Change the Subject already!

I feel it necessary to admit right here for all the world to see, that I made only three gifts for Christmas this year. And since I'm feeling a little bit guilty about only making three gifts and how you, Dear Reader(s) might have your opinion of me affected by that admission (isn't this supposed to be a craft blog? you say), I thought I might redeem myself by posting the link here for one of the projects. Doesn't that give me more craft blog credibility? So here you are, the pictures of the illusion knit scarf I made for Scottie Doo, along with the instructions here. Do not be afraid to try this, it's not nearly as daunting as it looks. Just take it ONE STEP AT A TIME, and you will be super excited about what you end up with!

And just for fun, here's what I did with Scottie Doo's little ziploc baggie of Berlin Wall. If one is so excited about a ziploc baggie of Berlin Wall Bits, one surely must want everyone to see his Berlin Wall Bits displayed, yes?


The third project was a wallhanging that I made for my sister but never quite took a picture of. For starters, I was trying to be creative here in this room, which has still not yet been unpacked. Organizing this room is the first big task on the calendar for the new year, and I promise to show you all the end result.

Until next time (which I hope not to be too long from now), I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm as good as can be now that my kiddos are home, Scottie Doo has started work on the masterpiece he's making for me (can't WAIT to show you!), and the new year has kicked off in earnest. I think this is truly shaping up to be the best year ever.

-Tasha


*** A note about the Christmas cards this year... I had a stack, of which I had enough stamps for about half. I sent the ones I had stamps for, and then mislaid the remaining cards before they made it to the mail. Not having any idea which cards had actually been mailed, I'm afraid I actually look like a horrible friend to a handfull of people. My apologies to anyone who didn't receive a card but should have!

How life can be SO busy, yet not...

First there was the White Christmas which started a week ahead of schedule that I didn't so much mind about, except that it gave me some extra headaches to make sure everything was covered at the day job. Then the kids went off to Alaska for three whole weeks, making me feel a little bit lost without them. Now we have flooding to contend with, and though I know I shouldn't complain because MY house isn't flooded, this is what the entrance ramp for me to get to work looks like.

This is a house about a mile down from ours on the same street...Some random marooned cows...Scoochie surveying the scenery.Are we done yet?

Happy New Year!

I vow the following:

• Create
• Love
• Laugh
• Live

And that's all I have to say about that. Make it the best, because that's all that's worth your time!

Tis the Season

Some messy snow days and a harried 2:30 am trip to the airport to see the kids off to Alaska yesterday, and the Bah Humbugs are starting to creep back in. As always happens at this time of the year, I realize that the number of projects that need to be done far outweighs the number of hours left before Christmas. And so, needing some instant cheering and needing it quick, I decided to take another look at this year's Christmas card.

The humbugs have melted away as I look at this card and recognize just how great the things that I have to be grateful for really are. Scottie Doo drew this one night in what I hope could be called a collaborative effort. First he drew the people, and, after I looked over his shoulder and remarked that we needed to look Christmassy, he took my suggestion to draw himself wearing a reindeer sweater. He didn't even cringe when I remarked that the space behind Solstice would be perfect for a snowman, and after the snowman was drawn, was completely patient when I insisted then that something needed to be added next to me "for balance".

Him: What do you think should go there?
Me: I don't know, something completely random.
Him: Like what?
Me: Well, like C3PO.

And it was done. And so this picture reminds me how wonderful life is; I have two adorable and smiley children, a man who will draw himself into a reindeer sweater because he knows it's the right thing to do, and an instant boob job for me, at least on paper. (Be careful what you wish for... "draw my boobs a little bigger so my hips don't look so big" can end up making you look even bigger.)

In case I don't get back to the blog before Christmas, I wish you an amazing and magical day, and hope you can find a way to keep the magic going throughout the year!

Napability

I can't believe it has been two full weeks since I blogged last, but I promise you, dear reader(s), that this time has not been spent in an idle manner. I've been busy box unpacking, Christmas decorating, recipe and grocery list coordinating, and yes, a little bit of panicking; all for this weekend's Christmas party for Scottie Doo's co-workers. I'm happy to report that the big event happened on Friday, and as of yet we've had no reports of food poisoning from the attendees. A merry time seemed to be had by all, and our living room has been proclaimed "highly napable". I take that as a compliment.

I was too busy the night of the party to take any pictures, so hopefully you can get a small taste of how our little home here in Perfect Town is coming together for the Christmas season. I feel fortunate that things seem to be working themselves out, and the combining of two lives is going quite well most days.

The front of the house, showing off the collection of vintage tablecloths-used-as-curtains.

