The Second Wedding Dress

My brother is getting married on Wednesday. The day after he notified me of the date, one of my good friends called to tell me the good news. She's getting married. On the same day my brother is. Understandably, I won't be able to attend her wedding. Technically, it's not even a wedding, but a wedding party. She and her hubby flew to Prague a few weeks ago to tie the know, keeping the Rabbinate out of their special day. I don't blame her - many people choose to do so. My brother and his wife married in Cyprus last month.

She, like many brides, had a designer make her a beautiful dress. Corset, layers of lace and delicate beading, meters and meters of fabric flowing. Only, after her excursion to Prague, she realized that her dress, beautiful as it is, was not meant for dancing in. So, she asked for my help. I offered to sew her a second dress; one she could wear after dinner to dance in. As always, I am happy to help a friend and she is a good friend.

Off we went to the fabric stores, selecting thin, breathable fabrics that would flow, enabling her to breath, and more importantly, dance the night away. Over the past three days, I frantically sewed, trying to get the dress done as soon as possible without sacrificing quality. I finally finished the dress and I have to admit, I'm really happy with how it came out. I despise invisible zippers, but I put one in the back of her dress, as requested, and it came out quite good. I despise hand sewing and it took me only four hours(!) to finish hand stitching the lining of her dress and adding the lace and beadwork belt she wanted around her waist.

Tomorrow I'm going to give it to her and I hope she is happy with it. I hope it lets her feel beautiful and airy as she dances the night away. Also, I hope she knows how important she is to me and how much I cherish her friendship, despite not being able to be with her on her special day.

The Impending Doom of Another New Year

There's that moment when you suddenly realize that it's nearing the end of December and the current year just passed you by, faster than you can blink. You think back to the New Year's resolutions that you made that year and realize you aren't a step closer to fulfilling nearly half of them. Puzzled, you think back and wonder if you could even recall all of them... lose weight, get in shape, be a better partner, learn to speak German, etc...

Then you start to think if making new year's resolutions has any purpose... Studies show that gym membership sales go up in January as people plan on getting in shape but that actual gym usage returns to what it was by March as people no longer go, finding excuses to put it off for another day. And it's easy to do so because we have a year to get in shape and a year seems like a long time. Or at least in January it does. But by the time December rolls around, well, that's a different story...

So, I've decided that for this year, I'm not making yearly resolutions. I'm going to make monthly resolutions. Hopefully, this practice of giving myself a shorter, more easily manageable time frame will get me actually moving forwards in my goals, checking them off sooner, rather than trying to pack as many as I can into the last three weeks of the year.

With that said, here are my goals for January 2015:

• Work goals:
• Survive light year review without panicking 
• Get a good review on my light year review
• Ask for (and get!) a raise

• Sewing goals:
• Finish hounds tooth vest
• Sew a long sleeve shirt for winter
• Sew one dress for winter

• Pole goals:
• Clean up spins
• Clean up basic moves (Climb, Plank, Sit, Chopper, Invert)
• Learn to do Superman
• Butterfly - Gemini - Scorpio - Gemini - Cupid - Superman combo

• Personal:
• Set up a savings fund for hubby and myself 
• Wake up earlier to work out in the mornings (hoola hoop or pole)
• Do a better job on the dishes so hubby approves of my dish washing skills

Wish me luck! 

The Double Drape T-Shirt

The weather is getting slightly cooler and tank tops and sleeveless dresses are no longer suitable for this weather. In need of some inspiration, I turned to Pinterest for inspiration, only to come across the Studio Faro blog. Intrigued by the puzzles, I looked for something interesting, yet simple and decided to give the double drape tee shirt a shot.

I started with a self drafted t-shirt pattern for knits. I followed Anita's instructions, only to cut my first version out of some light weight olive colored jersey fabric I had lying around. I started by sewing facings in the front two edges and the back. Continued by gathering the shoulder and the underarm area and sewing them into place. Shoulders followed by sleeves and then the two sides to finish.

