What do you do when your real job and your hobby smash up into a huge peanut butter and jam sandwich? I guess you write a blog about it. Show some pictures. And just go on about how crazy your life can get.
So we've been here for a week and a half. The first week of work is almost done. Im exhausted!! But extremely happy with everything. The apt is awesome. The job is even more awesome!!
The first show we are working on is The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. We are making fabric suspenders and a few super simple hats. So i've done a few mockups and am waiting on fabric. What the big task right now is to clean up hat stock. Over the summer rats infested the hat stock in the warehouse. We've been able to salvage most of the hats. Its a very wet process to clean them. I smell of lysol and bleach... Yuuummm!!
We've washed most of them at this point... setting most of the felt hats back to blanks that we can re-pull. Which, in a way, is good. They were mostly destressed and beaten in hats.
In the pictures you can see all the hats sitting out to dry
So the big move was supposed to happen today. Note the "supposed to happen". Yeah, it didn't. Why, because the truck company are a bunch of idiots and didn't have a truck for us. So we got 2 extra days to pack, clean and try to relax a little. So yesterday we went to Ikea and bought things. Things like furniture, which i thought my husband would NEVER EVER let me do. Yeaaaayyy baby!!!! I got an awesome dresser and tv stand!! And since they are flat packed in a box, it makes it even easier.
SO you ask, what's the catch. Yeah... i know. I asked that too.
Dun dun duuuunnnnnnnn!!!
There is a hurricane currently plugging up the gulf, heading straight for Alabama. So we are looking at rain driving down. Rain and winds for unloading. And lots and lots of upset phone calls from my mom.. UGHHhHhhhhhhh Like the one i just got. "Are you watching the weather and news??" Nope, i have no idea that we are driving into certain doom. None whatsoever. And that the day we are to unload, they are classing Issac(hurricane) a class 2 Hurricane.
I hate to wish this upon other people, but i hope it keeps moving west a little bit! The projected path has already shifted a little west from this morning's news.
I will unload in rain, up a flight of stairs. I hate the fact that i may have others helping me do this. I don't wish this on anyone. Soooooo not fun.
I have my own weather station going... so yea, i'm watching things... far better than some parents realize. And no, i don't need a lecture to add to my stress.
Why does she have to be so damn crypt???? No i dont mind that she calls me to run a message over to my stepdad. Totally dont mind. But she tells me that sometime when shes over and im here, she needs to talk to me. I dont even bother to ask now. More than likely its to convince me moving to AL is a bad, terrible idea, that we are lazy and that the house is a disaster.
So i've been home from Chautauqua, NY for about a week now. I was there at the Opera doing the crafts and millinery (and whatever alterations i could do) I only got to make one hat from scratch, but everyone one wants one now :)
I was there for 9 weeks. And man, did they fly by. We did 2 operas, 2 musical reviews and one scenes program. I'll admit, i was pretty broken by the end. Even after a week of being home, i'm still hurting. But i'm taking the good drugs, and that is helping. Chautauqua really needs to add on 3 more days, at least, to the contract. From breaking down the scenes program, to doing laundry, to putting it all away ANNNDDD packing down the show.. it was really really hard.
Now i move onto something even harder. MOVING... AGAIN! This happened the last time I was at Chautauqua. After i got home, we did a cross country move. And now we are doing it again. For good reasons though. A full time theater job doesn't come around often. So we are sorting and packing.. and sorting more. The last time we did that, we were moving from our house, which was 3 stories of stuff. Now we are moving from a smaller home, into an even smaller apt. We have to cut back sooooooo much. Sometimes its sooo hard. I look at all i've gotten rid of and i'm amazed. Then i look at all i'm keeping and just want to cry because it's still sooooo much. I don't want to live in an apartment filled with boxes. I grew up with that. I hated it. HATED It!!
I'm trying to stay positive. It's all for a good reason. Both of us will be working. If we get the cheaper apartment, we can save money like crazy. We are planning on getting a few new furniture pieces. And will be moving away from the drama that is my mother. So all good things. Just have to make it through the packing, sorting and purging process. Keep your fingers crossed for me :)
So i leave for Chautauqua tomorrow.. bright and early. No pugs this time :( I need to find a pug sized floppy stuffed pug to snuggle with :)
I'm packing. I'm trying to do it all orderly. HAH!! I needed to glue on a Hello Kitty Head back onto my flip flops.. can i find it. Hell no. And during the frantic search.. SHE CALLS. "Well, are you in your truck driving here??" Uh, no. I'm trying to pack and clean up a mess.
