tiny reminder, new beginning

It was over a year and a half ago that my beloved bun Moe Skeeto passed away. He was such a great companion, a true little joker and all around funny bunny. For the first few weeks after he passed, I was inconsolable. Every time I went up to the 3rd floor (his gigantic playroom and living area) I felt sad, and I eventually just began avoiding the space. Gradually the feelings of hurt were replaced by happy reminders and fond memories, but it took quite sometime. After my exams were finished in May, I decided to paint a little tribute to him in our garden. There is a large, flat rock surrounded by irises,  and I thought it would be the perfect place to paint his picture. I sketched his image, and used generic acrylics to paint his likeness. It's not perfect, but then again, who or what is? Tiger, our cat, wasn't his best friend, but I knew they had some sort of fuzzy connection. In the nice weather, she goes outside and rests right near his picture. It gives me the fuzzies, too.

In time, the heart can learn to love again. After about a year, I thought about adopting a new little one. After all, everybunny deserves a forever home, right? After school was finally finished, after I finally finished all of my board exams, and after we FINALLY went on vacation! the time was right. I took a trip to the SPCA, and indeed, they had fuzzy ones that needed a home. A small, black female rabbit. No name. Nowhere to go. So I went home, setup her room, went back and brought her home. It was immediately apparent that she was in fact a he. Ms. Toot C. Roll became Mr. Toot C. Roll. He is so different from Moe, yet so the same. It goes without saying that you can never replace a lost love one. But you can learn to love another!

who wears short-shorts?

The other day after m'board exam I did something rare. I WENT TO THE MALL! I'm not a huge mall person, but I really needed some summer shorts. The only ones I have are exercise shorts, or khakis, like Jake from State Farm. Anywho, I found a couple pairs but they were expensive! (NOTE: My current idea of expensive is $15.00... you know why? It would take me 2 HOURS of tutoring to earn a pair of shorts. Sad. ) So no, I did not buy them. But I decided to look up some patterns at home so I could sew some of my own! There's nothing like having a TON of time on your hands!

I came across this FANTASTIC BLOG called Melly Sews with the EASIEST patten for shorts. If you're looking for a fun project, sign up for her weekly newsletter, and she'll email you a link to print out the pattern. Not only that pattern, but all of her others, too! Sew simple! <---- sorry, a little sewing humor.

I downloaded the pattern, cut it out (one for the front, one for the back) and looked through my crazy collection of fabric and decided to make 6 new pairs for myself. That's right. Go big, or go home, right? Seeing that I'm already at home, it kinda contradicts itself.

Anywho, visit Melly's page for instructions... It wouldn't be nice of me to copy and paste instructions because simply, I didn't create it. Just a little reminder if you're sewing clothing: REINFORCE THOSE SEEMS PEOPLE. It takes an extra minute, but it's always worth it. The last thing you wanna do is jump around screaming yee-haw while your hoo-hah makes a break for it.

I always leave a 1" seam, and stitch over it twice. Then, I'll fold in the excess fabric, and stitch over that: This keeps the seam clean and free of frays. And remember: If you're making something, even if it's for yourself, put a tag in it! You don't want to end up like I did when someone ripped off my art as their own. This is an AWESOME project and it is simple, simple! Get this: Each pair of shorts, including the cost of fabric and elastic for the waistband.... COST ME A FRIGGIN' $1.99. WIN!!!