When I tried it on, I have to admit, I was pretty satisfied with the fit, for the most part. The neck line is a bit more closed than what I usually wear, as closed neck lines tend to make me look bigger and not in a good way, but not too closed so that I wouldn't wear it. I did find that the gathers on the shoulder seemed to leave too much excess fabric in that area. After playing around with it a bit, I decided that a strap of brown pleather would nicely hold back the excess fabric while complimenting the olive color of the fabric and giving it an edgy or designer look - I still can't decide which. Anyway, I tacked it on and liked the look so I decided to finish the sleeves and the bottom of the shirt and called it a day.

Like I mentioned, the neckline is a bit more closed than I usually like it, but pulling the extra fabric back did help a bit more. The gathers across the shoulder and the bust do create an interesting focal point and I have worn this shirt out a few times already, to receive compliments from friends and family who were surprised to hear that, yes, this too, is another item I've sewn on my own... :)

I probably will give this pattern another shot, although next time I will be making a few more modifications. First, I will keep the front facings a bit longer, especially the vertical one. I know it's not something anyone sees, but it does keep the inside finished nicely and the missing three centimeters bothers me. Second, I will try to get rid of some of the excess fullness in the gathered shoulder. I think I'll shorten the shoulder a bit from the top and see how that affects the final result. I think I'll need to shift the arm scythe down a bit, but that shouldn't be too complicated. I do need to get someone to take decent photos of me. Using a tripod took me more than half an hour to get about 3 not so clear photos (see the best of them to the right...) and while I do have more control over lighting and framing in the mirror selfies, I hate the way they come out....

When the Cranes Dance

I glanced at my watch as I parked my car almost two blocks from my door. Twelve forty two. Looking up I noticed the shrinking moon, smiling down at me. Two cranes stood tall, reaching for the moon, not moving. They stood still in the darkness of the night. Two cranes, which earlier this evening danced gracefully together, turning together in perfect symmetry with the golden sun setting behind them.

The pavement was silver from the rain that had fallen not long ago. I love the rain. It makes everything feel more romantic. I started to cross the street, stepping over puddles. I took the long way home. I always do when it's night time. Something about walking along the main road makes me feel safer than taking the shortcut between the buildings. I don't mind walking twice as much as long as I don't have to walk in the dark alleys alone, terrified of every noise, jumping when a cat comes by, always watching over my shoulder to make sure I'm really safe.

It started to drizzle as I reached the entrance of my apartment building. Pulling out my keys, I managed to make it into the building still dry. The rain has been picking up and now it's coming down hard, pounding against the windows. I watch as the drops hit the glass, as they drizzle down. I enjoy being at home, heater turned on, hot soup on the stove top. An unexplained feeling of happiness starts deep in my stomach, spreading to my whole body. I'm happy and I'm smiling. I love it when it rains.

The Touching Call of a Jail Bird

My grandparents have been married for the past 63 years. Having been married so long, they had always discussed that when one of them was "no longer capable of wiping their own butt" (their words, not mine), they would both take a hefty handful of sleeping pills, share a bottle of good wine and go to sleep in each others' arms, leaving the world behind them.

My grandfather is 87 years old. While he's still sharp as a tack, my grandmother, at 82, is not so lucky. Just over three years ago, she started showing signs of Alzheimer's. At first it was little things... But then it got worse. At first, they hid it from the family. Then, when it became too much, my grandfather took things into his own Parkinson trembling hands.He wrote his sons a good bye email, which arrived much too fast. Both he and my grandmother were saved.

She spent the last three years in a retirement home, forgetting who we are, closing herself off from the outside world. She's stopped talking and visiting her has become extremely difficult for me.

My grandfather, who was held responsible, has spent the last three years in prison for attempted murder. I stayed by him through out the entire time, visiting him, trying to make the time pass as easily as possible. But nothing I could do or say could keep him from staying obsessed with my grandmother. He'd call her multiple times a day, checking up on her. He'd talk about how he wants to take care of her when he gets released, never an eye witness to how bad she's been deteriorating.

Yesterday, 2 years, 11 months and 7 days after he was originally imprisoned, he was supposed to be released. Unfortunately, his heart has been causing problems and the stress of his impending release probably didn't help much. A few days ago, he was hospitalized in poor health. Thankfully, he was still released from the prison system, although he remains hospitalized.

