Stuff I Love: Wine & Crafts

A few weeks back, I took a Gallup Strengths coaching workshop for work. I use the assessment in one of the programs I manage at work and took the workshop to help deepen my knowledge of strengths-based development so I can expand what we're doing with the assessment in the programs. One of the activities we did was an exercise focused on what we value and how those values are evident in our top strengths. The top value for me? Creativity. I worked with my partner to discuss creativity in my work and personal life and it was the sort of satisfying conversation that always seems to happen at these types of workshops. I always get all excited about the way I'm going to bring the knowledge back, both professionally and personally. Then go back to my life and forget everything and question my life choices and ennui settles in and I'm like, "What happened?"

Thankfully, that didn't happen this time. I haven't completely figured out what I want to do with the assessment in my programs, but I haven't lost that feeling I got when talking with my coaching practice partner about creativity. If anything, I've spent more time thinking about this since the workshop thinking about creativity and bringing that more into my life than I've thought of anything else. Creativity is a skill and a talent. It's focused on using imagination to create and solve things. People often mistake creativity for artistic talent; the two aren't the same. You can be creative and not artistic and you can be artistic and not be creative. Artists who are also creative are probably better artists, but the two are not synonymous. Creativity is about problem solving and thinking differently about the way things are done. It can manifest in art and crafts, but it doesn't have to.

I have some artistic talent; I can sew, embroider, write, and paint. Remember that time I made a Lego purse? I'm not a great painter and never will be, but I enjoy the process and the feeling of painting. I enjoy embroidery more, so I tend to stick with it when I want to have both a creative and artistic outlet. There's something truly magical about bringing a new project into the world. I'm mostly self-taught when it comes to embroidery and I'm constantly impressed by what I'm able to create with a few stitches and some fun patterns. Since the Women's March last year, there's been a flood of feminist embroidery and cross-stitch patterns on the market. There's something very therapeutic about stabbing fabric over and over again and have it become a "Nasty Woman" wall hanging or a "Girl Power" patch. It's also a nice connection back to our feminist and suffragist foremothers, who used crafts, sewing and needlework in particular, to hand make signs and sashes in the early suffrage and equality movements.

Back in the spring, when I was laid off and felt terrible about life, my friends did an excellent job of helping me stay positive and focused on doing fun things so I wouldn't drown in the pool of horrible that a job search often becomes. One April afternoon, Emily came over to watch movies and hang out. She brought a crochet project she was working on with her (she was making me a Franken-blanket, her specialty). I had a cross-stitch project I was working on. We sat on my couch, drank wine, and watched the mini-series version of IT and sewed and crocheted the afternoon away. Anita came by later in the afternoon, bringing her own cross-stitch project with her. As we all sat and worked and talked, we decided to start a monthly crafting/project day. Wine and Crafts Day was born. We've met once a month since September. Hosting duties rotate among the group and we've added a few additional people into the mix. There's no requirement of having to know how to do any type of craft or art project; we've all informally agreed to teach people new skills if they want to learn.

My first Zakka embroidery project.

It's been a great way for me to bring my friend groups together and be around a group of women who laugh and create and have fun. It's nice to not have an agenda; so much of all of our lives are based on agendas and to-do lists and calendars. I'm a planner, but even I can't deal with being scheduled to death. I know scheduling is a necessary thing, but I have a dream of one day not living by my calendar. We even got Anita hooked on Stranger Things and Chief Hopper; she was not disappointed.

In addition to being able to focus on various embroidery projects, I've also rediscovered my love of hosting gatherings. I don't know when I stopped having dinner parties, but I'd forgotten how much fun it is to plan the food and set everything up in a welcoming way. This isn't nearly as involved as a dinner party, but it's nice to have an excuse to try out fondue recipes (happening today) or bake a new recipe or roll out an old favorite. I spend a lot of time by myself, which is both good for me (and my introverted nature), but also something I need to occasionally remember not to do. There is such as thing as spending too much time alone. I don't spend time during our monthly gatherings writing, but I know that each one has helped me get back into my novel and given me the much needed kick in the pants to finish it and put it out in the world. Soon, friends, soon.

It's almost time for the group to gather and get started on our projects and eat some fondue. I'm not sure the cheese fondue is going to be good, but there's always chocolate fondue to save the day!