"Well, i can come over for a few minutes." (cuz that's gonna work as i'm randomly running through the house throwing stuff everywhere. I try to tell her that. She gets offended.
"Well i thought you were coming over." (First, what is the status of the lawn??) (Second.. I never said i was coming over.)
SO if you don't like profanity, avert your eyes.. it's gonna happen.
Look, it's a cute Pug to distract you from the profanity!!
I am gonna go light that fucking lawn on fire!!! I mean srsly, she's lucky i don't have a car and a gas can. She calls me up, wanting to do something.. then turns it around saying she has no time today.. and that she needs to mow the lawn. I'm here for 3 more days. After that i'm in Chautauqua for 9 weeks.. then we move to alabama. Do you NOT want to fucking spend time with your only child??!?!?!?!?!?!
So now she wants to spend tomorrow with me. I think i might be sick. I just can't take this stupid crazy shit.
SHE FUCKING CALLED ME!! Did she forget!?!?!?
Alabama can not come soon enough. Then at least the crazy is limited to phone calls.
I just don't understand. And i'm trying to just let it alone. But man, a good rant does help.
So i haven't posted in ages. I've been home, packing, being with family, lazing around, and just generally enjoying life and being off. Sunday I leave for 9 weeks. Yeaaaaaaayyyy Chautauqua Opera!! It's like summer camp for rich people. I'm crafts person again!! Yay!!
This will hopefully be my last trip away from home for work. After we move to Alabama, i will be full time. SO no more moving around. I can't wait for that. I want some stability. I want a job i love. I want to have health insurance so i can start a family. I'm just hoping it all clicks into place. I want to be able to go to conventions so i can play with friends. Dress up in costumes and cause chaos.
So i guess i should pack for Chautauqua lol That involves laundry.. so i guess i know what today is.
I know this isn't the normal posting of Costumey goodness, but i'm trying to spread the word.
My Aunt Cindy has been an educator for as long as i can remember. A good one at that! A few months ago, something terrible happened and shook her world. The school she had been working at for several year had a board meeting where they announced her non-renewal of contract. To the surprise of many.
I really hope you take the time to watch it. SO MUCH Discrimination and injustice happening here. We are trying to get as much feedback to the station, so they investigate more and keep this in the public eye where it belongs. Here is an email where you can send feedback connect@ad.gannett.com It doesn't matter where you are from, we just need feedback.
Please take a little time out of your day to help.
So i'm back at home. Been here a week now. I will confess, I really... really.. REALLY miss Alabama. I'm very glad to see my hubby and my other pugs.. but damn is it cold up here. Damn is this house crowded with too much.. and DAMN this mattress sucks like an industrial vacuum.
On the plus sides, i have a corset commission. Hubby got a second part time job!! And we are cleaning out all the extra stuff, which feels really good. The problem area.. my sewing room. I walk in and want to cry. I just don't know where to start.
I also need to stop eating the crap food. I stopped for the most part when i was in Alabama and felt really good. Sunday morning we went to Golden Coral.. mistake #1.... Mistake #2 was eating the pizza my parents brought over. Lets just say i was sick for 2 days. And then silly me was taken over by temptation and i bought potato chips.. UGhhGHHGHhghggggg... SUPER HUGE MISTAKE!! I need the hubby to teach me how he makes the sushi rice in the rice cooker. I think i could live on that. OOhh and I made instant mashed potatoes tonight.. Also.. i now feel icky. I think i'm finally getting the hint from my body. At least i have kicked the soda habit. I go for water now... YAaaayy!! Small Victories :)
And i started to look for pictures from Merry Wives. I am disappointed in myself... though a certain wig girl owes me some pics that she took. Stupid not taking pictures.. Baahh!!
