rhymes with spoon

Apparently, it's been brought to my attention that I:

Sara: At age 54 you will die from wounds delivered by a blender after trying to make your sixteenth magarita of the day. (And it's on 3:00pm, shame on you!)

Or at least, so says the Amazing Death Predictor. I was not satisfied with the first result so I kept repeating my answer and you know what? All subsequent predictions involved booze related deaths or food related deaths, and in a few rare instances revolutionary movements on other countries or planets. I will not comment further.

(More links posted, for my convenience and yours...)

Ever wonder how to make?
*a pleated clutch

*a pinecone porcupine

*softie scotty dog

*crazy nine patch quilt block

*increases and decreases in Fair Isle knitting

*small two tone cosmetic bag

*origami balloon

lantern light garland

Ok folks, proof positive that craft swaps totally rule. I didn't get to do nearly as much crafting and such done over this busy weekend...in the alternative, I did actually get some schoolwork done for once. But yesterday after a very long, long, long day at school, I decided that I needed some instant gratification crafting. I picked up some Christmas lights (and other goodies*) on the way home and dug up the lovely package of origami paper that I got in my craft swap with Rebecca and got to work. I'd seen something like this before but was reminded of it again in a craft magazine I got from (you guessed it) another craft swap! I know the pictures kinda suck (and my origami skills are a teensy bit rusty) but it's really hard to get a good picture of it lit up with a little point and shoot digital camera, but trust me, I love how it looks...I just need to figure out a more attractive way to keep it hanging. (Right now it's being held up with some unsightly clear packing tape...instant gratification folks.) And after a long day at school, it's really cheered me up to come home, plug it in, and enjoy the soft lighting while I rush through dinner. Though I'm not much for Christmas decorations, something about white Christmas lights makes me very happy.

a close-up

See? The paper's so pretty! Cherry blossoms, maple leaves, and other Japanese inspired prints. Speaking of Japanese maples, you should check out some amazing autumn pictures from Japan here. (The colors just blew me away!)

* Among the other goodies, I picked up was the Pride and Prejudice DVD at Target for $5.95! I read a lot of Jane Austen novels in middle school and high school and really loved this version when I watched this last winter with my mom and sister. I was actually looking for March of the Penguins (also on sale), but they were all out. And then I remembered what a hottie Matthew Macfayden is. ;-)

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. Mine was relatively uneventful but long, largely due to the fact that my day started at 5 AM. Yes, that's right 5 AM, after a brief, restless night of sleep due to the foot tramplings of my upstairs neighbor between 2 and 3 AM. (The next time covet a hardwood floor apartment, I'll need to remember how many times I've been irritated by the loud hoofings of my obnoxious neighbor.) Anyway, it was for a good cause; my friend and I volunteered through the local meals on wheels program to deliver Thanksgiving meals. It was a really nice way to start off the holidays and I was super impressed (and touched) to see how many volunteers packed the gymnasium by 7 AM with kids/entire familys in tow. I'm not sure how upbeat I would've been as a five year old if my parents dragged me out of bed at 5 AM to wait in a 2 hour line to volunteer (you see, I wasn't even a morning person way back then)...the kids were surprisingly chipper and very well behaved. Strange how you can get kids to queue up at 5 AM without screaming and hollering, but you can't get them to do get through a shopping mall or grocery store at 4 PM without throwing a fit? I guess these are one of the many mysteries I will have to work through if I ever have children.

Anyway, we were done with our route by 10:00 AM, I picked up some coffee on the way home, and headed home to what I thought would be a nap in front of the couch while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Instead, I ended up catching up with friends and family and baking bread and before I knew it, I had to head over to my friend's place for our Thanksgiving meal. Fortunately, my only major responsibility was turkey carving, which I proved to be fairly adept at after careful study of numerous foodnetwork specials in the past month. Later we went to see Stranger than Fiction. Highly recommend the movie...it was serious, funny, and heartwarming all at the same time.

