Second Knee Syndrome

People usually think one of three things when they hear the words "winter running."

The first camp immediately thinks of gently falling snow, eyelashes lightly coated with snowflakes, and long stretches of country road, with only the occasional cow for company.

Next up, those who would only run if chased by bloodthirsty zombies, and maybe not even then.  They think "winter running" is fraught with danger.  Dodging growling snowplows, ice lurking around every corner just waiting to take you out, aggressive drivers looking to knock you down for 10 points.

Last up, the folks who hear snow in the forecast and think, "treadmill."

Today's run was a little of all three.

Started out with three miles out and back down Lake Street, no cows present, but not much traffic and our eyelashes were nicely coated.  Kristin and I got back to my house and decided we should tack on another mile, we'd just continue on toward town for half a mile and then turn around, to make a total of four miles.  Good enough.

No aggressive drivers . . . no growling snowplows . . . no bloodthirsty zombies.

One camouflaged-by-snow, slick as glass, GIANT woman-eating icy sidewalk.  Running just so slightly downhill I hit the ice, slid a few feet forward, and BOOM.

I knew I was going down, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.  I did shift a little bit so I landed just below my knee instead of directly on it.  (No repeat of last winter's month long hiatus after a direct knee fall!)  I must have looked a little like a Jack-in-the-box as I popped back up, dusting off my leg.  Mustn't lose face, after all.

Of course, that's when Kristin piped up with, "Oh dear, I meant to tell you about that . . . it was icy there when I was out running the other day."

Thanks for the heads up.

We finished up our last half mile, both discovering another ice slick on the way home, arms windmilling wildly as we fought to keep our footing.

When you get home from a run like that, hindsight says maybe it would have been smarter to hit the treadmill at the Y.  But I really do hate the dreadmill, so I'm willing to put up with the occasional treacherous road to avoid it.

Here's the result of today's fall . . . which bump is the real knee?!

Goons in purple dresses

Today I finally got around to doing something I've been promising Sophia for months . . . making dress-up clothes out of my wedding gown slip.  I tried selling it on craigslist, but really, who buys a wedding gown slip on craigslist?  No one.

Instead of then attempting to get rid of it on e-bay, I decided to invest in some purple RIT dye and stock the dress-up trunk with a couple skirts.

Skirt #1 is a purple Cinderella skirt, while #2 is more of a gypsy skirt.  They were both pretty simple to make . . . I just tore apart the outer and inner layers with my seam ripper, cut them to the appropriate length, and folded over the top to make a sleeve for the elastic waist.  On skirt #1 I sewed straight up from the bottom toward the top for 6 inches, then gathered it tightly to make the flounces.  Eight flounces, and done!

You may not know this, but Sophia is the most uncooperative model EVER.  She decided she was asleep, and there was no convincing her otherwise. 

I love how I have about 27 photos of Z holding the exact same pose while Sophia and A were being wild (before Sophia just ran off altogether).

Nanny and the living room

My grandmother on my father's side, Nanny, is an incredibly talented artist.  Now she mostly puts her artistry into quilting, but back in the day she used to paint.  Not paint-by-number velvet Elvis', but the real deal . . . canvas, paint, imagination and what have you.  John and I are fortunate to have not just one, not two, but three of her paintings, all of which you will get to see in this post!

This first picture has been hanging in our house for a year or so.  It is a painting of the oldest house on Swan's Island, off the coast of Bass Harbor.  The house has since been fixed up and is derelict no more, but I think this version has a certain charm the now refurbished house never can.

My parents graciously let John and I have the next two paintings some time ago, and ever since I have been looking for just the right spot to hang them.  Nowhere ever seemed quite right, until today.  I finally took down the nativity, and wanted to bring some more color into the living room to drive away winter doldrums.  Down to the basement I went, in search of the perfect art . . . aha!

Those of you who saw my previously purple living room and green dining room know that I'm not a white living room kind of gal.  Now that the walls are toned down to a more gentle color, however, I feel like I can amp it up a bit with my art and accessories.  I played around with lots of different arrangements, and for now this is where I settled.  One trip to Walmart for some pillar candles later, and voila!





I confess, the lemons are not the real deal.  And many interior decorators may find fault with fake fruit, but I say go with the budget.  I wanted color, had these on hand, and don't have the bucks to pay for replacing fruit.  They are good fakes I found on clearance at TJ Maxx (where else?!), so I say go for it.  That is not to say that you should cover your house with fake flowers and fruit!  Moderation as in all things.  One more caution, don't go pilfering from your kid's play kitchen, that won't fly.

The blue mason jars are from ebay, and I have plans to eventually turn them into soap dispensers for the bathroom and kitchen.  My pillar candle holders were a steal of a deal from Goodwill for $3 or so apiece.  I picked up the Reader's Digest condensed books from a flea market for $1 total . . . again, a project I am planning to get to, making the covers into a neat box.  (An idea from This Old House magazine.)

This arrangement goes so far in warming up our living room . . . a little new life mid-January.  Thank you, Nanny, for making such beautiful art.  These paintings will always have a place of honor in our home.

Crafting

This weekend has been a return to crafting.  Not that I ever stopped, but the recent crafting I have done has been with a Christmas deadline.  So yesterday's casual crafting for fun was more relaxed and refreshing, and now I am feeling inspired.  I'm ready to tackle some projects around the house, including a huge painting project and de-Christmasing the living room.  Hopefully I'll have some good before-and-afters soon . . . a fresh look for the new year!

In the meantime, I am working on a couple little projects . . . scarves and the like.  Walmart has a $1/yard fabric bin and I stocked up on a few different wonderfully soft jersey knits.  I have plans that involve picking up some $1 Simplicity and Butterick patterns at Joann's when they go on sale, but for now here's the infinity scarf I made myself last night on a cute little model!  Yes, it's huge on her, but she looked *infinitely* better than I did today (yes, I was in pj's until 2 p.m.), so she got the job.

And of course, don't forget my February 1st drawing . . . become a follower and you just might win this bag!
(Though I have to say, the photo doesn't really do it justice . . . the real thing has me thinking I am going to have to make myself one!)

Giveaway!

Today has been a fun day . . . a combo of friends and crafting, which is always a good mix.  My friend brought with her a tutorial for a nifty no-sew bag that you put together with staples(!) and duct tape(!!).  An introduction to the Fabric Warehouse and stop by Walmart later and we were off and running.

Except that we decided to make our own straps instead of using webbing, so that was just a wee bit of sewing.  And then my straps were just a lil' bit too bulky to be attached to the bag with staples, so out came the machine again.  And then the top of the bag needed a tiny little reinforcement, so . . . you guessed it.  But then I promise I stapled the rest of it, duct taped a whole bunch, and voila!

Except then I realized that the straps were a little floppy and tugging at the duct tape, so I decided to do an eensie bit of hand sewing to tack them down.

Done!

And now for the fun news.  One of my faithful blog followers will win this bag in a drawing on February 1st!  Entering couldn't be easier . . . if you are already a follower of my blog you will automatically be entered, and if you aren't then just click "follow" on the top left and do as the instructions say.  One lucky follower will win the most-sewed no-sew bag ever!

Want to make this bag on your own?  All you need is a piece of 20x36 inch fabric, a stapler (a sturdier one than mine, hopefully), webbing for a handle, and some duct tape (we used white).  Follow the tutorial here, and then you can console yourself if you don't win my bag by making one of your own.