Month: July 2008

Pity

It is always sad when one decides that [the best tool for a job](http://www.ulsinc.com/english/laser_systems/product_line/VersaLaser.html) is a tad bit out of reach. But it involves lasers! And comes in purple! How can that be a bad thing?

I see a homebuilt laser cutter in my husband’s future.

Anachronism

> He read up on the situation. The USGS estimated that Antarctica held perhaps fifty billion barrels of oil; only a couple more decades’ worth, at current consumption rates. _*But at twenty dollars a barrel, that was a trillion dollars.*_ Which was only a year of the U.S. government’s budget, and only a year of the world’s military budgets; but more than enough to pay off all the debts that had the southern nations lashed to the harshest austerity programs the World Bank and IMF could devise. He could see how the logic of the system might drive them to it.
>
> Kim Stanley Robinson, _Antarctica_ (1998)

[Oil sets new record near $147 a barrel](http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i5TtajgUpSm7KY5jf-lCJGHBB-tAD91RLHAO0).

11 July 2008

Yesterday…

* The kids had a makeup swimming lesson since their Wednesday lesson was rained out.
* We drove to the hospital so I could have an ultrasound. (No, not _that_ kind of ultrasound.) My chest was gelled and squished and generally made uncomfortable for a diagnosis of nope, nothing. (Which is good, a diagnosis of nothing is _good_, just uncomfortable.) Marcus and Becca watched Spongebob in the waiting room while I strapped Madeline into her stroller and fed her jellybeans. The ultrasound tech was highly amused with the jellybean technique. I hate Spongebob.
* We stopped by the fabric store to pick up thread, and Bloom to pick up hot dog buns and lettuce.
* I vacuumed the living room and kitchen and Swiffered the kitchen.
* Matthew brought home a washer and dryer from Craigslist. I now have a washing machine that does not sound like a twin turbo jet engine when it runs the spin cycle. Also? I no longer have to turn it to spin cycle manually. I can actually wash a load of laundry without having to babysit every cycle change!
* The old washing machine, in a fit of pique out of a Stephen King novel, burped water the entire trip down the stairs. Much cursing ensued. A sledgehammer cannot be taken to it soon enough.

Links For 07 July 2008

[Seams and seam finishes 2](http://www.homesewingprojects.com/Sewing-Seams-2.html)
: Illustrated instructions for the strap seam, corded seam, piped seam, curved seam, enclosed seam, crossed seams, whipped seam , seam with inserts, and bias seam. Also covers finishing techniques such as raw seam edges, pinking, clean finish with silk seam, binding, overcasting, hemstitching, and picoting.

[Seams and seam finishes 1](http://www.homesewingprojects.com/Sewing-Seams-1.html)
: Illustrated instructions for the plain seam, stitched plain seam, flat fell seam, hemfelled seam, flannel fell seam, welt seam, slot seam, French seam, upholsterer’s seam, false French seam, French fell seam, fagoted seam, hemstitched seam, lapped seam, tucked seam, lapped hemstitched seam, machine picoted seam, and rolled whipped seam.

Grilling And Chilling

patriotic dresses

On the 4th of July, Rebecca bounded out of bed and got dressed in her brand new dress. The bounding! The hair fixing! (Honestly, the hair fixing. She brushed it without being told. This is a lovely development.)

not sharing

Marcus and Rebecca worked on their sharing skills while we fired the grill for burgers and hot dogs.

loldog

Kaylee trotted around to see how close she could get to unprotected meat. Alas, no success there. Marcus and I worked on her “come” skills with fresh green bean pieces between flipping burgers. She did get to finish Madeline’s hot dog.

still goofing off

The kids had a great time playing outside. We ate just before it started to drizzle off and on.

green bean lost, but not forgotten

Madeline lost her green bean to the neighbor’s dog. I got her another one.