Mail Call

Guess what I got in the mail yesterday? Go ahead, I'll wait...yes, I got my new corset. I immediately laced the sucker on and proceeded to gasp for air for the next two hours. I do remember that this was the exact sensation I experienced two months ago when I started with my larger corset. I couldn't even make it through the whole day at first. Of course after I had had enough I put my old one back on and it was as if I was wearing a t shirt. That corset will now be the sleep corset and the new one for days. The new one is still a good fit, so I've not doubt that in a months time it too be perfectly comfortable, so yay!

One note, if you like this one and plan on getting it, the flower design is a raised velvet and on one side the grain goes up and the other down. So if you look at it for a top of bottom angle, one side is darker than the other. I kind of like it like that, but thought it would be good to know.

My husband is giving me a hard time about my assumptions regarding our house move. You see, I am working on the idea that we will in fact close this weekend and start to move. He, however, is under the assumption that Murphy will win out and he's not even thinking about moving until the next weekend. I suppose it doesn't really matter, but I feel all floopy without a definite date to work with here. So many things can't be done until I know for sure what's going on. I'm running out of supplies that need ordering, but it's pointless to order them until I know which address I'll be at next week. I know, I know...just breath, it'll be over soon enough. I've put a closing warning on the etsy storefront, but I think I may revise it a bit to indicate more uncertainty. I suppose I'll calm down a bit and try to just roll with it.

Weekend

Ah, the weekend. A time to relax, enjoy family time, or if you're us pack, fend off the cuteness of a stray kitten and go to the fair, leaving you exhausted and sore. We're still under the impression that our house purchase will close at the end of this week, so we're packing as if that's a possibility. All the boxes and empty furniture is providing the children with really bad ideas for play time. I have also begun the unsavory job of really cleaning things like the walls and floors, in short I'm feeling a bit like Cinderella over here.

Oh yes, the kitten. We have a nasty habit of having small kitten arrive at our place of residence and cute us into letting them in the house. We have however already acquired 4 cats, which is plenty enough to feed and clean up after. This weekend we were visited several times by a cute little white and mottled boy kitten with a shoelace tied loosely around its neck as a collar. We assume that someone has claimed him, but he just keeps coming back and sleeping n our porch. We really can't let him in, but if he continues we might take him to the in-laws who have large group of outside cats that they care for. What's one more when there are already a dozen getting food and water right?

Then onto the county fair. It was a fairly sad display this year with all the exhibits smaller and even though it was cooler this year than it has been, even the animals looked like they were phoning it in. This didn't matter at all to the kids of course, who ate up all the bee displays and petting the three goats and two cows that made up the sad petting zoo experience. Let's face it, we are not really County Fair kind of people, so we're going for them. Before you ask, no I don't enter my tatting the fair. I used to enter my art before I became a Mommy, but haven't in years. There is no tatting or lace category and though I could enter it in 'other', who would I be competing against except myself and that's no fun. Last year they did have a woman doing tatting demonstrations for a couple of hours and I stopped by. She actually knew who I was from my Belle Armoire piece, which was nice, but this was the first time I had met another tatter from anywhere around here so there you go.

If I get the indication that we are closing this week, the etsy store will go into vacation mode for the duration of the move, which may be up to two weeks. I'm just trying to give everyone fair warning just in case you might want of need something in the near future, get it now. I will definitely be taking down or altering all custom orders to a month wait, to give me enough time to pack, move and unpack without worrying about getting them done. I think that's all I need to share this morning...yep, that's it.

Crap

I had a bit of a freak out yesterday. As I was working on the Wunderkammer, I tool a quick look at the date to schedule the post. Then I looked at the calendar and realized that the end of the month is a week away...a week. If all goes well, we will be home owners this time next week. This realization sent me on a whirlwind of packing that lasted most of the day exhausting me completely. Of course when my husband returned home after his trip he dismissed my urgency. You see, we only just put in our 30 day notice at our current residence, so we have a large cushion to get everything moved. What he doesn't get is all the other stuff I need to get done and how many of those things need solid dates to be accomplished. You know address changes, utilities moving, cable, DSL, not to mention all my etsy business. I know, I know, take a deep breath...it will all be fine.It will, when it's all over.

Needless to say I got zero tatting done yesterday. I never even held my needle. I haven't decided whether it really is lucky that I don't have any custom orders on deck. Sometimes they serve me best when I'm busy, giving the day more structure. I set out certain periods for the tatting among my other daily tasks keeping me motivated to move forward. Without that pressure, I tend to meander through the day getting things done in no particular order, even the packing is just a random assortment or rooms, rather than simply completing one then moving onto the next. When I have an order though, there's a virtual checklist in my head. Yeah, I'm not really sure which is better.

