More Projects

Thanks to my excellently patient teacher/friend Anne, I am learning to knit. Here's the first little tidbit.



This is the cabinet I bought from little Grandma Ruben's Thrift Store. It is being primed in my magical workshop (townhouse garage) with the unstable chair that is actually much more stable now. I monkey glued it and tied a rope around it until it dried.

A Trip

Flew from the great state of Alabama to Missouri this past weekend. One of my flights was delayed for an overhead bin repair. The overhead bin was fine until a passenger stuffed it too full and slammed the latch...oops. I giggled to myself a little bit after I heard the disgruntled temper tantrum and moments later heard the captain announcing the need for the repair of an overhead bin and clearance for take off.

I got seated next to "a talker" on one of the flights. I just wonder sometimes if others plan for a good conversation with a stranger like I plan on getting into a good book during a flight. Knowing the airport involves a lot of waiting, I generally plan things for me to do independently to keep myself busy. This man that wanted to talk to me literally acted as if he had planned for a conversation, regardless of who sat next to him. He brought no materials. He sat there for 5 minutes tops, plane hadn't even taken off yet and started talking to me. What you have to understand is that I was not even facing him, avoiding eye contact in fact. I had my nose in a book the moment I sat my things down. My favorite part of all of this was that I got to see a picture of a "real live tornado" on his cell phone. Neat.

Lastly, relating to this experience, I should tell you about the june bug that dive bombed me. June bugs are probably the creepiest bugs of all time. They are crunchy and hard-bodied and they make that terrible sound with their putrid little wings. I made my way to the exit of the airport parking lot on the way home to pay and rolled down my window. The woman behind the counter had a TV show softly sounding off in the background and was sucking on a mint like she hadn't had a full meal in days. She was so inattentive to me that when the june bug came full speed through the open window into my lap, she continued to stare into space. I was looking around like, "Did this really just happen? Is anyone else seeing this?" Nope. Not a soul. I quickly plucked the bug up into my fingers and threw it back out. All this without the woman in the window less than two feet from me witnessing it. How I managed not to scream is beyond me. EW, EW, EW, EW.

Paint and Re-cover

Meet my sad little chair. It is a project that shouldn't take very long to complete. I will post the finished product.

A Few Thoughts

Hey there. Forgot to tell you that I went to the doctor and forgot to wear deodorant. Deodorant is one of those words that I have to look up the spelling every time I write it. There are a handful of others I always seem to be looking up. Anyway, went to the doctor and realized I wasn't wearing any deodorant part way through the exam. I panicked a little, felt uncomfortable, and then stopped caring. Maybe she thought one of two things...I'm a naturalist or I have poor hygiene. Thank goodness for travel size commodities (had a mini stick in my purse). I can't get through the day without a fresh coat of antiperspirant.

On a less personal note, I am working on a project. I take that back...I am working on a couple of projects. I need to get some before and after pictures on here of these furniture pieces that I am refinishing. They are thrift store finds, a chair and a bookshelf. Also, I signed up today for a sewing a class. I will be making a throw pillow, and you bet I will be showing you the finished result.

Other goals for the summer: learn spanish, learn to knit, regularly attend yoga and spinning classes, get involved in my church, create the perfect chilled green tea concoction, master the grill, take some awesome trips with my husband, figure out what to do with the rest of my life. That is all. For now.

Bought a chair at the Christian Mission for five dollars. I would say it's worth all of five dollars, but it isn't. It's worth more like two. When I was trying to decide to buy it or not, an elderly lady watching me commented, "Just don't let any old people sit in that". I probably shouldn't let anyone sit in it. I felt like I could give it stability. I have no idea how to fix things. Guess I thought by the time I got it home I would have it figured it out. Maybe some wood glue. I did manange to take apart the seat cushion because it needs recovering. What I found: moth ball scent and a vinyl Winnie the Pooh something or other for cushioning. It's going to be a first class chair.

I made meatballs, twice baked potatoes and steamed vegetables for dinner. What I know how to cook, I can cook well, but I'm still not to that point where I can just whip something together with some random ingredients and without a recipe. I also cannot seem to come up with meals that go together. See above for reference. Several things are always sounding appetizing. Meatballs are really a side dish. I know that. But if I want meatballs, you can bet I am going to make it into a meal. I try to put other things with it to make it seem more meal-like, but meal-like and meal are not the same. That's as crazy as I get people. Stepping out of the box to make side dishes as main courses.

