It's Toasted!

So. 

Thanks to the technology that is Netflix, I finally watched the first episode of Mad Men. I was fascinated by the wardrobe, by the interplay betwixt the sexes, the subtle and not so subtuttle power play machinations and the characters. 

The final scene of Don Draper with his children and wife was totally unforeseen. I liked the show and I can see that I will want to see all of the episodes available. It seems to me to be more of a girlie-type show; maybe one that Sweetie wouldn't like, but I could be wrong. Also? The head tobacco guy was played by John Cullum, the sexy barkeep from Northern Exposure. It took me quite awhile to place his face in the dustbin that serves as my mind. 

Sweetie has gone onto his regular 2nd shift with the new company, and into overtime right away. Two extra hours every day and he'll work tomorrow, which means 18 hours of overtime this week. We can really use the money, so neither of us will complain very much. 

With him gone now, most of the week, I have been working more in my studio, sewing every day. There will be an Autumn Fest next Saturday on the street where the gypsies live, so I am trying to make as much product as possible.

My gypsies have been keeping me sane and happy. I love Leslie and Dammit Janet so much!

On the bunny front, Trixie has learned how to leap out of her corral here in the computer room, but she only does it at night. The rest of the day? She is happy to be 'kept,' but at night? Not so much. I hate to cage her within her cage, but she likes to jump up on us in bed and poop on the bedclothes. She reminds me so much of Sheila, (and sometimes I forget and call her by that name,) but Sheila never pooped or peed on the bed. She would rearrange my covers, annoy me, stare at me until I awoke to see her nose on mine, but she kept her shit out of the bedroom. Maybe Trixie will figure it out - she is using her litter box more and more.

Engineered for Brilliance

Hope everyone had a good Labor Day, and that you remembered the Labor Movement, for whom we can thank the 40 hour work week, the end of American child labor, better working conditions, and so on. 

I celebrated by working at Gypsy Gatherings. I usually go in on Mondays, and Leslie gave me the option of opening the store or not. I'm glad I did, because business was brisk! I've been making shopping bags, and I have a stack of things to work on, including a Halloween costume and some alterations. The costume will be a cancan sort of thing because I found a beautiful black and red Victoria's Secret corset and the perfect skirt from a fancy chair cover at Goodwill in Corydon. 

I grow weary sometimes of cranking out the same thing, so I used up left over bits and 

pieces from the numerous feedbag/shopping bags to make this. Reminds me of Carnaby Street mod from the 60s. Even though they take longer to make, they are fun. (And of course I will charge more for them.) This is the same bag, front and back.

I found this set of five leaves at 

GG. The largest is about 4.5" across. As soon as I saw them, I knew that I wanted to hang them thusly, drifting down the wall. 

And these two darlings are scenic paint-by-numbers and they are on the same wall as the p-b-n parrots. I also acquired two large squirrel crewel embroideries, (crewel squirrels?) but they aren't up yet.

The heat wave finally broke on Saturday. It has been very hot here for three months, so to wake up to a 50º morning is a delight. Today, the sky is a beautiful clear blue, and not a cloud to be seen. I feel really good.

Everybody's Talking at Me

So, in spite of Netflix abruptly doubling their price for the streaming/one-dvd-at-a-time package, I did not cancel my subscription. The increase was done poorly and with little notice, but it is still cheaper than cable or satellite.

I watched The Conversation, with Gene Hackman, last month. Twice, actually. Tonight was Midnight Cowboy with Jon Voigt and Dustin Hoffman. With a small part by Susan Vacarro. Both movies are almost like documentaries, one of San Francisco in the mid-70s, and the other of New York City in the late 1960s. Both movies are great on their own merits, as well. Joh Voigt was also great in The Odessa File. Where is he today, I wonder? Did you know that he is Angelina Jolie's father???

I had read Midnight Cowboy back in about 1971, as a 14 year old. I was reading anything and everything I could lay my little paws on back then. This was my first viewing of the film. 

Watched Trainspotting last week, and enjoyed that one immensely. I don't understand certain reviews saying it was promoting the joys of heroin addiction. In my eyes, it was a damnation of the vice. Oh sure, the high is unbeatable, but the price paid is always too dear.

And now, after all the previous episodes of 30 Rock and Scrubs, Sweetie and I are watching the X files in order. Way too much fun. 

Knitting continues, slowly; on the last ten rounds. Temperatures today were 104º, before the heat index. I have a feeling that once it hits the low 50s, either day or night, I will finish the shawl tout de suite. 

