Who Am I? Where Am I? After a languid February, March and April, I've had one of those jampacked weeks. My butt hurts from sitting in this chair. I'm lucky my arms don't fall off. And my To-Do list is still littered with unchecked boxes.
And today? Well, today I participate in a Chicago Craft Mafiacraft show. I leave at 1:00 pm to catch a flight to Heathrow. Two days work, 5 days pleasure. Not a bad ratio, eh? And very thankful to Sarah and Julian who are welcoming me as a guest post-project. I'm totally wiped out at the moment*, but thankful for the opportunities.
"Who ever said that pleasure wasn't functional?" - Charles Eames
"You know what looks good can change, but what works works." - Ray Eames
posted on 4/24/2008 05:29:00 PM
Monday, April 21, 2008
Charlie Rose + Samuel Beckett = Holy Krapp!
Two of my favorite men. I even acted in a college production called "Beckett Shorts: Ontological Farces and Terminal Cases"* and I never made the brilliant connection between Beckett staging and Charlie Rose's black hole set. Thank you, Andrew Filippone Jr.
*I'm not kidding.
posted on 4/21/2008 10:26:00 AM
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Go, 'Matoes, Go! I replanted the sprouted tomato seeds into lil' egg carton homes. I know it's unlikely that they'll grow actual tomatoes. I dig greening my thumb, doing it on the cheap and seeing that the food I eat is real, live food.
posted on 4/19/2008 11:34:00 AM
Thursday, April 17, 2008
A Furry Houseguest Anne went out of town and she dropped off Bert the Cat to visit. Anne has been very kind to take in Gunther several times. And we talk about Cat Summer Camp and the antics of Gunther and Bert. This is the first time Bert came to my place. Poor kid first hid in the big closet. I flushed him out. We then had the Bathroom Acclimation Time. After successful litterboxing, I let Bert free. I went in the office and closed the door. A short time later, I figured I should check on the boys. I couldn't find Bert...
Not in any of Gunther's hiding places...
Then Gunther went over to the bed and sort of acted as a pointer. Bert was completely hidden under the pillows near my futon: Such a goof.
I lure him out a tiny bit.
Gunther is on guard.
Gunther forceably washes Bert. This is what he does.
posted on 4/17/2008 11:54:00 AM
And I'm out of vanilla, let alone a vanilla bean. And used fresh grated ginger and a LOT of it. I adore ginger. I added it early, not later.
Boy, this was an easy recipe! And tasty!
p.s. the tapioca itself was spring green colored.
posted on 4/13/2008 10:09:00 PM
April Showers Bring May Flowers Let's hope Chicago's bi-polar weather will work itself out in time for the Chicago Craft Mafia's next show on May 3rd: Hand May-ed Saturday, May 3rd, 2008 Zola Jones Boutique 1944 W. Montrose, Chicago 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Press release and more info here.
We're very excited to share our work with you and to collaborate with Jason Loper of Zola Jones! His storefront is going to be chock full of craft and fun. Let's hope some beautiful weather.
Also, Montrose Avenue has a lot of great things to do and see. The Brown Line stop is all shiny and new. Glenn's Diner's fish dishes are very tasty. Margie's Candies will satiate your sweet tooth. See art and learn about classes at Lill Street Art Center. Check out the Chicago Taoist Tai Chi Center where I had a great time learning about moving meditation. AND there's Beans and Bagels, just under the train, who'll host our next craft networking night, The Craft Racket (date TBD).
We look forward to seeing you Saturday, May 3rd!
posted on 4/13/2008 06:56:00 PM
Ohhh, Moooom... Postcards from Yo Momma is pretty great. A perfect cultural bridge between Boomer Moms and their Gen X and Y kids. It's a site of emails, IM chats and text messages from mothers to children.
It's funny how relationships do or don't translate to new /different communication methods. My mom hasn't emailed in ages, and when my sister does, she's The Master of Brevity. Not at all like we talk.
I liked this one today: I must love you This will be the title of all my e-mails from now on, since everything you ask me to do is a royal pain in the ass.
posted on 4/13/2008 04:59:00 PM
Friday, April 11, 2008
Tomato Seedlings I have a brown thumb when it comes to gardening/growing stuff. I keep succulents partly because I love the shapes, colors and textures, and partly because they are Brandy-proof. Last year I bought a big beautiful yucca plant, that I've been slowly killing. First it was bugs, now I think I'm overwatering it. It's sad.
I'm trying to learn a bit about growing stuff. The new wave of interest is from learning about macrobiotic cooking this winter. I loved listening to Jessica Porter's interview (with Hip Tranquil Chick's Kimberly Wilson) where she talks about the definition of macrobiotics. Macro (large) + Bio (life). The idea that you're eating food with the life still in it. That you plant whole grains and they'll grow. On the flip side Porter says, "If you plant a noodle, you don't get a noodle tree."
So, I've been sprouting my carrot and parsnips tops. Tried the avocado pits to no avail. Recently, I cut open a tomato and saw it's seeds were growing inside. So, I planted 'em:
Lynn asked if they smell like tomato plants yet. Yes, they do.
posted on 4/11/2008 11:22:00 AM
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Living Green + Snarky I'm pretty darn green. I don't talk about it a heckuva lot, but I do appreciate that being eco-friendly is a bigger part public discussion. Some folks wave it off as a fad or greenwashing, but I do think all this sustainability talk does more than silence would.
I'm just glad checkers and baggers have stopped giving me you're-a-martian looks at my big chain grocery store for bringing in canvas bags. They still ignore me (they are on plastic bag autopilot), and I correct them and I get my goods in canvas bags. But the looks have lessens.
My favorites: 13. Switching from plastic water bottles to a wooden cup tethered around neck with twine.
22. Running dishwasher only to mask sound of masturbation.
30. Devoting left pocket of jeans solely to composting.
63. Reducing the size of giant novelty checks by 10 percent.
77. Encouraging people to use biofuels; pretending we're deaf when asked what they are.
Ones I do: 2. If it's yellow, letting it mellow.
Over a year ago, I attended a conference where we were doing a group brainstorming exercise about what You Can Do to Save the Planet. I suggested not flushing. When we read through the ideas, there was a disgusted moan at my idea. Seriously, what it SO wrong with people's pee that they are that afraid of it? Mine's not scary or shameful.
And... I live alone. I don't mind and Gunther the Cat doesn't care.
26. Forgoing paper napkins, and just wiping hands on pants. Slightly more laundry and a lot less trash.
And don't forget: 87. Same thing we're doing about the war on terrorism: writing a very impassioned blog post.
posted on 4/09/2008 09:17:00 AM
