How'm I doing? Project update . . .

A few weeks ago I wrote about all the sewing projects I had planned for Christmas gifts. Now it's Truth Time - how'm I doing on all those projects? It's less than a week before Christmas, and tomorrow I must start wrapping and getting things ready to carry off for the Big Day!!

First, you know I already finished the pillowcases, which I showed you in my previous post.


Then, there was the 1906 costume for my friend who docents at a vintage farm/state park and must dress authentically. It turned out great! Here it is on the right. I gave my friend Mary the dress already, because she had a Christmas party to go to at the farm and she needed it! She just loved it and got many compliments. Yay!!









Next, I worked on the tablecloth for un-named recipients' 10-foot picnic table. I finished that plus 12 napkins, and have already wrapped it. It's sitting under the tree waiting to be delivered! Here's the tablecloth and about 6 of the napkins before I finished it. The tablecloth is a vinyl covered fabric that you can wipe clean (ketchup, red wine, you know, picnic stuff). I think they're going to love it!



After that there were cushions for sweet turquoise patio chairs. Just finished those two days ago and here they are! They're going to go really well with the one cushion she already has, which is turquoise and green striped. Doesn't it make you want to sip a MaiTai?? Or at least jump into a hammock?







And finally, the little purse for a birthday that falls right after Christmas. Such bad luck, it seems. However, it's good luck to be born into a good family, and so close to the same birthday as an Important Person, so there's that. Anyway, I always try to do a special birthday thing for this beloved family member so her birthday doesn't get lost in Christmas. Here's the little purse - isn't it cute?




I worked really hard on all these projects, and it was so much fun! Part of what made it fun was I started early - in October - so I had plenty of time to finish. Hope I remember this next year!

Have a very happy holiday and a fabulous, happy, prosperous, peaceful New Year! 2015 Woo Hoo!!

Tree time!

We got a tree, and it makes the house smell so good, but we haven't done much as far as decorating it goes yet. Here it is, gorgeous thing! It's called a Royal Fir.

Last night I finally got some lights up and a wreath hung on the front door, but that's all. Now I'm working for three days slingin' drinks at parties, so hopefully I'll be able to finish decorating soon. A busy time, and fun!

Runup to Christmas: Holiday sewing projects!

I'm so excited that I got an early start on Christmas projects this year! Don't you love hand-made gifts? After years of buying and gifting things I'm never sure my loved ones want, I've finally determined the things they want most are gifts I make myself. So fun, but best if you plan ahead. Let me tell you, staying up till after midnight sewing and crafting for the entire week before the Big Day takes some of the sparkle out of the accomplishment. I know; I've done it. Whew!

So this year I got started in October. I can hardly believe it. Here's what I'm making, with enough mystery that the recipients might not immediately recognize their gift in advance, should they read this post :-)

• One set of all cotton king-size pillowcases (COMPLETED and boxed for gifting)
• A winter dress in the style and fabric of the period for a loved one who volunteers at an early-20th century home (cut out, marked, and ready to sew)
• A tablecloth for a 10-foot picnic table (just try finding a narrow 10+-foot tablecloth in the store!)
• Cushions for some very sweet patio chairs
• If there is time, two, maybe three, adorable small purses from this Martha article

King pillowcases

I've got my work cut out for me, no?! I'll keep you posted on my progress. Here's a photo of the already-finished (yay!!!) pillowcases:

And another of the 5 yards of cotton corduroy (these 1900-ish ladies used A LOT of fabric in their skirts!) for the winter dress, which I now have all cut out and marked - ready to start sewing today. Speaking of history, did you know corduroy has been around in one form or another as a clothing fabric since the time of the ancient Egyptians? It was called "fustian" for most of its history until the 18th century when it was re-named "cord du roi" or "cloth of the king", probably a marketing ploy. And corduroy hasn't changed much since then, except today we sometimes add a little stretch to it.

Sage green cotton corduroy

Making progress! Let the Holiday season begin!

