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to a brighter office.
corner. office.
with a balcony.
here it is: http://mondeintact.blogspot.com
[see the heart shape in the middle?]
... and beauty...
... everywhere.
and sunshine.
and sunshine.
of course, as anyone who knows me knows, where there is sunshine, i am not far. ;)
and what does this picture show you?
that in my world, there is also a well-maintained coif during my year of not cutting my hair. that's right! still haven't cut it and yet, don't i look like fresh from the set of a pantene ad?
the only questions is, would that be an ad for shampoo, or cover-your-roots? today, i have counted nine grey hairs altogether. when i thought there were three. but, i welcome them.
just as much as i welcome my high forehead up there. come to think of it, i don't find it very high. which might be because i'm used to it.
now, i was going to post photos here of my freshly SELFselfself-upholstered [what i mean is, BY MEEEE] chairs. as you can see, read, i am very proud of my accomplishment. and so happy with the chairs. to sit in them is soothing. comforting. safe, happy, comfortable.
what i was saying, i was going to post a photo. i have before and during photos. and i just tried to take a few after photos, for this post, but with the sun leaving us [don't worry, it will be back tomorrow] no light, photo, shows the color of the new fabric as i see it. so, i shall try again in the morning.
for now i shall leave you, my dear readership, the few, with a wish.
that in my world, there is also a well-maintained coif during my year of not cutting my hair. that's right! still haven't cut it and yet, don't i look like fresh from the set of a pantene ad?
the only questions is, would that be an ad for shampoo, or cover-your-roots? today, i have counted nine grey hairs altogether. when i thought there were three. but, i welcome them.
just as much as i welcome my high forehead up there. come to think of it, i don't find it very high. which might be because i'm used to it.
now, i was going to post photos here of my freshly SELFselfself-upholstered [what i mean is, BY MEEEE] chairs. as you can see, read, i am very proud of my accomplishment. and so happy with the chairs. to sit in them is soothing. comforting. safe, happy, comfortable.
what i was saying, i was going to post a photo. i have before and during photos. and i just tried to take a few after photos, for this post, but with the sun leaving us [don't worry, it will be back tomorrow] no light, photo, shows the color of the new fabric as i see it. so, i shall try again in the morning.
for now i shall leave you, my dear readership, the few, with a wish.
happy halloweeeeen!
and whenever i think, type, say this, i think of one of my favorite scenes from ugly betty.
enjoy.
enjoy.
how that happened, i don't know.
a flower in the front yard.
and a little bark.
a tree across the street. worthy of having its shaky picture taken at sundown.
just like the neighbor's palm tree and our backyard. roses on the side, and a cozy golden girls sunset.
but, creeping around the neighborhood dressed up as a shrub to take photos of magic moments wasn't all i did.
i also -after both my hubby and i scraped our legs at the sharp edge of the bed several times- smoothed the edge of our bed. i bought a pocket plane for the occasion. however. once, at home, i remembered the un-handy, big, paint-splattered plane i bought at the drive-in flea market in san luis obispo with brad months ago for five dollars. that's right. that's what i call it, the un-handy, big, paint-splattered plane i bought at the drive-in flea market in san luis obispo with brad months ago for five dollars. in short: tubppibatdfmislowbmaffd. i will refer to it as 'tubppi' from here on.
even though tubppi is missing one handle, and i had to work a little harder at maneuvering him, her, it, not that i know how to correctly maneuver a plane to begin with [thank god there's usually a pilot on the flight], my enthusiasm and excitement at using something i had bought for its looks made up for it.
and it worked!
i also -after both my hubby and i scraped our legs at the sharp edge of the bed several times- smoothed the edge of our bed. i bought a pocket plane for the occasion. however. once, at home, i remembered the un-handy, big, paint-splattered plane i bought at the drive-in flea market in san luis obispo with brad months ago for five dollars. that's right. that's what i call it, the un-handy, big, paint-splattered plane i bought at the drive-in flea market in san luis obispo with brad months ago for five dollars. in short: tubppibatdfmislowbmaffd. i will refer to it as 'tubppi' from here on.
