This is the costume that never ends...

Unfortunately, I am not speaking of Halloween costumes.  These are policeman costumes for the Pirates of Penzance.  And I will say only 2 things about them: first, period-authentic Civil War costumes, while they look AWESOME, are probably not necessary for a live theater production that does NOT take place in the USA during the Civil War. (hello, button fly!  you do not lend yourself well to quick costume changes.)  Second, TECH EDITOR FAIL.  It’s a very good thing that I (and by “I,” I mean “we,” since my MIL sewed almost all of the jackets, leaving me to cut out the pattern pieces and sew the pants together.  I know, she IS a saint!)  know how to put together clothing.  Also, that I (again, I mean "we,") am good enough to improvise when the instructions are MISSING BECAUSE THE TECH EDITOR IS IMAGINARY!!!  Or lazy. Or illiterate.  All of which are actually likely, considering the absolute disaster of a pattern…  Seriously.  They hired an imaginary, illiterate tech editor who was lazy.  Or aliens.  Aliens would work, too.

But all I have left to do at this point is to hem the pants and jacket of the second costume.  Originally they were meant for somebody who is about 6 feet tall.  After skipping too many practices, that person has been replaced by a much shorter person.  So, hemming.  Except I can't just chop off the too-long bits and do a simple hem, because what if they use these costumes again and need it to be for a tall person?!?  Which means hemming by hand, very carefully, to take into account the disparity between the hemline needed and the extra fabric involved.  Blech.

Okay, I feel better now :)  

This furlough thing- I would be much happier if none of the Senators were getting paid until they solved this problem.  Jared has to work, as he's considered essential personnel, but he isn't getting paid.  Assuming that the Senate gets their act together, he will eventually get reimbursed for his time.  However, this makes me grateful for our emergency fund and our food storage.

And on a much happier note, it snowed Thursday night!  Quite a bit, actually, and we had snow on the ground the next morning for my daily walk.

It didn't stick, but it surely was a beautiful sight!
Also, today and tomorrow my church has their semi-annual conference, which means I can feast on the wonderful spiritual messages.

So, happy things:
* snow!!!!
* and because of snow, hot cocoa and other delicious winter treats :)
* beautiful music
* spiritual messages
* lots of yarn with which to crochet and knit.
* good friends and neighbors.
* my family is loving and supportive.
* homemade jams and syrups (chokecherry and blackberry) mmmmmm.
* we're all healthy and we have plenty of food and clothing.
* God is good.