Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Jessica in the souffle-cup dress

Floyd Awards tonight. After a week of scurrying around and throwing together outfits from lost and found items and random kitchen supplies (see photo) I presented the Second Annual Blueberry Hill Lost and Found Fashion Show at the Fourth Annual Andy Floyd Awards Show/Staff Party. I will post more pictures when I'm capable of operating the photoshop. This picture is of a ballgown I made out of souffle cups, which are the little three-ounce plastic cups that sauce comes in at most restaurants. Yes, I really did make a dress out of them. I am foxy and crafty. The party was great and I won the prize, second year in a row thank you, for best host. Everybody had blast. See the flickr page for dance party photos. TIll tomorrow...

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

The birthday boy and chief surprise planner

Zach's surprise pirate birthday party was great! Katie planned the whole thing and pulled it off without Zach having even the slightest clue. Tons of folks showed up, and about half were in full pirate regalia. Much grog was imbibed, and cake was had by all. Happy thirtieth Zach!

Monday, September 26, 2005

Mashu using the iBook


Mashu using the iBook
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
I have the smartest cat on the southside.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Ah, the lovely couple!


Ah, the lovely couple!
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
April and Ryan's wedding was lovely, and quite fun too. April looked smashing in her dress, and she was wearing heels, which I have never seen her do before and I must say she pulled it off without a hitch, more than I can say for myself. I think their ceremony was even shorter than ours. Matt and I sat at table 19, with therest of the bad kids (Jared, Drew, Ashley, Jay and Jessica) and we laughed and drank and ate and had an all around good time. After dinner there was much dancing, and James gave a toast in which he likended the Bride and Groom to Chocolate and Peanut Butter, sweet and a little messy and smooth and spreadable? Cute.
We danced, took pictures and slipped off into the night, very happy for our friends, and a little bit jealous, because they are leaving in the morning for a week in London. Jerks.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

September 22 is for remembering


My Poppy and me
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
Today is my Poppy's birthday. He passed away several years ago and I miss him terribly. I always think about him on his birthday. I'm not sure who took this picture, it was probably my mom or Aunt Patti; and I don't remember who we were photographing, but I can guess that it was Christmas. We are facing the mantle in Grammy and Poppy's livingroom (called The Front Room, where NO FOOD WAS EVER ALLOWED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES) where all the stockings were hung.
I miss my Poppy every day. I try to be an honest, patient and fair person like he was. I think the patience comes hardest, but then, I am my grandmother's grandaughter after all.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Finger- knitting with the girl scouts

Today I taught a second grade Brownie troop how to finger-knit. Next time we are going to broach the subject of needles, and what we can do with them and a bit of yarn. I cannot believe that I actually met a group of female humans who talk more than my mother, my sister and my Aunt Patti combined. (AND they're only eight years old! I fear for the future of quiet reflection!) I worked on some stuff for the Floyd Awards, and that is also what I plan to do tomorrow

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

tuesdays are for errands!

I actually slept in today and then got up to do the necessaries. Bank, store, dry cleaners, recycling, and the new one: drive husband-friend to work. That's right folks, Matt's Mazda has kicked the proverbial bucket. It needs an entirely new engine. He has finally admitted that he has to stop trying to save this car and scrap it. Unfortunatley, he wants to tow it into the backyard to dismantle it. Lucky for us we got rid of his other derelect vehicle last month and now we have room for the Mazda.
Okay, all snotty, car-related nastiness aside, my husband is sweet and amazing and really truly loves this car. I was a gift from a friend who moved overseas. He got a lot of miles out of the thing, and it ran very well for an '87 Mazda P.O.S. I was stupid about my Escort wagon when it died, I should lay off Matt.
We are a one car household now, and yes Dad, we made all the proper adjustments with our insurance agent. Matt has been biking quite a bit. I bought new whitewall tires for my Schwinn Cruiser and have been pedaling around the neighborhood myself. We've talked about saving up for a down-payment on a Prius, I like Toni's a lot. We both feel that our next car should be much more fuel efficent, although my Saturn still gets good gas mileage. I just want a hybrid, they're so cute. They are a wee bit out of my price range though.
Sorry for sounding like a yuppie for a while there.
Speaking of sounding like a yuppie, tomorrow I am going to teach a Brownie troop how to knit. I was actually recruited to do this by the troop leader, and she has met me before and seems to think I will be an appropriate knitting role model for a bunch of seven and eight-year-old girls. I have no idea what one wears to teach Brownies to knit, but I'm not even gonna try to cover up the tattoos.
I should mention my charming houseboy, Kate, who lives in the basement. She has gotten a job and has been slacking on her dish duties. She catching up as I type this.

