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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-19 06:55 pm
Entry tags:

Squiggles

The sequin border for the neckline is done, and I drew some squiggles between the sequins to bead. I think I'm going to like it!
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-18 08:41 pm
Entry tags:

Border

I decided to just go ahead and sew sequins for the border for the neckline trim. I'll figure out the design later. The sketch has basically a squiggly line, which I have seen on dresses. One that I found and forgot to pin had sequins mixed in with the squiggles.

I thankfully enjoy sewing sequins!
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m_of_disguise ([personal profile] m_of_disguise) wrote2025-07-18 08:23 am

(no subject)

Another bad night. Bad dreams, constantly waking up, too hot, too cold, baby's up again. Someday I'll sleep well again.

Baby was up early, so M and I were, too. Cooked her some sausages before getting ready and then was out the door. Very cute to see her waving bye. 

M called just as I got to work to yell about the cats peeing on stuff. Will have to do a major scrub down of the cat closet, since there must be a reason they aren't going in their boxes. 

Just over this week. 

Next week is going to be busy. M has his third interview for New Job, and I have a follow-up appointment for the amnio. It's just going to be an ultrasound since the baby was too squirmy and active to get some of the measurements they needed before. 

Still, it's a lot of Stuff, and I could just really use a breather from Stuff.
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-17 09:30 pm

Another day in 2025

Another, not exactly protest, but John Lewis Day dedication ceremony
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m_of_disguise ([personal profile] m_of_disguise) wrote2025-07-17 08:45 am

(no subject)

The whole meeting/early lunch situation worked out just fine yesterday, and I was able to get the baby down for an early nap before leaving to head back to work. 

Because I took lunch so early, the rest of the day just dragged on forever. Got home and heated leftovers for M's dinner, but I wasn't in the mood to eat. Baby got a grilled cheese sandwich and some fruit. She struggled a bit to go to sleep; I think she could have used a second nap since her first was so early in the day, and that she was probably overtired by the time bedtime came around.

M was already in bed for a while before the baby went down, so once she was asleep I crawled into bed, too. I had been hoping to catch up on sleep, but I had a terrible night and feel even worse today. Hooray. Very tired, very spacey. 

Can't wait for this week to be over.
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-16 06:11 pm
Entry tags:

Things

The machine sewing on the skirt is done. I want to hand sew the organza part of the seam and the hem. Still not sure what I want the beading on the bodice to look like.

I'm mostly used to my car being automatic, but I still don't approve. Shifting helps me focus when I'm fizzing, which I've been doing the last few days, and I have to focus hard on focusing while driving. It's weird, but shifting is just enough to keep my attention there. Thankfully, I'm aware of the issue and can force my attention where it needs to be, but I so miss having attention be natural.

Overall, I'm happy enough with the Subaru, but I really wish the Mazda 3 that came with a manual transmission had cloth seats. Leather seats in 120+ weather are worse than automatics.


I also figured out something about one of the air vents today. It's super skinny because of the giant stupid screen, not the traditional shape. I thought sliding the tab made it point down. It doesn't. It closes it. No wonder I didn't get much air from it. It moves side to side, but the only option is for it to hit you directly in your face.

Also, as much as I'm trying not to play with the air controls because it's a touchscreen that you have to look at instead of dials, auto air just doesn't work the way I want it to. It was fine in southern California, but just can't figure out what I need here. Yes, I need the air on my feet before ten minutes into the drive. And yes, I'm very fussy about the air. Running hot is not fun at all.

Tom is doing fine. He's getting better at hobbling naturally. I'm actually excited for his appointment on Monday to get his splint changed.

He doesn't know how to play, and can't really play much now, but I bought him a new toy, a base with a large spring and a ball. Sid stuck his whole head in it, and that was before he ate half the catnip plant I also bought. Poppy ate one of the feathers off the toy.

They're such good boys!
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m_of_disguise ([personal profile] m_of_disguise) wrote2025-07-16 08:55 am

(no subject)

Baby was in rare form yesterday. I got home for my lunch break just as M was finished cleaning up a poo tsunami. Seems that she managed to take off her dirty diaper without taking off her clothes, and had made a mess all over the living room. As I arrived home, he'd just finished giving her a bath and scrubbing the living room. Yeesh. 

I tried to put her down for a nap, but she flung her little leg up over the railing of her nap pen and was ready to make her daring escape when I scooped her up. -_- Like I said, rare form. Eventually got her down in her crib, which is still too tall for her to spiderman her way out of.