even though tubppi is missing one handle, and i had to work a little harder at maneuvering him, her, it, not that i know how to correctly maneuver a plane to begin with [thank god there's usually a pilot on the flight], my enthusiasm and excitement at using something i had bought for its looks made up for it.
and it worked!
above you see tubppi and the smoothed edge. i painted the bed black after, so i am very glad of having taken photos of the board's side. isn't it pret-tyy?
please pay no attention to the chipped corner. it's not tubppi's fault.
one of the photos i found on my camera is of a top i sewed:
one of the photos i found on my camera is of a top i sewed:
'twas taken a few months ago. even though lovely, the top is now with the salvation army. or possibly already with a new owneress. the brown part at the top wasn't as stretchy as i thought, or as elastic, or too elastic, so i frequently had to pull it back up when wearing it. adding a strap or two wasn't an option, since it's a strapless top. now someone else's strapless top. i don't have to keep everything i make since i create to learn, too. and there's a photo. what else do i want?
nothing.
i like answering rhetorical questions.
never shall i forget the time i first encountered a rhetorical question. and how clueless i was.
'twas a family reunion. i must have been ten or younger. i would like to flatter myself by telling you that the fine nuances of language, such as rhetorical questions, were part of my conversation skills from age four on, but let's try to stay closer to reality here. i might also have been twelve.
all i remember is that i was sitting at a table, next to my dad. in a room in this big house in lamprecht, with dozens of people present. in comes aunt therese, my great-aunt, and asks into our direction,
"wouldn't christine rather sit with the other children?"
"no, thank you. i like sitting here."
as she left the room, my dad said, "that was a rhetorical question."
ever the advocate for children, my dad didn't even suggest i leave my spot at the adult table. he always took me places with him and never dropped me off at a children's table, or sent me to bed alone because i was a child and "supposed to be in bed." instead, i remember that i once fell asleep at a table in a restaurant, with my arms on the table and my head in my arms. it made me feel safe to always be with my dad.
how do i segue from rhetorical questions to my visit with brad and denise? i don't know.
and that wasn't one.
i spent a lovely weekend in san luis obispo, about three weeks ago. one morning, we went to have breakfast at the madonna inn. something neither of us had done before, despite all having lived there for years. it looks like a casino inside. fantasy world. exceptionally fancy red velvet damask wallpaper.
when we left, we took a photo. were this the year 1989, we would have taken a photo and left.
but, 'tis the year 2009, so of course, we used a digital camera. and of course, we had to look at the photo after we took it. of course, we found things wrong with it. three people in the picture, three opinions on what didn't look right. let me take you on this little journey i shall call "three faces, five photos":
nothing.
i like answering rhetorical questions.
never shall i forget the time i first encountered a rhetorical question. and how clueless i was.
'twas a family reunion. i must have been ten or younger. i would like to flatter myself by telling you that the fine nuances of language, such as rhetorical questions, were part of my conversation skills from age four on, but let's try to stay closer to reality here. i might also have been twelve.
all i remember is that i was sitting at a table, next to my dad. in a room in this big house in lamprecht, with dozens of people present. in comes aunt therese, my great-aunt, and asks into our direction,
"wouldn't christine rather sit with the other children?"
"no, thank you. i like sitting here."
as she left the room, my dad said, "that was a rhetorical question."
ever the advocate for children, my dad didn't even suggest i leave my spot at the adult table. he always took me places with him and never dropped me off at a children's table, or sent me to bed alone because i was a child and "supposed to be in bed." instead, i remember that i once fell asleep at a table in a restaurant, with my arms on the table and my head in my arms. it made me feel safe to always be with my dad.
how do i segue from rhetorical questions to my visit with brad and denise? i don't know.
and that wasn't one.
i spent a lovely weekend in san luis obispo, about three weeks ago. one morning, we went to have breakfast at the madonna inn. something neither of us had done before, despite all having lived there for years. it looks like a casino inside. fantasy world. exceptionally fancy red velvet damask wallpaper.
when we left, we took a photo. were this the year 1989, we would have taken a photo and left.
but, 'tis the year 2009, so of course, we used a digital camera. and of course, we had to look at the photo after we took it. of course, we found things wrong with it. three people in the picture, three opinions on what didn't look right. let me take you on this little journey i shall call "three faces, five photos":
"nah."
