25
Aug, 2005

creativity sparks energy in me

i love seeing examples of other people’s creativity. here’s a recent example from one of my favorite sites to peruse occasionally. their tagline is “no tea cozies without irony.” just looking at their site makes me want to go make something.

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23
Aug, 2005

ok. this article cracked me up.

does this link work for you? i ran across this article today at work and it cracked me up. maybe non-children’s librarians won’t be amused, but…it’s funny ‘cuz it’s true!

Posted in laugh, library stuff | 3 Comments
23
Aug, 2005

rearranging furniture

i love to rearrange furniture. most of the time, i figure out the “perfect” way for the furniture to be arranged and then i leave it alone, but some rooms defy my internal feng shui and must, periodically, be shuffled around.

last night, we moved more furniture out of the living room and into the den. we needed a spot near the television to store the dvd’s, and the bookshelf that had been upstairs was starting to feel a little cluttery to me. now, of course, the spot where the bookshelf was (where it had been since we moved in two years ago) looks a little… bare. we’ll see if it stays empty. i’m trying to create a more serene atmosphere in the front room, but stacks of mail keep piling up and bicycles get parked in there and stuff that needs to go out of the house piles up by the door….maybe if i just bought a “new” dresser or sofa table instead of mr. happy stuff’s childhood chest of drawers…

but back to why this stuff makes me happy–it’s kind of like getting a new haircut. it gives you a little “wake-up” jolt each time you come in and see your room looking different. plus, (my favorite) it’s free! (unless, of course, i buy a new dresser…)

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22
Aug, 2005

outsider art outside

smiling buddha
whenever i go biking through the arboretum behind my house, i always smile when i pass this one particular house. in their yard is an ever-changing, ever-shifting arrangement of rocks, peeled tree trunk segments and small plaster casts of buddha or just his head. lots of plaster casts. today, i was brave enough to go to their house with my camera. i rang their doorbell to ask permission to take some pictures, but no one was home. i have to admit that…i took some pictures anyway. this one was very existential. and here is an example of the tree trunks i mentioned. i truly hope they don’t mind. maybe i’ll take them a jar of jam.

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19
Aug, 2005

amelie lists

so, in the movie amelie, some of my favorite parts are the ones where they list different characters’ quirky loves and hates. one character loves the “oysters” found when picking chicken meat from the bone, one character hates it when your swim trunks stick to you when you get out of the pool. one character loves popping bubble wrap and cracking knuckles, another hates getting prune fingers in the bath and having pillow marks on her cheek in the morning. each thing that they love and hate is something simple. not something that would delight or irritate everyone who encounters it. nothing cliche (like fingers on a chalkboard or ice cream on a hot day). and nothing that that they hate is directly angry at another person and nothing that they love would anger another person that they enjoy it. (except for maybe the guy who likes to watch bullfighters getting gored on tv–but that’s their job!) watching the movie makes me want to create my own amelie list. it may take me a little while to come up with three of each category that aren’t cliche and are unique to me (or at least to not everyone), but here goes:

i love it when i use up the last sticky note in the pack.
i love it when people talk in silly voices or accents (as long as it’s not condescending).
i love to start and end my day reading in bed.
i love to lick the lid on pudding cups.
i love to change the calendar to a new month.

i hate cherry flavored things–even the smell.
i hate perfume sample pages in magazine.
i hate it when someone sings a song that i don’t know and i get that small fragment stuck in my head, over and over.
i hate it when the top corner of your pants (by the button) pokes out and makes you look like you have a really big (and pointy) outie belly button.

i think i’ll add to this list as more things come up. what is your amelie list?

Posted in stuff that makes me smile | 4 Comments
19
Aug, 2005

beneath every cloud there is a hot pink lining

last night, there were storms in the area. tornadoes, dumping rain, and…bright sunshine. this storm pushed through very quickly and when it was over, there was no lingering gray. only bright, happy sunshine! and rainbows! and the most amazing, billowy clouds.

we left the house to get groceries around sunset and the clouds were reflecting pink and orange–and the weird part was that the clouds were on the eastern horizon. looking at the western horizon (which had few clouds) you could barely tell it was a sunset, but the clouds reflected the most beautiful colors. and they were huge and fluffy and took up the whole sky. it felt like the sun was setting in the east and turning the world on its head. i wish a photograph could have done them justice. (or at least, that i’d had my camera handy).

on the way home with a trunk full of groceries, the sky was black with night, but the eastern mountains of clouds were still visible with valhalla like lightening flashing around inside them. it looked like a movie effect. is it sad that nature’s most amazing displays can be most often only described as “it looked like something you’d see in a movie!” how amazing must those sights have looked to people in eras before tv and special effects? black clouds with light flashing from the inside, highlighting the edges and making you aware of the awesome power that was bouncing around in the sky…. truly awe-inspiring.

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18
Aug, 2005

yoga kitty

my cat, maryann, is my yoga kitty. the other cat can’t come into the yoga/craft room with me because she eats my plants and wreaks havoc and that is not conducive to a calm yoga mood. as soon as i open the door to that room, maryann shoots in and after a few minutes of poking around, usually settles down on a brown velvety cushion that i had originally thought of as my “meditation cushion” but now, it’s covered in cat fur and it’s her favorite spot. she’d lie there all day if i’d let her.

so i go in there with her some mornings and do yoga while she lies in somewhat yoga-like positions on her cushion. she always gets up when i get to downward-facing dog and walks underneath me–like a child playing “london bridges” or like she’s telling me, “lift a little higher here! keep it up! nice position!” and then i switch to upward-facing dog and the mat gets a little crowded, so she moves back to her cushion.

this morning’s yoga was lovely. there was a steady rain outside my open windows and i was listening to my favorite yoga cd. my kitty was on her cushion in some sort of twisted reclining pose. ohm.

Posted in sporty stuff, stuff that makes me smile | 1 Comment
17
Aug, 2005

the power of water

yesterday, a patron came in with a fistful of “peppermint stick zinnia” that were very droopy and “mostly-dead” looking. i stuck them in some water with very little hope.

every day when i get home, the tomato plants that i have in pots on the edge of my driveway have leaves all curled up and skinny and thirsty-looking. i dump water on them and by the end of the evening, they’re mostly flourishing. i think it might be stressing the tomatoes out, but at least they’re still alive and producing.

this morning, when i came in, the peppermint stick zinnias had perked up and looked perfectly healthy, happy and cheerful.

i wonder if, to a flower, we look droopy when we’re dehydrated. i’m going to go get some water.

Posted in summer | Comments Off on the power of water
16
Aug, 2005

another artist

i like lynn whipple. she makes ninny boxes. i don’t know where to buy them. i probably couldn’t afford them anyway. will someone make me a ninny box?

Posted in stuff that sparks a glow in my soul | 3 Comments
16
Aug, 2005

brad the gorilla

i love reading this blog.

it’s just the right dose of silly for my day. (but don’t tell brad. he might get offended.)

Posted in laugh, stuff that makes me smile | 3 Comments