The Wrong Side of the Door

Stuff I want to do with the house

vsapko@gmail.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:05:46 GMT

This is a list of stuff I or my roommates want to do with the house.

1. Paint the office red
2. Move in the office furniture that is in neighbors' basements
3. Get some sort of closet organizing system for the office. I will likely make a list later of what stuff needs to live in that closet so we know what sort of organizing needs to be done.
4. Art/pics on walls.
5. Paint the stairwell to the attic grey.

Electrical work, to be done by my cousin:
6. Move the light switch in the attic so it's actually near the stairs.
7. Put in a second overheard light over Doc's bed with a separate switch, likely on the same switch plate as the first.
8. Put in outlets where Doc has indicated on the walls.
9. Get separate switches for the attics light as much as possible.
10. Put in outlets in the basement. We have 3-4, we need around 12-16. Think four rooms worth of outlets, because that's essentially the size of the basement.
11. Fix the burned out light outside the back door.
12. Get lightbulbs for the front and back outside lights.

13. Knock out part of the unnecessary wall in the attic and put in a closet rod for Doc.
14. Paint the attics, Doc's choice of colors.
15. Put down flooring in the attic.
16. Figure out a way to get heat/AC to the basement. Heat is less crucial since we do have electric heaters on a couple of walls so it won't go below freezing. AC is more crucial so I can sleep during the summer. Unfortunately, the heat does not seem to want to rise from the basement in summer.
17. Put the pavilion into the back of the potter closet.
18. Cover up the potter closet to the cats can't hide there. We have a piece of plywood cut for this purpose, but it should be painted and have some sort of fastening mechanism to keep it from falling over, which it has already done.
19. Put a closet rod in the tall area of the potter closet for garb (this is in front of the covered storage.)
20. Seal the basement concrete.
21. Finish the unfinished basement walls (some are finished.)
22. Paint the basement.
23. Put down flooring in the basement.
24. Get the rest of my furniture and stuff out of storage.

At this point the house will be fully liveable. This is a very long list. I need to go call my cousin...

List of long term dream projects to come later.

Pattern/dressmaking advice

vsapko@gmail.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:20:55 GMT

So I have this lovely Reconstructing History pattern for a 1440s-1480s Burgundian V-neck gown. Anyone out there use this pattern before? Other patterns from this company? General advice?

The one thing about this pattern that makes me think I need another one is that this version is supposed to be fully lined. Knowing my penchant to be too hot in a T-shirt, I probably only want a partially lined version. Also, the fur I have is doc_smiley's extras from shogunhb's Halloween costume. I don't have enough to fully line it, although I could use velvet for most of the lining and piece in the fur. The company has another pattern for the separate fur collars.

I also need to decide how much train this will have. My main purpose for this in the near-term is for retaining for TRH in court. In the long term it will be my court dress, so that when I get a spiffy award I will look totally fab. I need it to not be so long I outdo the princess, nor do I trip over the hem getting her water or handing her a medallion to give away. I also want it to be long enough to be spectacular. This also may be limited to the amount of fabric I have/can afford.

Fabric decisions - I need at least five yards for the gown and five yards for the lining. I think I have two wools that will do that I had in mind for other things, but I can get something else for the other things. However, I might want something a little more fabulous. I am not using the gold velvet even if there is enough left. I have one gold velvet dress, that is enough, thank you. I have some gorgeous purple silk, but it would be too light for this. Also, my linen stash will be too light.

So, fabric shopping may be in order. It may have to take place on a weekday since my next couple of weekends are busy. jtdiii, where was that place with the large room full of silks?

More accomplishments du jour

vsapko@gmail.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:03:13 GMT

1. Folded last load of laundry
2. Put last load of laundry away, plus other clothes from previous laundry days that did not get put away.
3. Put away the recent Gold Key donations.
4. Cooked dinner for five (Greg's RPG was tonight.)
5. Rolled dice and killed monsters.