Today's project - another Zakka project. This one is going to be framed and hung in my living room.

Coming in March: It's Women's History Month! Whatever will we talk about for an entire month dedicated to women and their achievements? Check it out all month long!

Stuff I Love: Cats choose us; we don’t own them*

I miss Pumpkin.

For regular visitors to the Island, this isn't a shocking statement. Some days, it hits me harder than others. She used to sit with me on Saturday mornings when I was writing my Island posts. Her two favorite places to sit were on my lap so I'd have to type over her and sitting behind my laptop so she could steal its warmth. When she would sit behind the laptop, she would occasionally look over the laptop as if to say, "Are you done doing whatever it is you're doing, human? I'm feeling ignored." Then she would proceed to smack at my hand when I tried to pet her. It was an awesome cycle to live in. Every now and then, I'd read sections of whatever I was working on to her, you know, for her opinion. I developed a sliding scale with her reactions: if she moved or made a noise, what I read was on the right track. If she continued napping, I was boring her. If she went into another room, maybe I needed to rewrite it all entirely. Pumpkin was a fierce critic.

She was also a source of inspiration, shade, and humor for my writing. Pumpkin inspired my short stories about a cat named Pickles and of course, was the inspiration for six "Answer Your Cat's Questions Day" posts. And who can forget that time she lived in an Ikea bag for a week? Pumpkin-centric posts are some of my most read. Y'all really enjoyed her; I appreciate that every day.

Since she passed in August, I've been on the receiving end of a lot of advice about adopting another cat. One person told me I should wait a month for every year Pumpkin was with me before adopting a new cat. Pumpkin lived with me for 16 years so that means I would adopt a cat in December of 2019. Someone else told me that I've already waited too long. Apparently, I should have adopted a cat two weeks after she died. This seemed cruel and somewhat bizarre to me. Even more people say I seem "lonely" and need to get another cat so I have "someone" at home. I have to wonder with this last group if they'd decided a new cat is my only future since they've stopped encouraging me to try online dating again. If you can't find a man, get a new pet? I don't know if that really works.

I appreciate all the concern, I really do. Being a pet mom was something at which I excelled. Cats, while not easy, are my speed of pet. I always tell people what I love about cats generally and Pumpkin specifically, was the balance of aloofness and neediness inherent in their personalities. Cats know their boundaries for social interactions. Don't want to someone petting you? Hiss and smack their hand away. Not feeling social interactions at all? Hide under the bed or in a weird location like in a tote bag at the back of a closet. (Real thing that happened - it took me two hours to find her.) Need some love in your life? Jump into your human's lap and make it impossible for them to get up. Cats are basically introverts trapped in the bodies of circus performers.

Finding a pet isn't easy. To paraphrase Cher Horowitz, looking for a pet is like trying to find meaning in a Pauly Shore movie. It's challenging, elusive, and you have to wade through a lot of meaningless dialogue before you get to a winner. I have some parameters of my own, like not wanting to adopt an older cat, that make the search more narrow, especially this time of year. Cats are hard, given their propensity for looking like they'd cut you in the parking lot if you walked too close to them. Cats have a lot of personality, but their personalities don't work for everyone. I saw Pumpkin's photo in the newspaper and knew that I was supposed to be her human. I went to the shelter the next day and she was there, waiting for me. It was fate or kismet or whatever you want to think. I've started looking for a new cat friend, but none of the pictures have propelled me out of my house to meet the little dears in person. Are they adorable? Absolutely, but none of them are my cat. Even the one shelter who named their cats after Gilmore Girls characters didn't get me out of the house. No one is going to adopt a cat named Dean, by the way (#TeamLogan). I'll know when I find the cat that belongs with me.

Until that time, I'll coo over adorable little pals over on the Fairfax County Animal Shelter Instagram account and keep a running list of possible cat names. I'm partial to Waffle, Olive, Agnes, Cheese, and Chester right now; food and old fashion names seem to be my thing these days.



*Quote from Kristin Cast, author of the House of Night YA series (I've never read her books, but love this quote.)

Stuff I Love/Lazy Movie Weekend: New Steps, New Steps, New Steps!

I miss Blockbuster. I don't mean this in a "woe is me, things were so much better in the 1990s" sort of way, although we could argue that the 1990s were a magical time. I say this exact phrase during one of the tours at the museum, seconds before talking about the fashion disaster known as the "whale-tail" and calling myself a feminist killjoy. I love volunteering.

