The Rambling Rose

Well, as a reader of Bramblewood Fashion, I have been tagged to answer her eight questions. Yay! And if I understand the rules, I get to write my own eight questions, and then you, Gentle Readers, get to answer them.

1. What's/was your favorite subject in School? Art, Creative Writing and Home Economics were my favorite subjects. In high school Mom set up a pattern making and -alteration class, and it's been such a wonderful skill to know.2. What music genre is your favorite? That which is commonly called “Classical” but is actually Baroque/Romantic (Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethovan, stuff like that). I also like Renaissance and old Medieval-type folk music. And we mustn't forget Irish jigs and reels!
3. You can go anywhere in the United States, where do you go? Hmmm...for starters, we'll head down to Lassen Park and Crater Lake, stop off in a little town in California called Grass Valley (and the surrounding area), then head back up the California coast, stop in Mendocino to visit Aunt B and y cousin (assuming she's gotten moved in by the time we can afford this trip, LOL). Just visit some places we've been before but weren't able to enjoy as much as we would have liked due to time constraints and what-not.

'Course, it'd be fun to see the San Diego Zoo, Monterey Aquarium, Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns—places like that, that we've talked about but never been able to get to. Oh, and Yosemite. Maybe Yellowstone, too.
4. Favorite ice-cream flavor? Mint-Chocolate-chip, Pistachio or Death By Chocolate. If we were talking frozen yogurt, now, there'd be a whole slew of other flavors....
5. Dogs or cats? Cats. They clean up after themselves, keep themselves clean, and they purr. And they don't bark at every stinkin' thing. Not that I hate dogs, mind you; they just tend to be more hassle. :-P
6. What's your favorite artist {painter}? E.B. Leighton and John William Waterhouse. Their paintings are so lifelike! (Mind you, Waterhouse's subject matter isn't always G-rated, but that's why they invented Photoshop, wot?)
7. Favorite Bible verse? “I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are My servant.' I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:9-10
8. Favorite Starbucks drink? Do they serve hot cocoa?

I actually don't go to Starbucks, as I'm not a coffee-drinker. :-P

So here are my eight questions for any of my readers who wish to answer...on your blog, if you please. Otherwise the comment box gets to be a mile long! ;-)

1. Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt?
2. How many siblings do you have?
3. What is your favorite hobby?
4. Did you have a different hair color/texture as a kid, or has it always been the same?
5. Do you like to go places, or are you more of a homebody?
6. What is your favorite main dish?
7. Do you wear jewelry? If so, describe your favorite piece(s):
8. When was the last time you went to the movies, and what did you see?

Have fun! ^_^

I worked on that dress mock-up (Butterick 4827) last week and actually got it put together! Well, minus the left sleeve. The part that goes under the arm got cut short somehow, so I left off the whole sleeve. Observations:

• Plain, fitted sleeves just don't work for me. I can't lift my arms even level with my shoulders without the thing tugging. So that option is OUT for any garment. Which is a bit frustrating, as I had a pink underdress in the planning stages that I wanted that kind of sleeve for.
• As per usual, the front princess seams are about an inch too high.
• This pattern has the opposite problem of Simplicity 9891—the princess seams in the latter were too far in, whereas on this pattern they're too far out. Oy, can we find a happy medium here?? ;-)
• Mom said there was a lot of excess fabric in the back seam when she pinned it to fit me comfortably (well, as comfortably as possible when it's too tight across the front because the seams are in the wrong place, LOL).
• The neck is at a PERFECT height—not too low, not too high. A bit wide, but that's fixable. I seldom find a commercial pattern with the neck in just the right place, so this is a big deal.
• I am definitely cutting off at least 8” from the hem. What genius ever though hems dragging on the floor (and about a foot behind) was a good idea?!

Mainly I've been practicing for the special music at church this Sunday, and for the concert at the school Mom teaches at, which is the following Thursday. Not just recorder, either—tone-chimes, too. I know it sounds like fun, but it's hard work, too. But the music is getting familiar enough that it's pretty easy to play now. God helping us, we should do pretty well.

(And if it sounds like a big commitment, it's more so for Mom and Peter—the orchestra they're in has a concert the Friday after the school concert!)

What crazy, schizophrenic weather we've had of late! It's STILL cold and cloudy most of the time, and yesterday it would be partly sunny one minute, then snowingthe next! And the hail...Oh. My. Word! Some of it got up to an inch in diameter—I though the skylights would break in! (They didn't.) I don't think I've ever seen hail that big. And the weird thing about it was, it was cone-shaped! My crazy brother went out in that mess—while it was still hailing trolls and oliphaunts—and fetched one to show me. Fascinating. I dubbed it “popcorn snow,” but Peter declared it was “corn-snow on steroids”!

Oh yeah, and then it snowed afterwards. It melted by the end of the day, but for a while everything was pretty white.

Quote of the week:

PETER: What would be the opposite of color-blind—where you start seeing all different colors?

ME: Psychedelic. :-P

PETER: Well, yes, besides that.

Until next time, Gentle Readers,

God bless,

~“Tom”~