When Is the Proper Time for a Gala?

I have been handed a sacred duty. West Coast BFF (aka Arcana) is getting married and has asked me to be a bridesmaid. I'm so honored and excited to be able to fulfill this role. :) A lot of girls think being a bridesmaid is simply wearing a dress and standing next to the bride on the Big Day, but it's so much more. You become a confidante, emotional support, a sounding board, a resource and a member of the team in charge of stress relief for one very special, frazzled lady. It's a big job, and I'm honored to have been asked.

The uniform representing this sacred duty should be fairly easy to find, since in this case there are just very simple instructions: an all-black cocktail dress, knee length. Beyond that, I can choose whatever dress I want. I'm really grateful she's chosen to go this route, because all of the bridesmaids have different body shapes, tastes and, well, budgets. This way, we can each wear what suits our own personalities the best. Plus, it also means we don't have wear some cookie-cutter design from David's Bridal. (I really don't like their dresses for plus sizes, mostly because I'm not flat as a board!)

I'll admit that when Arcana first told me this, I was apprehensive. I mean, I don't live in Los Angeles anymore. I don't think there are even any stores around here that carry just formal wear... except David's Bridal. (Have I mentioned I don't like them?) Little flickers of panic started dancing in the back of my brain, but I shushed them, thinking instead, of how awesome I will look when I'm wearing The Perfect Dress, and how I will be able to stand proudly at her side (or wherever she puts me) on her Big Day.

Right, I thought. I'd better get started early. The way I figured it, I had two options: shopping online or in person. Hmm... challenging choice. On the one hand, I don't like buying clothing over the Interwebby. I'm not good at eyeballing clothing from a 2x3 picture to tell if it is appropriate and if it'll fit me. The descriptions never tell you what the material feels like, and they almost never offer anything that would fit both my waist and my boobs. And quite honestly, I don't want to be throwing money into shipping (and possibly return shipping.) I want my dress in hand the day I pay for it. With sleeves. And a design that will look good on MY body type. (I'm so picky, huh? Well, dammit, this is for a special event. If I've been given free reign to look good, then I want to Look Good.)

The other option is to Go Shopping. Yeah... See, I live in West Virginia. And while I live smack-dab between the first and third largest cities in the state, that's really not saying much. At all. Today, I went up to Parkersburg (3rd largest), and visited numerous department stores, only to be told every single time, “Formal wear? Prom season's over. You can check the clearance rack, but I don't think there's anything left in your size.” They were right. There wasn't.

I felt myself starting to revert back about 10 years, to a time before my ex-husband showed me how to go clothes shopping. (Yes, that's right. I was SO BAD at shopping for clothes, I needed a man to show me how to do it properly. Granted he was raised by a single Mom, but still.) It wasn't that my taste had reverted, just an awful doom-of-ugly-clothing despair was rising in my throat. I wasn't sure if I wanted to cry or throw up. This was even worse than trying on every dress in the store and not fitting into any of them. There weren't any dresses left for me to try on!

As a last resort, I went to Lane Bryant (the fat lady store) to see if they either carry something I could use (they don't) or if any of the sales girls had ideas on where I could go instead. They suggested their website (of course) and David's Bridal. -sigh-

You know, there are a ton of stores back in LA that I could wander into, and they'd have exactly what I'm looking for. Grrrr.

Anyway, I walked out of that last store, my eyes glistening. If only, I thought. If only I knew someone who can sew, so that I can tell them what I want my dress to look like and then... Waitaminute. I know how to sew.

That's right! There is a third option! We (Americans) never think about it anymore, because we are so used to just buying things off the shelf, but it is possible for me to make my own dress, to my size, with my specifications, and I can get exactly what I want. Now, I am by no means an expert seamstress, but I have made my own formal wear before, and not to toot my own horn or anything, but people were impressed with A) my dress and B) the fact that I made it myself. And, as I always say, if I've done it once, I can do it again.

With that thought in mind, I dashed off to my local fabric store and within an hour, I had two designs picked out. One of them is even a VINTAGE design from the 1950s, when designers were still making clothing for women with CURVES!!! The other one, to be blunt, will be easier for me to make.

LOL In one moment's flash of inspiration, I went from having NO OPTIONS to too many!

