totchipanda

My week off was very chill, sometimes literally lol. It stormed on Friday evening, which I was home for but M was not. She was caught in it on the way home, which we both said "whatever, home now, who cares if you look like a drowned rat".

May 30: Spent the day sewing K's dress. I did it a slow pace, and was delighted to find that I had some pale yellow serger thread in the box that blends in perfectly. I ran out of machine thread though, so I used some serger thread just to keep going. Terrible shit though, I got through most of the bodice before it started not catching stitches. So now my top thread is a darker, obvious tan while the bottom is a paler tan that blends in better. I still need to pick up more of the paler stuff, but as I only just ordered sleeve fabric this week, it can wait. Later I picked up M from her work and we tootled off to see The Mandalorian and Grogu with our friends. It was delightful, more like a 2 hour TV show than anything. I told my dad that I thought with the CG work required, they could recoup their investment better with a movie. I tell you want, I did not have a swole Hutt on my bingo list this year. I can't XD

May 31: finally did my last week of May in the journal, on the last DAY of May. Oh well, it was done, that's what was important. It started raining later in the day, and we had a weather warning for increased rainfall.

Rest of the week: Blur! On Monday I got TWO packages, some delightful oranges-and-blossoms-on-mauve rayon jersey by way of K, because she knew what she wanted to make with the fabric but the store, which is semi-local to me, does not ship to the US. So she bought out the yardage and half was for me hehe. The other package was my July stickers. IN the evening, I went out (in the rain) to help dad with his van. He thought the battery was dead, but with a new battery it still didn't start. (Wednesday he had it towed, and it was discovered that there was water in the cylinders. Farewell new old van, we hardly knew ye'.)

I cut the fabric yardage in half and immediately cut out a Society dress. It was sewn over Wednesday and Thursday. Kittens helped, of course. I also had dance class on Tuesday, took M to the airport really early on Wednesday and picked her back up on Thursday afternoon. Thursday I got my other expected package, the Canada Goose Stickers and new journal! (Friends, it is not having to set up my own pages that is the "problem" lol. I am just not a planner kind of person, but I'm still tryin'!) Friday it was raining again and while I got a gov't cheque that day, it was the only day I was able to stay home so I opted not to go out. I printed and taped patterns over Friday and Saturday, where I also donated blood and took my dad grocery shopping. Did some art in the journal to start off June. Sunday morning I also cut out a Sphix top from the rayon jersey, spent the afternoon cuddling with the cats, and finally started sewing it at like 5 pm while watching the Tonys. Finished it COMPLETELY, buttons and hand stitching and all, by 930 INCLUDING stopping for an hour to wash dishes and make dinner.

Of course was awake 2-4 am overnight, so I came back to work super tired but in my niiiice new shirt. One of my coworkers is leaving us next week, he is going to a new site that our company is already operating literally 2 blocks away. Good for him! Apparently it was an utter shit show while I was gone and now I don't know how I feel about my own job search, except that the GOOD jobs are coming up finally, so now what? I applied for two. I think I still need to move on. The situation here is so much better than it was, but I still feel stuck and like nothing is ever going to improve so...

I was so tired when I got home that I napped for close to an hour and a half. Did not eat dinner, and while I did get to sleep at a semi-reasonable time (before 1am) I am still tired.

Dance class tonight. Payday this week. I have two yards left of the jersey and I am expecting the striped fabric maybe by the end of the week. What shall I make with the rest?

Oh yeah, I am also interested in the stays-along this morning and am rapidly running up to "why bother because I won't finish by the end of the month". I tried on my very first iteration of Augusta stays, which are... well. They were started very-early during the pandemic. The front was low enough but the sides aren't high enough. Would definitely need an extra panel or tab or sommat for the waist. I finished these almost to the point of binding and seam covering. I started a second pair that are in two pieces as I was experimenting with the side front panels and put it in the naughty pile well before I moved. I reprinted the pattern while I was off, with the intent of refitting it entirely. I measured a size 44 front (as most of my full chest measurement is frontal) and 36 back. I wanted to cut out at least one mockup just to try sizing to see how it fits at the waist etc before committing to a full sew. And sweet fluffy baby bunnies help me, I want to handsew at least one pair of stays in my life. Wild.

