NINJA Tour

While the trip I had originally planned did not happen this weekend, I had a wonderful time with Dan. We went to the Nine Inch Nails / Jane's Addiction tour on Friday night. It was wonderful to get back to a concert from my high school and college days. The fixed seating at the venue made it so that the concert did not have the total feel of a standard concert of this type, but it was fun none-the-less. The opening act, Street Sweeper Social Club, was also good. It is fun to find a new band through the opening acts of concerts, especially when they are enjoyable acts. This was a much better show than the one I saw on the Fragile tour a few years ago. While there is still little chemistry between the members of Nine Inch Nails, the performance was more tight and the songs sounded better. Jane's Addiction, while not my major draw for the concert, was wonderful. They still have great chemistry and seemed to really enjoy playing even their most well known songs together. Their performance was great and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them enjoy themselves. We ended the night in typical concert going fashion by getting food at a Denny's with fellow friends and concert goers. Great conversation what in full supply, and I had a lot of fun with everyone.

Saturday started off late as we got home so late from the concert. We helped a fried get back to the venue to pick up his car from the night before, and also got brunch with him. We went to Ole's Waffle Shop in Alameda. I am not sure why this place gets some not so hot reviews on yelp, but I thought it was great. The waffle with fresh strawberries was awesome. Even the whipped cream was fresh. The coffee was that standard pancake house wonderful stuff that I miss so much from Champaign. After dropping him off at the car, Dan and I preceded to drive around and finally settled on walking around a mall for a while before heading home to veg out.

Sunday was spent as a day bumming around the house. We have not done that in days, and the weather was perfect for this pursuit. The fog rolled in, and we just stayed in our pajamas for a long time watching the Indy 500 and the Blackhawks horrible performance in their playoff game. We finally decided that we needed to get something accomplished, so we went grocery shopping and hung some pictures up around the house.

Monday was a great day for me. We went out to do "Amy things" as Dan deems them. He took me out to gather supplies for the container garden I would like to start. We got several plants in this first round. I am slightly nervous about the amount of light we get and whether it will be enough. Hopefully it will seeing as the herb box has done so much better since the move to the new apartment. I will have pictures and more news on the container garden tomorrow once it is all planted. Well there is a garden to plant and gifts for an upcoming birthday of one of the nephews to work on today. Pictures of those gifts to follow as well.

Cleaning, Catching Up, and Concert

Yesterday was a great day. Lunch was wonderful, and tutoring was the usual fun that it always is. At the end of the tutoring session, 826 put on 5 minute readings at a local bar. It was fun getting to hear all the creative writing of the people that I tutor and volunteer with over at 826. I was not intending on attending but was glad that I had once it was all said and done. It made me wonder if I should get back to writing like I used to in high school and during college when I had a little time. Now, I think there is time, but I am not sure if I have my "writing muscles" still. It is a skill that needs to be practiced everyday for good results, and while some would say that this blog is a good writing practice, I would have to beg to differ. I guess I just think that writing on the level of reading on stage requires more revision than I do here. Who knows who is right, but I am already being asked to read at the next one. That will have to sit on the back burner for now seeing as I am not quite so confident in my creative writing as something for others to see right now.

Today is filled with getting the house back in the humming order that it used to be over at the other apartment. Laundry is whirling around the machines, and the dishwasher is quietly and virtually silently swishing away. There is straightening to do and pictures I keep meaning to hang are sitting on the ground. I still have a mountain of e-mails to read through from the San Francisco Bay Street Team on Etsy. I also have yet to introduce myself to all those fine folks. Hopefully next week I will have myself all caught up on their thoughts and be able to chip in my own. Tonight is the Nine Inch Nails concert, and I am looking forward to it more than I thought I would. It has been ages since I went to a good old industrial style concert, and while not totally fitting the bill, this is a good replacement.

I hope to have some more exciting things to tell you about next week. Hopefully Dan and I get out this weekend to my little get away spot that I am looking into, if that happens, I will bring back pictures. Till then, good weekends to all and more to come on Tuesday.

Hitting the Reboot Button - The Comforts of a New Home

I have been out of communication for quite a few weeks now as my life turned into a tornado of activity. First I was busy trying to get a new quilt done for my mother. She wanted one of my play quilts for a friend's new granddaughter. I was more than happy to turn another one of those out. They are fun to do, and of course due to all the craziness of packing, I forgot to take pictures of this one. It turned out similar to all the others, and I ended up liking the replacement fabrics I substituted in since some of the others I used in the first two were no longer available. Next I had to pack up all of our stuff at the old apartment and begin the task of moving us two blocks down. It does not sound like much, but I think this was more difficult than doing the cross country move. Since we were going such a short distance, Dan and I decided to use our car to ferry different loads of boxes back and forth. I would load up boxes during the day and pack the car, then at night, we would bring them up and unload them. I would repeat this process for several days. Finally the movers came on my birthday, April 29th, to get the furniture and heavy book boxes moved into the new place for us. I spent all of the next day cleaning the apartment top to bottom. It was a full day of trying to get train diesel particulate out of carpet and windowsills. It made me happy to realize that I would no longer be battling that fight against grime any longer.

The next day we were off early to get on a plane and head back to Illinois for a friend's wedding and family visits. We went down to Champaign to see how things have changed on the campus and also to just see the countryside. I forgot how much I could miss flat land until that trip. It was good to get back to the water and hills though. I guess my patience for flat is less than it used to be. While in Champaign, I got to see a great friend and hang out before she makes her trek out to the left coast for her own personal reboot.