My to-do list for tomorrow:
1. Load and run dishwasher.
2. Call my cousin - forgot to do so today.
3. Clean first floor.
4. Dragoon - I mean ask for - help cleaning the first floor.
5. Make lists of what I want to do with the house.
6. Remove flamingos from the lawn - unless folks who are planning to be here Saturday would like to see the Halloween flamingos.

Accomplishments du jour

vsapko@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:20:16 GMT

I need to start up the lists of things I accomplish each day again. The hard thing with being unemployed is that it's a summer that never ends. I really need to get things done and have no framework in which to get them done, which is hard for me. Thus I must make the framework.

Sorry for the lack of cut for this, lj won't let me use rich text and I forget the html tag for cuts. Skip reading if you're not interested in the mundania.

1. scooped litter box
2. did 1.5 loads of laundry (1.5 were done last night)
3. folded 2 of 3 loads (one was still in the dryer from last night).
4. put away 2 of 3 loads
5. paid bills
6. checked on storage unit payment - it's fine in spite of my credit card deciding to lower my limit to my current balance.
7. Said balance got a big payment to I'm nowhere near the limit.
8. helped my neighbor put up a shower caddy with my handy hacksaw, earning a beer for my troubles.

I think I need to add eating lunch to the list and thinking of what to make for dinner.

Lists and things

vsapko@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:07:51 GMT

So, since my neighbors are now the Heirs to the Crown,

1. They have chosen the reign of Henry VII, 1485-1509, as their inspiration for their reign and clothing.

2. 1485 is damn close the the nebulous time of my persona, 1460-1480.

3. I have no clothing yet for my persona.

4. I have no excuse any longer for having clothing for my persona.

5. I have this pattern for late 15th century clothing that I bought at GNE.

6. I have a good sized stash of linen and linen blend fabrics, if they're suitable.

7. My roommate has fake fur he may wish to unload.

8. I think I'll be making a dress in a time period vaguely suitable to my persona and the upcoming reign.

9. I'm going to need help. The most complicated things I've sewn so far are T-tunics with trim and contrasting facing and a sideless surcoat that required some serious mental geometry, but not very complicated sewing.

10. I'm terrible at handsewing. Funny, because I'm pretty good at embroidery. Hopefully I can machine sew most of it.

The next few lists are things I want under an lj cut, but I don't rememer the html code for them and my Very Old Computer seems to not want to allow me the option of rich text editing. Thus they will be in separate posts that will more easily allow people to skip over them.

I have a cat napping on either side of me.

vsapko@gmail.com — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:02:56 GMT

Based on the many posts occuring recently I have written the following letter to my elected state officials. I have edited it slightly so that I can post it publicly. Feel free to borrow all or some of the language herein to write to your own elected officials. Also, since I'm making this public, feel free to send along a link to this post. Since many of you live in MA, you can use this site to find your elected state officials. You can also use it to find out where to vote next week. If anyone wants to use other translations of the Bible, there are bunches available here. By the way, also from reading the Bible, I don't think that homosexuality is immoral, but that's the subject of another post.

Greetings to my elected state public officials,

I vote. Most of my friends vote. One item many of us are concerned with right now is the fact that propositions banning gay marriage are on the ballot in several other states. Because of this, many people are posting the following sentence in their blogs: "Copy this sentence into your LiveJournal if you're in a heterosexual marriage, and you don't want it "protected" by the bigots who think that gay marriage hurts it somehow." Most of these people are residents of [state], some of these people are also residents of [city], and some of whom are in my precinct. I hope they also write to you on this issue.

While I am not married, I may get married someday, and I am heterosexual. I see no way that my marriage could be hurt by someone else's marriage. What will sanctify my marriage is how my husband and I treat each other, not whether others are allowed to marry or not. In addition, marriage confers many rights and privileges that should be available to all people, regardless of whom they wish to marry. The virtue of the financial and legal benefits I will gain upon marriage will be lessened if they are not enjoyed by all couples.

