sigh of relief

as i try to make my way in this grown-up world of being a responsible adult, i keep discovering that various things i believed as a child were actually lies. for instance, that my acne would clear up after adolescence. also, that after i finished school for good, summertime would just be like any other time of the year. summer was always a crazy time of campouts, vacations, swim team, random activities, and disrupted schedules when i was growing up. and although i loved it, it was always kind of nice to go back to school in the fall, and back to a normal routine. i guess i assumed that it would change after i finished college and entered the real world. i was sad that i wouldn't have the long breaks in the summers anymore, but also looked forward to having a somewhat normal schedule year-round. boy was i wrong. in actuality, adults get to deal with all the craziness of summer (trips, vacations, events, etc) AND continue going to work each week, paying bills, juggling life, etc. which is why i've been dead to the blogging world the past couple of months. i don't remember ever having such a full summer in my life. and although it was great, i'm welcoming the first cool breeze of fall with a sigh of relief.

summer plans

so Temple isn't such an exciting place to live. i like my job so far though, and it's nice to be making money again, after 3 months of racking up medical bills. the hospital has been crazy busy, and i've been able to pick up some overtime. also, Temple is a convenient place to be for the summer, as it's sort of in-between the 3 cities my various family members live in: Houston, Dallas, and Austin. i won't have to buy a plane ticket to go to my little brother's wedding in 3 weeks (aaahh! 3 weeks! really??? trying not to hyperventilate...) and on my days off i can visit friends and family.

while i'm not working as much overtime as i can stomach or going on road trips around Texas, i have a few other things to do this summer. first, write a novel. 2 years ago i joined a writing group with some friends that takes the month of July to write a 50,000 word novel. crazy, but fun. it's based on this book:

there is actually an official writing group started by the author of the book, but they write their novels in November, while the group i'm in writes in July.

another summer goal: make a dent in my ever-growing stash of yarn. if i don't get a handle on it soon, it's going to come to life as a gigantic yarn monster and strangle me in my sleep.

any suggestions? here's the result of my first attempt at my summer stash-bust:

and here's my current project:

i found this gem of a book at the library yesterday. once i finish the above project, i'm going to start on one of these one-skein wonders.

thankful for my feet

after 2 air splints, 3 casts, 1 walking boot, 1 ankle brace, multiple x-rays, doctor's appointments, physical therapy and medical bills...my ankles are now back to normal. and my 3 months of unemployment are finally coming to an end! next stop: Temple, TX for travel assignment #3.

the color of coffee

what to do when you have 2 white sundresses? make one a different color!

i've always wanted to try tea staining, so i decided to experiment with a hand-me-down dress my cousin gave me. after staining it twice with tea it was a pretty, light-cream-with-a-hint-of-reddish-brown color. i forgot to take pictures of the tea staining process, but this is what i did:

1. wash and dry the dress as normal
2. boil enough water to submerge dress, add teabags, about 1 per cup of water
3. wet the dress with hot water, wring out
4. after steeping the tea for about 5 minutes, add the dampened dress. i left the teabags in the water when i soaked the dress, just to experiment. it ended up making one darker spot on the fabric, so i recommend taking the bags out before soaking the dress.
5. check the color every 5-10 minutes. i think i let it soak about 30 minutes total.
6. after soaking, rinse out dress with warm water and mild soap
7. hang dress to dry
8. soak in a fresh pot of tea if desired. the second time i took the teabags out of the water first.
9. after drying the dress again, soak in mixture of water and vinegar. i didn't measure it, but i just put enough water into a container to submerge the dress, then added a couple generous splashes of vinegar.
10. hang dress to dry
11. wash and dry as normal

after tea-staining the dress, i thought i'd experiment with coffee next. i set the sash aside so i'd be able to compare colors afterward. i did the same process as before, just with really strong coffee this time. and i remembered to take pictures:

big pot of coffee

soaking the dress

checking the color

rinsing with soapy water

drying on the porch

after the vinegar soak, final wash and dry. this shows the dress and the lighter-colored sash.

the ruffles around the hem look a little darker than the rest because of the double layers.

all done!

flora and fauna around the house