1/31/2008

So many books...

On Monday, despite being sickly, I took a journey to two of the bigger libraries in the Free Library system: Central and Northeast Regional. Lest you think otherwise, yes, the Free Library system enables you to request books from other libraries, renew things online, and all of those bells and whistles, but sometimes I don't want to wait that long. So a trip was in order.

I started at Central. I love going into that old huge building, but for all of the ceiling height, even in the circulating part, I always think there should be floor-to-ceiling books everywhere, and many copies of things, and the full collections of the authors I most want to read right now. But in truth, the circulating part of central is much like a branch library with slighly more books, and way better architecture.

And then a fairly typical libraby thing happened - one of the books I wanted wasn't there. It wasn't out, it was missing. In fact, it hasn't been checked out since 1999, and apparently, nobody noticed. And there's a decent chance that the one other copy of the book in the whole free library system is also gone.

I don't really understand how this happens. Don't libraries do peiodic inventories of their books to make sure they have everything, and to make sure it's all in place? The book I wanted could be anywhere in that space, hidden on another shelf in a corner, and it could sit there for years. Heck, they don't even bother to alphabetize the paperbacks there, but only group them by first letter of the author's last name. Somehow, I just expect more.

Then there was the incident of Central accidently shelving a book I had taken out and returned this summer, without first returning it on their system this summer. When I was able to find it on their shelf, they graciously removed the fine from my account, without ever acknowledging that it was their error. Fun.

After central, I drove up to the great Northeast to the Northeast Regional library. I was looking for a particular book, and the only copy in the system is at Northeast Regional, in large print. It's disconcerting to read print that size, but as I get used to it, it will be a little odd at first to go back to regular size print.

The big plus about the library was free, high-speed internet access with no pressure, nay, no possibility of buying coffee. Not that I don't love a little beverage in the evening, but it's outside of my $.75/day spending plan. (Just remembered that registration renewal and car inspection are coming up. Darn!)

On Tuesday, as I was endlessly driving around looking for parking, I heard a Soundprint episode all about libraries. I was thrilled to hear that libraries aren't going to disappear, though saddened at the movement away from books and toward internet use and online publications. As a co-habitant of books, I know they are essential company.

Some ideas and photos on bookshelves, etc., to come.

1/30/2008

She's Back!

Oh, my public, all one of you, did you miss me?

I was being so good about posting daily that I hated to skip even once. But sickness won, and even had it not taken me over an hour to find parking last night, I still would've gone directly to bed after I got home. (Please note that parking is much more plentiful on E. Durham Street, and neighboing Boyer, without those pesky parking zones, meters, or anything like that...)

As it is, I'm hoping I'm over the worst of this cold/plague/ickiness that has me, she says, hoping her tea cools off faster...

Tonight I went to teach English dances from the ES Ball program to the Bi-Co Scottish class at Bryn Mawr. I was grateful for the pirate invaders that came along from Swarthmore class, and the few Bryn Mawr students I consider to really be mine, and Eleanor, of course, who is not only a great dancer, but who danced with many beginners.

It's so interesting to see the differences in that class from Swarthmore class, mostly I think because of how the classes are traditionally run.

Scottish classes in general, and Bi-Co habitually has been more on the authoritarian side - you will do this now in this way. In the past it's been almost eerie to go to that class and have all the students be so quiet, attentive, almost. Swarthmore is not like that. First Jenny, and now I encourage buzz, trying to appreciate what the students can offer each other. Heck, they might be able to teach each other a step, figure, or dance better than I could, and present a less threatening figure. (Although I hate to admit it, I know that I make a bunch of the students nervous. It takes them a few years to figure out that they can and should sass me back, and that's it's all bluff and bluster.) And I have to say, that idea of Jenny's to have the student's talk through the dance for themselves - it's just the greatest thing since sliced bread. So it's a little hard to regroup sometimes, but it's a friendlier, more open class in this way.

There are other differences too. One other is that at Bi-Co, people seem very concerned with getting it right. Dancers direct each other verbally all the time. Newer dancers are more concerned about knowing nothing. At Swarthmore, I think most people want to have fun. Of course, this produces fewer stellar dancers, but I think it produces more long-term dancers who will seek out dancing beyond school.