"no."
"nnnno."
"getting there."
"this is it!"
if you are now asking yourself the rhetorical question, why would she post a photo of herself with a double chin, for all the world to see?, then worry not, i will answer this rhetorical question for you.
it's because to me, two chins are nothing. no one has said it to my face, but i have heard the phrase "more chins than the chinese phone book."
it's because to me, two chins are nothing. no one has said it to my face, but i have heard the phrase "more chins than the chinese phone book."
or is this what they call a turtle neck?
a turkey neck?
excuse me!
i'm a vegetarian!
a turkey neck?
excuse me!
i'm a vegetarian!
the next day i started nora roberts' conspiracy in death, written under pseudonym j.d. robb. this, too, i read within three days yet only during daylight. my nerves, by their natural condition, are not quite in a shape to read it at night, home alone. i read some in the dark when hubby was home. the first night, though, i had a nightmare. that left me up for an hour, i read a harmless enough magazine, between 5 and 6 a.m. i fell asleep again, had another nightmare, worse this time. got up at eight, went straight back to the book. no nightmare the second night.
today then, after dinner, i started jonathan kellerman, over the edge. there's a knife on the cover [depicted more realistically than it might be on a sidney sheldon novel], but, you see, i needed another crime novel.
the reason i am now on a reading break and able to blog is that the sun went down. i read 45 pages of kellerman, then i became too dark and since i don't want to strain my purposely-unacquainted-with-murder and occasionally chickenshit-when-home-alone-in-the-dark nerves, i stopped reading.
now, how i read. when i'm really into a book, as happened with the last three, reading can climb up the priority ladder to the spot between 'breathing' and 'drinking water'. i noticed this in the last hour. twice, i went into the kitchen to get coffee and chocolate dessert.
i read while the chocolate dessert was warmed by the microwave.
i read while i took the coffee pitcher out of the machine and positioned it by the edge of my cup, but then did avert my eyes to watch the coffee flow into the cup. this is only due to my, ahem, record of clumsiness even when i look.
i read while i ate the chocolate dessert outside and a piece fell off the spoon onto my shirt. i'm still wearing the shirt now because i was reading, so i didn't have time to change it.
i also kept reading while i drank coffee, taking sips without my eyes letting go of the lines.
i read when i walk into the kitchen, although not when i walk out, carrying things.
i read while walking to the bathroom and while i sit and pee. [if that's too much information, you might want to stop reading now.]
i read while tearing toilet paper off the roll which is why i have gotten quite good at tearing it off one-handed.
i read while pulling down my pants before i pee, and while i pull them up, after, even though that takes longer because i have to pull a few inches on the right, then a few inches on the left, with the same hand, then the right again, and so on.
i can't read while i wash my hands, so i just don't do that anymore.
just kidding on the last one.
can you see the christine-on-the-ceramic-throne-with-boo
doesn't "Christine On the Ceramic Throne With Book" sound like the title for a painting from the biedermeier period?
i just opened the folder with photos the webcam in our bathroom takes every 60 seconds and, because i have no shame, would like to share this here picture with you.
are you ready?
ok, that's not really me.
i suppose you knew because
1. i didn't iron my ruffled blouse so i'm not wearing it today, and
2. my hair is not that long yet.
now here's one from the realism period.
i'm calling it:
i suppose you knew because
1. i didn't iron my ruffled blouse so i'm not wearing it today, and
2. my hair is not that long yet.
