Took the day off from fieldwork today, probably a good idea to let my body rest in between bouts of it. (Next week is supposed to be cooler - "only" in the upper 80s - so I might be able to do more days). I plan to go out tomorrow morning, though, and try to do two more transects if I can (I have three done, three of 12, though one of those 12 will be shorter than the ones I'm doing now). If I'm really ambitious and it's still less humid (like it was Tuesday), I might even try for 3, especially if I can get up and moving a little earlier - it was after 8 already when I got out there.
I have mail ordered a few more things; a couple little items off Etsy (a couple more baby ponies for my collection, and it's been a while since I did) and I also bought a couple .pdf patterns for stuffed animals from a designer - the "sleepy cat" and "Osharena pony" (that second one being based on the vanishingly-rare-in-the-US Takara style My Little Ponies, which are extremely different from the four-footed pony we are familiar with - these are more doll-like, or more like Sylvanian Families creatures). I ordered them from this designer on Etsy.
One of the nice things about Etsy is being able to order patterns as .pdf files from designers and get them right away. (You do have to be careful. I know these are designed by the seller but there are some sellers on there who have questionable-as-regards-copyright things where they are selling patterns from "out of print" books on the grounds that's somehow OK.. I don't know copyright law but it doesn't seem OK to me. On the other hand: it IS possible to find used copies of the books for sale some times, which is OK.)
(And yes, years ago I was told "fanart" versions of licensed characters were illegal, but it seems that Hasbro has mostly not really pursued that? At any rate, it seems like some companies, as long as you're not doing horrific things with their IP, they seem to figure these days that fan art type things seems to drive interest in the brand, and maybe in the long run the company benefits?)
I mail ordered some Minky fabric (because I really, really want to make a Takara style version of Fluttershy, and I had no yellow Minky, and I can't trust that JoAnn's would have the *right* yellow, even if I do get down there some time soon) but I also remembered I had some at home from when I was going to make a Princess Pony Head from "Star vs. The Forces of Evil" and then never did. So I dug around and found that I have a darkish hot pink, and a dark teal, and a minky-like-but-not-minky pale turquoise. So *if* I can find a white knit or fleece in my stash, I might try the pink out as a test of the pattern....the pattern comes with wings and a horn but I might just make the pink pony an "Earth" pony, a la Pinkie Pie....I want to test the pattern first and it would be nice for Takara!Fluttershy to have a friend.
I have LOTS of acrylic yarn for the hair, I can pretty much pick what color I want (bright-pink pony might look cute with mostly-white hair, with a few pastel strands added in, and of course Fluttershy will get pink) and I have lots of stuffing and the right size lock washer eyes (I am pretty sure, or failing that I can cut felt disks)
I did check to see if Lulu and Hazel's happened to sell Minky (some quilt shops do), with the idea of at least getting a bit of white for the snout before my mail order comes in, but no dice. (And I am unwilling to brave the Mart of Wal for that item, certainly not midday, that's for sure, and with doing fieldwork going there shortly after they open at 7* is not going to happen)
(*They used to be 24 hours, now they've cut back to 7 am to 11 pm, because of the pandemic. I would not have a problem with them keeping those hours in the future except (a) I know there are people who get caught short and need some kind of OTC meds in the middle of the night, and there's really nowhere that's a 24 hour pharmacy here and (b) that means they're restocking at other times, times when I am in shopping, and that's kind of awkward and unpleasant)
It feels good to have interesting projects in mind again. Maybe if I really like this Takara style pattern, I eventually get some light purple Minky and make what I was thinking of eons ago when I was doing the crochet ponies, and make a Rapunzel/Tangled inspired pony, with purple fur and then very, very long yellow mane and tail.
I also bought train tickets for the end of July. Very expensive for a roomette (but then again: my mom said "I have the money, I'll pay for the tickets" and yeah, my dad left her quite comfortable and if she wants to pay, I'm happy to let her). It makes me feel happier to think that in just a bit over a month I will get to see her again and spend more time up there - maybe this time she won't have medical stuff to deal with and also MAYBE the case load will be that much lower and we can do more things. Even if I just carry a couple projects with me and work on them while I'm able to be up there with her, that's good.
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