last tuesday afternoon of 2010 in postcards

**this one is to my pal, u. in san francisco. the CDR mentioned in this note is the podcast of Comedy Death Ray. I’m commenting on the Dec. 17 xmas episode. i've never seen "Bored To Death" but i'm a fan of its creator, Jonathan Ames, and actor Zach Galifinakas.**

Tues dec 28^th 2010 – closing in on the end of the year…

After what seemed like weeks of uninterrupted rain we’re having some bright, sunny, warm days here. Warm enough for shorts, but still I’m in pants. The weather reminds me that I haven’t worn flip-flops in 2 mos. TWO MONTHS! What kind of living is this, I ask? Thinking of popping in @ my local nail salon to just say hello. The new year provides a good excuse. :) ¶ Spent some time @ a new-ish used book store near Kaldi: found a 1^st edition of M. Chabon’s “Mysteries of Pittsburgh!” I’m not a collector, but picked it up. $15.oo cheap. I’ve read it so many times. :) ¶ Listened to the CDR xmas special. A Bob Ducca ailment caused me to laugh loudly @ SL Coffee. Good thing the patio was empty but for me. :)

**I once visited with my sister Deb while she made a meatloaf of ground turkey. At one point as I helped her by pouring dried oatmeal into the bowl as she mixed it she asked, “do you put oatmeal in your meatloaf?” Unless lentil burritos are considered “meatloaf”, I’ve never made one. That she thought I had my own “meatloaf method” killed me. this card is going to her.**

12.28.2010

So, Elvis’ cook used saltines where you use oatmeal. Maybe it’s a southern thing. :) Funny, I’ve had this postcard for years waiting for just the right recipient. When I saw it today I said, “yes!” ¶ Thank you for the merry xmas text your sent! @ 6:30 am. You are an earlier riser than the rest of us. The double whammy of broken-foot & torrential rains kept me from my xmas ritual of hiking followed by a movie. Spent the morning putting on soup in the slow-cooker. Spent the evening sitting at an outdoor café chatting w-a woman who reminded me of my pal, Vinnie, drinking cappuccinos. Today is bright & sunny – I’m soaking in sun, sipping iced coffee, writing post-cards & watching the neighborhood go by the café patio. I’m off until Jan. 3. Work is shut. Still can’t walk w-o crutches, so I’m a bit stir crazy. This sun is helping, tho. Spectacular day!

Oh! You’ve got the wrong zip code for me!

**for a couple years now i've received letters from my sister even though she's using the wrong zip-code.**

**this to my friend and college-era housemate, s. in santa rosa.

Hey! It’s the last Tuesday of the year… After the days & nights of crazy rain & cloudy days we’ve got some brilliant, sunny, warm weather. The days are still short: The sun is down by 5pm, but while it’s up, I’m gonna be sitting here. :) ¶ This is the kind of day that has a person resolve to Do Something. To Get Things Done and Be a Good Person. You see Potential. I’m fortunate that I have enough experience w-this feeling tht I’m not writing down any of the ideas for action nthat are popping into my head: the enjoyable part is just considering them all. The good stuff will surface again on a not-sun-soaked afternoon. When I am willing to act on it. :) I think the coffee has plenty to do with it. And the groovy tunes. Man, the advent of the walkman in the 80s changed my young life. And here I am w-an mp3 player & headphones in 2010. But, of course!

**this one to my pal, mel: my college-drop-out-era housemate, and old friend.**

3:15p – from a still sunny spot on the patio of Kaldi Coffee – Atwater Village.