No, I miss Blockbuster for the browsing. Yes, I know I can browse titles on Netflix or On Demand, but it's not the same as browsing the aisles at the video store. Going to Blockbuster (or Hollywood Video or any of the other video store chains that existed) was about the browsing. Sure, I might come in with a plan to rent The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles for the millionth time this month, but I'd always leave with at least one unexpected item in my movie pile. Something about the cover of a video would catch my eye or maybe it'd be an employee pick (there as always an employee pick section) or some other special category like "Indie Comedies Featuring a 70s Icon" or "Movies with a Girl Gang." Oddly specific categories are my jam. The more odd and specific you can be with telling me why I might enjoy a movie tells me you're paying attention and maybe stalking me online (I'm looking at you, Netflix).

It's because of Blockbuster that I watched Party Girl, most of Quentin Taratino's movies before I was able to see them in the theatre, and it's how I "discovered" today's Lazy Movie Weekend entry, Strictly Ballroom.

Think about the 1990s in terms of the movies: independent movies were the thing everyone wanted to watch, people beyond Hollywood starting paying attention to film festivals, delightful ensemble movies were popping up left and right, foreign films moved outside of the art house, and weird was cool in movies. Like the music of the time, there was something for everyone and most of it was really amazing. This was my peak movie time; I watched movies all the time and went to the movies as much as I could. I don't know what was going on in Australia at this time, but there was a very specific interest in Australian movies in the mid-late 1990s. In quick succession, you had Strictly Ballroom, Muriel's Wedding, Cosi, Shine, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The Piano, The Sum of Us, Sirens, and Flirting. We introduced to Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Rachel Griffiths, and Toni Collette. Australia seemed like the weirdest and most magical place.

Strictly Ballroom was my Australia gateway movie (yes, that's a thing). It led me to Muriel's Wedding and Cosi and the rest is history. It let me believe that despite my aversion to his version of Romeo + Juliet, I could still get behind a Baz Luhrmann movie. Strictly Ballroom is the first movie in his "Red Curtain Trilogy" and it's my favorite of the three. It's odd and funny and heartwarming and I love it. It's now streaming on Netflix, which is awesome. I've watched it twice since I found this out, and it was magical both times. So, grab some popcorn and maybe a glass of wine, and let's rumba our way through Strictly Ballroom.

