Aug 20, 2010

My Vacation, YOUR ASSIGNMENT




It's Friday at long last, kids!  First things first:  WHO won the McCall's wiggle dress pattern?  The winner of the pattern is....

 

Rebecca!

I'm sure we all remember Rebecca's winning entry, the concise-yet-powerful couplet:

I must confess,
I need that dress!

No one need worry about the state of contemporary poetry after scanning yesterday's submissions!  Thanks again for taking the time and don't wait for the next pattern giveaway to give voice to your poetic selves.

(Rebecca, please send me your mailing address at peterlappinnyc at gmail dot com by 2 pm EST and I'll get this in the mail today; otherwise, upon my return.)


This will be my last entry till Sunday, August 29 as I'll be on a wacky and wild -- but wholesome -- beach vacation with Frankie, Annette, Troy, Sandra, and the gang. 


Here's what I'd like YOU to do in my absence:

ASSIGNMENT

Please pick at least five items from the following list.  You can choose more if you wish but you won't receive any extra credit or anything; the reward will be your own.  

1.  Buy yourself a vintage dress pattern.  Etsy's a great place to start.



2. Watch any Ingrid Bergman film with a one-word title; I recommend Notorious. Spellbound, or Gaslight.



3. Rediscover the joys of Deanna Durbin -- alive and kicking and apparently planning a comeback opposite Mickey Rooney!  You can start here.

4. Read a book about memes.  You can start with Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme by Richard Brodie.  Place it on reserve in the library or purchase a used copy on Amazon; interesting stuff.

5. Oil your mechanical sewing machines and clean the fuzz out from beneath the needle plate. 

6. Go through your closet and pick three things you never wear and are just taking up space.  Give them away.

7. Try this excellent beauty tip from Cathy: start with a 10-minute firming egg white facial mask (a little bit goes a long way and you can eat what's left for lunch), and follow it with a ripe avocado moisturizing mask (ditto).

8. Eat something green at least once a day -- lime Jello doesn't count.  Try something new like kale or chard: steam them and serve with a little extra virgin olive oil and lemon.

9. Treat yourself to some new underwear for heaven's sake.

10. Go someplace you've been wanting to go but haven't made the time.  What are you waiting for?

BONUS TASK!

11. That sewing project that you started that's been hanging over your head for weeks and fills you with despair every time you think about it -- DUMP IT AND MOVE ON.


That's it kids; hopefully your assignment will keep you busy until my return.  I'll have access to my email of course and can read any comments you leave on old entries.  Don't forget the MPB Archives; remember when Cathy gave me a makeover?

Have a wonderful week, everybody, stay out of trouble, and happy sewing!

P.S.  If you haven't signed on as a Follower, now's the time -- it's nearly Sweeps week.

19 comments:

  1. The list, the list ... my head is swimming. Let's see ... I'm off to brush the chard from beneath my needle plate, give away three pieces of underwear and ... er, never mind ... have a great vacation!

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  2. Have a great week, Peter (and Michael too)! My mornings won't be the same until you're back.

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  3. Have a fantastic trip and we will all try our hardest to complete the list. If not, we will just re-read old posts instead ;)

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  4. Your list could fix all that ails the world.
    For even more motivation, read list while listening to this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ2bTI3uANY

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  5. Congrats to the pattern winner.

    I thought that the assignment for the coming week (Here's what I'd like you to do) was the caption for the pic above it. I liked that.

    I did write down to oil my sewing machine and hem the 3 pairs of pants awaiting. I ate broccoli twice yesterday. Is that sufficient?

    NO raw egg anywhere!

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  6. Just wanted to add a suggestion for a terrific novel that deals with memes - 'Snow Crash' by Neal Stephenson. It's the most fun you'll have with memes all summer! (heck - probably all this year!)

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  7. well... i can surely do the bonus task! :)

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  8. Indiscreet is the best one-word Ingrid Bergman film. Absolutely delightful. Have a great vacation!

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  9. I'll take 5,6,8,9 and 11. I really need some new unmentionables, and my (mublety-mumble)th birthday is next week. I *should* treat myself!

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  10. Glad to see that Daniel Craig is going on vacation with you all. Its about time he and Cathy got together.

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  11. Have a fantastic vacation. And don't worry, you can rely on me to complete every one of those tasks while you're away :)!

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  12. I'm always guaranteed a smile when I view your site. Keep up the great work.

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  13. What if I only want to do two? 6 & 8 may be possible...I should do 11. I still haven't finished my skirt.

    I'm going to miss reading your blog while your gone...but I'm going to be busy because WE'RE MOVING BACK TO AMERICA!!!

    And I have to get organized before the movers come on Sept 22nd!

    Enjoy your vacation Peter!

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  14. Enjoy your vacation! I just gave away about 30 things to the Goodwill, so I'm counting that as my five (3 things x 5 things=15, so I'm actually ahead of the game).

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  15. Thank you so much for your nice comment on my blog.

    Great list of things to choose from. I'll see what I can get accomplished.

    Have a great time.

    Trudy
    www.sewingwithtrudy.blogspot.com

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  16. I love your list! Thank you so much for writing it :D Yes I actually do need someone to tell me to clean that fuzz off my sewing machine! And you did post my most fav pic of Daniel Craig. I love that scene of him coming out of the pool!

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  17. OK. So I went to a little village in Moravian Wallachia and ate plums straight from a tree. I think that counts as 10.
    I should have done 5 a long time ago, and I still didn't get to it, so I guess now is a good time.
    I've done 6 before, but maybe I could try again...
    9 wouldn't hurt.
    I don't know what should be the fifth, but I suppose Ingrid Bergmann is a good choice.

    Have a nice holiday! Even if you probably won't read this until you come back.

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  18. Peter I hope the vacation was fun and that you are ready for an all out assault on the suit!

    Re task 11. No I took a deep breath,then ripped out from my winter coat the polyester lining that felt sort of yuk and kept parting at the seams. I cut and sewed a new lining from the terrifyingly expensive and slippery abstract pattern scarlet and black silk. So now I have a coat that looks good all over and on the inside feels ooh so slippery smooth. (Gives small sigh and falls back in exhausted triumph).

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