Gus slept in his bed in the living room last night because I went to bed too late and he didn't want to move. He usually sleeps in his little bed in my room or with me if I run the dishwasher. I got up briefly and went back to bed and maybe 30 seconds later he padded around to my side of the bed and asked to come curl up with Mini and me. We all snuggled in and slept in for a while, and then I got a text from my amazing neighbor, who left a gift at my door:
I made breakfast to include reheating some roasted potatoes I made yesterday. Hello Fresh is teaching me how to cook, because the recipes are simple and really good. This is not an ad. They're not even giving out promo codes right now. I have been trying to make crispy potatoes for years and they are just not good, but these were wonderful and I just know how to do them now. This service has been very worth it.
Oh Blogger, your app update is just wonderful. Thank you. (Also not an ad.)
Then my neighbor and I took Gus on a really slow walk. We were out with him for two hours, just talking and letting him steer and sit as much as he wanted. This was probably the longest we've talked since the pandemic and it was a really nice visit and it was warm and comfortable outside.
Back inside, I ate a lunch of leftover homemade mac n cheese and ham steak and one of the cupcakes. I haven't had one of those in so many years and I could smell the chocolate before I even opened the package. It was delicious, and then I napped while watching Making the Cut, which is Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn's different version of Project Runway. I just love seeing what people make.
I eventually made it upright again and had a nice talk with Mom while walking Gus on a shorter route. I ran into a neighbor who gratefully and excitedly accepted a couple puzzles I was going to put at our makeshift neighborhood donation center.
Then Tracy and I worked through some barre exercises. We have been taking a ballet class online together, and she's been teaching me form in between. It gives us both some more exercise and time together. It feels nice to be in even more regular contact and it's fun.
I ate some leftover Hello Fresh for dinner (who am I?) and sorted laundry in preparation for tomorrow, and then I sat down to sew a pocket in my jeans. It's been on my list for months and months and I'd picked a fabric that would look reasonably aligned with my jeans and wouldn't itch my skin. The jeans don't have front pockets, and I regularly have to fish around in my pants after the pump has fallen down a leg. I catch the belt clip on everything, so I don't wear that anymore. I just tuck it in and hope for the best. I was so proud of myself and felt all COVID productive. Then I tested the pocket and the attachment stitches held, but the side ripped like a wet Kleenex.
It ripped so easily that it didn't even make noise. And look- it wasn't my stitches that failed. That is some ugly sewing, but the stitches held. It was my fabric choice that failed.
In episode 3 of Making the Cut, the judges chewed on Josh and Troy got chewed on for having mismatched and disconnected prints. Josh immediately took responsibility, saying, "It was gorgeous, but if the prints are foul, that's on me." He said Troy was a genius and should stay, and he volunteered to go. He was so nice about his skills vs Troy's during the episode, and at his end he was just light and gracious.
I was disappointed in my pocket failure, but not terribly! It felt representative of COVID productivity- just because it didn't work out as intended doesn't mean it wasn't time well spent. I think it was the first episode when one of the designers said they like to make a little bit of their piece to see how it works before making the whole thing. That seems like time well spent, for sure. My idea was gorgeous, but my sewing skills are questionable and my fabric was foul, so I think I will defer to the experts and buy a premade pocket.
