day ninety-eight
I don’t have a lot clever to say at the moment. Today, specifically this afternoon, was rough. See, I was a soldier. I raised my right hand when I was 19 years old to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. When I was 21, I became an officer, having graduated from the oldest private military college in the country.
Today, at 52, I watched delusional, selfish insurgents storm the Capitol Building and disrupt the transfer of power, because a narcissistic sociopathic gangster egged them on. It was only because of the swift action of the security forces inside the chambers that our legislators weren’t hurt or taken hostage. Even so, outside, four people died, one from a gunshot wound.
The office of the Speaker of the House was invaded. The office of the Senate Parliamentarian was ransacked. And yet these anarchists, these insurgents, walked through those halls taking video and photographs and selfies like they were on a guided tour. They had the nerve to sit on the dais like they were entitled to it. It made me sick to my stomach.
I almost didn’t do any work on my coat today because I was finally, truly discouraged. I’m usually aggressively optimistic; it staves off the brain weasels. But I did pick up the gussets, and basted the lining to the outer fabric, and it helped. And then I sewed the gussets to the sleeves after fiddling with them, and that helped. It was quiet and methodical, and damn but they look good. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: English stitch is freaking magic, and I think there’s a class in making this coat.
So thus far, I’ve basted all the body pieces, cut the neckline angles, joined the shoulders, and inserted the gussets into the sleeves. I didn’t close the sleeve seam because I need to tape the sleeves a bit and I didn’t want to waste the time closing it and then opening it up again — I learned my lesson on the tunic. And you’d best believe that I’ll be safety-pinning the sleeve to the body to make sure I put it in the right way round.
That’s tomorrow’s work, though. Tonight I’m going to bed. I was up way too late last night and tonight isn’t much better. I’m grumpy.
Night y’all.