Cuts, inside jokes, guitars, and zucchini!

Kitty and I made “inside jokes” t-shirts yesterday. We decided to go through a bunch of Whose Line is it Anyway videos on youtube and then pick a quote we liked to put on the front of the t-shirt. She chose “I'm not doing very well as a part time giraffe choreographer,” a Colin Mochrie line from a game called quick change, and I chose “Loving you and your pants makes me existential,” a brilliant collaboration from a game called Three-Headed Broadway Star (three people make up a Broadway love song one word at a time). I had a black t-shirt, so I tried a bleach pen for the letters on the front. It didn't turn out how I expected, but I do like the result. On the back, Kitty had the idea of using acrylic paint to imprint our hand prints (one each) in such a way that it looks like wings. Then, we wrote a bunch of inside jokes at the bottom.





All in all, I'd say the project was quite creative and nerdtastic, and I am very pleased with the result. We got all dressed up that evening to go to the grocery store for junk food and makings for chocolate chip cookies (“dressed up” here means: pseudo-punk. I was sporting black capri leggings, my new t-shirt, and a lime green pleated mini skirt. The ensemble was completed with a pair of rainbow socks, and black high tops. It's funny; the lime green skirt is something that is “totally me” but I'm not used to wearing that kind of thing. I guess it reminds me of something a 13 year old would wear. I may have to add something to it so I don't never wear it again.)

Even after nearly getting sick on junk food and cookie dough last night, I woke up this morning feeling really happy. I managed to sleep in long enough that Kitty had already gotten up and left the room, which was just so peaceful. I need my recharge time; I can't be around people all the time with a constant level of energy; I wear down after a day. So being able to have a moment to myself (that wasn't me sitting on the toilet or in the shower) was wonderful. My back was killing me something fierce, but I finally figured out a way to shift the dining room table so I can do yoga; I got in a good 45 minute yoga session. After that, I was pumped up and felt amazing (granted, I was super greasy and sweaty, but that's okay), since I haven't exercised in about a week. It was kind of silly; Dolce came over to me twice while I was yoga-ing, and tried to flop down underneath me so I could pet her. Sorry sweetie, unless you want to join me, you have to get off my yoga mat! ;)

Afterwards I finally got out Kitty's boyfriend's Silvertone acoustic guitar so I could restring it. I suspect the old strings had been on there for years, if not decades. I didn't dare try to tune it with the old strings; I was deathly afraid of getting my eyes poked out by breaking and flailing strings. I put a set of lightweight bronze strings I bought downtown (I picked up an additional pair for my Johnson at home). The tuning pegs for strings 6-4 were a little sticky and hard to turn (I assume due to age), so I was careful as possible. It sounds pretty decent with the new strings on, though I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to give a dissertation on the sound quality.

Kitty's boyfriend's mom did ask me to try and find out what it was worth, and as a result, find out what year it was, etc, so I took the opportunity to do some digging and see what I could find out. The guitar has a black body with white blocks on the fretboard, instead of dots. I searched for a half an hour or so before I came across a website that listed info on vintage Silvertones from the 1940s to the 1970s. According to the website, this guitar was made somewhere between 1962 and 1966 (I didn't try to locate the serial number) because the white blocks were replaced with dots post-1966.
I made a half-hearted attempt to do some research on value, but honestly, I don't know enough to really be able to come up with a conclusive estimate. I found online sellers wanting everything from $300 to $50.

I finally fulfilled my (other) birthday present to Kitty: I bought a 2 pound bag of henna powder off ebay to dye her hair with. We mixed it up a couple days ago (I think; the days of the week are a little fuzzy to me) and I slathered her hair with green goo the consistency of old yogurt. It was SO much fun, and I even got used to the smell after a while. Her hair is now a lovely shade of reddish copper. It'll settle down to a more solid red in a few days after the dye oxidizes.




I've gotten a chance to try out some new food! We had zucchini pancakes (kind of like potato pancakes, but with shredded zucchini) last night, and they were amazing. Tonight's menu was stuffed green bell peppers (filled with couscous, feta cheese, garlic, and white beans), which was equally delicious. I'm going to copy down the recipes for home; add to my stack of recipes that I still need to put in a book (or box)!

Kitty has also exposed me to the TV show Firefly. I have heard about it for ages, but just never got the chance to view it. All the episodes (all of one season, yay for the scifi channel canceling awesome shows? Haha) are on hulu.com, so I can watch them when I'm NOT in Georgia, too. Amazing! I love the show, even if a few of the male characters piss me off on a regular basis, hehe. It's addicting though; it took me quite the effort to turn off my computer last night (well, morning, but who's watching?) and not opt for seeing another episode. I'll have to see the movie once I'm done with the episodes. :)

When Kitty and I came back from the grocery this afternoon, the dogs came bounding up to the front door with their usual rambunctiousness. Noel (the bigger dog) has the tendency to jump on people when they come back home, and as luck would have it, I was wearing a short skirt. I have a nice three inch scratch/cut on my right knee now. I'm all for joyful greetings, bu I would prefer not to bleed in the process!


I'm still enjoying my stay here. There's been some tension and stress in the household lately, but it hasn't really been affecting me (rather, I haven't been letting it affect me). There are moments where I get irritated, but I've decided I don't need to hold onto it. There are a couple things that I will have to speak up about the next time they happen, but I'm choosing not to dwell on them for the time being. Despite my good time, I will be happy to be home when the time comes. I miss the freedom to come back to my own room and enjoy the quiet and peace of my own company. I miss having my own car so I can come and go as I please, I miss being on my own schedule, my own smells, my own irritations.... pretty much everything that revolves around my own space and freedom. I'm writing this while tuning out other people by listening to music via headphones, and it is so very blissful. I am greatly enjoying this moment of mine. I'd love to share this feeling with you, you reading this. I definitely advocate taking a moment for yourself, to feel what needs to be felt, think what needs to be thought, let go of what needs to be let go of, and just breathe.