SED 7 - a fanfic day

The combination of wanting to spend the day curled up in a ball and having committed to rec at one_bad_man today meant that I spent a lot of the day reading fanfic. Discovered a new-to-me author on the Pit of Voles, Georgesgurl117, and am binging on her.

SED 6 - an ordinary day

... but a productive one. I completed about a quarter of the remaining part of the book I am editing, so I am well on track to finishing it by Friday. After supper I sewed for an hour, and then completed the neckband of my cardigan, and wove in all the ends. Only the buttons left!

The children had more exciting days. A's English class had their dramatic readings today, and apparently he did quite well. He chose an abridged version of Pirate Jenny from the Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weil Threepenny Opera (the link is to Judy Collins' performance of it). Not being very musical, he had to work quite hard to learn it by heart and to be able to recite it not in a monotone. S, on the other hand, registered today for a MOOC run by the Smithsonian, called The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact on American Culture - right up his street, and I'm glad ADC knew about it. He is very enthusiastic about it, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was the youngest participant.

SED 5 - storm in a teacup

Today had its ups and downs. Just as I set off into DC to buy gifts for my nephews and nieces who I'll be seeing next week in Israel, I got an e-mail from my mother-in-law that basically said that the day I was coming to visit her and my father- and sister-in-law was very inconvenient and could I change it. Now, I will be in Israel for six days, with the last two days - the Friday and Saturday - basically being devoted to my nephew's bar mitzvah, which is why we are going (we = me, A and S. ADC is going to visit colleagues in Arizona). That leaves four days, including the day we actually land. Can I change anything at this stage? Not without a huge hassle which I am not prepared to do, especially since I sent everyone my schedule on April 18 precisely so that if anyone needed to change plans, they would be able to do so. 

I bitched about this to ADC during lunch with him in a lovely Asian-fusion restaurant called Teaism, and he took my side against his mother, thus proving once more that he is a Good Husband. On the metro on the way home, my sister-in-law ("the only sensible adult in that house," to quote ADC) e-mailed to apologise for her mother's earlier mail, and to say that everything had been sorted out and I should come as planned. Whew! Much mental agony wasted. 

I managed to get quite a lot of editing done even with arriving home at 2:30, and I cut out a new pattern after supper: Tofino shorts. I'm not sure about the fabric, it might be a bit sheer, but that's why this will be a wearable muslin...

SED - a very productive day

The warm weather is making me both happy and productive. I must have been suffering from some mild form of SAD during the winter. I've edited two sections of the current book I'm working on, and sent them back to the author with some content-related comments. 

I have also done a load of laundry and had the dubious pleasure of unblocking the toilet. I hate the temperamental plumbing in this house, can't wait to get home where it's the bath - rather than the toilet - that gets blocked, and even that only every few months rather than weekly. 

Now to reward myself by hemming my skirt!

SED - First real hike of the season

Today was a glorious day, not too hot and not too cold. As we have been warned that spring in the greater DC area is fleeting, we decided that there was no time like the present to go on a hike. We chose the MD Great Falls park (there is a VA Great Falls park, too - I find the lack of imagination shown by early European settlers very irritating), where the Billy Goat Trail promised to be the kind of hike we are used to from Israel: a bit of rock scrambling, a bit of level path, and a lot of wild flowers. Just as we started, we saw a magnificent Eastern Swallowtail, and along the towpath, by the locks of the abandoned C&O Canal, we saw red-eared sliders (orange-bellied terrapins, as I called them at first): At first we thought we were seeing rocks in the water, but then they moved very slightly and we realised that these were terrapins. At the end of the route, we saw actual snapping turtles, looking just like in The Bears' Vacation! (ADC asks that I clarify that I know that the Berenstain Bears were at the seaside and therefore they cannot be the same species). 

The rock scramble was, as always, a bit terrifying but I did it in the end. S, who has recently claimed a fear of heights, seemed to have forgotten that, and announced that he had had a wonderful time when we got back to the car. A is a mountain goat, so of course he enjoyed himself. He has finally begun using the GPS he got as a bar mitzvah present, and today he also took more pictures than usual. 

We came home, tired and pleased as the Hebrew phrase goes, showered and went out to eat at Nando's in Silver Spring - marking the third country/continent in which we have sampled their chicken, after England and South Africa. The day ended with watching the "Mirror, Mirror" episode of ST:TOS.

Just squeaking under the wire

This is almost the first moment I have sat in front of a computer today (can't compose a whole post on my phone). Today began with Skype conversations with both sets of families back in Israel, continued to Free Comic Book Day in Silver Spring, then while ADC made zucchini salad and onion bread for the departmental picnic, I completed the second sleeve of my cardigan. The departmental picnic was followed by a Mozart concert at Strathmore. I'm exhausted!

SED - first participation in a challenge of sorts

I have been thinking for a while about making this more of a blog and less of an open archive of letters home, so when teddyradiator announced a challenge to post Something Every Day during May, I jumped at the chance for a framework. This is a good month to do something like this, as I will be spending a week in Israel, so less letters home will be written in any case. 

I will start with the list of the things I want to do before the 9th, which is when I will be travelling with A and S to my nephew's bar mitzvah. Workwise, I have just finished editing one book-length manuscript and already started another. I will be meeting both authors in Israel, so I definitely need to finish book two, but instead I cleaned the house and went shopping. My supermarket trolley was a bit schizophrenic: healthy fruits and vegetables for us to eat over the coming week, and chocolate bars, ice cream toppings, peanut butter and maple syrup to take to Israel (well, the last two are OK, I suppose). 

Craftwise, I want to complete my Miette cardigan (only the second sleeve ribbing, buttonbands and neckbands left, and my Hollyburn skirt (only the hem left). This is the first time I have made any kind of garment - knitted or sewn - for myself. I've only been knitting for 17 months, and I got my sewing machine in March, so I think I can allow myself to be very pleased with myself. If I have time, I want to make drawstring pouches for some of the presents I'm bringing, and maybe a pair of shorts. 

Wow. This has suddenly reenergised my editing mojo - maybe I should start my work day like this?