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Spill Guts Here. It's gotta go somewhere, know what I mean? Can you stand it?
purls before swine
Geek Knitting
West Indian Parade
West Indian Parade
Dog/Cat Wrestling
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5.31.2005
My moving date is the 14th!! I'm nervous and very excited. I finally had to just decide on a day, that gives me 2 weeks to get it totally together, and if I don't the movers will do it for me. I learned the extreme, great value of hiring a professional moving company w/4 guys as opposed to a 2 man with van scenario last time I relocated. They're fast and nothing gets broken and worth the cost.. They're now booked! I'm really leaving this gateway to hell! I will miss the little Bangladeshi kids from the deli downstairs, they're so, so sweet. They come and hang out with me and the dogs in the backyard sometimes. Will have to come and visit occasionally.
My beautiful new floor has been laid, the lighting fixtures are to be installed next week, the place is freshly painted, plumbing gets repaired today, new gas stove is installed in the next 2 days, my packing is commencing and I'm a mostly happy, slightly stressed camper! This time I won't be living with/working around with my "storage boxes", they're going into the studio building. SO NICE! In the city all afternoon buying beautiful things for the shop. Post office, laundry, bank this am. Filled with optimism, yet tired, as usual. Knitting will re-commence, hopefully with some passion, in 4-8 weeks, in my huge new airy workshop. *deep sigh* Life is fun, and if it's not, it's at least interesting. WebShop is closed for restocking. 5.30.2005
Going through the layers on my worktables have produced many scraps of paper with things I wrote on them to remember like: "The sound of space is a string" and "The universe is made of processes. not things". I did not make those up, nor do I remember where they came from, but I do like them very much.
Plowing through my worldly goods this am, African Festival outside of BAM as a treat later today, even though I'm not allowed to buy anything till after the move, I can still get some great african food, maybe some fabric for new curtains, or small household decorations. Riding the 15 mile Tour de Brooklyn next Sunday morning with my friend Jean B. {hey jean!}. Not riding the Stardust, but a Trek hybrid. Hope the weather is as beautiful as it is today. 5.29.2005
The amount of useless crap I've amassed over the past 4 years is astounding, and depressing, why am I living with it all? Begone, oh extra things. It has been fun giving away giant bags of unworn shoes, clothes to young people who can't afford them. I remember being in my 20's when a new pair of nice shoes was far more important than it is now, glad to give that to others.
I want out of here so bad. The contractor working on my new place was fired by my new landlord, apparently, he was keeping the money for building supplies, and doing nothing, so the place is not ready for the 1st. No big deal, I'm not all packed anyway. The weather is finally beautiful, and it's exhilarating. Took Murph and Penny to the park this am, both of them love it. Am getting a bicycle trailer for them to ride in so we can continue park jaunts after I move, it's too far to make them walk it. Can also use it to haul more than one bag of groceries at a time. Wonder if it's weird to haul little dogs in a bike cart, but don't care that much, think it's sort of funny, and I'm sure they're going to love it. It's got screen windows so they can't jump out. 5.25.2005
My class last night was great, led by the knowledgable and interesting Julie Taraska, editor of of the online version of Metropolis, one of my all time fav. mags. It was more about how to get assignments and how to work with editors, write press releases, pitch stories, etc. than actual writing, which was sort of assumed that you could do. Excellent, valuable material.
Going to be obsessed with and mostly talking about moving, packing, renovation, lighting fixtures, and unhappy pets, etc. for the next month or so. Bail out now, if those things bore you. Just bought a plum-colored velvet sofa for the new place. Going to put it in the studio section that gets afternoon sun, so pets can enjoy that. If only I could tell them how good it's going to be, maybe SOMEONE wouldn't be peeing on my bed. :-< 5.24.2005
Taking a course tonight: "Design Writing for Designers" in the city, shopping for the shop in the afternoon, packing/purging all am. While I have written a few articles already, I'm hoping to pick up some tips on how to turn visuals into text, which is a huge difficulty for me, hence my attraction to the very specific nature of this 3 hour class. I get asked to write every now and then, and while practicing here has been helpful, I need polishing.
The new apartment looks great so far! I got the keys yesterday, it's all mine. Now waiting for my '70's lamps to come in from Ebay. I overbought by 3 or 4, so I'll have a choice if one or two doesn't work in a particular room. The turq {bdrm} & pale leaf green {kitchen} colors looked beautiful! The contractor is as eccentric as possible, it's a bit of a pill dealing with him. Why is that always the case? Flooring is very light maple, looks like birch, exactly what I wanted. It gets laid today. 5.23.2005
FREE AVL 12 harness dobby loom, 36" wide on Craigslist here in Brooklyn. Any of you interested in real weaving, not toy weaving, should snap this baby up pronto! It's worth thousands.
One of my girl pets is really "pissed" at me. And apparently has no other way to express it, except literally and on my bed. Found this after I woke up, which means it was done while I was SLEEPING. Damn you, Kitty or Penny! I've barely begun tearing the house apart! While it's true the pets are not used to me even cleaning, I have a feeling this is going to get much uglier before it's over. If I find out who did this, they're going to end up a casserole. 
