Works in Progress

I've always known that if I were ever to get married, I would make my own dress. Well, maybe not always. The decision probably came around the time I made my first dress, back in Creative Clothing in high school. Somewhere I still have that dress, and though it fit last time I tried it on, I doubt I would ever wear it again. What looked cool to me at 14 now looks like a print from a picnic table cloth. The dress wore to my Mom's wedding at 16 will likely never be worn again, as I knew much less about fibers at 16. Turns out flannel is better suited to quilts and boxers than summer style dresses. I really liked the print though.

Four weeks ago today Doug proposed, and I said yes, so now I get to make that wedding dress. We both want a beach wedding, so a long dress seems rather silly to me, as I don't need a dress full of sand. The so-called "traditional" dress fabrics are out too: none seem well-suited for saltwater and I can't guarantee I won't get wet in it. I would also like it to be washable, so I can wear it to the mainland receptions we are planning. And it would be nice to wear the dress again in general, though I'll likely dye it another color to do so as white tends to be a poor color choice for me in everyday clothing.

I've started making a dress. Not the dress, but a prototype of what I eventually want to have for the wedding. Good thing too. The patterns I have chosen are resulting in a dress that is far too loose fitting. I say patterns because I was unable to find just one I liked. So I am merging two. We'll see how that goes in the end. Below is a picture of the work in progress:


Also in progress are knitted baby items. Not for me though. One is for a friend who is expecting in October. The other is a sweater for Doug's (and in the next year mine too) niece. All three projects are fun, and all three have been going together easier than I anticipated. But right now I am really excited about getting the pieces of the dress put together, so I have been working on that for the last two days.

Not sure how many more free days I'll have to spend at home working the whole day. It's only the second week of school so there haven't been many calls for subs yet, but with another semester's tuition and the wedding coming up, my bank account is demanding I take every call I get for work. The upside to subbing is that weekends and evenings are still mine, so around homework I should have plenty of time for these and any other projects I decide I must do.

Border to Border Pictures

So... I've been meaning to get to this for a few weeks now, but life just kept getting in the way. First we managed to stay plenty busy while visiting Southern California, and then we've done pretty much the same since we got back to Hawaii since last Tuesday. But more on that later. Here are the pictures from the 12-day motorcycle trip, finally!

I'm sure you've already seen this one, but I find it hilarious, so I'll post again.

Riding through Southern California towards Mexico.


Mark on a slide in Jerome, AZ. Because there is still a kid in all of us.



Bev riding.
Mark riding.
Tim riding.

Entering Zion National Park.
The next few pictures are the natural beauty we saw.








Beware! I have a pirate!




Doug and Mark plan to take over something...

Apparently, this is the reason the window warned users not to open.


Scaring little kids.

What Doug looked like after the longest, coldest morning ride. Nevada might be worse than Utah.

Salmon River, ID.

A tiny deer, escaping the road.


Doug and Mark, taking the exit sign too literally. Silly Canadians, they should place their signs better.

Not sure what they think they will win if they manage to free the giant chopsticks, but they're sure trying hard.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Moose."


"I think the hotel is over there."

Being as touristy as possible in Victoria, BC.

Because they always stand around like this.


Mark is finally taller than Doug.

He broke they trunk key. Good thing there was backup.


The bridge to Astoria, OR.





Becoming artsy while waiting for a tow vehicle.



Bad things start to happen when you have too much time on your hands.

Boo! The downfall of Bev's bike.

And the 6-hour wait in Fred Meyer begins with Doug's neck tattoo.




After 6 hours in the deli seating area, Sudden Onset Slayer Moments are bound to happen.

Ready to go: 3 bikes, 1 U-Haul.

Pretty coast along the way to Ft. Bragg.





Golden Gate Bridge coming up next.

Looks pretty neat in the fog.

Doug and his college buddies Matt and Steve, throwing up their fake fraternity sign. For more information, you'll have to ask him (or one of his friends).

So, those are the best of the pictures. There are tons more of the scenery, but 613 pictures is a lot to look at. And that's only the pictures I took with my camera.