I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about making a dress for myself, but I think I can pull it off. For one thing, I've got time. For another, before I cut an INCH from whatever fabric I choose, I'm going to make a muslin, which means I'm going to cut out and sew the entire dress in a thin, cheap cotton, just to make sure it fits properly. Then, when the muslin is fitted perfectly, I'll take it apart, and use THOSE pieces as my pattern.

Okay, yeah. I'm nervous, but I'm really excited! This is the kind of thing you read about in Regency Romances... having a dress tailor-made to your own body!

So, yeah. Problem solved. :)

... It just makes me wonder. I mean, I know there are wealthy people out here-- folks who would have a reason to wear formal wear: politicians (state capital, hello!), mine & factory owners and who knows what else. So, when all these fine folk decide to get together and have a shindig, do they only hold their galas during Prom season?

Peace.

Well: A Deep Topic

Today was light and lovely. The Mad Cow decided to take a “nap” in his own bed this morning, which meant that I got to sleep in mine for most of my sleep cycle. And I woke up feeling really good! :) (Usually, I sleep on the couch for most of my “night” to make sure I hear it when he decides to caper around the house.)

Fae (Pop's new homemaker/assisty person) came by a bit early-- calling beforehand to make sure it was okay-- so that had me in a bit of a last minute rush, but really, I didn't mind. Ah, the wonders of a good “night's” sleep. :)

I tried to get the oil changed for the car, but the garage was full today, so they pencilled me in for tomorrow. And that put the kibosh on my plans (oil change, then hang out in the library and reeeeead), so I drove up to Parkersburg (because I CAN!) and read in the coffee shop in Borders for a few hours. I might have bought the latest C. E. Murphy book, too.

Somewhere in there, the weather went from a sweltering 90+F and humid, to 70F and thunderstorms. In, like, five minutes. Sitting in the large bookstore, I could hear the rain pelting the rooftop over their piped music. At first it was like the heavens opened and dumped. By the time I had to leave, it had slacked, but it was still raining fairly heavy. But it was a warm rain, so I didn't mind at all walking through it to get to my car. In fact, it was rather sensuous.

When I got home, Fae reported-- surprised-- that Pop slept most of the day. I guess that means he's decided she's no longer Company, as he would never sleep in front of Company. Probably the bath had something to do with that.

After that, we had a very quiet evening, where Pop watched TV really, really loud, and I finished reading Eloisa James's Duchess by Night, which was delightful! I wish Mom was still around. I know she'd have liked this one. Regency romance, at its best.

Well, it's time to take out the trash, clean the kitchen and head to bed. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to stay there most of tonight too!

Peace.

Outta My Hands

Well, I filed my very first police report today, seeing as how Vicodin is a controlled substance and all. The officer was very nice, and thought of a couple suspects I hadn't originally considered. He doesn't think someone just broke into the house to steal the meds, because they would have take the whole bottle and not left any behind. That's a relief, because it means the neighborhood hasn't completely imploded, but it also means the thief was someone who had access to the house, which is infinitely sad.

In the meantime, I've done what I can. I have locked away ALL of his drugs where only I know where they are. It's sad that I have to do this, but until this is resolved, I don't want anything else going missing. And just in case, I'm making double-extra sure the house is locked down before going to bed. (Very sad day. I feel like I'm back in Los Angeles.)

On the bright side, I had my second jaunt out into the Real World. Very exciting. I can see myself running out of stuff to do pretty quick, though. It's a bummer the local library closes at 5.

And I did the math. It looks like I will NOT be able to go see Batman for my birthday after all-- at least, not easily. It runs too long, and I won't be able to get back to the house in time. Besides, Castle requested the day off of work so he could come with me, and his work denied him. Poo. I COULD go alone (and will probably have to), but it's much more fun to go with someone. I'm not giving up, though. I really, really, really wanna see it. So, I'll figure something out. I've been planning to go since they first announced it was coming out on my birthday-- back when I was still working for Expedia.

So, yeah. That's me in a nutshell. Off to bed.

Peace.

My Poor Apple Tree (and Other Yard News)

There's an apple tree outside my bedroom window. Sometime earlier this year, I noticed that one of the branches has been reaching out into the neighbor's yard-- directly over their power cables. Not good. So, I've been trying to figure out what to do about it-- obviously, that branch needed to be hacked, but with something so delicate, I didn't think this would be a good time for me to learn. I mean, if I f'd up, the neighbors would no longer have power. Not good.