Till i go Home!!! Yaaaayyyy! I can't wait to see my husband and the other dogs!! I was supposed to go home this morning.. but after the weekend i had running wigs for the show.. I would have never it made it. I was sooooo exhausted. So i took today to relax. SLEEP. And pack super nice and organized. I'm so glad i did it that way too. It's a 10 hour drive. I would like to be home for dinner. So i'm probably getting up at the crack of dawn and heading out. Who's gonna have to carry a sleeping pug..lol
I still owe you the scoop on Merry Wives. I'll just say that it's a gorgeous show.. and there are some amazing Puppets!!! We even make a faerie crown for the 14ft tall puppet. It's kind of awesome and covered in glitter glue :D
I just needed a little venting. complaining. whining. whatever you want to call it.
I NEED a day off.. OMG... we have worked straight through since last tuesday. No days off. Not even for Easter.
I 'm exhausted. My fibro is starting to get bad. I'm in bed early. Jasmine barely gets her walks. I'm taking way more drugs than i want too. I go home next monday.. but i'm not sure if i can make it till then.. uggghhhh They keep dropping new projects on us at work. For example, today at 3pm we were told to take some stuff down to the dressing rooms.. and after that we could go home... *super frowning face* I come back up to find we have to make a crown for the giant puppet. OMG.. i'm already too exhausted to move... and i have to do more.. NOoooooooo
At least today i got a huge compliment, or i'm taking it that way. The shop supervisor does amazing crafts. He's been making 4 Punch and Judy style puppets. He's quite the perfectionist... so when he came over to me and asked me to make a mob cap for Judy..i was floored and honored. Yaaayyy!! No one touches his stuff.. EVER!! So he respects and trusts my work.. Yayyyy!!!
Stuff exploded. Work got crazy. Two beast of a shows.. Henry the 8th and Merry Wives of Windsor. We knew Henry was going to be bad. But when we looked at the renderings for Merry Wives.. it really didn't look so bad.. I swear.. We thought it would be easy... I'm eating those words right now, and they are not tasty cuppy cakes.
Since i last posted life has been a roller coaster. I also have fun photos of things made :) Lets start with those.. and i'll fill you in as i go :)
Henry the 8th's hat.. Isn't he handsome!!
Henry the 8th occured. It drove me mad. It drove me to drink margaritas. I build 18 brand new hats from scratch.. not even counting the couple i fixed up too. I did have some help. Megan from wigs is a wiz at sewing on pearls, cutting out patterns and general all around hand sewing!! She is pretty brilliant. I would have never finished it all with out her help. Everything turned out gorgeous!!!!
And from that gorgeousness, I impressed some folks.. enough so that i got a full time job offer :)
***SQUEEEEE***
Lady Anne Bolene
Lady Mary Tudor
Queen Katherine
SO don't judge the shapes too much.. I swear everything started to look like a Russian Headdress by the end. I blame the designer... I just did what she wanted. I also found out she's a Milliner and is super picky about her hats. Usually up the current shop milliner's butt. She left me alone for the most part.. and just let me work. I take that as a super nice compliment :)
Velvet Biretta for Cardinal Woolsey
Everything was made out of some sort of velvet.. i swear :/
Pulled wool felt skull cap with silk bias
I think i made a bajillion of this style of hats
Lord Chamberlain. Sexy Sexy Beast of a Hat!! (we won't discuss the difficulty of making a brim with crinolations.. Hoooolllyyyy COW!!!)
Here you can see the trailer they put together for the show. See how pretty it turned out!! Kind of amazing!!
So yes, i got a job offer. And i have accepted. So again.. the packing and moving. But it's full time. It's benefits.. Its super amazing!! And it's an absolute rarity in this day and age. Its work i love. I love it here. The shop is great. I really feel we can start fresh here.
I'll leave Merry Wives for the next posting. HEH.. it's a doozer!! I'm not even sure if i remembered to take photos of everything... but stay tuned :)
Ok.. i'm really hoping i don't jinx anything... but i may have the opportunity for long term employment. At an actual theater!!! Doing crafts!!!! I'm gonna knock on all the wood in my suite for good luck. I won't know till next week what the offer is.. but
OOohh. .so we are in a tornado watch right now. I was at the theater earlier tonight.. after the day was over.. and the tornado siren's went off. I broke several laws of traffic and probably other things to get to Jasmine! Grabbed her. Broke more laws and drove back to the theater. Why all the crazy driving? The theater is a tornado shelter.
