Sunday, September 30, 2007

Bullets of Tired

I was trying to think of something funny and/or pithy to post today, but I got nuthin'. I'm tired, and the weekends only seem long enough to catch me up on sleep before I have to start all over again. So the three of you still reading this blog get bullets.

*I have a semi-unbloggable thing going on at work. I'll just say that my work has gotten notice by my peers. In a good way.

*Went to our five-year old nephew's birthday party yesterday morning. He had a pirate-themed party, and Offspring went dressed as a pirate wench. It was cute. I made a little pirate treasure chest in lieu of a card that I filled with chocolate coins. It was a hit, but only because the coins were chocolate. I did take a picture of it, though I haven't uploaded it yet.

*Have been asked by my school's secretary to make up a few Christmas cards designs so she can present them to the principal. They're thinking about commissioning about 100 cards from me to present to staff this year. If they choose one of my designs, I'll have to get cracking pretty soon here.

*Have also been approached by a parent that's seen my work to make about 10 "teacher" themed cards that she can present to her children's teachers. That will be a nice way to make a little money, too.

*I've gone through the box of clothes, and need to take pictures. There's some stuff in there that's bad, but not truly cringe-worthy. The one thing I notice is that she was very fond of lime green. Needless to say, I look hideous in lime green. And, she really likes linen. I doubt if I've ever seen so much linen in my life.

*Speaking of lime green and linen -- anyone know how to home-dye some of this lime green stuff? Or should I just call around and see how much an alterations shop would charge me to dye some of this? Never having worked with linen before, I don't know much about its properties. Is it prone to shrinking? Should it be dry-cleaned, or washed by hand?

*I have a birthday coming up. I'm looking forward to the gift part, but not the idea of aging another year. Why is it that the actual *number* bothers me so much? It's not like 37 is old. I still feel young and vital -- why is it that 37 makes me feel so ancient? Am I mental? (Pipe down with the snarky comments, I am *not* all that odd...)

Well, I should go. I have bills to pay, clothes to wash, and miles to go before I sleep.

13 comments:

Marni said...

lime green? niiiiice

Can't help you with the linen questions. I'm clueless...

Congrats on your work AND cards getting noticed. Both are well deserved.

Hugs...

Courtney said...

Alls I know about linen is that it requires ironing, and therefore does not belong in my wardrobe.

And miles to go before i sleep...

Jenevieve said...

I have one linen skirt that I love and never ever wear because it wrinkles the moment it come off the ironing board. It's dry-clean only, though.

Miche said...

Getting noticed for good things, in a good way is well, more than good!

And 37 is young. Trust me. You're still a young lass yet!

Unknown said...

I'm pretty sure linen shrinks - like cotton and most natural fibers. I hand wash linen (especially if it's lined), but that's because I never dry clean. The chemicals are noxious, and probably aren't very healthy to be around. Dry cleaning is expensive, too. And, well....I really don't have much linen at any given time.

For dying it, check with fabric dyes - good old RIT and other brands. To get a true color, you might have to use their color removal stuff prior to dyeing. But if you're going dark, like a brown or black (maybe even a dark green) you can probably get away without removing the lime. BTW - no one looks good in lime green.

I've heard people recommend adding white vinegar to help stabilize the dye. I never did, and the few times I dyed things the color eventually washed out.

I did my dyeing in the washing machine. Just remember to run it (empty) a couple of times and even then make sure your next load of laundry is dark.

Crisp linen needs ironing. But a relaxed linen (my term) is great - as long as people realize it's intentionally rumpled.

As for 37...one thing I noticed even as a teen is that any age ending in 7, 8, or 9 seems "old" because you're creeping towards a new decade. But once you start fresh in a new decade with ages ending with a 1,2,3 or 4 you feel younger because you're in the EARLY half of the decade.

purple_kangaroo said...

Congrats on the good things, and the party sounds like fun. Happy birthday.

ccw said...

I love green but not lime green. I have zero experience dying anything.

Happy Birthday! Mr. MFBA will be 37 next month and he is trying desperately to ignore this fact.

kathy a. said...

ohh, i'm late! check out dharma trading [where my son works] for dying and fabric art info and supplies: http://www.dharmatrading.com/

linen does shrink, and you probably need to bleach it first, before a new color. but it is such a nice fabric.

halloweenlover said...

Happy early birthday! 37 is NOT old at all. I feel that way every year, but I figure, growing old is better than the alternative, right?

Pictures of lime green clothing please!

Bridget said...

sorry for the tiredness, congrats on teh good things. good luck with the dying- the natural fiber should take to dyes to well, although I think linen is a pain, teh ironing, the handwashing or dry cleaning. still, it's nice in the sticky heat of florida, i guess, for special occasions, or say if you don't have babies and toddlers spitting up on/throwing food at you.

kathy a. said...

also, happy birthday! [i turned 50 this year, an age everyone is supposed to dread, and hey, i felt just like i did the day before!]

congrats on the blossoming card business -- that sounds fun as well as potentially lucrative.

Mustafa Şenalp said...

Your blog is very nice:)

Karyn said...

Thirty seven.

I think I just threw up a little bit.

I'm going to be 37 in less than a year.

If I live that long.

And just in time to be completely alone and not have a person who's obligated to give me a gift.

Crap.