Elections, Flying and Family - More "Me" Meme

I went to bed early, already burned out by election coverage, but DH was up until 1:45 am watching the results. He'll be dragging today, and I'd feel sorry for him, but it's my day off and I have a million things to do, so sorry is a bit down on my list. Although my state (Minnesota) went blue (Biden), there are many votes around the nation that will still need to be tabulated. My state allowed mail-in ballots to be tabulated starting two weeks ago, so we weren't held up badly by mail-in results, although they will be added as long as they were postmarked or dropped off on time. 

I'm sick and tired of elections and election 
coverage by now. This sqwaking duck is 
just about perfect for anyone silly enough to 
want the position of President. 

Enough about elections for a while. I'm sick and tired of them and well nigh done. I think I'll continue on with the "me" meme because it's got to be an improvement over red vs blue results. 

How do you define success?

This is a tough one, because I have never really considered it before. I suppose success is happiness with the results of one's life - short term like making a from-scratch recipe and having it turn out perfect; - mid term like raising a family and watching the kids turn into wonderful human beings you're pleased to call friends and family, - and long-term like looking back down the years and not flailing over too many poor choices made. Since I can't cook worth a damn, and don't have kids, I'll have to focus on that long-term structure. 

For some people success is winning an award. I've won 
a few of those in my life, but haven't really equated them 
with "success". I'm not sure success can be garnered 
from anyone except yourself. 

If you could know the absolute truth to one question, what would it be?

I don't thing there are any absolute truths to anything, so I'm passing on this one. 

What's your decision-making style?

There's that old saying of rushing in where angels fear to tread that all too often describes my style. But I also tend to do a lot of research and thinking about things before diving in blindly. As an example, this year's holiday cards feature some cutouts and embellishments. But one part of the card where I want to do that is too large for my equipment. So, I've spent several days running alternatives through my head. I'm not sure I can stick with the original plan, but I'm willing to give it a go, once I get one small piece of equipment today. If Plan A doesn't work, then I'll shift gears and go with Plan B. Steering blindly, but with background and years of practice. 

I think the old expression was "Flying by the seat 
of your pants" and that's what I tend to do a lot. 
Fortunately, I usually bounce pretty well when 
my wings give out. 

What do you believe to be true about the world?

Unfortunately, that man has an infinite capacity to be cruel to anyone/anything perceived as "different" than himself. 

What color palette do you like most?

I'm totally into the autumn palette - olive green, yellow, orange, rust, brown, sienna. Every time I choose a new bead or new fabric, it's those colors I linger over first. 

I've never been fond of family or extended family, although 
I think quite highly of my nephews and nieces by marriage. 
Still, I actually do have quite a large family in Europe on 
my Dad's side, and some relatives on the East Coast on 
my Mom's side. I'm barely in touch with either, but they 
are there. 

Do you have family?

I'm adopted, so I assume I have a birth family out there somewhere, but I don't know them and I don't care to find them. My adopted family was wonderful, but quite small, most of them are deceased. My father's half-brother was quite well known in academic circles, and one of the side relatives decided to hunt all of us up for a large family tree he calls "Alexander's Children". It's nice to be a part of that - there are a LOT of relatives on that side of the family and we have gatherings every five years. The first two were in Europe, but the next one is scheduled for 2023 in New York City. I'm planning on attending that one. It might be rather fun. 

That's enough for today. I have to get the garbage bin to the curb and start my day. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. And please, be kind, stay safe, and wear your mask. 

Two Boys Huffing in a Playground - That Was Last Night's Debate

I had no intentions of watching the Presidential Debate last night. I've already voted and the rhetoric and flying accusations between the two candidates are boring and nonproductive. But DH came downstairs while I was working on the computer and said, "You've got to come up and watch this. It's a train wreck!" So, with a description like that, I grabbed a Halo and spoon and settled down to watch for a little while. He was right. 

I wasn't going to watch the Presidential Debate, figuring I'd 
just read the high and low points the next day, but DH 
called me up to watch the "Train Wreck" and he was 
right. It was beyond ridiculous. 

