Mrs. Lovett Contruction

This post is mainly for a girl named Sarah who asked about my costume and how it was made and I can't actually tell her because facebook is being a baby and not letting me send messages due to some other bug or glitch. I'm sure it'll work tomorrow. *grump * So, if you have an intense wondering about my costuming methods or my insanity level (if you think I'm insane by reading this, do not even ASK about my ghost costume last year....), read on... if you don't care, read something else. Enjoy! : )

I used the following patterns:

Simplicity 9769 - for bloomers & corset

Butterick B3418 - most basic skirt pattern for skirt

I bought the following:

• Lace mitts from Hot Topic ~$6
• Purple and Pink vertically striped knee socks from Target - ~$6
• Black sheer 3/4 length sleeve shirt - Ross Dress-4-Less ~$10
• 10 yds. grey herringbone with burgundy and copper pinstripes (suspect it's a wool poly blend) ~$0.95 /yd
• Black duck cloth for inner layer of corset - used 40% off coupon
• Black cotton poly stretch cloth for lining and outer cover of corset - on sale
• Black Double Fold Bias Tape - 1/4" and 1/2" widths - on sale
• Charcoal Single Fold Bias - on sale
• Burgundy Double Fold Bias Tape - on sale
• Black/gold lace - I thought I had a coupon, but I didn't... ouch... ~2yd = $17 (ouch!)
• Black velvet & cording ribbon to be used as ready-made drawstring ~$4
• 1 wooden rolling pin - ~$6 (I guess I'll stop using old wine bottles to roll out my baking shells now)
• Red with metallic green stripe homespun on clearance from last holiday season I think ~$2 /yd
• 2 spools black lace ~$3 each

Starting with the simplicity pattern, I made the bloomers from the red/green homespun and black lace around the bottoms just for fun because I saw black/red striped bloomers in a publicity photo - I couldn't find black/red striped fabric for a reasonable price. I diverged from the pattern by sewing the crotch together because I want them mostly because I'm a klutz and can see a scenario in which my skirt ends up over my head accidentally. Let's not show off the goods....

Next I got to work on the skirt. The grey herringbone is not perfect for the movie skirt, but close-ish and as close as I could get for cheap. Also, I figured that if I make it understated, I could wear it to work, cause I love floor-length skirts & the fabric is very business-y. Now, because of this, I was very anal and matched each panel so that the pinstripes met in a chevron pattern at the seams, so it took a while. I put together the most basic skirt - with train because I am just like that and can't pass up a train because it means more fabric hanging off of me... (the problem of people constantly stepping on me be damned!). Then I did a fake hem to figure out where I wanted it to hang to. Next I randomly decided that 9.5" long would make a good ruffle. So I measured the circumference around where the ruffle would be tacked (based on the prelim. hem) and guessed that double would be a good length. I cut and sewed lengths of ruffle pieces together (because I had to cut across the fabric so as to get the stripes going the same direction as the rest of the skirt, generally up and down). Once again being anal, I matched the places where I seamed the ruffle bits together. I finished the top of the ruffle with a rolled hem and the bottom with burgundy Double Fold Bias tape... because home-girl don't hem! (and it seemed to be that way in the movie stills). Ok, so the base of the skirt was done.

Next, I cut out duplicates of the four back panels of the skirt to make a base for the detachable back/butt ruffles. After sewing the 4 panels together, I traced the top part and made a 6.5" long piece that was the same shape. I measured the bottom of this, doubled the length, and attached a ruffle to the bottom of that piece. Then I tacked the top of that piece to the four-panel base. Next, I measured across the four-panel piece at a location that would have a 1/2 to 3/4 inch overlap with the ruffle. (note: I measured & marked every couple of inches so that I could preserve the slight curve of the top of the skirt) I doubled it and made another 9.5" ruffle to go there. I love chalk. I marked everything with chalk. So, onward, down the panel until I had an entire panel of ruffles. When done, I tacked all the ruffles down at the outer edges, and finished the edges with burgundy bias again. Then I gathered the top to match the width of the 4 gathered panels on the skirt & attached a matching waist band piece... Finally.... I safety pinned the entire false panel onto the skirt, turning the edges under. (Note: this method came in handy because a gap between the pins served as a perfect arm-loop so I could keep the train out of the way while waltzing the other night - no, I didn't not plan that feature in advance.)