These observations, and there are others, are, of course, completely biased. If you can't tell, my children at Swarthmore are rowdy and many lack precision, but I love them and their enthusiasm. I wouldn't want them to be otherwise.

And one or more of them are always willing to shout to the class for quiet when I have a cold and no voice.

1/28/2008

Sneezle-ing...

Well, it was a week:
  • I put an offer on a house, haggled a bit over it, and spent emormous amounts of time on the phone talking about it.

  • I taught two Swarthmore classes, and one workshop for work.

  • I started making valentines.

  • I saw some good friends in Reading.

  • I watched two DVDs - the first on the DVD player I bought in March 2007!

  • I saw two more houses - nothing to write home about.

  • I finished shredding the last of my ancient documents, much to the delight of my upstairs neighbor.

  • I put my craft and other magazine clippings in binders - I'm already out of space in the rubberstamping binder.

  • I washed a lot of dishes.

  • I made waffles.

  • I didn't sleep enough.

  • I caught a cold.

George is still at me to buy the Durham Street house. My realtor still thinks it would be a great investment. I still want it, but still worry. And there's nothing new on the market this week (It IS only Tuesday), and with this, my hope wavers.

In other news, I have a whole new raft of library book to keep me off the streets!

Send hope and tissues.

This is me:



1/27/2008

The better to eat you with...

Yesterday I got together with some friends I used to work with almost 10 years ago (hard to believe). We never see each other as often as we'd like, but when we do, we talk non-stop for hours.

I mentioned that I'd taken a class this year called Setting the Table, taught by Lynn Rosen, author of a book by the same name. The class focused on what pieces go where in a formal dinner. With one thing and another, Joanne, who's hospitality we were enjoying, pulled out some of her silver, and we played guess what this piece is.

This all reminded me of the exhibit that Deb and Eileen and I saw at the Cooper Hewitt a few years ago called Feeding Desire... What a great exhibit. It was all about the history of flatware from its origins to the present. I loved and bought the catalog.

This past Fall, when I was doing my half hour race through the craft show, one of the booths that made me stop was that of a silver smith who did botanical serving pieces. She had the exhibit catalog on a shelf and she told me that she had pieces in the show.

While I love the botanical pieces, I am especially fond of the sets of silver from Victorian times that featured 100+ piece place settings, complete with teaspoon, coffee spoons, berry spoons, ice cream forks, strawberry forks, etc. All of the essentials of life.

I think about collecting silver sometimes, or at least some of those esoteric pieces. While I have not in any way surveyed the patterns out there, one that I like a lot is called Monticello by Lunt.

I think it's an elegant, yet not overly ornate pattern. It dates from about 1908 and has lots of those fun pieces. A pickle fork, for instance - one of the essentials of life. Alas, the pictures of the asparagus tongs and and chip server won't upload, but imagine, if you will, what they look like...

1/26/2008

Cheap eats

As I seek to save money, one of the major costs I am trying to curtail is food. In olden days, read before Fall 2007, one of my weaknesses was buying my lunch. (I still long to do this, but I am resisting, thereby saving money and eating healthier. A win-win, right? I still want to buy lunch...) I hate being organized around food in the morning before I go to work, and before I even have had coffee. But nevertheless, I now bring my lunch. And when I have to go to Swarthmore or longsword directly from work, I bring my dinner too.

A typical lunch now consists of salad with dressing, cheese and nuts. An apple, clementine or other fruit. A soda.

I buy salad in large containers, fruit, and soda on the weekend, and toppings as needed. Approximate cost - $12/week. Not bad for lunch.

For breakfast, I buy yogurts and store them at work (Stonyfield Farms fat-free Lotsa Lemon. It's the only kind I'll eat, being generally a yogurt abstainer.). Approximate cost - $1 each or $5 per week.

Coffee is the one thing I still buy every day. But I bought a travel mug from ING Direct for $5 in December and get free coffee in it on Mondays, $.75 coffee every other weekday, and every 5th coffee is free. Approximate cost - $3/week.

I try to keep dinner and weekend food to things I have at home - pasta, eggs, couscous, rice, but it's so tempting to pick up something savory and expensive at the grocery store when I'm there, like a good cheese, or bread (I LOVE bread), or meat.