Monday, September 19, 2005

The great cupcake froster has taken his leave.


Chris fixin to depart
Originally uploaded by sarahkate.
Chris left us in the wee hours of the morning. He's off to Tennessee to visit his Pops. He may stop back in on his way to San Francisco, but if he doesn't, I won't have the pleasure of his company for quite some time. See, he's bound for Australia, to see his girlfriend, and will most likely be there for at least six months. He will be sorely missed on this continent. Kate may go visit, but I doubt Matt and I will be able to raise the funds for such an expensive trip, what with the house and all. Oh well. Smooth sailing Chris. Have a fabulous adventure!

Sunday, September 18, 2005

long overdue...

I want to apologise to my faithful readers, though few and far between they may be, for my long absence. I haven't had time to think this past week, let alone do the blogging. I've been working on the house lately, with the help of Kate and Chris. Kate is here to stay for a while, and Chris is only here for a few more hours. I am very happy we had him for the week.
Kate and Chris got most of the fallen tree branches and leaves out of the yard and into the dumpsters. We hauled out the rest of the plaster from the bathroom, and took down the lathe from the ceilings on the second floor. Now we just need to get the rest of the junk out of the second floor, and we can procede with drywalling. I am excited!
Work has been exhausting lately, but very lucrative. With Wash U. back in session, the teeming masses descend upon "Blue Hill" like vultures. (Is that a mixed metaphor? Oh well.)
I'm getting ready for the Floyd awards, our anual staff fiasco. I'm doing the fashion show again, and I can't say anything more for fear of letting the cat out of the bag, but I will post pictures when the project is complete. I'm also in charge of the BBh booth at the Loop in Motion festival on October first, so I've been making knitted things and other crafty stuff to sell for that. Unfortunatley this means I will be unable to attend this year's Archon festivities. Oh well, maybe I'll stop by for a bit.
I'm going to Chicago for the Marathon on the seventh, and staying until the eleventh. I am so stoked to see my cousin in the marathon. Mom and Aunt Patti thought my idea for us all to wear matching sweatshirts that say "Julie D. from W.G." on the front and "GO!" on the back was great. I know it's a bit cheesy, but in a great, supportive way. I am SO PROUD of Julie. I know she's going to do well and I can't wait to be there to cheer her on.
That's it for now. I promise the next post will be sooner than later.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

sorry

I've been very neglectful of the blog. I have so many new things to tell about, from our refinance going through and getting a new laptop, to garden and knitting news, and kate's stories about her monthlong tour with a counrty musical. I can't even begin now. I just got of the late nite shift at work and I really should be going to sleep. I'll try to fill in tomorrow.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

there is a reason...

I've been having some very emotionally draining personal problems this week that one of the parties involved has asked me not to discuss with others. I am going to respect these wishes here, too. Suffice to say, no one is physically hurt or ill, I just haven't felt up to blogging. I feel totally useless, and I am frustrated.
A friend suggested that I use my blog to help me get "out of my own head" and to "count my blessings", or try to put things in perspective. This is very difficult for me to do right now.
I spent most of today shopping. Those who know me, know that this is not an activity I generally enjoy. I like to go to the grocery store (which I did today), but that is about the only kind of shopping I like. I felt like I had to get out of the house and into the world, so I tried to take Hazel for a long walk. We walked all around Compton Heights and Fox Park this morning for about two hours. After the walk, Hazel was exhausted and I was still restless, so I went shopping.
There were a few little things I needed: new headphones, a coffee press for more than two cups, inscense, sponges. I got all of these things and continued to wander around the store for another hour or so, randomly picking up objects and placing them into my basket. Anything that caught my eye, anything sparkly or pretty, I grabbed. Needless to say, when I approached the checkout I did a double take of the contents of said basket. I immediatly left the line and put three-fourths of the crap I had picked up back, which took up another fifteen minutes. I have no idea why I kept grabbing random shiny things. I am not usually an impulse buyer, I've been trying to cut down on the ammount of "stuff" I own. I wonder where the need to collect all that junk came from, and what it says about my present state of mind. I still ended up with a few frivilolus items ( a henna tattoo kit, a lovely blue cereal bowl with plum blossoms on it), but I think I have learned that retail therapy is not the kind of therapy that works for me.
I'm tired but I don't want to sleep. I feel restless. I think I'll try taking Hazel for another walk.