"The Best Twenty-five of twenty-five," part I

For this last week of twenty-five, I would like to take some time to highlight some events or discoveries that might not have gotten much--if any--mention on this blog, but nevertheless played a formative or otherwise interesting role my last year of life. Each day, for the next five days, I will highlight five "Best Ofs" from my twenty-fifth year, comprising, altogether, "The Best Twenty-five of twenty-five."

Here goes:

1. The best birthday gift

This is way hard to choose, actually, because I had so many amazing birthday presents last year! Ashley Jones gave me a skirt that I love and the best key cover ever. I got a beautiful sweater and some great books from my sisters. And Josiah, in his usual custom, gave a hand-made greeting card, complete with personalized coupons to be redeemed for special outings and fun activities. In the end, I guess I have to say that Josiah's present would be the best, because there's no greater gift than time.

2. The best (and by "best," I mean worst) near-death experience

I'm not exaggerating. I really could have died. Back in September, when Josiah, Jared, and I took a two-night backpacking trip in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, the weather was less than kind to us. The first morning, it started to drizzle. With hopes of climbing nearby Madera Peak, we eyed the sky hopefully all day, casting furtive glances at the southern horizon, where dark clouds persistently loomed over the mountain tops.

Finally, at mid afternoon, the clouds in the south still showing no immediate intention to move our direction, we decided to just go for it. Armed with water and snacks, we began to scale the steep, granite slope. Once we cleared the tree line, the going became especially difficult, with loose rock shards slipping out from under us as we climbed higher and higher, our gaze remaining cautiously on the clouds in the south, ready to detect the slightest hint of threat.

A clap of thunder sounded so loud and so close you could feel it in the ground. Immediately, we realized our folly: we had been watching the clouds in the south so intently, we had entirely failed to notice the storm advancing on us rapidly from the north! We were absolutely exposed and standing on the side of one of the tallest mountain peaks in the vicinity, nothing but loose granite beneath our feet.

Fully aware that a scraped knee or even a twisted ankle would be preferable to being struck by lightning, we began to descend as quickly as possible, running and sometimes sliding down hillsides of sharp stones. As incautiously as we hurried, however, we were no match for the rolling black clouds, which advanced on us rapidly, releasing terrifying cracks of lightning. I moved as fast as I could, but both Jared and Josiah were far ahead of me. The clouds were finally right overhead. And then I was passing trees and shrubs and, as the rain began to fall, my hiking boots touched soft dirt, and I knew I was probably going to live.

3. The best thing I got in the mail

A letter from a student in Japan.

4. The best job

I genuinely loved working for UPS in December. I never thought it would be possible to love a job and occasionally, specifically on the days that it rained, it could be a little bit miserable. But I loved the feeling of working hard and doing something physically exerting while being outdoors and interacting with lots of different people in a positive setting all day. What was there not to love?

5. The best thing I crocheted

In late 2010 and early 2011, I crocheted several fun little things of which I was quite proud, but my favorite would have to be this guy right here.

He's an iPod sleeve.

This is my Brain on Harry Potter

I'm not sure if the fact that I hold a degree in English Literature should make me feel more or less apologetic about my love of the Harry Potter books. I've always attempted to justify myself by categorizing them as a "guilty pleasure." However, for the sake of getting through this post, I'm setting the guilt aspect aside and focusing, at least for tonight, on the pleasure.

I'm as excited for the July 15 as any Harry Potter lover. Despite the fact that the last two films have been, in my opinion, unsatisfying, the hype surrounding the end of the film saga and my sentimental allegiance to the story itself are enough to make me completely overlook any shortcomings in the film adaptations. It doesn't matter how much they botch up essential plot elements in favor of gratuitous make-out scenes or how wince-inducing the acting may be at times; I still love it, and I'll still pay whatever they charge to attend one of the midnight screenings.

Here is a picture of my sister, Lindsay, and me, getting ready to leave the house on the evening of November 18, 2010:

In preparation for July 15, I've been rereading the series. I'm in the middle of book four, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, right now. Since the plot no longer holds any mysteries for me as it did the first time around, I'm more than ever drawn into J. K. Rowling's magical world. I'm enchanted and inspired. I want to bring a little bit of the wizarding world to my own mundane life, and I've been thinking up a few ways to make that happen.