It has now become clear that this is one of those verbal vomit sort of days. I've nothing important to say, so I'm just babbling incoherently until I think the post is long enough. I've much to do so perhaps I should just get on with the stalling that I will inevitable do for the greater part of the day. Yep, I'm a role model of efficiency, come follow me.

Corset

As a stay at home mother I'm used to a bit of monotony. Sure everyday is filled with brand new dramas, but mostly the day plays out as I expect it to, so only when an element of that routine is removed does my dependence upon it become obvious. With my husband gone, the last few days have become almost unbearable exhausting. The morning, lunchtime and evenings he is normally here is my little break from the children. My sweet, sweet moments to say, go ask daddy, hide for a bit or do anything else. He also provides an important bad cop element to child discipline, that tiny bit of fear that keeps them from running completely wild. Sure, I can turn it on too, but then I also have to be their comfort and it all feels a bit schizophrenic. I do not know how single parents manage and I hope with every fiber of me being that I never have to find out.

Anyway, I did finish tatting a pair of ankle corsets yesterday and even moved on to a Voodoo mask. It can be awful mindless working on remaking pieces especially when they haven't been ordered and there's no real urgency to the task. I'll finish up this mask today I imagine and then spend an hour or so trying to decide what to make next while secretly hoping someone will buy something I need to make and take the decision away.

Speaking of corsets though, I bought one yesterday. Yeah, I know after all that talk yesterday about not spending money and whatnot. The shop I had previously decided to get the next one from because they have the most reasonable price for the highest quality off the rack pieces, had a new clearance section listed. I had seen one there before but it had been gone. It appears that they only do it when they change a design on a piece they have left over stock on or a design that just didn't sell being discontinued. I had kept checking just in case and I found one that I liked in the size that I need and for even cheaper than their normal prices so I pounced. One note on off the rack corsets if you're going to do waist training also called corset training or tight lacing, they are not recommended. They say corsets should fit perfectly if you're going to strap into them everyday and that makes good sense. Off the rack pieces are made with a standard measurement which may not work for everyone. The one I have right now is made by the same people and it fits me very well and causes no discomfort to me at all which is why I'm sticking with them. I'm only saying all this just in case my corset adventure has inspired anyone else I don't want to be an irresponsible recommend-er of stuff.

Cool

Good news my friends, the air is cool and today should be a lovely day. The story of how the air go cool however is a long and annoying one, so I'll share it with you. I got a call a little before 8, the a/c man would be coming soon, he said he'd have been here the night before but had been given the wrong number. He arrives quickly, hops on the roof and 5 minutes later he's done. The motor needs to be replaced and he cannot do that without the owners permission, so the property management will have to get that first. I am defeated as I know the owner lives overseas and can't imagine how easy it is to get a hold of him. Two hours later the a/c man calls back, he has permission and comes right back. He hops on the roof and 10 minutes later tells me that he thought he had a motor, but does not so he has to go out of town to get one. I estimate the time that will take and assume I'll see him around 2 or 3. Time passes, the house heats up to nearly 90 degree and I hear nothing. The children have resorted to soaking their feet in ice water to stay cool...yes it was a bad idea. It's 6:30 when the a/c man calls again. There have been some problems, but he is just now getting that motor and will be over. Another hour passes before he does arrive. He hops on the roof and 30 minutes later the air is finally cool again. If you're keeping track, that was a 12 hour adventure from start to finish...yeah, fun.

I know that I really ought not complain. In the wide scheme of things a couple of days without air conditional is less than nothing, but I was too hot. Too hot makes me irritable, lazy and full of malaise. I did learn a few things though. Creating a cave by closing everything up only works for so long. Wet washcloths are like magic and if you want to cool down fast, cool your feet first. A wet, but not dripping pair of socks also magic. In fact the kids had so much fun with the washcloths and socks the first night, they were upset they couldn't use them once the air was fixed. Oh well for them though, I am so not doing that again if I can help it.

I did get a lot of tatting done early in the day though. I knew that heat was going to get me so I started early and I worked fast. I finished up a mask I had already started, made a bracelet and started on a pair of ankle corsets that I hope to finish this morning. Speaking of corsets, how about a corset training update. Yes, I'm still doing that. It's actually become really routine and comfortable, though I admit I left it off the last couple of days due to the ridiculous heat. When I put it back on this morning, one thing was clear, the effects have stuck. The corset went on just as quickly as normal and feels just as comfortable. I have decided that I will buy myself the next smaller corset for my birthday next month. With all the house buying I think that's the only way I can justify the purchase. So you can expect the corset complaints to start again mid to late August. I do still think this is a viable solution for my belly issues, but only time will tell for sure.