Concrete... check!

So the concrete is in! Remember last Tuesday when the much needed rain started...

This is what it looked like at our house...

We were halfway through the five truck concrete delivery when the rain started. During the twenty minute breaks in the rain they would remove the huge plastic tarps and break out the power trowel to smooth the surface.

It turned out great!!!

Here are some more pictures, from during and after. I'm also including the floor plan at the bottom of this post.

During the pour. These are before the rain moved in.

















David took these from the roof. Thanks!















If you don't know, David did all of the plans himself using AutoCAD. He did a great job, and it allowed us to customize the addition to fit our needs.


Here's the floor plan.

Lower level (click for a larger view)


Upper level (click for a larger view)

House progress...

So here's where we are now...

We have the form for the concrete in and the inspector came this morning and signed off on it.

Concrete trucks will arrive at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

No turning back now!

Meet Ginny Gump Weasley Glenn...

Please meet our newest friend...

Ginny Gump Weasley Glenn

Ginny wandered up to David last Monday at OzWorks, our friends scenic production company. We originally named her Toto (from Oz), which proved too difficult to say. Then David and I were discussing Forest Gump, and the name Ginny came up. I, of course having just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, had Ginny Weasley on the brain. So she is named after the girlfriends of two of the most unlikely heroes in literature.

We decided to foster her until she found a better home. Now, six days later, I'm not sure that she will be going anywhere. If she does go, it will be to a very close friend or family member. She's having too much fun here. And she has figured out how to use the dog door, which is installed at the proper height for our other three 60+ pound dogs.

And what do the other dogs think? Chica is mildly frustrated with the task of reasserting her position of Alpha female. Calvin has no room in his life for puppies, but I have a sneaking suspicion that he likes her. Winni agrees to Ginny crawling on her and interrupting her couch time, as seen below.

Sorry that those last ones are blurry, but I thought that you might want to see them for scale.

I'm not sure how this will all turn out, but I'll keep you posted. Wish us luck!

Business and pleasure...

First, I'm sorry I've been away for a while. My mom, my friend Karen and I were directors at Camp Winnataska, the greatest place on earth. We had so much fun. When I got back, I hopped right into making my costume for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book release party. Normally I don't talk about business on my blog, but this is one of those times when they blissfully combine. I work at a fabulous library. We has a party from 10:00 to midnight so that people could come and pick up their reserved copies of the seventh Harry Potter book. There were games, costume contests, potion lessons, trivia, and so much fun! They asked me to dress up as the evil, vile, disgusting, mean Professor Umbridge. Here's my costume:

I had so much fun at the party. Scared some kids, gave some kids detention... it was a blast.

Here's another pic from the party of Professor Umbridge and Rita Skeeter:


A few details on the costume:

CAPE
Pattern: Simplicity 3959, View D & E hybrid
Fabric and Trim: The perfect purple and pink tweed from Hancock Fabric. The trim is a variegated chenille that was in the upholstery section.
Details: The cape pattern fastened in the middle (click for the line drawing) which wouldn't do. It wasn't too difficult to change. I cut the front piece on the fold instead of the selvages. The worst part of this plan was to redraw the pattern for the front and side front facings, but it wasn't that bad. The other major change was to omit the lining, which I didn't feel was necessary in Alabama in July. Four large fabric covered button holes, and that was that.

SKIRT
Pattern: Simplicity 4546, View A
Fabric: Linen, cotton, poly blend
Details: The only change to this was that I cut the skirt pieces on the bias.

Any other question... let me know.

Hem, hem
Elin "Professor-Umbridge" Glenn

A gift for my birthday buddy

So my friend Jennifer, has a beautiful daughter who was born on my birthday las year. Since I love my birthday, I find it cool that I know so many people who share it: (Mr. Carlson, Geoff, Eve, Dollie, and that's just the people I know), I thought I'd make Eve a new outfit. And since she is growing like a weed, I gave it too her a bit early so she might be able to wear it. The full pattern review is below the picture of the dress. I'll see if I can get some action shots.



My pattern review (from pattern review)
Hat and Panties
Back of dress

Pattern Description: infant dress, hat and panties

Pattern Sizing: s, m, l & xl, I made the xl (sized for 18-24 months).

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, but I lined the dress and the hat with a different fabric.

Were the instructions easy to follow? They we very easy to make. The pattern is listed as an "Easy Sew and Save." While it was easy, I expected this to be a quick project. It took me longer than expected, but was well worth the effort.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the hat and the dress. I think that there must be an easier way to construct the panties. If I make this again, I will do some experimenting to see what I can come up with.

Fabric Used: Outside: pale yellow with hot pink, green, and blue paisley. Inside: green and white small printed check. Trim: hot pink grossgrain ribbon

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I added pink ribbon to cover the side seams on the panties. I also lined the hat and the dress in a different fabric. I substituted the ribbon or the bias tape for the panty trim as well (which may have added to the difficulty in their construction.)

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would make this again. It was a gift for a friends baby (who shares my birthday). It was an easy project with good results. I hope that it will be a quicker sew next time.

Conclusion I love this style of dress for baby girls. It looks so summery and comfortable. When I found this pattern on sale, I know that I had to buy it to make a gift for my friend's daughter/birthday buddy.