Great Lakes Relay 2008

Today, I am unable to squat or touch my toes. For three days, this past weekend, I was privileged to run the Great Lakes Relay with 9 other unbelievable women, treking across the state of Michigan, 270 miles West actually, to Empire, on the shore of Lake Michigan.

Total hours of sleep? mmm, 12? maybe?

The important thing to remember is that the number of miles I ran were more than the hours I slept.

L-R: Jean, Aubrey, Liz, Joanne, Kathryn, Chelsea, Corinna, Rebecca, Janet (Not pictured is the great Jesse, who got sick and was only able to run on Day 1 so she gets a special picture featured above. Jesse was missed sorely the rest of the weekend but we’re glad you’re okay!!! )

Easiest part: eating snacks in a car all day.

Best part: getting to know the great people on the team, oh! and,er, running over 24 miles through the most beautiful parts of Michigan.

Hardest part: while snuggled in the back seat of the car on the way to the start of Day 3’s race, being told at 5am-with only 4 hours of sleep–less than 8 for the past two days– that I have to wake up and get in the other van to get to my leg of the race. That was harder than any sandy hill I ran the whole weekend. Wow, that hurt.

Most memorable: shoes disappearing into the mud as I ran…ankle deep in a swamp, raining hard, with no one in sight for miles. Ya-hoo.

Oh, and one more memorable moment: I was waiting at the end of my leg with another stranded runner. My van drove right past me and I ran down the road, I mean hobbled, waving my arms. No luck. I was left with a water bottle and a plastic baggie of trail mix at the corner of “lost” and “stranded.” The other runner’s van came and they said they’d send word that I was left behind. My team did return finally. I was never worried. My trail mix would have lasted for weeks!

For a complete slideshow, with detailed descriptions, go to my flickr set here.

 

For hire…Irish Grave Maestro

It just so happened that my Irish fiddle instructor, Jessica, and I were both working on the South side of Chicago Wednesday afternoon. There’s no better way to take a mid-week break than to stroll through your local graveyard. We decided to meet up in Mount Olivet Cemetery (111th St.) and pay homage to Chief O’Neill, for whom the bar on Elston is named after and for the tune that is still played today. You may know my other mortal expedition to Graceland Cemetery that produced Miss October that graced the 2008 Calendar. See those pics at my flickr page.

Francis O’Neill was an Irish immigrant who became Chief of Police in the early 1900’s and had a great influence on Irish music here in Chicago. I’m a little confused on the history so I hope we’re standing in front of the right monument…the apparently official story from Chief O’Neill’s Pub says he died in 1936. So maybe 1904 was a really big year for him? PBS also did a bit about him a while back…

We took a peak in the side window where glass had broken. Anyone care to shed more light on those urn-like things resting on the opposite windowsill?

While we were admiring this burial site, our new friend, Bob Carten, came walking along and started to chat. He, like Chief O’Neill, is a retired cop. He has an extensive history to share as his life story came literally spilling out of his wallet.

We even got the polka dot car to join in:

I took out my digital recorder for the playing of Chief O’Neill’s Favorite Hornpipe in front of Chief O’Neill’s grave…with Bob’s life stories floating in and out of earshot. When I got home that night, I played back the track and realized that it never stopped recording. I will spare you all five hours of it. I’ve narrowed it down to five fascinating minutes of mostly cemetery wind. You’ll also barely catch snippets of Bob’s stories, Irish fiddle playing, more wind, and at the end you hear me zip up the recorder inside my fiddle case while we’re still talking. Oops!

Bob requested we play some fiddle tunes in front of his father’s grave at some point. That would be an interesting niche market, no? Check your local listings soon…”Tombstone maestro for Hire.” Bob is also looking for a way to share or publish his stories. This blog is a start.

Because I only want to share the perfectly “enhanced podcast” through the best technology available to me, I will post the podcast of our cemetery visit in the next post. Translation: I’m not so tech saavy with zee audio file and still workin’ on it. So, check back soon.