KnitKnit #5 just came in!
 Will be in the WebShop later in the week, I'm waiting for the un-covered copies to come in also. Beautiful! Popping up later to check out the progress on the new apt., the flooring is supposed to come in later today, and I want to get a look at it, not like there's anything I can do about it now, but at least I want to see it. Purging apt. of extraneous crap most of the day, interspersed w/errands, groceries, shipping orders, blah blah. A normal day "off". Today is big garbage and recycling day. so trying to jettison as much as possible in time for the pick-up in the early am Tue. This is the most extreme "purge" I've ever done, being a natural packrat. But, I'm fuckin' loving it!! Getting rid of most of my furniture also, as it's been with me for so many years, and wasn't that great to begin with, mostly hand-me-downs and stuff pickily garbage picked over the years. :->. For non-NYer's there is usually a treasure trove of furniture for the taking on the streets before trash day, it's not as sordid as it sounds. Nothing upholstered, which usually gets peed on by dogs. I just don't even see it anymore, so I might as well REALLY not see it anymore, and replace what find I really need with upgraded stuff. This is major for me, major. I hate to let anything go. I can feel my behaviour's growing pains, and the change is very, very good. 5.22.2005
Purging 4 dressers and one jumbo wardrobe of old clothing this am, and my cat is behaving like an asshole! She's climbing into the drawers and viciously attacking my hand when I try to put things in there. She just attacked the dog for no reason, who's now freaking out. Moving with this animal is going to be a nightmare. Damn it. She's always been a bitch, but I think she senses changes, and is upset. Maybe she doesn't want me to re-arrange anything. I don't know, but my arm is bleeding, and Murphy is hiding under my chair.
It feels so, so good to throw old things away, or give away, most of it. I realized I'm moving from a third floor walkup to a fourth floor walkup, and I better get rid of as much as possible NOW. So, I am. 5.19.2005
My friend Shelley's bird, Cheeto, and the egg she laid this spring.
 5.17.2005
  5.15.2005
The handmade 4 strap sandals came in yesterday, and they're beautiful. I took pictures, then the camera battery died. Hopefully will post some of them and the shop as it looks now, when recharged.
The shop is well stocked right now, which means I can devote some time to the decorating, then moving, thing. This is a huge effort for me to coordinate, and I'm still figuring out the most efficient way to go about it. Wallowing in Lamp Obsession currently, but I can easily see the end of that tunnel since I only need 7 fixtures, { just 4 more}. Next major effort is packing/tossing simultaneously, that phase will last 3 weeks. 2 - 4 moves will move the 1} delicate stuff, all small machinery, computers, 2} then surviving archives going into storage at the studio building, then 3} everything to the new apt., then 4} pets, who will spend a few miserable, boring hours safely out of the way in my studio building. Trying to do this without closing the shop, but may do so for a few days afterwards, to get settled. Stressed a bit, but generally enjoying this. This is the second time in my life that I'll have the working space I really need, although I've become expert at getting by in tight spots, that's extremely tiresome, and I've had enough of it.. The first was my studio when I did knit development for the industry, my work output drastically improved, although I was worried I might not be able to pay the rent, the work expanded along with the space to cover it easily. It's very strange how that happens. I expect that to happen now. Half of the apt, the two largest rooms, are studio, the layout is below. Oh, can't wait. 5.14.2005
These will go in the bright white hallway, low wattage, for ambient light. It's a long hallway. Glass and aluminum.
 This will go in the pale turquoise bedroom. It's 13" in diameter. Blown glass and wrought iron.  This is for the pale green kitchen. It's huge: 22" wide. Glass and wood.  Waiting for a sample of Sugar Maple laminate flooring to approve. It's pretty light, not yellow, more a clean tan. We're going with a veneer type as opposed to a photo-grain type. No big deal, but I liked the idea of it. 5.13.2005
The plaster work and wall demolition are mostly done, they even painted the primer coat, the whole place is waking up. The contractor is fast and doing a great job, what a luxury!. I'm going to the paint store to mix up custom colors this am before I open up:
 "Windwood Spring", with check mark for the kitchen, "Chantilly Blue", with the "F", for the bedroom. Colors are of course totally inaccurate on your monitor. Lighting fixtures are all a variation of a glowing white globe, I'm finding dozens of different kinds. *So, so happy* to be moving. Anyone who's read this blog for the past few years, knows the stress I've gone through with my current place, may it rot in rodent hell after I leave. Bad juju is in this building. Just bought a large apple green and pink/cream persian rug for my new kitchen. :-> {via Craigslist!}  5.12.2005
And a day later , the NYTimes chimes in with an article re: what I mentioned yesterday: the fit problem for women with larger busts. Here in Brooklyn, though, I venture to say they're almost all real, not implants.