I go to the lady doctor tomorrow. Awkward. I hope it is someone who listens well. That's a total pet peeve of mine. Someone who stares down at their clipboard, asks several questions without looking up, cuts you off when you are answering, and gives you a prescription for something you don't need. No thank you. I will be sure to record the experience.

Yoga and a Pineapple

Two major events yesterday: yoga with the most difficult instructor on post and a pineapple purchase at the grocery store. You know, I love fresh pineapple but never bothered to purchase one because I had no idea how to cut the thing up. Well, yesterday I got brave because I have a little more time on my hands these days. I am still uncertain of how to choose one that is ripe (I intend to look up this tidbit of information). My plan was just to select one that looked intact and dry. The bottom of the pile had been moisture soaked and looked too mushy for my taste. It takes me a little while to select anything at the grocery store. To me, fruits and vegetables are expensive. I want the best taste for my dollar. I don't know who these fools are that just walk right up, toss some stuff in their plastic bag without looking, and move on. I do know that they are invading my space and distracting me by reaching over my selection pile without even so much as an "Excuse me". Everytime this happens, I wish them a silent hex of a bruise spot or a piece of flavorless produce. You must know what I am talking about, though. Those people that are hell on wheels with a shopping cart. They'll run you over without even knowing what's happened. These people, I imagine, would "throw bows" to get down the aisles in record time. Personal space is no issue because it's like they don't even see the other shoppers. Anyway, I prefer to take my time, select what I think is best, and move on...no matter how many times I am interrupted by one of these grocery shopping heathens.

Once I had the pineapple selected, I strolled away, proud that I had dared to take on the challenge of slicing and dicing that armored exterior. After several more aisles of elbow nudging and budging (I don't practice these acts, I am, of course, referring to others), I was free. Groceries inside, cool stuff unloaded and put away first like mom taught me, I was ready to tackle it. That pineapple stared me down, daring me to take it to the cutting board. Moving closer to it, I noticed an amazing thing that a more observant person may have discovered at the store. All brands may not be alike, but this glorious pineapple had a valuable piece of information zip tied to its crown, if you will. Crown, being the correct terminology, came from the oh-so-infomative tag dangling by the plastic tie. Step by step, there it was. Just like that, I had the key to successful pineapple butchering right there on the pineapple all along!

Now with the later challenge, yoga, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. This woman that teaches is from planet flexible and seems oblivious to the fact that others are not. She contorts herself into a pretzel and then looks out at the class like "Come on guys, let's all do it". If only it were that easy. I go because I want to get better. Oh, and also because once when I commented that her class was difficult she replied, "Yeah, it's not for begginers". To me, she might as well have said, "You need to go somewhere else because you're not as advanced". Well, ha, yeah right, I am of course showing up for your class now, and I will get better to spite you. Even though, logically the only one I am hurting is myself (I mean literally, physically experiencing discomfort). At least I know I am not the only one. Last night I was across from two girls that appeared to have never experienced this instructor before. Maybe never even experienced yoga. I looked over at them from time to time, when they dropped their arms from a pose, sighed a loud defeated sigh, and collapsed into child's pose for the remaining sets of a series. I have come to find that my favorite poses are cat, cow, and child's pose...the poses that cause the least amount of physical pain.

I guess I keep going because the physical demand of it is a distraction. Also, the emphasis placed on breathing gives you little time to think about anything else. A break from my thoughts, from my brain's rapid fire approach to any and all situations, is nice. My favorite part, one of the other main reasons I attend with this instructor, is her relaxation period at the end. She basically guides us through meditation where "all of our worries and stresses of the day are to be let go". Systematically she commands us to relax each part of bodies and sink deeper and deeper into the mat. I like the key phrases like "Feel each breath massage your heart". I am thinking to myself at this point, "I know this is not possible, but I will allow myself to imagine this breath coming in with tiny fingers and working on my heart muscle, how delightfully ridiculous".

At the end of the day, I know I have not moved mountains or done anything miraculous. It is the sheer act of enjoying each moment and finding humor in it that is the accomplishment. Oh, and I am writing again. Feels good to be back.