now here's one from the realism period.
i'm calling it:
"Eyes With No Makeup Under Hair With No 'Do"
looks like you have to click on the above map to see where central city is. just a bit west of denver, colorado. my hubby took me there when we were in colorado a few weeks ago, and 'twas so extraordinarily charming, i thought i'd dedicate a post to it.
central city is a bit up the hill [is that german?]. but first, in the valley, there are casinos. it appears there used to be only one, and now there are many, and a newshinybig one on the rise.
but up the hill from there, it was less artificially old, more old because old, and pretty, and colorful, happy, taken care of; in other words, my kind of place.
and with a couple that is worthy of being featured on this one of the best sites on the web.
and with a couple that is worthy of being featured on this one of the best sites on the web.
central city also has its very own opera. and this here lady was asked if she was with the opera.
was it the hat, you might ask? no. it was the voice.
"hubbyyyyy," the lady shrieked.
"hubbyyyyy," the lady shrieked.
"what, woman! what is it?"
"they said i have a shrill voice!"
"well. see what it says on the church over yonder?"
"they said i have a shrill voice!"
"well. see what it says on the church over yonder?"
"wheeere? i can not seeeee!"
"there, woman! on that sign!"
and thus he had spoken.
and since the lady would never be able to resist a husband who poses with the family dog...
she fluted, "whatever you say, dear."
and they lived happily ever after, in this here house in central city, colorado.
"oh lord, thank you for reading my blog!
i will use styling products, definitely. else it will look like it did when i was growing up, just hanging down, slave to cowlicks and turns as they come. on one side of my head, my hair always turns outward as if a wind is blowing through my head. not that it's hollow :) i think i forget these things and then imagine i will have commercial perfect hair without work once it's long again.
i'm gonna use garnier fructis surfstyle. i first used it 5 years ago when i cut my hair, and it's fabulous. makes my hair look unshiny and a little felty. i love it. looks unkempt. great madwoman-look. by the way, i have noticed that your bangs are always in nice place and shape in photos. so you do have a secret. i now know."
and here's what it looks like on my head today.
freshly washed and brushed and airdried. i went to the dollar tree with earl the dog for the sole purpose of getting some shampoo and a hairbrush. since my brother accidentally took home my hair brush this summer, july, i haven't brushed my hair anymore. but it's barely long enough to do that now. and since i ran out of shampoo, hmmm.. some time in may, or april, i have washed my hair with water or water and soap only. today i felt like it's long enough to earn itself a shiny bottle of one-dollar shampoo and a very similar hairbrush.
so there you have it. washed with 2 pennies of shampoo, brushed, and air dried.
no madwoman-look stuff in it. yet.
i have to keep some suspense in here to keep my readership from dwindling.
not that it's big enough to even dwindle.
so there you have it. washed with 2 pennies of shampoo, brushed, and air dried.
no madwoman-look stuff in it. yet.
i have to keep some suspense in here to keep my readership from dwindling.
not that it's big enough to even dwindle.
i lack the discipline and/or mental wherewithal to take a picture every morning, every day, but i shall do so occasionally, when i remember, or when my cousin tobi reminds me of it. here's the first one.
and, i'm calling this project 'frisur natur'. 'frisur' means hairdo in german.
it has been at least three months since i cut my hair. and then, it was all down to a few millimeters.
i like this project.
i'm gonna look like the madwoman i am!
and for a while, i have felt like dollartree feels the same way, toward me.
it was merely a suspicion, though, until i stepped into the dt next to winco today, unsuspecting. i had already walked past the door, when i turned, looked into the store, and was drawn in.
after a few seconds, i saw it. dollartree's proof of love for me.
christmas decorations! *shriek*
dollartree loves me, too! of course, we're not getting ahead of ourselves here. both dollartree and i know that it's still 116 before christmas. but, it was a strong symbolic gesture to show me those fake conifer garlands on the last day of august. neither dollartree nor i are ashamed to show that we love christmas. and that for us, the season starts in september. and that means: mentally preparing in august.
and preparing for christmas means many things, of course. as to not overwhelm my audience today, let me mention only one: giving earl the dog a bath. not that he wanted to.
but since i am 138 lb. heavier than he is, there was little he could do. i would have taken more photos, but i didn't want to prolong the great inconvenience i thus bestowed upon him.