I am a Christian. I also read the Bible, and when I read 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 (New International Version), it says "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside." From reading this, I believe that it is immoral for me to judge people who do not believe the same way I do by denying them rights because I disagree with their morals. I also base my stance on passages such as Matthew 7:1-3, Luke 6:37-38, and Romans 2:1-3.

For these reasons I ask you to make a stand for equal rights for all people, no matter what personal disagreement you have with them.

[Signature]

[Mailing Address]

RIP Patricia Sapko Zielinsky 1932-2008

vsapko@gmail.com — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:11:01 GMT

I just got back from having a beer in the closest neighborhood bar. Unfortunately, it wasn't for my birthday, it was in memory of my Aunt Patty. She passed away this morning from lung cancer. The reason I had a beer in a neighborhood bar in her memory was that she owned and operated a neighborhood bar for years. This, of course, was back when women didn't own businesses, much less work outside the home, especially when they were married with six kids. She had to rip a few men a new one in order to get them to do business with her, but she successfully took over the bar from my grandfather and ran it for decades until she decided to retire. She was a fantastic cook, and still found time to cook for her kids, grandkids, and church bake sales, where her signature baked goods commanded premium prices and went fast. I'm not sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if my mother got the spaghetti sauce recipe that I'm making tonight from her. I know for sure that we got our family lasagne recipe from her, a recipe that the Italians who worked with my uncle thought was better than their wives'. My aunt ran a business full-time while still caring for a physically abusive husband and six children, one of whom has a mental disability because my aunt was abused while pregnant. However, the regulars at the bar are the ones responsible for the fact that my cousin can now hold down a job. When my aunt had an emergency and had to leave my cousin in charge of the bar, the regulars helped her total orders, make change, and operate the cash register. After my uncle died, my aunt got engaged soon after to an old flame, but he passed away of a heart attack before they were married. Afterwards my aunt found a boyfriend whom she dated but never married, as her remarriage would cause her to lose her first husband's pension, without which they would not be able to afford to live. I'm sure I'll see my pseudo-uncle at the funeral on Saturday. With him my aunt travelled all over the US after she retired.

She never was able to go to college, she lived through abusive situations, but she accomplished remarkable things with what she had. Patty Zielinsky deserves to rest in peace. Please raise a glass for her (or a bottle or can, she wasn't fancy) at a neighborhood bar in her memory.

With friends like these...

vsapko@gmail.com — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:44:21 GMT

So first I was addicted to the white jigsaw puzzles that rufinialinked to in her lj, and now I'm addicted to nonograms that etheriallinked to in a comment to one of my earlier posts. So that I might share the addiction, here it is:

http://www.puzzle-nonograms.com/

vsapko@gmail.com — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:09:55 GMT

Help please?

I am trying to install a new game on my computer, since I now have time to play. (All grades turned in as of 2:30pm yesterday.) Unfortunately, I cannot get the setup program to actually run. Well, it seems to start to run, but no windows appear and nothing happens. It does seem to appear in the list of processes, but never mazkes it to the list of tasks. One time when I restarted the computer to try to get this to work, it had the setup appear on the bottom bar half a dozen times, or however many times I had tried to start it. Any suggestions?

In addition, my computer does not seem to want to talk to the internet now. This is after multiple restarts and doing all the usual things that get it to talk to the internet when it's being recalcitrant. Then, you may ask, how am I posting this? Ah, the beauty of a work laptop. If all else fails, I will install the game on this, but I really want it on my computer. After all, the work computer will go back to them eventually.

I really don't want to buy a new computer yet. I know, it's about that time, but I want to put it off some more if possible.

EDIT: internet is working on my computer now, I forgot the tweak of turning the wireless modem off and on. The setup still isn't working, so switching to work laptop for the attempt.

vsapko@gmail.com — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 20:53:50 GMT

Apologies for the x-post.

