more clouds

more clouds, originally uploaded by marinatina.

No bloggity blog yesterday; I'm sure you were all just crushed. Too much school, not enough time for making things. And what else would I write about, except things that I make?

(The photo above was taken up north.)

Oh, hey, one thing--as part of my "thinking deep thoughts about my life" thing, I've been thinking a lot about not writing a thesis and just taking comps. While discussing that with my de facto adviser, he mentioned that it may be possible to do a non-traditional thesis, something that uses the internet as a delivery mechanism. I'd still have to have the content, so I'd essentially be doing an entire 90+ page thesis and creating a website or whatever, but doesn't that sound like a fun challenge?

sunny with a chance of awesome

1. I updated my Etsy shop! First time in at least a month, so I am quite excited.

2. I overslept and am going to be quite late for my internship. That is not as exciting.

3. If I'm running late, why am I updating my blog?

ginger

1. I've been trying to get a handle on my Flickr account (I have over 12,000 images, and I had forgotten that at least 11,000 of them exist.), and I found this photo, taken on a walk around my old neighborhood in Harlem. I think Kira & I were walking to this cafe across from the top of Central Park, if I'm not mistaken. It reminds me very much of what it looks like outside right now.
   
2. Remember when I made beans? It turns out that I most definitely did not cook them long enough, either in the slow cooker or in the pan when I made the first batch. But! I made the rest of the beans yesterday, and I cooked them in what seemed like way too much water (because the first batch was so dry, you see), and I added all of these spices and also salt (here is something I learned--if you use dried beans instead of canned beans, you're probably going to want to add a bit of salt, because you know that liquid that canned beans are in? that's basically salty brine.), and I cooked them forever, and they turned out totally fucking delicious. So, you know, victory for Marina! Finally; I was starting to forget that I am actually kind of good at cooking.
3. I am actually going to be able to update my Etsy shop on Monday. I have things to list and photos of said things and I have even started writing up little blurbs about what said things are. That is probably my least favorite part; I keep wanting to write "It's a purse! It's awesome! Buy it! Give me money now!" but that would probably not be a very effective selling technique.
4. It seems that it is going to be another gray rainy day, which is really fucking annoying, as I need to get some work done today. I think I might actually go to a coffee shop to do work, depending on how much it's raining, I guess. I haven't done that in forever, and I just remembered yesterday that sometimes getting out of the house can lead to me being a much more focused, efficient person. Surprising that I would be more focused when I'm away from all of the things that distract me.
5. Wow, I am blogging a lot lately. I go through phases, I guess. Sometimes I forget that I've been doing this off and on since 2002. Holy shit, that's seven years. I'm not sure how I feel about that...

this week

Whatever else happened this week, at least I made three bags. I may have also finally figured out the damn zipper foot on my machine, but I don't have anything to show for it. Yet. But now, there is wine and Harry Potter on the teevee, so I think that I will call it a day. I hope you are doing something lovely and exciting on this Saturday night; please tell me about it in the comments so I can be jealous. In a nice, supportive, "I'm glad you're happy" kind of way.

thunderstorm!

Above is my breakfast--scrambled eggs with sriracha hot sauce, jalapenos, and red bell peppers. Yes, you're right, that does sound spicy. Spicy food cures colds, haven't you heard? I don't think I made it spicy enough though; my eyes aren't tearing up, and my sinuses certainly aren't clearing up.

Notice how dark the photos is? It is hella dark outside, for 10am on a Saturday at least, because there is a massive thunderstorm moving through Milwaukee. I bet Nathan is having fun playing frisbee right now!

i am getting a cold

You should really watch this.

photos of rain are okay as long as it's not actually raining

rainy day, originally uploaded by marinatina.

To continue that theme for the week that I mentioned in passing, here's another photo of something I like about Wisconsin.* This is my parents backyard, on a rainy day.

In other news, there is no other news. At least, no news that I'm ready to talk about. I've been thinking a lot of deep thoughts about my life and whether or not I'm happy with where I'm at, but I'll probably not write too much about that until I make some decisions.

Okay, enough of this, time to do some more paper piecing!

*I think the actual theme I mentioned in passing was "pretty pictures of Wisconsin week" but I just realized that I kind of hate the word "pretty." Not all the time, but definitely right now.

holy crap

holy crap, originally uploaded by marinatina.

Guess what I finished? Everything is hand sewn, and maybe a bit wonky at some of the corners, but I think it will be okay once I piece the entire top together and quilt it. I really do think that I will make an entire quilt like this, though I don't expect to finish it anytime soon. I could hand quilt it, too! Hey, it's not like I have anything better to do with my time, right?

Speaking of which, time to go to my internship!

i learned something new!

i learned something new!, originally uploaded by marinatina.

Nathan is okay, so that's great. I had a whole bunch of time to kill at the Urgent Care waiting room. Luckily, I taught myself English paper piecing last night, so I had something not scary to focus on. It's surprisingly fun, paper piecing; surprising because I generally detest hand sewing. Too slow and all that. This is very calming, though. You baste the fabric to paper templates, and then you whip stitch the pieces together. So easy! I'm not going to make any big promises about making an entire quilt like this, but I am definitely going to make a block. It's called Grandmother's Flower Garden, which is kind of nice.

springtime

spring flowers, originally uploaded by marinatina.

Flowers at my parents house.

Nathan is not feeling great. We're going to Urgent Care. Definitely not a fun happy morning.