![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
A profane rant and a tiny leap of joy
THE PROFANE RANT:
It always makes me apeshit when the price of gas goes up beyond the ability of people to, oh, afford to go to a job not near public transport in their reasonable-mileage cars, and someone starts snotting about how "You don't bitch about the price of milk or bottled water and they're even more expensive."
Of course I don't. I don't need the latter at all, and I don't need to buy 10 gallons of the former every week just to go to work.
So when I click a link about "if you use these oil-based products you are partially culpable for the BP spill" and read "sweaters, dresses, clothes" on it and I'm sitting here in second-hand all-cotton clothing, my immediate reaction is "you can back that bullshit down several notches right fucking now, mmmkay?"
Acrylic and polyester clothing are made of oil. That's only one of the reasons why they're not your best choice, another being that they don't breathe and thus will kill you the hell dead if you wear them for long outside in a Southern summer.
On the other hand, second-hand clothing businesses are thriving in this economy, and you can get some really good stuff for prices that match or are lower than the budget "straight from the Third-world sweatshop to you!" chain stores. And the quality is often better because it has *survived* to be sold for a second time. I'm just sayin'.
And that's before I get to the rant about how there's plenty of excellent old wood furniture and not-plastic tools out there.
THE TINY LEAP OF JOY
For once, a home improvement possibility that doesn't cost me lots of extra time and money! Long story short, the smallest sheet of linoleum I could buy for the 3 x 6 pantry was 6 x 9. Rather than spend the time and $$ refinishing (or hiring someone to refinish) the coat closet floor, I'm going to have plenty of leftover lino to put down there as well. And then I won't have to worry about the carpet cleaner leaking onto wood or the vacuum cleaner scuffing up the finish. I doubt I'm even going to glue it down; just use vinyl tape to make sure it doesn't crawl.
It always makes me apeshit when the price of gas goes up beyond the ability of people to, oh, afford to go to a job not near public transport in their reasonable-mileage cars, and someone starts snotting about how "You don't bitch about the price of milk or bottled water and they're even more expensive."
Of course I don't. I don't need the latter at all, and I don't need to buy 10 gallons of the former every week just to go to work.
So when I click a link about "if you use these oil-based products you are partially culpable for the BP spill" and read "sweaters, dresses, clothes" on it and I'm sitting here in second-hand all-cotton clothing, my immediate reaction is "you can back that bullshit down several notches right fucking now, mmmkay?"
Acrylic and polyester clothing are made of oil. That's only one of the reasons why they're not your best choice, another being that they don't breathe and thus will kill you the hell dead if you wear them for long outside in a Southern summer.
On the other hand, second-hand clothing businesses are thriving in this economy, and you can get some really good stuff for prices that match or are lower than the budget "straight from the Third-world sweatshop to you!" chain stores. And the quality is often better because it has *survived* to be sold for a second time. I'm just sayin'.
And that's before I get to the rant about how there's plenty of excellent old wood furniture and not-plastic tools out there.
THE TINY LEAP OF JOY
For once, a home improvement possibility that doesn't cost me lots of extra time and money! Long story short, the smallest sheet of linoleum I could buy for the 3 x 6 pantry was 6 x 9. Rather than spend the time and $$ refinishing (or hiring someone to refinish) the coat closet floor, I'm going to have plenty of leftover lino to put down there as well. And then I won't have to worry about the carpet cleaner leaking onto wood or the vacuum cleaner scuffing up the finish. I doubt I'm even going to glue it down; just use vinyl tape to make sure it doesn't crawl.
no subject
i feel about other people's wool allergies the way most people feel about my garlic allergies
"how can you LIVE?"
still, there is always linen
no subject
no subject
and quite possibly you need to watch out for the dyes. many people have trouble with the processing methods or the dyes, not the actual fiber..
and lots of people cannot tolerate coarse or even medium wool, but the ultra fine merino may be dandy...(not your typical sweater, no. like a fine men's suit)
lucky for me, i can work with wool right off the sheep. i just have to watch out for some of the chemicals they use in processing.
no subject
no subject
i can buy men's suit wool at the local tailoring shops for 8-20 bucks a yard, and at the wholesale/discount store for 3-6 dollars a yard.
also? you can often find mens suits at a Goodwill and have them re tailored cheaper than you imagine
now the really fine yarn for kniting? yes expensive usually, but if you watch for sales. not so much.
mind you, its not like you HAVE to buy wool.. its just often nice to understand what teh issue is, so you dont miss out on a good opportunity.
no subject
no subject
That may be my problem. I don't have any trouble with sheepskin. (I used to care for a lamb in a petting zoo, but that's another story.)
no subject
try laundering/dry cleaning something.....
oh, and woolite is EVIL. when in doubt use Orvis, or shampoo.....
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject