Fox Quilt

I've started a new quilt.

I have a friend who is having her first baby this fall. They are both huge outdoor people and I had found the perfect fabric for them online. It was camping themed complete with tents, canoe paddles and camper vans. But the store I usually buy from didn't have any of it in stock.

I saw a few quilts online that inspired me to venture to my local fabric store and piece together my own quilt rather than buying online from the same line of fabric. I did this with The Rocket Ship Quilt and the Jellyfish Quilt.

I had a great time with this, it's so fun putting fabric together.

I had this all planned out, the back was going to be simple - just polka dots. I bought 1.5 metres assuming it was enough.

It's not enough.

So I'll have to piece together scraps and make it work. I'm thinking of diamonds. Ooooh. Yes, the same size squares rotated. This would be about as complicated as I will ever get.
 

I'm not committed yet. I wish I had just bought another half metre.

I have one more week at my job. Then 3 weeks off, this blog might become a little crafty in the future.

It's been a good run...

So I quit my job yesterday.

(musical intermission)

Yes, after everything that's happened.

Obviously this was a tough decision, mostly because I didn't exactly have anything lined up until the day before I quit.

There is always a lot to learn in every business. I'm certainly no expert* but I'm always looking to grow and expand my knowledge so I can be better at my job. The thing is, I need the right environment to do this in. I don't think I'm alone in that desire and this just wasn't the right fit for me.

So I'm looking back at good memories and savouring the next two weeks with workmates that I know I'll miss a lot. It was a good run and I'm proud to have this experience on my resume.



*My site super was laughing at me (rightfully so) for something I didn't know on Friday.

Book Review #19

I'm kinda sorta catching up to what I'm reading now with my reviews! I'm only about six months behind now. Heh.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce

A really sweet read, worth it. Great for the beach or if you need a pick me up. I fell in love with the main character!

Trust your Eyes - Linwood Barclay

I borrowed this from a workmate - something he picked up in an airport after realizing he forgot his book. His comments "Yeah...I read it."

Ditto.

Fatherland - Robert Harris
 

Brad recommended this one and it's amazing. Murder mystery with a really crazy, interesting twist. Page turning adventures near the end too, and I'm not normally into 'car chase' kind of page turning.

Deep Storm - Lincoln Child

Brad and I have recently compiled a list of page turners. Summer reads. You know, when you just want to get lost in a book but you don't want a heavy topic. Lincoln Child DELIVERS with this book. I like mystery combined with science and he does his research. Not quite as good as Ice Limit (remember?) but worth reading for sure.

Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

One of the best books I read in 2013, hands down. The writing is great, the story is fantastic - it involves a secret library!! So good in fact that I kept it in my library - which doesn't happen often.

Sarah's Key - Tatiana De Rosnay

This book was great and surprised me because somehow it was less heavy than I thought it would be - especially considering the subject matter.Worth the read for sure.

Tell me what you're reading this summer. Do you go for fluff in the summer more often? Why do we do this?

T-Minus 3 Months

I had great news last week: my jaw surgery will be in September! I would have been happy to hear I could have the surgery before Christmas, this is way sooner that I thought.

Which means this will be over sooner.

Of course I'm not looking forward to it because it doesn't look fun. I'm also having the works: upper and lower jaw and chin surgery.  I don't ask for details because I would obsess. It's better for me to just know the basics.*

I'm going to summarize (again) why I'm doing this:

1. I'm tired of looking like Marge Simpson.

My profile has changed so much, don't get me started. It's drastic. My chin has migrated 'back' so far, I now resemble Marge's profile. In other words, I have a really weak chin.

2. I'm tired of lisping.

My lisp has gotten much worse since the braces. They all warned me this would happen but it's hard to deal with. They are straightening my teeth but also moving them back/forward to prepare to my new bite/jaw alignment, hence my worsening lisp and open bite until the surgery.

