Let's see, if I don't get sick between now and December 31st I can squeeze in one more long weekend and go someplace with a beach. I haven't taken a sick day since June, 1998, so I think it's pretty reasonable to count on using that time for vacation instead. I've got some free tickets in the bank, but I've already got plans for them (New York this fall, London next spring). So I'm not limited to "anywhere American flies" which means I can go to ... um ... someplace really, really close. I refuse to take any more domestic trips. Cabo San Lucas is a good bet.
The house project is stalling while we try to find a mortgage broker. We're also slightly disillusioned about what we can afford. $300,000 will not buy us our own house in the area where we currently rent. Can you imagine that? We have more money than we ever thought we would have at our disposal (the down payment, not the total, of course) and it won't get us more than a condominium unless we live 20 or more miles from where we work. I don't want to live in a condo and pay homeowners association fees on top of my mortgage payment. John doesn't want to fight Bay Area traffic for 20 miles morning and evening. I'm not feeling very cheerful about this right now.
But hey, it's a three day weekend and I have no major plans. Got some minor ones. I've been doing a fair amount of drawing and rubber stamping in the last week (I'm going to scan in some of them over the weekend, most likely), and I want to keep up with that. I also have a new crafts project to work on. I am going to make myself a pillow using the new burned velvet technique I learned at the RubberRama Festival. There ought to be a more elegant name for this technique, but I can't think of one.
Here's what you do. You need a piece of velvet (rayon or rayon mix). You need some fabric stamps, the kind that are designed for use with textiles instead of paper (they're cut deeper and have bigger stamping surfaces). You need an iron, and a little spray bottle filled with water. Lay the stamp design up and mist it with the water. Lay the velvet over the stamp where you want the design to go. Place a hot iron on the backside of the velvet for 12 seconds or so. Make sure none of the little steam holes are over the stamp or the design won't burn in evenly. Lift iron, turn over velvet, admire pattern, repeat until pleased with effect. Any slight discoloration is due to the water and will evaporate in a few minutes.
Once I finish the velvet I have to cut and sew it into a pillow. I've bought the pillow form and some cord to make piping. I've eschewed tassels due to the cats; they really don't need any more toys. I've never made a pillow in my life, but how hard could it be? Wait, I said that about quilting. Eh, I don't mind experimenting. If it turns out nice I'll make more. If it turns out dorky, well, the cats will love it.
Have a fun three day weekend, North Americans.
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