Wily Wednesdays - Stingray Bag

Fun sewing project few years ago. The theme: create something new from something old.

Ingredients:
- Fabric from an old jacket of mine (outside of bag)
- Silky patterned fabric from Goodwill scraps (inside lining)
- A tie (cut up and used for the applique stingray and stripe across the back)
- Fancy cloth belt (strap)

Youngstown, shame of the nation.

Former Ohioan here, born and raised a Youngstown suburbanite. There's a reason I bolted out of that state to the other side of the country as soon as I could. Corrupt, crime-ridden, dirty, no jobs, no hope — these have always been the sad themes of that city. Now it appears that the former center of steel production has reached a new pathetic low, despite its "best" efforts to recover:

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Youngstown leads nation with poverty rate of 49.7%

Youngstown has the highest concentrated poverty rate among core cities in the United States’ 100 largest metropolitan areas.

Further, the metropolitan statistical area of which Youngstown is a part — consisting of Mahoning, Trumbull and Mercer counties — is ranked just 16 from the bottom of the poverty barrel.

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I do feel a little bad for Y-town, but it's only because of the people who are still stuck living there. If ever there was an example of "devoid of hope," I think that city would take the cake. Well, what can I really say? I gave up on it. Love to be proven wrong, though.

Wily Wednesdays - Pumpkin Carving

Halloween afternoon, Kai, Randy, and I managed to pull off a quick pumpkin carving before the kids started arriving. I wasn't feeling all that creative, so I went with the first thing that came to mind, which was...Vegeta. Yes, I'm a teenage boy again.