very simple

we are living in interesting if…isolating…times. I’m relatively lucky in that I have a job that I can do from home (and that there’s still a job to do!) and that I don’t have to worry about how to suddenly home school several kids on top of trying to keep just myself alive. Right now my biggest issue day-to-day is that my cat is clearly annoyed with the fact that I am home ALL THE TIME. That and finding things to do while stuck at home during non-work hours that don’t involve getting sucked into hours of twitter nonsense or, well, eating. I like to sew, and I do needlepoint, but anything that complicated was overwhelming my pandemic-fried brain, so early on, when masks were in short supply, I decided to take some old scarves and some pillowcases and make my own face masks. It worked pretty well except that in the longer run, the scarf fabric was a bit too fragile to hold together after a multitude of washings and they started to fray. I still have a bunch, but they’re not gonna last for the long-haul that we’re now looking at. Plus, I was still bored. So I went searching online for fabric, and I discovered that I could get fun squares of cotton fabric for quilting that were the exact right size that I needed, and I made some more. I started out using the instructions in this youtube video, but after a while I started finding ways to make them a bit less raw-edged and fitted. Anyway, I thought it might be useful to post how I make them in case anyone else is bored out of their minds and wants to give it a try (or use that youtube video – it’s really useful for starting out!)

click on the thumbnails to find specific explanations.

Sometimes you wander around the local Sunday flea market and find some really great jewelry or a fantastic vintage cigarette case.

And sometimes the local serial killer clown decides to rent a booth in order to sell off some of his clutter.

Just playing around with taking closeups of stuff on the table at Thanksgiving dinner.

closeup detail of a random window grate in my neighborhood.

I just really liked the angles and shadows on this building/sign.

no particular reason for this photo other than the fact that I really like these signs.

Union square. These days, I think maybe we all need one of these.

more cats and coffee. of course. and a few other miscellaneous things. but mostly cats and coffee.

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Today is officially the last day of my winter vacation. Sure, there’s still the weekend, but I (almost) always get the weekend off, so it doesn’t really feel like it counts in the same way. This last day of leisure coincided quite well with this year’s giant snowstorm. I refuse to call it Hercules, because naming snowstorms is stupid. My week-and-a-half off consisted of cleaning out my closets, long-scheduled doctor’s appointments, discovering that my fridge died (with the consequent throwing out all my food, spending an entire day waiting for the repair guy, and buying all new food), and finding out that our family’s beloved jack russell terrier, Ollie, passed away.

But I got to sleep late, so that’s…something. In any event, common sense lost the battle this morning and I headed over to central park and bethesda fountain for some picture taking. I don’t know if I was too early or too late (or the kids had more common sense than me), but there was a distinct lack of sledding kids compared to years past. I’m still working the chill out of my face and hands.

missed a few days, but trying to catch up. a lot going on in real life.