Next... I made the corset generally according to plan. I still have an S-load of bulk 1/4" poly boning from making Fully-boned 18th century stays last year and I still also have Heating Duct Zip Ties from Home Depot which I tend to cut down and use as front and back stays (found that on a costuming site last year as a good alternative to actual whale bone). The pattern said to A) make the corset out of one layer of fabric, B) use steel boning, and C) use a front closure. I disregarded all of that and decided to make an inner boned layer from Duck Cloth (cotton stretches too much, so does Twill and I'm not about to go ordering corset Coutil (<-ha! spell check just suggested coital instead!) online). Next I made a lining layer and a covering layer out of whatever black cloth was cheap (cotton poly stretch, it tuns out). The outer layer I decorated by covering the seams and boned areas with Charcoal single fold bias tape. When the three layers were made up, I stitched them together and finished the bottom with black Double Fold (1/4"), tried it on, and cut the top down by 2" so it came to under bust for me. Then I finished the top the same way. I wish I had grommetted it AFTER making the alteration because I wasn't quite precise, but live & learn. I stole the laces out of another black corset I own and was done with it. Note: it's you want to use size 00 grommets (far superior to the crap eyelets you can get at a fabric store), you will HAVE to get them online unless you live close to a miracle store.... I tried every fabric store, hardware store, marine store, etc that I could think of. I love this site for supplies. Corsetmaking.com They are FAST and nice to deal with... Also, get a hole punch for eyelets that looks like a pair of pliers (usually sold as an eyelet setting kit at Walmart or fabric stores), throw out the eyelets that come with then, and then buy a hammer-based grommet setter... throw out the hole punch that comes with it (trust me, I've done a goodly bit of grommets, punch the fabric with a tool and then set them with the hammer die. Soooo much easier!)

So, lastly, the shirt... I took a ready made sheer black shirt from Ross, cut the neckline down into the appropriate shape, bound the edge with 1/2" Black bias tape, gathered the 2 yds of lace, sewed the lace and the velvet chord ribbon on top of the bias (being careful to only catch the chord edging and not the velvet in the seam so that the velvet ribbon could be pulled through and act as a drawstring...) and voila!

In the end, the hair was pretty easy. If I'm not careful, it's a semi-fro anyway, so I used one of those zig-zag headbands to pull it back to the right place, teased it up a good bit, spritzed it with water so that I got a bit of curl into it, teased some more, arranged, fluffed, sprayed mercilessly with Aquanet - the god of hairdos that ain't going anywhere - sprayed with some black hairspray to darken my tresses, and then more Aquanet. More puffing and arranging and I have a Mrs. Lovett Fro that is all mine. no wigs here.

Lastly, if you costume from time to time, let me recommend Graftobian creme makeup.... it comes in various colors, I have a pot of white. it goes on and comes off like normal foundation. It wears and feels like a good foundation. I hate that Grease-paint crap you can get at K-mart or Walmart. Graftobian is $$$ but well worth it. The thing I really like is that it goes on and stays on and can go on thin for a pale complexion or can go on thick if you really need to be WHITE. Good stuff.

So that's the process.

As usual, there is some part of every sewing project that I just don't finish. Usually it's the hem because I hate hemming and I'd rather use duct tape. This year, I've started making things in such a way that I don't have to hem at all. Yay! So on this project it is the skirt... I have not sewn a button and made a button hole to close the skirt. Nor am I likely to ever since I've been wearing it around for a month without a button. My dirty little secret... m-kay....? : )

Finally I leave you with this, which amused me greatly:


Wonderful ad from the end of the Lux Radio Theater Production of The Canterville Ghost (1945):
Male Narrator: "Patty didn't forget what she had in mind, but how could she tell Kaye what she was REALLY thinking?"
Patty: "Kaye's cute enough to get any man she wants. If only she were as sweet and fresh as she looks... but you just can't tell even your best friend that she's careless about daintiness. If I could only give her a hint about Lux-ing underthings after every wearing... Lux-ing her dresses and blouses often... If I could tell her how fresh & sweet it leaves 'em. And then she wouldn't risk offending! She'd have all the fun she deserves."

Hahaha! Does anyone know if they still sell Lux? I have to see if I can improve the daintiness of this blouse which still smelled in the pits after getting it back from the dry cleaners... I'm suspecting they don't clean half this stuff.

Random thoughts....

I've been filled with musics this week, but lacking time to write them down, so half are gone andhalf are no longer relevent and the few that are left, well.... here goes....



