There Seems To Be Something To This Global Warming Thing.

The thermometer in my living room has read 92 degrees for the past two days. Now, before you scamper off to the comments page to tell me of your childhood in the center of the Mojave where the coolest day on record was 674* and that you could only afford to vacation on the surface of the sun, please know this:

I live in Maine. We are not built for this.

Homes in Maine are constructed to withstand Nor'Easters and black flies. They rarely come with central air.

I am a middle aged woman battling a combo platter of PMS and perimenopause.

You may commiserate with me if you choose. But, I beg of you, please don't poke the bear. I am so very hot.

It is safe to say that there has not been much in the way of crafty goodness over the last 48 hours. Yesterday morning I headed out early to run a few errands before going in for a meeting at job #2. As I was being such a good little worker bee, it seemed fitting that I treat myself to lunch. And whaddaya know? The Full Belly Deli just happened to be right there when I made this decision. Ain't fate a beautiful thing? As I rarely dine out, I went whole hog (and I do mean "hog") and got myself the Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich on a kaiser roll with a side 'o fries. Just the thing on a day with full on heat and humidity. However, as I was planning on taking it back to the office where the arctic winds blow courtesy of the air conditioners, it was still a workable choice. Following the meeting, I had a Parenting Education session in a small and ungodly hot little apartment in the middle of town. Time and my dripping state at day's end did not lend itself to project completion.

I spent some time with my favorite stylist this morning and let her know that her project is nearing completion. We chose a buckle for the finished item and she was perfectly fine with my setting it aside for today given the heat. Amy may be a forceful presence, but even she realized that today might not be a day to make me go home and knit. She is a wise woman.

Following a trip to the used bookstore next to the salon, I headed home and did a tiny bit of weaving on my belt. That seemed like a fairly "cool" option. Then I made something of a judgment error.

I broke out the sewing.

Given my overheated and overhormoned state, this was the absolute wrong thing to do. Every step forward on my tote bag was followed by three back. I was able to successfully come up with a strategy for getting the handles completed (the pattern direction on this task was just not working out as intended...I fudged.) and get them basted on. I also came up with a piece to fit into the bottom of the bag to give it some stability and shape. The pattern suggests that you sew in a piece of cardboard between the lining and bag, but I felt that this would be a bad plan given my need for washability. I used batting and the liner fabric to cover a piece of foam board that can sit in the bottom of the tote and be removed easily should I follow my usual path of carnage with sodas, ink and condiments around my fashionable bag.

Remember when I said I was going to follow the directions this time? Ha!!!

This whole process took up the better part of the afternoon. I was sweating more than I typically do during my thrice weekly workout sessions and am just as sore. I am going to check in at my local gym and see if they offer sewing as a cardio activity. I may be onto something here...

Seeing that I was reaching the frustration point, (and not having seen my cats for at least an hour) I made the decision to put the project away until tomorrow. Since then, things have cooled down a bit and it looks like we will be getting some rain. This has done wonders for my mood, but I will resist any thoughts about working on my tote tonight. Knitting might be the better choice.

What could possibly go wrong with that?

SA