Do you have suggestions for cheap food/dinners/places to shop for cheap groceries? Any favorite recipies that are quick, easy, and only require cheap ingredients? Do tell...

1/25/2008

A Place For Your Stuff

Well, you all know that houses are upmost in my mind these days. What am I looking for and dreaming of in a house? In no particular order...

  • A fireplace. It doesn't even have to work. It does have to have a mantle. I would be delighted to light candles in it, or in front of it. I want to make seasonal changes to the mantle decor - flowers, shells, candles, pinecones. A fire would be a bonus.
  • A room for crafts and project. A room with a door that closes. I want to work on projects, pull out ever rubber stamp and ink pad in the place, strew paper, leave the ironing board out, and close the door to hide the chaos when company comes over.
  • A dining room. A decent sized one. I want to have dinner parties and host holidays at my house. I want to display my grandmother's dropleaf table, and not hide it in a corner.
  • Susie Happy Windows. (This is a technical term.) These come in many varieties. I want bay windows, and non-rectangular windows with interesting shapes and panes. I've been thinking a lot about half shutters on street-side windows of late...
  • More than one drawer in the kitchen. And drawers wide enough to hold a standard silverware tray. This is not too much to hope for.
  • A washer and dryer that don't require quarters. Imagine being able to do laundry whenever you want to, regardless of the change you have in your wallet. Heaven.
  • A yard big enough for lilac bushes and cocktail parties. Two essentials.
  • Built in bookshelves and cabinets. I want them everywhere. I live with books. They are everywhere in my apartment, currently on mismatched pieces (future craft room storage...) I love dinnerware and teapots and, well, stuff! I don't want to hide it in my closet and in corners. I want to see it and use it! I want it all to be beautifully displayed.
  • A bathroom with a bathtub. I need no clawfoot anything, but I've lived with a shower stall for more than 8 years. I'm ready for a tub. And besides, I have two beautiful shower curtains ready to go!
  • Window seats. They make the perfect spots for tea given a few cushions. And think of the storage possibilities! Other cozy nooks for tea would also be good.
  • A guest room or rooms. I want my family to have a place to stay when they come. I want to host friends and out-of-town dancers.
  • Closets. Wide enough and abundant enough so that I can hang clothes in them that don't wrinkle instantly from getting shoved in.
  • A gas stove. I've never cooked on an electric. I don't really want to start now.
  • A dry basement.
  • A porch. Front, back, or both, where I can nip outside to see the full moon, hang things out to dry, sit on a summer evening with a glass of wine.
  • More built-in bookshelves.
  • Sun!

1/24/2008

Bleak House

Or, I'm feeling bleak 'cause I don't have a house, so I think I'll talk about books...

I'm not long back from Swarthmore class (close to 40 people tonight!!), and though class was good, I'm still feeling low about the house thing (not terminally, just in a gosh-I-loved-it-don't-you-hate-being-sensible-sometimes kind of way. But there are other houses, and I hope to see three of them on Saturday! So here I am at home seeking comfort.

I've got a warm cup of coffee. I've got a fuzzy, brown Bear, seen below with some of his friends.



I've lighted some candles and started a crossword. But it got me to thinking - what books do I read for comfort.

Well there's the obvious choice of Mouse Paint, the best book in the universe, by that ultra-talented writer, Ellen Stoll Walsh, but that's more of a read-it-to-me book. And there are authors I turn to again and again for familiar, reliable stories: Mary Stewart, Josephine Tey, Ngaio Marsh, to name a few.

But in the end, I don't think it's the books themselves that give me comfort, but the act of reading. Reading pulls my attention away from the frenzied day, or whatever thoughts are gnawing at me, into another world. I read, I calm down, I gain distance and perspective on the craziness of the day, I sleep.

My ideal weekend mornings are the one where I get to sleep a little later, and then while away an hour or so reading fiction, snuggled down under my warm covers, in natural light. Just the thought of that scene makes me feel good. Maybe I will steal some moments of that this weekend.

Now bed, and a good book.

1/23/2008

Demolicious

Can she do it? Can she get in this post before midnight???


