Birthday Quilt

So, part of my crazy November was doing a quilt for my brother's birthday. I made one for him when we were both much younger... with denim patches on one side and bandanas on the other. This time, I did the denim (from old jeans), but a plain back. It's tied, instead of quilted (which is how the original was done). He likes it, so mission accomplished. Here Callie is doing some quality control, inspecting the underside.

the quilt (complete with pockets)

Cat tested, and approved

And happy 50th birthday to my brother....

Catching Up

Oh poor neglected blog. Oddly enough, my problem has been that I have had too much to say, so I haven't been saying anything. Much of what I could have said would have been tentative. Things have felt very tentative in my life for awhile. I have been seriously considering my life and my plans for the future.

I have also been following the "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything" philosophy. I have been trying not to be negative about my work situation. While I love my job duties themselves, the work atmosphere is still full of all kinds of crazy. I have been trying to step away and not get pulled into the downward spiral.

My birthday present from Nancy - a shoebox full of freshly dug potatoes and carrots!

So, life goes on. I spent my birthday weekend in Missoula. It was a wonderful weekend. Not only did I get to see friends, but I felt like I could actually be me, and talk, and be listened to. I've missed that so much. During my birthday weekend, I did a phone interview for a job in the midwest. While the people seemed nice enough, I turned down the chance to interview for the job. Once I realized that I was falling into the - this could be my only chance to escape - mode, and started to listen to my instincts, I realized that the job seemed like an okay thing, but not something that made me excited, not something I really WANTED. I don't want a job that's okay. I want a job that's great. And this job made me question some of the people dynamics - it showed signs of having it's own kinds of crazy. Turning down the interview made me feel both sad and strong. But ultimately, I deserve a great job, and since I am employed now, I am going to hold out for one.

This means that my previous post about leaving was premature. In soul searching, I realized that I really like the library field. I really like my current job duties. If I could pick up my job and plunk it down elsewhere, I would be dancing in the streets - everyday - on my way to work. Which means that I am still looking for other jobs, but that I am holding out for a library job. A great library job.

Meanwhile, I am moving from my apartment to a little house (see photo above). It's the top part of a little house, actually. Someone I work with owns it, and it is finally getting hooked up to water/sewer lines so she can rent it out. Since I will move in with the funky carpeted kitchen and old appliances and little gas heater, she will make it cheap. Eventually, much work will be done, but for now, cheap and small works for me, and that makes funky okay. And it's much better insulated and has storm windows, which going into winter here is a very good thing. I'll be out of this apartment by November 10th, so much cleaning and packing will be ensuing.

I am going to be doing a few fun things. I'm going to the Bannack ghost tour this Friday night after work. Saturday I'm helping make teacup cupcakes for a Sunday birthday party. As part of this, I've been experimenting with putting food color into sugar cookies. If you use the paste stuff, it works. I'm invited to the birthday party, too. Next Saturday after work I'm doing the Butte ghost tour. I guess if I get too scared and can't sleep, I can always pack or clean. (Callie says, "moving? again?")

November 1st starts National Novel Writing Month. I'm going to be working on the novel I started last year. I haven't done much with it since that point, and I ended up cutting at least half of what I wrote. I just won't count what I've already done (and kept). Let the insanity begin!

Still Borrowing Computers

Pictures of things that have happened since the last computer borrowing....
Library survivor - one of two activities we did during days school was out for teacher inservice. Here, they have to drop origami birds down the stairwell and catch them.
Here, the activity is to create a help sign - in Spanish. The hats and first aid stuff are from earlier activities.
Tallying up the points at the end - they got "fish" to spend for treats
Still life from library survivor - origami birds, the best woven basket, and the best raft
Callie in her usual state - sleeping
The pirate birthday cake Irene made for me
Close up of piratey cake
Me with plastic sword and cake (original plan was to cut it with the sword, but since I was sick, Irene was down at the desk, and the other people were horrified by the idea, this did not occur)
Argh, ye scurvey dog. Hand over the booty!

For those who think everyone can sing

because this is proof that not everyone can.

May I present my family, singing happy birthday in the key of.... huh? Key, is that one of those crazy music terms?

We don't need no stinking keys. (We have the crafting gene, instead.)

Boring surrounded by chaos

That's my life. I've settled into a school, work, job application sort of lifestyle. It's quiet, uneventful, boring, really, while around me, the country appears to be falling apart. I can't say that I'm too happy to be graduating into what promises to be an absolutely stellar job market due to the strong national economy (insert sarcasm here).

There continue to be jobs to apply for, though, so I will contine to apply, and hope for the best. In the meantime, my birthday is less than 2 weeks away. I'm trying to formulate a plan for some sort of small celebration. I've pretty much ignored my birthday for the past few years and didn't even really tell people when it was. I don't know that I'll tell people this year, but I think I may do something to mark the occasion. Knowing that next year I'll be 50 makes me feel old. I think that means I need to do something to celebrate/prepare.

I am going to Council Bluffs/Omaha for Thanksgiving. I will also be (hopefully) getting my first tattoo. Now I know you'd all love to vote on that, but I think I have a plan. There will be pictures. If any of you have any words of wisdom to share, I'm happy to hear them. You know where to find me...