Was only back at work briefly when I got the email from the genetic councilor that the amniocentesis results had come back as normal. Hooray! I couldn't stand the thought of being at work the rest of the day after that, so I took the rest of the day off and headed home. M was grateful for this, and disappeared soon after I got home to take a very long nap. 

The baby also decided she wanted a second nap (probably because she'd been awake some many times the night before), so I had a solid chunk of the afternoon to myself, during which I did absolutely nothing and it was great. 

Dinner was ham, green beans, and Spanish rice, all things which took very little effort and time. Baby went down pretty easily for bed, despite having two naps, so she was a tired girl. After dinner I made a passing remark about wishing I hadn't finished off my ice cream the other day, and before I knew it, M had his shoes on and was on his way to the convenience store across the street to procure ice cream. So despite shenanigans at the start of the day, it ended on a nice note.

Today's nonsense is that the state jail inspectors have finally made their appearance, so things are a bit hectic, and M needs me home earlier than usual during lunch because he has a meeting he has to attend, so thinks are a tad wonky. Meh, it'll all work itself out.
koshka_the_cat: Beach! (Default)
Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-15 06:51 pm
Entry tags:

Skirt

I did a tiny bit on the skirt today--cut the shape for the overlap in front. I should cut it out, but inertia...
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-14 06:40 pm
Entry tags:

Hmm...

The bodice is done, except for beading, and I have no idea what I want it to look like. The sketch the dress is based on doesn't translate for me somehow and looking at other dresses isn't helping. I'll figure something out, but it's rather annoying until I do!
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m_of_disguise ([personal profile] m_of_disguise) wrote2025-07-14 08:56 am

(no subject)

Baby woke up just as I was getting dressed on Friday morning, so I was a bit late getting to work. Mainly because she wouldn't stop hugging me and looking sad whenever I went close to the front door. How I can I just walk out the door when she's being that cute? Thankfully, her early morning meant that she went down very easily for her nap while I was home for lunch. Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner.

Stared at the cassock embroidery some more, and discovered there is way more metallic embroidery on there than I first realized because it's done in silver and is super tarnished. Spotted some plaited braid stitch, my nemesis, I hadn't noticed before either. Not much, though, so I'm taking it as a good opportunity to practice the cursed stitch where it won't be very noticeable if I flub it.

Woke up Saturday feeling the best I have in months. Rode that energy wave and made blueberry muffins for breakfast, and cleaned the dish pile and scrubbed the kitchen so it's finally in  a decent state again. Baby went down for her nap easily, so I had the time to make a big pot of mac & cheese for lunch. After eating, I started tracing out the loose kirtle pattern onto some gridded interfacing so I could alter it into the cassock pattern. Got halfway through before the baby woke back up.

Rest of the day was pretty quiet. M went out to the range for a little while, and came home fairly late. The baby had a supernova burst of energy in the early evening and went completely crazy running around the house. Wore me out, I tell you what. Wore herself out too, though, and she passed out pretty easily at bedtime. 

Once she was down, I finished tracing and cutting out the cassock pattern, and drafted out the sleeve. The body of the thing seems to be pretty good, though it needs some extra length at CF and CB, which is an easy enough fix. The sleeve, however, doesn't work at all. I had drafted out the original sleeve from the embroidered cassock in an attempt to make things easier when I transferred the embroidery pattern, but alas, it doesn't fit at all into the armscye. I should have anticipated this, since the back of the embroidered and plain jackets are extremely different, but my brain glazed over that. Ah, well. So instead of futzing with the current pattern, I'm going to draft out the two-part sleeve, and I'll just have to make the embroidery pattern work on that instead.

Stayed up way too late working on patterning, and paid for it dearly on Sunday. The baby woke up at the crack of dawn, which meant I was up, too. I had enough umph to make us all some breakfast sandwiches, but I quickly lost steam with so little sleep. Thankfully, she went down for her nap without a fight, and I passed out on the couch. Woke up a couple of hours later because I was suffocating in the heat, so since the baby was still asleep I crawled into my own bed in the nice cool bedroom and tried to get a little more shuteye. Only managed about an hour more, but at least it was something. 

M made a trip to the store to pick up some beverages and some fruit. We had leftovers for dinner, and I just tried to stay on the couch and not move much because I was feeling pretty lousy. Felt the baby kick for the first time, though!

Because of my wonky sleep over the day, I wasn't tired enough for bed until 11:30 or so, so I'm not at 100% today. 

Today is M's birthday! He took off today and tomorrow, but I didn't have the time available, so I'm at work today. He's made no plans to celebrate today, but maybe he'll think of something for this evening.
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-13 06:00 pm
Entry tags:

Better

Today things have calmed down into their regular routine. Tom is happily snoozing and seems to be getting used to his splint.