Made for a thoughtful drive home, especially in light of all the shit that's been raining down on my life as of late. I've been feeling much better the past few days but the past three years I've been working my way out of an emotional deficit that seems to keep ballooning no matter how much better I get at the damage control. Things I do have not have trouble admitting: a) I'm generally a pessimist and b) my emotional compass tends toward the melancholy. Frankly, I've been that way as long as I can remember, but if that's also how the people in your life get to know you and that's the way they get to see you (much of the time), in spite of brief moments of happiness, you end up with a sort of "boy who cried wolf" scenario. So when you do finally hit a wall, your breakdown is severe, genuine, and backbreaking, they write it off as "Oh well, Sara's just having another bad day." It's devastating really. As a friend recently shared with me, when you hit a certain level of emotional deterioration, you get real tired of "people telling me to cheer up (not helpful), that i'd be so much stronger eventually (thanks, guys), and that in a year or two i'd be ok (like i could see that far)."

I am, perhaps, being unfair (and ungrateful, especially on this holiday weekend) to some of my friends who have tried (in their own way) to hear me out through the utter chaos of the past two months. It is, afterall, quite selfish to think that any of my friends, after a long day at work or school, would want to sit down as I mentally try to pick up the pieces of my life and cobble them back together again. That is why, afterall, so many people spend exorbitant amounts of money on therapy? And so, I've come to learn that my problems and demons are my own and only I can face them and (hopefully) conquer them. I can't ask my friends to fix things, make life materially better, or walk me through all of life's mishaps. Friendship's not about the big things, but the million little things, the pleasantries, the distractions that strangers or acquaintances don't bother with.

So, for the friends who take the time to:
send kind notes,
send packages with little things you know I'd love,
call to see how I'm doing (how I'm REALLY doing),
call just to share your culinary triumphs (because you know how important those are),
ask good questions,
share the joys of your life,
keep me grounded,
make me laugh, and
believe in me...
for you (and you know who you are) I am so very thankful.

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." ~Marcel Proust

In three words: My life sucks. OR I hate school.

But I will not dwell on the negatives, at least not in this forum. Here's more survey fodder, this time from the ever so funny Carolyn who has got to have the best URL of anyone I know.

You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.

No.
Explanations.

1. Yourself: procrastinator
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): Jeff
3. Your hair: black
4. Your mother: renaissance.
5. Your father: laidback
6. Your favorite item: ipod
7. Your dream last night: stressful
8. Your favorite drink: coffee
9. Your dream car: subaru
10. The room you are in: living
11. Your ex: codependent
12. Your fear: indecision
13. What you want to be in 10 years? happy
14. Who you hung out with last night? erica
16. Muffins: carrot
17. One of your wish list items: sleep
18. Time: in-short-supply
19. The last thing you did: eat
20. What you are wearing: cotton
21. Your favorite weather: autumn
22. Your favorite book: howtocookeverything
23. The last thing you ate: greencury
24. Your life: messy
25. Your mood: anxious
26. Your best friend: jess
27. What are you thinking about right now? finals
28. Your car: AWD
29. What are you doing at the moment? work
30. Your summer: 2short
31. Your relationship status: excellent
32. What is on your TV? foodnetwork
33. What is the weather like? asscold
34. When is the last time you laughed? awhileago

night sky, courtesy of Mari Shimizu

I've been listening to a lot of music lately. Unlike some people who like to listen to happy songs to cheer them up when they're sad, I prefer the songs of jilted lovers, betrayal, departed friends, and faded memories. And so I present to you my current sad song favorites:

Blue Songs for Blue People
1. Over my Head—The Fray
2. A Century of Fakers—Belle and Sebastian
3. Random Rules—Silver Jews
4. Modern World—Wolf Parade
5. Such Great Heights—Iron and Wine
6. South Tacoma Way—Neko Case
7. Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone—The Walkmen
8. At My Window Sad and Lonely—Billy Bragg & Wilco
9. Minneapolis—Lucinda Williams
10. Wake Up Exhausted—Tegan and Sara
11. We Both Go Down Together—The Decemberists
12. The Fall of the World’s Own Optimist—Aimee Mann
13. Trouble—Ray LaMontagne
14. Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)—Ray Charles
15. Miss Misery—Elliott Smith
16. Nothing in This World Can Stop Me Worry’ Bout that Girl—The Kinks
17. How to Save a Life—The Fray
18. Lost Cause—Beck
19. Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying—Belle and Sebastian
20. The Good Life—Weezer
21. A Murder of One—Counting Crows

