right now

right now

Apr 12, 2011

Warning!

... if you're going to hang laundry on the line, do it before you wash it!

Ah, the fresh spring air...

This is one day's worth of pollen!


Probably time to refill the wiper fluid


Ah, the fresh spring air... make sure you close your vents!


This might make you cringe... but these are all allergy meds!  Hubby's on the left, the kids' on the right, we've done raw honey for 5 years but it just wasn't doing much of anything by itself sadly, we even switched the type of honey (meaning the type of plants the bees were on), and so far I've only allowed myself the eye drops in the front, but I'm going to have to admit defeat.  Considering that we don't really take meds for anything in our family, this is pretty shocking, I know.  I will say however, these are not all taken at the same time, lots of them are trial and error with little notes scribbled on the side LOL, and it will be over with in a short 3-4 weeks for me, 6-8 weeks for the kids, but hubby will have it most of the summer as well since he also has grass sensitivities.  I personally think our state may be a biological  weapon (as in pollen) testing ground... it's all a conspiracy theory!


When I can see through my yellow pollen stained eyes, I see this, and I keep telling myself it's all worth it - right?!!

Carolina Jessamine 

these surprise me every year, they pop up so fast


Yes, I'm sort of taking the day off today.  No gardening, no lifting, but I did finish my first article of clothing for myself, a "simple wrap skirt" - not so simple!  I really have a lot to learn about pattern sizing.  This was too small, I was able to sort of fix it by tying it in the back instead of the side, and adding a button halfway down the leg to compensate for the lack of extra fabric in the wrap, but next time I will know those sizes are serious!  Which means I'm a size 14.  What the heck is with the discrepancies between commercially made/dept store clothing and patternmakers?  I'm a consistent 8/10 in the conglomerate world yet I have to make clothes almost twice that size when I make them myself?  This weekend I'm going to actually take my real measurements and write them down and actually use them next time instead of guessing.  

Well, here it is anyways:



Of course I'm sporting my typical Marsha Brady style fabric.  Although I guess I'm more of a Jan Brady, Marsha was way more put together than I am :)  Now I can finally say I made something to wear!


Here's me waving bye-bye...



This was taken when I returned from running errands this morning and is from opening the storm door!  Needless to say, I'm having to use the indoor dryer for laundry today.

Why do gardeners and outdoor people have to suffer through this allergy stuff?  I think the indoor video gamer types should be stuck with it all instead.

17 comments:

  1. OMG! I got all congested just LOOKING at the pictures of that pollen. It may just be a biological hazard. Some things you just need extra help with - like major allergy attacks. I love your skirt - especially the fabric. I think that paper patterns are the "real" sizes, while commercial sizes have been dumbed down so we will all believe we can actually achieve a size 0. Hah.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really like your skirt. I bought a skirt pattern last week, but considering I have yet to figure out how to thread the bobbin on my machine I think it was a bit premature. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your skirt -- the fabric is so me! I guess that means I'm a Jan Brady too... :) Only you would 'take it easy' by finishing a skirt, lol. I'd be curled up with my knitting and a cuppa. :)
    That pollen is insane!! I'd have allergies too if that was floating around my air.
    I can't wait for my bleeding hearts to bloom and that jessamine -- wow!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Susan, I'm happy as long as whatever I have on fits, I just wish they would standardize those darn sizes LOL

    Kelly, thanks! You will get there, I was exactly in your shoes at Christmastime. I had the advantage of diving in during the winter though, where you will be kept quite busy in the garden for awhile, but you'll get there eventually!

    Fiona, yes I have a weakness for anything 60's, 70's or Brady LOL. I had to finish that skirt since my sewing table takes up the whole house and we can't walk around it LOL, it's been set up for days!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The skirt looks great Erin! If you lived a bit closer, I would show you how to fit and adjust the paper pattern before you cut it out.