I also got some inspiration and creative recharging when we went home. We went to go see the Mies van der Rohe creation known as the Farnsworth House. It was great to see it in person rather than just in pictures. I always love his style of architecture, and I suppose that is what I also enjoy about our new building. It really seems to me to be a take on the steel and glass structures that he created.

After the Illinois trip, I had a few days to unpack and make the apartment as livable as possible before my parents arrived to visit here in California. I mostly succeeded. All was done but putting up the mirrors and a few of our pictures that I am just not sure where to place yet. While they were here we went to the Marin headlands, Golden Gate Park, and San Juan Bautista. We also did the 17 mile drive in Pebble Beach. All things were really fun, but I think the Marin headlands drive that we did was my favorite.

Now I am settling into the new office and sewing studio that I have here in the new place, and the apartment seems extra quiet. While I love everything here, it seems almost too quiet. With all the windows closed, I cannot really hear the trains or any outside noise, which is good. It just seems extra quiet after having a couple of weeks with people around to talk to and now going to just me again. I guess we will have to get a pet or something.

Today is filled with looking through back e-mail and working on getting the last address changes done. I also have a lunch meeting and tutoring at 826. I guess I should go and get that crock pot loaded up and get some other things done before lunch.

I Will Miss This View

As the move approaches, I realize more and more how much I love the view from this place. I can always count on something interesting to happen each week. Today was no exception. I heard one of the trains blowing its whistle like there was no tomorrow. I decided to go and see if someone was stuck on the tracks at the crossing or something to cause such a ruckus. When I looked, there were people all over by the tracks and many police cars, but the train was just a normal Amtrak commuter line pulling out. I did not see what the fuss was all about. Then I realized how many cameras were out, and of course, I turned toward the very morbid possibility that someone was hit on the tracks by the station. It has happened before here, so I was concerned and hoped for the best. Then I heard a very distinct noise, that of a steam engine whistle. There was a special train passing through the area that is the last steam engine purchased by Union Pacific. For more information you can check out the website about the train. Here are a few pictures I took out the window as it passed by the building:







While I have grown rather tired of all the train noises as of late, this one was a welcomed change. It was neat to see this old locomotive roll past and look at all the shiny cars from days gone by zip past the building. I will miss this view and all the wacky things I have seen, both good and bad, out these windows. From zeppelins passing by to breath taking sunsets and fingerlings of fog, they will truly be missed. I do think though that it is time for change and... a little more quiet at night being a bit further away from the rumbling freights.

Post 100

Well this is the 100th post on here, and sadly it is not as momentous as I had hoped. I have a ton to do in the next two weeks, and I feel like no matter how fast I move, it is not fast enough. There are boxes to pack and things to clean and put away. There is another place to walk through and clean as well. I also have the quilt to get done and a suit to lengthen. Classes need to be attended, choreography sessions need to be lead, and a dance performance for the studio also are all this week. There seems to be no end to the things I need to accomplish in two weeks before the Illinois trip. Add on top of it the sudden temperature shift around here from low 70's to the low 90's, it has been an interesting time already two days into this busy week. I think I have all the services ready to be switched over to the new place and ended at the current place. I keep telling myself this is not like the last move; this is two blocks, not across the country. I guess I need to attack this in little chunks, just like Mom always advises me. Off to tackle another quilt square.

Red Dahlias

I had a little time yesterday to take photos of the new hair flowers I have put together. I even got one set listed today on the Etsy Store. They are beautiful brick red dahlias that I think would look great either on stage or out on the town this spring and summer. I love their spiky petals that turn from red to yellow to a green at the inner most points.



Today is really busy. I have a lunch meeting today with a friend followed by tutoring at 826 Valencia. Then I am leading a choreography session at Ariellah's studio. Needless to say, not much is getting done on the quilt order today. I hope to get a ton done tomorrow while I tackle the laundry. I have no other plans to go out on Friday, so hopefully I can get this accomplished. I need to pack up all the stuff for my various trips today still, so I better hop to. It will be time to leave for SF before I know it!

Quick Update

I know that my blogging has been kind of sketchy this week, and there is a great reason for that. My husband and I have decided to move. We aren't moving far, in fact, we are still in the same neighborhood. Our lease at the current place was coming up, and we decided to take a look around to see what was out there. I am really glad we did. A place opened up in a building that is just right for us. The unit will allow the Fabulous Pants shop to have its own dedicated space. It will also have a nice office area for the husband to retreat to while the machines are in use on the weekends again. While I will miss our awesome view of the estuary waters and all the boats and wildlife on the water, I will be glad to be a bit further from the tracks and train noise. For the next few weeks, posts will be a bit small if they exist. I have gotten some good pictures of new hair flowers, two red sets and a light purple set, that I hope to edit tonight and will list them tomorrow, Friday, and Monday. Look here for the first pictures and announcement of their listings. I am also working on my Mom's quilt order. That work is going slow, and I am hoping to knock out a big chunk today since the machines will have to be packed up to move soon.

Needless to say, there is a lot of work to be done over the next two weeks. Mainly there is repacking to be done and cleaning of two apartments. Our movers show up on my birthday, so I guess my present this year is a new dedicated space for the shop. I can totally live with that! I will post pictures of the new space when it is all up and running.

A quick heads up on a shop closure. We will be out of town for a wedding and to visit family May 1st to the 7th, so any orders made during that time will not be shipped until Monday, May 11th. Look here and the fan page for more updates.