needed for each one (and the cutting involved). I think I found a way that doesn’t require additional fabric, but the process really made my head hurt.

Overgrown with questionable health.

The weather was warm and windows were opened to air out the house. It was too nice to be inside any longer. Gears were shifted and the role was changed from indoor domestic to yard laborer/shrub trimmer, this time in the front yard. The loppers were enlisted to help trim underneath the front hedges, rhododendrons and two other plants of unknown species. Two of the mystery plants, one at each end of the house, were really easy to clean up. The dead looking branches were rotted at ground level and came out with barely a touch, which didn’t seem like a good sign for the overall health of the plants. The plant at the far end of the house has some yellow buds (but not a lot) and I'm guessing it's forsythia.

The loppers were helpful in trimming the underside of the overgrown hedges. They hang over the width of the paved walk. The top and sides were trimmed last fall, but it wasn’t possible to cut them back as much as it needs. The fall trim revealed a lot of brown needles in the middle of one of them which is even worse now.

Reasonably sized hedge and
half-dead mystery plant (forsythia?).

Trimming the hedges from underneath involved sitting on the paved walk and peering under the shrubbery to see the dead stuff, the branches growing along the ground, and the specific branches encroaching on the walk. It was a great way to clear my head of all the math, think about something besides fabric yardage, and top off the air in my head.

Giant green hedge blobs are about as boring as a carpet of grass and I kept thinking I want to pull out both overgrown hedges and plant a mix of flowers. The hedge removal idea is a project much larger than I can handle myself and is at the bottom of the growing list of house chores.

random thoughts – Day 2,214 (Thursday) – deconstructing and reconstructing

On Wednesday, I picked up a few items in a thrift shop. I was looking specifically for items that could be converted into an element for a specific dance costume and generally for things that could be converted into various dance pieces like tops and hip belts. One of the items bought was a dark green velour skirt with an elastic waistband that I wanted to deconstruct and make into a choli top. Another is a pale pink and metallic pleated skirt that could be made into a dance hip belt.

Today, the plan was sewing, but most of the day was spent laundering, deconstructing, and ripping out stitching in preparation for cutting pieces and sewing. The waistband and zipper were removed from the pink skirt and the pleats were undone. The waistband from the green skirt was removed and the side seams undone. It took close to what felt like forever.

Started as a skirt.

The green skirt was a knit fabric with pressed in pleats and cut in an A-line design. It was hard to find the straight grain of the fabric, but after consulting a sewing book and some videos, I learned how to do it by stretching the fabric in various ways. The grain is important because it determines how the garment hangs. I've had countless tee shirts and blouses that go crooked and twist after the first wash, which is the result of the fabric not being cut on the straight grain. That is what I was trying to avoid in the remake. Ignoring the grain would result in the fabric hanging oddly and possibly stretching when worn. 

Once I got the grain business sorted out (which took forever), I laid out the pattern pieces for the same top I made a month ago. That’s when I discovered that cutting the top the correct way meant there wasn’t enough fabric for sleeves. I rarely wear sleeveless tops for a couple reasons, the biggest one being, no matter the season, I’m always cold. Even in the summer, I usually have to wear a sweater. Having a sleeveless dance top is about my last choice in tops, but maybe I can find some black mesh fabric for a contrast sleeve. 

Ended as a top.

When I finally sat at the machine, things went well up until the last step, which was finishing the armholes that were intended to hold sleeves. That’s when the machine suddenly went on strike and the stitching was messed up with skipped stitches. It was a hot mess. Swearing occurred. The machine was rethreaded. Knobs were turned. Fresh stitching was removed. Testing strips were stitched and knobs adjusted. Finally, after the fiddling, the final machine stitching was done. There are still threads to be tied off and trimmed, but that can wait until tomorrow. I’m pretty much over it for today. 

random thoughts – Day 2,213 (Wednesday) – sticks be gone

First load underway.