Nothing says Christmas quite like a skull and crossbones lit from the inside. And with some delicious yarns inside for good measure, it's the perfect combination of his and her tastes. You put your chocolate in my peanut butter! NO, you got your peanut butter on my chocolate!

The view from the living room into the dining room. The table is the one that Scott has been busy making for the past month, and it turned out beautifully. We found the wood in a pile outside at the ReStore in Seattle, and the legs were taken from an end table we found on Craigslist.

The Seahawks tree, which I've already confirmed will be our theme for next year also...

The wreath on the door of the art room. I got the idea last year from Tif's blog, and lucky for us she's been good enough to re-post the instructions again this year, so I don't have to hunt for the post. Yeay for Tif!

Even a wall of broken instruments needs a guardian Santa Elf to look over them...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because if your dollhouse is on fire and you have to call in Engine No. 7, it helps if there is a Christmas tree in the back...

Standing next to the tree is a helpful squirrel with a nice little bauble for decorating...

And in this corner... the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and a helpful monkey with another ornament, hoping for some sparkle. The Santa in the frame is a Christmas card from my mom a few years ago, and she painted it herself!

Ignore the treadmill, which was too big to move. Is that the COOLEST gigantic John Belushi portrait painted the night before a Christmas party that you've EVER SEEN?! Scottie Doo is magic. Those of you who have followed my blog for awhile may remember that I started this as a 'craft' blog, because I actually used to have time to make things. So in the spirit of reminding myself that I am actually a knitter most years at this time (I'm a knitter... I KNIT), I included this lovely little garland at the dining room window. Nope, I didn't knit any of the stuff on the garland(although last year I did knit some sweater ornaments from this pattern), the ornaments you see here were all bought from one of my favorite stores, World Market.

Doesn't everyone decorate their bathroom? And yes, I want to remark that I got a great compliment on my choice of shower curtain for the main bathroom, which you can see here reflected in the bathroom mirror. And don't forget to notice the pine scented hand soap. Scottie has voted that we keep the colored lights up year-round.

My Christmas fish ornament, naturally.

And finally... even the great cinematic serial killers of our time like to get jolly around the holidays.

Gobble Gobble!

The Saturday Thanksgiving went off mostly without a hitch, provided you consider a minimum of 4 "emergency" trips to the grocery store for missing ingredients normal (I do). Having Thanksgiving on Saturday means that every store is open regular hours, so there is no need to drive miles and miles on the off chance that Bob's Mini Mart might carry Cool Whip (as happened during the Christmas of 2006). Everyone knows you can't have pie without Cool Whip.

And so it's back to the grind of normal life, spent unpacking boxes (yes STILL), decorating for the December 12th Christmas party, and trying not to think about this being the first Christmas I'll be spending without my beloved kiddos, who will be flying off to The Alaska to visit their Dad. Ugh. Double ugh. Triple, quadruple, pentuple ugh.

And that's all I have to say about that. The goal is to get the studio unpacked and put together by then, so Scottie Doo and Tashie can paint and sew her blues away. Oh me oh my.

The Thankful Stuff

Due to scheduling conflicts and whatnot, our annual Thanksgiving turkey feast will be held on Saturday, November 29th this year, which I believe is a perfectly fine day to have a billion calories of foodstuff. In the spirit of the season, while I was making my morning pilgrimmage to Starbucks this morning, I was thinking along the way about the changes my life has gone through this year. I am now, how you say it?, blessed. I think the religious people have taken this word and claim it as their own, but I'd like to say right now it works quite well as THE word to describe how blissfully happy I feel. Maybe not always on the bad days, but today I am definitely feeling it. Blessed.

This morning I woke up later than I should have with a day of work at the office stretching out ahead of me, but I still had a hard time dragging myself out of bed. As the minutes ticked by, I laid next to the Best Guy in the World, having another one of those conversations I love. With all the moving and the stress, we haven't had one in awhile. And my apologies to Scottie Doo for blogging our secret and private conversations again, but this one was way too good to pass up...

Him: My throat hurts this morning, and I'm not sure if it's still
from all the yelling at the [Five Finger Death Punch] concert the other night,
or if I'm getting sick.

Me: I bet it's the yelling.

Him: Well... I'm no doctor...

Me: Oh! Well I played one on TV!

Him: Oh really? I was not aware of that. Please tell me
more.

Me: Oh yes. Well it was a show called Operation. We were
a team of surgeons who demonstrated our skills and a little bit of magic, by
operating on people (mostly clowns) and taking out their organs, without
touching the sides.

