First Nerd Problems

Yesterday was one of those days where Murphy seemed to be above me making sure that little rain-cloud never strayed too far. Ah, a mixed metaphor is always fun on a Saturday morning.

Anyway, to get to school I take two buses and a train. It takes about 90 minutes which is not ideal but for a reader like myself, it's really not too bad. I've been spending three mornings a week deeply enthralled with my new best bud, George R.R. Martin (or GRRM if you're super cool and constantly tweet about #ASoIAF). But, more about that later.

My first bus was 20+ minutes late, and that borders on the line of being late for class (as in missing half of it because of missed connections). So I rushed over to catch a different bus that required a two block run to catch the train — which was also late. I was so stressed I couldn't read (which is the most frustrating feeling in the world). I finally got onto the third bus of my journey and pulled out my eReader to delve into A Feast of Crows. I have a Nook Color, one I received for my birthday the year before last and up until the last few days I have loved it. I read The New York Times on it, I've read all the GRRM books that I have on it, so on and so forth. But out of nowhere it's started turning itself off randomly and once awakened it's lost my page. Ack! GRRM tends to write pretty exciting things at the end of chapters and it's a huge pain in the butt to have search around and not have the event spoiled (I hate spoilers like River Song).

Source

By the time I was on my return trip it stopped doing the irritating thing so I was happily re-immersed into A Feast for Crows. And that's where I went wrong — I'm the kind of person who walks down the street reading, I sometimes read in the shower, even. When the bus hit the end of the line/my stop I got up, reading, and got off the bus. As the bus pulled away I realized that my iPhone was no longer in my pocket.

...

I asked a fellow at the stop if I could use his phone to call mine, maybe if the bus driver saw it light up or heard it buzz he could hold it for me? I'm such an optimist. Anyway, lawyer dude looked at me like I'd asked for a firstborn to nom on. I guess my demeanor reads "I'm going to steal your phone by lying and sell it for drugs", maybe I wasn't meant to teach Elementary School. My mood did not improve. So I hopped on the next Northbound Train hoping that two stops up I could find a Transit Cop or someone to radio in to the driver before my phone disappeared.

I don't know if you've ever had to report a lost phone to Transit Police but they look at you like, "Dude, it's over. Move on." And say things like, "Have ya heard of an app called 'JailBreak'?" to which I tried not to explain how jail-breaking and phone theft work in reality because that just wouldn't help my situation. Then they tried not to laugh at me as I explained that it must have fallen out of my pocket. So embarrassing. Also, the first thing the cop did was tell me "Call Lost and Found, the number is blah-blah-blah". "Okay, is there a payphone nearby?" I asked. Then he laughed. I sighed and tried not to cry in public.

Eventually I got a hold of my husband, after running around three different buildings and almost crying at someone. I got into the car and bawled.

"I just wanted to buy The Hobbit tote bag I saw, go to the library and fill said tote bag with books and then go to the Book Festival! Why is today so bad?!" 

That, my friends, is a First Nerd Problem.

I went home and prepared to zap my phone from a distance (sorry, Better Midler is now in my head, too). But because I am apparently a hopeful person (it goes with that whole Chaotic Neutral thing) I sent a plaintive text from DH's phone to mine: "If found please call this number: ### ### ####". I sat at home and drank bourbon and apple-cider, bemoaning my First Nerd Problems and eating Indian Food. My Gandalf the White iPhone 4 was gone. I was Frodo sad.

And then my phone called me! A bus operator had found my phone and kept it safe so no one would steal it! She was glad I'd texted because she wasn't sure what to do at first.

Holy heck, +2 faith in humanity!

And to think, I'd been musing about sending rude messages to the thief!

My favorite plan was because my Lock Screen is the image below so I thought about texting:

 Valar morghulis

Good thing I didn't! It might've made this kind woman creeped out and I may never have been re-united with my lil phone! Rejoice!

So, I've got 9 Nerd Problems but a Phone Ain't One.

But I did receive sad news about my eReader. Apparently, B&N have decided to move on to brighter pastures with a Nook HD and HD+ tablet, essentially kissing off the Nook Color. There will probably be another update (maybe two if we're lucky) but they are not producing any more of the tablets and it's not even on the Nook front page anymore. Sigh. If that is the future, do I want to be a part of it? Do I want to shell out $199 or $269 for a  new Nook later this year? Do I really like the eReading experience that much? 