One of the things I do in my copious free time is co-lead the GCD demo team. And one of the team's favorite performance venues is Neffa.

There are lots of different types of dance demos: demos where you're trying to attract new dancers so you don't want to look so perfect and polished that people shy away, performances for a mixed audience that you want to look good, but mostly convey that you are together and having a good time, and lastly performances for dancers who actually know what they are looking at.

Neffa is the latter type of performance. We have 10 minutes to shine on the stage on Saturday night, 1o minutes to dance well and impress our fellow dance aficionados. In that small space of time we pack in 5-6 dances (no more than 3 times each), and choreography in-between to move us about the stage, create different set shapes, and transition us from one dance to the next, and from one dance style and mood to the next.

Creating this demo is a fun challenge. We have to think about:
  • Partnering - do we have the right combinations of people in the dances
  • Program - what dances show well, have good music, and don't bore people too quickly
  • Balance - of dance types, meters, keys, formations, tempos, moods
  • Transitions - that all important glue between dances
  • Timeliness - if we go over 10 minutes, we might get in trouble with the chapter up there

We're just in the earliest planning stages here, but we know we have 5.5 couples - 11 good dancers to work with.

Here are some of the dances we're thinking about:

  • Halfe Hannikin/Dargason - a medley I came up with
  • Noisette
  • Stepping Stones
  • Henry's Other Hornpipe
  • Nonesuch, Never Love Thee More or some other snippet of something
  • Some set dance or other, undoubtedly

Any other dances we should think about?

A petite showcase

It's too late to post anything lengthy, or say, coherant says she who signed her life away by putting an offer on the house AND taught her first Scottish class of the semester... But I wanted to post some of the pictures that Deb and Eileen took for me of some of my cards. Deb sent me a bunch of photos, but here are some favorites:



Mom's Birthday 2005 - I discovered quite by accident that I had the big shoe and the little shoe. Perfect for Mom's birthday. I used to love her shoes when I was little. They made noise when she walked!

One of my favorite Moose Day cards - from 2002. But I always thought it was cheating a bit to assemble the moose in the teacup image - and then copy it so that multiple cards were manageable.
Mother's Day 2005. This card uses an image from my favorite stamp company, Stampers Anonymous. I want many of their stamps. I'm happy to furnish you with a small list of which ones upon request...
This is V-Day 2006, an easy-to-make, inspired card all about urban love. No surprise that I bought the stamp at the Ink Pad, the smallest, yet coolest rubber stamp store in NYC and environs.
What should I do for this year's valentines??

1/21/2008

It's happening...

Tomorrow I'm going to meet with my realtor to assemble an offer for the house...

It was relisted today at the same price as before - just under $200,000. The goal is to get it for less, but Paul, the realtor, doesn't think we can go much lower. So we begin.

I'm nervous. This is insane. This is something that happens to other people, not me. But now that the seed has been planted, I want this quite desperately. My home, my space, an investment in my future.

Not to worry. I'm still a realist about the whole thing. This house is by no means a done deal. We have to make the offer, have seller want to deal with us and not sell to someone else, have the back-and-forth about the price, get the inspection, get the mortgage and on and on. And after all that there is still a decent chance that it won't happen at all. It could just be too much money. The inspection could reveal all sorts of terrible things.

And yes, if it's not this house, there will be others, but, but... But off I go to take the leap.

1/20/2008

I think Susie would agree that one of the key things to a house purchase is making sure there are good spots to have tea. Some things that might contribute:


A window seat and a fireplace...





Of course what's really important for tea is just good friends, boiling hot water, a few mugs, a few leaves.



But here are a few of my favorite additions to teatime:



Good tea. Tea that is not ancient (I refuse to comment on the age of my own personal stash of tea. Must drink more tea.). My favorite stuff comes from Upton Tea Imports based in Hopkinton, MA. The have a wide selection of black and green teas, decaf, white, tisanes, you name it. They also have accoutrements for tea: pots, cups, strainers, etc. I tend toward black teas from china (though you just can't beat a good Darjeeling). My favorite is Sichuan Zao Bei Jian. It has excellent flavor and slightly more kick than the mellow Darjeeling without the strong astringency of an Assam. Because I don't order tea very often, I live in fear that it will be gone next time I place an order...