Leash runner

I've never had a dog. I mean a pet dog. We had farm dogs when I was growing up on the farm. They stayed outside and frequently got hit by cars because they ran on the road. They weren't pets; I don't remember a single one's name.

On the other hand, I've almost always had cats. Nero is my current sweetie, a big beautiful black feral kitty with hair like a bear's. Imagine my surprise to find myself out in a field with about 2000 dogs, in Morgan Hill, CA, last week Thursday. Nero would have been horrified, but of course he wasn't there.

 I was in Morgan Hill, which is about 70 miles south of Oakland, to see my high school friend Lynne. Lynne loves dogs and is very much involved in dog agility training. She was there to be a judge at national dog agility trials, and I was there to spend a few hours with her. She lives in Vermont, so obviously we don't get to see each other very often.

Lynne had to work soon after I arrived, so she said "Want a job?"

"Sure," I said. After all, anything is more fun than just standing around watching, particularly if the only person you know has to work.

Before I knew it, I had become a leash runner. Did you ever read the book Kite Runner? Well, it's something like the kids who would run after kites, rescuing them from trees and bushes, and bring them back to be flown again. In this case, when the dog was ready to perform his agility work, the trainer threw his leash on the ground and directed him to start. I would wait until the dog was no longer looking in my direction, on this course between the 2nd and 3rd jump, and then I'd walk over and pick up the leash - no actual running, as the dog might decide to run after me and his leash rather than finish his jumps - and then carry it over to where the course ended. That way, when he and his trainer arrived at the last jump, the leash would be there and ready.

I got pretty good at it, Lynne said. And even better, we had a fun few hours afterward wandering around cute little downtown Morgan Hill, drinking wine, eating wonderful Italian food, and catching up on our lives. A really fun day, and I learned a new skill!

Sightseeing in San Francisco

Can it be called sightseeing, when it's practically in your backyard? We live only a few miles from San Francisco, just across the Bay Bridge. Do we ever go there? Not enough, that's for sure. A few weeks ago we celebrated Wayne's daughter's birthday at The Fairmont Hotel San Francisco. We had a great time! Do you know The Fairmont SF was where the movie Hotel was made? And where the first United Nations Charter was signed? Do you know it was the first hotel to open after the Big San Francisco Earthquake of 1906? What a beautiful, opulent, historic property it is.

After our adventure, we resolved to spend more time in San Francisco, just for fun. Here are some of the things we did and places we saw during our 48-hour stay on top of SF's Nob Hill.

Coit Tower

On the hill next to Nob Hill, Telegraph Hill, Coit Tower reaches into the blue sky. It was named after a wealthy woman called Lillie Coit who donated the money to build it, according to local rumor, in honor of her special relationship with San Francisco firemen. During the depression of the late 1930s, the interior of the tower was painted top to bottom with murals depicting life in San Francisco, both in the past and in the 1930s. The murals were painted by local artists, many of whom had been influenced by or studied with the famous Mexican painter Diego Rivera, as part of the Public Works of Art project. The murals have recently been cleaned and restored and they are stunning! Here are some examples (check out the guy being robbed in the third photo - city living!):

Aren't they great? And here's the view from the top of Coit Tower. It's incredible!



The view from the top of Coit Tower

 

 

Grace Cathedral

More photos, this time on top of Nob Hill, right across the street from the Fairmont Hotel. I can't believe I've never been in Grace Cathedral before, and I've lived here most of my life!

 



2014 garden favorites

Almost Fall. Well, in fact, it is Fall, but here in northern California, Fall is our real Summer. So it's hot, not colorful like Fall is in other places. The summer vegetables know it's Fall, nevertheless, and they are on their way out. We still have fabulous tomatoes, and chard, and peppers, but soon...very soon...we'll be uprooting these and planting winter crops.



What were our favorite summer vegetables of 2014? Without a doubt they were the Brandywine heirloom tomatoes (OMG) and the padron peppers. The heirlooms were just plain delicious - green and dark red and not always the most beautiful classic tomatoes - but their taste told the true story. Sweet, they were really sweet. And tomato-y. Wow.