OMG, "train wreck" was actually a really good description. The candidates interrupted each other constantly, flinging outside accusations and commentary back and forth and verging off-subject often. The moderator (who really didn't manage to keep control at all) kept trying to get them back on track, but it was a hopeless mess. The pundits are now calling it the "Most Juvenile Presidential Debate in U.S. History". I think that about cover it. I did find it amusing, however, watching two grown men in their latter years act like eight-year-old boys in a playground. 

The debate was just like boys on a playground - some 
pushing, some shoving, and some verbal interactions. 
Certainly not reflective of the fact that both candidates 
are old men with adult children of their own. 

I doubt anyone's mind will be changed because of the debate, but I'm also quite sure that world leaders around the globe were laughing into their coffee cups this morning as they mused on our election and the various steps we take before getting the population to the polls. 

I love playgrounds. I spent hours and hours on them as 
a kid and young adult. When we lived in the Mexico 
Avenue house there was a park with a playground 
right across the street. My friend Lori and I would 
go over and swing for hours while we talked in Pig 
Latin. Anyone else remember Pig Latin? I was very 
fluent in it as a kid. 

Of course, there is also the question of the new nominee for the Supreme Court. But, the Court is a different kettle of fish. The Court actually relies on the law, the legal precedents upon which the law rests, and isn't an arbitrary decision made on the spur about which breakfast cereal to choose for the morning repast. The legal name(s) chosen for consideration are probably more conservative than I would like, and may be pushed through quickly to make a complete court before or around Election Day, but in the long run, I don't think the choice will be earthshaking and change personal rights and privileges instantly. The law is a profession that requires intense and thoughtful decisions and anyone high enough in the legal process to be considered for the Supreme Court won't be flighty and change with every shift in the wind. 

We all know that all is not sweetness and light in playgrounds. 
There are bullies and fights and accidents. But most kids 
look back on their youth and playgrounds with a sense of 
positive nostalgia, so I guess some of the fights actually 
ended up as best friends or brothers after all. 

So, with that, I'm going to head out to enjoy my "day off". I think I'm going to tackle the area around that final cabinet in my sewing area today. I received a package yesterday that adds to my fiber toys, and I need to unpack that, and I want to feel as if I have actually accomplished something towards making the house more livable by the end of today. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow, and please, wear your mask! 

Election Day - Photos and a Bit of Rambling

It's Election Day here in the US, and if you're not a friend of mine who lives here, I apologize, but these days Election Days are fraught with angst and a bit of danger. Oh, not physical danger, at least not where I live. Danger because the future of our nation is in the hands of people who can't look farther than their next paycheck or their next meal. People say "These are scary times we live in." They mean it. Well ... I'm saying it too. These ARE scary times we live in. Votes cast today will have repercussions years from now. 

The women of 1918, as pictured in this photo from Minneapolis archives,
were activists trying to get the right to vote. Today women express their
political views throughout the world. 

Perhaps your grandmother, great-grandmother, or
great-great-grandmother pushed for voting rights. 

In 1919, women were given the right to vote in America. Today I'm celebrating 99 years of activism and the legal ability to cast votes here, and in other nations. It takes courage to cast a vote in some places in this country and in some other nations around the world, but women always step up and heed the call. I may not agree with all of them - in fact, I can guarantee that I don't. But I'll fight for their right to help determine their own destiny. 

As we go to the polls today, it's pretty easy and safe here in the US. Here,
in Pakistan, it's less safe and easy, but still, women line up to cast
their votes. They want, and need, to have a voice in their future. 

Often the votes of women of color are under-represented. That needs
to change. To change the future, you need to take action in the
present. Casting a vote for change can be enabling for the next
generations. 

So ... if you have the opportunity to vote today and haven't already voted early, get to the polls and cast your vote. No excuses are acceptable. 

Women around the world need to be encouraged to cast their votes
in local and national elections. This right, fought for so hard by our
ancestors, should not be minimized. 

The simplest thing can create the largest wave. Without using your
voice, expressing your power, you are powerless to effect change.
Go Forth and VOTE. 

I'll be back tomorrow. Have an excellent Tuesday and I hope you've enjoyed some of the pictures I've pebbled today's post with. Now ... GO VOTE! 

