V9771 and WendyB Cleopatra earrings
Hello, I am posting earlier than Thurs December 1 as planned because I’m thrilled to be featured today at the Citizen Rosebud. Thank you Bella!
The last couple of weeks have been nuts. I’m behind on visiting blogs but plan to catch up over the next few days. I miss everyone.
My WendyB Cleopatra earrings arrived and I love them.
V9771 is nearly finished, except for hand sewing the last two inches of the hem, sewing the shoulder pads in place and pressing it out. The kids arrived Thanksgiving day right before I finished the hem so I had to put it down. It will look better when I lose the recently acquired holiday pounds and it works better flow-wise with my Eileen Fisher ponte pants than the Eileen Fisher pencil skirt shown here. The skirt side seams don’t lie flat at the hips. (Other people who’ve tried the skirt on have complained about this too.)
I love the rose red silk charmeuse from Gorgeous Fabrics.
the red shoes may not go with the top but I like them together
No deep thoughts this month. Well, maybe a couple. I was thinking of naming this post Novel Gazing since shortly after posting the last post I realized I don’t want to write a novel. Here’s an excerpt of a comment I posted on Metscan’s post on All Saints’ Day and religion:
“Religion is my favorite subject! I enjoy studying it so much that sometimes I invent reasons why I have to study it more so I can buy more books. For example, I realized shortly after explaining in my last post that I’ve been busy working on a novel that I’m already bored with the novel and don’t want to write one at all. What I really want is to *be* my main character, a cultural historian specializing in the role of religion in the development of Western culture. I want to be that character so I can justify buying all of the books I recently bought in order to “research” my novel. So silly. Martin and I had a good laugh. What a relief that I don’t have to work on the novel, can instead relax and enjoy reading all of my new books :).”
I have this tendency to search out authority to give myself permission to do things I want to do. It’s annoying.
you can see the WendyB cleopatra earrings better in this shot
The weather got cool enough to wear scarves.
hand made coral silk scarf
Our feral kitty Gray got injured. We were able to catch him to get him medical attention, then we tried to keep him indoors but after six days he escaped. At least the wound had time to heal.
you can see the white patch where they clipped Gray's fur to treat the wound
Fall came to Northern California for about five minutes. I rushed outside and took a couple of photos.
tulip poplar tree
back garden
front garden
front garden again
Fall segued into the holidays. Continuing the home tour, here’s the front hallway.
living room to the left, kitchen to the left at the end of the hall
physics exams on coffee table waiting to be graded -- teacher out playing snooker with son
martin's creative floor lighting
My 2007 MacBook Pro and my iPod touch both died within days of each other. Since my pathetic business eked out just enough 2011 profit to replace them, we high tailed it over to the Apple Store Black Friday morning to purchase a Mac Air and an iPhone, my first iPhone ever. Since Friday I’ve been busy moving our entire music and photo library to the iCloud.
yes i did get the kate spade polka dot and pink iPhone case :)
The iCloud has to be the best thing since sliced bread. I was fooling around with the iPhone skype app when I switched over to the music library and there were 12,000 songs from our library, like presto. The streaming works great. You have to be a little patient to let songs buffer up.
The old Mac will be set out to pasture as a DVD player (Mac Air has no DVD player) and hard drive back up storage for the music library and photos.
It would be great to get rid of Windows XP but I have to keep it for QuickBooks and Quicken. And Photoshop.
The other deep thought has to do with the church. There was a temporary misunderstanding that occurred coincident with us learning about the need to apply to the Bishop for permission to remarry in the Episcopal church when either party has had more than one divorce. I don’t mean the church as building — we’re getting married at our house — but the church as officiant. The standard that has to be met is one of “reasonable expectation” that the marriage will succeed. There is a process underway and I’m sure everything will work out fine.
I can’t write publicly about the misunderstanding but I can share that it was an unpleasant experience. Thankfully it is cleared up now, and really no one was at fault. However, before it got cleared up I felt awful. I wanted to chuck those books on religion, not read them.
I have written before about my thoughts on religion. I’m not particularly religious, but I do have a relationship with the church, specifically my church community. Like any relationship, my relationship with the church is not perfect. It exists in the abstract in my mind and heart and exists in reality in each human interaction over time. Sometimes the human interactions don’t align with the romantic vision of my mind and heart. And I know I do not always live up to other people’s ideal vision of what a church community should be. When there’s a glitch, it’s a good idea to step back and consider things from a distance. I did that, and I’m glad I did. I’m still not ready to dig into those books, but I’ll get there soon.
