As you can tell, I’m back from Scotland. It’s been an eventful few days, so bear with me while I gather my thoughts (and catch up at work). I will give you an update eventually.
Category: Little Voices archive entries
Goodbye, Friday Five
So. The end of the Friday Five. You’re right, Heather, we’ve seen it coming. Which makes it no less sad, though the putting to rest is perfectly understandable.
Good luck with whatever you now get up to.
Worst ever
Via Tinka: Blender’s 50 Worst Artists in Music History
I own God Shuffled his Feet, I think. I can’t remember having listened to it more than once, though. Otherwise, there is the odd hit on compilation CDs (The Living Years on one called “Songs of Heaven”, for example), but no more whole albums. I wouldn’t mind a Michael Bolton’s greatest hits if I could get one without Georgia On My Mind and Sitting at the Dock of the Bay, but I suspect that’s going to be a hard one to find (I know the rest of his hits are cheesy and terrible, but I like cheesy and terrible).
Sew little time
The discussion over at Theresa’s reminded me that I really, really need to get a grip and fix the remaining bits on my bunad. It’s been untouched since I wore it 17th May last year, I’ve been meaning to fix the last little bits, but you know how it is. However, I’m supposed to be wearing it at the Aberlour dinner next Friday, and we’re leaving for Scotland Thursday, so I only have a week and a half now.
Now, it is wearable as is (as you can see from the pictures), but there are two problems. One is that the hooks on the skirt are in the wrong position, so that it’s actually too wide, also, I ought to have hooks fastening the skirt to the bodice – it’ll look better that way. The second problem is a bit more involved. The bunad used to belong to my grandmother, who is 25-ish centimetres shorter than me and the shirt is therefore too tight around the neck and way too short in the sleeves. Problem with this is that to fix it I need more material… I’ve found some which is almost right, the same weight and feel but a slightly different colour. So I’m thinking I need to take some material from the body of the shirt to extend the arms and the collar and use the new material to elongate the body of the shirt (it’s too short as it is anyway). The part that’s a slightly different colour will then be hidden (mostly) by the bodice and the alteration should not be noticeable. However, this involves a bit of work. Will I have time to finish it by Thursday next week? If I can’t finish it, it would be better not to start, as the first thing to do would be to take the shirt apart and I can hardly wear a shirt that is in pieces to the dinner.
I suppose I’ll just have to get cracking. After all, Martin’s mum made his whole Kystdrakt (in which he looks simply delicious, btw) from scratch since this autumn – surely I can manage a couple of relatively simple alterations in a week?
The Queen of Procrastination. Me, that is.
Addendum: It appears life is treating me a little too well at the moment, with the result that I’ve put on an inch or so around the waist. So, hurrah, hurrah, there is no need to move the hooks after all. Blessings come in strange disguises…
Wile E. viruses
This morning I got a virus mail at work – the first I can remember receiving at that address. The apparent sender is “abuse@gov.us” and the subject is “Illegal Website” which makes one curious enough (though wary) to read the message:
You have visited illegal websites. I have a big list of the websites you surfed.
The attachment, of course, is not a list but a virus (removed, it must be said, in case you were getting worried here, by the virus scan). Although there are several obvious signs that people ought to pick up on (gov.us? two-line e-mail? wouldn’t a four-page writ be more likely if it was a legit message?), this is definitely in the top-five wiley virus messages list.
B right
Monday. Again. So, madness:
Pick a letter; any letter………Got one?
Uhm. B ok?
Ok, for the following questions, each of your answers must begin with the letter you chose…….Have fun!! =)
1. If you were limited to 3 things to pack for an overnight trip, what would you pack?
Book, brush and bon-bons (well, chocolate, really, but that doesn’t start with b, does it?)
2. What 3 things would you pack in your picnic basket?
Bread, butter and black olives.
3. What are 3 things you’d rather do than go to work?
Blade, bake and, well, bonk…
4. Name 1 song.
Beauty and the Beast
5. Name 1 movie.
Beauty and the Beast (that’s almost cheating, I know)
Colourful
‘What color is your favorite…….’
1. Vegetable Orange
2. Beverage Clear (no alchohol) or amber (alchohol)
3. Room Yellow
4. Outfit Black and purple
5. Mood Rose-tinted
6. Season Red, orange and yellow
7. Fruit Yellow
8. Dessert Brown
9. Pair of shoes Black
10. Color… I’m not even sure I have a favourite colour, actually. Sea-green might be one.
Well, now
So the big three-oh has come and gone. I am now a thirty-something instead of a twenty-something. It doesn’t really feel much different, which is almost a disappointment. The extended weekend was wonderful. A good time was had by all. Well, at least I had a good time and no one else complained in my presence, so I assume a good time was had by all.
In the absence of existencial angst at the relatively big occasion, I thought the least I could do was contemplate some lists of things that other people feel I ought to have accomplished by now.
50 things to do before you’re 30 – I’ve done 8. 9 if it counts if you weren’t actually at home when setting out for the weekend break. Uh, hang on, 10… Number 15: I got a court order for not paying my council tax while in Telford. Problem is, I didn’t actually get the initial bills, so I’m not sure that counts either.
Things to do before you’re 30. Well, I’ve certainly been broke enough to rejoice at finding a fifty-pence piece. In fact, I think I’ve fulfilled most of Libby Purves’ advice, except informing “a total stranger that you really, really value them because you love all mankind, right?” I don’t love all mankind. Not even when I’m pissed out of my head. The rest of the article seems to be either too silly (“own a ferrari”?) or too worthy. I do wish I’d interrogated my grandmother before she died, but that has nothing to do with turning 30 – she died when I was 20.
Meme
1: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
“sure I must have one. I was silent.”
2: Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
My curtains
3: What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Coyote Ugly, last night.
4: WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what time it is:
Uhm, about ten to two, pm?
5: Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
13:49
6: With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
Clock ticking.
7: When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
I was at work this morning – this is a half-day.
8: Before you came to this web site, what did you look at?
The NMWL forums
9: What are you wearing?
A black velvet top and sloggis.
10: Did you dream last night?
Probably, but nothing I can remember.
11: When did you last laugh?
At work, when Fride suggested we rig the wine lottery.
12: What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Most of the walls are covered in shelves containing books and cupboards containing whisky. The rest is covered in various photographs and paintings. There’s one oil by Molly Cormick which is particularly nice.
13: Seen anything weird lately?
Duh. The world is weird.
14: What is the last film you saw?
Coyote Ugly
16: If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
Champagne, to celebrate. Though I just bought some today, so if I become a multi-millionaire by tomorrow morning I would be able to open one of those to celebrate. I’d buy a house, probably, and a flat for my brother.
17: Tell me something about you that I don’t know.
The middle finger on my right hand is about one centimetre longer than the middle finger on my left hand. Now isn’t that exciting?
18: If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Right now I think I’d change it so that I didn’t have to go to work every day, though that might just mean I really need these next few days off.
19: Do you like to dance?
Yes, as long as it’s “proper” dancing – not just standing around on a dancefloor trying to dance to the Top 40.
20: George Bush: is he really doing Dick Cheney?
What? Bush is doing Dick Cheney? Why hasn’t anyone told me?
21a: Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her?
I used to want to call her Emma, but that’s now one of teh most popular girls’ names in Norway, so that’s out. I have a few ideas, but I’m not going to say them out loud in case people somehow listen to me and I suddenly find they’re on the top ten.
21b: Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?
See a, except I used to want to call him Martin, but that’s now off because I plan on calling the father Martin…
22: Would you ever consider living abroad?
I have. Whether I would again rather depends on where abroad.