We had some thunder and lightning a little bit ago. I know that it’s March and all, but isn’t it still a bit early for spring storms?
Author: Shelly
Candy
Well, glass, but it looks like candy.
Glass
I came home today to find that a carpet cleaning company was steam cleaning the Stompy Girls’ apartment. The smell of cleaning chemicals is pretty obnoxious in my apartment. I can only imagine what it smells like upstairs.
O gross.
And it’s raining. And the temperature is dropping. And that means, we might get more ice. Fun!
Ice Pick of DQQM!1!!!
I have a splitting headache this morning, bad enough that I’m seriously considering going home. So, of course, my across-the-aisle cube neighbor, who rearranged her cube last week, has decided to put up a clamp light. A 2,000,000,000 watt clamp light. Its blinding evilness is poking me in the eye. Turns out, that’s not the sort of thing that actually helps a headache.
Kill me now.
Instant Review: Four Needle Coptic Binding
I needed a new journal, so I thought I’d try doing a four-needle Coptic binding. I’m not sure that was a good idea. I used hemp twine, which might have been my first mistake. The stitching pattern isn’t very clear, and the knotting is kind of out of control where the back cover is attached. It was also a pain in the ass to keep track of four needles. Aaack! And time consuming, too. It took about twice as long as doing a single-needle Coptic binding. I guess that’s to be expected, but I am short on patience, so it’s no wonder I was frustrated.
The worst part, though, is that I could not get the spine edge of the first signature even with the spine edge of the front cover. I tried and tried and tried, and even loosened and re-tightened the stitches holding the front cover to the first signature. No dice. It keeps playing peekaboo behind the second signature.
Something else that bugs me is that the back cover wants to drop down from the front, basically fanning the book out vertically. Weird.
So, what I’m planning on doing is covering everything with a piece of burlap (from a basmati rice bag), including the spine. I’m going to attach the burlap to the cover with Heat-n-Bond. Then, I’m going to wind hemp twine between each of the signatures and over the outside of the spine. That should stop the fanning problem as well as hide the ugly spine and the peekaboo signature.
That may sound confusing. I’ll take photos when I’m done. Not that that’s guaranteed to clarify anything.
Assholes are Cheap Today
When I got to work this ayem, the elevator I usually take was being held on another floor by the custodians. Grrr. So I walked across the building to the freight elevator. Someone from another unit, but who works in my department, was coming in the dock door as I was walking down the hallway, toward her. She got to the freight elevator, and I got there just a minute after she did. Just as the door was closing.
WTF?! She saw me. I know she knows who I am, and that I was getting on the elevator, too. There’s absolutely no other reason why anyone would be in that hallway at that time of day. So why couldn’t she hold the door for me? What the hell is wrong with her?
What a lovely way to start the week, no?
Moss
Moss on Grave Marker, Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana
These were taken with a Lensbaby macro filter (+4 and +10 lenses stacked), manually held in front of my camera lens. They’re supposed to be attached to the front of a Lensbaby selective focus lens, but I still haven’t gotten one. (I ordered it, received the wrong one, sent it back for an exchange, and was given a refund instead. WTF?! At least they did give me my money back, and very promptly, too, but still, that’s not what I asked them to do. NOTE: I ordered it via a reseller, so this is not a negative comment on Lensbaby’s customer service, which I understand is quite good.)
Anyway, it occurs to me that this might have other fun applications. I’m going to test it on my silly little Vivitar toy digital.
Shed
Shed
I went on a photo expedition with D and Ms. Lea to a little cemetery that’s near my house. It wasn’t as warm as the weather guy promised, but it was overcast, which is nice for picture taking.
Covenanter Cemetery was established in the 1820s by the Reformed Presbyterians (or Covenanters, which is where the cemetery gets its name). It’s only about 2/3 full and is still in use. And when I said little, I meant it–it’s about the size of a couple of average home lots.
All that said, I’m not even going to share any actual graveyard photos. Nope. Today’s photo is from the home next door to the cemetery. As I was taking photos of the dry stone wall, I noticed that there was a big heap of trash piled against the other side of it. And behind the trash, there was a rusty shed surrounded by automotive parts and what looks like an old sink. Classy!
Covenanter Cemetery
Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana
I said it was small? This is the older half. The newer half is the same size, and I’d guess it’s only about 1/3 full.
There’s an even littler cemetery on campus (Dunn Cemetery–there’s a link to some photos at the top left corner of that page). I plan on taking photos of it over spring break. It’s adorable, with just a few graves, a chapel, and, again, a dry stone wall surrounding everything.
Isabella, Wife of George
Grave Marker
Covenanter Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana
Isabella, Wife of Geo. Hartin.
Died Dec. 28, 1869 Aged 81 ys. 6 ms. 6 ds.
I hate that so many women’s identities are completely subsumed by their husbands. Isabella had a name and a life of her own. I try to figure out what these women’s maiden names were, when possible. In this case the only reference I can find for Isabella at Ancestry.com is a link to the Findagrave record I created. (Someone else has helpfully created a Findagrave record for an Isabella Martin, but I think it’s clear from the angle of my photo that the first letter is an H, not an M.)