In closing, I wish you Happy Holidays and leave you with this YouTube of a Canadian choir singing a Gerald Finzi piece we sang last week in our own choir. It’s exuberant!
{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }
Red is good on you Susan, and so are the earrings. Have wonderful holidays!
Thank you Lisa. I saw your post and meant to comment but things have been a bit nuts here. I hope you feel better soon, colds are such a drag.
Your WendyB earrings are fabulous!! I rather adore your top and pencil skirt…so cute!! Your pictures of Fall are very lovely!
It is important to remember that the church is made up of flawed human beings, a reminder I think we all need sometimes, and I’m glad you got everything worked out!
Have a wonderful holiday dear!!
Thank you Rocquelle. I appreciate your thoughts on keeping the church in perspective. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones! XOXO
You look STUNNING in that blouse. Really, that color has your name on it.
I enjoying seeing everyone’s holiday decorations. We don’t celebrate Christmas, and don’t really do much for Chanukah, but I do like to throw around some lights for New Years.
Glad you were able to replace the computers and get yourself an iphone. I haven’t tried the icloud yet, but am tempted. I find myself getting less religious/spiritual the older I get, and I started at probably 3 on a scale of 10 when it comes to belief. I love the idea of community, and am interested in religion from more of a historical perspective, but can’t see myself joining/practicing any organized religion.
Thank you Pseu! I do love red :).
I wouldn’t even rate myself on a scale when it comes to belief, but I am spiritual, and appreciate tradition, and am passionate about history. Since I spent so many years being Jewish and found my church home after much intellectual angst, I take a pretty much ecumenical approach to religion. Inclusive and always honoring other traditions. Community, on the other hand, in any one tradition, can be difficult. My community is theoretically amazing in terms of inclusiveness, but it does come down to persons. Need I say more?
Fabulous interview on Bella’s blog. So fun to learn more about you. The WendyB earrings are beautiful on you and so impressed with your sewing. Your talents, skills and interests are limitless.
Thank you Judith. I was so moved by your Thanksgiving post. You write so beautifully.
I’m falling more in love with your house, especially those gardens. To think of having a front AND back garden!
You’re also looking more chic on every new post.
My Mac is so ancient I’m afraid to even take a deep breath around it now. That cloud looks interesting. Will take a gander.
Happy Holidays to your whole gang, Pat
Thank you Pat. I’ll be curious to see what you think of the iCloud :).
The red top is truly gorgeous and very festive.
The Cleopatra earrings look great on you. I’m hoping Wendy will do a slightly scaled down version of these one day, the originals are way too big for me.
Your kitties are darlings!
The whole church misunderstanding business must have been upsetting, but I love the way you explained it. Especially understanding and accepting the human factor.
I enjoy the religious holidays for their nondenominal aspects, the celebration of life, exuberance and family. I enjoy the repetition of customs on a yearly basis and I thoroughly understand that these simple communions have a reassuring nature. They give people a sense of meaning and purpose.
Hi Ana, thank you, I do think the top looks festive, perfect for the holidays. I’m hoping it’s not too festive for the rest of the year though as I hope to wear it whenever I feel like dressing up. This top is definitely going to Paris with me.
The Cleopatra earrings are definitely big. It’s best not to wear them with clothing that interferes, like scarves or a high cowl.
We have similar sentiments about religion.
Hmmm, I think a scaled-down version would take the oomph out of them…meaning you’ll have to wait till I get that big order for an H&M collaboration, where I make all kinds of random stuff because I’m getting paid!
Don’t get me wrong, they’re not too big, it’s just that my neck is on the short side so I either have not wear stuff on my neck that might interfere, or wear it but keeping freeing the earrings if they catch. I’ve worn them both ways actually, but if I want them to swing freely I don’t wear scarves or tops that interfere.
Oujeah! I just can’t wait for a cheap version of your jewellery ;-P
Your post caught me off guard – again. There is so much stuff in it, that I have to digest in small bites ;)
First. I like your dark outfit. I also like the picture of the cats a lot.
Thank you for continuing with the house tour.
Your living room looks comfortable and the Christmas tree is just perfect.
These are my first impressions, I´ll have to concentrate on your text, and complete my comment later : )
Hi Mette, I know I probably put too much in my posts :).
I’m glad you like the continuing house tour!
Beautiful blouse (and the red shoes TOTALLY go!) and earrings…
Glad to hear the wedding planning is semi-smoothing out.