Him: Sides? What sides?

Me: Welllll... Few people know this, but clowns' organs are each
located in individual compartments with sides that cannot be touched. I
myself was known for my skills at removing these specialized organs, such as the
Breadbasket, from the compartments without touching the sides.

Him: It sounds like you are very talented.

Me: Oh definitely. They used to call me "Steady Hands McGee" on
the set, specifically due to my ability to remove the extremely difficult clown
organs, like such as the Wishbone.

Him: They called you McGee, even though that's not your last
name?

Me: Well, my last name hasn't always been my last name,
remember. And McGee is the last name they give everyone who is known for
something, like "Tits McGee", only I was never called that. I was called
'Steady Hands McGee'.

Him: That's very interesting.

Me: Yes, and did I also tell you I won an Emmy for my role?

Him: Why no, you failed to mention that.

Me: Well I did. I just haven't unpacked it yet from all these
boxes.

Him: Do you think I could watch it?

Me: What's that, Operation, or the awards show when I won my
Emmy?

Him: Well both really, but seeing you win an Emmy would be very
special.

Me: Yes, but unfortunately the only known recording is on Beta.
I really never knew that whole Beta/VHS thing would turn out the way it
did. Who knew?!

Him: Luckily I know someone who still has a Beta machine!

Me: Maybe we can watch it later...

Him: Well did I ever tell you about my Oscars?

Me: No, I don't believe you ever did. You have more than
one?

Him: Oh yes, of course. I have two.

Me: Are they from different movies, or the same movie? Or was
it different movies, only with the same character. Like a series or
something?

Him: Well, it was different movies. I don't really believe in
doing sequels.

Me: Do you believe in doing prequels? Because that's a hard
thing for me to wrap my head around. It's like they make a movie, and then
they make another movie with the same characters and call it a prequel, which
means it was supposed to have come BEFORE the other movie. Are we supposed
to pretend we haven't already seen the other movie? If we haven't already seen the other movie, should we watch the prequel first?
Is time travel involved?

Him: I completely understand your dilemma, and no, I do not do
prequels either.

Me: Well please, tell me about your movie and subsequent
Oscars. I'm riveted.

Him: Well oddly enough, the movie was about time travel! I won
the Best Supporting Actor.

Me: Oh, so you were the supporting actor? Who was the main
actor, and did THEY win an Oscar?

Him: Well, it was Woody Harrelson. We were police officers,
and...

Me: Oh. Woody Harrelson. Well, did he win an Oscar?

Him: No, he didn't.

Me: Oh! That means that for the year that you won the Best
Supporting Actor, in all the movies in the whole world that year, YOU were the
very best. AND since you won an Oscar for your portrayal and Woody
Harrelson didn't, that means YOU are a better actor than Woody Harrelson.
How did that make Woody feel?

Him: Well actually, I don't think that's the way it works. Just
because I won for Best Supporting Actor, that doesn't mean that Woody...

Me: Sucks? Oh yes, you were WAY better than Woody.
Because Woody...

Him: Now wait just a second here, I happen to think that
Woody...

Me: I bet you BLEW HIM AWAY! You were voted the BEST, and
he's... not.

Him: Woody happens to be a very good friend of mine. We're very
close.

Me: But Woody has a drug problem.

Him: Well we're not THAT close. And I do not do drugs myself,
but don't feel I can...

Me: But if you're friends with a druggie, than you can seem to
condone their behavior.

Him: I wouldn't go that far. Woody's just a nice guy.

Me: I'd be nice too if I was on drugs all the time. It's easy
then!

Him: You're crazy.

And THAT was my morning. And no, I've never played a
doctor on TV, and Scott doesn't know Woody Harrelson. Scott probably DOES really think I'm crazy though.

Growing Pains

I might have explained long ago how terribly fragile I can be at times, but I'm pretty sure I didn't, Dear Reader(s), so as not to scare you away. And now I find myself trying to make a go of things in this relationship with the Best Guy in the World, and not really knowing how to do it very well. If this one doesn't work out, I know it will be all on me.

The Wall of Broken Instruments

The house is not coming along as quickly as I'd hoped, given that we have a Christmas Party scheduled for Scottie's co-workers looming on the horizon (December 12th!?), but every once in awhile we take the time to put something together just because it feels right. Enter, the Wall of Broken Instruments:

The first time I visited Scott's apartment, I noticed he had two instruments hanging artfully on his wall; an obviously broken violin, and a (not so obviously) broken trombone. As with all things having to do with Scott, I thought this was awesome. Not only was it exactly the sort of thing I would do, but I actually had my own collection of broken violins. Obviously, this relationship was meant to be.