Got to hang out with several folks and their dogs. After that first warning was over.. I came home.. and promptly packed an emergency bag for Jasmine and myself. I've seen several lists on pinterest for things like that. Folks keep a back pack specifically for emergency purposes. Gallon of water. Food and snacks for 3 days. It's pretty interesting. It would be good to keep in the truck. Especially if I'm traveling around. Seems like these things follow me..lol
Pictures will be taken of hats tomorrow!!! Promise!!
So today... i saw the light at the end of the tunnel, named Henry the 8th. Sweet Baby Jebus!!!! I have one hat to decorate. One needs a hat band. And I have to remake one that didn't fit, because no one told me the guy was wearing a wig (and it's a super easy one). I should finish them all tomorrow.
WAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Though i can't claim all the glory. I've had some help. Megan from wigs has been helping me for a week or two. And today, Omyra, the wig master, was hand sewing a hat for me. HUGE HELP!!! I have no words for how fabulous that is!!
I will also have to remake one more hat. It's a cardinal hat.. and he of course stuffs it in his pocket.. and pulls it out. SO this has to be the Super Magical Biretta of Doom. One of the girls was joking about it being a springy thing that just pops into shape.. Then i informed her, that was kind of the plan. She couldn't stop laughing.
And i know, i've been promising pictures for like EVER!! I have a few. I want to take more. I'm pretty proud of it all. And i think i may have impressed the designer.. (maybe a lot ) Yay!! So if she's impressed, maybe a few are too.. *grin* I hope so :)
We are coming down to the wire. I still have a ton of hats. Brims aren't coming out right. Things are looking very very VERY Russian (It's a Tudor Show). Stuff keeps changing. I have one week to finish at least 6 hats.
Beer is good. Especially when trying to do the impossible.
There are so many stories that i have to share with you all.. BUT NO TIME!! Must sew.. Must sew :/
Ok.. I promised pictures in my earlier post.. so here ya go. He's a cutie, you've been warned
My name is Buddy. Love me!!
Hahahah.. I can jump onto the chair.. and then on to the bed. You thought you were safe!
Damnit woman.. stop taking pictures already.
Come monday, baring any difficulty, he goes to his new home. I will miss the guy and so with Jasmine. She's definitely had fun having a friend stay over. But i also think she misses just spending time with me.
I know i've been radar silent lately. I promise i'm still here. Working on Henry the VIII hats. There are about 15 new hats to be made. I have ONE completely done. Ugghhh. I have about 4 in progress. I am hoping to finish Henry's hat today. We have a photo shoot in a week and a half with 4 of the main characters. Good thing those are the hats in progress.
On other news... Last week, Scott and I went to the warehouse to get hats. Now that's about a 15 minute drive. Nice way to get out of the shop. We don't come back with the hats.. but I do find a dog :D So typical me. He's a Chihuahua mix. He didn't have tags. His nails were super long and he had a tough time walking because of them. We thought he was really really old.. But at the vet, they said he was about 6 or 7 years old. He's a sweet heart. He had to be someone's love bug! He seems to answer to Buddy. I've asked around to different vets and humane societies. Checked craigslist and the newspaper. No mention of the little guy missing. The one security guard that works at the festival also lives in that neighborhood and hasn't heard or seen anything. SOOOO.. No i'm not keeping him. I have 3 pugs. That's enough. But on monday he's going to the one vet assistant. SO YAY! I will post a pic later today. He's a cutie!
And the reason i don't remember it.... The woods right behind the costume shop parking lot... they decided to do some sort of controlled burn. And the smoke coming off of it... ALL DAY... was terrible. I have a migraine, was nauseous.. and just an overall feeling of yuck. Our Draper went home early. I'm really surprised our pregnant first hand stayed. My partner in crime had a bad headache too.
They really really could have done it yesterday... there were no shows.. and a bare bones staff. Uggghh
When i came back from lunch.. the theater was clouded in this this smoke. So bad and ucky!! Who even knows what they were burning :(
At least i think i got a few mockups done for hats. Henry's hat and Anne's French hood. I also did tons of labeling for "Travels with my Aunt" which starts dress tonight. And i rebuilt bow ties.