Since dance practice is now on hiatus until January, and with the irony that I am now finally able to go, I would like to propose a couple of social nights in place of dance practice for the next two weeks. For next week let's meet at my apartment (directions and info on request, I'm in the Liber but parking is difficult so get the directions.) For the week after, if someone has a great idea for a place to go/thing to do/wants to host, suggest it! I'm more than happy to host again, but want to let others have a shot at it (besides, there's no parking here.) So, next Wednesday, December 26th at 7:30pm, meet at my place in Waltham. We can listen to dance music, watch a movie, chat, or generally eat, drink and be merry. Bring holiday leftovers that you would like other people to help you eat.

Kick some Ball

vsapko@gmail.com — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:11:35 GMT

The place kicker for the Framingham State Rams football team is a woman, one of only two playing NCAA Division III football. How awesome!

vsapko@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 13:36:38 GMT

Happy Birthday pisicutsa!!

Watching Paint Dry

vsapko@gmail.com — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 23:27:23 GMT

Yes, it's that time again, the time when I alternate between being bored to death and being incredibly busy. It's test time. I gave a stats test yesterday, graded it yesterday and today, I'm giving the test to the night class right now, and tomorrow I give one to the College Algebra classes. Since I'm done grading stats, I have nothing to do while my students ~~squirm~~ take their test. I will madly grade algebra tomorrow night in an attempt to get the tests back to them the next day, but I'm not holding my breath. They'll get it Friday. I'm now wondering if I need to use a larger multiplier for gauging the time it will take this class to finish their test. I finished in about 7 minutes and they have an hour. Maybe I should cut questions to get the time down to 6 minutes for me in the future. 50 minutes have now passed and only 4 out of 12 have turned in the test. Make that 5. 6. 7. Well, maybe the multiplier I have is fine. Only 3 still working. Now to read the book for my book group. It's a teaching book group, so it's for work.

I want to exchange bacteria colonies with you

vsapko@gmail.com — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:00:46 GMT

The new thing I learned today is that an average of 275 bacteria colonies are exchanged in a kiss. Well, that's motivational.

vsapko@gmail.com — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 11:01:48 GMT

Oh , the other thing I was going to post is that I'm on ravelry now! That means nothing to most of you, but something to a few of my flist. My username there is based on my mundane name. I've already added tpau and knitprincess as friends. And I found out that there's a book coming out in December on Mathematical Knitting! It's written by a couple of people I've met at math conferences. They run a so-called knitting but in actuality a general craft network for mathematicians. That's funny, because I was just commenting to a colleague that I want to learn how to knit a torus, and there's a pattern for one in the book.

vsapko@gmail.com — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:14:58 GMT

So my post for today was going to be a copy of the last email that my best friend sent me with names deleted to protect the guilty. However, she started an lj account today!!! Give a big welcome to reggary! She lives in Northshield and is just getting into the SCA. I'm infecting someone...

So I guess that leaves me with nothing to post, other than that I'm still not feeling entirely well. That's mostly cured by not eating, but at this point I'm sick of being hungry, especially when I feel okay otherwise. And the downside of eating happens the next morning, so it's hard not to eat. I think next I will eat something I usually crave during illnesses like this, pear juice. Oh yeah, with canned pears, because that's the only way to buy pear juice in Hannaford's.

vsapko@gmail.com — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 01:50:05 GMT

I flatly refused to bring work home today. Not that I really needed to, as nothing needs to be done for tomorrow. I do need more recovery time, as I probably wasn't quite 100% back after yesterday. I'll be back in the swing tomorrow. I'm even on top of things right now, and may even have time to start reading the paper I'm refereeing. So far I'm just working on locating copies of the references. This, of course, will change by 1:30pm Monday, when I finish giving the first of three tests for the week. Sigh.

vsapko@gmail.com — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:31:59 GMT

I hate it when lj eats my posts.

