Welp

The political shitstorm had a whiplash paradigm shift.

Kamala Harris is personable and erudite. She doesn’t come with the kind of baggage HRC brought to the podium. From what I’ve seen, Harris is better suited for the office than Biden. Sadly, a whole lot of people will fall all over themselves to avoid backing a woman, regardless of the stakes — especially when she’s a woman of color. The MAGAdites are already spewing some of the most horrendous misogynic, racist garbage about her that you can imagine. Part of me wants to slap them. Another part halfway wants them to keep it up. Maybe it will enrage decent people enough to get our assets out and VOTE.

That Harris is a prosecutor going up against a convicted felon may be the ultimate in political irony. When Biden bowed out, my heart sunk. Then Harris raised $84 million in the first 24 hours of her presumptive nomination. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s certainly a good sign.

Here’s hoping in the end, American voters choose brain cells over prejudice.

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No, the house in the photo up top isn’t one on our radar to buy. It’s a house from a tiny spot some 20 miles south of where we live. The rest of the community is newish subdivision. The house looks pretty good from a distance, from the right view. This is a different view of the same house, also taken this weekend.

From this angle, it looks like it might be nice with some TLC. Up close, you can see all the ugly details. It’s more likely a teardown than a rehab.

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I’m not photogenic at best, and this isn’t the most flattering photo of me. I agreed to post a photo with one of the things I sewed, though, so here you go.

I whipped together this tunic/dress without a pattern and it’s SO COMFORTABLE. Being oversized isn’t a problem. This is the stiff fabric, which softened right up with first wearing. It’s 100% cotton, the only thing I can wear any more. I’m working on another top, in a lighter blue floral print. Come to think of it, most of the fabric I bought for clothing is some variant of blue.

I’m trying to fine-tune my size as I sew, along with just getting back into the swing of things. Both this navy batik print and the lighter blue top I’m finishing are too big, and both have some significant issues in construction that I need to figure out for my next project. Next time, I’m sticking to the pattern for sizing, no adjustments above the waist except a fraction of an inch for bigger seam allowances. I ended up adding four inches to the bustline on the second version, which I’d already cut smaller. And as it turned out, that’s still about four inches too big.

As you can sort of see here, I also whacked off my hair. Turns out I’m  allergic to my own hair. No, that’s not a joke or exaggeration. My back was breaking out and nothing helped except pinning my hair up. And then the pins and barrettes caused my scalp to break out even worse.

(Told you I’m allergic to everything.)

I envisioned a sleek chin-length bob. That it turned into big soft waves and soft curls was a surprise and a bonus. I never had more than a hint of a wave before this last cut, so I’m thrilled! (And no more breakouts on my back, which is a huge relief.)

A few minutes ago I ordered a bunch of this purple polka dot fabric. Joann had it on clearance for $2 a yard. They had 9 yards left and I bought the whole kit and caboodle.

Oh yeah, that’s a lot of fabric. It takes 2-3 yards to make a simple blouse or shirt, depending on the details. I was going to make a one-piece dress (and still might), but also considering a matching skirt and top. Heck, with that much material I might go for a top, skirt, and jacket — or a top and pair of extra-wide gauchos. I love that there’s so much of it I can do virtually anything I want.

Incidentally, with a spool of purple thread and tax, it came to just under $22. That’s some mighty damned cheap clothing, and it’s all blissfully allergy-free cotton.