~ Wednesday is a day ~

Some time ago I resolved to not get so incredibly irritated and annoyed with all of the idiot life form entities and their idiot behavior that I encounter on a constant basis. While in the quiet and calm of my own personal existance, I perceive the majority of life to be just fine and dandy...and then I walk outside into the world and this cloud of impatience and judgement places a shadow over me. I try...I try "so hard" to relax, but I get so annoyed all of the time. For example, I absolutely HATE how I am cut off and almost run over by big stupid vehicles, who have no concept of the pedestrians around them, every single morning and evening on my walk to and from work. I HATE how so many drivers seem to think that the designated bike lane is a turning lane for cars, and how they think that pedestrian crosswalks are parking spaces. I also really hate all of the public displays of enthusiasm over the local sporting team - - especially now that said sporting team is going to participate in some special sporting team event - - all of the editorials and public announcements about the importance of supporting our sporting team, it's another version of patriotism and school spirit that just makes me want to throw up everything I've ever eaten. And, you know, I can't actually express my true feelings in the public sphere because everyone is so caught up in this weird groupthink sporting team feverish frenzy that they would either hurt me or my feelings (I don't know which is more tender). So anyway, I had resolved to try to be less annoyed and irritated all of the time, but it's not going so well. Before leaving my apartment, I try to have a taste of serenity in my mouth in order to delay the advent of my irritation. But, no dice.

Yesterday, over my measley half hour lunch, I went on a hunt for holiday greeting cards and a few gifts. I was pretty disappointed with the selection afforded me at the three establishments I visited, but I did settle on a generic seasonal card with a snow scene. I suppose they're pretty, which is why I purchased a box of eight. I'm going to strategically distribute the cards to avoid looking like a duplicate-card giver. At the end of the day, the greeting card I find pointless, but it's one of those things that I was raised to do, so I do it. I'm not much of a rebel when it comes to greeting cards, but my lackadaisicalness is clear.

In other news, I am opening up myself to the idea of trying again to knit a sweater. I've got a couple of issues of Vogue Knitting in which I regularly fantasize myself wearing one of the sweaters, and today I was DROOLING over the latest Rowan magazine. My thought is that I should knit a cardigan, possibly with vintage buttons. This weekend, I discovered an amazing antique store with reasonable prices. At the antique store, they had a bin of unused vintage sewing patterns for one-to-four dollars each. I purchased three of them, two were of mid-1970's McCall's patterns and one a Vogue pattern for a ridiculously silly pair of men's shorts (there's no date, but it has to be from the 50's or 60's). Oh, these shorts are fantastic! The waistline extends almost to mid-torso, they're short-shorts (for guys, a style I wish would make a hasty return), and they have a really odd/awesome package area. I may actually make a pair for myself, and perhaps a pair for Josh and we can be twins! in ridiculous shorts! ...The antique store also has all of this old homespun wool (and a few spinning wheels) and several cones of old store-bought wool. I spent some time admiring the vintage buttons, which were so cheap. The store is quite large, having been transformed from several establishments in an old strip mall, and they had an entire room devoted to vintage fabrics and some clothing. I didn't price everything, but it was a crafter's rummaging-paradise. Aside from the patterns, I also purchased this amazing end table for $15 with a shelf and drawer that has greatly improved the quality of my life in the short time in which I have owned it.

Posted by jennifer at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)