hot mama

it's so painfully hot these days. whew. the yard tub is seeing lots of action, my friends.

so...i sewed 8 tote bags (well, one's a shoulder-ish bag) from SCRATCH!!! and now i'm off them, it's enough for people to pick over and hopefully buy a few. i've made two sets of notecards, one is of a little fat bird and it says "hello" (called "hello birdie), and one is of this abstract geometric weird, dog-god thing i can't possibly describe called "all hail geometrix"...that one has several colors and lots of connecting lines and was quite a fiddly gocco experience. gocco works best with thick lines and lots of space between the colors, but it was such a great time this morning, just sitting down to draw anything random and figure out how to gocco it. it was about seven million times more fun than battling the tote bag sewing monster. plus, the note card sets look so cute all bundled together with their matching envelopes, all secured with bean twine or ribbons. i think i'll make one more design in time for the bazaar...then i'll have to buy more screens and bulbs, and i'm super eager to get more ink colors. so fun. i have several blank, already made canvas grocery totes--i embellished one for dad that i really love--different fabrics sewn on to be peas, a carrot, and a tomato...i may try to do some more of those...they are a bit fiddly as well, as the bags are already made and it can be tricky to sew things onto them without sewing the bag to itself, but certainly no more time consuming than sewing the bags themselves (yes, i've found another thing i can craft and can't possibly charge enough for!)...but i also have those big letter stamps (the ones i bought before my lunch date with sam elliot) and they are awesome for doing tee shirts and whatnot ( i made rodney a "megan's best one" tee shirt for our second anniversary--cotton is the traditional gift for that one--he gave me a bright yellow apron with red chili peppers on it that he got from Past 45, this old lady crafters store in downtown cottage grove that we love....but i digress) so i want to stamp some witty baggish phrases on them and hopefully can sell some of those, as they'll be cheaper than the made-from-scratch-with-blood-and-tears ones. i'm going to do a couple that say "bagism" (remember that?! john and yoko in bed...), and maybe potato stamp a couple, as well. should be fun and A LOT easier than the other ones (dear god, please let at least two of those bags sell!)

well, it's late and it's hot and rodney and i are supposed to have a movie date watching The Postman tonight, so i'm off to melt in front of the fan.

i'm grateful for:
rodney
opportunities to learn
my kick-ass sewing machine
the yard tub
creative energy
AND my pig pills, they higher dose of which is helping some

spring fever

blast this heat wave! i suppose it will be for the good in the long run--causing the last seeds to germinate and whatnot. but damn it's hot. hot hot hot. we filled up the "yard tub"--a big galvanized stock tank shaped like a giant pill. the dexatrim of pools. it's so nice. after i do some yard work i go and sit in it for a few minutes. the water is nice and cool. cold, even, the first couple of days after you fill it up. i'm working on figuring out how to attach a hose to it so i can water the garden when it comes time to clean and refill it. i also sit in it after dinner. beer and smoke time. all alone with the water, staring up at the canopy of the oaks above me, against the blueblue sky. if i put my head under the water i can't hear anything (like the hideous screaming of the neighbor kids abusing each other for a scrap of attention from their mom). it's instantly refreshing and temperature reducing. i have a fantasy of surrounding it with whiskey barrels of things that grow tall and flower...passionflower, honeysuckle, bamboo...so i'm free from prying eyes and can feel all jungly and luxurious. the tub is big enough to hold two adults facing each other, and if it's just one adult you can glide a few feet in the water, back and forth back and forth. so nice.
stay hydrated. enjoy the sun and the heat. bust out your sunscreen if you use it. crack open a beer after a long, hot day and feel satisfied with yourself and whatever it is you accomplished. grill a meal and love eating it outside. take care of yourself, your plants and pets, and everyone around you. feel the love and show it to everyone.
oh yes--and drop off your ballots!

today i am grateful for:
love
wholeness
generosity
miracles
faith