What you said about having to search out authority to make big decisions–that is very me, too. Unfortunately. I always feel like I have to consult a million sources before making a big choice.
Hi Hannah, I’m glad you agree that the shoes and top go together. Martin didn’t think so, but I like them together.
I think a lot of people have trouble giving themselves “authority” to pursue various endeavors.
The earrings against red look particularly holiday-worthy!
Gray is lucky to have you!
Thanks!
Mr. Gray likes life on his own terms :).
Congratulations on featuring on the divine Bella’s blog. I love your new earrings and red is such a great colour on you.
Your garden is beautiful and now I know you’re a fellow cat lover i like you all the more. x
Bella is divine, isn’t she? I am glad you like the earrings and top. Red is my favorite color as you can probably tell from the house.
Kitties rule around here :).
I’m glad you’ve worked things out with your church.
My MIL, back in the day, didn’t marry until she was 35. FIL had married young and had a life that had been totally disrupted by service in WWII and it didn’t come out to the family that he’d been married more than once until right before the ceremony.
The Pastor was a family friend and was negative about the situation to her family. MIL’s parents, seeing a daughter they didn’t think would ever marry, almost at the altar chose to sidestep the Pastor’s concerns. They had 40 years together and brought my husband into the world, everything worked out! I hope it will for you too.
What a wonderful story, thank you. Again, no pointing fingers, but I did feel judged, as if I hadn’t already taken serious moral inventory, not to mention receiving two annulments in the Roman Catholic church, which took years to get and involved the testimony of family and friends. Yes, I accept responsibility for my part in the failed marriages, but at some point it’s time to move on. Martin and I have lived together seven years so far, which to me speaks volumes regarding our ability to meet the standard of “reasonable expectation.” It really was a misunderstanding, but I can certainly relate to your FIL’s situation, the Pastor’s concerns, and the reaction of your MIL’s parents.
There is a lot to this post- I think i will comment in small bites. First then let me say it was a pleasure to interview you- I love your attitude, your sound view on love and your personable way of blogging. I hope lots of people get the pleasure to discover you and your journey through your blog.
Now: The FALL photos- absolutely marvelous. The yellow tree pics just stir my soul. And your house is lovely. It feels loved, lived in and serene. Thank you for sharing.
the Citizen Rosebud
Enter my Karina Dress Give-Away!
Thank you Bella, I love your attitude too. I’m so glad I found you!
Hi Susan,
Re your comment, that made me laugh, “my husband and adventure” would never really appear in the same sentence!
I love the coral sides above and long earrings are passport to glamour in my book. What a beautiful home you have, it looks so warm and comfortable.
Hi Tabitha, that’s funny. You and your husband do seem to go on glamorous adventures together though. Remember the recent vroom, vroom ride to the castle in the highlands?
I love the idea of long earrings being a passport to glamour, I certainly feel glamorous wearing those WendyB earrings.
First off I have to say fabulous interview and thank you for the mention.
You look fabulous in red and in the WendyB earrings. Gray looks sweet and he is lucky to have you. I’m all for living life on one’s own terms, increasingly so as I get older.
I love it when you write about the church and religion. I have rather a complicated relationship with both, although I tend to be rather spiritual and a firm believer in ritual and the potential that religion and the church have to offer. It is something I might explore further in my new location, as I have been noticing a yearning for something. It has been a long time since I had a relationship with a church or its community.
Why windows for photoshop instead of on the mac? Quickbooks I understand.
Hi Mardel, you are more than welcome for the mention in the interview.
Yes, Gray does insist on his terms despite our efforts to convert him :).
Well I am glad someone likes it when I write about the church and religion. I have sometimes thought of writing more about it but don’t want to bore my readers. Maybe I’ll start a separate blog. My relationship with the church and religion is also complicated. I too am spiritual, love the ritual, and believe in the potential. For me it’s also a way to experience beauty and peace while grounded in the history of my culture. We don’t generally give the church much credit these days for its contribution to culture, but I am aware of its rich gifts, including the medieval university from which our modern versions descended.
As an ex Adobe employee, it’s hard to pay retail for Adobe products :). The version of Creative Suite I have, CS4, is a Windows version I got while my son was still employed at Adobe and I was a Windows only user. He converted me to Mac in 2010, but I didn’t want to spend $$ on Mac CS4 given that I still need Windows anyway for QuickBooks and Quicken.
