« January 2008 | Main | March 2008 »
Posted at 08:34 PM in etc | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
I have been a bit blue lately...
right after Christmas it occurred to me that my lil Loo's childhood, his "little kid" childhood, is over. (I am almost crying writing this) and, using 18 as my figure, I have less time left than I have already had. in 8 years, he will be, more or less, out in the big world on his own. geez.
of course I have heard of 'mid-life crisis' and 'empty-nest syndrome' but I haven't heard of any sort of 'mid-childhood crisis'
a few years ago it seemed like I was going to be listening to the Bob the Builder song and stepping on Legos for the rest of my life! and now, it's all gone....
Posted at 10:56 AM in etc | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
visited the Everson Museum of Art this afternoon... they were having some kind of Pollack show that Bob was interested in seeing (NOT me). mostly dribs and drabs that were in the personal collection of a friend by the name of Matter (show cleverly titled "Pollack Matters")... nothing really too interesting, but BOY did the curator go over the top in the accompanying placard descriptions of each 'piece' (hand drawn birthday cards, sketches, etc) sometimes I get a little grumpy by "art talk." the kind where meaning and connections are found in something unnecessarily... sometimes a doodle is just a doodle.
anyway, the museum is housed in a funky IM Pei building
unfortunately, no photography allowed in that exhibit, but at Loo's request, I did take 2 shots in one of the other galleries of a cool African helmet
and a statue of a monkey god
down in the basement level we briefly listened to a rehearsal for a Society for New Music concert to be held later in the day.
once again I got annoyed... the woman behind the ticket counter who let us in to listen had to inform me that it was NEW music... NEW and DIFFERENT and UNLIKE anything that I've heard before! well, how the heck does she know what kind of music I listen to??
ug, listen to me! I am a grump!
Posted at 03:15 PM in etc | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Bob and I took a nice drive yesterday... chatting and trying to soak up a little bit of sun! a nice fix for cabin fever.
beat up trailer in the middle of a farm field...
a blasé horse...
we went to Bouckville, NY; a little tiny... town? village? cluster of houses out in the middle of nowhere? for some reason, every single house on Main Street is an antique shop. some more proper than others. some shops you walk in and the owner is fixing a fried egg sandwich in the kitchen right next to the rosewood vase collection. every summer there is a ginormous 3 day outdoor antique sale there... thousand of people come to browse the hundreds (thousands?) of vendors. it is always chaos! I usually go on the last day in the afternoon when the dealers start packing up. they are always tired and grumpy and will almost GIVE away what they haven't sold. yay! anyway, we didn't have any money to spend... just looking! and darn it if I didn't find a 7 foot tinsel Christmas tree!! hopefully it will still be there in a couple of weeks.
I took these photos on the sneak. is it wrong to take photos in a shop? I don't know... I could have asked permission, but I didn't want to risk being denied!
there weren't too many fashionable 6 feet tall women back in the day... it is a curse that I love vintage fashions so
my curtain obsession is fueled...
a leetle chicky!
he wasn't priced, or I might have scraped together the change in my car to bring him home!
elephant!
Posted at 11:40 AM in treasure | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
of my office!
seeing how I seem to be spending so much darn time there lately (I'm not complaining!), I thought a little tour might be nice!
this March will mark my eighth year! wowee!
the mansion has been many things over the years... private home, village court house, police station... now it is home to the village museum (only open nights and weekends, darn) and chamber of commerce downstairs; upstairs are several small offices (mine's the upper right window).
the conference room has a few items from the museum...
up the grand staircase...
and into my office, there's my desk! I have spent many an hour staring into that gigantic screen until my eyeballs shrivel up into raisins.
up to the attic (I love the old peeling wallpaper)
then up to the widow's watch
looking out of the widow's watch.
Loo used to love coming up here when he was little.
a quick stop in the bathroom, and I attempt to take a photo of my beehive.
the back hallway... a retired painter has a studio back here, as well as a illustrator and a reiki/massage therapist..
stairs back up to the front of the building, where my office is
now we go down into the basement
this is the door at the bottom of the stairs where I had my most terrifying ghost experience — the building is very very haunted. there are several rooms behind that door and I was poking around, looking for an empty cardboard box. after a few moments of looking I stopped to ponder where to look next, and I suddenly felt someone standing directly to my right, but a bit behind me, and then the sensation of someone exhaling a breath in my ear. YIPES! there may be a real reason for the religious medal hanging on the door!
I won't go back in there!
finally, the basement computer and air conditioner graveyard....