For instance, the Weasley family's clock, mentioned the first time in book four, sounds like it could translate very nicely into a fun craft project. But I figured that I wasn't the first person to have that notion, so I did a quick Google search and, sure enough, someone devised a real-life family "clock" that would update the whereabouts of his family members according to his Twitter updates.



Wow. I'm not going to do anything that involved (like I even could), but I may still try a hand at my own interpretation. My version would probably focus more on appearance than functionality (although the one above obviously does an excellent job on both counts).

And, of course, there are a countless number of recipes on the Web aimed at imitating magical food items mentioned in one or more of the books. Certainly not the least appealing of these are the recipes for butterbeer. The standout recipe that I've come across so far has been this one, mostly because it's a real Tudor butterbeer recipe that actually contains both butter AND beer. Judging from the list of ingredients, I'd say there's about an equal chance of it being either surprisingly yummy or downright gross. But I guess we'll just have to try it out and see.

Well, there you have it. I'll continue to contemplate ways to translate inspiring items from the wizarding world into real-life fun and keep you posted if my contemplations lead to anything interesting. And, if this confession of my love of Harry Potter has in fact caused you to lose some respect for me, then...

Obliviate!

Check out banner, Michael!

In just one week, Lindsay and Michael are getting married! Mike has been like a brother to me for years now and I'm overjoyed that he is finally going to be part of my family.

I'm also having a grand old time creating gilding, garnish, and assorted knick-knackery to decorate the house for the reception. I've already made yards of button garlands for adorning doorways, bookshelves, and table ends. And I'm in the process of making mini banners--bearing captions such as "Welcome," "Hooray For Love," and "Toilet"--to hang in various places throughout the house.

I'm looking forward to sharing more of my crafting creations for the wedding after the big day.

Charlotte's Elephant

I made a little elephant and gave it to an old friend from church who is expecting her first child--a girl--at the end of this month. I hope that baby Charlotte will enjoy snuggling with it as much as I did for the two short days that I had it in my possession.

Organization

Yesterday my mother and I spent literally the entire day shopping. To some this may sound like fun and, actually, for a little while, it is. But my mom approaches shopping as one might approach the Iron Man triathlon: as soon as you're finished with one shop, power through to the next; no breaks until we've hit every last thrift store and consignment shop in the North Park/University Heights/Normal Heights and Point Loma sectors of the city of San Diego. Around mid-afternoon, when I realize that we're skipping lunch, it ceases to be a pleasurable outing with my mom and becomes a brutal task we must carry out to its bitter end.

We were searching for a dresser. Lindsay laid claim to the one in my room months ago, intending to move it into her future married-person apartment; and since she and her fiancé had, as of last week, found a place, it was time for me to procure a new receptacle to hold my clothes and loose papers.

It was at our final stop for the evening--the Salvation Army in Point Loma--that I at last spied a piece of furniture that that got passing marks across the board in appearance, functionality, and price. At this point in the evening, it was difficult to tell if I was simply at last settling for something that was no more outstanding than half a dozen other dressers I had looked at that day. Still, the dresser was paid for and my mom and I returned to the shop today to pick it up. It's now sitting beside me as I type these words, and I must say I'm tremendously pleased with this purchase. Its ample drawer space has solved all my former storage problems and it's just a solid, attractive piece of furniture.

Finally being able to store in drawers some items that, for the past four months, had been sitting in brown paper bags at the foot of my bed, inspired me to get even more organized in ways that I've never been organized before. I made a rack to hold and display my earrings, a vast improvement on the clump they'd been sitting in in a bag for the last five years.

Wrap Wars

A few days ago, as I was passing by the family Christmas tree, I noticed that my sister Lindsay had already wrapped and placed a few packages 'neath its branches.



What? And Christmas still nearly two weeks away? I hadn't anticipated seeing her fall into formation so early. Armed with saved scraps of paper, yarn, and jingle bells, I immediately retaliated with a few maneuvers of my own.