The sun is bright & warm today, but it is still winter so it’s low in the sky. Although it’s still early in the afternoon the shadows are getting long. This time of year, at this time of day I am unsettled, trying to remember which café patio has direct sunlight the longest. [I think it’s Silver Lake Coffee – will likely head there soon] I’m looking for the highest ground on the north side of the street. :) ¶ 30 min ago I was feeling all the potential & momentum that a dry sunny day brings after rain. But then I went into the café to order a cappuccino. Had to wait for a while. Then had to put additional coins in the parking meter. By the time I sat down the spell was broken. The breeze is stirring, cool. But then! I took a sip of this coffee: brilliant! AND the song, “Lake Swimming” by Laura Veirs came up on the mp3 player. Gorgeous! ¶ I brought knitting, a novel & postcards out today. Ended up just writing postcards. Something I noticed: when I’m writing letters or p-cards, I spend time looking around @ traffic, people, birds, the sky. When I’m knitting, I’m always looking @ what I’m working on. This is a good enough reason to write at least one p-card every time I plant myself @ a café. Make the most of being in a public place. :) Think I’ll pull out a quilt top in progress from the depths of the closet tonight. Haven’t sewn in months & it’s starting to wear on me. Boxed up this proj. over a year ago. Alright then: IT’S ON! (there’s that potential I was talking about!)

**I notice that while I am writing the last card I am trying to recapture the glow I felt in the third. So much so that I dare to write down a Big Idea when I said I wouldn’t.**

transcription stuff of note:

snax: avocado, cucumber tomato sandwich. xmas cookies from u. in sf!

tunes: richard swift: the atlantic ocean; duke's birth announcement mix

cuffs

saw this lying on the ground near the dumpster at my apt. bldg.
not sure if my neighbors are fugitives or fetishists.

Cheez-Its, Etc

**special props to BeeKay of Fancy Italian Words for today's title**


just about two months ago i made a whirlwind trip to Chicago. left los angeles at 4:30am on saturday and was back sunday at 10pm.

i don't know that i have much time to write about that short trip, but these things happened:

--4:30 am run to Ontario airport with easily fooled quoting "30 Rock" and dishing season 1 of "Mad Man" the entire way
--right off the blue line in Humboldt Park popped into the Boiler Room for a restorative before heading to hotel s & s for some of this:
--and this:
--at 3am cabbed to chez superschein to find a bed all set up for me.
--woke at 9:30am to the sound of the toddle upstairs running wind sprints on the wood floor.
--then breakfast with allison @ over easy: my. favorite. breakfast. spot. in. chicago. *swoon*
(i agree that the humpty dumpty painting back there is creepy.)

what's really brewing under this clumsy string of pix is what the week of my birthday was like. i'm not implying besotted shenanigans, but a small thing, the arrivial of a piece of correspondence in my mailbox, that changed things. for the better. but still, felt like i'd gotten walloped with a big fish. i'm not trying to be coy by being vague, i just don't have time to get into it.

also: the rest of the week was pretty terrific.. :)

10am and things are HAPPENING!

Barry and Ben, the floor installers are here and making changes in the kitchen!
the fridge and stove are in the vestibule. the old lino is coming up!
here are some articles that Ben found when he moved the fridge:

Before they leave they are also going to move my piano away from the wall so i can paint back there! i've been wanting to paint that wall, but couldn't bring myself to ask my friends to move the piano. it's a player, and just too heavy. but i will be more comfortable asking them to move it only once, back against the wall.

more to come!

the gents pulled the piano away from the wall and discovered a lost set of house keys. today is full of found stuff already.
here are some progress shots:
the piano away from the wall. i've started taping off the mouldings.





me behind the piano! haven't been back here for almost 7 years.



floor progress shot: the wood flooring laid down, awaiting the application of cement.

and now i'm running out of energy. and masking tape. as long as i get a chunk out of this task this morning i'll be confident i can get it all finished, and piano back in place by sunday afternoon. oof. now i have to move a cabinet of cds to get to part of the piano wall. need food...
DONE!
I'll take a clearer pic of the tile after i've eaten. i thought they'd be done about an hour ago, so i hadn't planned to be w/o lunch. it's lovely! they did a terrific job!
oh man...hungry...more when i come back.

taupe, smokey taupe, carriage ride, neat sail...

these are all names given to shades of color of paint. matte, flat, eggshell, luxe, semi-gloss, latex...names of finishes. i am painting today! just one big wall in the living room. i might do the hall tomorrow. (i'd do more of the living room but i can't move the piano by myself)
i've decided to blog my efforts. i'll keep the text brief (so that i can get to the painting), but post some pix. first off, the foundation of all good work: breakfast!