Since it's all loaded up on my iTunes, I'm happy to send anyone a copy.

fabric basket and elephant pouch from Crafter's Companion

Thanks to all who've been sympathetic of my school-related drama. I don't want to exaggerate but those of you who know all the gory details know that it's probably one of the toughest challenges to come my way in a long, long time. Anyway, now that it's reared its ugly head again this week, I've discovered that I have lot of unresolved anger and frustration that don't have lots of outlets. I felt like hell yesterday so I skipped pilates, stayed home, turned up the ipod, and crafted to my heart's content. Add to that a long, thoughtful (albeit repetitive) conversation with Jeff last night and a solid 8 hours of sleep, and I feel a lot better and ready to tackle the world again. Which is a good thing really b/c despite all my best efforts to avoid the aforementioned "bitch", my attendance at a mandatory meeting today means our contact is inevitable.

Anyway, how about some positives? This week I decided to have a go at two projects from the Crafter's Companion--the fabric basket and the elephant coin pouch. The elephant coin pouch I made on Sunday actually but didn't get a chance to post a picture of it til now. The fabric basket was worked on over the course of a couple days. It may be hard to see in the picture but the basket is lined with a cute puppy fabric in one of my favorite shades of green. I have tons of pink canvas laying around so I used that (and a crapload of pellon) for the outer part. The emboidered doggy was a last minute addition but I'm quite pleased to see the way it turned out. Now it's holding all my quilting stuff and perfect for moving things back and forth b/t my work desk, the ironing board, and my dining room table (which currently doubles as my "cutting table").

Now I must catch up on some reading! Thank goodness it's almost Friday!

Ladder to the sky: Acoma Indian Reservation, New Mexico (Summer '05)

Ok, now that I've gotten some much needed angst off my chest, how about a return to civility?

1. FIRST NAME?
Sara

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Yeah, the biblical Sarah (wife of Abraham) and there's a long story behind that.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
More recently than I care to admit. (This however, is not normal and this too will pass).

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I used to but I found that with all the typing I've done in law school it's really suffered. I need to write more nice cards and letters to people.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT?
Sopressata? Honey Ham. Proscuitto.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Yeah.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?
I tend to only keep journals while traveling. My mom used to read my journals when I was a kid so I've been a bit paranoid ever since about writing really personal things down on paper. Plus you know that's the kind of shit that's bound to turn up in my confirmation hearing. ;0)

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes, but I lack an appendix and about seven teeth.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No way. I can't deal with heights.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Life, Rice Chex.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Nope. If it's the kind of shoe where you have to, I won't buy it.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Physically? Emotionally? I dunno...I'd have to say on both fronts it's a work in progress.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Coffee oreo.

14. SHOE SIZE?
7

15. RED OR PINK?
Pink

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My propensity to plan things out like five to ten years in advance and the subsequent disappointment I feel when things don't go according to plan.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Dead or alive? I miss my parents and Jeff all the time. I also miss my grandmother; she died years ago but she was a very important and influential person in my childhood and I know she would've been very happy to see how me and all my sibs turned out. She was always one of my biggest cheerleaders.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Yeah.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Blue and pink (in that order). No shoes b/c I'm chilling out at home. I generally dislike the constraints of shoes and socks but flip flop weather won't be back in MN for at least another six months.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE?
tequila lime chicken and veggies.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
clocks ticking, my upstairs neighbor but prior to that NPR and some old CDs.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Chartreuse.

23. FAVORITE SMELL?
The smell of garlic and onions cooking or the smell of bread baking.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Jeff. He's about the only person I talk to every day.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO?
That they like avocado.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from?
Sure, otherwise I wouldn't have stolen it.

Warning: Though "rhymes with spoon" tends to maintain some level of civility, that is in short supply at the moment, so excuse me while I proceed to curse like a sailor for a bit. . . .

I'm tired. Tired of all the dumb shit in my life and frankly, I'm also to the point where I'm tired of being tired. This is a sign to me that finals are just a few weeks away, although no other year can even compare to the bullshit I've dealt with this semester. It's been a long time since someone's so royally pissed me off that I've actually contemplated punching them in the face, but now it's happened. My wrath has been incurred, albeit with no good outlet. I don't like to think of myself as a vengeful person but I cannot help but think how much better off the world would be if this person would just get hit by a bus. (I take comfort in the fact of knowing that I'm not the only person at school who feels this way). Unfortunately, this bitch has me backed into a corner and so in the meantime, I will just have to live vicariously through other people who get to fuck someone up.

