Current Mood : All purple !
Another quiet day. Had to
fill out a form for the Veteran’s Administration, and fact-finding for it – and
re-filing all those papers so they’re not misplaced next time we need ‘em - took
up most of my day. Beloved Hubby had to do the last one, when I was in the
hospital. It’s amazing how far we’ve come in a year.
Unfortunately, we had to
suspend Netflix for a bit, so we watched regular ole TV/cable. Ugh. I hate
Christmas shopping ads. ‘Monday, I found my favorite pre-teen sized pair of
jeans. The next day, I bought this designer purse. Who knows what favorite I’ll
buy next ?!!’ just seems so out-of-place when so many people – us, and most of
our friends - are struggling. The mail, burgeoning with catalogs from places that
really shouldn’t waste their postage on this zip code, is nearly as bad. Sure,
I’m positive *everyone* will want a $1899.99 coffee/cappuccino maker – but for
those on a budget, the $300. ‘Margaritaville’ drink mixer will have to do. (sigh)
And after seeing
approximately six thousand ‘Soda Stream’ ads, I did the math. Using local
prices and estimated usage, I soon realized that it’s not a big money-saver. Counting
just the syrup and carbonators needed, a two-liter bottle of soda would cost
$1.66 to make with a Soda Stream. That doesn’t include shipping, the specialty
bottles, water, or cost of the device itself, which is anywhere from $80. (small)
to $130. (larger). Hmm...with the machine added in, and a couple extra bottles, it'd come to about $1.75 for a 2L. Not sure if it’s the same where you are, but generics (Dr
Whipper) are usually less than a buck for a 2L around here, and fairly often
name-brands (Dr Pepper) go on sale for that, too. Otherwise, most name-brands
are less than $1.50 nearly every day. Ya gotta really like ‘green’ to be
willing to pay more – or don’t have soda bottle recycling in your ‘hood. So now
those ads really annoy me.
Thing is, I’m happy. Sure,
funds are tight, but we’ve plenty of food, we actually *have* cable and DSL in
a nice, warm (if small) apartment, and I have time to sew nearly every day. I
even *like* what I’ve been making, which is new and amazing for me. I confess,
I miss being all thrilled with buying one of the new MH dolls coming out, but really, I’d be buying the thrill, not the
doll. There’s not one of ‘em I truly want. Football season is over, I’m
enjoying three Library books, and we have a kitty ! So these ‘more, more, more !!!’ ads are kind of bugging me.
Especially when it’s in the ‘spirit’ of Christmas.
I’ve gotten to where I don’t
really care about Christmas anymore. It’s become so much about buying and
shopping and less about enjoying and sharing that I can’t work up my old
enthusiasm anymore. If it weren’t for Dearest Son, we probably wouldn’t even
put up that tiny fiber-optic tree, since Beloved’s more sour about it than I
am. Thank Everything Dearest still enjoys it all ! Wonder if I can talk him
into cut-paper snowflakes tomorrow…?
Speaking of Dearest, I
cleared out my former sewing box – now that I have a larger vintage one, the former’s been sitting around untouched –
and re-stocked it with what he’ll need for upcoming sewing lessons. He was
happy, mostly because he now has a home for his pincushion tomato. Plus, he’s
always liked that box. I did, too, it has glitter stars in it, but I just can’t
justify keeping it uselessly when I know of a better use for it !
That made me drag out my current
sewing box – the brown one I got at the flea market – and load it and rework it
a bit. It mostly stores my used patterns, and I had a pile of altered ones to
go inside, but they needed to be scanned first. So I got that done today, too.
Now the desk’s a bit neater, and I’m wondering…what to sew next ?
Decided to try the
Shannanigan sheath dress in UltraSuede – and who better to model than Gloom
Beach Clawdeen ? It really came out nice, but took a little effort. UltraSuede
doesn’t exactly glide under the presser foot, unless it’s lined. And this isn’t,
but I may amend that later. Wouldn’t be hard to add a lining, or stitch up a
simple tube slip.
Tomorrow, GB Cleo gets a
skirt to go with her jacket. I’ve already picked out the pattern !
That dress looks great on Clawdeen.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been in the Christmas shopping mood in years. Everything feels like such a rip-off. Things just aren't made as well as they used to e yet everything costs more and more money. I think sites like eBay where I can often find exactly what I like for the price I want to pay have also made settling for whatever's in stores unappealing. Plus with people now asking you to include the receipt in their gift so they can return it, I don't feel like putting in an effort beyond buying gift cards.