And then my supervisor found this picture:
Please notice his headwear :)
The hat that Henry is pictured in ... in ALL his portraits. Well his coronation portrait can't be left out. He just plopped the crown on top.. I couldn't stop laughing at this.
Yaayyy!! It's friday!! That would normally mean i have one more day till i have my "weekend".. BUT i guess folks were owed several vacation days, so we have tomorrow off from work. Meaning.. 3 Day weekend!!
I'm a little bewildered. Confused. I haven't a clue what i'm going to do for the next 3 days. Sleeping in is definitely on the agenda.
On a fun note.. we spec'd Henry today. Meaning, the designer and costume floor manager, Scott and myself went over what was needed for the show. I have a bazillion hats to make. A BAZILLION (well ok.. like 15, but that is still a lot)
39 Steps went into Dress Rehearsal yesterday. We figured we would come in to tons of notes. We've had two. Scott asked the designer what happened. Well she didn't get a chance to look at craft items, because of the craziness of getting all the costumes on at the right time.. And quick changes.. tons and tons of quick changes. So tomorrow.. i can bet we will get tons of stuff. At least we can get stuff cleaned up today.. so we can start the next show.
Technically, the next show is "Travels with my Aunt". It's a bought show so there is very little for us to do. Label things. Put dance rubber on the bottom of the shoes. Stiffen the hats.. Yeah.. that's about it. We will probably have that done today.
So work started off great today. I finished labeling all the socks, garters, pins, glasses.. etc. Sprayed some shoes gold. Dyed a gold purse more black. Had a yummy coffee flavored brownie.. and BAM!!! I got sick. Awesome.
I managed to finish adding velcro to the bow ties.. and my supervisor was kind enough to let me go home at lunch and stay home. He said we were kind of done anyways with projects. The show has Dress rehearsal at 6pm tonight. So we'll see what kind of notes we have in the morning. I just came home and slept. My tummy is pretty angry. Boo.
I'm still here. I didn't blow away yet. It's been wet weather down here. This morning we had quite a storm. It's blown over now... but I felt the need to look for my ruby slippers.
Work has been good. "39 Steps" goes into tech this week. All the costumes go down to wardrobe tomorrow. Crafts are feeling extremely confident with that. Saturday I finished the Pilot Scarves.
Where did that strong gust of wind come from?
I never expected to be the one sculpting these. Scott is more the "trick designing" guy. But knowing that I did this and it looks awesome.. well it's priceless.
It worked!!
Originally the scarf was to be built on a vest that sat under the jacket. It would have two wires that extended down into long pockets on the back of the vest. I built the vests. Put them on a dress form. Put the jacket on top of the vests.. and went "hmmmmmmmm". It was just too thick. A bit of an overkill, really. So Scott and i put our pointy little heads together and simplified it. It was a little terrifying just how insync our brains were. I mean, if we were to take over the world.. there would be no surprises :)
All one piece.. Super easy to remove for cleaning.
It's a pretty simple construction now. The scarf is in two pieces. The part that wraps around the neck is pretty straight forward and scarf like. The part that sticks out is hanging off of buckram covered hoop wire.There is horsehair fabric sandwiched in between the two layers of scarf. The fringe is stitched on netting, with a small piece of wire attached at the top. The hoop wire continues goes into the jacket at the neck. There is an opening in the collar and it slides through into a boning tape. It's pretty brilliant and simple. And really.. simple is much much better. Hopefully this lasts the run of the show.
We've already been having trouble with the hats in rehearsal. Every time they come back to us.. we have to re-stiffen and shape them. They are just not getting cared for at all. It's very very frustrating.
And now, time for a Pug picture:
Momma, can you change the channel.. i can't find the remote.
This is how she spends the day... lap of luxury for a pug! And yes, that is MY pillow she will be drooling on.
Sorry i haven't been posting daily! There are a whole long list of reasons why.. some involve a dog.. some a hamster.. and others.. well, i can't tell you or i may have to hurt you ;) But really.. working again, makes me tired... so i come home.. walk Jasmine. Make dinner.. and flop. I don't even look at my computer. Sad, huh :(
But let me tell you, it's been fun. I've already made a ton of hats. I'm working on a scarf gag for an aviator scene in 39 Steps. There was the "SURPRISE!! You need to make a trick knife gag!!" (Actually a combination of people, not me, did that. I was just there to bounce ideas off.) Dying all kinds of things. Fittings. Fake boobies of all shapes. And more hats! And in there we got some nice little castings this knotted rope filigree that already existed in the shop (GO ME!!)