    It looks like you live in a heavy pollen area like we do. My allergist said that many people have to move from this valley due to their allergies. Have you considered allergy shots for you and your family? They work really well unless you are allergic to the pre-meds like I am!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am so glad I don't have allergies (knock wood). I know I could develop them but I'm hoping at my advanced age it won't happen. I have to agree with the suggestion of allergy shots. They really helped my dad. He can actually get out of bed in the spring now.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love the skirt! And pattern sizes- don't get Justine started, LOL! For her dress she used an old pattern (from the early 80's- HA!) that was a size 12 and it was too small. She is a solid 10 with everything she purchases. Of course, it was from before the days of multi-size patterns so we're going to have to 'fudge' her prom dress.
    Good luck with the pollen- we'll get a flush in a few weeks and then really bad when the corn pollinates. I always love the way it smells but cringe at all that genetically modified pollen floating around.
    Judy

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your stash of meds looks like my counter, but all the meds here are for my DOGS. I wont take anything for my allergies, but my poor dogs have such severe allergies they will chew and lick all their fur off. So I pump them full of all kinds of stuff from the vet. Expensive too. The skirt looks really good.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Robin, thanks! I definitely have some learning to do!

    Judy, poor Justine - that pattern sizing affects her age group so much more than ours I think LOL! Her dress will be beautiful and she looked amazing in the trial run so to heck with the sizes, right?! GMO pollen, gosh I didn't even think of that yet, for SURE a conspiracy! (grin) :)

    Jane, my dog Marley isn't affected by the pollen physically, but she was laying outside the back door for awhile this morning and when I went to let her in her black fur looked like it had been dusted liberally with flour LOL

    Sparkless & the others who suggested the shots - I have heard good things about them maybe I should do a preemptive strike next year. Problem is with military, they will want to run you through the whole list of pharmaceuticals before they will start doing the tests. Hubby is probably almost there he's tried so many, but I have yet to get a prescription so I don't know if they would go straight to the testing, I'm going to ask though at my next appt because they are obviously not going away LOL

    ReplyDelete
  10. The book "Fit for Real People" has a good explanation of what the deal is with pattern sizes. In a nutshell - sewing pattern sizes and Ready-to-Wear sizes are completely unrelated. RTW tends to use "vanity sizes." All through HS I was a solid 7/8. Now, that same size is a 4! Trust me - I have not gotten smaller! Somewhere on the back of the pattern envelope will be a chart that tells you what (actual!) measurements go with which sizes. Go by what size this chart says (bust for tops, hips for bottoms), not by your RTW size.

    Also, it's perfectly normal to be one size on top and another on the bottom! This one of the nice things about multi-size patterns. You just draw a smooth line connecting the cutting line from the smaller size to the larger size. Best way to deal with your size 10 top and your size 12 hips!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Alison, I picked up a book from the library yesterday called "Perfectly Fitted" and it talks about that as well as customizing the pattern and putting it on a permanent muslin to use, I think I'll try that once I find a pattern I really like. My problem is the opposite LOL, I have boy hips (read NONE) LOL everything is huge on me through the seat and thighs, I have a lot to learn about this stuff :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm still working on the pattern altering thing myself! It's hard to do when you don't have someone to help. Eventually I'd like to get a dressform! I use sew-in interfacing to trace patterns onto when I'm going to want to preserve the original tissue. Fairly cheap, and sheer enough to trace patterns pretty easily.

    AFA books, one of the reasons I like FFRP is that the writers have their own pattern line through McCalls, and have markings on the patterns that are referenced in the books! Also, it's a popular enough book that it's frequently referenced on Patternreview.com (http://sewing.patternreview.com/) by people giving advice on fit problems, so it's helpful to know what people are talking about.

    ReplyDelete
  13. We have pollen dust balls that you can watch floating in the air. It's unAmerican.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ribbit, unAmerican indeed! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  15. I know I'm late here but I just had to be sure to compliment you on your skirt. Such a chirky spring/summer piece of apparel! Your Brady Girl's period of clothing is right at the forefront of style now, I'm sure you'll be glad to know. Everything from big handbags to sewing fabric looks like that. So, see, you are SO with it!! ;o}

    ReplyDelete
  16. Mama Pea, thank you! We'll see how "with it" I am in a few years and I STILL LOVE the Brady style LOL, I've always loved it :) Hubby & I still do a mean impersonation of Mike & Carol on Halloween!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Classic first line. I like the skirt!

    ReplyDelete