The padrons, well they are some good tasting peppers. Green, they're mild and wonderful fried up whole with a little salt. Red, they have a kick, and are best cut up in beans, or rice, or with chicken or pork, or in salsa. They have such a good taste! I still have a whole bunch that I'm drying, day by day, in the sun on the front porch. We'll enjoy them all winter long.

Absence, and permission

I've been absent for a couple of weeks. I gave myself permission to take a small vacation from writing. This is not to say I don't love writing my blog, because I do.

Absence is good for the soul, and, on occasion, makes the heart grow fonder. So they say.

I've been working like a fiend, which is so not like me. I'm working at my retirement job, bartending for a fancy resort near where I live. I absolutely love doing it. There's that. And I don't really want to work full time, which they try to accommodate because they appreciate me. How wonderful is that?! All said, the opportunity came up a couple of months ago to work at the bar next to the hotel swimming pool, which is part of the membership Club and is a very cool place. I have to wo-man the bar Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Not a problem, right?

Well, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is really 10:00a.m. until 7:30 or so p.m., given bar setup and take-down and paperwork, etc. Whew, that's a long day. It's 9+ hours on your feet and by the time I'm done, I'm not good for much else. Then I go home and Wayne, who has been on his own all day (and all weekend) would like some attention and maybe dinner. That's where I've been, and then recuperating Monday through Thursday.

These sound like excuses and, truly, they are. I took a break and now I'm back. My gig at the pool bar has been so much fun that I feel it needs to be celebrated. I get to be creative - special drinks, increasing sales, making the whole experience fun - and get rewarded (great tips, great sales figures, pats on the back) on top of it.

Here are a couple of the cool special drinks my co-bartender Rolando and I came up with. Perhaps they'll help you make the transition from summer to fall!

Cucumber-Mint Martini

Cut a fat slice of cucumber into quarters and muddle it with several mint leaves and a squirt of sweet and sour mix in a cocktail shaker. Add ice and 2 oz. of vodka (we use Tito's). Shake, shake, shake, until the shaker feels really cold. Then strain into an ice-filled glass (or plastic, as we use around the pool) and garnish with a slice of . . . you guessed it, cucumber!!!

The Norma

Fill a glass (or plastic cup) with ice. Pour in 2 oz. of Patron Silver tequila. Fill the glass with Fevertree ginger beer. Stir well, garnish with a slice of lime, and serve with a long straw.

Le Creuset is on my good list!

I have maybe eleven or twelve Le Creuset pots and skillets - it's all really good cookware that I've had forever. I love these pots - they are very colorful and they cook great, enameled cast iron. Cast iron pots are fabulous heat conductors and very fun to use. One pot, though, the sweet little green Dutch oven, has had some problems. Its inside bottom was wearing out - cast iron showing through chipped enamel.

Well, I've had the little green pot for about 20 years, and I used it almost every day. It was a workhorse. And I must admit I burned it once or twice, although it always came clean. But then the bottom started to wear through.

Le Creuset has a lifetime guarantee of their cookware. After a long time, I looked them up on the internet. Then I called them, just a few weeks ago. They gave me a claim number and told me to send the little pot in. If it looked like a problem with the product, they would replace it. And, if they sent me a new one, what color would I like? The color I had was no longer made - it was from another era. I decided on Caribbean Blue. If it looked like the problem was my use of the pot, then they'd offer me a new one at a discounted price.

OK, I sent my little pot in, even though I hated to. I didn't know how I would get along without it, since I used it almost every day. Here it is in its box, ready to go on a journey.

Of course I expected them to offer me a discount, since in fact I had burned it once or twice. What a surprise when two weeks later, without even a phone call or an email, a box arrived with a new pot inside, Caribbean Blue. It's perfect, no chips, brand new.