 

3 minute scarf

“That is the most Jean Fitzgerald photograph I’ve ever seen….you know, sans Polka-dot car.”-Natasha. This was taken at the Swap-o-rama-rama in  good ole Chicago. I arrived Saturday at the event with my dear friend, Liz, pictured to the left of the giant mound of free and amazing clothes:

I did put on a personal small-scale clotheswap in my own home a few weeks ago as featured earlier in this blog but that pales in comparison to this event. This specific Chicago Swap-o-rama-rama -there have been many held in other cities- served as a fundraiser for a newly proposed school called Three Sisters Folk Art School to be located outside Chicago. Their tag line was “Creators not Consumers” and they described the event as “part Project Runway…part clothing swap…learn to turn  “fiber trash” into wearable treasure.”  I can get into that…old clothes manipulated on the sewing machines and then displayed on the runway in celebration of the thrift.

Here is a quick clip from the founders of the Swap-o-rama-rama:

and yes that was a cyberdundant move of me…

At that event I learned how to make way cool earrings (tba at a later post), silkscreening techniques, loom demos, and my favorite…the 3 minute scarf!

First, I gathered random shreds of yarn, especially the fluffy, poofy kind. I cut them at unscientific lengths that I thought sufficed. I suppose you could shred a t-shirt or other non-fraying fabric into your desired length as well.

Then I knotted them randomly, I mean, intuitively, together. The more knotting you do, the shorter your scarf length will become.

Presto! A scarf in just minutes from scraps of yarn.

Although, I ‘ve been altering and knotting while at stoplights and in line at the grocery store— I guess it’s the 3-minute scarf that reincarnates.

 

Cyberdundance

An altar was created this evening in my home. If you don’t recognize these angelic faces, then you probably never went to Catholic school and you haven’t gotten the latest “Men” issue of BUST magazine, featuring Jermaine and Bret of Flight of the Conchords.

At this point I am going to partake in what I call “cyberdundancy.”

cyberdundance: the act of re-posting, regurgitating, or recycling Internet information in another Internet location.

So pardon my cyberdundant youtube link but I think we should all spread the Good News during this Easter time :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5hrUGFhsXo

Oh, it’s so good and so catchy. Watch them all.

And while I’m spending time in the adoration-sphere, let’s take a visit to Leslie Hall Land. You may be aware that I had the privilege of posing with the famous ‘cewebrity’ last month in front of the Polka-Dot car. After our photo shoot we totally high -fived.

In true cyberdundance, I have just recently made a comment on her myspace page. Check it out before it gets buried under her other comments from fans.

The pictures are also on my flickr page…hmm, where else can I be cyberdundant?

 

Never go to the stationery store again!

 

As requested, here’s how to make an envelope from a random or not so random piece of paper. At the end, you will also be able to make a re-moistenable glue recipe for sealing the envelope! This “not so secret trade-secret” was used in my greeting card set that is currently featured at jeanfitz.etsy.com.

First off, put your ruler away. Just some scrap paper, scissors and good ole school glue is all you need to start. Just as I dislike using measuring cups in such recipes like my intuitive hummus, I also dislike using rulers to make paper stuff. A lack of a ruler builds character.

1.) First, figure out what it is you want to envelop (Greeting card, folded letter, etc.) and have it on hand. You will use it to gauge the size of your envelope. Gauge, not measure!  2.) Now, figure out what you want the envelope to be made out of…your 2nd grade report card, your parking ticket, sheet music, or my personal favorite: old maps. Tear a magazine page or snatch that pretty wallpaper sample. It’s more pleasurable to open an envelope made out of a stronger/thicker paper then the item you’re enveloping so choose wisely.