Once upon a time, my mother dated a man who lived with his grandmother (my mother has, at times, also been a Sucker for Strays). Grandma Storbakken repaired broken violins, and she had HUNDREDS of them, mostly stacked in their cases in her bathtub. My mom's relationship with Grandma Storbakken lasted longer than her relationship with the grandson, and eventually we ended up with about ten broken violins. My sister and I each picked out our favorites, and I proudly displayed mine in my room until the time when I moved off to Alaska. She's pared down the collection over the years, but the last remaining holdouts have now joined Scottie Doo's trombone and violin for our wall.


And this is how we begin the combining of two lives that have been very separate until now. One little bit at a time.

The Best Thing

Okay, maybe it's only ONE of the best things, but it's still a best thing nonetheless. One of the BEST things about moving in with Scott, is that once we get finished unpacking all of these damn boxes, we get to hang the art! I think I may have mentioned it in passing, but I'm sure I didn't expand on it at the time. Scott is an artist. He can actually think up a picture in his head and then draw or paint it. I think that is magic. I play around with material and shoot people scathing looks if they call me a crafter, but he is unquestionably one who makes art. And NOW I get to be a person who lives in a house that has REAL ART on the walls!

Not all of this will hang on our walls, but you definitely get to see what I mean when I say the guy is magic. How on earth did I end up with such an amazing person in my life?

OMG!

I've been absent of late, dear reader(s), and the only explanation is that my life right this moment is in total and complete chaos. Let me reassure you straight away that the chaos is of the good sort however, and then settle in while I give you a timeline:

09/27/2008 - Scott takes Tasha to a town she's never been to before, and she falls in love with the town. If you had been eavesdropping on the conversation in the car on the drive back to Pleasantville, you might have heard Tasha ask Scott if he'd want to live in this perfect town, "maybe in a year or so".

10/04/2008 - Scott and Tasha decide to take Boo and Baby plus nephew to Perfect Town, for a fun day of shopping. Whilst driving around in neighborhoods off the planned itinerary, Scott spots a 'For Rent' sign and suggests Tasha should call on it. Tasha complies, thinking Scott is curious about the market in Perfect Town. Tasha tells Scott how much rent is, then admits that even though rent would be $100 cheaper than what she is currently paying, the increase in costs for the commute would not make it worthwhile to move now. Scott tells Tasha a secret, which is that he thinks he's ready to move in with her.

10/06/2008 - Scott and Tasha drive out to Perfect Town, and put in an application to rent house built in 1912.

10/09/2008 - Scott and Tasha learn they are not The Chosen Ones for 1912 house.

10/10/2008 - Not knowing where they will be moving in Perfect Town, but knowing they have to make a decision today, both Scott and Tasha put in notices to vacate their current dwellings. They have advised their respective landlords that they will be moving out by.the.last.day.in.October. Tasha is concerned she might need her head examined for making such a rash decision, however the call of Perfect Town and Best Guy Ever are very enticing. Tasha foolishly thinks she'll be able to move four people, two dogs, and two cats from two different places in 20 days, even though she doesn't even know where they'll be moving to. Tasha believes that with Scott, all things are possible.

10/12/2008 - Tasha goes out of town for a work-related overnight stay. She leaves Scott in the hands of old friend Jody, to go looking for places to live. Jody is a real estate agent, and has secret resources for such things. They find one house that seems great, and call Tasha as she sits on a chartered bus full of co-workers on her way to Oregon. Tasha is happy they found a place, but is lukewarm on the particulars. New house in a new area of Perfect Town, in a neighborhood with lots of rules. Tasha hates neighborhoods with rules.

10/14/2008 (a.m.) - The house Jody and Scott saw is not available, but there is another house in the same (ugh) neighborhood, also less than 5 years old (ugh again). Jody wants Tasha to see it after work. Scott tells Tasha there is another house they looked at on Sunday that he thinks she'll like, and tells Tasha to ask Jody to look at it. Jody says she can if they really want to, but tells Tasha that Scott really didn't seem to like it when they looked at it the first time, and must only be suggesting it to make Tasha happy. Jody says the house is on a busy street and it's old. Jody says it won't be as good for the kids. Jody says it doesn't have a park with a climbing wall next door. Tasha still wants to look at it, and has to insist about 20 times via email.