Sleep, NaNoWriMo and Get Ready To Vote Tomorrow

Did all of my US friends enjoy their extra hour of sleep on Saturday/Sunday? I managed to indulge in about 30 minutes of the additional 60, which for me is pretty good. Then I settled into resetting all of the clocks that don't auto-set and started a long day of football, LOTRO, working on my holiday cards and more football. All in all, it was a really nice day - even when I temporarily broke the downstairs television by pushing some unknown button or combination of buttons. It took DH about 20 minutes to get it working properly again. I guess I can work with computers, but TVs mystify me. 

I wish I was doing NaNoWriMo this year. I've had a story perched in
my brain for a few months now and NaNo would help me flesh it
out and see if it could go anywhere. But November is way too
hectic to indulge in writing. At least it is this year. 

I know several of you are doing NaNoWriMo this year and I wish I was joining you, but no. I'm not that much of a fool. My time in November is always so constricted and I have too many things on my plate to indulge in writing 50,000+ words during the month. I enjoyed it during the years I was a participant, though, and I still enjoy the daily NaNoWriMo comic which arrives in my in-box every morning. I hope all of you participating succeed in your personal goals. 

Sales of e-books have been increasing annually while those of
print books have been decreasing. In 2017, the sales of e-books
surpassed that of print and audio formats for the first time. 

Writing usually requires some imagination and the ability to put characters, scenes and occurrences into a coherent form for an end reader you've never met. Not so easy, really. I think most authors write because they have to - there's a bug under their skin that becomes unbearable if they don't write. But the audiences they target with their words are different. Not everyone is interested in every genre and not every author's words will resonate with everyone. That's OK. With e-book formatting and self-publishing working alongside the more traditional publishers and hard-copy with the additional format of audio available for all, there's a book out there for everyone and an audience for every author. 

The ads are obnoxious and non-stop. At this point, I think over 90% of
the ads on TV are political. SO ANNOYING! 

So, I hope you all have a wonderful Monday. Don't forget to build voting into your schedule tomorrow if you live in the US. My morning will be totally messed up because of voting, but DH and I want to be at the polls when they open tomorrow morning and just get it out of the way ASAP. I'm hoping we get some time away from political advertising on the television. It's been non-stop and I hate them all! I'm going to swim out some of my election ad frustration and then try to have a good day at work. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Find Your Safe Place - Safety Pins and Colors

So the election is over and the populace are slowly recovering their minds. I think we're all a bit shell-shocked and looking for a safe place. I made a long statement on Facebook yesterday about why I wasn't changing my profile picture to the all black square so many people are sporting since the election. I seem to have hit a chime - lots of likes and some shares. The positive reaction and my refusal to blend into the dark background made me think of safe places. If there is any such place in your life, where is it? Care to share?

Understand that anyone in need can look to you
for support and help. You don't get to pick and
choose. You don't sit with the bullied child but
ignore the Muslim woman being attacked who
looks to you for help. The pin is a responsibility,
not a fashion statement. 

I see a lot of people wearing safety pins now, both plain and embellished. I guess I see the embellished ones because I sell to very crafty people and there's something about a plain safety pin that irks us. We want to embellish everything. But will the meaning of the safety pin disappear when it is embellished? Will it still be recognized as a signal/symbol of a safe place? For a lovely blog post about the rights and responsibilities as well as how to de-escalate a bullying situation, check out this blog post.  

If you choose to wear the safety pin, you are agreeing
to do the things in this list, and perhaps other things to
help make people feel safe. It may never come into play,
but it could be dangerous for both the target and for you.
This isn't a trend. If you put the pin on, understand the
responsibilities you are embracing. 

Not everyone will want this responsibility, and that's OK too. We all have to find our safe spot before we can venture out of it. My statement of "I'm not going to join the anonymous many in the dark cave. I'm going to wear my rainbow colors and be proud of the equality we've managed to obtain in this nation over the past century," may not be, and most likely is not, yours.

I have a banner similar to this as my Facebook avatar and
have used it for years. I haven't changed it since before the
Supreme Court approved gay marriage and have no intention
of changing it. People don't need to see my picture, they need
to see who I am. This is a much better description than
a picture or a black square. 