After that, there was a long period of silence. No new parcels were placed under the tree. It seemed my tactics had prevailed. Then, without warning, Lindsay broke out the heavy artillery.



I threw up the white flag and retreated to my craft box...I mean, bunker...to regroup for next year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wedding Shower Invites

These are the postcard invitations that my sister Ashley and I created for Lindsay and Mike's wedding shower. Ashley and I devoted nearly the entire day to gathering materials for and then assembling the cards. Was it worth it? The jury is still out.

Cute little box --> cute little pincushion

Inspiration: tin can pincushion.

Materials:
a cute little box I had but didn't know what to do with
a small scrap of fabric
polyester stuffing
hot glue gun

Results:

We're going to slice a face on his belly!

The grass is always greener on the other side. Unless, of course, you live in San Diego and the grass is insipidly lush all year round. But in Japan right now, I know that the leaves on the ginko trees are turning a stunning yellow. And that knowledge, paired with the gloomy-rainy weather we've been having in Southern California the last few days, puts me in a happy, autumny mood.

It was in such spirits that I took a paring knife in hand this evening and went to work on a lovely sized pumpkin with a perfectly gnarled stem. Lindsay sat beside me at the kitchen table, working magic on her own bulbous gourd. The results were two gnomish visages, appropriately reflective of Lindsay and my respective styles. Dad was able to guess whose is whose right away. Can you? (*answer below)


And now I sit, enjoying handfuls of freshly roasted pumpkin seeds, the delightful aroma of which has filled the kitchen and living room. The only thing missing from this picture is a mug of steaming mulled wine, an omission which is scheduled to be remedied tomorrow evening.

Happy autumn, all!

*Jack-o-lanterns: the aghast one on the left is mine; the inanely pleased one on the right is Lindsay's.

That's hat.

As I finished up the somewhat disappointing third season of Heroes on Netflix (I haven't surfed the Nets to gather common sentiments on the subject, but the story line is starting to feel a bit bumbly; that whole story about Angela's sister was boring and mostly pointless), I also finished up another little crochet project that I've been slowly working on for the last few weeks, this banded, buttoned, crochet hat.


The pattern I followed can be found here, though I did end up making a few minor adjustments on account of the fact that I was running out of yarn. Nevertheless, I'm very pleased with the results and hoping to make some further modifications that will translate into a line of Christmas gifts.

I've just remembered that I had some library books due today and I'm presently dashing off to return them!

Praise for "twenty-five"

Danica says, "Your blog is darling, darling! Please don't stop!"

Ashley says, "this is great!"

Returning from a nearly three-week hiatus, I'm proud to share a recently completed creation, this "beary cuddly iPod case."


Last Thursday I returned to San Diego after a two-week road trip up to the California Central Coast and Valley. Coming home after spending so much time in the constant presence of good friends is a bit of a bummer. I found myself in love with every place I visited, planning out how I could move there and what type of apartment I would try to rent. San Francisco, Napa, Davis...even the "Cowboy Capital of the World," Oakdale...all charmed me beyond expectation. Some photos from the trip can be viewed here, but below are a few of my favorites from the road.

Amigurumi Inspiration

The Christmas after I learned how to crochet is one I still feel a bit embarrassed about: it was the year that all my friends and family got ugly, ill-fitting hats as gifts. I was nineteen.

With time and practice, my crochet skills improved and I got a little more imaginative with my creations, but everything I made was rather functional; I never dabbled in the construction of toys.

This amigurumi panda inspired me to change all that. I started a project yesterday and, though I'm unfortunately not ready to post a picture of a finished product quite yet, I'm sure that that photo, once it does come, will be darling. Though, regrettably, probably not as darling as this panda, because my bear actually doubles as an iPod case (I'm sorry! I can't seem to get past the notion that everything I make must be functional!).

Maybe if my friends would just have more babies, I would be inspired to make some toys. Meanwhile, I'm sort of fixated on all these iPod case ideas I've come up with in the last couple days. Spoiler alert: many cute pictures of unique, adorable iPod cases are coming soon.