"there are places to see, bushes to pee."
you see, earl the dog leads a very busy life. for one, he's an icon in the world of meditation/relaxation. and for at least one house each day, he hones his famous surveillance skills.
you see, earl the dog leads a very busy life. for one, he's an icon in the world of meditation/relaxation. and for at least one house each day, he hones his famous surveillance skills.
but pestering earl wasn't the only thing i did in the last few weeks. i also crafted hexagons, folding squares over cardboard hexagons and ironing them to keep their shape.
i also made this seriously most delicious chocolate dessert. and then i made it again. and then, today, again. i need no food but coffee and this dessert.
but where's the dessert in this photo, you might ask? certainly a valid question. and here's the answer:
uncharacteristic for my usual 'clean everything right up' endeavors, my sewing machine has been lounging at the paris room desk for, ahem, a few weeks. since... may 20th around, when my brother came. lord, that's two months! the thing is, i was ready to start sewing again any day. that's what i told myself, and about a week ago i spent a few days sitting there, by the machine, pulled out fabric, laid it out on the floor, for planned projects, but i just didn't feel like sewing and the fabric stayed there for a few days, like an impromptu persian rug. made from linen and cotton.
but yesterday, finally, leadfoot got back to the pedal and i finished my red silk pants. i started them about three months ago, during the start of my clown pants phase. let's briefly revisit that, shall we?
i believe i have worn these pants twice only, so far, once the day i finished them, and once when we drove to the airport to pick up my brother. i had to stage my entrance, you see, being ever the eccentric sister. i have a reputation to uphold, after all.
i have since figured out that pants with fabric gathered all around makes you behind look a little, well, puffed. reminiscent of obelix.
i have since figured out that pants with fabric gathered all around makes you behind look a little, well, puffed. reminiscent of obelix.
he's the fella on the right, wearing pants from the same collection as mine.
with this image in mind, my motivation to finish the red silk pants -second generation to the above butterfly pants- was very slim.
so it took weeks, but i returned to the sewing machine, finished the pants, test-wore them, found i had to add some beltloops, did that, and now i really like the result! let me introduce you to my red silk wrap pants:
and newly found dimples in my cheeks, they must have snuck up on me the same night my grey hair came.
and a look at the former obelix patootie:
what do you know? it's not obelix anymore, it's christine! yes, i took the photo in the bathroom, with the big mirror. i have found that this sort of photography by way of self timer or mirror is common among the garment sewing population.
what else do i have to share? for now, my current favorite breakfast.
what else do i have to share? for now, my current favorite breakfast.
it's been grapenuts for almost a week now. except for the chocolate dessert spell, which was under control once the dessert was gone.
the best way - for me, personally - to eat grape nuts, i have found, is what you see above. i pour some into my clean hand and then munch out of it like a horse. has worked very well, except for once, yesterday, when i must have accidentally inhaled some grape nuts. i don't think snorting any kinds of drugs would ever be an option for me.
and now excuse me, i must get back to sewing. i promised earl the dog i would sew him a tutu.
he has been displaying a newly found passion for classical ballet recently.
the best way - for me, personally - to eat grape nuts, i have found, is what you see above. i pour some into my clean hand and then munch out of it like a horse. has worked very well, except for once, yesterday, when i must have accidentally inhaled some grape nuts. i don't think snorting any kinds of drugs would ever be an option for me.
and now excuse me, i must get back to sewing. i promised earl the dog i would sew him a tutu.
he has been displaying a newly found passion for classical ballet recently.
p.p.s.: now would be the right time to mention that my brother's GPA at graduation was .5 higher than mine.