Yesterday I had a therapy appointment, and we talked about vacuuming. It sounds silly, because we really did discuss it a fair amount, but it wasn't entire about vacuuming. It was about breaking cycles and what to do when you feel stuck. It started with me still pondering a new job and is it "wasted effort" if I end up moving east in a few years, and moved into house chores of which vacuuming is the number one "if I did this my place would look and be cleaner. It ended with how being stuck in the cycle guarantees nothing will happen and how do we take steps to move past that.

So I grumbled and dragged my feet, but when I got home I picked up most of the objects in the hallway and then vacuumed it and as far into the living and bedrooms as I could reach. OK FINE YES IT WORKED I do feel better about having taken that step towards a cleaner house. Ugh why does doing a thing for our stupid mental health usually WORK.

I am on a stay-cation next week, woohoo! Aside from taking M to and from the airport, I have no major plans. I want to do chores and a day of laundry, but also things that are fun! I really ought to get some sewing projects lined up so that I'm not scrambling when it comes time to stitch. There's always the cross stitch too. The 100 day project wraps up on Monday or Tuesday, and I haven't made nearly as much progress as I wanted. I should read some audio books while doing said fun things. I have review copies to read.

In a little under an hour from this posting I will be headed out for the follow up to my IUD insertion.

And just like that, the week is over.

Dance went well, I spent my birfday evening watching murder documentaries and colouring in my book, and yesterday's dentist trip went well. I think it was the shortest visit I've ever had. Since I was in the 'hood, I went to visit my dad and sibling as they had a bin of fabrics for me to look through, and I had yet to see their new place. Plus I wanted to see my girls' mama and sister! Mama accepted some skritches, Sister sniffed my hand and ran away.

Then I picked up more cat food as said girls appear to be on a hunger strike (turds). Bookstore to use my coupon on a book and card, lastly $40 of gas and I went home. Am now broke so definitely not going to the ball (sob). I shall sit on my couch and sigh dramatically.

So, weekend plans. I really want to sew, which I say every week, but I mean it! I bought a cami pattern that I've been eyeing for many years, which is simple enough, and I have my mind on some fabric bits for it. I have a bra cut out that I need to stitch up bc I'm sure it's going to be too small. SOOOO many other things to decide on, cut out and sew! Come on, self, we can do this!

One thing I forgot from the other day, I expect to receive a notice about my annual inspection any day now (mid-June 2024, late-May 2025). I have been a full hermit for months and the place really needs some attention. I want to make a list (I have found a list online) and start working on it a bit at a time so that I'm not panic-cleaning for several hours. I'm even considering moving furniture so I can vacuum underneath it. So perhaps I'll get that enacted.

I opted not to go to blood donation. I wasn't sure how soon after an iron transfusion one should give their blood away so I rebooked for after I see the gyn for a follow up at the end of the month. So I didn't leave, and that meant I didn't go to any stores.

Pulled out Jenny the Janome for buttonholing. She was struggling with forming stitches. I pulled the bobbin race open to reset it, and then tested the bobbin for tension. It was really really tight! I had to loosen it a full turn and a half of the screw! What the heck was I doing last? Buttonholes all done, I lost bobbin chicken on the very last one but luckily the vintage device and striped material meant I could line it up for a new pass pretty easily. Then I put on all of the buttons, and finally sewed on two pant hooks into my Lucille trousers. Woooo!! Successful day!

Yesterday I rotted, mostly. Made my week of journal pages, made a food, knit two rows while Calcifer was sleeping, played silly video games, both on my phone and on the Switch. Discovered a poor little spood in the sink who refused to be helped, a deceased one in the whizzer I was going to use for salad dressing, and a big black one in between the inner and outer doors, and swore off doing anything in the kitchen. It's their kitchen, I'm just working in it.

On Saturday night I was oozing deeper into the couch and thinking about how the thing that would fix me is a new sweater. (Narrator: this would not, in fact, fix them) I've been poking around the vintage patterns in Ravelry for ideas, so we'll see. I am DETERMINED to have more me-made makes this year, especially for winter. It is going to take me forever to knit a sweater when, even napping, Calcifer still woke up long enough to thoroughly investigate my project. Must be considered hehe.