I hate when I have to worry about the battery dying, especially in bed, and I miss the smell of paper. I do like that it can stand on my chest and my arms are free to pet the beagle. I also like that I don't get hand cramps from 1000+ page books. But, as the Book Hoarder that I am I feel like I don't entirely own the books I have on there. For a few crappy ones, that's fine, but for GRRM books and Christopher Buckley novels that I'd lend to friends it doesn't quite feel right.

Part of the Budget Deal I made with DH for October is that I would go one whole month without buying a book — unprecedented — which will give me time to mull over this whole Nook situation. Am I a tech geek or a stickler for the classics? Or am I, in fact Chaotic Neutral?

Welcome Autumn, here is a wreath on Hobbit Day!

I have been ogling fall wreaths for many months now. In fact I've been waiting for Fall since Winter ended. Summer and I are not the closest of friends. I respect the boundaries that lie between us.

But Fall? Oh there is nothing better than a crisp fall day when you can wear a nice wooly sweater, knee-high boots and a soft scarf — throw in some delicious warm drink and you have the makings for My Own Private Ideal.

And now that we have this very pretty door I wanted to make a wreath for it.

I spent more than a few work days idly Pinning. There are some GORGEOUS. wreaths out there! I was drawn to the simple wreaths, ones that had flowers and leaves etc but they didn't "explode". I think it would too much with our front door.

A few really jumped out at me.

Source

Source

I was particularly drawn to the fabric wreaths. Perhaps it's because I don't often work with the stuff; I'm not a terribly good seamstress, I'm still attempting to learn to knit...

The yarn wrapping was rather long, two hours or so. I watched "Mystery" on PBS which was nice. (It was not, regrettably, a Miss Marple episode though.)

 

You can tell I was highly influenced by The Spotted Fox's wreath but I also wanted to make it my own. In the end I went with 3/4 orange and 1/4 maroon. As I started wrapping the maroon I realized I was doing Virginia Tech colors. Our former roommate just moved down there to get his PhD so DH thinks it was a sub-conscious choice. Granted, he thought that I chose Orioles, Ravens and Redskins colors, too. 

But then I hot a tough choice: what to use as accents. Felt flowers or leaves? Both? Branches? I love trees and our bedroom is full of tree branches and images so maybe this one time I'll skip them. Okay, but that still leaves a tough call about flowers and leaves. On one hand, leaves are much more iconically autumnal with flowers denoting more spring feelings. Then again felt flowers are SO cool looking. I mean, just look at these:

Source

They are just stunning! I didn't have any beautiful buttons but a few nifty thrift store earrings could go nicely...

But, just as I settled on flowers (DH thought leaves were better until he saw above, for what its worth) the internet showed me some gorgeous felt leaves. 

Source

And another by this very talented lady!

Source

In the end I decided to do both. I have a few flowers and a few leaves. I used a pattern from Martha (I know, I know) for the maple and oak leaves but the other two I cut on a whim. I was very much inspired by the delicate stitching work on the leaves above and perhaps one day I will get there, but today it looks like this:

 

I went a simpler route for the flowers as well, and only did rosettes. I think the Make And Do Girl pattern is for later this week, perhaps I'll make a hair clip or a hat pin! I double checked the rosette with a tutorial because the last time I made flowers was last autumn for Dia De Los Muertos when I made a bunch of carnations out of tissue paper. I have big plans for this year's Offrenda, which was such a good way to express my grief over Dad, but that's for another day. Anywho, thanks to The Crafted Sparrow's tutorial I was on my way. 

And before I knew it, I had a new autumn wreath to hang on my door!

Or at least to on this gorgeous bit outside my bookstore, hehe. It's a very simple wreath but that's what I like about it. But don't be surprised if I keep adding on to it as fall continues.

And it's ready for our party tonight! It's Hobbit Day after all, so we decided to throw a Hobbitous Housewaming! So this afternoon is going to be full of cleaning, project finishing and then lots of merriment with our lovely friends. 

Happy Hobbit Day! Merry Mabon!

