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Monday, 03 May 2010

Currently
Shallow Hal
By Jason Alexander, Kyle Gass, Daniel Greene, Nan Martin, Bruce McGill
see related
Sts. Timothy & Maura

Missing your usual blog post? You're going to have to head on over to Wordpress to read it! That's right - this blog has now officially moved! Adjust your bookmarks and RSS feeds accordingly.

The new blog address is:
http://thatsadancerslegmargaret.wordpress.com.

Friday, 30 April 2010

Currently
Mad Men: Season Three
By Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks
see related
St. Pius X

Friends, this transferring over of my blog archives thing has been really kicking my butt. It’s not that it’s that difficult or tedious (though I imagine the tedium will come), but, man, it’s been emotional. How was I supposed to know when I started blogging in 2005 that my whole life was about to change? That things were going to be set in motion that would affect me for years to come? 2005 was the beginning of so many things for me. I started back to school, began several new relationships that were going to have a major impact on my life, and started a new job. 2005 was the year we started making movies. 2005 was the year I learned how to swing dance.

It’s been a little intense going back through all those blog posts, remembering all these things that had started to fade from my memory, not just the stuff I blogged about, but all the things I didn’t blog: all the drama and the heartbreak. 2005 was a beautiful year in a lot of ways, but it was also the year I broke my heart twice over one guy, started a relationship with another that was going to break my heart many more times in the years to come, and that was just the beginning of the drama. I didn’t blog directly about a lot of that – 2005 was also the year that I learned that it wasn’t a good idea to blog too frankly about your emotions, particularly if you blog about starting to fall in love with a particular guy who then doesn’t treat you like a princess in front of your protective male friends, who then start threatening to lay in wait for him out in the parking lot, etc. Which means that you, who are hurt by how the guy’s treating you (although you know that it’s more because of his own nerves and social ineptness than because he doesn’t value you), have to now deal not only with your own feelings and handle a delicate situation with the guy you’re interested in, but also soothe the outraged sensibilities of these other males so that they don’t make a bad situation worse. And it’s kinda hell. (I’d managed to forget about most of that. Sigh.) That was the only blog post I’ve ever deleted, and I’ve been a lot more careful since then. But even reading the public posts reminds me of what was happening behind the scenes. And like I said, 2005 was a big year.

The other thing about going back through these old blog posts is remembering who I was back then. I was so young, and so eager for life. I rushed into everything – school, relationships, projects. I wanted to live life to the full, and I did. It was a lot of fun. I was so ready to believe in happy ever afters and fairy tale endings. I just knew that all my dreams really would come true if I just worked hard and believed with all my heart. I was ready to love, and sure that other people really would be the best version of themselves if they had the chance. I miss that part of myself, but I also grieve for that girl, for all the heartache and pain that was going to come as dreams didn’t come true, people (including herself) didn’t live up to what she’d hoped they’d be, and all the fairy tale endings faded away.

To be honest, though, I don’t know if I would have done anything differently. I did the best I could at the time, knowing what I knew then, trying to love God and the people around me with all my heart. I wish that I’d made some different decisions. There are too many times when I panicked and ran when I wish I’d stayed, or stayed in situations when I should have run as fast as I could. But I did my best with what I had, and that’s all you can expect.

There’s some things I’d like to reclaim of who I used to be. I don’t miss the drama and the recklessness, but I miss the fun. I miss how much I used to enjoy whatever I was doing. I don’t have any idea how I’ll do it, but I’d like to add a little of that back into my life. Yes, life has thrown me some serious curve balls in the past few years, some of which I’ve fielded better than others, but I’ve been sad long enough. It’s time to be happy again.
Also: Three days til this blog moves permanently to Wordpress! Adjust your RSS feeds accordingly!

Wednesday, 28 April 2010

Currently
Murder Must Advertise (Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries)
By Dorothy L. Sayers
see related
St. Louis de Montfort

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Wish List

My birthday is fast approaching, but when Aunt S asked me last weekend what I wanted for my present, I had no idea what to tell her. Now I know that I’m going to ask for help fixing my sewing machine (more on that Friday), but I was thinking that if I could jettison all practical considerations (like the impulse that led me to ask my parents for an iron), and leaving aside, say, trips to Vienna or being set up on a blind date with Michael Bublé (did I tell you about the killer dream I had about him?), this is what I would want for my birthday:

Protagonist Necklace from Lioness Den Jewelry

Because sometimes I need a reminder that, yes, I am the hero of my own life, not just a walk-on in someone else’s.

Felted Slippers from Bure

Because we need a little gratuitous beauty in our everyday lives. Also, did I mention that my house gets cold?

When Was The Last Time You Thanked Your Heart For Beating print from Farouche.

Since my brother’s death from a heart attack at age 30, I’ve been hyper-conscious of my own heart, and how grateful I am that it continues to work for one more day. This print sums up that gratitude for me.

Purple Tower for Curtain from Intres Handmade.

It’s not PC, but since I was little I’ve had a small daydream about being a princess in a tower. Though frankly anything from this shop would be very welcome – I love her felt bonsai trees too!

Blushing In Pink dress by Ouma.

Every woman’s wardrobe should include one completely unnecessary, utterly gorgeous dress that makes her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

Swirling Embrace print by Amy Erickson

Sometimes, when you’re really lucky, when the stars align, and your guardian angel decides you’ve been extra special good, this is what a dance feels like.

Merino/Angora/Cashmere laceweight yarn (1250 meters) from The Gossamer Web.

Do I need more yarn? Heavens, no! I could knit for years without ever having to buy another skein. But… but… it’s so pretty. And soft. And that color! And, well, I want it.
Also: Five days til this blog moves permanently to Wordpress! Adjust your RSS feeds accordingly!