Poppy somehow tied his toy around himself, but normal other than that!
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-12 11:53 am
Entry tags:

Tom's Diary

Tuesday: Hanging out outside. I think I'll go find that food under the stairs and try to get a treat. I'll meow really loud.

Wednesday: I've been kidnapped. What is this place? I heard the treat people say something about a clubhouse.

Thursday: I'm in a small box. I'm in a car. Something is missing. What's happening? Back in the "clubhouse"

Friday: I've been kidnapped again. Two large cats here. Lots of food. Why is the sky exploding?

Saturday: This might be ok. Treat people telling me I'm safe now.

Sunday: Zzz

Monday: So much food. I think I'm gaining weight!

Tuesday: Zzz

Wednesday, almost midnight: The perch looks nice. OW. What happened. Fall. Planter broken. Limping. In small box. Something about a "fracture."

Thursday: Pain meds. Sleep. So much sleep. Not so sure about "safer" inside.

Friday: In small box. Something about finally having an "appointment." Leg wrapped up. Stupid cone on head. Something about another appointment in two weeks. Something about eight weeks to heal. Treat people are nuts if they think I'll stay confined.

Saturday: Sid and Poppy are super nice. Sleeping with treat person. Get supervised break from cone. Get grumpy, but then zzzz.


So, Tom, in keeping with a new tradition I don't like, somehow knocked a heavy planter off the windowsill and fractured his foot. The regular vet couldn't fix it and sent us to the emergency vet who she thought could get him into the attached surgical vet, but couldn't. He got sn appointment for the next day. He's a super sweet boy and doing ok with it, but he clearly is not happy with the situation!

As far as the tradition, when Sid and Poppy were fairly new, they had emergencies too. Poppy swallowed yarn and Sid missed a jump and landed wrong.

Tom will be fine, but everyone is stressed! Poor little guy!
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-11 06:18 pm
Entry tags:

More stuff

Much was done again today. Even a little sewing...
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m_of_disguise ([personal profile] m_of_disguise) wrote2025-07-11 08:22 am

(no subject)

Developed a terrible case of nausea late yesterday afternoon, so my only goal for the evening was to take it easy and do very little. Thankfully, M had a frozen pizza on hand, so he had dinner available whenever he wanted it. Baby went down at a decent hour, so I tried as hard as I could to take it easy on the couch and not irritate my guts. 

We had a power flicker for no damned reason in the mid-afternoon. We haven't even reached our hottest temperatures of the year yet. It seems like every day there's another signal from this apartment that it's time to get out. Just seven more months!

Been poking at the cassock project, and was all geared up to start sketching out the embroidery, when I read on someone's blog (Sibella's maybe?) that it was described in detail in 17th Century Women's Clothing Vol.2. I had looked only at volume 1 when I'd been doing pattern research, so I dug out vol.2 and there it was, with the entire embroidery laid out on the pattern pieces! That makes my job a thousand times easier. There's also a similar, non-embroidered version in the same book, and I like its lines slightly better, so I'm contemplating combining the pattern from that one with the embroidery of the first one. They wouldn't be very different, it's just the non-embroidered one has a collar and cuffs, and a two-part sleeve instead of a one-part. It would push the date slightly into the 17th century instead of being more plausibly late-16thC, but the dates are wiggly enough that I think it'd still be SCA-okay. 

Anyway, the plan is to do a wearable mockup of the pattern so I have something to wear to Baronial College in September if the embroidery isn't finished (which it likely won't be) and aim to have the embroidered one done in time for my "lying in" period at the end of my pregnancy, when no doubt I will end up stuck in the hospital again for a couple of weeks because my body is dumb. That would give me five months to do the embroidery, which seems pretty reasonable if I chip away at it a little bit each night. 

M finally got the email from HR setting up his third interview for the job he's going after. His friend told him to keep his eyes out for a second email sometime between now and the interview, but didn't elaborate on what it could be. M suspects that his potential boss wants to have an informal in-person meeting, but I think he's getting a bit ahead of things. We'll see what unfolds. 

M's birthday is Monday, and he's taken Mon-Tues off for it. I asked him if there's anything he wants to do, but he waffled and said he didn't want to spend a bunch of money. I suggested a few not terribly expensive things he could do, like going to the range for the day or catch a band he likes, or even just going out for a steak, but he was non-committal. I'm sure he'll think of something he wants to do as the day comes around.
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-10 06:42 pm
Entry tags:

Busy day...