3. Flossing is a nightmare.

I'm tired of wet floss. I'm tired of shredded floss. I'm tired of threading floss in tight spaces and taking 20 minutes to do it. I'm sick of little brushes, angled brushes, dental wax and dealing with food stuck everywhere when I'm eating.

4. I want a sandwich.

First up will be either a BLT or one of those amazing sandwich concoctions that involves brie, apples, figs and/or Nutella. I am also craving a hamburger. Just something I can bite into. I don't even remember what that feels like.

5. My TMJ is back.

Since I had to stop wearing my splint, my TMJ is back. It's not quite as bad as before, but I definitely notice it's there. I'm sure it will get worse and worse and I'll likely be on soft food even before the surgery.

Remember, living with this would be much worse than the procedure and the road to get there. It's a long road, but if you're on it - keep your chin up** and carry on because I've been told many times that it's definitely worth it in the end.

 
*If you're new to my blog, I'm having orthognatic surgery and wearing braces to correct a 10mm open bite.
** No pun intended.

Rocks, Gin and Candles

A bit of randomness for you this weekend.

1.  I bought a candle on Etsy that claimed to smell like books. Now, you might be thinking that I've finally gone over the top and completely lost it. No, that happened a long time ago.

I bought it because it's one of Brad's favourite smells. I've witnessed him put his face inside a book and take deep breaths. The candle smells kind of like books, but has a bit of a lemony smell too. Overall, it was worth it.

2. Watch this short film.

Do it.

I saw it years ago at either the VIFF of Spike and Mike's and I never forgot it. It's about rocks and the passage of time. One of the rocks has an under bite. An under bite. If that isn't enough to intrigue you, well I don't know what to say. 

3. I made another cocktail that was over the top delicious.

Grapefriut, lime, ginger and gin*. This might just be my drink of the summer. Gin is on my radar these days big time. As I write this I have another concoction brewing in the fridge. Let's just say it involves rhubarb and tequila.



*This picture is deceiving. There was no Cherry Garcia ice cream in my cocktail. This is a pile of stuff I bought the day I got my top braces on, I had the cocktail with the ice cream on the side.

The Book Sale

We went. Twice.

Showed up at 9:00am when the doors opened. Long line but we don't panic any more - it always moves fast. Had our lists ready, here's mine.

Remember last year when I found 3 books on the first table? Yeah, not so this year. I didn't find one book on my list! This is not to say it was a bust, it's never a bust. Here are our books from Saturday.

This was Brad's year. His first glance down at a table and his gaze landed directly on one of the books on his list. I think he got 9 or 10 off his list! I even found one or two that I knew he wanted.

After browsing for 4 hours, our feet were on fire. It was time to check out. We went home and combed through our haul - the usual tradition....

There are some books in my pile that might be misses for me...a couple guys who I thought were other authors, a complete shot in the dark, but the king: Ignition. I was getting desperate and only read part of the synopsis?! An astronaut named Iceberg Friese who saves Cape Canaveral from terrorists?!

The next day we were lounging around and I nudged Brad and asked him if he wanted to go again. He wasn't completely opposed (which was a surprise) so we went. We told ourselves that it was an experiment - we wanted to see how picked over it was the next afternoon.

It was the last day, a couple hours before the sale was over and we were about to walk past the last table which is the "Volunteer Picks" table and Brad declares "I want Oryx and Crake, in good condition." I laughed out loud at him and wished him good luck. Five minutes later I found it and threw it at him.

On that note I found one of the books from my list that day.

Here are our books from Sunday.

Here's where it gets crazy.

The 'top book' that both of us wanted this year was Dan Simmons' Hyperion. We had donated it to the book sale 2 weeks ago because our copy wasn't in very good shape. I thought I had scored big time when I found it in the Fiction section. There was major fist pumping happening. Major.

We brought it home and realized....it's the same book we donated.

But it's in worse shape now because the first 40 pages are missing.

Jaws III

I had the rest of my braces put on Thursday afternoon. The procedure was uneventful except that they couldn't put bands on my teeth at all for whatever reason. So I have brackets on every tooth! This is cause for serious celebration in my little world. 

