serinde

Context: Wednesday night, Steve and I went out to the Pet Megastore Thingy and got a huge array of different brands & flavors of wetfood, in the hopes that Mage would be tempted by one or another, and then we could buy lots and lots of that. So far, he's mostly been snubbing them, except the aforementioned kitten food which he aforementionedly horked up the next day.

Mail just received from Steve (who is working from home today, and monitoring the cat situation) (turns out hospital visit is scheduled for 4pm):

Pookie,

Good news about people coming over.

By the way, something about a lot of these fancy-ass cat foods:
none of the cats like the damn things!  The ones Mage wouldn't
touch, I tried on Fizzy and Ranger and you'd think I tried to
feed them old tires.  :-P

Steve

The pool is Open this weekend. (That means, feel free to drop by and swim, and grill, and lounge in the hammock, or whatever; but we are under no obligation to feed or entertain you, and either or both of us may crouch in the lair playing CoH if we are cranky.)

It's nice to let us know if you think you might drop by, but not necessary.

He turns up his nose at the wet food we currently have. He'll eat a little tuna, but not much (e.g., he did the Feed Me dance when we got up, but only took maybe a quarter of a 6oz can). And he'll eat a little bit of kibble soaked in tuna water, but not much.

I don't know how to tell if he's getting enough foods.

Correction: Yesterday he ate kibble soaked in tuna. Today, he's trying to cover it over. *headdesk*

Took Mage to the vet this morning, because it seemed to us that he was losing a bit of weight, and when I put down their kibble dish he would just toy with a few pieces then come beg for people food. And we figured it was him being all glutton-whorish again, that he'd gotten spoiled by eating Fizzgig's kitten chow, and I wanted to get some of the magic appetite stimulant so he would eat his own food properly.

Imagine my shock, awe, and huge volumes of shame when the vet pointed out that he is probably having trouble with kibble because MOST OF HIS TEETH ARE GONE.

Now, admittedly, a cat's molars just look like ridges of bone. I don't take much note of them under any circumstances, and even on the rare occasions I've had cause to look at them they always look sort of weird and not-right to me, so even if I'd been giving him regular inspections I wonder if I'd actually have perceived the problem. But! Gah. Feel horribly, utterly, completely sucky.

He is fine and healthy otherwise. The vet postulated that maybe he had a brief gum infection or something that loosened the teeth, but the gums seem perfectly normal at this time. This just means that Mr. Mage gets what he always wanted: a wet-food diet. And we are both feeling sufficiently guilty about our Ultimate Fail that we're more than happy to give it to him.

Since Albion was lost to us, we have had but meager pickings for our dancing pleasure. I've periodically made the rounds of my spies to see if anything's come up that might replace it, but it's always "no cakes today". Finally, motivated by I know not what, I did some digging of my own. And behold: a club in NJ, even which has "80’s/New Wave/Alternative/Goth/Industrial/Electroclash" and "Goth/New Wave/Punk/Death Rock/Darkwave" on Fridays, and "Future Pop/EBM/Industrial/Synth-pop/New Wave/Goth" and "Goth/New Wave/Darkwave/80's" on Saturdays.

Of course, it's in Newark; and deepest Newark, at that. Suck. But! Still may be worth it.

Let this serve as public record that I have promised naudia she and I will go try this place (regardless of the lameitude of our menfolk) within two weeks of her return from points west.

Have started logging calories again, because it's the only thing that works. I'm also eating a somewhat larger breakfast (~500 calories instead of ~200), as I hear current wisdom is that front-loading helps you feel less hungry during the day. (Which is not a usual problem for me anyways; it's what I'm hungry for. MARS NEEDS PEANUT BUTTER. But it may prove useful.)

Going to aikido regularly makes the biggest difference of all, of course. And so far this week that's also proceeding well. But I need the better eating habits again, in general and for when aikido is not.

I had cut out the waistband for these Goddamn things when I cut out the other pattern pieces, because I was being efficient and stuff. I should have learned by now. Figured I didn't need measurements, because I knew that elibalin wears 32" jeans. So, I took that, added seam allowance and a bit of give since Venetians angle down a bit at the front, and thought I was good.

Until I just tried to match it up with the already-gathered pants, and there is a discrepancy of sufficient size to completely bollocks everything up.

Grr. I stormed upstairs, rousted him out of the guest room, and held the proto-waistband up to his ACTUAL waist; same results. I gibbered. He showed me the tag on his jeans, which indeed said 32 x 32.

Based on these facts, I can only conclude that the fashion industry uses a reverse version of the penis ruler for garment sizing.

(ObSurreal: When I did a Google Image Search on "penis rulers" to link in the previous paragraph, one of the first group of results was the Bronzino portrait of Eleonora di Toledo. o_O )

Have spent hours working on pants Venetian hose. For which I HAVE A PATTERN ALREADY. And yet I've already sewn one pocket in backwards, nearly attached the other to the leg, sewn one of the four pieces in reversed, and having ripped all that shit out, now am failing to make everything line up nicely. Primal scream therapy (in basement, so as not to wake the pooky) not helping.

Am stopping now.

This one was more productive, in that I was working a great deal more. This does not mean I got an equivalent amount accomplished, mind you.

My quest was to make a 16th c. shirt for elibalin, so we can return the loaner he was wearing to Beth. This is in most respects just like making a chemise, except shorter (der) and much more full in the sleeves and neck, which you then gather into collar & cuffs for that flouncy look. So, well, chemises I know, so this should be easy as houses, right? Well yes, except for entertaining moments like sewing in a random square of scrap linen instead of one of the gussets. (In my defense, it was a 6.5" x 7" piece, whereas the gusset was 6" square. Understandable mistake except that I SAW IT COMING but did not take steps to remove the scrap from my work area.) And having Extremely Brainless Moments when trying to suss the ways & means of attaching the collar. And forgetting to put in the ties for closing the collar at the appropriate time, in spite of having just asked Beth about them. And so on. As a result, I downscaled my expectations, mostly by eschewing the ruffs I was going to put above the collars and cuffs, and have declared that I shall build a new one, stronger, faster, & better, after which this'n can be a fencing shirt.

More positive notes: briony530 taught me how to do blackwork. I am excited! Really enjoyed it. I may even do a bit of simple work to attach to this shirt (practice embroidery for practice shirt?). We also had a great deal of discussion and brain-picking with Beth's colleague Laurie, who is doing her PhD on 14th century sumptuary laws, with side detours on the ins and outs of the wool trade. (Oh, and I got a bit of trim sewed onto my gamurra sleeves. Though not half as much as I would have liked. Also, it is not terribly even.)

Tonight while waiting for the Bryant Park movie, I shall do a bunch of hand-sewing on the shirt; with luck I will then only have the cuffs and the hem to do. Tomorrow's sewing evening quest is to make pants for the same outfit. (This should be interesting, as none of us have ever made Venetian hose, but there is a pattern in The Tudor Tailor.) Before the end of the week I also desire to sew trim onto the doublet that goes with, and make & attach the skirting. I don't know if I can do all this. I'm not sure I even know where the rest of the doublet material is. Oh yes; AND I want to sew the rest of the trim on my sleeves. HA HA HA

Final annoyance: Last sewing weekend, I bought more blue and grey floss to fingerloop lacing cords with. I can't find it anywhere. Feh.