"Light, seeking light, doth light of light beguile"

— Shakespeare's Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act I Scene i, Spoken by Berowne
 
Remember that terrible chandelier hanging from our middle room? The scourge of the 70s-80s? The blinding glass shame? The fixture that would be great if I were hosting a reenactment of Empty Nest.

Source

Okay, actually that sounds like a really fun party plan, I might do it. Regardless, it felt like cocaine had been snorted off of every prism or we needed a vinyl tablecloth and get fabric striped wallpaper.

Let's revisit our poor chum.

If you looked straight into it, it was like looking into the heart of the TARDIS which we all know messes with your head and can be really bad for any resident Daleks.

Source

For months I pinned ideas and fantasized about the lighting in my dining room/library. This is the room that houses my favorite pieces; all of my bookcases, the mid-century dining table that belonged to my grandmother, and the Jon Hamm bar all live in there!

And then one day, the husband and I had a rough weekend financially. Sometimes these things happen, a check gets deposited three weeks late, and then another and then another. Which, yes, was poor planning on our part but that's a whole different kind of tale. The point is, it was a few days until payday so two poor newlyweds would not be embarking on any kind of expensive DIY. But I needed to do something productive, anything to pull myself out of the cavern of self-loathing.

I tried my first idea, a Chinese lantern. A plain old, white round lantern. There are no photos of these attempts, by the by, because they failed pretty spectacularly. I removed all the of the glass prisms, all 16 of them and then attempted to shimmy the lantern around. The skeleton of this light fixture is to spokes of rods which are just the right length to tear a whole through the paper of a lantern. Sigh. I pretty much knew that would happen, but I was trying to prove a glass half-full hope. So, into the recycling with the torn up lantern.

The fixture is wired in such a way that it would take a hell of a lot to remove it from the ceiling, if you're wondering why that never happened. The joys of home renter-ship.

The poor husband heard me curse for awhile and tried to watch the MLB network around it.

Then I decided to put all of the prisms back on, which has to be done in a methodical way or else it leans precariously to one side, scary! Then I pulled out a roll of drawing paper. I tried to circumnavigate the  fixture. This also resulted in many curses and a few wobbly moments on the step-ladder. Enter husband, Dining Room Left. We fought with the paper, trying to get a sense of the length it would take to enshrine it. I thought to myself, I will draw things on the paper and it will shine through like stained glass! But the paper ripped, again and again. And the foul language continued. I decided to go back to organizing our books into LCC as a distraction. I must do something! I muttered through gritted teeth.

I happened across a tattered copy of Romeo & Juliet. To be honest I'm not sure to whom it belonged, he or I. Because I have a gorgeous complete works tome that I treasure I was about to toss the paperback into the pile to go to The Book Thing (a decidedly small assemblage as you can imagine). As I handled it I realized it was a rather narrow book, compared to it's height, not unlike the blasted prisms from the chandelier. 

The lightbulb in my brain went off (har har). I reached up and grabbed on of the prisms. The page was just a little short, but not unappealingly so. If they were all at the same length, it might even look purposeful. I began to run around the house for supplies. Poor DH had no idea what was going on as roadrunner careened up and down the staircase. 

My collection of materials was slight, a utility knife and a smaller calligraphy pen. I do not have a single hole punch, which might seem like the way to go, but even if I did I fear the holes would be too large.

I began by removing as many pages from the binding as I needed. The book was, as I said, pretty beat up so holding it flat open was easy. The point of the knife I pushed into the glued binding and a nice steady straight cut. Boom! Freed pages. 

When I experimented with the first page I wanted to make sure I was comfortable with the hole being a in an easy place to replicate. I went with the first line of text, beneath the Running Head. So I skewered as many pages as need and hung them with care. 

Because I left the drops on the paper is safe isn't a fire hazard (I'm pretty neurotic as it is, the last thing I need is The Towering Inferno in my dining room).

Et, voila!

 

 

Total price of project: $0
Duration: 10 minutes (maybe)

We are having our housewarming party this weekend (A Hobbitous Housewarming) so I can unveil it to my friends and family, yipee!

I suppose I could have used a quote from R&J  to title this, but everyone already knows that one so where is the fun? I might end up using different pages, books, authors, etcetera but I'm loathe to tear apart another book.

Speaking of the play, DH ended up doing an interactive version of it at the Renaissance Festival this year. If he's good I will only upload it to Facebook...