I felt sick, so I left work early. What seemed like a minor intestinal complication earlier, solvable by a bathroom trip or two, is now accompanied by temperature fluctuations and nausea. Since I do not want to throw up in class, I am home. I'm off to rest.

Still batting .000

vsapko@gmail.com — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:36:08 GMT

And I'm not talking about the Sox. Next!

(Although I have to admit, that has to be the nicest refusal I've had yet, although another is a close runner up.)

vsapko@gmail.com — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:05:02 GMT

Thanks to those who offered sympathies for my last post. Things are better, although I don't want to keep using work to make it better. I don't want to end up like the workaholics I know. However, with the extra class, that might have to be the temporary solution, at least until Christmas. I may be able to do something about the love life, but it's a depressing thought. And terrifying. I am a complete bundle of nerves thinking about hinting, or flirting or outright asking someone out. Of course, is there anyone who isn't, at least with the last part? Oh, wait, I had an ex-boyfriend who did it like breathing, but he's the exception. Anyway, the last hint I put out was either missed or is being politely ignored. Sigh. As soon as I can muster up the courage I'll get more obvious.

What really set me off about my father yesterday is that I got a save-the-date letter in the mail to my uncle's 70th birthday party. A little over a year ago we were sending out similar ones for my father's 75th, and he died just after that. We hadn't gotten the last few addresses yet. I can completely understand why Uncle Skip and his family are doing this now. They want to celebrate him while they still have him, since neither of his brothers made it to 75 (Uncle Rich was still in his 50s, right before I finished my doctorate.) We had to turn the birthday party into a memorial. I will almost certainly go, in spite of the fact that I'll be in Kansas City a month earlier for the AP Calculus Reading. I got really close to Uncle Skip while I was in grad school, and now that I live so far away I hardly ever see him.

Now I need to head off to work. I've finished everything that can be done at home, and have done so faster than I thought, which is good. I have a huge list that needs to get done in the next couple of days, and tomorrow I'm helping outlanderwith her knitting class. tpauis helping out too, which will make three adults with 16 kids. Maybe we'll have enough teachers. Still, it's time away from the long to-do list. I may be going in early both tomorrow and Thursday.

vsapko@gmail.com — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 22:48:04 GMT

I still miss my father, and some days when I'm depressed about my love life and work simultaneously, like today, it all comes out. I miss him, and that will never go away. It will get better, it has for the past year, but when one too many things reminds me of him, and in the book I'm reading the main character is remembering the loss of her father, I'm back on the airplane, wishing I could read, or sleep, or watch the movie, and trying, but not able to do much to stop the pit of horror in my stomach.

Of course, it doesn't help when each fear and depressing thought feed on each other. I need to go do something constructive about one of these things, and work seems like the only one that might be productive. So I'll work, and hopefully I won't be too stuffed up from Quire when the time comes to go to Quire later. One of the most depressing thoughts of the day, however, is that I will likely have to stop attending both Quire and dance from now until the end of this semester. The extra class is taking at least 8 more hours of my week, and they need to come from somewhere. Sigh.

vsapko@gmail.com — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:58:52 GMT

I think the exploding dish episode drove the thoughts of lines from Yours, Mine and Ours from my head, but there is one in particular I like: "It was a typical wedding. Enemies of the bride on the right, enemies of the groom on the left."

It is, however, interesting to note the changes in social mores that can happen in nearly forty years. Most people, other than hard core Catholics and certain other groups, are perfectly okay with birth control. How, then, am I friends with four couples who all decided to use natural family planning? Only one friend in that bunch married a Catholic. Granted, all are staunch Christians of various flavors. All had a baby right around their first anniversary. Big surprise there. When I last saw my friend A., she had been married less than three years, had a not-quite-two-year-old in tow, and was eight months pregnant. She told me she wasn't ready to be a mother. I have to echo Madeleine Love in Y,M&O, "I'm glad I'm careful." I'm rather glad I haven't had a child with any of the men in my past. I like having the option open to have kids or not.

vsapko@gmail.com — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:42:01 GMT

outlanderis currently making dinner. We will have swiss and mushroom veggie burgers. I am posting, etc. while she does so, because we were in the middle of watching a movie when we decided it was dinner time. Usually she cooks dinner for both of us on Mondays and I do on Thursdays.