The other day while I was talking with Ro's husband, Cutter, who has been helping me revamp the yard, he noticed that the tree has split in half near the base. You know that branch hanging over the neighbor's wires? Yeah... Apparently, all it would take is a stiff wind in the right direction to not only bring down that branch, but half the damn tree.

Today, Cutter broke out the chain-saw and tar, and we put our heads together on exactly how to surgically remove the part that looked ready to break off. While we were examining the tree, we noticed that the tree had been split once before-- there was a big hole near the base-- and was literally rotting from the inside out. On closer examination, we found what looks like two separate trunks that grew together. One of them was completely rotten, and the other still had its trunk fully intact. At first, Cutter thought we could just remove the rotten one altogether, but because they had grown together, the healthy one was still leaning on what was left of the dead one.

In the end, Cutter removed what he could of the dead half, tarred what was still alive, and scooped out (with BARE HANDS, mind) most of the rotten wood.

Of course, I didn't think to take Before pictures. That would imply that I know what I'm doing. But here are the After pictures.

So, here's what my apple tree looks like now:


Close up of where it was cut. Notice the trunk itself had started to rot through.


Innards we scooped out with bare hands...


This half seems to still be healthy with a full trunk wrapping around it, even inside...


Here's what's left of the dead half. Anyone want some apple wood? I hear it's really good for cookouts. Fragrant.


In other news, I've had some work done on the lawn. Most of it was upkeep that should have been done years ago, but wasn't because A) Pop stopped being capable some time ago and B) because I didn't know it was needed until I started looking.

The brick flower box on the front porch was caving out. Once again, no Before photo. Here's how he replaced it with treated wood:


Cutter gave me some Marigolds from the store to put in the planter, and then I planted a bunch from seed. I think you can tell the difference.


Grandma had a rose bush here, right next to the driveway. Riiight where a passenger would get out of the car and get caught on the thorns. Honestly, I don't know WHY she planted it there. As a kid, I got caught/cut on that thing so many times.


Cutter helped me transplant it. No blooms right now. I think it's having some culture shock from being moved.


He also gave me a baby pumpkin that was randomly growing in his yard-- from the seeds from last year's pumpkins when the kids did jack-o-lanterns. It's still getting used to its new home and putting it's roots back down, but soon it'll be sending vines all OVER the bed!


And! Gratuitous shot of my foxglove. Again, planted by seed by me, last year and FINALLY! this year starting to grow. Hmm. Mebbe next year I'll get even more?


Another thing Cutter helped me with was to get rid of a bunch of (ugly) bushes my grandma-- or mebbe Pop?-- had planted in front of the house. Perhaps at one time they had been well shaped and purposeful, but now... they're history! Instead, Cutter got some (free!!!) lilac cuttings from his neighbor and planted them under both windows and between! Next year, when winter has finally passed and we can open the windows, we'll be smelling lilacs! You can also see the placement of my foxglove and pumpkin, as well as the recycled stones from the old front porch planter now used to line a flower bed!


And since we're on the topic of growing things, let me show you an update on my garden! :) But I'm not excited or anything. Heh.

I've got lots of corn. This is not “corn on the cob” corn-- not even popcorn, but the kind that you see hung on people's doors for Thanksgiving-- the multi-brown kind. Much better for grinding into cornmeal than eating straight. Apparently it has a lovely, nutty flavor. Can't WAIT to find out!




Here's my one sunflower! And more corn.


The tomatoes have finally started coming up. I'm going to have to stake them soon, so that they don't fall over and rot.


And some beans are showing up. I have no idea what kind.


My cabbages are starting to form heads! I hope I don't find any babies in there, but if I do, I'm sure they'll have a tattoo of Xavier Roberts on their butts.


And my lettuces are fully formed.


Check it out! Three heads growing together.


And finally, there's a Thing growing next to my grapevine. I don't know WTF it is, but it's already taller than me. Any thoughts?


Anyways, yay for my garden! You know, back when I started my Great Experiment, one of the things I wanted was lots of lovely plants for the faeries to play in. I think we're getting close, eh? :)

Peace.

What the #$@% ?!

Pop is missing over 75 pills. Vicodin and Zoloft - both potentially recreational, and worth some money on the black market. I have my suspicions of who did it, but for a couple of reasons, I can't outright confront them. For one thing, it's just suspicion. I have no proof. And there are other reasons, that I don't want to go into here.

I'm just boggled that someone-- ANYONE-- would steal pain medication from an old man. Seriously. What. The. F.

Wishing for some...

Peace.