I know politics get me riled up a bit and that's normal, especially with the upcoming election and the current state of affairs in the nation. So I think I posted this run-down of the subprime lending crisis already... but oh well. See, here's the thing... everytime someone talks about the housing crisis and all the foreclosures - yeah, it sucks. BUT whenever someone talks about bailing out the people being foreclosed, I just nearly have a conniption! Yes, I realize that there are people being affected who lost their job and can't pay... or maybe they're elderly and their health care bills are going through the roof and they can't pay (don't EVEN get me started on health care!) Shit happens. I understand this. but I also understand that we've been living in a culture for the past 15 to 20 years that thrives upon living above our means. Everyone wants the best and gets the best unless they can't get credit for it.... Then I've been listening to the Presidential debates on my iPod at work and it was everything I could do to keep from screaming and throwing things during that second town-hall style debate. McCain was talking about his plan to save the eceonomy and homeowners - foreclosure bailouts! McCain's plan, as presented in that debate was for the Gov to buy up all the foreclosure mortgages and renegotiate the mortgage based on the value of the house right now. BULLSHIT! YOU ARE NOT USING MY MONEY FOR THAT!!!!!! When we bought our house about a year and a half ago, the bank told us "we approve you for $522K." I just about fell out of my chair laughing at them. There was and still is NO way anyone should be approving us for that kind of loan. J & I took our current rent, figured out what we could afford to pay per month above that and still live extremely comfortablely... then figured out how much we had to put down and said "we can buy something for $_x_ or less." Then.... guess what... we looked for something in that range..... and we bought something in that range.... it also, coincidentally, was in a range that we could still pay if one of us lost our jobs. We'd be eating Ramen, but we could still pay. If we both lost our jobs.... well, I could always get a temp position and then we'd have to make soup out of shoe leather, but we'd make it work. That's what our grandparents did. Coincidentally, when they talk about how the housing prices have dropped, We've already "lost" our downpayment if we had to sell right now. So I really, really, REALLY don't want to hear about people who bought the barbie dream house getting to renegotiate and only pay what the house is worth right now because they were dumb-asses and believed the bank when they were approved for the max amount. I know you people are out there!!! I mean, if I had known this all was going to happen.... I'd have bought a 1920s bungalow in Clarendon with the $522 and then get off paying a lot less....



OK, enough ranting... I'm moving to New Zealand as soon as they pass a bill equivalent to rewarding dumb-asses.



On a lighter note, I was surprised to learn that I need to learn how to take a bath. I got some free time Monday night & decided to try out the new tub. LOVE IT! It gives me about 9-10 extra inches deep of water compared to my old tub. My plan: read the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, make hot chocolate with Bailey's, light a pumpkin candle, dim the lights, fill the tub, relax. The plan was good. My thoughts: the tub will take longer to fill & it always cools off as it fills, so I need to run the water warmer than usual & I'll shut the bathroom door so that the heat stays in. The thoughts were not as good as the plan. : ( Who would have thought that I'd have to re-learn how to take a bath?? Apparently it's like getting used to a new stove or oven. The reality: The tub did take longer to fill, but there was also more buffer above the warm water down below so it retained its heat rather well. When the water reached a suitable level, I turned it off & relaxed into reading, took a sip of hot chocolate and learned that the side of the tub is not level, but slightly inward slanted. I learned this as my mug started to tumble into the tub and I lost about 25% of the drink in the water... Chocolate bath - cool or ew? so then I decided the soap shelf was a better mug-placement. No more mishaps, but after a while, I noticed that sweat was rolling down my face and my heart was racing pretty good. Not cool. I tried to stick it out until the water cooled down a bit. Maybe 15 mins? Maybe it did cool down, but neither the air nor the water was cool enough to offer relief and by this point my eyes were starting to sting from the sweat and my book was getting damp because of the water that splashed up as I tried to wipe the sweat away. Finally, I gave up, let the water out and then laid in the bottom of the tub cooling off in the steamy room. I was probably there for a good 1/2 hour and thought that J would probably think I had had a tragic accident if he walked in on me because both feet were up against the wall at odd angles and my neck was in a totally kinked position. It shouldn't have been comfortable.... ah well.

Wel, that's about it. I guess I need to re-learn how to take a bath, I just picked up more paint samples and think I figured out which one I lost 3 weeks ago... and it's Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween all!

Sweeney Tidbits & Teaser

I have a lot to say on a lot of things and they've been building up all week. However, I am severely lacking time. So here's an interesting article if you've ever wondered about if Sweeney Todd (the musical or movie) was based at all on reality. The answer is, according to this, Yes.... except he was just a bitter nutjob without the rationalization that the muscial provides.

Next, here's a teaser. Not a good photo, we'll get better ones eventually.