Escape to a safe place, however, is essential to help lower stress, and that, in turn, is essential to physical and mental well-being. Do you have a safe place? Are you willing to admit that you need to retreat to that safe place now and again? Is it a physical location, or is it an activity instead? A safe place doesn't have to be a mountain, waterfall, garden or cave. A safe place can be picking up a brush and your watercolors, or writing in your journal, or pulling the kids around you for a Finding Nemo", "Finding Dory" marathon.

You can always settle for a marathon movie event with
the kids. The ocean not your thing? How about "Ice Age
1, 2, 3 and 4"? Want angst instead? Go for "Gone With
the Wind" and "Titanic". That should work. Just
find your safe place and cocoon for a while. Relax. 

Whatever and wherever your safe place is, make sure you use it when needed. It's going to be a rocky and very stressful four years. Have a great Tuesday. One of my safe spaces is the pool and I'll be there, swimming my mile, in about an hour.

Support Others - It's More Important Now Than Ever

It's the first weekend in our new world. What are you going to be doing this weekend? Mine will be quite normal - work on Saturday, work on holiday cards while watching football on Sunday. But if I happen to go to a bar or restaurant, I'm quite sure the topic of conversation will be the election tempered by the personalities and the fears of each individual. The last item is the linchpin that will drive these next four years - fear.

Don't let fear rule your life, actions and reactions. Treat
people with kindness and respect and they, in turn, will
treat you similarly. 

Fear is what drove this election and fear is a powerful force. Fear of those who are different that ourselves and cause us to build mental and physical barriers creating lands of "me" and "others". Minorities are fearing attack crimes will go unreported and unpunished. Bigots who are already active, those who want a less inclusive and less welcoming society, seem to be feeling more comfortable as they contemplate actions of hatred against others.

The hijab is the head covering worn by many
Muslim women. It's purpose is to cover the hair. 

Already I've heard of young Muslim ladies having their hijabs pulled away from them, Gay, lesbian, transgender and other people who aren't the "norm" in the eyes some prejudiced turds, are feeling true fear as they go about their daily business. An acquaintance of mine, a talented young gay man with a rainbow sticker and a Hillary sticker on his vehicle, has already had "Faggot" yelled at him from the driver of a truck with a Trump/Pence sticker on the back. What was he doing? He was putting his groceries into his car. The safety pin movement that started after Brexit is beginning to take hold here, giving the bullied and frightened a safe place to turn for an instant ally. Wearing a safety pin is a start, but we need to convince ourselves and others that despite the changes in national policy, we still live in communities that welcome everyone we welcomed a week ago.

Do we need to be afraid to express our pride? 

This was a national election and it will change our world in a lot of ways. But we live in a trickle-down society and even though the Presidential brush is broad, the paint drips down in much smaller amounts to affect us on the regional and local levels. Did you vote for local candidates? Did you elect new representatives, senators, councilors or mayors? Did you vote for local judges or amendments and propositions? These are the people who will directly affect your lives every day. In many cases, we tend to re-elect familiar names so unless those people really messed up or decided to retire, the old guard is firmly in place.

Maybe we should all be putting these on our vehicles while
wearing safety pins in our lapels. Maybe our friends and
neighbors need to know they have allies and support. 

After the novelty wears off, after the 100-day mandate that every President seems to get, things will settle down. When we look back through the glasses of history, I hope that a lot of the hoopla will be viewed as overblown rhetoric that ended up being a lot of hot air. We just have to support each other and push away the hate until things settle down once again.

The Sky is Falling - Or Maybe Not

OK, we've had a day of Donald Trump being the President-elect and the sky hasn't fallen. People are still being civil to each other (as much as usual), traffic still flows or stutters dependent upon the time of day and the volume, and coffee is still served in millions of locations every day. The world continues. Change usually doesn't happen with a sledgehammer. After the inauguration he'll have his 100 day mandate - the time in which he can accomplish the most toward attaining his personal stated goals. But those one hundred days do come to an end and even though there is a Republican Congress behind him, it's a broken Congress. The rhetoric may not be followed by as much action as he might want.

