Project: Magnetic Spice Jars

I saw this at a friend's house. She probably got the idea from pinterest.

Anyway, I thought they would be very handy on the side of the fridge and our spice cabinet is overflowing, so it would help that situation too. So I ordered some small canning jars and strong magnets. I glued them on with some strong glue. Then I cut out circles of fun paper, wrote the spice names and used packing tape to attach the label. There you have it.

Project: Laptop Case for Bike Rack

Now I'm ready to ride my bike to school! I just finished this padded laptop case that secures on to the bike rack that I bought and had attached to the seat post. It seems like it will be pretty secure. This is not a work of art. In fact, it looks quite ugly. 

The bottom is quilted: with plastic grocery bags for padding. They are waterproof. Not that I'm going to let my laptop be out in the rain, but after I ride to school I'll just slip the laptop out and leave the case attached to the rack out in the elements.  

I sewed on two straps. One is long enough to tie and the other has velcro on it. I was just working with what I had; that's why they are different.

 I marked the places where I wanted the straps to go through the bike rack. I sewed the straps in those exact places so the case has four points where it is secured to the rack. This is a view from the underside of the rack.

Dr. Seuss Responds to Gregor Samsa

I've been pondering and savoring this: 

Dr. Seuss responding to Gregor Samsa (from "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka) after Samsa solicits medical advice from the Doctor:

"Samsa, I need you to marshall your will.

There isn't a purgative, poultice or pill

or anything else on the pharmacy shelf

that will make you so healthy as much as yourself.        

You think your new body has made you a bother.

You hold yourself guilty while blameless your father.

Gregor, we'd all die if physical beauty

was needed for others to render their duty."

by David Rakoff

from This American Life episode #470

replayed Aug. 4, 2013

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Metamorphosis

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/470/show-me-the-way

Project: Bike Shelter

My new bike shelter is finished! It took more work than I thought, probably mostly because it was danged awkward working with 6 foot pieces of lumber ("lumber" is too strong a word...change that to "scrap wood").

I think it looks pretty awesome. Probably because of the shiny aluminum roof. The whole shelter cost me about $25: $7 each for 3 sheets of 2.5' x 6' aluminum, $4 for sheet to wood screws. The scrap wood I got from different people who had posted in the free section of Craigslist.

Project: Fun Sparkly Hair Chain

I saw hair chains in the store the other day and I thought, "I can make that." I found a necklace that had broken and some random beads from earrings that lost their mates or from pendants that had broken.

Here's a little explanation of what I did:

I glued the bead I wanted at the end in place with E-6000 industrial strength glue which you can find at Michael's or Amazon. The other two beads are free to move around but will fall down against the last one when the chain is in my hair.

I used fine gauge wire to attach this pendant that had broken off another necklace. I wrapped the wires back down toward the star so that they will not catch anything. 

I used a very small bead to anchor this larger bead onto the wire. The long end of the wire you see is going through the chain. They I bent it with pliers back down into the hole of the bead. Same for the short end, but it just went over top of the chain not through.

I attached the end of the chain with wire again. I wrapped it around the end of a bobby pin and then twisted it up after taking it to the back of the bobby pin. Then...

I wrapped ribbon around wire, gluing it down along the way, again with the good ol' E-6000.

Haiku of the Day - July 19, 13

quiero aprender
la vida que es mía
la que m'encanta

Embarking on a new school year

I’m going to be teaching PPCD Kinder this year. I’m excited, but also nervous. First time on my own. It should be good. We’ve already started with inservice/training/staff development/etc. Our school is going through the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” training. Pretty good, I must say.

The ones we’ve covered so far…

Habit 1: Be proactive.

Habit 2:  Put First Things First - OR - Figure out what you really care about.

Habit 3: Start with the End in Mind.
…
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw - OR - Be nice to yourself, because you only have one of you.

I may have the actual habits mixed up or not worded right. I could google it, but why would I do that when I accept myself the way I am, flaws and bad memory and all?