Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Really Random Thursday 3-28-13

It's the Really Random Thursday, March 28 edition.  Otherwise known as:  

What I have been doing while wishing winter would just go away, already.

Tea Towel "Tess" is a Flimsy
First and foremost, I finished the Tea Towel Challenge flimsy this week.

Now she awaits quilting (ever waiting, that Tess). Also a backing and binding selection, but minor details.

The good thing about March and daylight saving time is that you can take a photo outside at 6:45 p.m., never mind that it is still on top of a pile of snow.

Temps were in the 40s yesterday and today, though.  I went for a walk around the neighborhood, dodging and navigating puddles of mucky runoff, but it sure beats a sheet of ice.  The walk outside was also quieter than my treadmill, which has decided to take up its own kind of moaning and groaning.  The repairman has been summoned.  I have been bucked off a treadmill that was on the fritz in the past.  Not an experience I'd like to repeat, though it does get the heart pumping in a fear-for-your-life, adrenaline rush kind of way.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up
In other news, this headline on the front page of our small town paper seemed amusing, though I'm sure the incident itself was anything but (full article here).

Al Gore may have invented the internet, but this guy may have invented the original Spam attack (i.e., the canned kind). 

A Bona Fide Binge
Other than the aforementioned flimsy, not a whole lot else has happened in the sewing room this past week month.  I blame my 30-day Netflix trial.  And Downton Abbey withdrawals (among other things). 

Nonetheless, I do not regret the diversion.  I watched one costume drama...

(Matthew Macfadyen, Eddie Redmayne)

after another...
(Hugh Dancy and Hugh Bonneville—a Hugh-o duo!)

after another.  
I very much enjoyed this last one, in particular.  Damien Lewis plays Soames Forsyte, a possessive (and obsessed) tyrant, though you do kind of get where he's coming from.  I liked him better in Band of Brothers, but The Forsyte Saga miniseries was very well done.  If you've got a hankering for Downton Abbey era shenanigans, you will like it.

That said, I am so glad I wasn't born in a previous century (well, technically I was, but you know what I mean). Women had it rough, yo.  Sure, the clothes were lovely, if you could afford them, but underneath the veneer was all that repression and constriction.  And I'm not just talking about the corsetry.

I also watched a few documentaries in between.  It's good to balance all that romanticism with a brisk face-slap of reality, you know?  Gotta love Netflix for the variety of documentaries not available at the local Redbox.

My media junkie-ness hasn't been limited to the visual.  I've been listening to some fascinating nonfiction as well, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  Wow, the stuff you never knew.

But enough distraction.  There will be more sewing soon, sure as spring will come.  Sarah has once again put together the annual Hands 2 Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  If you haven't already checked it out, please do so and join in, if you can.  I have signed on to make a quilt (maybe two?), and the wheels have started turning.

Sing me out, Stacey, and tell it like it is.

15 comments:

Elizabeth said...

You had me at Donald Sutherland. Slightly creepy, I know, since he's twice my age. But still. A girl can admire, right?

I actually giggled at the Spam attack.

And Tea Towel Tess is spectacular! I love your string Dresdens! You are so clever.

xo -E

P.S. Everyone is asleep. Or they're supposed to be, so I don't dare turn the music on because anyone who is not sleeping will see it as an invitation to get out of bed and interrupt my quiet time. I'll listen tomorrow morning, when they're supposed to be getting up but not, and see if it works the same way then.

sophie said...

Tea Towel Tess is gorgeous!

Kelli Fannin Quilts said...

Tea Towel Tess is so pretty on the snow. The Spam Attack is so funny.. well, except for the person it happened to. :/

MomWaldsPlace said...

That is what I am saying, real life is much more amusing than fiction. Your quilt came out fabulous. If you backed her quick you could have some color on your wall before the spring actually arrives in Wisconsin.

Sara said...

Netflix can really hook,line and sinker can't it! I have been utilizing them as well lately AND Redbox for that matter!

Tess is drop dead gorgeous and she was worth the WAIT. Hope she knows it! Hope that gentleman whom is supposed to picking her up already figures it out!

Anonymous said...

Tea Towel Tess is fantastic! I go in spurts with Netflix, but I have enough in my DVR right now that I haven't looked at Netflix in weeks. You might want to check out a tv series from a few years ago that starred Damien Lewis - it's called Life, and he plays a quirky police detective. It's one of my favorite shows.

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

Love the flimsy! Tess is glowing!

Netflix has me hooked on British TV dramas. Forsyte Saga, Bramwell, The Grand are among my favorites. And Downton, of course.

Stella Nemeth said...

I remember watching the Forsyth Saga when it was new. It was very well done. I actually ended up reading the entire series and enjoying it.

I tried to read it again recently and could not get past the first few chapters. Not sure why.

Live a Colorful Life said...

Those string blocks are gorgeous. I have always wanted to watch Forsyte Saga. I just finished episode three of season three of Downton Abbey. So hooked on that show!

Live a Colorful Life said...

I really love the song at the end. I am not familiar with her. Does she have a CD?

Marti said...

I can't wait to see how you quilt Tess.

So funny about the spam attack. Wonder if that's the closest thing he could grab or what? lol

Janine @ Rainbow Hare said...

Tess is looking fab. You've aced that tea towel challenge! I'm looking forward to seeing how you're going to quilt her. And the spam attack is bizarre! Funny headline but I'm glad I wasn't there :)

Sarah Craig said...

You've been busy, girl! Have you tried "Sherlock", the modern British version of Sherlock Holmes? It's awesome!!

Kevin the Quilter said...

OK seriously, I can't wait to see the backing and binding possibilities For Tess you come up with now? The top turned out great!

Michelle said...

Netflix is the only paid TV I have. :)