Category: Home

Today Looks Like This.

Stefanie Snider


The Mariah sweater in progress. What I’ve cleverly disguised is that I have less than one half of one sleeve done. Instead, gaze upon my (limited) productivity!
It’s going to be a cold Autumn wearing what amounts to a washcloth.


Then I came downstairs and stumbled on this scene. At first I was touched to see the cats actually enjoying a nap together. But look closer — Zoey’s tail has formed a careful buffer zone around Jadie. I got a sour look for catching them almost touching. They mutually disgust one another.

I haven’t opened any windows or blinds yet today, and the house is chilly from last night. I’m going to hang out under a blanket, knitting and watching online documentaries for the rest of the day.

What’s your day like today?

BoardZilla

Stefanie Snider

I decided to try the whole planning-a-novel-on-index-cards-thing, so I bought a new cork board to hold them. I already had one in the office, but I decided I needed more space.

Ahem.

The small one is for mere mortals.

I had to move the front seats of the car forward, collapse the back seats, and was barely able to squeeze the trunk shut. The board came from our local Ikea-knockoff, so its size was given in centimeters, and I’m a bad Canadian and suck at metric but I’m thinking it’s at least four and a half feet tall. Maybe five.

I lugged it through the back door. My husband was gaming on the couch in the living room, and when he saw my new monstrosity he just laughed.

“That’s ridiculous! That thing’s HUGE! You could use it as a sled.”

“Shut up.”

“Or hold it over your head for a parachute…or use it to build an addition on the house…”

“SHUT UP.”

“Parasail…area rug…bet it won’t fit up the stairs.”

I rolled my eyes, asked him to kindly shut the fuck up, and went to carry it upstairs. I managed to put a ding in the wall, which made him laugh so hard I thought he’d pee himself.

I love my new cork board. It will be the answer, I know it. I’m guessing this thing’ll hold about 60 index cards, which should get me through just fine (ha!).

I told a coworker about it, and without missing a beat she said, “Flotation device in a flood.”

Shut up.

“…My Roommate is an Asshole.”

Stefanie Snider

“I came home from a hellish shift last night to discover that my roommate is an asshole.”

(via Reddit)

What I Did This Weekend

Stefanie Snider

I made some satisfying progress my continuing struggle to be an organized person this weekend.

Friday:
– took back library books, early
– finally upgraded my credit card to one with better benefits
– FINALLY changed my name at the bank (after being married a year this past May)
– scheduled another banking appointment to set up some new investments (holy shit! I’m a grownup!)

Saturday:
– bought more storage/organization bins and, y’know, actually used them for their intended purposes
– stocked up on sale pharmacy items AND took advantage of a one-day-only deal for store points

Sunday:
– got up early, bought and assembled a laundry-sorting hamper
– revised my daily to-do’s for this shift
– customized our Quicken program

I feel pretty good about things right now. I didn’t manage to get any writing done, but now that some of these niggling tasks are dealt with I feel like I can get further ahead this week than usual.

Happy Canada Day!

Stefanie Snider

“Canadian Sunset” by Lone Primate on Flickr

I was going to post about the great things Canada does. Our healthcare, our human rights, our diversity. But even if you’ve never been here, you already know all that.

What you may not know is how Canada feels. How wonderful it is that nature is everywhere. How it feels to go anywhere in the world and be welcomed, just for being Canadian. How fortunate we are, as a nation, and how strong our country is.

Canadians are patriotic, but ours is a quiet patriotism. It’s not so much seen in bumper stickers and vocalizations; it’s more the calm contentment of knowing that ours is a wonderful country and that we are lucky to live here. I’m proud to be Canadian.

Happy Canada Day, everyone.

Etsy: When You Want to Scare the Everlovin’ Shit Out of Your Neighbours

Stefanie Snider


Horror Necklace from VonErickson


Vinyl Sticker Decal from BlackfinGraphics


Zombie Wreath from CREEPYSTUFF

Missing Half Her Face

Stefanie Snider

Sundays are for crafting. In between rounds of laundry and cleaning and naps (another reason I don’t have children: these are MY naps), I like to make things. Something about the connection to all those women before me who sewed and knit and baked makes me feel peaceful.

Then this happened:

That’s my unfinished cross-stitch of Marilyn Monroe, in the drawer where I hide it from the cats. Somehow when I was working on it last, I failed to notice how disturbing she looks. At some point she’ll have eyes and lips, but in the meantime she looks like Leatherface got ahold of her.

Fuck Basements.

Stefanie Snider

I don’t think there’s a scarier place in any home than a basement. (Except possibly a dark hallway. Or the back porch when the motion light comes on and you fully expect there to be a serial killer, knife upraised, on the other side of the glass…waiting for you.)

One of the scariest experiences I had as a kid was the time I went into the basement laundry room. I don’t remember what I was going in there for, but when I got inside I saw what I was certain was a dead body hanging from the rafters. It was life-sized, it swayed a little, and it was right in front of me. I remember my lungs froze and I couldn’t move, and my eyes slowwwwwwly worked their way up the corpse to realize…

…it was my Dad’s coverall, drying from him having worn it to shovel the driveway.

Even once I knew what it was, the terror took a few moments to subside; and while I tried to remember how to breathe, I kept watch, expecting it to reach out and touch my shoulder.

I think now, as a horror writer, that if I can scare one person the way that suit scared me, I’ll have told a story the right way.

creator unknown

Office Peepshow

Stefanie Snider

This is my first spring with my new office. I’m still tweaking things (a trip to IKEA should help with the organization), but I’m getting to the point where things have their places. My favourite part of the day is when the sun comes in like this.

Featured above: the dresser that my older cousin had in her bedroom, then her dining room, then it was in my teenage bedroom, and now here. I don’t remember at what point it turned blue. Also, my knitting basket, sewing box, files, and a few books. The dinette chair was red vinyl, at some point, and is now half pink, half leopard-print Duct tape. I like things that have been loved and well used.

Tag, you’re it! Share a picture of your office or creative space. What do you make there? What does the space say about you?

Busted!

Stefanie Snider

Books are sacred things around this house: to be respected, and well-thumbed, and loved.

And also, apparently, to provide a place for cats’ asses:

This is Jadie, and she totally knows she’s not supposed to be there. She also knows she’s the boss of me, and hence she got to stay.