And what to enjoy tea in? I previously mentioned Bodum's doublewalled glasses and mugs. They're just so much fun to drink from - everybody needs these!




I have many teapots, but in the past few years I've fallen in love with a hard-to-find collection of Japanese teaware made/distributed by a company called Tampopo (Dandelion)





I came across it by accident. I went ot one of Deb's Stonewall concerts in Park Slope once. We were early and so Eileen and I browsed through the artsy stores. In one I found two of the Tampopo bowls, pieces from a set that had been broken up. The shopkeeper had no idea what the brand was on the bottom (in Japanese), or anything else about them. But I loved them and bought them. I few years later, in a new Philadelphia teashop, I found more pieces - cups, teapots, etc. Still later, I found more pieces in a shop in Northampton, MA, where I bought a bowl, and finally learned the manufacturer's name. Deb has found pieces in NYC for me. I actually know of two places where I can find it near hear - a gourmet shop in Old City and a Kitchen/dining ware place in Peddler's Village in Lahaska. I still want the sets of plates, bowls, well, anything...

I'm sort of glad it's hard to find. I know of a couple of sources, but it's pricey. But beautiful. And hard to resist.

When are you coming for tea?

1/19/2008

Waffling

Warning - more house pictures coming in the next few days....

I think I mentioned that I'm on the FreeCycle listserv for both Center City and Philadelphia. FreeCycle is this great idea for people who want to get rid of things and people who need things. My best FreeCycle find - a room air conditioner. My next best, and only my second - 2 Krups waffle makers - one for two waffles, one for four.

Waffles, you ask? Waffles! Mom had a waffle iron at home that was fun, but that we rarely used. Then I remember once having a diner Belgian waffle with maple syrup, ice cream and whipped cream. Fabulous. In college we used to have dinner at Swarthmore on Fridays freshman year. The food was less good, but they had Belgian waffle makers (Bryn Mawr does now too.). And now I get all of these catalogs like Williams Sonoma and Kitchen Kapers and my favorite, Crate & Barrel that all have Waffle makers, and it got me to thinking...

Waffle are good for every meal - breakfast with syrup and bacon, dinner with chicken, dessert with ice cream and chocolate. Mmmmmm...

And now, I have two relatively new waffle makers that work! They stand upright when not in use, and so take up little counter space. This past Thursday, Joanna P. helped me try them out.

The first challenge was to find a batter recipe. I was able to download the manuals from the web, and they included recipes. I tried the buttermilk waffles:

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg, separated
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbl butter melted

1. Whisk the dry ingredients together
2. Combine egg yolk, buttermilk and butter and add to dry ingredients and mix gently.
3. Beat egg white until stiff. Fold into batter
4. Pour onto preheated waffle iron. Bake ~4 minutes. Serve immediately.

This was easy to make and came out well, but I'd love to find a recipe that does not require separating eggs to save breaking out another appliance. I'm going to check out the King Arthur cookbook and Joy of Cooking. Anyone have favorite recipes I should try?

Oh, and one note, when the recipe says that it makes 4 waffles, it makes 4 waffles, period.

1/18/2008

Great idea!

By a certain hour on Friday afternoon, all I want is a lovely cup oftea, a nice fuzzy blanket, a good book and a certain brown Bear to curl up with. Instead, I indulge in a round of what-ifs, or even may-bes…

As I was sorting through one of my file drawers and deciding that I just didn't need to hang onto my pay stubs from 2000 and instruction manuals for answering machine I haven't owned for about 8 years, George called me. He is really invested in me getting this house around the corner from his, and as much as I want it, I try to keep him down, so as to not get my hopes up higher than they actually are, and to inject a nice healthy dose of reality into the conversation.

George said that he mentioned to his friend Judy, who I know and like very much, that I was house hunting, and had found one with oodles of room. Judy, though she teaches in NY state, maintains an apartment on the Main Line, just to have a place of her own not too far from family and friends, and away from the insanity that can be her job setting. She is the person I'm looking for!!!

If I can convince Judy, or someone in her situation who doesn't in fact come down all that often, to rent all or a portion of my prospective 3rd floor, I would be able to more than pay my monthly mortgage, continue saving for improvements and emergencies (the car is fine, really), eat something other than Ramen noodles, and have very fine company from time to time. It's perfect!!! If only I can get her to see that.

