A little monster

The bodega near my house has two, dirty little white kittens who I just adore. Look at the little monster...

Of this I am sure...

Over the years we discover things.
Things we know to be true of ourselves and others that have a slim chance of ever changing. This unlikelihood of change is something I'm just starting to be friends with. Rather than view quirks/opinions/rules of mine as strange and unusual, I've decided to just embrace them and be proud. While I certainly acknowledge that there are a million ways to do any task and live a life, here are some things that I firmly believe to be true:

1. One should always spring for the name brand cotton swabs. You know the ones. Anything less is always disappointing.
2. Flavored coffee is disgusting, especially pumpkin. If it's presence must be tolerated because, your roommate always buys it or you just can't waste the gift basket- let it have it's own equipment and never mix.
   
3. Nothing should ever be pumpkin flavored unless it has actual pumpkin in it. Breads= yes, Beers=NO!
   
4. If no one is sleeping or sitting on it, a bed should be made. It looks better and will make things feel less chaotic in life.
   
5. Giving children their wishes in fantasy, is a magical cure. What does that mean? Well, the next time you're with a child who throws himself on the ground because he doesn't want to leave the fun thing you're doing... just say to him, "Tell me all the things you'd rather be doing..." When he says "Get on a plane and fly to Madagascar" then by all means get on a plane and fly to Madagascar! At least until you reach your car. If a little one begs for yet another sweet treat say, "Oh, I wish we could eat a million of them! And cake too. And cotton candy. And... " I certainly can't claim this technique... I read about it somewhere, but man, it really works! And by work I mean preventing/soothing a tantrum while at the same time giving your child the reassurance that you do care about his needs/wants/feelings, rather than denying them, which is what we usually do: "It's ok. It's no big deal." "You just had a cookie, how can you possibly want another one?" "Don't worry, we'll come back to the park again."
6. The best way to deal with catcalls is just to accept them and acknowledge the caller. Give them a dorky hello, smile or wave. I used to get super angry and just be bummed all day, but lately I've been using them as a way to engage. Once someone said something I didn't like and I just told them outright. They apologized and told me to have a nice day instead. It's so much better than being mad at them.
   

Wow, is that it? Just six. Well, I'm sure there will be more down the line. Anyone else care to share???

Thanks Martha!!!

My lovely and stylish pal Martha, who also happens to be an awesome stylist, took two of my necklaces for some test shots recently. The finished photos make me so happy and proud... I just love how they look! Thanks Martha for working your magic!



And please do check out more of her work at her website!

A long sentence....

You know those times when you should really be like, sleeping, but instead you're listening to Justin Timberlake, sending random envelopes of lined school paper to your pals across the the country? Yeah, me too.
It really is quite difficult to sleep with Justin serenading you after all.

Man, I really need to get some new stamps, mine are all 37 cents! How long ago was that???

Current Crushes

Walt Whitman
I heard a poem of his the other day while watching the PBS documentary about New York City and it peaked my interest in the guy. The documentary uses much of his work, as he was an early American-lover of NY -ahead of his time kind of writer. His poem, Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry, just captures the exact feeling of this city, even now. In a time before the Brooklyn Bridge, before Man had even envisioned building UP instead of OUT, Whitman seemed to comprehend this constant for all New Yorkers. Despite the changes to come for his New York and ours, this poem just gets it:

1.
Flood-tide below ! I watch you face to face;
Clouds of the west! sun there half an hour high! I see you also face to face.

Crowds of men and women attired in the usual costumes! how curious you are to me!

On the ferry-boats, the hundreds and hundreds that cross, returning home, are more curious to me than you suppose;

And you that shall cross from shore to shore years hence, are more to me, and more in my meditations, than you might suppose.

(I skip some here)

3.
I am with you, you men and women of a generation, or ever so many generations hence;
I project myself- also I return- I am with you, and know how it is.

Just as you feel when you look on the river and sky, so I felt;
Just as any of you is one of a living crowd, I was one of a crowd;
Just as you refresh'd by the gladness of the river and bright flow, I was refresh'd;
Just as you stand and lean on the rail, yet hurry with the swift current, I stood, yet was hurried;
Just as you look on the numberless masts of ships, and the thick-stem'd pipes of steamboats, I look'd.

NYC, Brooklyn and the Bridge.
Thanks to this poem and the documentary, I've discovered a new love for the city. I can't quite get into it here, but am grateful. I'm especially amazed, yet again, by the Brooklyn Bridge. The thing that got me, was hearing that at the time of it's opening, May 1883, it was the tallest thing around. In a city just four stories high, people, had never seen anything from that perspective before. Because of the strictly pedestrian pathway, to this day, we are able to get an unobstructed, awe inspiring view of the city. I just can't get over the extreme intelligence and fore thought of the early designers of our country!

Like Alexander Hamilton


Bringing it back to the current century, this band called Bon Iver is really rocking my world. Check out their myspace page to listen! The song "The Wolves" has the best yet most subtle use of that voice changing effect thing (that Cher made popular) ever. See if you can hear it and agree with me!

What's new...

Books:

Thanks Garth for not liking Walt Whitman and giving yours to me!

Yarns:


These Blue Sky yarns will become Spring 09 projects/patterns! 35 skeins by the end of August... do you think I can do it? That's a lot of knitting, which leads to new thing #3:

Yup, I've broken down and gotten a wrist brace. My poor wrist is getting more action than ever and it's feeling it big time. I've also switched to using my mouse more than my trackpad. That means my favorite activity, snuggling in bed with the computer perched on my chest, is not allowed :( (we'll see how long that lasts!)


Being a sailor:

I got this lovely number at the Flea Market yesterday! Remember the "What about Bob" line?
"I'm a sailor. I sail." or something like that. The tag on th inside says...Wearing socks:


The other morning it was chilly enough with the breeze to warrant the wearing of socks. I took a picture because the first pair I grabbed just happened to match my pajamas perfectly. It probably wasn't all that accidental, knowing me, however.

*Update*
Another exciting thing:
That GIANT pile of laundry you can kind of see in the background of my sock photo, has since been done! I now have a 'normal' person sized pile of laundry in the works and I plan to keep it that way!

ETSY pick of the day!

Lucky Lauren Bag
by luckylovely

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