Look at this wonderful 3-D printed skull. I wish I had found this
graphic for Dia de los Muertos. Instead of something wonderful
like this, I printed out more than 100 pages of exercises and
assignments for the Writing portion of my Creative Writing course. 

While the world was reeling and/or celebrating, I had a lovely day off. I finally had the time to print out the rest of the exercises for my creative writing course which will complete the Plotting and the Writing portions. The Editing portion will go live in December. I did some work on my holiday cards - not quite as much as I wanted to, but every day has to have some work to have these completed in time. I had a lovely conversation with Aearwen - always one of the high points of my week. The world might have been reeling, but it went on.

DH usually gets a cinnamon sugar bagel with honey walnut
cream cheese spread and a cup of coffee. Since I've
often already had breakfast by this time, I only have
coffee. One can never have too much coffee in the mornings. 

DH has started a habit of meeting me at our local bagel and coffee place on Wednesday mornings for a cup of coffee and a chat before he swings off to work and I continue my errands. It's a relatively new habit of his, but I'm enjoying it. We have a chance to actually talk together without electronics getting in our way. I hope it becomes a regular pattern of behavior, but who knows. Only time and the weather will tell.

If we go with the average date based on 1981-2010, we're WAY late. We
should have already had a 28F freeze during the week of October 11-20.
Instead, the prediction is currently November 18th-19th. Seriously late.
I hope this means we'll have a mild winter. 

Speaking of weather, it is finally starting to get colder again. The weather people are speculating that our first hard freeze will be in mid-November which is extremely late. We usually have at least one hard freeze in October and that didn't happen this year. Some plants are confused and are trying to push out new growth. They'll regret that within a couple of weeks. I'm just trying to avoid pulling out the parka for as long as possible, so I'm still in my leather bomber jacket with a hoodie underneath for my early morning stands at the gym door waiting for the gatekeeper of the day to unlock at 5:00 am.

My YMCA is a stickler. The doors are not unlocked until
5:00 am. Other branches unlock earlier and allow the
patrons to stand out of the weather until it is time to
scan their cards and let them into the facilities.
I usually call the gatekeepers "Gargoyles", while
we who stand outside awaiting entry are "Lemmings".
Just my personal vernacular. 

I hope you have a wonderful Thursday and that the future doesn't look quite as bleak today as it might have yesterday. Remember, we are resilient - we will survive. Tonight is Project Runway. Last week Cornelius was voted off and then saved by the Tim Gunn save. This week it might be one, or maybe two who will be going home. Fun times in the world of "fashion". Synopsis tomorrow if all goes well.

What Have We Done?

Well - waking up this morning and reading the election news was like dashing into a shower of ice water. Extremely unpleasant. The nation will survive, but the financial markets will probably tank. The thing that I fear the most is now an open wound - the filling of open slots on the Supreme Court and the abrogation of personal rights that I've fought so hard to achieve such as gay marriage and abortion rights. Those adjudicated personal freedoms, the right to love and marry the right person indeterminate of their sex, and to have the freedom to end a pregnancy if wanted/needed - those are causes that are foundations of my personal beliefs. The fear that they would be taken away through new people slotted into the Supreme Court, well, that's why I voted for Hillary. I suddenly wish that I lived in a different country. Canada, maybe.

Apparently Hillary Clinton conceded in an early morning
phone call to Donald Trump. This may very well be the
beginning of the end of our democracy. 

My nation is deeply divided - this was a hard fought and very close battle that brought out record numbers of voters. Most of the pundits and predictions were wrong. They thought the rhetoric and basic personal undesirability of Trump would cause people to vote Democratic. But this nation wants change. We're living in an industrial machine that is rusted, we're a people where the middle class is a disappearing group, and we're a nation where the dividing lines between those who have and those who have not are becoming impassible wastelands instead of sidewalks to be crossed.

Are you looking for an inciteful article about why Donald
Trump would win this election? Michael Moore wrote
a very readable article that was right on the money.
  Follow the link and read for yourself. 

