Don't ask me about my business, Kay

Today I went to work in my contractually dictated uniform: black trousers and sweater. And since I was going to another job first, I had my non-contractually dictated black heels, black scarf, black bag, green leather trenchcoat, thermos and sunglasses. As I ducked in down the alley to the stage door, the homeless man on the corner hollered, "You work for the mob, sweetie?"

You know how dangerous and mysterious those backstage folks can be.

Tap dancing in the kitchen

Because she got into her first choice high school. Hooray for secret rites in condemned buildings!

A short walk around my neighborhood

In the last two weeks, suddenly spring has arrived here in the northwest. I took this picture at the UW during the first week of March. It is a pleasant campus, yes?

While UNC has the Pit, UW has Red Square. There are fewer skateboards in the Pit, but fewer raging truck drivers in Red Square.

Two nights ago, while I walked the dog, the air was dense with the scent of hyacinths, mahonia and cherry, so I thought it might be good to double back to campus and see if the cherry blossoms were open yet. Today is the last day of spring break--students returning, parents and families everywhere. I have made this same visit every year since 1995. It's still pretty.

Post consumption contentment

I love, love, love my new oven.

Beware

Et tu?

Hubris, take one

When my sister announced her engagement over a year ago, I agreed, in a fit of fillial affection, to design and build the bridesmaids' dresses. It seemed smart at the time, since two of the bridesmaids are living right here in my own house and since she asked while I was writing my Master's paper, I agreed immediately, if distractedly.

I sat on this project a long time, "researching," before I actually started drawing. But then this fall I saw a bit of magazine photography that provided just the spark I needed. The designs were complete in four hours, including color.

Then Christmas came and with it my 30-odd day working week, so I felt entitled to take January off. And in February I did a substantial home improvement project, and then in March I had to visit my parents and then they had to visit me, which means that now my sister is getting married in 5 weeks and I still have four bridesmaids' dresses to build.

Since I have just agreed to another backstage slog, I realized this weekend that I need to have the patterning and prototypes done by Wednesday. The first set of patterns and prototype for my dress resulted from this afternoon's frenzy. Phew! I make a point of knowing exactly how long I can wait before I really have to buckle down. And I love the satisfaction of working through a craft that I could do underwater, blindfolded with the energy of a deadline behind you.

I was so excited about my extraordinary skill (it comes back so quickly!) and the progress I was making that I decided to try the sample on right there in my office. Strip down, toss the frock over my shoulders, pin on the straps and...tug...oh dear...it doesn't seem to fit over my butt...*wince and frown*...maybe...No, it's wrong. Not just a little, by the time I ripped out the seams to make more room I had to add four inches.

It's going to be a long week.

Where's Alexander when we need him

When She was little we had a favorite book in which the protagonist has a wretched day and as he is telling his mother about it he gets to the end and says, "And there were lima beans for dinner and I hate limas." Well, I'd take limas at this point, although freely admitting that I hate them, too.

This week started with taking my dog to the emergency vet to discover that she has a fractured tooth and needs oral surgery. Tuesday I ordered the fabric for my sister's wedding, which I am paying for because I was less than clear when we first talked about what I was providing. I have cancelled the trip I was planning for the summer so I can send Her instead and got a call today from Her friend's mother who has bought tickets for a short excursion the girls planned and needs reimbursing. And now, when I was looking forward to dinner and a glass of wine to woo my frustrations, the oven has finally quit working.

I can't think of a less pleasant way to blow through six weeks' pay in six days, except maybe raw lima beans.

This pains me

Seattle is a boom/bust town. As a consequence, it has grown in fits and starts; raging in the boom times (20 month wait right now for a construction crane) and decaying during the bust (see the abandoned remodel across from my local pool--there is moss growing indoors because the owner only got half-through reroofing). Demonstrating an irrational devotion to the American ideal of progress, the city has gentrified, tearing out the old, small, or unfashionable to build new and shiny. In my own neighborhood, one property which was derelict has been advertised as a "tear-down special." What is going in is a two storey box, within the property line by ten feet on each side, on a corner, but with no facade detailing anywhere but the front. And I am sure it will be advertised as being in a "charming, well-established neighborhood." Well, it WAS charming when I moved here.

While I resent this move in my own neighborhood, this article in today's paper makes me unbelievably sad. Selig, like Hausman, will build something grand, but the record of the neighborhood will die once this church goes. What gets me more, though, is that churches can't be declared landmarks in this town. So often a community would pour its money into building a sturdy and dignified church while the residents were left to fend individually for themselves (take a look at St. Fidelis in Victoria, Kansas). In many towns near where I grew up, the churches are the only expression of architectural distinction and longevity in evidence, and they are integral to the civic health of their town.

Stupid, short-sighted progress.