I Can Hardly Believe It Either

Wow not only posting BTPT on the correct day this week but I am actually posting something for the second day in a row. Could this mean I have my sort of normal schedule back again? I guess only time will tell.

Those of you who read yesterday’s late night post are probably aware that I am going to be running the Labor of Love posts as a regular series here. I have a whole bunch of stuff already completed and even more swimming. I figure if that house gave me anything it is a good solid novella and I fully intend to write it up!

I have also been setting my subconscious on my actual manuscript while painting and a few little nuggets of wonder are making their way toward the surface as well.

Painting will wrap Saturday for the big stuff and Monday for the touch ups then I am done with that job for a while and I can just get back to writing. That is until we hit the Vineyard for our annual vacation with our friends!

Now there is something I am not even able to describe how excited I am to do. Inspiration, relaxation, sun & salt air for 6 straight days. Just the ferry over to Oak Bluffs alone is like a spiritual experience. I’m sure the Obama family took a private boat into port which is too bad for them, there is something about seeing that land mass peek out in front of you as you pull away from Falmouth that nothing can match.

When any of my books hits the big time we will own a house on the Vineyard. Maybe.

Last week over on the other blog I posted a vid of instructions of how to make a shirred sun dress. Shirring is that gathered stretchy look that a lot of lady’s dresses or summer tops have. They made it sound so easy. They always do though right?

Well after one slightly failed attempt on a fabric that was just a little too advanced for me I decided to do this on a simple cotton fabric. It was complete, the elastic was stretchy and the gathers were even pretty well matched up I went to put it on and three of the elastic threads snapped. It wasn’t even over both of my shoulders yet. I spent about 6 hours on this dress and at least 3 on the one before it. I am so bummed, it was going to look so cute with black leggings and sandals this weekend at my adopted nephew’s birthday party.

Guess that means I am shopping in the morning on Sunday because I want my cute dress damn it. Or else I need to figure out how to create, pin & sew from a pattern like pronto. Not looking too good though. Guess the only way to learn is to just fuck it up sometimes. Oh well, I will now rip out all the elastic threads, add some decorative thread colors and use it as a curtain for my closet that is in desperate need of one. Silver lining right?

Going out to play pool with one of Matt’s old high school friends tonight. Funny thing is they didn’t reacquaint themselves through Facebook. In fact Matt was on the bus on the way home one day & they randomly ran into each other in Arlington. They both grew up on Long Island so to see each other there was very strange indeed. It will be fun to meet him & have a beer or two; maybe a Grimbergen if they have it. It has been forever since I’ve played pool. Should definitely be fun.

So another installment of Labor of Love is on deck for tomorrow. Not sure how I feel about this working title though. It just doesn’t seem right but it was the first thing to jump to mind. Any suggestions?

It’s All About Music, It Always Is

There is no news, no television or computer and not a whole lot of conversation when on the job. My dad has this guy Timmy who helps him out and he is a great guy, very hard worker and willing to pitch in and do just about any job you throw at him from demo to finish work. I have been picking him up and dropping him back off every day and we have had a chance to chat and get to know each other more which has made working together a more pleasant environment.

But here is the thing about Tim, he isn’t exactly up on the ins and outs of the daily world as he lives in his truck and primarily listens to Oldies 103.3. So, although I like sharing stories about the fact that the DPW has decided the perfect time to cut the trees along route 2 is rush hour or he tells me about the time he spent working at the base as a military “brat”, we have very little in common aside from my dad (who by the way is almost never out at the job).

When I get home at night I am so exhausted I barely talk to anyone and have extremely low motivation to get on the computer. I feel out of touch and it is a foreign concept to me. In some ways it’s liberating to be free of the little electronic box but for the most part I just don’t like it.

To work out my psychosis called ‘left out-ness’, I turn to my favorite music. Although the other day I said Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains were making a come back, at the end of the day, on the hour long ride home after dropping Timmy, I need something far less heavy. So I turn, as I often tend to do, to Melissa Ferrick.

Recently on her digital release Goodbye Youth she covered the tune “Glycerine” by Bush. It is just her & an acoustic and it is awesome. I have seen her in places where there might have been 100 people at best and I was about a foot from the edge of the stage but although that is amazing, I really feel that this woman should be playing for crowds of thousands.

