Friday's inspirations

sunlight...



succulents...




tapio wirkkala pollo...

Mish and the best fabric of all time

Every once in a while you meet someone that is truly inspiring. A person that is completely original and unique. Someone that makes a lasting impression. Mish, if you are reading this, I am so glad our paths crossed while we were living in Encinitas!

I still have the same old sewing machine that Mish taught me how to use and I recently found the first thing she helped me sew…a canvas tote bag with a pocket made from what I still think is the best fabric of all time. You have no idea how happy I was to find that bag because I often think about that fabric and how I really want to take that pocket off and use it on a new project, something I can look at everyday. I’m pretty sure I know how I’m going to use that 7 x 5 inch piece of orange and lime cuteness. I’ll definitely post a picture when it’s finished.

words to share

There are many things to be thankful for. I’m healthy. I have a home and a loving family. I have a job. I have great friends.

One of these friends is Kark. A fantastic photographer, man of a million ideas, and determined to beat cancer. He remains positive and only surrounds himself with others who share his positive mindset. He sent this email today…

I have been in the hospital more than 4 of the last 7 months now. This leaves a lot of time for serious thought and reflection. I am surrounded by people on the inside, fighting to live on the outside. I look out the window and see that we are surrounded by people on the outside that don't even realize they are alive. Life is funny. You don't realize how good times were until times get bad. You don't realize how much you miss someone until they are gone. You don't realize how good you felt until you get sick. You don't realize how alive you were until you are dying.

I found myself walking the halls as fast as I could turning anger and frustration into much needed exercise. I kept thinking about how I couldn't wait to get out of here and start living again. I thought about how much my life had changed in the last year and how much I had lost. I thought about those people on the outside that have all the health in the world but don't have the will to live their lives. It tortured me like Johnny Cash's lyrics to Fulton Blues: "but those people keep on moving, and that's what tortures me." I felt the anger and rage at my situation. I was almost running through the halls as I turned the corner and saw a sign on a patient’s door. It said: "PATIENT UNABLE TO SPEAK".

Then I remembered a week during the summer when I had finished a round of chemo and was barely able to speak and had to take shots of morphine just to pass soft food. I suddenly realized that my situation was a lot better than it could be and found myself to be very fortunate. As far as that patient behind that door with the sign was concerned.....I was on the outside.

" Be Content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. " - Lao Tzu

See you on the outside,
Kark

rugs and dogs. can they co-exist?

We are on living room rug number 4 and have lived here for almost 5 years. The first was a flokati we had from the Chicago apartment days that did not last very long. It was replaced by a wool rug from ikea. Yes, Mark came home with a white rug from ikea. I hated this one the most. Mind you he found it in the scratch and dent section and a good bargain for sure but a white rug in our house…really? Not only did it show every paw print, construction boot print, and dog vomit spot, it was like owning a second pet. This thing shed so much! This shedding dingy thing had to go and was replaced by a gray rug I bought at Meijer for $24.99. I loved this rug. It could have been bigger but it had a cute textural pattern on it and come on - $24.99!! That was going to be my goal from here on out…only buy rugs costing less than $30 bucks and replace them often. This Meijer rug made it for almost a year, I think, with the help of the Woolite rug stick and cleaning foam that has since become my best friend. I’m not sure what the magnetic pull is to the living room however if Lottie needs to puke she goes straight to that rug and lets loose. It finally got a spot that just wouldn’t come out so it was replaced with what I believe to be the most perfect rug in the universe – a $27.99 beauty from the Home Depot. I probably should not admit to how many times Lottie has hurled on this rug as you might think twice about ever sitting in my living room… but rest assured, this rug is so stain resistant and cleans up so well with the Woolite foam that I am going to be devastated if I cannot replace it with another exactly like it. And I look every time I go to the Home Depot and never have seen another like it. Can you feel the panic!! Which brings us to yesterday afternoon. I went to the post office and forgot to close the dog door before I left. Lottie doesn’t usually go outside if she’s home alone but there must have been a squirrel taunting her and she could not resist the chase. When I got home 20 minutes later, my rug was covered in black muddy paw prints and there was Lottie standing there with pieces of grass still stuck between her toes. Wow, this is going to be the real test for this rug. Can the Woolite clean THIS mess?? I scrubbed and vacuumed and scrubbed and vacuumed. I think I need to do the whole cleaning process one more time today but I’m not sure that these mud stains are going to come completely out. I know this backyard mud. These are the same muddy paw prints that never came out of my white bedspread! We’ll see what another session with the Woolite does. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky this weekend at the Home Depot and find another one. Or maybe there is an even better $30 rug out there somewhere?? We shall see.