• Hey, there's that red curtain. It pops up throughout the whole movie. 
• Baz Luhrmann wrote Strictly Ballroom as a stage play. It debuted in 1984 and was based on his experience participating in ballroom dancing competitions. 
•  Based on the opening sequence of this movie alone, ballroom dancing seems like the weirdest, but funnest world to inhabit. Everything's so sparkly and pretty, if not a little over the top. The personalities are big and brassy. I feel like I missed out on some fun.
• The movie is sort of set up like a documentary at first. We meet the key players and they're all talking about a controversy we haven't yet seen - Scott Hastings, the coolest ballroom dancer ever, using non-federation steps. The nightmare!
• Scott, played by Paul Mecurio, is every leading man of this era, trying to channel cool guy-ness and edginess while ballroom dancing. Like you do.
• That yellow sequin jumpsuit is life! It is something else. I hate a deep V-neck collar on a dude, but this takes things to a whole new level.
• Let's all take a moment to bask in the glory of every single suit Les Kendall appears in during this movie. They're pastel or shiny in a way that no one else could ever pull off.
• 
• Scott's mom, Shirley (played by Pat Thomson), is the greatest stage mom of Australian cinema. "Did I fail him as a mother?" - such delivery. I love every moment is on screen. Sadly, Thomson died before the film was released.
•  A new realization I had during this version of the movie was that Barry Fife (Bill Hunter), the president of the dance federation, is the Donald Trump of the fake Australian competitive ballroom dancing world. From the hair to the shady dealings to his manner towards women, Fife and Trump are the same. Hunter seems to play all Australian bad guys during this period and he's so good. Seriously though, I had a hard time watching him as I made this comparison. 
• The bangs! We need to pause and talk about everyone's bangs in this movie. I used to tease and spray my bangs within an inch of their life too, but these women take it to a whole new level. There's sequins and it all matches whatever they're wearing. Exactly how much hairspray was used during the making of this movie?
• I still don't know what the Bogo Pogo is, even though I've seen this movie a ton. I know it's supposed to be a dance step, but in my heart, it's a really great 90s era Australian synth pop band.
• "You've got a light in you, boy. Let it shine." Just hold onto this phrase if you ever need a pick up for yourself. Also, foreshadowing.
• Liz (Gia Carides) and Scott matching clothing even off the dance floor is a thing of weird beauty. 
•  Scott's sister, Kylie, and her dance partner, Luke, are the greatest. Netflix recommended a documentary to me called Baby Ballroom and I may need to watch it for Kylie. Is competitive ballroom dancing something you're born into or can anyone sign their kid up for this? I wonder.
•  Doug, Scott's dad, is basically a dad joke wrapped in a delightful human being. I love him so much, including his socks and shorts ensembles. 
• And then we meet Fran, the oddball of the dancing studio. She is so awkward and lovely. 
• Paul Mecurio was one of the trained dancers cast in the movie, although he was a ballet dancer and had to go through six weeks of ballroom training for the role of Scott. Tara Morice, who played Fran in the stage play, almost didn't get cast because she didn't have a background in dance. The guy that plays her dad and Tina Sparkle were some of the other professional dancers cast.
• Fun fact: Morice also sang the version of "Time After Time" featured on the soundtrack.
• "Ken owns Spa-a-Rama." This is basically what I think of whenever anyone brags about something horrible that they do, but that they're super proud of without knowing it's horrible. It's all in Liz's delivery.
• And then Fran takes off her glasses and is beautiful and dances better than anyone else in the movie. Or something.
• I can't stress enough how wonderful Doug is. Just watch him dance on the roof of the building and tell me he's not amazing. I will fight you on this. 
• Tina freaking Sparkle. She is so much to handle. The fruit, the name, the bangs. She so much, but also incredibly normal within the world of this movie.
• I can't apply eye makeup very well since I can't really see without my glasses, but I have to say, Shirley's eye makeup in this movie is horrifying. It's what would happen if a teenage girl and a new drag queen both learning to apply makeup got together and helped one another. Too much.
• The "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" sequence is my favorite part of this entire movie. It's so beautiful and makes me want to learn to ballroom dance. Fun fact: Doris Day requested a private screening of the film because of the use of this song. She loved the movie (apparently).
• The eye contact in ballroom dancing is what keeps me from ever wanting to dance (that and the fact that I'm an awkward dancer). It's so intense to watch.
• And then everyone gangs up on poor Fran and sends her back home with no partner. 
• "What is so wrong with the way I dance?" Nothing, Scott. Nothing.
• Scott picked the wrong dance with Fran's family. His paso doble was a joke. Fran's dad and grandma show him what's what and it is awesome. The paso doble mimics the movements of bull fighting, which you can see very plainly. It was created in France in the 1930s, and is widely associated with Spanish and Portuguese dance.
• Of course, this also means Scott finds his heart and love of dance. And gets a shiny gold jacket (which was the most expensive costume and took six weeks to make).
• "Nothing terrible is going to happen." Shirley, don't say things like that.
• So many lies. So much shadiness. I'm telling you, Barry Fife is Donald Trump. It's so obvious to me now.
• And then Scott and Fran fall in love through the magic of dance. As couples do.
• The flashback sequence! It's a delight in its campiness. Apparently, it was supposed to be more realistic, but the budget wasn't there so it was easier and less costly to create a weird, fever dream version of the 1967 competition. Sure. I believe you.
• The Pan Pacific Finals. Tina is with Ken, Liz and Scott are set to dance together again, and Fran is back in beginners where she belongs. Until Doug shouts, "We lived our lives in fear!" and Scott gets his shit together.
• What is Liz wearing? It's like what would happen if a dominatrix and a space pilot had a very yellow costume baby. I have no words for this outfit.
• And then Scott flies out onto the dance floor and he and Fran dance the greatest paso doble anyone has ever seen, with and without music. It is magical and heals everyone's soul and sets the Australian competitive ballroom dancing world on fire. Yes, I just wrote that sentence.
• The "Love Is in the Air" plays and the red curtain closes. 

