By popular demand, more comics! Pretend it’s on time.
Ahh, the sun is out, the birds are singing, and the daffodils are starting to push their way up. Spring must finally be on the way right? Hahaha, just kidding, it’s just a tease. A cruel, cruel tease.
I’m going to be honest, I’m pretty close to full blown grumpus. If the weather doesn’t stop toying with me soon, I might lose it. I want sunshine. I want to go barefooted. I want to stop wearing pants. Right now it’s a pleasant 65F outside. I can hear gobs of birds warbling and crooning. It smells like spring. Unfortunately, I’ve already checked the weather, and it’s going to be back down to freezing with 25 mph winds tomorrow. Oh what fun! I think I’ll start working on my blanket nest now.
Grump, grump, grump.
“u” is for “uisukii”
Running just a bit behind this week, aren’t I? I assure you there’s a good reason for it. Totally not because I’ve been spending too much time on my computer playing Banished, building virtual settlements. Certainly not. (Okay, maybe I’m a liar.)
Well, in the time I haven’t been engaged in mismanaging the ill-fated citizens of the village Snellstochito, I have been continuing to work on my Japanese. I got through katakana (the other syllabary) on my own and purchased Japanese for Everyone to continue my studies. So far the choice seems sound. In the first chapter, the words for beer, wine, and whiskey were introduced. Continue Reading…
It’s a comic this week! Sometimes I don’t feel like writing, but I do feel like drawing. Here is one about cookies and bugs.
True story. Except in reality I spit all over my keyboard. It was kind of gross. This wasn’t my first near-bug-eating experience, but at least I didn’t find out what the bug tasted like this time. (If anybody needs to know what a stinkbug tastes like, I got ya covered. Hint: it’s a lot like they smell.)
Moral of the story? Oreo’s are terrible and you shouldn’t eat them. I knew this already, but now I have a traumatic experience to help me remember.
Also, if you half-ass re-sealing the package, there is a non-zero chance you will end up licking a bug.
In light of approaching Valentine’s Day, here is a short story of love…and betrayal! Because that’s more exciting. Continue Reading…
ne is for neko
I am going to apologize in advance. As I have mentioned, the Mister and I will be moving off to Japan for a year. I’m not going to lie, I think this is super freaking exciting. I’ve always wanted to live abroad for a while. There is probably going to be an abundance of OMG I’M MOVING TO JAPAN!!!! posts transitioning somewhere into OMG I’M IN JAPAN!!! (with a brief interlude when I’m too crazy and stressed because I’m actually moving.) So this is probably the first, but not last, Japanese themed posts. You’ve been warned.
In the four months or so left until the move, I’ve decided to start learning a bit of Japanese.
Having made this decision, I immediately floundered at where to start this quest. While I have no illusions about becoming anything close to fluent, I thought it would be nice to be armed with at least some basic speaking and reading skills. Herein lies the difficulty. The Japanese writing system is complex to say the least. Continue Reading…
Besides this being the time of year when everybody gets sick, this is also the time of year that I start to go a little crazy. As I’ve said before, I am not a fan of cold weather, and by late January, early February I am very tired of winter. I’m tired of it being freezing outside, and I’m tired of being indoors all the time. Almost more than anything, I hate everything being gray and gloomy. I seriously start to get depressed without regular sunshine and by this point it feels like it’s been months since I’ve really seen the sun. Perhaps this doesn’t bode well for my move to northern Japan, but I’m hoping it’s at least sunnier than winter in Maryland.
Every year, these grey doldrums spur me to wage my own personal campaign against winter indoors. Primarily, I have a collection of house plants that I nurse through the cold months and periodically add to their ranks. Green things are good company in the dull winter months. They don’t smell funny, make as much noise as the kitties or Mr. Boy, or judge my singing (that I know of). Continue Reading…
I’m a bit of a packrat crossed with a magpie. I collect all sorts of little odds and ends. Over the years, I’ve managed to curb most of these tendencies, but one thing that remains a great weakness is fabric remnants. Every time I go to the fabric store I am compelled to beeline to the remnant bins and rifle through those half-price goodies. I know I don’t need them, but how can I resist? It’s like a treasure hunt and it’s rare that I walk away empty handed. These frivolous purchases have come to make up a large portion of my fabric collection. I suppose if I was a quilter it would all be perfectly justifiable, but I’m not and I refuse to be. (I’m pretty sure it would spell certain doom for me and the livable space in my apartment if I had that kind of excuse to buy fabric.) Luckily I’ve become quite skilled at coming up with other uses (excuses) for my ever growing collection. Most often I channel this into one of my sewing favorites, all manner of bags.