These pots cost a lot of money. I priced this one online at around $100. I didn't pay that for any of my Le Creusets - I bought them on sale or at outlet stores, and it was a long time ago. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with Le Creuset and their lifetime guarantee. I'd buy their products again and I'd recommend them to anyone!

Thank you, Le Creuset. Way to be!

How to make zebra cushions

It's really easy to make your own cushions and accent pillows, so why are they so expensive to buy? Beats me. I can't justify it, and I often make my own. Here's some I just made for my outdoor chairs using a zebra-print fabric I bought online. So cute, don't you think?

Of course, you can use any print you want. I happen to like zebras. The most important factors to consider are durability and whether they are likely to fade in the sun. This zebra fabric is a light canvas, so it's a medium weight cotton fabric and pretty durable, although it's not so heavy that it's hard to work with. The black stripes are supposed to be sun-resistant. Time will tell.

Meanwhile I'm pretty crazy about them.

In case you want to make some of your own, here's how to make these cushions, which are called "knife-edge" because the edges come to a point all around the cushion. It's the easiest of all the cushion and pillow shapes to make.

I used black piping all the way around the edges of my knife-edge zebra cushion. Piping makes a cushion look so finished and professional, don't you think? And my method of sewing piping is fool-proof. Read on to find out how . . .

First make a pattern for your cushions. Cut a piece of wrapping paper or tracing paper a little larger than your chair seat. Then lay the paper on the chair and mark the edges of the seat. Cut along your marking and you have a pattern you can use every time you want to make cushions for this kind of chair.

Tip: It's smart to write on the pattern which chairs this pattern matches. That way, when you want to make new cushions in a couple of years, you have a pattern available without taking apart one of the old cushions. Also you won't accidentally make a cushion for a different chair that doesn't fit.


Here's what you'll need for each cushion:

• A piece of 1" or 1-1/2" foam cut to match the pattern.
• Optional: Cotton batting to wrap around the foam to soften the edges.
• Enough fabric to cover both sides of the cushion - for these cushions I used about 1/2 yard per cushion, or 2 yards for 4 cushions.
  
• Enough matching or contrasting piping to go around each cushion. Measure around the outside of the pattern and multiply by the number of cushions you're making to compute the total inches/yards you need. Look at the piping package to see how many yards of piping it contains and buy as many as you need to get your total, plus a couple of inches. Piecing the piping works just fine, as you'll see in the instructions below.
• Thread to compliment your fabric.

Use your pattern to cut 2 pieces for each cushion, adding 1/2" all the way around for the seam.

Pin the piping all the way around on the right side one of the pieces, lining the unfinished edge up with the fabric edge. Overlap the ends of the piping and angle them slightly to the outside edge. I try to put the overlapped ends on the edge of the cushion that will be to the back of the chair. Sew all the way around as close to the piping as you can.

Pin the two pieces of the cushion together with right sides together. Stitch 3/4 of the way around the cushion on the same line you stitched to attach the piping, stitching just around both corners of the edge that will be to the back of the chair and leaving the back side open. This is where you will insert your foam.



You can either wrap your foam insert with a light layer of cotton batting, or you can cut 2 pieces of cotton batting from the cushion pattern and add them top and bottom to the foam. Or you can use the foam by itself. Whichever you use, fold the foam (and batting in place) roughly in half to insert it into the opening in your fabric 'envelope'. Then manipulate the foam and smooth the fabric and foam out with your hands to fit it in the envelope. Your cover should fit tightly.

Pin the opening shut, folding under the edges, and stitch it closed by hand.

You now have a beautiful piped knife-edge cushion for your chair - zebra or seersucker or covered in hydrangeas, whatever you chose!

The first pickles

Now I know for sure it's summer - I just canned my first two quarts of dill pickles! Aren't they gorgeous?

We have six cucumber plants in pots on the ledge on the front porch, so their vines can hang off the front of the house. They are starting to produce, and I think they're going to be prolific! Yay! More pickles.