Do yourself a favor and spend this weekend with the gang from Strictly Ballroom. Then watch Muriel's Wedding, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and Cosi. You'll thank me for it later. It's not exactly browsing at the Blockbuster, but it's close enough.

Scott & Fran image
Yellow jumpsuit 
Scott & Fran 2

Stuff I Love: Weather Forecasting Rodents

It's finally February! January lasted about 700 years so let's all breath a sigh of relief for the end of that mess. The end of January also means it's time for my annual February tradition: Stuff I Love! I guess you argue this entire blog is about stuff I love, but in February I focus on special things I love.

I love random holidays. Give me a food themed holiday or a holiday that celebrates being nice to people and my day is made. February includes one of the greatest animal themed random holidays ever - Groundhog Day. If you don't know about Groundhog Day, I'll give you a quick overview. Groundhog Day was first celebrated in the US within German immigrant communities in Pennsylvania. The first recorded celebration was February 2, 1840. It's derived from German traditions where groundhogs and badgers were used as weather predicting animals (as one does). If the groundhog sees his shadow when he emerges from his hole, we'll have six more weeks of winter and Phil goes back in his hole to go back to napping for six more weeks. If doesn't see his shadow, spring will arrive early.

The Punxsutawney, PA has become the hub of Groundhog Day activity. The first Punxsutawney celebration was in 1886. According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club website, their resident groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, is the only true weather forecasting groundhog. The town celebrates in a huge way and it sounds amazing. I have never visited, but it's a future winter trip.

I don't know when my fascination with Groundhog Day began, but I love it. I don't celebrate Valentine's Day, despite my very successful turn as the first "E" in my third grade Valentine's Day concert, and I'm not a huge fan of Christmas. As winter holidays go, Groundhog Day is my more my speed. Ultimately, it's about a surly rodent who holds the weight of the winter forecast on his tiny shoulders. Little dude just wants to continue sleeping for the rest of February, but no, we need him to tell us whether we have to suffer through more of winter. Punxsutawney Phil is all of us on a bitter cold morning; we'd rather stay under the covers rather than walking to the gym in 19 degree weather. I feel you, Phil.

The 1993 gem of a movie Groundhog Day also plays a role in my love of this holiday. If you haven't seen the movie, do yourself a favor and check it out this year. AMC usually runs a marathon every year (which is funny). Bill Murray stars as Phil Connors, a weatherman who travels with his crew to Punxsutawney to cover the festivities. Phil is a jerk to everyone and has zero interest in rodent-based weather forecasting. Phil finds himself caught in a time loop, where he relives Groundhog Day over and over. He spends the bulk of the movie doing everything from learning new things like how to play the piano, committing crimes, saving people, being nice to his cameraman, Chris Elliott, and falling in love with his producer, played by Andie MacDowell. The time loop keeps going until Phil learns a lesson because that's the way movies work. One of the greatest scenes in the movie is when weatherman Phil kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil and they drive angry. It's magical.

I hit peak Groundhog Day love in 2011 when my wonderful mom sent me a Groundhog Day care package. I was living in California at the time and my mom found all sorts of goodies for me to enjoy. The box included Punxsutawney Phil postcards, a DVD about the magical day, chocolate, and the pièce de résistance, a groundhog cookie cutter. My mom gets me...or indulges my weirdness. I'll let you decide which. The cookie cutter led to my creation of a new Groundhog Day tradition, baking groundhog cookies.

My first batch:

Who doesn't love jaunty scarves and bow ties on weather forecasting rodents? Then there was the year I made top hats:

Edible paper still tastes like paper. Adorable, but still paper.

This year, I decided to go all out for the big day. I made Groundhog Day cards and sent them to my friends and family. People have been enjoying them which makes me happy. A little whimsy in the mail never hurt anyone. Surprisingly (or maybe not), there are a ton of groundhog stamps available online. I'm not the only one who loves this little guy.

I also continued my tradition of making the cookies. I'm almost eight months into my new job and I haven't really done much baking for work. I admit I haven't felt like baking all that much in the last few months, but my croissant class last week was an inspiration. I'm not going to bake something every week, but I feel like I have my baking groove back. Hopefully, my new co-workers enjoy whimsy in their day and eating delicious cookies shaped like weather forecasting rodents. 

Here's hoping that Punxsutawney Phil doesn't see his shadow and we get an early spring. It's the least Phil can do for us.

Movie meme