But this is still getting too far ahead of myself, although lovely to think about. My real plans for the weekend and near future are a lot calmer:
  • Sort and excise my 2nd file drawer
  • Shred!
  • Help Melissa move
  • Look at 4 more houses
  • Further plan and lead demo rehearsal
  • Laundry
And oooh - Deb and Eileen took some digital pictures of some of my cards. More to come, even. Look for them in Tuesday's post.

A warm drink and a good book

Jenny once commented that my household is full of little collections. Or big collections. And she's right: rubber stamps, teapots, posy vases, Anne Taintor magnets. And tea books. I have a lot of them. Eighty-eight at the last count, including the little gifty ones and a few that are little more than pamphlets.

(Jenny points out that she actually said that my household is full of collections of little things, like said posy vases.)

The tea book collection started while I was in college. I'm sure Susie had books about tea before me, but I loved the illustrations in the books, and of course, the very event of the tea party, which we had to one degree or another most nights during school, and mostly in my room.

The collection grew slowly, winning me a 2nd prize book collector's award at graduation. And I haven't really stopped since. And now I have 88. Scary. Scarier still that there are 14 books on my list that I would love to add to my collection if I find them!

I have many favorites, but here are some highlights:

Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn - A social history of tea room - fascinating!
The Agony of the Leaves - Good book all round, but I especially like the bits about the author introducing good tea to Chez Panisse
A Decent Cup of Tea - an early one, written by a many with spicy opinions
A Proper Tea - good, solid recipes and fun party ideas
The Book of Korean Tea - most intriguing new book - Thank you Susie and MamaMooseNose

Next to read from the collection: Tea with Jane Austen

The tea book collection has expanded to include some off-shoots: books about entertaining and table-setting, manners, coffee, baking, jello dessert (it's just a thing, don't ask), flower arranging.

What does all of this say about me? What are your suggestions on how I can harness my craft lovin', tea drinkin', book collectin' ways into a career path. May I arrange your flowers for you?

1/16/2008

Oh yeah, writing dance programs, right...

Last Fall I went through this run where I was writing about 75,000 dance programs at the same time (well, 7-8), followed closely by having to call them. I've had this break, but I've got to get back into the swing of it.

Next up, program-wise. GCD on 2/13 (Valentine's Day dance!!!) and a Jane Austen Ball program for the Country Dancers of Rochester. (Hmmm... I had planned to have a new dress made for the latter. Maybe I will hold off at present....)

The real excitement for me is the two summer camp weeks I'm on staff for this year: BACDS English Week and Mendocino and CDSS English-American Week at Pinewoods. It's amazing to be doing either one of these, much less both, and daunting at the same time. I still look at these opportunities and say that I have to make good or die, seeing each gig as a career opportunity.

While it's not quite as dire as that sounds, there is some truth to it. There are a ton of English callers in this country, and I don't really have the advantage of youth anymore. And in a sense all of us callers are all vying for the small number of gigs out there. So I guess I'd better do a good job then. Which means I have a ton of prep and a ton of thinking to do in the coming months. Boy am I lucky to have those Swarthmore students to try out dances on.

More in the coming weeks about the Swarthmore English Scottish Ball (2/9!) and camp preparations.

From my notebook - Draft program for 2/13 - It's too hard, but when isn't it?

Wooden Shoes
Old Noll's Jig
Dunsmuir Waltz
Band of Friends
A Southerly Breeze
Beechen Grove's New Hall
All Saint's DAy

Bartlett House
Mr. Ganiford's Maggot
The Merry Andrew
Turn of the Tide
Good Man of Cambridge

1/15/2008

Feeling crafty...

I'm almost at the tail-end of some mass-production card making. Done: Moose Day, Holiday/New Year's (72 this year!), Hogmanay thank-you's. To come: Valentines. Pictures to come when I get the whole scanning thing down. Note to self - scanner from Freecycle?