I have talked about her before but have probably not given her the insane props she really does deserve. Answering a survey the other day I mentioned something about all of her albums are as if she came over, read my journal and wrote her lyrics and it is totally accurate. She is raw, emotional and oh yeah, one hell of an amazing guitar player.

She has released 13 albums (including 2 live albums, one of which is a 2 disc) and if someone asked me to choose my favorite I would immediately name all of them before settling on ‘I can’t decide’. If I were to recommend one to get started on the road to Ferrick fandom however it would have to be either Freedom or Valentine Heartache or a mix cd with a sampling from everything. That might be a four disc set though.

I have seen her live at least 10 times, with a full band in a decent sized venue like the Ironhorse in Northampton, Mass or with nothing but a guitar and her honesty at Club Passim in Cambridge. Once Matt and I were even lucky enough to catch her show outdoors at the Museum of Fine Arts and we had the chance to meet her after the show. She was gracious and sweet and genuinely appreciative of our drooling fan-ness. It was so sweet how excited she was to hear we were going to be playing “The Stranger” at our wedding. Then she was sweet enough to let us snap a photo with her.

So speaking of sweet and to share one of my top 10 of hers of all time here’s a little live action to whet the eardrums, not only does she play guitar but trumpet on this one. Buy her stuff. She is amazing & you will not be sorry.

Randomness for Thursday an Award and a Meme

Tabitha over at Books, Bubs and Writing Blabber was kind enough to bestow this groovy award to me and just in the nick of time too. Again another week has gone poof into the cosmos; it is amazing how quickly they fly by right?

So the rules for this one are to get it, link to the giver, give it to others & tell stuff about me. I always struggle with giving these out, I hate to slight anyone and truthfully enjoy reading everyone so it is hard for me to pass it on.

So as per usual I simply will be a rule breaker and not pick just 7. Instead, you all get it. Take it. Hug it. Love it. Call it George. Enjoy it! Everyone deserves a Kreativ award!

So let’s kick off the randomness of Thursday with the part I will do -- the random facts about me. (This seems to segue so nicely into Broken Thought Process Thursday huh?)

For my birthday this past June I told everyone I wanted these. My mom gave me one AquaNotes pad and it is the shit! I use it all the time; yes for real. I can jot down notes at the moment I seem to be my most creative (formerly when I couldn’t do anything about it) and go back to them later, which I have actually done a couple times and they have turned into blogs or whatnot. I Love my AquaNotes!! Because I only got one I save the pages and flip them over so I don’t waste anything.

A while back I stopped buying expensive lotion for my face and started using baby lotion instead. I figured if it will make a baby’s butt smooth and moisturized it should do wonders for my face, and my skin has seriously never looked better. It totally absorbs in and is really soft. Since I don’t wear more than a little mascara most of the time my face smells all powdery all day too. It’s awesome.

For lunch today I ate four slices of Monterey jack cheese and half a container of blueberries. That’s healthy right? OK I guess all the facts would be helpful…now I am finishing off a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. See, I eat fruit all day long.

I have decided to get back in touch with my sarcastic side.

Recently my love for Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains has been rekindled. I semi wrote off PJ for a while but they’re back on the pedestal again. It surprises me how much I love the new AiC song even without Layne on vocals. They stayed pretty true to their style but it’s still fresh. I will definitely be purchasing Backspacer and Black Gives Way to Blue in September when they hit the stores.

If you read last week’s BTPT post you know that I identified with Sarah in Forces of Nature (underrated movie actually). To clarify, some of the jobs I have had include: record store manager, dental office assistant, secretary, executive assistant, Tupperware representative, faux finisher, office manager, manager of a Victoria’s Secret, music store cashier (instruments, not records), security administrator (computer access) and now writer. That is where I would truly like the list to end but who knows what will happen. I like to flow with it.

I always struggle with the last thing to say. That’s why I hate goodbyes and prefer to just disappear but those I have said goodbye to (such as ex boyfriends or people who suck) I will likely never see or talk to ever again. Final is final in my book. After all, final is defined as: pertaining to or coming at the end; ultimate; conclusive or decisive; constituting the end; pertaining to or expressing the end.