I feel like Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde...

Oh no... not again.... I can feel the unholy urges and obsessions taking over. Stop! Stop me before it's... too... late..... *Collapses on the floor *

PA240003
Originally uploaded by binkle52

So I made my victorian skirt for the base of the Mrs. Lovett costume and have been wearing it around periodically for the past month or so. (see to the right... you can't tell, but it's a grey herringbone with cranberry and copper pinstripes and then I added cranberry/burgundy bias around the hem so I didn't have to actually hem it. I hate hemming.) To work, to picnics, to restaurants, shopping, maybe out to a haunted forest tonight.... I LOVE being swathed in fabric. So now I've picked out two other patterns that I want to make - both victorian in nature. Forget that I have 3 other projects en queue, forget that I have 6+ projects sitting in my closet to make. * hangs head in shame at self * I want these for multi-purpose wear. Steam punk? Check. Costume? Check. Office? Check. Alrighty, here we go... Wheee! The first one I want to order is this skirt. I'd like to do a modern bohemian take on it kinda like in the photograph. I'm also going to make a version of this jacket, but NOT the chintz & lace thingie that girl in the photo made. ugh, not me... wouldn't cross over into work well either. I'm thinking something more along the lines of the one in the left-hand photo on this page. So there's that and then I found someone on craigslist selling 100 yds of red dress satin for $250. Do the math. That's $2.50 per yard. For Satin. Satin's normally at least $10/yd. SO I'm tempted to drop a couple of hundred for 100 yds of red satin that I don't know what I'd do with it. One thought was making an entire wardrobe out of red satin & wearing only red satin every day for a year, but that's just freakin' insane and it'd probably drive me nuts & make me think I was the devil or something. So, I think I'll let that one slide. I'm totally buying the patterns though. I'm gonna do it and you can't stop me!!!! Hahahahaha!!!!! *maniacal laugh as she stands at the edge of a really tall metaphorical building about to jump to her doom (i.e. into another project)*

In other news, I am angry at work because it has been doing everything in it's power to sabotage me and my new work ethic.... The servers are down, I can't do anything and etc.
Also, I'm heading out to a haunted forest with J & my sister tonight & I'm going to see Thoroughly Modern Millie tomorrow night and that should be fantastic. What to wear???? : ) Ah, and 'Tis the season for Starbucks Chai Lattes... I'm limiting myself to one Tall Skim every two weeks. I can't handle the extra cals every day. Ah! and I got one of the most glorious Sunrises ever today. I love having an east-facing office with a window. LOVE IT!!! & Now I'm found wondering why it seems like glorious sunrises happen more frequently than glorious sunsets. If there's anyone out there that understands what's going on in the upper atmosphere and wants to explain it to me, please go right ahead.

Lastly. I love this. You should go check out the videos if you haven't already. Really cool Physics Videos. I like #10, #5, and #4.

Flying

Though J & I had talked about it for the better part of the last nine years, I've sworn there was NO way that I was ever going to jump out of a plane. No way, no how! I have no problem with the idea of riding around on a parachute, paragliding/parasailing/hang gliding (not a chute, but...). I don't like the fact that the chute is not open when you exit the plane. I don't like the fact that you have the possibility of falling somewhere around 13,000 feet and hitting the ground and going **splat!** if it doesn't open. and I do NOT like free-fall as experienced on amusement rides like this one. Hate, hate, hate.

Now, I got this brilliant idea to send J to his death (aka skydiving) for his 30th birthday since he really wanted to do it forever. AND, even better, I'd con his friends into going too so that I could stay on the ground waiting for the inevitable splat (J really likes crazy activities to be a shared group experience). Well, for one reason or another this plan failed - horribly. Due to money, relocation or absolute refusal to throw themselves out of a plane (because they're smart like that) only one other person decided to go. Hmmm... J likes groups. One is good, but more would be better. So, after deciding which location to send him jumping at, I chose Orange Skydive.... and the tandem jump page said that the free fall was 50 seconds... Then I started to think that I could maybe put up with 50 seconds of sheer terror to make J's b-day fun. But... What if I wet myself? Well they had THE ANSWER to that on their FAQ's. The other part of the FAQ's that intrigued me was this: Are you so smart you have an answer for everything? That instilled me with confidence, so I decided to go too.