Having just got off the phone with the mortgage person, though I've thought this for a while, I am now certain I need to have other sources of income. And since the marrying well thing is not working as quickly as it might, I've been wondering if it's feasible/sensible to turn any of my craft activities into an income supplement

Pros: 1) This would be something to fill my nights at home to supplement my ramen-eating, going nowhere existence. 2) Heck, I would be doing crafts more often with this kind of incentive. 3) I would use up some of the craft supplies I have. 4) When I'm slightly out of my ramen-eating days, lets say, in 5-10 years, I will be able to buy more craft supplies!!!!

Cons: 1) Woking for other people means you have to provide what they want to buy, which might not be what I want to make, or the style I want to make it in. 2) Many rubber stamp images are copyrighted, which means I can't sell anything with that image without permission (many images are also not copyrighted, but I would have to be careful with that). 3) Making mass amounts of things of the same design for sets or paopular appeal, or whatnot might get boring real fast and make me not love crafts so much.

One thought is to diversify what I make/sell. Etsy is really a viable option these days, as are local craft fairs and street festivals. Jennifer and I have been talking about getting a table at the Ambler fair this Fall. She would sell books and I would sell book plates etc. This would be a reasonable testing ground, and give me enough time to amass enough stock.


What are your thoughts?


From my notebook: Possible crafts to make and sell
  • Greeting cards (obviously)
  • Book plates/bookmarks (great use for scraps)
  • Stationary sets
  • Earrings (simple charms on wires)
  • Beaded flower things (barettes, jewelry)
  • Crocheted scarves/boas
  • Susiemoose line of products (see, I think the Susiemoose pictures would be great rubber stamps, mug and t-shirt designs, greeting card covers, anything. Susie would be a famous millionaire overnight!!!!!!!)

Do you recognize the beautiful moose at right?

Any guesses?

Look at that fine hippychick dress she's wearing...








1/14/2008

The Week Behind and Ahead

I'm enjoying my last few free evenings before Swarthmore class begins again and eats up all available time. Last week's highlights included GCD's Twelfth Night where I dropped some longswords, but caught a whole bunch of them, and led an Abbots Bromley for the first time. That was a true highlight.

Sunday brought a gorgeous modern vespers service presented by Piffaro and featuring the Crossing, the premiere Philadelphia choral group. Piffar does not, as a rule, present modern works, and I'm not usually a huge modern music fan, but that piece made my ears and and the hall ring. I still can feel that sensation. Attending Piffaro concerts is such an other activity for me. It's not an active or social pursuit, but a brief time away when you can let the beauty of the music and the ecclesiastic architecture wash over you. I always bring books to Piffaro concerts, just in case I'm there on my own and have to keep occupied during intermission. I think there was exactly one time I didn't find friends to sit with.

I finally started and finished making my Hogmanay thank-you cards (thank you Eleanor!), washed a lot of dishes (I think they just grow in the sink), and attended the new 2nd Sunday Swedish dance series for the first time (which was challenging, but very welcoming, and which I hope to go back to when the schedule permits).

I planned and started this blog!

And there was that house thing, but I'm not in love with any one house in particular, nor am I solely focused on house-related thoughts. Nope, I'm not. Right.

The current to-do list in my notebook:
  • Help Melissa pack
  • Write my Valentine's Day GCD program
  • Write Rochester Jane Austen Ball program
  • Organize a Valentine-making party
  • Purge the endless amounts of paper in my file drawers (no Joanna, you do not need to keep pay stubs from 1997)
  • Finish two chrochet projects
  • Find band hospitality for the ES Ball
  • Plan GCD demo rehearsal
  • Write Mendocino class descriptions
  • Take clothing to dry cleaners
  • Wash more dishes
  • Get a mortgage
Right. That's plenty!

1/13/2008

House Lust

What Jenny says is really true: in every romance novel, it’s really all about the house. Today for me, it’s really all about the house.

For some time I’ve had house envy. I want more space, more privacy. I want to be able to have my family visit for holidays, and eat at my house. I want to have parties that don’t have to spill out into the hallway or require people to squeeze out into the backyard through the narrow gap between my bookcase and my dresser. I want to be able to park on my street every day instead of searching and circling. I want a fireplace, working or non, and Susie Happy Windows. I want sun.