The bands on my top teeth are so hard to floss around. Some nights, after trying to get the floss under the wire for the 21st time, I throw it across the room and stomp off to bed angry. The process is abandoned for another time. It's like trying to thread a needle around a corner - blindfolded.

As they were trying to get a band to fit I joked that maybe I didn't need bands at all. At first, they said things like "nice try" and "wouldn't that be nice". I didn't think it was actually a possibility?!

I left quickly believing I had gotten away with something until halfway home I realized I had worn the spacers last week for nothing*.

I'm on Day #3 and I'm seriously, seriously miserable. The top braces were nothing compared to this hell. 

For some reason the brackets on my bottom teeth are 1000x more irritating than my upper teeth were.

I have at least two canker sores, my entire lower cheek is super sore and red and on the left side it's so bad I can barely move my cheek. It hurts to talk people...it hurts to TALK. I've been on a complete soft food diet, soup is even difficult. Basically anything that involves moving my mouth around is painful.

I hope that whoever invented dental wax has creme brulee for dessert every night, sleeps in every day and has an unlimited supply of every kind of cheese known to man in their fridge.

I've been through almost an entire package of dental wax. This stuff is soooo the bomb, I can't ever say enough about it.

Hopefully by tomorrow I've improved a lot because I'm not impressed. I apologize to anyone I might have offended with my offhand comments of "I don't know what all the complaining is about" or "it isn't as bad as they say". I guess I was asking for this by being so cocky.

Sorry universe.


*Super annoying and way more sore this time. Again, I promise I won't be cocky about anything in this process. Pinkie swear.

Wren's Dress

I'm not sure why I haven't posted this yet?!

I made a dress. Not just any dress, but a dress for someone very special to me - even though I haven't met her yet.

Can you handle the little pocket?

And guess what?! This time I didn't give the pattern the finger. Likely because I bought it from Made by Rae who never fails to deliver patterns that I can get into.

Flutter sleeves?! I'm down with that. It was something new for me and I think I pulled it off.

I can't wait to see photos of her in this. Hopefully on a beach with mountains and the lake in the background!? Hint. Hint.

RIP Splinty

Remember my schplinth? 

I only wear it at night now, but I've grown to appreciate it. I don't grind my teeth at night, but I clench my jaw - which is really bad. It's a relief to put it in actually... somehow comforting to feel something when I bite down. I know that sounds weird but talk to me if you ever have a 9mm open bite.

In other words I've become attached!

Tonight is the last night I'll be able to wear it.

Tomorrow morning I'm having spacers put in for my lower braces. I've had the upper braces for 5 months now. Again, the spacers don't hurt - it's just like having popcorn stuck between your teeth and after a while you don't even notice them. I don't understand what all the complaining is about out there.

Next week - lower braces. It's so appropriate that I'm getting them on our biggest deadline so far since I've been with my new company. Seriously? Most people would be out celebrating. Not me, I manage to schedule this instead?!

I think I'll manage to fit some bourbon in there somewhere.

Pender Island

We went to a cabin.

There was a hot tub.

I take all the blame. Damn Pinterest......I saw a photo on there a while ago. It was two coffee cups sitting on the railing of a deck...forest beyond. It got me thinking.

Plus, we needed some time away. I'm fortunate enough to live in a part of the world where I can make that photo come true for myself!

We were only there for three nights, I could have stayed a month! We read, went for walks, drank home made chai, made cocktails, read some more.

We had all the necessities. Cheezies, walnut bitters, lots of coffee, Lindt chocolate......home made cookies.

I finished an incredible book then started and finished another 'junky' read while we were there. We had our snuggly socks and PJs, coffee, books, a wood burning stove, hot tub and frogs to listen to at night when we fell asleep.

Thanks for the fantastic birthday gift Rawbean! I've used everything so far and it's all amazing!! I'm really digging this new cocktail kick we're on.That ginger syrup - the best??!

Why can't every day be like this?!