I don't know if I had spent so long worrying about it that I was past worry, or if I was so far beyond fear that I couldn't comprehend it anymore or if I was comfortable with my own impending doom, but I wasn't nervous once we got there. I spent the plane ride up thinking about how just a week ago I was on a plane that I was not intending to jump out of and getting a little nervous, but here I was on a plane, totally intending to jump out of it and I was OK. Then the guys in the plane were trying to get me to smile, but I really wasn't up for it and told them that I had never had an intention to jump out of a perfectly good plane, to which the one instructor replied "I've worked on planes and I can tell you there's no such thing as a perfectly good plane. There are planes that fly and stay in the air, but that's about it." Thanks. That makes me feel better. My instructor, Tim, & I were the last ones out of the plane. It was cool to watch the other people go. It didn't look like they were jumping or falling out - more like being sucked out. I remember being at the door, knowing it was my turn and it didn't seem real at all. It didn't register. There were no thoughts of "here we go!" or "Oh, shit!".... just blank thoughts and "OK..." Then we were out and my thoughts were "OK..." and "well, huh!" and "I wonder why I don't feel like screaming" and "this is nifty" and something along the lines of "this is a really interesting perspective on everything" Sometimes it was hard to breath like when you face into a stiff wind. I remember feeling safe in the harness because I was strapped to something, anything, even if that thing was another person named Tim who was still plummeting at the same rate as me with no further support. At some point the chute opened and it was weird because I didn't feel a sense of relief - mainly since I hadn't had any thought of "it might not open" It was super cool hanging out up there and looking around at everything. We couldn't quite see home, but Tim said on good days you could see all the way up there. I mistook cows for deer (perspective is really thrown off from that high - that's my excuse & I'm sticking to it!). I also really enjoyed when Tim sent the chute into tight turns & spirals - it felt more like flying then. Eventually all three of us made it down safely.

Yay! I'm definitely glad I did it. It was cool. I don't know if I'd do it again unless it was cheap or free. If it was not an expensive hobby, I'd maybe consider taking it up because it was as close to real flying as I think I'll ever get unless I can find a wizard to give me wings (no, folks, Redbull doesn't actually work). I don't know. I wasn't all adrenaline rushy. Maybe I got myself into too much of a zen-like state. The thing is, I was talking with Dave last weekend about what I'd want to go back and witness in history and my answer was "the beginning" whatever that was. I'd really like to know whether there was one. Being a scientist (kinda) - I have to believe in mass/energy conservation and it makes sense that it just always was. But I can't get beyond my human experience. I can't comprehend the idea of "no beginning, always was" because everything that I've ever experienced had a beginning. So maybe that was the thing: the whole experience was so far beyond my comprehension that I just sat back and watched it because I didn't know what else to do. Regardless, it was pretty dang cool and I'd recommend it.

Newest addition...

Before anyone gets excited, I want to announce the newest addition to our family.... My shoulder griffin.

I haven't decided what to name him yet. I'm thinking something scadinavian. My mind keeps going with Solvieg, but that's a woman's name. He's definitely a he. I already have one gender confused plant, I don't need a confused griffin. I've been enamored with the shoulder griffins for about two years now and just a few weeks ago stumbled upon a wad of Christmas/birthday money that I haven't used in two years... Mum always says "buy yourself something you don't need." and I think a shoulder griffin fits into that category nicely. He makes me happy. He's actually a puppet. Thanks meemur!

Wow....

Yeah, I totally just gave up & got together a girls' day to the Maryland Renaissance Faire cause it's the last weekend and I still had two tickets & J was watching the PSU game this afternoon. As I go walking through the faire with my two girlfriends in tow, I hear, "Laura!" but it registered as someone else because that person couldn't have meant me since my two friends were right beside me. Holy Shit! It's Greg & Jessie with a group of friends also. WHAT?!? Small world I guess. That was a nice, if brief, meeting. I'm feeling horribly spoiled since, now if you include the upcoming halloween festivities, I will have seen Greg/Jessie 5 times in two months. Wow! That's, like, more than the past 3 years combined.... nah, I'm sure that's an exaggeration, but I'm gonna get spoiled if we keep this up. Sorry guys, I decided on trying to get my Alexandria girls to go out so I didn't call you.

Uh....

Extraneous thought for the day: Avoid breathing through your mouth when sucking on a peppermint and walking past a Port-A-John.

Adventures in Canada lead to deepness...

Begin at the end.... There is very little, I think, more wondrous than taking off from a major city airport after dark. All the sparkling little lights held me in rapture for a good while after departing JFK airport on my return flight from Toronto to JFK to Reagan National to home. Really, if we had not gotten above a layer of clouds, I would not have read my book or watched a movie on my iPod. I would have spent the hour pondering the minuscule beauty of the world below for that whole hour. As it was, it's probably a good thing that I didn't have the hour to ponder and distracted myself instead. There was a very high probability that I could have pondered myself into a funk again. I hate my brain.