First of all, what a gorgeous garden! both front and back!
I’ll have to get over to bella and find out more aabout you~
Jealous of thte I phone–I’ll be the last one to get one….boo-hoo.
Dont you just love photoshop?
Hi Paula, I do love photoshop! And I love the cute iPhone. I thought I was late getting one — they’ve been available since 2007 — but sometimes waiting for hardware is good. It gets faster and cheaper, and they work out a lot of the bugs and issues along the way.
Hi Susan, In the interim between now and when you get a million bucks to buy Photoshop for your new Mac, have you considered giving Gimp a try? I think that’s the name – the free version of Photoshop that lots of people seem to use.
Hi Pat, that’s a good idea, although Martin told me yesterday there’s a cool deal for faculty at his college to obtain a personal copy of Creative Suite. It’s related to the license for the campus. So it looks like we’ll be able to get the full edition for the Mac :).
Your style is getting honed — you seem more confident with it in each and every post. It’s very clean and classic, uncluttered but with a strong nod to whimsy and/or iconoclasm, no? The Converse, the strong earrings, the two shades of red in top and shoes (a deliberate contrast I’m surprised to like so much). Interesting to watch this development.
Thank you Mater, I do feel more confident! Your description of my style reminds me of how I like to keep our house and my life: clean, classic and uncluttered. I do want a strong nod to whimsy, which I think of as expressing my sense of humor. As for iconoclasm, I wouldn’t have thought so as in some ways I am more of a traditionalist, but I suppose the iconoclasm is there, especially in the converse, they’re becoming sort of a signature piece. I plan to buy them in lots of colors. When I wear them I feel cool, even cooler than when I put on my Ray Ban sunglasses.
If I could afford to buy the entire line of Wendy Brandes jewelry I think I would want to buy almost all of it which I suppose also says something about my style. On the other hand some of her pieces are so elegant I doubt I’d wear them often if at all because most of the time I don’t want to sacrifice comfort and freedom of movement enough to wear the kind of clothes that would do justice to that level of elegant jewelry.
I still have mixed feelings about elegance vs cool. Wendy manages to pull off both, often simultaneously, but also separately. She’s versatile :).
I’m happiest in my basic uniform of jeans and dressy black tee with accents or other similar, simple variations. I seek out accessories to elevate this uniform.
This color is striking on you. You look so incredibly gorgeous.
http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88
Thank you! The color is certainly festive. Sometimes I wonder if it’s a bit too festive :).
Love that you were able to look clearly at your goal and decide that you don’t want to write a novel! So many of us get stuck on a goal, often not realising it’s only part of a picture, or needs to be recycled.
Love you in red. Beauty fabric indeed.
Love your beautiful home.
Thank you Jennifer. It is a relief not having to write a novel :).
Let me just say that I love everything about your blog and this post! I felt like I was on a whimsical, magical, fairy-tale of life according to Susan T. Your humor and your transparency is refreshing. Believe me, I can share some of your sentiments towards religion. It is intriguing, interesting, and mind-gasmic as research. I love learning new things from different points of view. God is my source. I try not to get carried away in religion. Oh and I my iphone too. It’s the best! Thank you so much for your gracious and kind words on my blog post always. I appreciate you!!
Peace and Blessings
Dee
http://cheapandfabulousmom.wordpress.com/
Peace and blessings back to you Dee, and thank you for your kinds words. I also try not to get carried away with religion :).
Better late than never? Would you agree? Happy Belated Thanksgiving, and now I can wish you a very happy Christmas and New Year. I was taking a break from work, got tired of slamming the printer cover, every other page gets jammed…aargh!!
Susan- those earrings are so incredibly beautiful, I like to say to die for but I cannot say that. They are very complimenting to your face and just gorgeous. I love the first photo a lot even though you say that the skirt is not fitting right.
So great to see the two kitties napping together and I hope your feral is doing well.
I too like religion but not dogmatic religion, I feel that our evolution is tightly knitted to religious revelation. If you feel like exploring one try bahai.org. That is what I belong to while by precious husband is a lovely methodist…got to love them for their good works and hymns.
That you were thinking to do a novel shows how talented you are but I even like the second idea more, you as the character exploring religious revelation.
We need to chat more some day…we should do coffee some day…any chance you would come down here?
Sending you lovexxxx
Mona, Happy Belated Thanksgiving to you too and I also wish you and your husband a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I am glad you like the WendyB earrings. They’re fantastic. As for the kitties napping together. That was so rare we took a gzillion photos of the miracle.