Nigella Lawson's sake salmon with rice
and mushroom timer by cram cream

Lately, I've been obsessed with cooking with booze. Penna alla vodka, sake salmon, bourbon baby back ribs, and soon tequila chicken. The sake salmon was tasty although I think I'd probably up the soy sauce and cut back on the worchestire sauce. I would also recommend paying attention. I was going for that perfect medium rare salmon, looked away for just a minute, and got medium. Ahh well...I think I used up all my salmon mojo last week when I roasted one with lemon and chives. That one turned out perfectly.

Anyway, many thanks to the folks who remembered my birthday and called, commented, or emailed with birthday wishes. Birthday's seems to get less interesting as the years move along. The first half of my birthday was decidedly disappointing. I went to school to work on a group project and to catch up on loads of reading. I guess I was spoiled in college because I had lots of friends nearby who always threw awesome birthday parties. In lieu of party, I went out with friends to the Melting Pot for dinner and later to Brit's Pub. The food was pretty good but definitely overpriced. I ended up shelling out $75 myself. (And there's some dispute amongst my non-law-school-friends whether I should've had to pay for my own dinner. I won't lie, I was a tad bit disappointed). I think I will reserve future visits to the Melting Pot for dessert only.

Otherwise, the weekend was reading, crafting, and loads of homework. My attempt to see Stranger than Fiction was thwarted by Minneapolis's unusually retarded traffic patterns. My friends and I allocated 40 minutes to get to a theater five miles away and we didn't make it. I will have to try again . . . .

So the good part of my weekend, the crafting:

Eeyore stands in to model

After the movie plan fell through I stayed home to catch up on NPR podcasts and to work on a patchwork scarf (from Denyse Schmidt's Quilt book)...they've been predicting snow here for three days now. There's no denying that winter's here to stay so I casted aside other projects for the more pressing concerns of staying warm. it's hard to see the details in the pictures:

scarf unfurled

but most of the scarf was made from old wool skirts I thrifted. The pink side is a soft ribbed fleece that I picked up from a remnant bin this afternoon at Mill End Textiles. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. It has good coverage and the thick wooly suiting material will probably block out a good deal of cold and wind but the pink fleece won't irritate my neck. The scarf was put together using the foundation piecing method...my first go at that method of quilting. Kinda liberating actually because it's totally free-form so it was like putting together a puzzle as you were cutting out the pieces. The next project on the chopping block (it will have to wait until at least next weekend) is a pillow-case and bag from some sponge-bob-square-pants flannel I also picked up at Mill End.

Hope everyone had a good weekend! My textbooks are calling....

Baby Bobbi Bear chills out with recent craft book purchases

I knit this little cutie several weeks ago but never bothered to post a picture til now. If you have not knit with Blue Sky Alpacas, you have missed out on a truely awesome knitting experience...it is one of the yummiest yarns I've ever knit. And btw, both craft books are excellent additions to the library. Full of lots of great pictures and inspiration.

Ok, product plugs aside, I took a much needed break from schoolwork and drove out to the suburbs to check out a highly regarded thrift store. The adventure resulted in a bunch of fairly good finds, in particular a snowflake pyrex dish very similar to the ones pictured here. My only complaint is that the place was not exactly cheap (but I was warned)...e.g. three small spools of thread at $1.45. Sometimes I can get that new at Joanns if there's a sale.

Anyway, this week has just sucked. Really sucked...but I have found small comfort in the evenings putting in a some time on this little beauty:

finally! it's off the cutting table

After several weeks of fabric hording and an hour of cutting here and there, I finally got all the pieces ready and laid out. This project's probably on hold though til next semester. I might have a little time here and there but I just realized that finals are less ONE month away! EEEEEEKKKKKKK!! i.e. Time to stop slacking and time to do some serious studying. Seriously.