So, I fear we just elected Darth Vadar. Along with a Republican congress, he might be able to affect some real changes that will take decades to rescind and revise. I've been fairly insular in the past and now am looking for my shell to pull over myself once more. Retirement, something that I was really looking forward to in a few years, may have just become a pipe dream for me. I really need my pool today - need to work off some of this shock and depression. I'm suddenly glad that I'm as old as I am, I won't have to live in the aftereffects of a Trump presidency for as long as many of my much younger friends.

Daylight Saving Time Ends - Once Again I'm In the Dark

Sunday (very early) our clocks fell back. Didn't you hear them? It was a big "CLUNK" as they all fell back one hour to end Daylight Saving Time for another year. We're back to standard time once more and by the time of the Winter Solstice, we'll be dark outside by 4:00 pm. Ick! Even though I had an extra hour to sleep, my body refused to take advantage of it. I was up at my usual 9:00 am - now 8:00 am.

The end of Daylight Saving Time marks the official end
of the warmer season in my mind. Soon I'll be pulling
out the down parka and picking up my furs from storage
at the furrier. 

DH sighed as we had breakfast. "I'll have to start running again. Now that I'm not working outside, I'll gain weight if I don't run." Unfortunately, that's hard on his hips and joints, but he's right. He was getting terrific exercise moving those 22 pound stones to build the castle walls and steps. That won't be happening during the winter months.

DH tries to run several days a week. He's not as
diligent as I am about my pool time, but he's
doing really well. Working on the castle was also
wonderful for him. He might have banged himself up
a bit, but he's really in great physical shape right now. 

We bought a new color of flagging tape and went outside, tying it around the trees that we're contracting to have removed. We decided to hire a firm called "Monster", I have heard very good things about them. We took their full estimate and cut it in half, choosing one tree for pruning off a large branch and three other trees for removal along with a single stump to grind and brush removal. We'll re-evaluate the remaining trees again next year and decide when/if we want the other ones removed or pruned. It's still expensive, but much more in line with our budget.

We flagged the trees for Monster's final job with a bright
kelly green flagging tape. DH will also make sure that
he's home when they will be working so that they work on
the right trees and leave them cut off at the height he needs. 

I spent most of Sunday watching football and working on my holiday cards. Football was very disappointing, with both DH's and my teams losing. *sigh* But I actually accomplished a lot of work on my holiday cards. The work I'm doing right now is so fussy and time consuming, it's really frustrating. I can work for hours, but it doesn't really look like I've done much. Still, I know I have and I'm really happy with how they are turning out. I'll put out my second official "Call for Cards" later this week ... after ...

I'm not able to go quite as crazy with my tissue paper gluing as these
first grade students did. Aren't their art pieces lovely? I'm working in
miniature and very exact spaces. It's a lot of time but rather fun. 

BAM, BAM, BAAAAAH!

Tomorrow is election day. Please don't sit this one
out. If you don't like the main candidates, vote for
a third party, but vote. We need a viable third party
in the future so maybe this will be the beginning of
some serious and needed change. 

After the Election. Which, thank the Powers, will be over by Wednesday morning. Have a wonderful Monday and make sure to study up on your local elections. Really, those are the ones that will count the most because they are the ones that most often directly impact you.

Streetwear - Half History, Half Project Runway

Yesterday's "Project Runway" episode was devoted to streetwear. Hmmmm. I'm not really sure when this word snaked its way into the fashion vocabulary, but it certainly is a category that has changed dramatically over my lifetime. I admit that I'm an old cuss, but still ...

In 1960 fashion was fitted tops, flared skirts and gloves.
Mom always had an extra set of gloves in the glove
box of the car. Wow! Rather scary! 

Streetwear when I was growing up was quite different than what was walking down the runway last night. My streetwear was tie dye and long skirts, headbands and granny glasses, beads and gypsy garb. My streetwear populated Woodstock (the rock festival, not Snoopy's friend) and the streets of San Francisco.

1969 fashion had a lot of divergence. Here are two photos from Woodstock showing
true streetwear of the time. Not really fashion forward except in later decades
when people tried to reproduce the look. 