Salt over the Left Shoulder

We haven't had any more problems with the little gremlins here in Montgomery City, after my shout of "Get the fuck out of here! This is our home now." Except for the one time that I heard what sounded like a refrigerator falling over upstairs. It could have been a sonic boom, as there is an AF base not too distant from here. 

The Indiana domicile is another matter altogether. I spent almost 17 years there, if my math is correct, with many days and evenings alone. No funny stuff, not ever.

Not once. Nothing. Nada.

But now that we have left the place empty for several months, well…

Week before last, when I was there, I heard bumps and things tipping over in the night, as if a herd of squirrels or rats were exploring, but there was no spoor evidence to confirm this. Princess and Trixie were with us, too, and so could have caused some disturbance. 

Then Sweetie went there alone this past weekend, no dog and no rabbit, and the poultrygeists were even more noisy. Wtf? Am I gonna have to burn white sage and cast out these "spirits"? It's very weird for me to have this happen. What is the logical, Spock-like answer? 

Or should I use this as a selling point? Haunted House for Sale!

The more interesting thing is this: The apartments next door, which were at one time a general store and later, a christian school, are also plagued by noises, bumps in the night, bumps in the daytime, and so on. The last renters fled after two months, saying they were tired of living in a haunted house. 

Have these unhappy spirits filtered down the hill to our house? Do I even believe any of this? 

I am still of a mind that there are quantum mechanics at the root of this all. 

But I also wonder if it wasn't me keeping the house "clear" all those years?

Please tell me if any of you all have ever had unwanted visitors, so to speak.

White Elephant Sale

Finally, a shot of one wall of my booth at Gypsy Gatherings. The little white elephant planter on the top shelf sold the day after I placed it. The pickings are rather sparse, but I like the white walls and uncluttered look.

I have excavated my Animaniac toys from the Happy Meals back in 1994, along with a Slappy Squirrel and Dot toothbrushes and a little Marvin the Martian. They are slowly being added to the room, even though collectibles are not so much in the sellers' favor anymore as more folks are selling than buying. But still, aprons and animal feed shopping bags are being snatched up almost as fast as I make them.

Knitting classes are being demanded, too, once the weather cools. It has been in the 90º all week despite the forecasts for more pleasant weather.

This is the view from the front door of Gypsy Gatherings. Joyful clutter!

Get a Haircut, ya Damn Hippy!

My friend, Zippiknits, chastised me in the most gentle of ways regarding my post of yesterday. Thank you. 

The anger was real, yet beneath me. 

The house in Laconia needs to be lived in. There was mold here and there from the place being shuttered for several weeks. Someone needs to be there to open the windows and see to the yard. 

Wouldn't it be a grand place for an entrepreneur or two, someone with an at-home business? The post office is just across the street, and FedEx and UPS visit Monday through Friday. There is high-speed internet available.

I would consider renting the house at a rock bottom price to a person in need, a person I could trust. 

Do any of you know about a forum or website that I might join; starving artists or starving self-employed people? It seems a shame for that big old house to be empty, when so many are underwater with their mortgages. 

Cherry Flavored!

Drove back to Indiana this past Wednesday. It had been several weeks since the last visit, and the grass was more than ankle deep. Good Neighbor Nancy has not been well, and unable to keep up with the mowing. Sweetie spent several hours whipping it into some sort of shape, while I huddled indoors with the air conditioning. Lots and lots of pollen in the air, along with the usual Ohio River humidity. 

A couple of people took the opportunity to complain about the grass and weeds behind and beside our barn, saying it was a visibility hazard. I wanted to thank them for helping us out with our yard, since we have mowed many parts of the town for many years that wouldn't have been mown save for us, and that we didn't do it for money or glory, only to make the town look better. So, fuck you, Laconia. Not to even mention the flower planters at the 4-way that I maintained for several years, and the festival that I started and ran, pro bono, for about 7 years. Fuck you and fuck you.

I did take the opportunity to visit both the Salvation Army Thrift Store and the Goodwill in Corydon, with an aim to find something different for my booth at Gypsy Gathering. And I did. My glorious finds are still in the van, but when I bring them in, I will take photos of some of the treasure.

This next weekend will be Sweetie's last long weekend before he starts the 5 day workweek at the new job, and he wants to go back to Indiana and do what he can, this one last time. It costs $200 to drive there and back in the van, and so I would just as soon not. We'll see.