The stick pile that became a larger stick pile was transported to the neighborhood yard waste drop off area by the magic of a big red pickup truck. The helpful neighbor arrived with his truck and we got busy loading the big pile sticks and limbs into the truck bed. Luckily, he also brought over a chain saw and cur the longest limbs, which were too long for the truck. 

When the bed was filled with tree trash and barrels of smaller tree trash we drove down the street and emptied the load. Then we loaded it and emptied it again. And once more. The yard pile of undefined size measured out to be three truck loads, although the third trip had lots of leaves on top of the sticks. 

The chain saw was used to cut some of the fallen big limbs further back in the yard, and it will be needed again to deal with the three or four large and rotting stumps at the edge of the yard which are too heavy to lift. Someday, but not today.

The pile was cleared, the big
stumps remain for now.

The pile was gone for approximately five minutes. The sky was blue and the weather was nice, so I stayed out and kept harvesting dead branches. The barrel was filled again and a new pile of sticks and tree trash was started. It felt good to be moving and dragging and snapping dead limbs and seeing the progress in the yard.

While I was playing the latest edition of pick up sticks, the roofer guy arrived. We went over the color roof I like (Black) and my top two choices of siding color (Meadow Fern and Sage). Roofer guy climbed on the roof and checked some things out and measured some stuff. He took the roof samples back but left the siding chips in case there is a problem with availability and I need to choose another color. The next step is the pricing estimate, likely to be followed by a fainting spell or cardiac arrest. 

random thoughts – Day 2,212 (Tuesday) – weather mood swings

April 7, 2026, 7:09 am

Imagine my dismay when I woke this morning at 7:00 to a yard lightly dusted with snow. If you live in central Massachusetts, you might have had the same feeling and don’t need to imagine it at all because you also lived it. It wasn't the volume (which was light),  so much as the principle of it. It's April. It's supposed to be raining and mud season. 

It should not have been so surprising, because the majority of spring seasons of my life have been in New England. And even for many of the 12 years I lived in Tennessee it snowed in April. 

By 8:00, the snow had magically disappeared. Poof. Gone like it never even happened. And I was happier. Lighter. Carefree. 

April 7, 2026, 8:01 am.

At 9:00 there was another plot twist. It was snowing again all over again with a vengeance, and I was sad about April snow all over again. We were back in the magical snow globe world we lived under for months already. 

Somewhere around noon I noticed it had stopped snowing. I had been reading a book to take my mind off the weather and wasn't facing the window so it could have been hours earlier. By 1:00 the snow was all gone. Again. For now. I was afraid to be too happy about it based on the last couple of hours. I could no longer afford that level of emotional investment. The resulting mood swings were killing me.

April 7, 2026,  9:06 am.

I don’t dare to ask what weather might be next because we’ll probably find out and I already tempted fate once this week. After finishing the tree trash hauling on Monday, I boldly took the snow shovel from its winter station in the narrow space between the trash and recycle bins and the concrete back door landing and set it in the shed. 

At least I didn’t plant any flowers yet. I’ve learned my lesson and now I don’t invest a single cent on plant life to go into the ground until Memorial Day. It’s less expensive that way, in both financial and psychological terms.

random thoughts – Day 2,211 (Monday) – still hauling

The popular saying may be that “today is the first day of the rest of your life,” but for me, today is also the last day of the 10-day run of penicillin for the throat crud. Within 24 hours, the penicillin was working its magic and the swelling in the throat was reduced and I felt a million times better. Feeling so much improved made me understand the warning on the label about taking all of the prescription even if feeling better. It seemed like it could be an easy trap to fall into.

Bigger pile with bigger sticks.

The weirdest thing about taking the penicillin was when the pills started getting stuck in my throat. This did not happen when my throat was inflamed and swollen nearly shut. Nope. Instead, it has been happening for the past three or four days (three times a day!) when my throat is back to normal levels and I am feeling better than new. That's when I was suddenly choking on the stupid oval tablets and no amount of water seemed to help. How? Why? So weird. 