note the Larrupin' sauce. this is a loving tribute to the Tom/Onion from Los Bagels in Arcata. *pine*
for the record: the book is PG Wodehouse's "Life With Jeeves", coffee from Stumptown roasters, Portland OR.

last night i moved the furniture and taped off the moldings. the light isn't that good at night in this room so i was wearing a head lamp while taping. there is an inverse relationship between the rad usefulness of the head lamp and its ability to make one look like a dork. NO REGRETS!

more in a few..
here we go! i started with the trim. remembered to turn off the pilot on the heater (why has that been on all summer?)
i was going to do 2 coats of trim, then do the walls, but time is of the essence so having completed the trim, i'm just going to launch into the first coat on the wall.

these pix are grey b/c we have an overcast sky today (HUZZAH!), but the color looks terrific! can't wait to get the first full coat on. and so: to it!

trim painting soundtrack: Roxy Music: "Siren" followed by Preservation Hall Jazz Band: "Preservation"
next up: Helio Sequence: "Keep Your Eyes Ahead"
now drinking: mineral water. refreshing!

i had a special request from my ms. cp for a pic of me in the headlamp. please keep in mind this is a simulated action shot, so the light in the room is quite bright. :)
COAT ONE APPLIED! behold:
this pic has a yellow cast to it. :\ and b/c all the trim is covered with masking tape, you can't see the nice contrast between the new paint and the white trim.
here is the rest of the wall, continuing to the left:

i don't want to jinx myself, but so far i haven't walked in any wet paint spills, or gotten paint on too many things that i hadn't intended to paint (my legs, for example).

i've got another 3 hours to let this dry. on my list: get in a walk and some quality iced joe. and maybe some tacos. what's not to love about tacos?

days in the neighborhood

i took this pic surreptitiously from my car. it was meant to capture an actor/comedian, of whom i am a huge fan, who happened to be standing on the opposite corner. i felt like an ass taking the pic, and was kind of relieved that it turned out i was holding the phone so low that he was obscured by the car at the light. no real story here, i just thought it would be a funny pic for the page. intersection of note: Commonwealth @ Los Feliz Blvd.

in an effort to take advantage of time off this summer, i've been doing a lot of sewing and knitting. i've got a still-unfinished dress draped across my sewing machine. i have to move the pieces every time i want to use the machine. i put in some time on it last week: finally got the collar in. next up: easing and shaping the sleeve caps. not a ton of work, really, just tough to get my (summer scattered) mind around it.

last fall i bought a book called "one yard wonders." it's full of projects that require only one yard of fabric. i thought this would be helpful in my plan to use some of the yardage in my closet. many of the pieces are one yard or less, intended when purchased to be used in quilts. so far i've made 3 projects from the book. really two, but i made one twice. :)

here is what i finished this morning: a new ironing board cover:
i LOVE this fabric. i bought it at least 8 years ago while on vacation in Arcata. i bought enough of it to make a dress, but as the years passed and i filled out *cough* i lost my enthusiasm for a dress that might draw comparison to the little cows on the bottles. so, i've been toting YARDS of this for YEARS. i used a little of it when i made some potholders a few years ago.

i used the pattern to make covers for the smaller, tailoring ironing board that i have:
there is a 2nd board for pressing sleeves on the underside of this board. i've got two more small domestic projects like this that i'd like to make: a clothespin apron and a sewing machine cover. as ever, choosing the fabric is that bit that slows the whole process. i vacillate between the cute/kitschy and the pretty. eh.

last month i made a bag for my pal l.'s birthday. this was also in the one yard book. i used light cotton where they recommended a heavier cotton/canvas. i had trouble finding fabric i liked for her in the heavier weight, so in the end went for the pattern i liked best.

it wasn't a complicated pattern. the bits that took the most time were the curved seams. since i used a busy fabric, i didn't stew about whether there were folds in the curves. i had a couple of small ones. (excluding 2 full days of fabric shopping) overall it took about 3 days to make. you could cram it into two, but it would have to be pretty focused. i had a deadline, so worked at a steady clip for the first day, completing the exterior of the bag. i spread the lining and clasp construction over a couple days.
here are some construction pix:
the finished bag exterior:

the lining: the (comically small) pocket pinned in place & the top band with half of the magnetic clasp in place. [this was my first time installing a mag. clasp. it's heavy for such a light weight bag, but otherwise i dig it]

