Mishmash: On the Fritz Edition

All of our appliances seem to be going berserk at the same time -- the freezer is leaking water into the fridge, the washer isn't draining properly and the dryer doesn't seem to be getting the clothes as dry as they used to get -- and I'm not going to say anything at all about our plumbing issues. I suppose that, 8 years into our marriage, it's reasonable that something would stop working, but does everything need to go haywire at once? The fridge repairman is coming tomorrow, and at a minimum charge of $75.00 we will learn to live with the other inconveniences for a little while.

I had been going to say that I hadn't accomplished much creatively yesterday, but that's not entirely true. I simply did not have much success in my creative endeavors yesterday. The chocolate-chip cookies came out well, but the felted-recycled-wool-sweater-hat was a complete bomb -- three times. First I failed to follow the directions properly and cut the thing out wrong, then I used the wrong color thread, and then the brim wouldn't set and the whole shebang looked more like an inverted sweater-bucket on my head than actual headgear.

Besides that, I made a version of the hooded towel/blanket using a linen/rayon blend in place of the usual terry cloth (the pattern in the book calls for 100% linen, which I've had trouble finding) and was very disappointed when the results were neither warm nor absorbent nor cuddly. The big Jo-Ann Fabrics in Mount Laurel has finally started carrying toweling in colors other than pink and blue, so I may experiment with that next -- if I ever use up the terry cloth I have on hand.

In other news, D and I went to Ikea and bought a bright red computer desk and chair and a floor mat that will work in the front hall and closet. I love red! Among D's most important specifications were that he have storage space to stack three plastic shoe boxes and that he be able to close the closet with the desk inside. I'm ok with anything that requires him to be minimalist with his belongings -- the less stuff, the less mess. I'm concerned about why he felt so strongly about being able to close the door, though. What's he planning to keep in there, and is it going to breed?