September 2021

Wednesday Poem

By in poems

This is from Maggie Smith, author of “Good Bones,” and it has a nice rhythm to it.

Tuesday Project Planning: Sweatsuits Are The New Business Suit

By in sewing

Last fall I saved an outfit from Australian brand Gorman, which features wonderful bright prints and very expensive items and shipping:

I was just getting into matching sets for WFH Winter (I made a few; they never got blogged) and that bright print and contrast ribbing stuck with me. Fast forward a year and I found some tropical French terry and contrast rib from Jumping June Textiles and it call came together:

I don’t think this will end up being a “look for less”–that European fabric is $$, but it also won’t pill after three wears like the cheap blends I used last year. I have a zip hoodie and some throw pillows in line ahead of this but soon I’ll have my bright set!

In The Home Stretch

By in home improvement

We got tile on the wall over the weekend (and I think I just about killed my dad with trips up and down the stairs to the tile saw, good lord is tile labor-intensive). Tonight I grout and Wednesday we get the plumbing put back and THEN, with the exception of a light fixture, I have a new bathroom!

LOOK AT THAT TILE. Just look at it.

 

Of course, now that I see the end of the project, I think I might want to paint one wall? I was at Home Depot getting touch up paint to match the white walls last night and just happened to grab some paint swatches. I think I’ll enjoy having a new bathroom for a bit and then see what I think–maybe a green wall would be too much, since this is the bathroom right next to the tiger wallpaper. Or maybe it would be just right and I would feel like Phryne Fisher in her malachite bathroom?

 

Remodeling Report

By in home improvement

We’re roughly one-thirds done with the main bathroom redo, which involves tearing everything out, putting in a new waterproof underlayment, tiling a new floor,  putting in a new vanity and toilet,  and adding a tile half wall and backsplash–plus installing waterproof vinyl baseboard and lights and medicine cabinet.

I wouldn’t even have been able to do the demo without my dad’s help (and tools) and he was invaluable for tile. I was so impressed with his tile skills I put a sample on my Instagram stories:

And got this reply from an Instagram friend who’s a commercial interior designer!

We’re taking a couple days off and will make more progress over the weekend. I’ll have a big reveal when it’s all done, never fear.

Friday Links

By in Friday Unrelated Information

1. What a week. Who else feels like this?

2. Hello, Society: I’m a Woman and I Want to Warn You That I Might Have Aged This Past Year

Do you want to hear the great news? A byproduct of aging is that I finally love myself exactly as I am, and I don’t need anyone else’s approval… Ouch! Stop trying to burn me alive with your lighter. I’m not a witch; I’ve simply grown wiser, gained confidence, and discovered inner peace.

3. Art is soothing, right?  “New” Vermeer painting found under old Vermeer painting.

4. We’re doing the bathroom facelift project starting this weekend, so I won’t post for some of next week. Hooray for forcing my dad to help us on big projects!

Tell Us We’re Overreacting Now

By in politics

Remember when Trump and the Republican-majority congress appointed three Supreme Court justices? And liberals worried that it would mean the end of Roe v Wade? And conservatives said we were just being dramatic? Yeah. That same Supreme Court just upheld Texas’ extremist abortion law:

This isn’t about saving the lives of children. If it were, they’d mandate masks and stop school shootings. They’d  make childcare happen, and school lunches, and give kids clean water and some hope of a climate future. This is about control. This is about keeping people in poverty. Because the wives and daughters and mistresses of these conservative men will still be able to access abortion.

I’m used to the cruelty at this point, but the hypocrisy is just breathtaking.

(Once your rage simmers down to a manageable level, donate to Planned Parenthood or the ACLU. Share Plan C’s link about abortion pills by mail widely. Call on your representatives to end the filibuster, protect reproductive rights at the Federal level, and expand the court.)

A Poem About A Toad

By in poems

Matthew Ogle started up his Pome newsletter again and this showed up a few days ago. The description of that deliberate toad walk is excellent.

Toad

Norman MacCaig (1993)

Stop looking like a purse. How could a purse
squeeze under the rickety door and sit,
full of satisfaction, in a man’s house?

You clamber towards me on your four corners –
right hand, left foot, left hand, right foot.

I love you for being a toad,
for crawling like a Japanese wrestler,
and for not being frightened.

I put you in my purse hand, not shutting it,
and set you down outside directly under
every star.

A jewel in your head? Toad,
you’ve put one in mine,
a tiny radiance in a dark place.

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