My mom made the world's best dill pickles, as I've mentioned on this blog before. She, however, did a proper job of canning and preserving. We go though pickles too fast for that at our house - nothing needs to be preserved for months because it will be eaten long before that. So here's how I do the pickling.

• Sterilize your jars and lids in boiling water for 10 minutes. Then let them sit in the hot water while you prepare the brine.
• In a saucepan, bring a brine to a boil. For two quarts of pickles, I used 2 cups water, 1 cup apple cider vinegar, 3/4 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup good pure sea salt, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. That's a lot of vinegar, but that's what keeps bacteria from getting in your pickles, just in case you don't eat them right away.
• Take the jars out of the hot water and empty them. Stuff them with cucumbers (cut the flower end off and wash them first), heads of fresh dill, peeled garlic cloves, and a few peppercorns. I've also used dried little hot peppers. Leave an inch or so at the top.
• Ladle or pour the hot brine over the pickles and seasonings in jar. Leave 1/4 inch head room at the top. Seal tightly with your sterilized lids.

Let sit in a cool dark place (I put them in a cabinet in the basement) for two weeks before eating. After you open them, store them in the fridge. If they are too sour for your taste, drain the brine out of the jar you're using (after the two weeks of course) and fill it with water with a bit of sugar dissolved in it. Let it sit in the fridge for a few days and enough of the vinegar will leach out into the water to make them just right! Yum!

I've got my mom's old Ball Jar canning book, which would have been from the 1950s. There are a lot of cool recipes for various pickles and preserves in it, but even better is the "recipe" that's printed on the inside back cover. Here it is:

How to Preserve a Husband

 

Be careful in your selection. Do not choose too young. When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use. Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle, others are constantly getting them into hot water. This may make them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter; even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good, by garnishing them with patience, well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses. Wrap them in a mantle of charity. Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion and serve with peaches and cream. Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

 

Food for thought . . .how cute is that???



Weight watching

Our friend Yasmin Dinar has been staying with us for a few days. Yasmin lives in Denver and has some work in the Bay Area right now so we're lucky to have her with us. Like many attractive 30-somethings, Yasmin likes to look good and takes excellent care of herself. We were surprised to hear that she has been going to Weight Watchers, and that she has lost 10 pounds. Who knew she had 10 extra pounds to lose? Yasmin always looks fabulous.

I've never been interested in weight loss diets, although at 5'4" compared with Yasmin's 5'10", there have been times when I could've taken off a pound or two. I just love to cook and to eat, and have always preferred to exercise more, or to just accept myself as I am. Good or not so good. Diets aren't for me.

When Yasmin arrived carrying two bags of vegetables and fruits from Trader Joe's, I was glad anyway. I love vegetables and fruits. Of course, she bought so many that we could hardly fit them in the fridge.

I wanted to be supportive, and to keep the fridge functional as well, so I decided to cook three or four vegetables for every dinner, plus a small portion of meat or fish. For breakfast we feast on fruit and oatmeal. It's been great.

You know, it's fun to search out all kinds of new and different vegetable recipes. I've made zucchini with red bell pepper and tomato, served with sauteed portobello mushrooms. Normally, zucchini doesn't appeal to me, but Yasmin bought a box of it, so oh well. The next night we had steamed julienned zucchini and carrots. It was really good. Tonight we're going to have cauliflower with egg and parsley, a recipe I dug out of an old Pierre Franey cookbook, plus more of the stuffed cabbage rolls we made last night. I do love cauliflower, so it will be wonderful. This is the most un-diet diet ever - it's delicious!


I might lose a pound or two, unintentionally, from having Yasmin here. And maybe we'll just keep this veggie-mania going after she leaves on Friday. Thanks, Yasmin!

Hand made cocktail napkins

My friend Berta has moved to a new home, and I'm going over there to see it (and her) next week. Of course I want to bring a "Happy New Home" present, and not just a bottle of wine.

One of my favorite things that I found among my mother's store of linens was a little pile of small napkins.