Yesterday afternoon I got a phone call from Oded, who said he's been sharing a prison room with my grandfather for the last year. Oded called me to see how my grandfather has been doing and to make sure he was released from prison. This person, whom I've never met, called me because he's heard about me and knew I cared about my grandfather and frequently came to visit him. He told me how much my grandfather talked about my grandmother. No big surprise here. Like I said, my grandfather is obsessed with my grandmother. But what touched me is that my grandfather had also talked about me, too. Furthermore, I was touched by the fact that Oded cared enough about my grandfather to find my number and call me up to inquire about a man he'll probably never see again...

Sheldon

Howard Wolowitz: You're giving me a couch cushion?
Sheldon Cooper: No, the cushion is merely symbolic. I'm giving you my spot on the couch.
Sheldon Cooper: But you love that spot.
Howard Wolowitz: No. I love my mother. My feelings for my spot are much greater. It is the singular location in space around which revolves my entire universe. And now it's yours.

[last lines]

Howard Wolowitz: I gotta tell you, Sheldon, I understand why you chose this spot. I mean: the temperature is good but there's no draft, I can see the television but I can still talk th...
Sheldon Cooper: I changed my mind; get out of my spot!
Penny: How long?
Leonard Hofstadter: Ninety-four seconds.

 

On Friday morning we opened our hearts, our home and our couch to Sheldon Cooper, cat. At about two and a half years old, he's a large, beautiful long haired cat that we adopted from the "Cat Lovers Association" in Haifa. We brought him home and spoiled him with the largest scratching post we could find, lots of toys, a deluxe litter box and Royal Canine cat food. Only the best for my ball of fur. 

It's been less than a week since Sheldon joined us and we're learning to live together. He has yet to learn how to use his litter box, but I'm patient. I took him to the vet who looked him over and gave him his shots as well as some ear drops for the mites that cause him to scratch his ears incessantly. She said that with his appearance, large size and easy going demeanor, he's probably got a lot of Maine Coon in him.  

The thing that amazes me most is how much love I have for the little guy. Like I said, he's been with us for just a few days, yet I am absolutely crazy about him. I love him and just want to hold him, pet him, play with him and guard him from the outside world. I could spend hours just lying on the floor next to him, listening to him purr as I pet him. 

Tell me this isn't the most adorable cat you've ever seen... :)

"Wow, that's really retro!"

They tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat. This time, it's humentashen, or triangle shaped cookies with various fruit fillings in them. Unfortunately, whenever I bite into one of these cookies, despite what the box may say, it seems my cookie is always filled with poppy seeds. Yuck. Bad cookies aside, this is probably one of my favorite holidays, mostly because you're supposed to get dressed up and drink 'till you're tipsy. Gotta love tradition!

Ok, so Purim isn't coming until Sunday, but as many of my coworkers will be out of the office on Sunday, spending the day with their kids, who will be off of school for the holiday, we've decided that we'll be celebrating today. Come to work in costume, bring a gift basket for the grab bag.

Grab bag gift - check.
Costume... eh... Busy as I've been lately, I haven't had time to put anything really grand together, but I did want to do something. So, last night, ten minutes before the fabric stores closed, I frantically searched for inspiration among bolts of polyester fabrics in hideous patterns. I pinterested "adult costumes" and came across some interesting ideas. Now I just needed to narrow them down to things I could pull together in a few hours or less, especially if I was planning on sleeping...
I saw a great Gameboy dress which made me smile in nostalgia for my childhood back in the 90's. I quickly purchased grey fabric and headed home. (Ok, I stopped at the gym first...) Within three hours I'd created a respectable looking costume and honestly felt that it looked good. Tired, but satisfied, I joined hubby in bed for a few hours of shut eye before work this morning.

Today, dressed in my Gameboy dress, colorful stockings depicting cassettes and other 80's and 90's stuff and All Star shoes, I drank my coffee in our office's kitchen. People started coming in, some in costume, some not. A few of them thought I was a calculator... or some kind of a console controller... Very few actually recognized what I was right off the bat and a few had that "ah" moment after I told them... Then Dean, our new QA guy says to me, "Wow, that's really retro! That was ages ago!" I was four when Gameboy was released and old enough to have actually had one. And at 28, I'm not that old... I'm one of the younger people at this office!!! When did I become old and retro?! :)

That said, it was still a great day and I had fun, even if most people didn't recognize what I was... Their loss.