3.)Figure out which side is the prettiest or what you want to show on the outside and turn that face down. Place your card or item you’re choosing to envelop on top of the envelope sheet. Turn it at an angle so that all four corners are within the boundaries of your bottom sheet. It should be as centered as possible but don’t worry about perfection, that’s for those ruler toting folks. Ick! 4.) Now fold and crease each triangle corner up to the edges of your card. Yes, flush with the edge…almost as if it was, ahem, the ruler. Remove the card from inside and open your four flaps.

5. This is the tricky part. Use scissors to cut out each corner where the flaps overlapped. (See picture. I’ve colored in black marker where you should cut.) The creases will also guide you. I like to cut a curved shape so it looks more envelope-y. Make sure you don’t cut past where the folds come to a corner. That is the corner of your envelope…unless, of course, you’re being artsy and want exposed corners. By all means, rebel.

6. Then I figure out which flap is going to be the flap that opens and which 3 flaps will be sealed. I place a thin line of glue on the edges of the three bottom flaps that overlap. Don’t use too much glue and don’t glue your envelope shut! Sometimes I trim the pointed edges to center the flaps and make it look even. Just do what feels right. I also slide the card in to ensure my proper size is in tact and that I wasn’t folding, cutting and gluing for 3 minutes in vain.

While this is drying, you can prepare another great recipe. Homemade re-moistenable glue! The stuff you lick to seal the deal! And we can make it taste good! You will need to have some Gelatin (I have the Knox brand) on hand (1/4oz), sugar (1tbsp), some water (1/4 cup), and maybe some food flavoring/essential oil (1tsp). The sweet basil I used is lick-tastic! I have no cognitive dissonance whatsoever about using gelatin- which is ground up cow hooves and other animal tissues- and still claiming my vegetarianism. Fact: I won’t eat flesh but I’ll lick cow feet. If there is a vegan re-moistenable glue you can make at home, please tell me!

I use the double boiler method to make my glue.

To keep your leftover glue for next time, I mix all the above ingredients together in a margarine container or other disposable plastic.  Boil water in a pan big enough to let the container float inside.  Gelatin becomes solid quickly when it cools off so I take the whole pan over to my envelope workstation while it’s still warm and gooey. Mind the strange glue smell, just tell people it’s an art thing and they’ll nod silently and leave you alone. Re-heat your double boiler pan again if it hardens. Take a small paintbrush and apply the glue to the edge of the opened flap.  Voila!

Be sure to let everything dry thoroughly before stacking them up!

You only need to make a little batch of this stuff so don’t start boiling your water and then walk away like I do and check your blog stats and completely forget what it is you’re making and find an empty pan of steam 15 minutes later.

Happy Envelope Making! And if you put crazy flavoring in the glue, inform your licker…or not.

 

Clearing screen (and green) space

In the purging frenzy that originated from the clotheswap, I felt the need to rid myself of other things…such as the old college laptop-a cheeseburger of a laptop, says my friend-sitting in my closet. It was a hand-me-down from my sister in 2001.

Good ole, Windows 95!

It even has a floppy disc drive!

After some shallow internet research, I have learned there is a drop off site in Chicago specifically for recycling your old computers and other hazardous items. I did, indeed, just say recycling and Chicago in the same sentence. I haven’t recycled it yet so maybe there is a nerd who wants to adopt this computer from me? They have strange hours:

The facility is located at 1150 N. North Branch Street, which is two blocks east of the Kennedy Expressway at Division Street. The facility is open for drop-offs on the following days:

• Tuesday (7:00am – 12:00pm)
• Thursday (2:00pm- 7:00pm)
• The first Saturday of every month (8:00am – 3:00pm)

I am going to try and work around these strange hours and give a complete update on the recycling experience. Presently, a friend is helping transfer old files into my new computer via the internet connection that is still possible on this machine.

Before Mozilla married Firefox:

¡Viva my Sophomore Art History essays!

Also, at a later date, I hope to interview my father about his KAYPRO 10 (a green screen!) that is still in use for his business. (Whadya say, Pop?) Anyone up for a little time travel to 1983? If it ain’t broke…