Last year I started making these particular little lined drawstring bags. They aren’t anything new or amazing concept-wise, but they are pretty cute, easy to make, and don’t require much fabric. Perfect for using up those remnants and fat quarters.
I also think this is a good way to practice hand sewing, if you’re into that sort of thing. Despite the fact that I own three sewing machines, sometimes I just want a good hand sewing project. I find it pleasant and calming. And sometimes I get struck by unbearable envy of little Japanese women who hand sew everything, and it’s all disgustingly cute.
Anyway…
If you don’t like hand sewing you can whip these little bags up lickety-split with a sewing machine (less than half an hour if you are on good terms with your machine). Either way I think this is a good beginner sewing project. They are cute, easy, fun, and also make nice little reusable gift bags. Continue Reading…
Surprise! Look who turned up!
Last seen near her sewing machine. Is attracted to bright colors, shiny things, and tasty foods.
So I’ve been gone for a bit…maybe a looong bit. As per my last entry, I sort of fell off the face of the internet. I’ve effectively been in a creative hibernation for the past year (and then some). My sewing machines have sat silent, collecting dust, my art supplies have languished, unused, in lonely boxes.
Ahhhhh! I hate falling!
Well, I’m ready to crawl out of my cave. I’m tired of being an uncreative lump. Unsurprisingly, it’s really pretty boring, and not very satisfying. And thanks to the gentle prodding from certain interested individuals, I’m reviving this sad, forlorn blog of mine. I’ve come to realize I actually enjoy writing, I’m just bad at the sitting down to do it part. Keeping that in mind, this time I’m a bit smarter and I’ve written a few posts before setting things back in motion. It has also come to light that I will be moving to a far off exotic land (Japan!) in about six months. This has given me extra motivation to develop some sort of writing habit. It might be nice if peeps can keep up with my adventures on the other side of the world. So this isn’t a tease like last time. Things will be posted. Regularly. For real. I promise.
Oh, and I’m working getting the rest of my website cleaned up too. Turns out a lot of spiders and dust piled up in my absence from the virtual world. Expect some changes as I get it all sorted out.
Stay tuned!
As some may have noticed, I’ve pretty much been out of action the last few months. I have to apologize. My hermit/antisocial tendencies got out of hand. I let myself get burned out. My sewing table has laid dormant for months. My beautiful markers were neglected. I dropped off the face of the internet. This happens to me periodically, but I have to admit I’ve never had it last this long.
Anyways, it’s already a month and a half into the new year and it’s about time to crawl out of my hole. I’m slowly getting back into sewing and drawing. I recently made several (possibly ill-advised) fabric and art supply purchases so I have to start making something damnit!
And I’m updating my poor dusty blog. I felt a bit guilty about attending a “blog party” when I haven’t updated my own blog in months. I think my blog functions almost entirely on a sense of guilt. (This is not to say I don’t enjoy my blog, just that guilt is a wonderful motivator.)
So look forward to real updates as soon as I figure out why my photos won’t upload. In the meantime if you’re local you can see me be a real person tonight at the Hocoblogs Party!
To be the owner of a handsome mustache is quite a thing and seems rather popular these days. However, life is very unfair leaving some of us genetically powerless to grow our own or forbidden to do so by the edicts of fashion or significant others. Long troubled by this problem, last year I finally created my own solution to this age old inequity without the need for razors, wax, or hormone treatment. It turns out it is quite simple (and inexpensive) to create your own facsimile of awe worthy facial hair. All you need is some felt, a needle and thread, and some sort of stuffing. Although perhaps not as satisfying as the real deal, a plush-stache is still very enjoyable. In fact, if you are already a mustache bearer, you can even increase your coolness without all the maintenance. Continue Reading…