Well, that was a bit of drama. o took the burgers out of the oven, set them down, and the glass dish they were in shattered. o is uninjured, I am uninjured, the cats are uninjured. Only the veggie burgers died. We are now having noodles and mushrooms for dinner. We have thoroughly swept and vacuumed the kitchen floor and examined all uncovered food.

I really don't like this emergency-happens-while-I'm-posting-to-lj thing that I seem to have going this year. First S's seizure, now this. No more of this!

Anyway, the original reason I wanted to post is that we are in the middle of watching one of my favorite movies, the original Yours, Mine and Ours. Yep, the Peter Fonda and Lucille Ball one, not the Dennis Quaid and Renee Russo one. Actually, I've never seen that one, and I suppose I should, but I love the original. However, dinner is ready, so I'll post some of my favorite quotes later.

vsapko@gmail.com — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:29:50 GMT

Wow, I'm tired. I'm still pretty much wiped from yesterday. I woke up in the middle of the night, checked email, read lj, and posted about yesterday, and went back to bed. I didn't get up until after 11. This, of course, meant that there was no way I was getting to thrown weapons practice today. I had breakfast, baked a cake, and graded statistics, which took about an hour longer than I had anticipated. And that was with only 18 out of 29 students handing in the assignment. Now it's too late for tw. Or for people at tw eating the cake, so there's more for me. I'm thinking nap. I'm tired.

vsapko@gmail.com — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 10:52:56 GMT

It was a very long, very tiring, and very thoroughly delightful day yesterday. I went on jtdiii's fabric store crawl, which hit four fabric stores, dim sum and a knitting store between 10 and 5:30. There was also a great deal of great conversation and beautiful fall foliage along the way. I haven't laughed that much in a while. I managed to restrain myself well and only came home with 7 yards of linen and 5 yards of stuff that I forget what it's called, but will become the insides of a hat, the part that makes it stand up right. Oh, and size 0 dpns and some sock yarn. Which I promptly started knitting with in the van. I need a more portable knitting project, as the sampler is starting to get rather big and the knitting project after that is a sweater. I wore my newest pair of handknit socks and wasn't too terribly princess-and-the-pea about them. I could feel stitches under my feet, but they didn't really hurt and there were no red bumps on the bottom of my feet when I pulled them off at the end of the day. I could, however, see the stitch pattern on the top of one foot and the other ankle and instep. I suppose that means no more fancy stitch patterns on socks. Bring on the cool sock yarn instead. I'm not terribly displeased with that idea. A woman at Fabric Place told me that I should start purling the soles to put the smoother side of the fabric on the inside of the sock. I will do that with this pair. I need to figure out what that will mean for turning the heel. I hope having the purl bumps on the outside won't make the socks wear out faster.

Other cool items of the day: outlanderand I bought a dishwasher earlier this week, and it was delivered yesterday morning. She then proceeded to wash three loads, including most of the dishes in the house. I came home to a kitchen that smelled like dishwashing soap. For those of you who have seen our kitchen, it does fit. Not well, but it fits. jtdiii and I had dinner at the Elephant Walk. That was terribly yummy. I had salad deliberately so I could fit in desert, and couldn't even finish the salad. With the desert, Marjolaine, I was stuffed. Oh, but it was worth it. I'll be good today, I promise. Then jtdiii made a pattern for my hat. I need to get started on a mockup for that out of scrap fabric, because I really don't have enough of the good stuff to mess it up. I won't have enough time to get it finished by Falling Leaves as I originally hoped, but I have plenty of time before Frosty Revels Ball.

It was such a yummy day, on multiple levels.