Scott took me to a scary thrift store that smelled horribly of bleach. We did find the butcher knives we were looking for.. heheheheh (for the knife gag) I went to the walmart today.. that was a little busy and overwhelming.
I'm also contemplating making something for myself ... maybe something a little victorian :) Or there is the Arashi Shibori that i am so intrigued with right now. The shop even has the dye and pipe to use. Soooo i just need to find some silk. NOM nom nom nom!!
Jasmine is using her cuteness to gain friends with the hotel staff. Tonight, on our walk, we stopped by the front desk.. and ended up standing there for 20 minutes while someone was petted and cooed at. She could do no wrong.. and was in her element. Everyone is loving her. And i got a new pot for the kitchen :) Benefits of the cuteness.
The awesome news.. I have internet back in my room again! Yay!! Work is still going awesome. I've just been so exhausted from my fibro the past two days. The weather is changing faster than i can change clothes. One minute it's warm and i'm feeling great. The next day it's bitter cold and windy.. and I'm popping pills to make it through the day. Ugghh! The forcast for the next few days seems to be looking up.. so here's good thoughts for it.
Still working on making molds and casting things. Dying stuff and working on hats. It's been pretty awesome. Sadly, this is all i have to report. I'm so exhausted.
So i'm currently sitting in the lobby of the hotel, doing research and playing on the internet. I'm in my pj's and i have my hair in a cute turban. If i have to sit here to be on the internet, damnit, i'm going to be comfy. To hell with them. And i'm not alone. There's a guy here, with a baby, doing stuff on his laptop too. Man i hope they get this fixed soon.
Today was like kindergarten in the shop. We did crafts... like lots of crafts.. and making messes. We did silicon casting. I've not really done it before... but luckily Scott is pretty experienced with it, so i learned tons!! We had tons of molds already, so Scott taught me to how to mix the two part mix. We added bronzing powder to some. Got some gorgeous gold and silver plastic pieces. I have pictures, and will post them later when i can get internet and the photos in the same place. I also experimented with leather dye and the clear resin. The results were awesome!!! I don't want to give it away right now... but oh do i have ideas. And i'm doing research on things now so i can do more. Wooooo!!!!
Before we left the shop, we started working on a project that will get a mold cast over it. It's pretty cool. I've always wanted to do this kind of stuff before. I'm so excited about it!!
SO i was really really hoping to spend these two days off playing online.. gaming.. generally not leaving my room except to walk Jasmine. However, that has not happened. The internets are a little sketchy right now :( The hotel is aware of it. They are trying to fix it. I've even talked with the internet company. And last night there was a storm that made the tv go out.. and the internet. So i'm currently sitting in the lobby of the hotel doing what i need to.
It is very nice to have two days off though. I've gotten tons done. Jasmine even got a bath. I got some shopping done yesterday, and some exploring as well. Today i need to figure out laundry... must go get quarters. And somewhere in all of this there is a gym that i need to find. I'm trying to change little things every week.. and one of them is getting more exercise. So far, i've remembered to take my meds everyday. That doesn't sound like much... but it really is. Getting into a routine is good for me. It will help me remember with my foggy brain.
And can they seriously have their lobby TV any louder.. whoa. On that note.. i'm going to finish what i need to and head back to the room.
Today signifies the end of my first week back in theatre. It's been an amazing week. This morning I had a wonderful epiphany. It is a joy to get up and go to work. I love what I'm doing. I like the people I work with. And I'm very much, back in my element.
Today I finished two hats. One is a Scottish Tam that was built from scratch. The other is a sweet little straw hat for a Charlady (played by a man). I only have pictures of the straw hat.
Look at all these sweet vintage flowers. So fabulous!!
ASF has such a great collection of hats and floral trimmings. These are all vintage flowers. Far better than anything you can find at the craft stores. The smooshed even helps the Charlady look.
And of course.. I need to post a picture of Jasmine.
Someone finally fell asleep on the ride to Alabama.