Fashion had changed dramatically from the early to the late 1960's. It was a pivotal decade in fashion. In fact, I can't think of another decade that was more dramatic. At the beginning of the decade we had tight bodices with flared skirts, gloves and hats, and handbags - matching the shoes always. Then America and the world was invaded by The Beatles and things changed - dramatically and quickly. Their new style of long hair was seen as radical. Their music led the way to the music of the late 60's - Janis Joplin, Gracie Slick, Jimmy Hendrix. By the end of the decade we were protesting the war in Vietnam, having sit-in and love-in events, and were ready to jump into one of the more turbulent decades of the late 20th century - the 1970's. The changes in streetwear reflected that change.

These outfits were more typical of 1969 mainstream streetwear
fashion. The hippie clothing was off in the field an on the
back streets, we were wearing shorter skirts, but more
fitted garments. 

So last night the designers on Project Runway were challenged to design streetwear influenced by a new ride at Universal Orlando - Skull Island, a King Kong adventure. Maybe the trip scrambled the brains of some of the designers, but really? SPOILERS AND PHOTOS BELOW

Dexter was trying to be cutting edge and a bit avant guard
with his streetwear choices and left the judges divided.
One judge said that the concept was really interesting,
but that if you walk this road, the piece has to be perfect
and the shoulders on this were uneven and ill-matched. 

The judges likened this item by Cornelius as a disaster
from the knees up. His idea of patches, a drop crotch and
a poorly fitted top got him to be one of the last two
standing for elimination this week. The poor construction
was what really hit the judges who called it a school project. 

I like Brik, but he has real problems choosing fabrics
to go together and cannot seem to come up with a plan.
It wasn't badly constructed, but it was a really poor fabric
choice and once again pants were his downfall. Brik
was sent home - a nice guy who really needs some seasoning. 

Erin decided to return to her comfort zone and spent the
entire day of the challenge embroidering those yellow
splotches on her shorts. Really? Horrid - just horrid. Still,
the judges liked the offerings by Cornelius and Brik even
less, so Erin is safe for another week. What happened to
the designer I loved? She's gotten lost. 

There were two standout designers this week - Laurence and Nathalia. I'd wear either outfit in a flash, both were styling, street-savy and nice.

Nathalia opted for a large dolman-sleeved jacket over
a drop waist pant with a little crop top. The pants were
a bit too long, but she really knocked it out of the park
with this one. I'd buy that jacket in a flash. Thank goodness
she didn't like it with the faux fur. 

Once again Laurence proved that she knew her way around
a sewing machine. Using red leather, she made a street-wise
interesting style for her jacket that just had me drooling.
What a great piece. I'm not fond of drop-crotch pants, but
she didn't go to extremes. The crotch area needed some
adjustment, but despite that, she was the clear winner. 

So there you have it - a busy night on the Runway. Next week they are doing a public show and working in three teams of three. I assume that is so that they can show a "collection", although with only three designers per team, it'll be a very small one. Still, a street show for a Manhattan audience could be very interesting. Have a wonderful Friday, and just think about how far we've come in the past 45+ years. We've survived Nixon and Watergate, Vietnam and Woodstock, and the computer revolution. We'll survive this election too. Just a few more days of election commercials ...

Steps, Trees and Mantle

Good morning all. Are you bleary-eyed from watching last night's final presidential debate? I let DH watch it and I skipped it. I've already voted and really didn't need to get my blood pressure up listening to the two candidates spew. DH is in a fix, though. He's a lifelong Republican who hates Donald Trump and refuses to vote for him, but he hates Hillary and the Clinton Foundation just as much. Fortunately Tuesdays are his normal day off, so if he decides to vote, he can get to the polling center in mid-day when the lines will be much shorter, and he doesn't need to make a final decision about voting until November 8th.

DH spent Tuesday working on the steps. He redid several of
them and then shaped and placed the capstones onto each
one. They're looking good, aren't they? 

In the meanwhile, he's working on the steps for the castle. He spent Tuesday laying out the capstones and cutting them to shape. They're beautiful now, and if things dry out enough by the afternoon, he might try using the adhesive on a few of the steps. Everything has to be dry for that, though, and in our fall temperatures, the morning dew takes a few hours to dry from the stone.