Posted at 08:32 PM in etc | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
laying low...
lounging on the couch, experimenting with assorted stuffing material (bamboo, excelsior, pearly-type fiber fill), and being a good mumma by finally making my Loo a doll of his own... Link, from the Legend of Zelda.
black cat
black dog
black wool skirt
Loo is working on a class project. he has to make an instrument (any kind), decorate it, and learn a song to play for the class. he is making a balalaika... or rather, a balaLUKa!
Posted at 09:09 PM in etc | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
and double brrrr....
when weather is crappy, I always feel a little better knowing that other parts of the country are suffering... not just upstate new york. we are ALL collectively shivering.
today has been a terrifically bad day for two reasons:
first, my car— the battery light innocently blinked on. 8 hours and a new alternator later— I am in a deep financial hole.
second, Bob's car— brakes completely stopped working. pedal sunk to the floor. we're going to have to deal with that repair tomorrow. of course, I am thankful that no one was harmed when this happened. it could have been much worse. so maybe it wasn't a terrifically bad day after all! my husband didn't die!
*sigh*
I hate cars. I am deathly afraid of them, and driving. getting into a crash is one of my worst fears. I didn't get my license until I was 29; baby Loo was in the back, strapped into his car seat, when I took the road test. I wish we lived in a city... somewhere that cars weren't so necessary, but, for the foresee-able future, they are.
so, I missed work and stayed home sewing a pinafore.
the muslin trial...
final...
I am not too keen on the way the heart turned out. if I have time, I might re-work. it is a valentine's present for the lady Cass— so Loo requested it.
bear making is fun, but if I decide to continue, I really want to start re-evaluating my ideas. and I wish I could afford some mohair fur fabric, but at $100 a yard (!!!) not until I get my car bills paid!
kitty, um, helping...
this weekend I stopped by my favourite second hand book shop— Books and Memories, James Street, Syracuse. it takes up all the store fronts on one city block. the owner, Sam, kept expanding and expanding... it is total, controlled, chaos.
I would have taken more photos, but there were a lot of customers, and some of Sam's regulars can be a trifle hysterical. I didn't want to freak anyone out by taking their photo.
the basement is filled with many dozens of rows and stacks of old magazines, records, cook books, and board games. I usually pick up 2 or 3 1940s era Better Homes and Gardens magazines, but this weekend, I went on my mission for Doll Reader, Nov 1995... and didn't I find that exact issue! So, the mystery of the Dollywood Dolls is (sort of) solved!
not too much info was given. apparently they were created by Dollywood Studios (?) in Hollywood as a fundraiser for the war effort. the author really didn't know much else.
I also bought a few old Teddy Bear magazines. one had a cover story on Pat Murphy, Jennifer Murphy's mom! very sweet.
I kind of feel like a dork buying this stuff and being so interested in this. it seems far more 'valid' to be doing fine art... drawings. but, doing fine art never made me as happy, so, I guess I'm a dork!
Posted at 10:43 PM in etc | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
I can't stay away from the thrift shops!
my excuse is that I am searching for a mohair winter coat, and now I've found one! so now I must.... resist.... thrift....
but, golly, LOOK at these fab curtains!
they are about a foot too small for any of our windows. they are mine now anyway!
I just found http://bitsandbobbins.com/journal/ (I haven't figured out how to make clickable links yet, and I am just feeling too lazy to sort it out now), shazam! very fashiony!
being a freelancer, I can roll out of bed and wear my pajamas to work if I wanted to. I rarely come face to face with any clients, and the designer who I work for is very laid back. we're CREATIVE people... and we get away with murder! no suits for us, thanks!
maybe due to mid-winter doledrums, I am attempting to put a little more effort into my wardrobe and appearance! hence, the shockingly red turtle and daisy skirt from yesterday! I wore it (with great success) with thick wool tights, black turtle neck, and clogs! very 70s hippie style! (I should have taken a photo—I will the next time) I have also taken a liking to fake hair! I have a 3 foot long fake ponytail which I wear high on my head and then wind it around in a beehive-shape bun... instant glamour!
oh, may I vent some more?
I hate cell phones.
I admit that I have one... but it is old and you could drop it off a building and it would sustain no damage. I only have it so that Loo can get in touch with me when I am off running errands.
it is my belief that cell phones have destroyed many perfectly good, polite social customs.
but those cell phones that attach to your ear? I can't help but giggle every time I encounter someone talking into them! my first response is... "oh my, that person is a little crazy and they are talking to themselves" then, once I figure out the cause for the behaviour is cell-phonage, and not insanity, I can't help but laugh!! they remind me of the Borg from Star Trek.
recently, I zipped into the local grocery store to pick up a few things on my way home from work... every single person in the store, except for me and a couple of women over age 65, was talking on their cell phone while shopping.
blech!
Posted at 03:42 PM in etc | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)