I love aspects of all faiths, including bahai, but feel most comfortable practicing each week as an Episcopalian. I do enjoy the readings you post on your blog and thank you for the link.
We do want to get back to LA, maybe in January. I’ll let you know.
I am still waiting for the day Ollie and Augustus nap together.
I know what you mean about being comfortable with a faith you are comfortable with. My brother-in-law may be an Episcopalian minister but I almost think Presbyterian.
And yes, do let me know if you are heading out here. Those Wendy B earrings are expensive but so majestic…good purchase.
xx
I’ll definitely get in touch when we know what we’re doing. As for the WendyB earrings, at least it wasn’t me splurging — Martin got them for me!
That Martin is a keeper : )
I just saw your note on Metscan. I was sorry to hear that. I am glad that I have met you and I consider you a dear friend. xx
Thank you Mona. That means a lot to me. Have a beautiful weekend. xoxo
You are too gorgeous to depend on your mirror for your gorgeous outfits. I want to see them, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
I adore your cosy home, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Thank you so much for your alaways kind comments
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Thank you! I tried the tripod and it flipped me out so the mirror it must be :).
I am glad you like our home. I wish I could invite you over!
Susan, oh the ‘tiny arrow” window is the one with the orchid, I probably didn’t make that clear, they are three rooms away from each other, it’s in the old part of the house.
Got it :).
Hello Susan, thank you so much for coming to my blog, becoming a follower, and for leaving your kind comments :)
I have also been wanting to find the time to visit the blogs of Mette’s followers. I usually comment on the blogs of my own followers first, then find I run out of time to look elsewhere. Clearly I am missing out!
Your home is just lovely and it looks wonderful with all the decorations. When time allows, I shall have a look through your previous posts . I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Abby, you are very welcome. And I completely understand about running out of time!
Thank you for your visit.
Hi Susan,
Just popped over from Metscan’s….no I do not have a blog!
Wow you are one very popular blogger,love the ear rings. Ida
Hi Ida, thank you, I appreciate your visit and I’m glad you like the earrings.
Susan, I need to say Thank you! Thank you for your interest in what I have to say and show. :-) Your evolving comments on my camera where so funny, I had to read them out loud to Mr Paula who sends you Season’s Greetings.
Your tree is in such a perfect shape, ideal!
I am curious, since you posted late November, we might be lucky and get a change to read another posting in 2011? No pressure of course.
Hopefully the church won’t become a problem (if it not already has become one by now).
On Mac and Windows – I work on a Mac at work (no windows programmes running on the computers) and on a Samsung/windows at home and I prefer windows over Mac. I never got along with Aperture and windows comes with so many usefull free opem source add ons. Mr Paula’s brother gave their parents an Apple years ago – because the two sons had become fed up with all the support their dad needed on the windows machine. teh he. I have to admit, the support time went down close to null.
Hi Paula, thank you and please send Seasons Greetings to Mr Paula for me. I told Martin about your camera and we looked DSLR cameras, wow are they expensive! Before splurging on one I think I should learn more about photography. There are some great classes at my local community college, unfortunately I can’t start still Summer 2012 because we’ll be gone almost a month in March, too much time to take off in the middle of a class. I’ll start reading and learning on my own before then and will try to take better pictures with my point and shoot.
I am limiting posts to once a month now, it’s just easier since I write long posts :).
The church situation is fine now, no problems.
Mac vs Windows? I think Macs can be a lot easier but not necessarily. I do like my Mac better than my Windows machines.
Hi Susan,
First time commenter, but I do enjoy your blog, especially the sewing.
I have given you a blog award on my Red Cardinal blog. Do pop over for a visit! Happy Christmas from Australia!
Thank you Patricia, I will come and visit, but as for awards, I don’t accept them because they come with conditions and I like to be independent when it comes to posting.
Hi Susan,
Sorry I am so late with my comment. I have had such a busy three weeks that I barely had any time to get on the internet. You are looking very lovely in that red shirt, and that purple one too. The earrings look great with both.
I love your home. It is so welcoming and cozy, Susan. Martin did an awesome job with the floor lighting. Do the kitties get into it?
No worries Angie, I struggle to keep up with blogs myself. I am glad you enjoy the home and outfit photos, and Martin’s creative lighting. The feral kitty Gray is rarely inside as it’s hard to trap him and he always escapes. Brownie on the other hand likes to take a swat at the lights and ornaments.