Better Living Through Literature
Words + Projects + Stuff I Like
She had always been…the motive power of her own happiness. For once, she wanted to feel herself carried by the power of someone else’s achievement. As men on a dark prairie liked to see the lighted windows of a train going past…the sight of power and purpose that gave them reassurance in the midst of empty miles and night–so she wanted to feel it for a moment, a brief greeting, a single glimpse, just to wave her arm and say: Someone is going somewhere.
(Related: This is pretty funny.)
The current project is a dress that’s not working out (fool me once, Cynthia Rowley, shame on you. Fool me three times….well, I think I learned my lesson). I’m re-purposing the dress skirt fabric to make a blouse, but that’s not done yet. So instead, look what happens when you get a bonus and have realized it’s easy to order things internationally:
Liberty of London baby cord in “Mauverina” (love that name)
Liberty Tana lawn in “Strawberry Thief” and “Poppy and Honesty”
And my favorites, “My Little Star” and “Helland” (tiny viking ships for the win!)
Everything but the funk-tastic star print came from Shaukaut, a store in London that offers Liberty fabrics at a great discount–even with international shipping. They were already sold out of the “My Little Star” print, though (it’s from the spring collection) and I had decided I NEEDED it, of course, so I found that at a place in Canada.
Ahem.
I do plan on all this fancy fabric taking me until at least January, with a couple of skirts thrown in, so it feels a little less excessive when I think of how it will spread out. Besides, if I get a house by the end of the year I won’t be able to buy anything fancy, so I thought I’d better stock up.
I had no idea Gary Cooper was so hot in his early career. I always think of him in the High Noon era, which is rugged and capable but not really anything to write home about.
But look at him 20 years earlier! Hellloooo, Coop!
You’re burning my eyes, Gary. 
I hope this has improved your Monday.
1. Someone who has a deep fryer and truffle salt needs to make this so we can try it: Carrot bacon.
2. How have I not read any of Carl Sagan’s books until now? Last Friday’s quote was from Cosmos and I just started The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. Best title ever, Carl.
3. I never could get those “magic eye” posters to work: 
Speaking of patching roofs, here’s a song that I would always hear on the oldies station my dad listened to when I was a little kid (although I think this version was the one playing in 1985). I love the images chosen to accompany the song here.
(As for house hunting, there was one likely one. But how do you know that it’s “The One”? A few people have asked if I want to start dating again–I think house hunting is similar enough that I don’t need to.)
I have been gingerly wading into the deep scary world of the housing market. I have a real estate agent, I got a loan application (which made me throw up in my mouth a little), and tonight I’m looking at a bunch of likely homes.
I’m sure most people have anxiety over house purchases, but mine isn’t necessarily about mortgaging my life away–it’s about how on earth I’ll maintain a house. In the area where I want to be, new houses are scarce and expensive, so I’m looking at age ranges from the 1920’s to the 40’s. Which means that there’s a lot more maintenance to keep on top of. (It also means that when it’s paid off in 30 years and I’m 60, I’ll be in a hundred-year-old house. Along with my 15 cats.)
I know how to maintain the inside of a house, and I suppose things like cleaning out gutters and lawn mowing and winterizing and fixing holes in the roof aren’t rocket science, or most people’s homes would look a lot worse than they do. A reasonably intelligent person who’s good at following instructions and reading diagrams should be able to learn as she goes, right?
Right?
Despite this summer of pencil skirts and little blouses, my first love remains the hippy dress–a dress that’s loose and smock-like and looks good with boots. (I think this love stems from my love for the muumuu.)
A Simplicity pattern that I use a lot makes a good hippy dress, but then I discovered these patterns from France. France knows all about hippies, right?
This line primarily makes children’s patterns (enfants and bebes) and I learned about it when a couple of craft bloggers I follow bought enfant patterns and raved over the “simple, sophisticated lines.” We’ll see how they sew up–but the pattern pieces already have a French flair:
(Note to anyone who’s forgotten their high school French: Modern patterns from Simplicity, etc. are labeled in English and French, so you have an automatic glossary for these. And there are diagrams. And hippy dresses are not complicated.)
Here’s something about nature and mindfulness (yoga word!)to ponder today, as we sit in our offices…
Yes! No! by Mary Oliver
How necessary it is to have opinions! I think the spotted trout
lilies are satisfied, standing a few inches above the earth. I
think serenity is not something you just find in the world,
like a plum tree, holding up its white petals.
The violets, along the river, are opening their blue faces, like
small dark lanterns.
The green mosses, being so many, are as good as brawny.
How important it is to walk along, not in haste but slowly,
looking at everything and calling out
Yes! No! The
swan, for all his pomp, his robes of grass and petals, wants
only to be allowed to live on the nameless pond. The catbrier
is without fault. The water thrushes, down among the sloppy
rocks, are going crazy with happiness. Imagination is better
than a sharp instrument. To pay attention, this is our endless
and proper work.
1. This Carl Sagan quote gently refutes my glee yesterday about swearing (“I have to do it; it’s instinct!”):
The cerebral cortex is a liberation. We need no longer be trapped in the genetically inherited patterns of lizards and baboons. We are, each of us, largely responsible for what gets put into our brains, for what, as adults, we wind up caring for and knowing about. No longer at the mercy of the reptile brain, we can change ourselves.
2. Somewhat related, if only because I learned about her in the Cosmos series, did you know that a movie is out about the life of Hypatia? It’s called Agora and its lack of a slick Flash site (or any site) makes me hopeful.
I swear a lot. I try to keep a lid on it in public, but in private–and in my head–there’s a lot of profanity. Sometimes I think that, as someone who deals with words all day, I should have a better substitute for all these curse words, something more creative and less swear-y. But it seems that’s not the case:
This “How Stuff Works” article about swearing brings in the science behind swearing, saying that “many researchers believe that it helps relieve stress and blow off steam, like crying does for small children.” The coolest thing, though, is what happens to our brains when we swear:
Language processing is a “higher” brain function and takes place in the cerebral cortex [while] emotion and instinct are “lower” brain functions and take place deep inside the brain…Many studies suggest that the brain processes swearing in the lower regions, along with emotion and instinct..
So they’re words that aren’t even processed as language, but instead tied to our basic brain functions? No wonder there aren’t any satisfying substitutes. I love it when science backs me up.