We would call them "cocktail napkins" because they're much smaller than dinner napkins. I think they were my grandmother's, and I'm guessing she called them "luncheon napkins," because no decent woman would admit to any knowledge of cocktails in her day. They are obviously hand made - they are not a uniform size and they have that delicate pulled-thread decoration around the hemmed edges that women did a hundred years ago. No one has the time or knowledge for it today, which is a pity.

I decided Berta would like some hand made cocktail napkins in her new home. She and I definitely admit to cocktails, or at least wine, so let's call them what they are. And I would be willing to make them, although I'm not willing to start pulling threads.

I shopped around in my stash of fabric and found this fun dotted cotton I used a while ago to make pillow cases. It's a really nice fabric with a good cottony feel to it, and would make very cute cocktail napkins. I had enough left to make a set of six and, even better, I had already washed the fabric before I used it the last time. One less thing to do.

Using a paper cocktail napkin as a template, I cut 6 identical pieces from the fabric, each 11 inches square. This will leave me a 10-inch square napkin after hemming, which is the size of the paper napkin.

Then I started ironing. Yes, it's true - most of the process of making these little napkins involves the steam iron, and only near the last did I touch my sewing machine. This is fortunate for me, because I'm still running my sewing machine with my left foot, my right foot firmly encased in a big space boot because of my healing broken ankle. However, the future looks bright, because next week I'm supposed to try to fit, finally, into a shoe. My shoe. Here's hoping I find one that fits.

The process
Take one of the 11-inch squares and press a 1/4-inch hem on all four sides. Then work your way around and turn the hem a second time 1/4 inches and press each side, using steam to set the folds. Then, to make mitred corners, cut across each corner like this.

Holding the first fold in place, fold the corner up and join the edges of the folds to make the mitre.

This takes some bulk out of the corner's doubled double fold and leaves a nicely finished corner.

Next, press all the folds once again on the wrong side, and sidle on over to your sewing machine. I like to sew on the right side when it shows, because I'm convinced the stitch is more attractive on the top side. You can stitch on the other side if you want to, because it's easier to see that you're catching the fold. Either way will work fine.

I like to open up the length of my stitch a bit, so I set my length at 2.8. It makes for a prettier stitch and a little less bunching.

Sew the hem, whether on the right side or the other side, all the way around, pivoting at the corners. Then press both back and front again, and press into a 5-inch square.

Here's the finished result of the stitching, front and back

And here's the final stack of napkins, ready to be gifted! Hope Berta likes them!

 

My ankle is back!

This is a long process. But it hasn't been as long as it might be, thanks to an innovative surgeon and good bones.  The surgeon, who had performed more than 3000 of these same surgeries, said to me after mine, "for your age, you have very good bones." I am grateful.

Yesterday I graduated from cast to boot, 6 weeks into it. Yay! More freedom...showers can be taken without protective plastic, sometimes my leg and my foot can get fresh air.  OMG.

When I looked at my leg - 6 weeks under plaster and plastic - it was flaking skin in sheets. So dry. I washed it with zinc soap, good for bacteria, and soaked it in heavy-duty moisturizer and then coconut oil and let it absorb. More skin flaked off and I rubbed it with towels and more coconut oil before reapplying the orthopedic sock and the boot. Oh what luxury for my poor skin!

They said "wear the boot for two or three weeks, then try to fit into a shoe." Wow. That means in about two weeks I can wear a shoe. And walk in it. And then maybe I can drive (this is my right foot, so no driving until it is well).

Today I went to my beloved yoga instructor Domonick for a private lesson.  "Tell me what I can do to strengthen this leg and to maintain flexibility and heal." He created a wonderful program for me to follow for the next month or two until I can resume a regular practice.  Stretch. Strengthen. Be peaceful. Breath. Stretch. Strengthen. Heal. Thank you, and bless you, Domonick. Bless you, my leg.

Short story, I'm doing well, thank you. Tomorrow night we're going out to a club, but I might not dance yet.