Figuring that I’m never going to be ready, and that there never is a right time, I just started looking. Craig’s List had a possibility that was a non-starter with an owner who’s hard to get hold of and a location in the wrong neighborhood. But George and Paul have a good friend who’s a realtor, and knew of a house around the corner for sale, and one thing led to another. And I looked in five houses today.

And I’m not falling in love with the late Victorian that needs a bunch of work but has so many of my dream elements. No, I’m not. Not at all. Well, hardly ever.

It’s the kind of place I want to live in for decades and save up money for projects as they come along - stripping the first floor of what ever plastic-y stuff is covering the original hard wood, redoing the kitchen, adding a bathroom to the 3rd floor, creating real closets that modern hangers can fit into, taking off the ridiculous siding covering over the façade woodwork, and on and on. Paul is already making plans for the landscaping and is ready to strip wood for me. George wants to find the pocket doors for the dining room and is going to give me panes of glass for the built-in dining room corner cabinet doors.



OK. It’s hopeless. I’m in love. You have to see the window seat and the 2nd floor fireplace. Then you'd know.

Tomorrow I call the mortgage broker. I’m excited and scared to death. Wish me luck. And maybe save some time in late Spring for a moving party.

1/12/2008

A cafe a day...

Where better to begin this electronic adventure than Remedy Tea Bar, one of the rare cafes in town that's really all about tea.


Secret reason why I really love Remedy - double-walled glasses. This is where I first encountered the wonder that is Bodum's wonderful contraption - the double-walled cups that allow you to see the color of the tea and touch the glass without buring your hands. I love them. I have a bunch at home in various shapes - canteen, bistro, pavina. Never enough.


Other reasons to love and patronize Remedy: This is an actual tea cafe. They don't serve coffee. And not only do they serve highly decent tea, they serve black tea. No, this is not some chichi froufrou tea place that has bubble tea and every kind of bland white tea out there. Well, they have those too, and even those strange non-tea teas (yes, tisanes) but they don't neglect the other end of the tea scale - the fine Darjeelings and Yunnans. Yum.


And it's not pretentious. It's easy to sit here and chat, read your email or do anything else. The music isn't intrusive and the bathroom is clean. I don't see any outlet to plug in this fine laptop, but I'm hoping I just didn't look hard enough.


I'm afraid that Remedy will only have a short life, that its location on Sansom, behind the more obvious Walnut will hide its existence, and in too short a time it will go away. So meet me for tea here sometime, would you?


From my notebook:

Other free internet sites:

Reading Terminal Market
Love Park
Ant Pants Cafe - 2212 South Street
Bean Exchange Cafe - 650 Bainbridge Street
Brew Ha Ha - 212 S. 12th Street
Chapterhouse Cafe - 620 S. 9th Street
Last Drop - 1300 Pine Street
T-Bar - 117 S. 12th at Sansom

To begin...

I have never been one to keep a journal or diary, with a very few exceptions. I've long been intrigued by the idea - as a creative outlet and a place to just write. But then I've always come down on the side of living life rather than just recording it. Then it hit me that for the last several years, I have been keeping a journal in the form of my ever-present notebooks where I write dance programs, jot down books I want to read, take notes from magazines, rather than just buying them, create packing lists, to-do lists, plan class, and a hundred other things. A read through those reminds me exactly of everything going on in life.

So then why give in to the urge to be electronic? A few reasons: to add writing to the note keeping (perhaps feeding that secret desire to be an essayist), to gather favorite things and ideas in one place, easily accessible, and last but not least, to have at least a passing familiarity with this internet thing (watch as Joanna attempt to caption pictures, create links, make text italic!). We'll see how it all goes. And if I can even keep it up.

This is not primarily a blog about other people, though they may crop up. It's not a tell-all, and in no way seeks to invade privacy. Instead it a collection of thoughts and ideas about pieces of my life, interesting to me, if no one else.

I've created a posting scheme which I completely reserve the right to stray from:

  • Saturday - Cafes/Restaurants/Food
  • Sunday - Pretty things
  • Monday - News: What happened, what will
  • Tuesday - Crafts/Projects
  • Wednesday - Dance
  • Thursday - Books
  • Friday - Wish List/Indulgences/Grandiose Plans

Happy reading, oh you 3 or so people who will ever see this. Thanks for indulging me.