Words + Projects + Stuff I Like
I saved the actual quote the minute I saw it a couple weeks ago but now I don’t remember the source. But wow does it feel relevant: “How to describe that contradiction, and how to survive it.”
“Every day I watch the terror grow and every day I have to work, run errands, do chores — how to describe that contradiction, and how to survive it.
Germany has declared war on Russia. Swimming in the afternoon.”
—Franz Kafka’s diary entry, August 2, 1914
Much like this video, I decided we needed more throw pillows in all the rooms. I got two done over the long weekend and have two more cut out.
This one is for the basement and has a nice IKEA feather-and-down insert so it gets that good “chop.” Fabric is from the local Design Company, a weird place that has some really nice stuff if you dig.
This one is for the old couch in my new office and uses a pillow form I had and some stash Kaffe Fassett quilting cotton. I mis-cut the fabric so the cover’s a little snug but it works, even if it’s giving off hot dog vibes.
I don’t think sewing saves one a ton of money EXCEPT in the case of home decor. Nothing like getting two pillows with removable zip covers for about $30.
I got a long weekend and did all sorts of house things: Painted the old office, visualized what a 6-foot felt board would look like in my new office, and even did some sewing in the new basement (!). Who needs to leave the house?
1. Hamilton Nolan sent an excellent newsletter this week: Remove Your Ring Camera With a Claw Hammer.
I get it. People are worried that they may be victims of a home invasion. Is your dad Charles Lindbergh? If not, you will not be kidnapped as you sleep. I guarantee it. In fact, I am so confident of this that I am willing to bet one thousand dollars, right now, that it won’t happen to you. That’s how I got the big vault of gold I have: positive thinking, and basic statistical literacy.
2. Perhaps thematically relevant to The Times We’re In: a dictionary of demons.
3. An American in China times a hospital and pharmacy visit. “It doesn’t matter if you’re living here or what kind of visa you’re on, anybody can go to a Chinese public hospital.” And you can just show up without an appointment?? (Cries jealously in American.)
@internationalsidequest 19 minutes. ???? Slightly chaos but worth it #fyp #healthcare ♬ original sound – Jen’s Side Quests
It’s a stressful week! Everything is terrible!! But I keep watching this video of lil sandpipers that someone used as musical notes and just smiling:
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I also have to remember this: 
And remember my Didion:
Here’s an essay from last summer from designer and writer Mike Monteiro this week, which popped into my head because of that terrifying Ring Superbowl ad. The whole thing is heartening, but the ending here is the pull quote I saved:
Our current dystopia is built on fear. Fear of our neighbors. Fear of our communities. Fear of others. Fear that they will eventually come for you, so why not offer them someone else in your place. It’s easy to fall for this and let dystopia wash over you. You literally have to do nothing. You can sit there, thinking that it’s all too big to fix, because it is very very big. And it is very very bad.
Dystopia is easy. You take what people are afraid of and tell them it’s right outside their door. The cure is to open the door and see the truth for yourself. What’s on the other side of the door is your neighbors, and some of them brought donuts.
There is hope. As long as you are here, and I am here, and we are here there is hope. It may not be a lot, but with every hopeful step you take there’s a little more.
I pulled out the book board and papers and made a tissue box cover for the new bathroom over the weekend:
It had been a while since I worked with the thinner Italian papers vs. the forgiving Japanese ones but we made it work. And we have some nice pops of orange in there now:
And! We finally got shower glass last week, so everything is DONE-done now:
The fresh snowy white paint down in the new sewing lair made me realize how dingy the rest of the white paint in the house is. I guess it makes sense–I closed 15 years ago tomorrow (!)–but if we’re going to sell in a few years, we’ll need to paint anyway, and why not enjoy new paint until then?
So I started with the old sewing room because it was still empty. I prepped over the week and knocked it all out Sunday and ended up with a room that…looks the same in photos!
Before: 
After: 
Up close, though, it looks really good. There was a weird ghosting coming through at the roof line from the 2x4s (you can see it above the window in the before) and some blocking primer and paint fixed that, along with 15 years worth of scuffs and dings and nail holes.
It looks SO good that I’ve realized I’m going to have to do the whole house, not just a few rooms. It’s good to have projects, I guess.
1. Is your blood pressure high? I recommend watching seven minutes of cheetahs running in slow motion. (Bonus, you can see the toy they pulled along for one to chase.) 
2. And then you can get your blood pressure back up with this essay from Mike Moneteiro about voting with your wallet.
Oligarchs like Tim Cook and Elon Musk have shown us their ass. But when you show someone your ass you end up also exposing your neck. America has one neck, and it’s capitalism. Which runs on your dollar. If you want to change how America works, change where you’re putting your dollar.
3. How about a Rebecca Solnit quote to take us into the weekend?
The fact that we cannot save everything does not mean that we cannot save anything and everything we can save is worth saving. You may need to grieve or scream or take time off, but you have a role, no matter what, and right now good friends and good principles are worth gathering in. Remember what you love. Remember what loves you. Remember in this tide of hate what love is. The pain you feel is because of love.
The mood for February:
My mood when I think about taxes this year (by Wizard of Barge):
This is incredibly accurate. We had no idea…
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Wish I could go on a beach vacation and relax! (Sound on for screaming.)
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