Maybe you know from following my Facebook status or from talking to me or you will know when you see my picasa pictures updated that I jet-setted off to Toronto Canada this weekend to visit my friend Dave, from college. It was awesome. I think Mars is no longer in retrograde because every bus, metro, flight, subway, trolley, ferry, and etc. trip went smoothly, was on time or ahead of schedule arriving or was waiting for me/us in the station when I/we got there. Timing was impeccable. I am not used to smooth travel, so it was all truly a luxury. For anyone not already familiar, Dave's absolutely the first friend I made at PSU. We initially met the day I moved in at a freshman orientation swing dance mixer in my quad. I honestly remember that for the first time in my life I stayed up until 3 or 4 AM talking & hanging out with a new friend. It was cool. He's also one of the two key people who unwittingly motivated me to break up with my high-school boyfriend. No, Dave's not a homewrecker, but he's nice and it just seemed wrong that two guy friends I had known for about a month were nicer than the guy I was dating. So anyway, it's really been about 4 years since we last caught up. I say that that's way too long. I want all my friends in one place again.



Well, the trip started out with a bang, we made our way back to the apartment, dropped my stuff off, wandered down to the St. Lawrence Market. I'm afraid we spent way too much money on cheese & crackers, snack munchies and deli meats there, but Mmmmmm.... decadence. We also got to experience what is, at least according to a sign in the Market, a real canadian food: the Peameal Sandwich. It was pretty good. Canadian Bacon lightly coated in cornmeal and plopped on a bun with your choice of honey mustard or maple dijon. Yum.

Next we totally rushed to get back, change and head out to Canada's Wonderland for a "Halloween Haunt." I had never been to an amusement park for halloween before, but I must admit it was awesome. They had a number of haunted trails that were fun and there really weren't any lines for the coasters. Additionally, we weren't sweltering in the sun when we DID have to wait. I think it's the oooonly way to do an amusement park. We didn't get quite all of the coasters in - I think we missed out on two that were open and there were one or two that weren't open at all. The Vortex was cool as was the Behemoth, which was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard - they also did Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and I think they're probably my favorite coaster design firm right now.

So after starving Dave all day Friday and ending it all by gorging at Wendy's at 11:30 PM, I am convinced that he decided to carry out vengeance upon me because the entire rest of the weekend was a culinary adventure with almost continual snacking and etc. Saturday started with a trip to the grocery to get foods to compliment the meats & cheeses from the Market so as to form a picnic lunch for Sunday and for a brunch smorgasbord on Monday. Then we were off to hit Kensington Market, a semi-Bohemian area with a ton of Vintage Shops, cafes, ethnic wear stores and food markets. It was a nifty area, I noticed a lot of people with Che Guevarra paraphernalia. I found a new vintage dress, nearly talked Dave into a used Tin-Man costume, and we began our food-foray with Empanadas chased down with fresh Ginger Beer. The Ginger Beer was an intriguing beast that took some getting used to - mainly, you had to get past the way it burned the back of your throat. It was definitely good to try.

We left Kensington Market and made our way through a part of chinatown. Though Longans appeared to be in season, alas, none were sufficiently ripe to bother getting some. Next stop was the Fashion district and the fabric stores therein. It was like a playground for me... just wandering... touch, feel, touch, feel, etc.... until I realized that I couldn't afford any of the stuff I liked and we headed east (?) along Queen St. in search of a Crepe place Dave had heard about. After passing a bunch of bloody people pasting posters on light posts (I guess they were in a band whose schtick was to dress like mauled soldiers?), and a few crazy shop windows, we made it to the Crepe place. I got a decadent combination of banana, strawberry, rum, and coconut for mine & I think Dave's was a Ham & Swiss with Mushrooms. They were Yummy. I still haven't found a good crazy-crepe shop like Dave showed me in Boston though.

Next stop on the Itinerary was The Rex, which is a Toronto Jazz & Blues Bar. It was nice to sit & have a pint (half pint in my case) and get some live music.

I'd say we stayed for about an hour & then went on toward City Hall to obtain another Canadian taste treat: Poutine. Poutine is steak fries drowning in a wonderful brown gravy loaded with cheese curds. Cheese curds - the name sounds gross, but is there anything more wonderful???