that's what the dentist said this morning. all right, he didn't use the word 'ivories'. but he did use the word 'fabulous' and said mine are probably the best teeth he will see all day. in all their normal-teeth color.
thank you, mom, for taking a persistent approach to dental hygiene when we were little.
was hänschen nicht lernt, lernt hans nimmermehr.
what mikey won't learn, michael isn't going to learn.
a little german wisdon never harmed anyone, did it?
so, thank you mama, and new dentist, for making my day. today, there is not a mirror i can walk by without snarling into it. as opposed to all the other days in my life, of course.
for anyone living in the fresno area and looking for a superbly qualified dentist with very very nice staff:
robert smith, dds
559-438-4031
here's a photo for my brother, thomas:
it's not even a stretch to post wheatgrass in a post about my teeth, because cows eat wheatgrass [exclusively, before it became en vogue for humans, i'm sure, but i'm not claiming any cows/ diet expertise here], and they chew a lot, so there's the connection. but then, they digest and re-chew, so maybe they didn't chew well enough the first time, and doesn't sound like an ad for my teeth. not that they're for sale.
let's move on to the next photo.
let's move on to the next photo.
this is what all the rage here has been about. The Chocolate Dessert. although i must say, it tastes best fresh and still warm. so i suggest, if you make it, to eat it all on the same day.
if you warm it up later, you might burn your mouth because the chocolate inside gets very hot and the outside doesn't. so you would never know how palate-burning hot it is before you taste it. i hear.
the recipe came from taste of home magazine, and since it's only available to subscribers on the website, lemme share it here.
* in bowl, beat 1 cup butter until fluffy, add 1/2 c sugar, 2 c whwh flour, 1/4 t salt; until crumbly. set aside i cup. press remaining mix into a greased 9x13 in pan [pan really should be that big], bake at 350º f [175ºc] for ten minutes.
* meanwhile, in a small pot, combine 1 can [14 oz] sweetened condensed milk, making sure to taste the quality before you do. that's what it did. ah yes, combine, with 1 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips. i used cheap sweet ones, worked out well. not that the milk isn't sweet enough. heat and stir until chips are melted. stir in 1t vanilla, i didn't, have to make it again to taste the difference. spread over crust
* combine chopped nuts, flax seeds, or oats with the cup of crust from above and crumble over the whole shebang. bake 15 more minutes.
* let cool barely and then eat. all in one day, if possible
back to taste of home. when i closed the window, another one popped up with an important message. for me.
if you warm it up later, you might burn your mouth because the chocolate inside gets very hot and the outside doesn't. so you would never know how palate-burning hot it is before you taste it. i hear.
the recipe came from taste of home magazine, and since it's only available to subscribers on the website, lemme share it here.
* in bowl, beat 1 cup butter until fluffy, add 1/2 c sugar, 2 c whwh flour, 1/4 t salt; until crumbly. set aside i cup. press remaining mix into a greased 9x13 in pan [pan really should be that big], bake at 350º f [175ºc] for ten minutes.
* meanwhile, in a small pot, combine 1 can [14 oz] sweetened condensed milk, making sure to taste the quality before you do. that's what it did. ah yes, combine, with 1 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips. i used cheap sweet ones, worked out well. not that the milk isn't sweet enough. heat and stir until chips are melted. stir in 1t vanilla, i didn't, have to make it again to taste the difference. spread over crust
* combine chopped nuts, flax seeds, or oats with the cup of crust from above and crumble over the whole shebang. bake 15 more minutes.
* let cool barely and then eat. all in one day, if possible
back to taste of home. when i closed the window, another one popped up with an important message. for me.
let's zoom in.
instead of spending time on 'what's wrong with this society' [what with knowing how to spell, myself, and not feeling entitled to most everything], i will now fetch me another piece of chocolate dessert and send my resume to taste of home. i think they need me there.
as a proofreader.
as a taster.
as a proofreader.
as a taster.
