I'm reading Of Human Bondage and I came across this passage and thought, "Huh, just replace
'painters'with 'art directors' and it's the agency!"
They looked upon him, as painters often do writers, with contempt because he was a layman, with tolerance
because he practised an art, and with awe because he used a medium in which themselves felt ill-at-ease.
May 2008
An Open Letter To The Beehive Tearoom
Dear Beehive Tearoom,
I am over you. Your signs are getting more aggressive*, your teas are now upwards of $5 a pot (!), and your wait times–perhaps because of your aggressive signage–are the longest they’ve been in the six years I’ve been visiting you.
Beehive Tearoom, I love the thought that you serve delicious teas and pastries, but if I’m full of fear and can’t afford your delicacies, it’s really not worth it anymore.
Also, why are you serving beer? And hipster beer, at that? Does a tearoom that’s open until 6:30 really have a demand for PBR? I expected better from you. I expected tea from you.
So, Beehive Tearoom, don’t expect me to be back. I just can’t overlook things like this any longer.
Signed disappointedly,
Karen
*One of the many aggressive signs: “Preparing tea takes time. If you do not have the time or patience to wait, please come back when you do.” (Another aggressive sign tells us that wait times are typically “15-40 minutes.” For tea? Are they building a fire on which to boil the kettle?)
Tuesday Project Roundup: But I Know I Made It Edition
I’ve been wanting some of those personalized “Made by” labels for a while now, but I haven’t bought any because they just seem so obvious: I know I made my dress. And it’s not as if I sell anything I make or sew for other people who might need to know. It just seems like a clever touch–something to make it less homemade and more custom-made.
Happily, last week on a craft blog I saw a link to someone selling “brocaded alphabet ribbons” on Etsy. I immediately thought, “I could cut the ribbon apart and have little initials to use as labels!” and in fact the seller says that that’s what they’re used for in Italy. 2.5 meters of the initial K are are on their way. Now no one will be able to sneak away with my homemade clothes.
In actual sewing news, I want to try to get two more dresses made before I go on vacation at the end of this month. One’s already cut out, so I think that’s a reasonable goal. Check back next Tuesday.
"So I Sez To Mabel, I Sez.."
(Karma and Sergio at the ranch, being ruminants.)
Friday Unrelated Information
1. I saw what can only be described as the Calico Bird of the Apocalypse this morning at the bird feeder: It was between a startling and a sparrow in size, and it looked just like a calico cat–black, brown, and white. And fluffy. I’ve never seen anything like it.
2. I accompanied my friend Sean–he of the Picnic watching and the not understanding the appeal of pets–to a party last night at a very posh home on Country Club Drive. The hosts had a pug puppy that had an “accident” in the course of the evening–or, as Sean put it, “That mammal just defecated in their house.”
3. This is not Toby, but it could be. I just can’t allow him outside, though. Who knows what bird will come to the feeder next and carry him away?
Don’t You Get A Welcome Kit In The Mail Or Something?
I was watching I Am Legend with a friend this week, which uses some Bob Marley songs to nice effect, and had the following conversation:
Me: “I really like Bob Marley. I should get a CD.”
[pause]
Me: “Do you have a Bob Marley CD?”
Friend: “No.”
Me: “You don’t? Huh.”
[pause]
Me: “Does your dad have a Bob Marley CD?”
Friend: [stops watching and turns to me with a look] “What, do you think that everyone who smokes pot has to have a Bob Marley CD?”
Me: [found out, sheepish] “Yes.”
Agri-Literature
I never gave a final review of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle that I was reading a month ago, but I have to report that I haven’t bought an imported banana or a tomato since I finished it, and I started making bread regularly and even homemade pizza. (I haven’t been able to get true local food yet, for reasons of weather and budget, but I’ve tried to not buy anything from farther away than California.) I think that’s a good indication of the book’s sticking power right there. The prose is excellent, too.
Yesterday I picked up another book that might stick with me: The Year of the Goat: 40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheese. It’s about two New Yorkers who take a year off and research goat farms to see if they want to buy their own. I got three chapters into it and thought, “I don’t want to read this if they don’t end up with a farm,” so I skipped ahead and whew–I can read it.
It’s well-written but it’s not as masterful as Kingsolver, and there’s a certain amount of irritating New York self-consciousness (along the lines of, “Look, we are at a goat chariot race! How quaint! We are so daring!”), but I’ve already learned that La Mancha goats have no ears and are the only American-developed dairy breed, and that Boer goats are for eating. (That’s not an option on my ranch, of course.)
Next question: How do people afford to take a year off and learn about farming, and then manage to have a successful farm? Maybe that’s the next book I’ll have to find.
Tuesday Project Roundup: Dressing Like I’m Six
I think I had a top with sleeves like this when I was little, but I can’t remember. Something about the smock-y shape and those straight Jetson sleeves seem very familiar to me:
And I know I had a pair of these when I was a kid (in pink), but look: Saltwater Sandals come in adult sizes, too!
I’ll wear the top and the sandals together today and maybe play My Little Pony after work. Or maybe Charmkins.
(I’m actually telling myself the top looks more sophisticated than juvenile and the sandals are just retro. Here’s a detail of the yoke inset and the fabric, a really nice black tweed linen.)Nothing like dressing to feel young.
Today I Will:
1. Play with Toby, who is trying to get on the keyboard and roll around as I type this
2. Walk to breakfast
3. Water my garden (because the lettuce and radishes are coming up)
4. Fill the bird feeder
5. Plant up my strawberry pot
6. Cut out and maybe start sewing a new pencil skirt pattern
7. Eat an enchilada, for Cinco de Mayo
Because I took the day off! Freedom!
Friday Unrelated Information
1. I’ve known about Bob Dylan’s “Theme Time Radio Hour” show on XM radio for a while now, but I’ve never heard it. So I was tickled that Vanity Fair posted an article that lists the themes, repeated artists, useful tips, history lessons, and recipes he’s shared on the show. There are even some choice quotes, including, “All of our shows are for truckers, if not about truckers” and “Here’s a woman who sure doesn’t sound like she sleeps alone.” Crazy Bob, I love you so.
(Also: look at the original magazine spread at the top of the article and notice how they’ve typeset it to look like the Milton Glaser Dylan poster from the ’60s.)
2. I’ve had 72-hour kits on my mind lately–I think it’s because I have Toby now. I was thinking out loud to Mr. Isbell that I have three cans of tuna in the cupboard we could use in an emergency and he pointed out, “That’s only a meal each for you, me, and Toby.” I think I need to look into putting a few things together.
3. Or maybe I’m just reacting to the climate of fear lately. Maybe it’s time to re-read Fahrenheit 451.
4. And in happier world events, Oxford University is hosting the first annual Fred Astaire Conference this June, featuring “an international assembly of Astaire experts, among them writers, performers, choreographers, and historians of dance, theatre, and film.” Delightful!