Days of quiet

I love how the days between Christmas a New Year’s feel.  like an ending.  its a kind of quietness.  John has been going climbing pretty much everyday since Christmas.    I love hearing his summary of how the day went.  He was telling me last night how if he starts some kind of PS9000 workouts he can mutate soon and be like an X-men.   Sorry about your tendon Beck.  maybe, PS9000 can work for you.   I enjoyed our chat today about colorful sneakers and hoodies.

This is John Hur happy at the Red.

only a day left

I started wrapping gifts in fabric in college when I realized I was running out of storage space for all the piles I had.

This year I learned that the Japanese mastered this technique long ago and its actually called  Furoshiki.  Well, I have been fabric wrapping, but it wasnt quite Furoshiki.

I found the chart on Natalie Chanin’s blog.   her blog kicks my blogs ass.  I dont even know why I bother with mine.

Anyway, this is the chart:

And another thing,  I would like to see layaway come back.   Somebody told me it was but, they definatley dont have it at the Barney’s Coop.

I want these boots.  I want to wear them until they fall apart.

I like the taller ones too. they can fold down.   Black probably, but I love the brown too.  These are both by Fiorentini + Baker boots.   Ive been looking online for them to be on sale somewhere, but no luck yet.  I wear a size 38.

Trees, bags, and marshmellows

Atlanta Christmas time with Anh.

we stopped by Whitespace Gallery to the Forever Green tree lot.

I was able to finally satisfied my craving for roasted marshmellows.  Im an excellent roaster.

The gallery was offering all the ingredients for the full out S’more, but

I just stuck to my plain roasted marshmellow.  It was Anh’s FIRST time

to roast!!   I made sure to tell her to keep it near the hot embers and not the flame.

Usually if someone catches their marshmellow

on fire almost always they say “I like it burnt.”  Okay so, whatever.

get that fly.

So, I love this.  man is so simple.    Luckily, John Hur doesn’t have any trouble getting his pee in the bowl (as far as I know), but I do know that lots of guys are letting it spill all over the place ESPECIALLY in public restrooms.   The simple tested solution now referred to as “Fly-in- Urinal Research” has found that if a man sees a fly he aims at it.  The black etchings of flies in the urinals of the Amsterdam airport restrooms have reduced spilage by 80%.  I was telling John this story and I was like, “well, what about the drain? isnt that like a target?”  He said he doesnt even really like to look at the drain, but a fly would be a fun thing it aim for.

I like meat, cheese, and heady stuff

I read Kathy Freston’s book Quantum Wellness recently.  She talks about “leaning” into change a lot in there.  Also becoming vegan, although she doesnt expect us to do this overnight. Thats what she means about leaning.  I admire these vegan people.  I really dont want to do any harm either, but when Im eating on the run in the middle of nowheresville after climbing all day and my choices are just to sit and eat plain tortilla chips to do no harm or a beef and bean burrito to make me feel human again I dont care about leaning into anything.  First of all even the two months I made it not eating meat, dairy or eggs I could hardly call myself a vegan anyway.  I mean, I make leather bags people!  Leather bags + leather shoes= so not vegan.  I hardly have any plans to stop making my bags out of leather.  you know how long that stuff lasts?  I have been leaning into better sources of my leather.  I have always used scraps and working on getting all vegatable dyed without the use of nasty chemicals in the tanning process.   I dont want to do any harm!!!!  If I sit down to a juicy pot roast and bless and give love and thanks to the cow that is helping make my body strong and healthy maybe that helps reverse the bad vibes of doing harm?  I know most vegans dont think so, especially the hard core ones that wont even eat honey cause its rough on the bees taking the honey.  WHAT?  Honeybees make honey.  It is their purpose.  I love to eat honey.  It could be my purpose.

I actually really love Kathy Freston’s books.  She really needs to work on her cover shots though.  Her book The One, is my favorite relationship book even though I had to tear off the cheesy cover before I could read it.  I have also given it several people who agreed that its best to tear.  I guess the cover makes it look like the process will be easy and fun and you will be engaged very soon.   But really the book is much more spiritually sophisticated than that and focuses most on your relationship with yourself. You are really The ONE she is talking about…SEE, heady stuff.  I like heady.

Heady quote that I like:

“just before you break through the sound barrier is when the cock pit shakes the most”

-chuck yeager

pin cushions

kelly ricks gave me this pin cushion for my birthday the last semester we were in school.  I still cant believe she was able to part with it!

note from A.T

the book of the bottom is one of my favorites Hawaiian Quilt Masterpieces.  Its what inspired me to

start making reverse applique quilts in college even though I had just learned how to sew.  A graduate student in the fabric design department named Meredith Re showed how to do some stitches and use the sewing machine.  My method turned more into stitch and slash rather rather than applique.  I wasnt about to turn under all those edges!   The first doll I ever made is one the wall in my studio too.  I refused to ever part with that one even though it was always everyone’s favorite.

I was just looking to see if I had a jpeg of any of my quilts to post, but all my art from those days is on silly slides.  I will have to get those scanned.