Monday, 26 April 2010

Currently
Pavarotti Forever
By Luciano Pavarotti
see related
Pope St. Cletus

Once upon a time, back when I read romance novels (like, a lot) there was one period romance author I particularly liked for her interesting plot lines, and fascinating, psychologically complex heroes. And by psychologically complex I don’t mean the typical Byronically sulky romance hero, but men who were struggling with actual clinical problems. In one her hero has a major stroke, the side effects of which convince his family that he has gone mad. The Quaker heroine discovers him in an insane asylum where she learns that he isn’t crazy, he’s just lost the ability to speak. This leads to his reinstatement in his former privileged life (he is, of course, a Duke), him falling in love with her, and lots of fun romantic drama plus some fairly hot sex.

A few years back I stopped reading romance novels for various reasons (available upon request, but too lengthy to go into here), but every once in a while I can’t resist picking up one of my old favorites. The other day I saw a copy of an early novel by this author, first published in 1989, and I had to check it out. This time the hero was a reluctant war hero, suffering from PTSD which has left him devastated, and the heroine is the incredibly naive princess-in-exile of a small European monarchy (think Luxembourg) on the verge of revolution. Unfortunately, things got infinitely more complicated from there. There’s various villainous relatives on both sides, schemes so Byzantinely convoluted that after a while you’re not sure which way is up (and not in a good way), the British navy circumnavigating the globe, Arabian sheiks, and international politics. There is so much wildly improbable stuff going on that when our heroes are stranded on an island for months, and then get kidnapped by Arabian slave traders you don’t even blink. It’s enough to give you a headache, and remind me of part of the reason why I don’t read this stuff anymore!

In other news (yes, I know I use that phrase too much), on Saturday Ani and I had our first ever ‘Stache Bash (aka The Mustache Party). We had the Eating With Mustache competition (competitors had to eat soup, ice cream and peanut butter crackers – Johnsy won), awarded a prize for the Best ‘Stache (Rosie took the honors for that one), and had everyone create original works of art dedicated to The Honor And Glory Of The Mustache, which they then presented to the entire group. We had an original limerick rhyming “mustache” and “panache”, a sculpture using grapes, toothpicks, and a strategic smear of mustard, a magazine collage presented with an interpretive dance, and many other memorable presentations. In the end the Grand Prize went to the magazine collage. It was a good time.

It was mostly Ani’s friends at the party. Usually when I throw a party my standard procedure is to invite the world, half or a third of the world shows up, and we’re good. However, Ani wasn’t quite comfortable with that, so we both agreed to invite only a limited number of friends. The problem was that I just… didn’t know what to do with that. How do I invite some of my friends and not others? Do I decide based on who I feel closer to? Who I think would enjoy the party more? And then what do I do about my family? If I invite one or two of my sisters I really ought to invite them all, and then that’s my entire guest list. In the end I figured out a few people to invite, but I felt so conflicted about the whole thing that I didn’t promote the party much, and in the end only Rose and her friend Cinder showed up for my side. That worked out pretty well in the end – I think Ani’s friends felt much more able to be silly with less strangers there, but next time I’d like to have a few more of my own friends present. I’ll just have to figure out how to invite them…
Also: One week til this blog moves permanently to Wordpress! Adjust your RSS feeds accordingly!

Friday, 23 April 2010

Currently
The Tudors: The Complete Third Season
By Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill, James Frain
see related
St. George

First off, I have an important announcement: we're moving. No, not physically moving - I already did that once this year, and have no intention of doing it again. I mean the blog is moving. I've been thinking about this for a while. When I first started this blog way back in February of 2005 I really didn't have any intention of blogging. Mostly I wanted to keep in touch with people from the youth group I was helping out with. Only once I had a blog, I started using it. Flash forward five years, almost all of those people I joined xanga to stay in contact with have long since abandoned their xanga accounts, but I'm still blogging. And I think it's time for a change. Xanga has been good to me, but you have to admit, it's a little... teenybopper. I need something a little more grownup.

Consequently, starting next month, this blog will be moving to Wordpress. The address is: http://thatsadancerslegmargaret.wordpress.com.

I've been working hard to transfer all of my xanga blog over. Unfortunately there's no easy way to do it, so I'm doing a lot of Copy and Paste. So far I have the last couple months of this year moved, and the first couple months I ever wrote. It's been fun going back through the old archives, revisiting myself five years ago. So much has changed since then, but so much has stayed the same. I think the very first blog post I ever wrote is as true today as when I wrote it so long ago.

In other news, yesterday afternoon I ended up giving Rosie a ride out to Wright State. While I was out there it occurred to me that I was somewhat near Fairborn during normal business hours, something that almost never happens, and I could visit the yarn store. Not that I need any yarn right now, but sometimes it's nice to see the yarns somewhere besides my computer monitor, and maybe I could ask the proprietor if there's another way to start the Queen Anne's Lace Shawl that won't make me want to throw things. So I headed over there and had a lovely time fondling yarns and chatting with the shop owner about all things knitting. As I was checking out (you try to walk into a yarn store and walk out again without buying something. Go ahead. Try it. I dare you.) I told the story of having to rip out my incipient lace shawl and turning to sock knitting to soothe my frazzled nerves. Another customer expressed astonishment that I found sock knitting soothing, which led to me mentioning that usually I do two at a time using one long circular, and the yarn store owner asking me if I would be interested in teaching a class. I was rather taken aback at this. I mean, I haven't been knitting all that long, plus I knit oddly (somehow I taught myself to knit left handed even though I'm not), and ... seriously? Me teach a knitting class? But she seemed entirely serious. So I left her one of my Etsy business cards, and said that another day I would bring my things and show her, and if she was still interested, I would be open to teaching. So... we'll see.