On our trip monday, Jasmine refused to go to sleep. Often sitting up trying to watch me or the window.. and i would hear snoring and look over at a little drooping head. She's been sleeping a lot in the past few days. She's eating more too. I think spending the next two days with her will help ease her mind. She's doing so much better with barking as well. She barely does it when i leave, which is good.
Yaaay!! I have a weekend. We may go to the park and play tomorrow. I might also go out and find some thrift stores :)
Today was a good day. Managed to finish rescuing the gypsy coin scarves for Midsummer. And was complimented on a job well done. Yay! Also did a little dye work... Making an off white zipper bright blue.. easy peasy. Every time i dye something, i realize just how much i really really love dying things, and color matching!!
I also finished cleaning our craft area. It needed it... and a few of the other shop folks came and thanked me for doing it.. and encouraging Scott to clean his area so nicely. Yay!!
We also specked the next show, "39 Steps". Scott and i figure it will only take a few days to get things done. We all figured this would be a prop/accessory heavy show... and really.. it's not. Boo. But i do get to make and decorate a few hats. And a little jewelry work.. which i already started before the day finished. I'll try to remember to bring my camera and start taking photos.
Today, I also didn't stop home for lunch. I've been coming home during lunch to walk Jasmine and make sure she's doing ok. When i came home after work, she greeted me at the door... and NO Barking!!! Totally awesome. Though i do not feel quite as bad about her barking. This seems to be the pet block. Next door has a cat who likes to sit at the window. Across the breeze way has the two big dogs. And somewhere else in these suites is a small dog that barks more than Jasmine!! So i'm in good company. She is currently snuggled in her huge crate/cave snoring away.
So today was the second day of work.. AWESOMENESS!!!!!!!! I really feel so at home in this shop. It's good to be back. The people are all really nice. And i get along well with my fellow crafts person, Scott.
Jasmine is settling. Loving all the walking we are doing. She's still getting used to me going to work, but i love that she is super bouncy when i come home at lunch and after work. And i love snuggling with her.
We are kind of in between shows. There are two opening this week.. so we are just doing little repairs. Well ok, today wasn't so little of a repair on the gypsy coin scarves. They are really cheap fabric and are just shredding, so i've been rebuilding them. Also been cleaning and restocking everything that has built up from the past couple of shows. It's good for me, so i can remember where everything is again.
So we made it safe and sound. There were some dicey moments with snow and ice.. but once i hit Tennessee, things were clear and sunny, but loads of wind. The trip did take longer than it should, but i was playing it extremely safe.
The hotel is posh, though i hope the wind stops soon.. my door to the outside is whistling. And the best thing, there is breakfast served, like a regular hotel... even though this one is a long term. Across the breeze way in one of the other suites are two dogs... a deaf bulldog and a great pyrenees. So Jasmine is going to have friends to bark with during the day...eek.
I start work tomorrow morning at 8:30am. I am working at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival as a crafts person. I've worked here before, but only for 4 weeks. This time.. 3.5 months.. Sweet. I'm like a snow bird.
Jasmine is already sleeping.... so that's my cue. Good night ALL!!
Taking a small break right now. I did way to much yesterday. Today, I'm exhausted but i have Champagne. I was a poop and went to bed before midnight last night. So we had some at the family dinner. I'm the only one that really really drinks it..... SOoooo More for me.. Weeeeee!!!
Yesterday i did something epic. I said I was just going to shut the door to my sewing room, but when I went to find my sewing tools to pack... Well... chaos ensued. My husband came home to find me buried in my room, frantically cleaning. It's not spotless, but it's sooo much better. You can see the floor, the top of the table and the ironing board.. all of it!! Amazing really.
So in between entertaining family.. i'm still packing. And somehow i just reorganized the pantry. Don't ask, when i get motivated... get out of my wayI've got just about everything packed. I still need my computer stuffs and my bath stuff. I'll probably think of little odds and ends as i go. I've been dragging this poor little note pad around with me all week. It's a little wrinkled, but it's doing the trick.
So Happy New Year Everyone!! Tomorrow starts a new chapter in my life. 2012 has to be a good year. It has no choice. 2011 was not good, sure it had it's bright spots... but overall.. *sad panda face*
So here's to a good year, a good life.. and a good trip with my pug Jasmine :)