More tomorrow...
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m_of_disguise ([personal profile] m_of_disguise) wrote2025-07-10 12:59 pm

(no subject)

Almost forgot to post about it since the amnio took up so much of my brain space recently, but Maintenance finally came and looked at our air conditioner! And, it's completely borked. We told them that when the last few guys had recharged the AC, it had cooled for about 4 hours or so before blowing warm air again. They sent some leak detector stuff through the system and didn't see any leaks outside, which means that the leak is somewhere within the walls. M speculated that the complex would put us up in a hotel while they tore up the walls to fix it (to which I had to stifle the hearty laugh that was trapped in my chest.) Instead, they just marked the service ticket as "resolved" and went on their merry way. So, I think we are without AC for the rest of our time in this apartment. Which, thankfully, will only be until next spring. We've survived so far with our window units, we can keep going the same way until winter. 
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m_of_disguise ([personal profile] m_of_disguise) wrote2025-07-10 08:19 am

(no subject)

Amnio went about as expected. We waited an hour once we arrived for a room to open up. They took my vitals when we first got there, and then sent us back out to the waiting room for a small eternity. Once in the room we waited some more. Then it was lots of ultrasounds to take measurements of all her anatomy, and I got to see her tiny little walnut brain and her crazy alien skull with all its open plates. Very freaky and very cool. 

The procedure went quickly. With Kate they had to poke me twice because she squirmed so much, but this one was more cooperative, even though she was doing backflips on every scan, so I only had to be impaled once. They can't numb you for the procedure, so you just have to endure being stabbed, and man does that suck so, so much. I felt very sore afterward, so we went home and M got us some burgers for lunch, and we all ate together on the couch. 

I am very glad that Chance was able to watch Katie while we were at the appointment! M expected us only to be gone for an hour (lol) and not the three we were actually out. Kate would have been a mess if she'd been with us.

The baby napped after lunch, and so did M. Once M was awake again, he headed out for the evening since Chance was taking him to the movies to see The Thing as a birthday gift. The baby ran around and was in an overall good mood for the rest of the evening. Quick dinner of sausages and cheese, and then she went to bed without fighting me, thank goodness. 

I crawled into bed not long after and watched some TV in the cool bedroom, ate some chocolates, and enjoyed my rest. 
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-09 07:22 pm
Entry tags:

Progress...

The armhole is finished and I started binding the neckline.

Plenty of time! I have until the 30th...
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Katherine's Journal ([personal profile] koshka_the_cat) wrote2025-07-08 09:03 pm
Entry tags:

A little

Seams bound, neckline and armscye pinned down ready for ironing and seam binding, beads bought at a local store.

I still need to come up with a design. Sequins, rhinestones, seed and bugle beads, so I'll come up with something pretty!
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m_of_disguise ([personal profile] m_of_disguise) wrote2025-07-08 08:28 am

(no subject)

Yesterday afternoon was death by a thousand cuts, I tell you what. Everything went just slightly wrong, enough that it built up to a burst of frustration. The sausages from dinner might be spoiled (thankfully they weren't), there are no clean pots, the cat is getting sick while things on the stove need to be watched, the baby is running toward the vomiting cat!, the internet keeps going in and out, I'm on a call with customer service while I need to clean a pot and while the sausages are cooking and the baby is screaming. AUGH. 

Anyway, dinner got made, the internet people are sending a tech out today, and everyone ended up fed and entertained until bedtime. Yeesh. 

Baby fought bedtime, so we had an extra hour cuddle session and then she went down. M went to bed, and I struggled to watch the latest episode of The Gilded Age while the internet cut in an out every 15 minutes. I finally gave up and watched the last 10 minutes on my phone, which I hate doing but I wanted to finish it.

M was still up when I went to bed, so we used his phone as a hotspot to watch a bit of TV before falling asleep. 

Baby was up at the crack of dawn, before my alarm even went off, so I got her up, changed her, we brushed our teeth together, and I made her breakfast. I had to wake M to take over when it was time for me to leave, and he was cranky about it because he had only managed to fall asleep at around 5AM.

Internet tech is coming at 11 today, so I'll likely have a long lunch hour. Hopefully I can get the baby down for a good nap and M can get one, too. 

Amniocentesis is tomorrow morning. Chance is coming over to watch the baby so she doesn't have to see mommy get jabbed with a giant needle. I'll probably take the opportunity to get my bloodwork done afterward since my OB requested it again, and maybe I can get M to spring for going out to lunch together, since we hardly get the chance to do that anymore.