Tonight though, I just need to make a food and my evening is mine. Definitely want to do some sort of stitchy something. We'll see.

As far as weekend plans went, I accomplished them lol. Dress is finished except for buttons and buttonholes and a belt (I need to get ambitious and set up a second machine for them). Yarny fest was really lovely. M and I had delicious coffee and caught up on stuff, and went to Walmart for a couple things before calling it a day because the weather was stupid (I always forget how windy this part of spring is) and the people were stupider.

Yarn fest! Picked up my friend and we tootled out. The venue was really well set up, taking up part of the exhibition building with a good amount of space for the vendors and attendees. My friend and I always do a lap to see what's there and talk about what we're looking for and what we're seeing, and then a second lap to start our purchases. Then we did a third, shorter lap for those "maybe...?" options, and then just as we were about to walk out the door, Friend had one more "I need to see this one last time!" All in all, we spent almost two hours, browsing and chatting and talking to some of the vendors.

She bought yarn for a couple projects she had in mind, we debated and compared colours at two or three other booths, and a big project bag for her sweater projects. I bought two skeins for projects I didn't have planned but immediately thought up ones for (one is a bright fun colourway called Cupcake Sprinkles and it will be a hat because I only have three right now; the other is called Spring Strawberry Fields and came with some pretty stitch markers, it will either be a hat or a one-skein shawl), stitch markers with "50" marked on them (that's how I count my larger projects) and a project bag that yeah, I could have made myself, but the fabric was so fun and that I didn't have. Every time I saw it sitting in the backseat afterwards I went "hee :3" so it was the right choice.

We had lunch on a patio as the weather was perfect, it was a delicious burger, and then we headed into a nearby city to check out their yarn store (so cute, and also they had a large embroidery selection) and then an indie bookstore that was opening that day. Very pretty, and a good selection of genre books.

Spent the rest of the weekend rotting. Thought about stitching, did only a little bit of knitting, and otherwise just vibed with my windows open. Lovely days.

In other "news", I signed up for a goal setting challenge which is much more low-key and realistic about how to work towards them. I started doing the accompanying workbook last week, and since I am so not practiced in thinking about this stuff, let alone doing it, it's been percolating through my brain very slowly. One of the exercises was making a chart for the next "cycle" (essentially quarterly; the current round runs until the end of June) in terms of when you already know you are not available. So I have Tuesdays blocked off because that's my dance class and I am simply not available to work on any goals. My current goals are looking to be habit building -- getting a cleaning schedule going, starting to walk more, etc. The email for week 6 (this week) said to focus on STARTING. And honestly, it's kinda working for me. I need to sit longer with this, it's been less than a week, but you know what, I did start haha. Already a win!

In that vein, I am thinking about what I am doing this week. Tuesday is booked. I have an appointment on Saturday that I may or may not attend. I... should probably get that second machine set up for buttonholes, shouldn't I. Dang it.

Hockey playoff dreams are still alive for one more game! They crushed it last night, so it's back to Anaheim for tomorrow.

I did laundry on Monday and I had enough across my account and on the card to do a load of sheets/fabric too. So that's done. While I waited, I cut some interfacing for the collar pieces, and a small strip of the "lambswool" fusible I bought in the summer (it's the stuff Gertie uses to stabilize zipper openings) for the collar band. Way too late to do the front edges. Then I made dinner while the last load was in the dryer, a veggie stir fry with chicken dumplings, and rotted for the rest of the night.

Yesterday was dance class, which was lovely as always.

Tonight I would like to take out a lot of my take-out-ables, garbage and green waste and recycling. No idea what I will make for dinner yet. Then I should like to work on my dress, and maybe the cross stitch. My friend sent me a photo of one she worked on, and said that the photos of mine inspired her to pick it back up. I can't fall behind now when I have inspired someone!

Feels like nothing exciting is going on, even though some things are. We are in hockey playoffs again, so my evenings have been game mode (we won Monday's game but lost last night's). I stitched a little bit the other night but not much. The one pattern I printed out was a soft bra, which I cut fabric for (probably in the wrong size) and have otherwise ignored. Dance class has started again and I missed the first week but went this week. Nothing like some squats to humble you when you think you've been feeling better after migraines and anesthesia. Plus I was yawning my face off. Still, it was good to dance :)

Grandboss came in Tuesday and her and my boss talked for literally an hour and a half. It's been very chill since. Loud and I were just saying this morning that we're waiting for the shoe to drop, but hopefully things are a little less volatile now. Still gonna be looking.