I was tempted to crush the tablet between two spoons and mix with sugar and water, just like Mummu used to do when giving me medicine when I was a kid. But I didn’t do that. I just made the three or four or ten attempts to swallow the giant pill thing stuck in my throat and chugged more water and wondered what it was all about.

This afternoon, there was more fresh air and yard work clean up. I moved a little deeper into the yard and dragged more stuff out. A lot of it was hidden under lots of leaves and what seemed like a reasonable branch would reveal itself to be as tall as I am as I dragged it out. The fallen wood is all very dry so it is easy to break things down to shorter lengths. The pile of sticks is larger and the sticks in the pile are larger. 

Big rock cleanup has begun.

What looked like a big rock in the back yard woods is actually a much larger rock that was half-buried in about three feet of drifted leaves. More cleanup is needed to fully reveal the splendor of the really big rock. I had envied some of the big front yard rocks I saw on walks and now that I have my own really big back yard rock and several lesser rocks I feel better. There are clusters of green shoots coming up through the leaves further back in the mess and I can't wait to see what flowers they are. My current best guess is daffodils.

The neighbor friend is going to help me transport the tree trash to the designated area on Wednesday. That means I still have time to keep hauling, and also to look up in the neighborhood guide what exactly can be brought there. 

It was a little chilly today and I didn't stay out long, but I will do more tomorrow. It's the spring yard clean up free workout in conjunction with the getting to know my yard tour. 

random thoughts – Day 2,210 (Sunday) – combo party and siding

Unlike the Easter Sundays of my youth, there was no fancy Easter outfit. No new patent leather shoes and tights. No new dress. No hat, gloves, and woven straw purse. There were also no hidden hard boiled, dyed eggs and candies and no solid chocolate bunny or cross. Adulting is boring.

Easter dinner.

I did have some new-ish blue, cream, and navy pants bought from a consignment shop at some point in the past eight months and they fit today. The pants coordinate with a sweater I’ve had forever and that is what won the day’s wardrobe lottery.

We gathered at my sister’s house for a combination Easter and middle niece’s birthday celebration, tucked into a pocket of time before the youngest niece had to slip out for work. The youngest niece works in hospitality and always seems to be scheduled with an oddball holiday shift that is piled upon with day-of requests to come in early or stay late to cover the duties of people who called out.

It was a nice visit with delicious food and good conversation. There was an early ham dinner followed by birthday cupcakes and strawberry shortcake and gorgeous lobster claw pastries which were a new treat for me.

On the way home I took a longer route to drive up one of the other streets in my neighborhood to look at the siding colors and if any houses have interesting combinations of siding. The contractor is coming Monday to collect the samples dropped off on Friday. There are four shades of green that are possibilities, with varying availability in clapboard, board and batten, and shingle styles. Of course, the color I like best is special order. Or maybe I like it best because it isn’t an in-stock item, thereby assigning it a higher status in my mind, which, despite years in marketing, is still susceptible to marketing tricks. I can’t tell at this point.

To help visualize the various siding styles I dove into AI with a photo of the front of the house. The request prompts were to remove the shutters (hate them, they are useless!), change the color to sage green, and then to apply the different siding styles. Some of the iterations changed the detail around the bay window and made it harder to evaluate.

New color contender, existing door color.

Heading into the exercise, I thought I liked board and batten best but the AI mockup shifted my thinking on it. In that regard, the exercise feels like a success and a good investment of 40 minutes. The combination of shingles at the peak and clapboard elsewhere may be the winning combination of textures and interest. 

I like the style of my front door, but it will likely need a new color because I’m not sure I want a red door (current color) with a green house. AI helped with door suggestions in wood stain, charcoal, and navy, but that is a decision for another day and after I see the siding in place.