Poutine tasted really good. I know why Wiki said it was a Canadian Comfort food. It makes you really warm inside, but I suspect part of that is because it clogs your arteries... ; ) I'm sure one order on occasion is not going to kill you, but it was super decadent and then led to a near re-enactment of the Month Python "wafer thin mint" skit on the way up the stairs from the TTC station during which Dave suggested something else culinary. After grabbing coats at the apartment, we headed back out to a little (not so little, really, but it felt cozy) bar near the St. Lawrence Market called C'est What? - at which, I might add, I got carded. It had a decent selection of scotches, bourbons & whisky. I tried a Bowmore (loved it), Laphroig (good - I had forgotten that the initial taste is like sucking on a campfire, but that goes away), Balvenie (nice & light), and a Lagavulin (also very good). I'm beginning to see a connection that I prefer Islay malts. Lastly, I think we finished the night out with the Stilton & crackers from the Market the day before.

Sunday involved a trip to Tim Horton's for breakfast sandwiches and an excellent pumpkin donut. Tim Horton's is like a Dunkin Donuts, but with nicer decor. Then some sandwich-making as we packed a bag to go picnic on "The Islands." The Islands are little sandbar islands not too far out in the lake. Part is residential, part has a little airport and the central part is a park including a small pay-as-you-go amusement park. The rides were all shut down & boarded up. We got to take in some good fall foliage and bits o' nature along the southern shore.

And also got a good fantasy-style view of the CN tower emerging from the fog above a petting farm...

I also managed to regress and find a good old sturdy style swing set that was high enough that you'd kill yourself if you tried to jump off from the top. It was fun. I reverted to my merry old style of seeing how much I could get the chains twisted mid-swing and I think Dave was convinced that I was going to break it & need medical attention! It kinda reminds me of the time that Jonah thought I was going to kill myself because I used leverage with just my kneecap to climb a tree, but I digress. The swings were actually a great workout - I need to find a good set by my house somewhere. There were even parts of the Islands that reminded me of Myst... it was an odd juxtaposition to "city."

So we ventured through that there hole out onto the beach, made short work of the thousands of snack foods that we brought with the sandwiches. I was introduced to corn nuts & Dave was introduced to sesame sticks. I have to add that I may never eat any bread other than Rosemary Foccacia from this point onward. It's amazing. After a couple of rollickingly cut-throat games of Uno, we eventually wound our way back to the Ferry dock & seemed to time it just right to catch sunset as we crossed. In an attempt to get some Steak & Ale pie, we ultimately ended up at an "english pub" but alas, they were on the late-night menu. The food was still good.

In the end, we ended up heading back to the apartment, doing a brief refresher of some old Swing lessons from college and then broke into the liquor cabinet. Half a mini-bottle of ice wine later, plus some Dooley's (tastes like Bailey's) and a sprite & Kahlua, it seemed like a good idea to make popcorn... until after spending 40 minutes picking at popcorn, we realized it'd take forever to finish the bowl (were both that full from everything else)....

Monday was a quick brunch of bacon, corned beef hash, omelets, pancakes and fruit salad - enough that I had a starbucks muffin for dinner and was good to go - and then a trip to the airport. The food was great, the company was great. So why the long-winded recount of the trip? Partly because I've been realizing that I'm getting older and I had better write this stuff down or I won't remember the details, but also partly because it was a lead up to lots of thoughts. Lots & LOTS of thoughts...

These thoughts are not just coming from this weekend, but from a variety of experiences this past year... last month Greg came & stayed with us for a week, which was awesome, and that visit really got me thinking about this too.

I need my people.

