A Dose of Reality

Okay, so perhaps I watch too much reality TV. I have already confessed to my obsession with organizing-decorating shows (and, really, the first step is admitting you have a problem), but it doesn’t stop there. Not by a long shot.

I watch cooking shows: Top Chef, Masterchef, Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals at $40 a Day (or whatever). True, I’m not going to be making anything with truffle oil anytime soon, but I have to say I’ve widened my flavor horizons, just in case Chef Tom Colicchio ever graces my kitchen.

Tomato soup - from scratch. Go, me!

Even Hell’s Kitchen throws out a good challenge every now and then (and I can make a terrific, creamy risotto because of it, so, Thanks, incompetent, foul-mouthed chefs!) .

I watch competition shows about stuff that really shouldn’t be competitive. I love The Amazing Race (travel as a contact sport), and The Biggest Loser ($250,000 might be an incentive to get me off the couch and . . . nah, who am I kidding?), and America’s Next Top Model (is it wrong to say that some of those contestants look like drag queens?), enabler of my shoe fetish.

The one show that I watch for no particular reason – and I mean, none – is Project Runway. Why do I say that? Because I cannot sew. As in, if you put a gun to my head, I might be able to do a decent hem so I’m not treading on my trousers when I wear my flats, and it’s possible I could replace a button on a shirt, but beyond that? Nope. Actually constructing something is a skill I never mastered, like trigonometry. Oh, I have a sewing machine, and I did for a while have plansdelusions that I was going to make gorgeous flowered pillowcases for my sofa, but that idea died a quiet death the minute the bobbin ran out of thread. One look at the instructions for re-threading that thing, and the lovely material ended up neatly folded and stashed in my linen closet.

Also? I have no fashion sense. Heidi Klum would take one look at my wardrobe and pronounce me “owt” immediately. I might get the double-cheek kiss before being escorted out by Tim Gunn.

So, it was an interesting Saturday, to put it mildly, spending time with Doodle and Scooby as they cut up old t-shirts and pajamas and stitched PANTS for their stuffed bear and dog.

Seriously. Totes adorbs. (They did not make the “Boston” shirt.)

In the end, they put together several “looks,” including a second pair of bear pants, a vest, and a matching hat (not pictured).

Now that’s how you make it work.