The real priority is the roof, which zoomed to the top of the house repairs list with the leak in the kitchen cabinet a month or two ago. It's possible the roof is the original one from 1988/89. There are two roofing colors under consideration and no strong feelings for one over the other, at least until I see a cost estimate.

random thoughts – Day 2,209 (Saturday) – pickup sticks

My backyard is about 20% grass and 80% messy woods. Amongst years of fallen leaves are several broken trees and limbs and cut trees and large branches that were left where they fell after meeting the blade. Three or four rotting tree stumps edge the yard, along with chunks of the trees they once held. Last summer’s greenery blocked the view into the trees but winter revealed the broken trees and various piles of leaves and branches.

There is a designated area in the neighborhood where yard waste can be left. Last fall I wasn’t ready for yard work, but now I’m reasonably motivated to get it started. The weather was pleasant enough today (in the 50s) that the initial gathering of sticks, twigs, and branches began.

Dead and fallen limbs in the woods.

Gloves were put on. The big barrel and a study cardboard box were fetched from the shed. The edge of the yard was full of dried sticks and dried stems that had been mowed down in the fall and these were gathered, snapped smaller, and set in the box. The larger sticks, branches, and previously cut limbs started a few feet into the woods and the most manageable ones were carried or dragged to the edge of the lawn and set in a pile. The larger ones were put in the barrel. Dead branches were snipped from trees with the loppers and the massively overgrown rhododendron and set on the pile. 

After an hour, the wind had picked up and clouds were looking ambitious so I stopped. I had a pile of sticks in front of the cluster of rotting tree stumps, a cardboard box of sticks in the shed, and barrel full of larger sticks against the shed. There was also the satisfaction of having done something productive in the fresh air.

The start of pickup sticks season.

The helpful neighbor with the snow blower offered to help me transport the yard stuff in his pickup truck down to the yard waste drop off area. This will happen sometime next week, and in the meantime, I will keep dragging tree trash out of the woods. 

The plan for spring is to rake some of the leaves back several feet from the edge of the grass and from around the trees and rocks closest to the house. The objective is to expand the usable area of the yard, which currently feels claustrophobic and is barely wide enough for a couple lounge chairs. It’s fun to have goals.

random thoughts – Day 2,208 (Friday) – crown and chips

The delivery and installation of the crown was scheduled for 9:00 this morning, which meant getting up, showering, caffeinating, and being out the door around the time I’m usually barely out of bed still in pajamas and on the couch drinking coffee. The traffic was reasonable, and the dentist office was quiet.

This appointment was the rescheduling from the first crown that was supposed to be delivered (official dental term) a couple weeks ago. That visit involved two full hours of torture in the dental chair and in the end it didn’t fit correctly and had to be remade. Fortunately, today’s appointment went like it was supposed to and I was in the chair for about 15 minutes of minimal fuss. We were all relieved to be spared another dental horror show consuming a chunk of the day. 

The afternoon included a chat with a contractor that involved pointing at parts of the house for ideas on mixing siding textures and highlighting areas with vinyl cedar shake or board and batten and using regular horizontal siding on the sides and back. Of course, the dollars that appear in the estimate will dictate the final direction taken. 

We looked at the issues with the current siding (circa 1988/89). The saying may be that "vinyl is final," but "final" in this case seems to be only about 35 years. The current siding has areas of of buckling and has come away from the house in spots. There are places where reattachment was attempted with packing tape (now peeling off) and what looks like glue.

It took me about three seconds to spot two colors of siding I liked in the samples, but I've been thinking about it for months already and have a solid idea of what I like. The boards with little sample chips will be here hogging the kitchen counter until Monday, providing me ample time to change my mind 100 times

More pita chips.

After the meeting with the contractor I got busy in the kitchen making more pita chips to take to a couple events this weekend. Baking sheets of chips coated with olive oil and garlic salt and one of sea salt, and others with butter and cinnamon sugar were placed in the oven. The oven temp was set lower than the other day and the chips came out less dark. 