10/14/2008 (p.m.) - Tasha hates the neighborhood of the newer house, and hates the newer house itself. She stands in the backyard with Scott to discuss whether they want to apply to rent the house, and she feels the surrounding two story houses looming over her from the back and both sides of the yard, and thinks they might be taking all of the available oxygen, because she feels like she can't breathe. They decide no, and get lost trying to leave the colossal neighborhood of identical houses, complete with identical plants in identical front yards. They pass the sign that they first saw when driving in, which says "All license plates are recorded by video surveillance". Tasha shudders. Over dinner with Jody, Tasha insists they see the older house that Jody hates. Jody is reluctant, but concedes. Tasha loves it.

10/15/2008 - Jody informs Tasha that the original place, the one Scott loved so much, is available. Tasha panics a little, not knowing which one Scott will want to try for. Scott says to try for the one Tasha loves. Jody insists Scott will be miserable, and that the kids were "creeped out" by it.

10/16/2008 - Application accepted, everything looks good.

10/17/2008-10/20/2008 - Mostly packing and freaking out. With two places to pack and clean, and two deposits to get back, tension levels are high.

10/21/2008 - Indoor soccer. Scott and Tasha play for Tasha's work team, despite fear of re-injuring Tasha's achilles tendon. Everyone finishes unscathed, although the game was lost.

10/22/2008 - More packing and freaking out

10/23/2008 - The walk through with the leasing agent. He tells about the house, and Tasha falls more in love. It was built sometime between 1894 and 1901 at a different location in Perfect Town, then eventually moved to where it sits now. The lot it sits on used to be quite a bit bigger, but the city divided the lot to put in a road (which explains why it sits on a triangular piece of land). The cedar tree in the yard is hundreds of years old.

10/24/2008 - The actual moving in begins after Tasha puts in a half day at the office. Of course half as much is accomplished as was expected.

10/25/2008 - More moving of Tasha's house, and preliminary packing of Scott's house.

10/26/2008 - Moving of Scott's house

10/29/2008 - Tasha takes most of a day off to clean her house. There's a lot more to be done than she expected. When Scott gets off work they head to his house to "finish" cleaning there. There's more to be done than expected. Head home at 10pm, feeling like there's still a ton to be done.

10/30/2008 - After work Tasha decides to try and get some unpacking done at the new house. Tasha decides to surprise Scott (who is at his house again, moving the last of the boxes), by attempting to arrange the living room. The couch falls through one of the bay windows.

10/31/2008 - Tasha calls glass companies from work, and Scott spends his day off finishing up at his old house. He turns in the keys. One down, two to go!

11/01/2008 - It's Saturday, and Tasha has to put in a full day at the office. Before work they head to the Uhaul to rent a vehicle for hauling stuff from Tasha's old house to the dump. Things get a little harried when they learn that the vehicle available at 9am won't work, and they'll have to come back at 3:30pm. With the dump closing at 5:30pm it will be cutting it tight, but there are no other options. They make it to the dump with two minutes to spare.

11/02/2008 - Tasha puts in about 6 hours at the old house (including the emergency trip to Target when it's discovered that the old house has **no** toilet paper), and then calls it good. The house looks better than when they moved in for the most part, excluding the paint splatters in the dining room from the budding Jackson Pollack who we call Solstice.

11/04/08 - Tasha is trying to regain her sanity.

(This post was started November 1st, but not published until November 4th)

How to Remove Bubblegum from the Dryer (and other hints to retain your sanity)

1. Discover mysterious black skid marks coating the interior of the dryer. Trace the origin back to the offending wad of gum, which will be lodged on the undersides of one of the fin-things in the drum of the dryer. Curse twice under your breath.
2. Scream at the nearest child. Remind them that they are not yet allowed to chew gum for reasons JUST LIKE THIS.
3. Try to scrape cold gum out from inside dryer. Recognize that the gum has fused with the metal, and has now become one with the dryer.
4. Recognize that the gum has only fused with the metal while the dryer is cold. Once the dryer is warm and drying a load of, say, black work clothes, the gum will fuse with the work clothes.
5. Turn dryer on to let it heat up the gum. Curse three more times under your breath and find yourself muttering things your mother used to say, such as, "All day I work my fingers to the bone, and this is the thanks I get?". Since no one is around to hear you say this, it's okay to laugh at yourself because you KNOW you don't really work your fingers to the bone. You're a credit union branch manager, not a coal miner.
6. Open the dryer and scrub the gum off with the plastic cup that you use to measure the laundry detergent.
7. Realize that the entire reason you need to do a load of laundry right now is that your nine year old daughter's only pair of tennis shoes are coated with dog poop. Decide that the dog poop-covered tennis shoes should do an excellent job of removing the rest of the gum from inside the dryer.
8. Laugh.