Here's a detail look at the first two steps with their capstones
on top of them. If all goes well today, he'll start gluing
those capstones into position. 

I had John from Monster Tree out yesterday to look over the yard and give us a quote. He was fabulous - extremely professional. He had his tablet computer or iPad with him from the beginning, taking measurements and photos and making notes. He spent almost 45 minutes looking at each tree, finally came up with a number and before his car had left the driveway, I had his quote in my email inbox. He came in more than $1000 less than Twin City Tree, and that included grinding the stumps. If we decide to skip that, it would knock almost another $1000 off the bottom line. I have one more guy scheduled for next week and then we'll decide, but Monster is probably who we'll end up with.

I really love their logo. We will have to be
careful with whoever we hire and watch them
to make sure the right trees are removed and our
castle walls are left intact, but we would have
to do that with anyone. I have one more bid set
up for next week, then we'll make up our minds. 

Finally, an on-line friend of a few years asked for a picture of my mantle. She posted one of hers the other day and I commented that mine was nothing like hers - very true. She's a lovely artist with a flair for color and accent pieces, and I really loved her cozy and warm mantle. My mantle extends the width of my living room and, since I have a vaulted ceiling, goes up pretty high. DH and I have been involved in the Native American art field for more than 30 years, and our artwork reflects that with three masks by Peter Ray James (Navajo), a central acrylic original by William "Bill" Rabbit (Cherokee), and a guache on the far right that we picked up in Santa Fe. This piece changes in different lighting and I love it. So there you go, Kaishin.

Above the mantle are ceramic masks by Peter Ray James, and two
paintings. On top of the mantle are a variety of items - tinwork from
Mexico, Navajo baskets and a Yeibichai processional set, candles
and figurines. The hearth is marble, the fireplace, while having a
working chimney, has never been used for actual flame. 

I'm off to the pool, then on to the shop. I got the next piece for my holiday cards in the mail yesterday, so I want to try some trial runs with my embosser before working on the actual cardstock for the next phase. Have a great Thursday!

Whatever Happened To Issues?

We're winding down to election day here in the USA and it's been vicious. For months! Actually, for well more than a year. I'm not just talking about the national election for President, but also the local elections for any national or state-wide ... even city-wide offices. All I have to say at this point is "What's up with this?".

The ads may be all attack ads, but I still feel obliged to vote. It was a
hard-fought battle to get the right for women to vote. I'm not about
to minimize that struggle and pass on my civic obligation. 

Once upon a time, elections and their associated advertisement were focused on the issues. The candidates wanted the voters to mark their ballot for the candidate who would provide them with representation to vote in the laws they thought would be beneficial, and represent them on the national or international stage without embarrassment. Well, I have to say, at this point it's looking like anyone voted into office next month will be an embarrassment - local, regional or national candidate.

My correctly sealed and witnessed absentee ballot went into
the mail yesterday morning. Huzzah! Now I won't have to
stand in a long line to vote, and DH, if he decides to vote after
all, can head over to the polling place any time during the day
and miss the "going to work" rush. 

Nonetheless, because it is my civic duty and I can't shirk that, I did cast my absentee ballot over the weekend and dropped it into the mail yesterday morning. I was pleased with one aspect. It's been a long time since I last voted absentee, and I know the last time I wasn't able to vote in anything except the Presidential election. This time my ballot came to me, exactly the same as I would have had if I had been standing in a long line in the cold to put my marks on the paper. I had all of the candidates, even the judges and those without anyone listed as running against them - all of which were specifically for my little piece of the greater metro area. That pleased me a great deal.

He laid out capstones on the steps to see what needs
adjustment. A couple of steps are slightly off true, so he'll
be seeing what he can do to adjust them a bit today, then
he might start gluing some of the capstones on. 

Today DH will be working on capstones, and maybe re-doing one or two of the steps. The castle is looking pretty fantastic at this point. We'll need to get a palette of capstones ordered in the spring to put on the tiered walls, but that's next year. We're almost finished with this year's work (and weather in which working is sensible). He's been getting his exercise working on the castle, I've been getting mine in the pool. Time to go sweat in a large, chlorinated area of water once again, so I wish all of you a wonderful Tuesday.