Now the challenge is to not eat all the pita chips before the events. The batch made on Wednesday was eaten by me within 24 hours. To pace my consumption, I filled up on a supper of lobster cake and roasted asparagus. 

random thoughts – Day 2,207 (Thursday) – game day

It was cold, cloudy, and raw with sporadic showers and even snow flurries. This made it the perfect day for a one-hour webinar on estate planning I had signed up for a week ago. It certainly didn’t feel like I was missing out on any nice weather activities while at the desk. The webinar featured three talking heads from a bank wealth management group.

Scrawling notes.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best presentation I’ve ever witnessed, but to its credit it also wasn't the worst. There was a decent amount of helpful information and not a single slide featuring a graphic or bullet list. Just three heads against a corporate logo Zoom background, talking in rotation in a manner that suggested they either forgot to practice their sections or it was their first time presenting. Then there was me, cramping my hand scribbling notes like there would be an exam because I don't retain info just hearing it while sitting passively. If this was an actual exam situation, there would be a follow up with much color coded highlighting, so at least I’m spared that. 

Presentations I’ve seen on all manner of topics had a few slides displaying key points which were shared after the event and greatly minimized the need for note taking. And to think I declined a lunch invitation from Mom and Sis because I was registered for the webinar and encouraged them to go off to lunch without me. I could have been in a restaurant instead of scrawling notes. 

Playing Yahtzee.

After they returned from lunch, Sis called to tell me they were about to play Yahtzee next door at Mom's and I was out the door and walking across the damp lawn to join. 

We played three games of Yahtzee with Mom’s vintage Yahtzee cup and dice. The dice led each of us to a win and Mom and I each had a game with two Yahtzees. I made a dumb mistake that led to a really crappy score in my worst game. Before we knew it, a couple hours had passed on a cold, damp day. It was perfect.

random thoughts – Day 2,206 (Wednesday) – market treasures

A couple weeks ago, friends and I went to a belly dance show and I got to try Turkish Delight. Ever since, I have been collecting Turkish Delight items in my A-Z shopping cart, and particularly the flavor my friend said she liked.

Online searches for local sellers of Turkish Delight weren’t super fruitful, but I stuck gold recently with another search term. “Mediterranean market near me” produced a list of locations which were mostly in Worcester and what I expected. But in the list was a new surprise entrant with Yaya Mediterranean Halal Market in Fitchburg. Through their Facebook page, I sent a message and received a response that they had what I was looking for.

I hit the road for a quick drive with a box of rose flavor Turkish Delight envisioned at the end of the journey. The front of the building is an unassuming brown brick wall of boredom but a sign on the side of the building at the parking area confirmed it was the correct place. Across the threshold was not only Turkish Delight, but a world of delights.

Treasures from Yaya's.

The bright and tidy shop had shelves loaded with colorful packaging and hundreds of products. There were grains and lentils, sweets, tea, coffee, canned goods, fresh pita bread, snacks, frozen foods, coffee sets, cookware and a very nice shopkeeper. She offered me coffee and poured it into a beautiful small cup. It was dark, rich, and delicious and I ended up buying a bag.

In addition to the target item of a gift box of rose flavor Turkish Delight, I got a second box of rose flavor and a box of pistachio flavor, toasted chickpea snacks, cans of hummus and baba ghanoush, two bags of the largest pita breads I’ve ever seen, and Turkish coffee. I can’t wait to go back. The next visit, I will be armed with a shopping list.

Once home, I opened the can of baba ghanoush, cut up a giant pita, and halved some grape tomatoes for lunch. Eating the lunchtime snack gave me a chance to wonder what I would do with enough giant pita bread for an army. Recipes for pita chips were reviewed. 

Freshly baked pita chips.

After checking a couple sources for time and oven temperature guidance, olive oil, garlic salt, sea salt, were lined up on the counter. Pita bread was halved and sliced and brushed with oil and several cooking sheets of it were baked. 

The pita was very thin and it turned out five minutes was too long, but four minutes was better, but chips cooked at both times came out delicious. There is still a lot of pita left for additional chip making sessions. The next time I’ll use a lower oven temperature and experiment with some more seasonings.