Something to add... multiple $30 rugs can really add up in our landfills. A couple of our rugs have been repurposed to the garage and basement where it doesn't matter how gross they are. This website gives some recycling and repurposing options for your old area rugs:
http://www.greenyour.com/home/furnishings/carpet-and-rugs/tips/recycle-carpet-rugs-and-padding

orange

why?!

Why does the perfect stool, the one i've spent the last year searching for, show itself to me today and cost $400 bucks!!!!

current mood: sad, very sad.

goodbye 70s basement

demolition of the basement has begun!

Jane and Gordon Martz

I purchased this Martz lamp last summer from the fine folks at Pegboard Modern. I had always admired these lamps and was happy to finally get one of my very own. I love the history of the Martzes being a Hoosier myself and try to learn as much as I can about any of the pieces I have collected. The beauty of vintage is that everything comes with a story. Whether it's the story of how you stumbled across it in a thrift store or on-line, the story of the wacky antique store dealer that sold you your treasure, the memory of a day when you and a friend were out antique shopping, or the history involved with the piece or it's brand. I also love collecting Haeger. It's been made in Illinois since 1871 and you can visit the actual Haeger Factory in East Dundee where they are still producing new pieces. The first time Mark and I went to there, we were waited on and given a quick tour by a member of the Haeger family. We arrived late and they stayed open a little longer so we could shop. I will always remember that day.

Back to the Martzes...
Gordon Martz and Jane Marshall met while they were students at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred NY. In 1951, Jane and Gordon joined the Marshall Studios, a company founded by Jane's grandmother Jesse in 1922 and operated by the family including Jane's father Nicholas Marshall and her mother Grace, in Veedersburg, Indiana. Their talents were undeniable. Both had had intensive ceramics and design training at the college, and Gordon's interest in engineering principles had been nurtured there, as well. Jane had gone to school for the sole purpose of getting the design and ceramics training she would need to expand and carry on the family business. Meeting Gordon there was lucky... Jane had not only found a husband, but someone she could work with as a team to realize all her dreams, and more. At Alfred, both Gordon and Jane had become first-rate ceramists, so their contributions to Marshall Studios would center around what they knew and loved best. Their work was recognized by a design award from the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, which also has some of their work in its permanent collection.

Martz lamps are often available for sale at
http://www.pegboardmodern.com/

Read more about the Martzes here or click on the title of this post...
http://www.jetsetmodern.com/martz.htm

supermarkethq.com

if your Etsy addiction is not enough, try
http://supermarkethq.com/browse/everything

purchase of the day

I could not resist this nifty vintage bird thermometer. It's amazingly cute. I highly recommend shopping at HausProud on Etsy. I'm on a bit of an online shopping binge these days. I blame cabin fever.

red-breasted nuthatch

I had a new visitor to the tube feeder today... a red-breasted nuthatch. This is the first time i've ever seen one in my backyard. Yeah, I'm excited - I do love the birds!

They have some crazy claws!

snow day

While I was inside sewing (and staying nice and warm), Mark and Lottie were at the park playing some snow frisbee. For being a dog from Texas, Lottie sure loves the snow. She doesn't mind the cold weather much either. Unlike me!!

aprons!

My first craft project of 2010 - I call it the reversible "Ali" apron. In about 3 days, Ali will figure out why it's named after her!! So nice to be sewing again. I have the spare room set up as my studio with my machine, a big table, and freedom to make as much of a mess as I wish. One down, lots more to make!!

Raynaud's Disease

This is why I am a winter hibernator...

Raynaud's disease is a condition that causes your fingers and toes (and in some cases the tip of your nose and your ears) to feel numb, cool, cramp, and become painful when exposed to cold temperatures or stress. Raynaud's causes smaller arteries that supply blood to your skin to narrow, limiting blood circulation to the affected areas. Even holding an iced drink, putting your hands in the freezer, or air conditioning can trigger a spasm.

Raynaud's is more than simply having cold hands and cold feet, and it's not the same as frostbite. Signs and symptoms of Raynaud's depend on the frequency, duration and severity of the blood vessel spasms that underlie the disorder. Raynaud's symptoms include cold fingers and toes, sequence of color changes in your skin in response to cold or stress, and a numb, prickly feeling or stinging pain upon warming or relief of stress.

During an attack of Raynaud's, affected areas of your skin usually turn white at first. Then, the affected areas often turn dark blue, feel cold and numb, and your sensory perception is dulled. As circulation improves, the affected areas may turn red, throb, tingle or swell. The order of the changes of color isn't the same for all people, and not everyone experiences all three colors.

Raynaud’s can occur as a “primary” disease - that is, with no associated disorder. It can also occur as a “secondary” condition (referred to as Raynaud’s phenomenon) related to other diseases, such as scleroderma, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Raynaud’s is named for the French physician Maurice Raynaud, who first recognized the condition in 1862.

Outdoor world, I'll see you in the Spring!