**bonus: you can see the old ironing board cover under the pieces here. it's stained from steam and batik wax: eyesore is the word that comes to mind.
here is the finished bag:
i'm going to make one for myself from some grey wool suiting. (of course i bought the suiting when fab shopping to make this bag.)

i've also been logging some long hours reading and staring off into the blowing palm trees at my favorite cafe patios round town. and knitting. so far: 3 pair of baby booties, and 10 baby clothes hangers. 'tis the season among my friends. in an effort to get some of these knit goods out the door i'm sending the booties and hangers separately.

after a light rain this morning, the sun has broken out. i am heading out for some patio/cappuccino time.

of note:
pre-post lunch: rad salad that included bleu cheese crumbles, eye of the hawk ale
music: m. ward, "post war"-->frightened rabbit, "winter of mixed drinks"
on deck: pedicure

sometimes i dream of willie mays

it's been slow going, but i've revved up my post-card and letter writing mojo and am putting missives into the post again. here are two cards i posted this week.
the title of this post is from a song by the Baseball Project. it's a recollection of being a kid and making the trip to Candlestick Park to see Willie play. i've been on reminiscence overdrive for the last month and this song has been in heavy rotation in the homestead.


further postcards...

i wrote this a couple days ago to my pal, m. in s.f. The pic is of a statue behind the SF Giants' ball park. it's commemorating the SF Pacific Coast League team, the Seals. (damn, but i've got baseball on the brain lately. O! Summer!)

Weds June 30, 2010: the last day of June. Tomorrow begins the torturous countdown to the end of my vacation. alas! This afternoon finds me sitting at a neighborhood cafe, feet up, Americano at hand, writing a few cards & putting some effort in toward my summer reading.
I just had this moment: sitting in breezy shade looking @ blue blue sky, trees & power lines, the door to the cafe was propped open & I could hear Peter Frampton singing, "Show Me the Way." Took me directly to summer 1975--sitting by our backyard pool, listening to KFRC and those big, open, endless summer days. Too many chores as an adult. housekeeping. the minutae of day to day living gets in the way of those wide-open days. well. in the coming month i'm reducing that drek to its bare minimum! Deadlines be damned. oh! i am going to Outside Lands this yr. if yr not in MA that weekend think about coming out w-me! Gordo's! mmj! what could be better?


#2: written to my long ago san jo roommate, mel. some of the things i wrote to her are similar to the card #1. mel & i were roommates when we both worked at tower video. when i moved to humboldt, we corresponded for awhile. eventually we lost touch. thru the tendrils o' f/b we were recently reunited.

the day finds me sitting on a patio in a residential part of Echo Park. For some reason this summer i've been particularly reflexive-thining about summers past. I suppose it's b/c I have so many strong memories of summer from my childhood. The result is that i'm listening to a mix of songs from 1974 on my headphones and staring off into the trees & power lines. ("Rock the Boat" -> "Bennie & the Jets." heady stuff :) )I'm reading Michael Chabon's "Mysteries of Pittsburgh" for probably the 4th time. it's set during the summer. the summer after the narrator finishes college. I love this book. I know if I'd read it when i was younger i'd love it, but from a very different perspective. I'm an absolute fan girl for m. chabon.
I've been doing quite a lot of sewing & knitting: baby shoes by the gross. I've got a rad dress that's been on the back burner for months. it's a 1950's style shirt dress made in fabric decorated with red, yellow & green tractors. My no-pressure goal is to have it finished in July. I have 5 yds of Elvis fabric that i want to use to make another, but FIRST THINGS FIRST!
While i was in portland i got to see Ron & Dave (i can't remember if you knew dave...) it was terrific. Really something to be w-these guys who knew me @ 19. After so long Just one of th things that put me in that reflexive place. Whew. Since getting home its been on odd mis of pure-slack & high drama. Me, i'm more about the slack. :)
ps. attended 25th anniversary of Pee-Wee's Big Adv. last sunday. FANTASTIC fun! "Pee-Wee, listen to reason!"