I've been watching a lot of planning/journaling videos on YouTube lately. I know I want to use my journal MORE, though I don't really know HOW since I'm not a planning sort of person. I have some extra stickers in my subscription that are for Hobonichi Cousin (A5) books. I used a few stickers from the January sub in my other journal but have purposely not used February or May (didn't get the sub in March/April), thinking I can move the unopened kit along if I feel like/get around to it. But then I started thinking about how I could maybe use a planner more at work? Maybe? And maybe put stickers in it because stickers are great and make everything more fun?

In that vein, I wondered if I could find some free printable planner-type sheets to see if it would work for me. I was delighted to discover that Hemlock & Oak (a Canadian brand) offered not only printables, but FULL downloads of their planner pages. Like 576 pages of a Hobonichi-type B5 planner downloads. THANK YOU H&O!!! Their books are beautiful but expensive and I was reluctant to buy one if it isn't going to work for me. I downloaded the full book and printed off the last days of April, the month layout and most weeks of May. This gives me a range of pages to try out over the next little bit to try out. Printer paper isn't nearly as nice as the kind they offer in the book, but it'll do for a test.

Weekend incoming and that means wishful dreaming! I am cat-sitting for a friend and she has lots of open laminate floor space and her cat is 10, so I absolutely plan to make use of that and cut out fabric. Sunday is a group shirtdress sew-along by Tailor Academy which will take up most of my afternoon, and then I have a watch party of the hockey game at the arena. Next couple nights will be pattern printing, fabric washing, and collecting of items to travel with me.

My sister is in town for her birthday (today! The big 4-0!) and last night she ended up with an extra ticket for the last regular season hockey game. I don't keep up much during the season because it just stresses me out but my coworker said that we're in the playoffs, but the outcome of last night's game would determine if we started playoffs with home ice or not. I don't really know. Game was good, we won! I have wrecked my voice though, I can't really project much lol. She said something about a family lunch tomorrow, so I am looking forward to that.

Hopefully this weekend I am not sick! Besides lunch, I have to go to FedEx and get my books, do a heckin' grocery shop, tv date with my friend to finish our show, and... not much else. I plan to open up my antique laptop to do a whole bunch of pattern printing (since the chromebook doesn't do layers) (ooh I should make a list of everything I want to print, too). I have season finales of The Pitt and Drag Race to watch. I'd also like to sleep for more than three hours at a time. And read a book, maybe.

First of all, slept all of three (3) hours last night so the likelihood of me showing up at dance tonight are greatly reduced.

Thought my appointment with my doc could have been an email, but it was actually not terrible that I did see him. A nurse took my height and weight (I have lost 1.1 kg since Friday lmao -- that's 2 and a bit pounds -- not a surprise considering I was physically incapable of eating for almost three days), He came in after to talk about "so you saw the gyn and have an IUD now?" and I said yes, and he wanted to talk about my blood results some more. ( more medical stuff ) Anyway, hopeful that this will improve. He then said "go to the pharmacy for some iron supplements" and I said "actually they made me sit and wait for FIVE HOURS for an infusion". Ok great! We'll check back in about three months and see where we're at.

Not many brains last night, but I put four needles worth of thread into the cross stitch. It's nice to know that with the periods managed and the iron boosting my blood, I should start feeling more like a human again. The track of more energy = more sewing time was not lost on me. You mean I'll have the wherewithal to care about doing something AND actually do it will happen?? WOW will medical wonders never cease!

Last update before surgery:
I am the first person of the day, and I need to be there at 5:30 AM. Transit is not running that early so I am now having to figure out a way to get there. I got clarification on the fasting instructions. I will pack my go-bag tonight with IUD, knitting, a book, slippers, something warm to wear. Prep anything else I need prepped before going to bed. I've been waking up at 3 am all week, but watch, tonight I will sleep through the night and it will be a struggle to get up. Ah well. Upside is, I'll be home before noon!

Holy forking shirtballs, this is happening. OK, everyone calm down, play it cool. Deep breaths. I got this.