Red Lace

I'm working on my old unfinished sewing projects once again, this time finishing the sarong-style skirt, which just needed hemming.  First thing, I looked through my odds and ends to see if I had any red hem binding. Nope. Everything else but red. Well, I had a bag of my mom's sewing things that I'd brought home from the big garage sale we had. Maybe in there.

I couldn't have been more surprised. Not only did I find red seam binding, I found a length of really nice red lace. My mom? Red lace? I remember at one time she was into making lingerie - slips and things like that. But I certainly couldn't imagine she'd have made a bright red slip. It just didn't seem like my mom.

Well, moms are women too, and how much do you really know about your mom, personally? Not so much apparently. Woo-hoo! Mom!

I read that Jackie Kennedy had all the linings in her dresses made with lace at the bottom, like a slip. If it's good enough for Jackie, it's good enough for me!







Lace made a lovely hem binding for my skirt. Here's the hem, and now the skirt is all done. It's possible I might wear it after all, rather than give it away. It's really pretty fabulous.

On to the next thing, which is both a wearable "reward" for having finished another old project and an unfinished project in itself. I only started it about 4 months ago, so it doesn't really qualify as an Ancient. It's a white linen skirt, lined. I haven't been sure whether I will really like a white skirt, but I've decided to make a black and white lace overskirt/apron thingy to go over it and now I know I'll like it. Maybe I'm into lace all of a sudden!

Making progress

I'm better now - healing. After an incredibly short 2 1/2 weeks, I'm back on my feet. Thanks to an innovative Kaiser Permanente surgeon who believes you heal better if you start moving sooner rather than later, I'm in a walking cast . . . and walking.

Sweet joy, I have some of my life back.

Here's my leg in its new cast, actually standing on the floor. I can walk up stairs now, although I still slide down stairs on my butt because I'm afraid I'll fall. I can carry a glass of water. I can carry dishes from the dishwasher into the dining room. I can stand at the stove to cook. I can shower if I cover my cast with plastic.

It's definitely the little things you miss when you can't do them.

I still use crutches when I have to go a long way, but I'm not hopping anymore, I'm walking. I do get tired, but it's so much better.

Yay!!

Oopsie!

There I was, cute as a bug in my new outfit (pictured in the post below), bidding my friend Yvette "good night". We had met in San Francisco for dinner and wine at Frances, a trendy (and very good!) restaurant in the Castro District, and then cabbed back downtown - Yvette to her home and me to BART to train back to Oakland. I closed the cab door and headed for the stairs to go down into the Civic Center BART station.

Suddenly I was down on the steps, clinging to a railing and looking at my right foot, shoeless in its brown tights. The foot was pointed in a bad direction. And my ankle was swelling to twice its size. At first it didn't even hurt, but then.... ouch, ouch. I had tripped, my shoe had gone sailing, and I had hurt my foot. Even in the shock of the first few seconds, I knew. I had really hurt my foot.

Two women stood near me, one on each side, and I looked up at them. They were both looking down at me. One of them said, "Are you all right?" "I don't think I can stand on my foot," I said. Many people were passing by on the stairs. Some of them looked. One of the women said loudly, "Get the police, get the station manager." The other woman stood in front of me on the steps and looked around.

In a few minutes two BART policemen came running. "What happened? What's your name? Do you want us to call an ambulance?" The women stayed.

"Yes, I think I need an ambulance." I picked up my cell phone and dialed Wayne. He answered. "Wayne, I'm hurt." And we went from there. The women stayed.

Since the police were also there, I said to the woman nearest me, "You can go. Thank you so much for being here with me." And she left. The other woman said, "I'm going to stand here below you so no one can look up your skirt." Well, I hadn't thought of that. And anyway, I had tights on so what would they see? But it was very protective and sweet, and I smiled at her and said, "Thank you".

The ambulance came and whisked me off to Kaiser Hospital Emergency Room, where Wayne met me. We spent a long night with their very kind and professional staff getting me put together well enough to go home. The ankle was broken in two places. Then I went back the next day to have surgery and here I am, in a cast and pretty much couch, chair, and bed-bound. With my "toes above my nose". Drat.