I don't need a lot of people, in fact, I am not overly social and really could care less about most people, but there are a few select people that I need. I was thinking about my friends from college. There are about six friends that I made in college who are the be all and end all for me. All but one of those people I met in Freshman year. Four of those people are guys and two are girls. (Note: I'm not including J in these stats and though I still know his friends from college too, I didn't pick them out for myself. I am talking about MY friends.) These people have been with me for 10 years. That's kinda impressive. I was thinking about why I have such a strong connection with these friends... I mean, when I'm with them, I don't stress, I don't feel like I need to protect myself, I can speak openly, I can be myself, I don't have to be a socially acceptable facsimile of myself. I'm not afraid to be sad around them if I need to - I know they're not going to hurt me. Then I was thinking about it and I think the key is that we were all removed from out families and comfort zones and tossed into a pot together. I can't speak for everyone, but that kicks me into hyper-self-preservation mode and forced me to find people who were suitable to replace the family bonds that I was lacking. I'm figuring we were all in the same boat & chose each other for similar need-fulfilling reasons? Dunno. But the point is that I pick my people because they complete some part of me. I have slots. Those slots need to be filled. One person can fill several, or just one. It really doesn't matter. If several are empty, I don't do very well. I think that's the hardest part right now... (interjection before anyone get a wrong idea: my husband is awesome, he fills a significant number of my slots, but I did choose him because he is totally different than me in a lot of ways, makes up for a lot of things I lack, and pulls me in different directions than I would otherwise tend to go. He's very good for me, but since there are fundamental differences between us, there are definitely slots left unfilled - interests not shared, and though he tries to understand my feelings and etc, unless you have the same temperament and disposition, there are certain things you can try to understand, but you never can unless you're standing in their shoes) Well, anyway, seeing my college buddies of late, coupled with some other things is just totally making me realize how many slots are still "open" right now. This is nothing new. I knew it this time last year, which is why I made some of the Samhain resolutions that I did. I'm working on it. I need to find my "family" here. It's getting old that I've been here for about 4 years now and still do not have those aspects that I need. We found our family in Binghamton when we lived there. I miss them too. I'm actively trying to form bonds and connections with people down here - some are growing, but there's still a lot of work to be done. This year, I am going to focus my efforts on seeing if I can get some more guy friends down here too (please see previous stats from college) because it seems like an integral part of me.

The other thing is that I've been soundly whacked with the mortality stick over the past couple of years.... my dad went in for heart valve replacement a couple of years ago and my friend Matt died last year and I've been running into a significant number of people who are dealing with serious illnesses and death recently. We, or at least I, was so blessedly sheltered from this sort of thing for most of my life. I'm trying to get a grip on it without letting it depress me past the point of recovery. I'm beginning to hate leaving from a visit or saying goodbye to people because I can't seem to do it right now without thinking about "this could be the last time I see them." This new year I need to work on getting that in check because I just can't live with that all the time. If anyone has any suggestions, they'd be welcomed. My brain's really my worst enemy and I could stand to work my way back in to blissful delusional ignorance.

I need my people. I love you all. I hope you all know that. & eventhough I'm not so good about communicating regularly, I really do care. I still hate the telephone and don't feel a need to work on that, but I am going to work on writing more because that's becoming critically important for me. That's one of the Samhain resolutions for this year. I'll come out with a bit of a list closer to the time.

You know, I think that's about all the whining I can handle doing right now! : ) Gonna go listen to some suitably depressing music ( depeche mode, REM, Linkin Park, New Order, The Smiths, etc) to cheer myself up. No, really. Don't ask me why, but it helps.... Angry music calms me down when I'm all eeked up too. Go figure.

Sooooooo..... updates. I now have a tub and shower surround. Showering this week has been quite a pleasing experience and I look forward to trying out the bath part of the bathtub. Maybe this weekend? I still have to paint the bathroom, but that will come in time.

Yet another...

Alrighty... I lieu of anything else, this blog may turn into a repository for flash game links. here's a few more:

• Time travel game
• Spaced Penguin

In other news, my dog hates me because I had to babygate her into the basement to keep her out from underfoot of the builders and I have an unexpected new hole in teh bathroom wall & a new set of stud framing because: when I measured from tile to tile and came up with 59" the builder's statement of "The means you need a 60" tub because it gest set back behind the drywall" was not really accurate. Next time trust my intuition... the existing tub was 59.5" and thus, we needed to cut 1/2" out of the wall. In other news, it also led to the discovery that the original builder in 1981 skimed and framed the wall separating the bathroom from the office with 2 by 3's not 2 by 4's.... gotta love home ownership.

Someday I will build and design myself a house. It's going to be the best-damn-built house ever and it'll last for at least 200 years. Heck, I'll even make it bull-doze-proof. It'll probably also be the size of a small 1920s bungalow and cost as much as the million dollar McMansions.... but at least it ain't goin' ANYWHERE!!!!!

Cosmic Coincidences

This one is throwing me for a loop... Last night, my friend G sent me the link to Fantastic Contraption and this morning, in place of coffee, I decided to try and kick start my brain with that game. Next, I decided the game was going to hook me for too long & I'd waste more time than I should, so I continued my Friday routine by flipping over to XKCD And today's comic just happened to be:

Weird....

On that note, here're my favorite browser games of the moment:

• Grow anything - Cube, Island, Ornament (X-mas version), etc....
• Bloxorz
• Fantastic Contraption
• Smite Thee (I've been playing this since college)
• Bridge Constructor Set (not a browser game, but it rocks if your computer is good enough to handle the rendering)