Finally, a quick happy birthday to myself. Today I am 27, definitely making me closer to 30 than 20. I'm going out for fondue and drinks with a couple of friends tonight and am hoping that that will make up for a really crummy week at school.

Happy Friday y'all!

my swap bag of goodies finally finds a home!

Bag specs:
I made the bag following a Japanese pattern. (Picture of the original here.) Fabric was from a large panel I picked up on super duper clearance at Urban Outfitters years ago. In a former life, it served as a cover for my futon but it got a big hole in the center a few moves back and it needed a second life. Seemed like perfect bag material so I ran with it. Handles are real leather. Supplies from Tandy Leather Factory; some serious hammering involved in the putting the rivets through the leather and attaching it to the bag. Since I live in an apartment and wanted to maintain civil relations with my neighbors, some of the hammering was done in the street. (Yes, the street...I must've looked quite crazy!) You can see pictures of all the goodies I sent along to Rebecca here. Rebecca seems quite happy with all the stuff I sent along so I think this was successful swap. It's really nice to find people who enjoy hand-made goodies!

My boy Jeff was in town for the weekend and we had a blast. We both needed it...his assessments of our visits are always far deeper and more profound than mine, but suffice to say his visit reminded me of all the reasons why we're still together...in spite of distance, poor cell phone plans (ok that's just me), expensive plane tickets, and the general stress of life. I think the key thing was keeping it very low-key...in the past our weekends together have been a whirlwind of activity that often created more stress than it relieved. I still think that we managed to cram in a lot, checking out:

Body Worlds at the Science Museum of Minnesota--the most alarming part of the exhibit was not the bodies themselves but rather the number of people who had small children in tow (talk about traumatizing!)

Psycho Suzie's Motor Lounge--Jeff had a little too much to drink but fortunately I was driving

Mickey's Diner--a historic diner in St. Paul; the potatoes o'brian are a must!

a bunch of the outer suburbs--Jeff and I caught a nice sunset driving around one of Minnesota's many lakes

kiddie places full of child like wonder--Jeff and I went to a couple of neat shops to indulge in some "kid's stuff" and hang out with Japanese roosters; Robot Love (a Japanese goodie store) and Wild Rumpus (the best children's bookstore in the Twin Cities)

A few people have asked me recently where on earth I find all this time to craft, being a law student and all? Well, first I should say that I'm not the world's best law student. I'd prefer planning a new project to reading evidence any day of the weekend. Second, it keeps me sane...this is probably the most important thing. I sit around reading mountains of books day in and day out and the only thing I "create" are long (and boring) papers full of (boring) legal reasoning. So it's tremendously satisfying to put all that aside for a bit to create something that's truly useful for myself (bags, quilts, toys) or (even better) for others! I figure it's a better form of stress relief than most law students rely on--i.e. smoking and drinking--b/c it's better for my health and b/c it makes myself and others happy. Finally, crafting was a big part of my life pre-law school and something that I've fiercely to clung in the past three years. Law school does a lot to chip away at your character, your spirit, and your dignity and finding time for knitting, sewing, and cooking have helped me to stay (as close as possible) "true" to myself. Frankly, I liked who I was "before" law school and I'd like to the same when they finally let me outta here! ;0)

Here are links to things that people have asked about or just stuff that I found interesting:

Recipes:
Pasta with butternut squash and sausage--this is the recipe I used last week for my dinner party (tastey and easy!)
Dark chocolate martinis--Really? Need I say more??

Places to get some really cool fabric:
Crafty Planet--a very cool local hipster craft store
Superbuzzy--excellent sources for Japanese fabrics and notions
Reprot Depot--lots of cool retro/vintage fabrics and notions

Crafty goodness:
Nifty pattern for a suede skirt--courtesy of Martha Stewart/Blueprint
Kansashi tutorial--make your own beautiful Japanese fabric flowers
How to sew a zipper on a pouch--An excellent tutorial by Anna

Sources of inspiration:
Denyse Schmidt--amazing quilts. The quilt I'm working on now is from one of her books.
Amy Butler--great fabrics and colors
My Little Mochi--very cute crafty goodness
Crafter's Companion--just got this in the mail this week. If you don't have one, get one! It's chock full of beautiful crafts, beautiful layout, and beautiful writing.

TGIF! Hope everyone has a great weekend!