In every story, there's some good news. In this story the good news is I just happened to get the best ankle surgeon in California, and maybe in the whole country. This is according to all the nurses at Kaiser. He is an innovator, who believes you heal better if you're on your feet by two weeks after surgery, unlike the 6 weeks that's traditional. That's very good news for me because I think I'd go crazy confined this way for 6 weeks, and two weeks is next week. I am optimistic.

The other good news is those wonderful women who rallied around a fallen sister and didn't move. They didn't know each other and they certainly didn't know me, but there's something about women that's pretty special. I'm celebrating a personal Women's Appreciation Day in my heart. Thank you, Ladies.

The new skirt reward

When I finished the corduroy jumper last week, I promised to make something current that I like and want to wear as a reward to myself before going on to the next unfinished project. Here I am wearing my reward, a fine-wale corduroy paisley skirt to go with the vintage aqua sweater Wayne's fashionista daughter, Marja, gave me for Christmas.

Pretty cool fabric, huh? Here's what it looks like up close.


 The light blue matches the sweater perfectly and I think the whole outfit has a 50s vibe to it. I like it quite a bit - very fun and comfortable too. I made it using an Amy Butler pattern called "barcelona skirts" that I've used several times before. In fact, my daughter-in-law Allie turned me on to it after she used it to make some skirts. It's lined, and is quite fast and easy, which is always nice - instant gratification!

Now I'm on to the next unfinished project. Here it is, a long wrapped skirt that only needs hemming. Kind of a pretty, tropical looking fabric, isn't it? I think I'll leave it ankle-length. Should be able to finish that tomorrow or the next day. I'll let you know.


Unfinished business

It seems I have even more unfinished business than I thought. (see The Hutch)  While going through my closet for candidates for donation to the White Elephant Sale, I found three sewing projects I had started and never finished. Well, to be honest, one was passed on to me by someone else, but still it was a project to be finished. Aha! I thought. The White Elephant Sale takes unfinished sewing projects - I've seen the rack of them in the sewing section. I bagged them up and happily carried them to the Sale the next time we went.

Alas. The guardian at the donation door said they had enough unfinished sewing projects, thank you very much. And I had to bring them back home.

What to do with them? I hate to throw good fabric and hard work out, but I was never going to wear any of these. Well, the Sale would take them if they were finished, of course, and two of these projects had minimum work left to do on them. It's just that I had lost interest. So why not finish them and then donate them?

I told myself: I will finish one and then reward myself by sewing something "real" that I like and will wear. Then I will do the next unfinished one, and so on until I'm done with the three.

The first was a corduroy jumper I started maybe 40 years ago. Maybe even before that. I did a really nice job on it, lining the top with plaid flannel and finishing it nicely. The only thing left to do was the buttons and all but three of the buttonholes ... all the way down the front. I think the buttonholes discouraged me. So many dratted buttonholes. I hate to make buttonholes.

So I left it forever, moving it from closet to closet and home to home. The matching buttons, all 12 of them, lived in the pocket of the jumper. Until today.

Yay!!! I just finished the jumper and I did it without having to do 9 more buttonholes, or even sewing on 12 buttons.

I sewed on the 3 buttons that I already had buttonholes for, and added a fourth to make an even march of buttons down the front of the bodice to the waistline. At the waistline, I used a large heavy snap behind and under the button.

Then I used 3 more heavy snaps down the front of the skirt and left the front open beyond that point. Styles are less conservative today than when I started this jumper - well, in some ways. That would have been soon after hippie times, and that wasn't really what you'd call conservative, was it?

Anyway. No more buttonholes, no more buttons, and the jumper is finally finished. Yes, it still fits, but it is no longer my style. I have outgrown corduroy jumpers, but someone much younger will probably love it. I'm going to send it out into the world.

One more step toward finishing all that unfinished business!