Currently, in the very pleasant position of obsessively searching for, then choosing ceiling lighting fixtures, seven of them, plus a few wall lamps. I wanted them to all be the same at first, but each one must meet different needs, the two in the long hallway need to match, otherwise, they will now be variations on a theme. I love lamps, this is my favorite part of renovation. Lighting is so important. 5.11.2005
An interesting article from the LA Times regarding how clothing is fit/cut, or not, for the modern figure. Running a boutique, I deal with this issue every day, and it's a landmine. There are so many major differences between the way women are built, and how manufacturers cut their lines, it's a nightmare. And if a women is especially busty, forget it! Hoping someone will create modern standards, which it sounds like they're trying to do, and that manufacturers and designers will follow them. It will increase your sales if your clothing actually fits, people! PLEASE institute some new standards!
5.10.2005
We may be going with a laminate floor in the new place, rather than pale grey vinyl. To lay real wood would cost over $4000, and I have some compassion for my new landlord, so I'm not insisting. Truthfully, I have no idea why people of all stripes are obsessed with wooden floors. I'd *rather* have a super-perma-sealed picture of birch or sugar maple wood to walk on, very meta. More durable and easier to clean. No cracks, no sanding and re-polyurathaning every few years, no scratches or dents, or eventually, splinters. Am holding out for a gas stove though. Electric blows for cooking, won't accept it. For some reason previous tenant took out the gas line. sigh. Spent yesterday at The 'pot and Lowes looking at flooring options and picking paint chips.
Getting rid of oh, so much. Feels good. I would love to move in there and have some empty space, what a luxury. Bike ride later to see wall demolition progress, and check out Hasidic side of the new 'hood. 5.09.2005
That jumbo apartment is mine! Deposit was given last night after a very successful negotiation. The landlord is renovating it to my specs, and gave me a budget to work within regarding building materials. I'm meeting Raphael, his contractor, later today to pick out a new floor. I finally found a decent situation, and it only took two months. Another exciting thing, is that a customer of mine, Ray, who is a horticultural/landscape designer, overheard me telling someone about the other avail. apt. next to mine, and he ended up meeting us there last night to see it, and then taking it! So we have the entire top floor, a very comfortable situation, since I know him. We're now going to have a fabulous designer roof garden, where Ray can conduct his green experiments!
My new apartment will be all flat white, with gloss white trim, and pale grey vinyl floors. Lighting will be large white hanging glass globes in every room. Kitchen will be pale lemon yellow or leaf green, and bedroom pale turquoise. I want the space to recede, but glow. I'm getting a wall knocked out between the two largest rooms in the front, to make a workshop around 600 sq.ft, with three windows in it. I can finally, FINALLY stretch out, and have room to cut fabric. The place has nine windows total. We watched a spectacular sunset over Brooklyn last night from my new studio, I'm looking foward to that every day {that I'm home before dark}. The sun comes up and into the bedroom, which I like, so I can get up very early. It might sound cold, but I use a tremendous amount of fabrics, rugs and curtains, which soften things up considerabley, and are also easy to change regarding style, and wash. I planned on taking pictures of the mirrored bathroom, but I did not have the stomach for it yet, it's so eerie and weird. Now I know what the back of me looks like from every angle. Not like I needed to really know that. What's that line from "Spaceballs"? "Why didn't anyone tell me my ass was so big?" :-> hehe, just kidding. Pets will be able to run around like maniacs, plenty of room to play. Right across Eastern Parkway is a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood, all the humantashen {sp?} and childhood comfort food I can eat. Bagels, lox and cream cheese Sunday mornings.I'm not religious by any definition, but I am Jewish, and feel a fondness for the culture. My side of E.P. is mostly Carribbean, jerk chicken made in converted steel drums smoking on the sidewalks and rotis. Yum! Moving out of my current place is doubley important/meaningful for me, because I was forced to take this rathole apt. after a nasty breakup a few years ago, and it reminds me of sadness and unwilling compromise. The new place is a fresh, clean start, of my own choosing. And room for guests and dinner parties! It's even rent stabilized. Pretty happy today. This really, really suits me. By bike, 12 minutes to work. Moving in 4-6 weeks. Gotta start packing. 5.05.2005
Looking at this tonight:
 It's on the top floor, which I want. I'm ready to take it just for the hugeness. Having flat leather sandals handmade for the shop, they'll be in hopefully in about a month. Straps go through all your toes, you'll either love or hate that. It's a very interesting design. UPDATE: I'm torn about this apt, even though I completed the application, and gave a credit check fee. It's G.H.E.T.T.O., all the way, people hanging on the stoop, smokin' herb, broken lock on the vestibule door, making comments about my bike, not really hostile, just curious, I think. When I came out to unlock my bike, there was a scruffy guy sitting in a van right next to it, counting a wad of cash. Not a good sign. The apartment itself has not been renovated yet, I'd negotiate with the landlord as to what actually gets done: this is the hard part for me, because I can easily see what it COULD be, but what it is now, is very, very rank. The place is about 1400 sq. ft, just massive. There are windows in every room, albeit decrepit ones. The bathroom, which is very tiny {yippee, less to clean!}, is all mirrored! Not smooth mirror, but mirror on every surface including the ceiling, deeply beveled at the edges. The thing I can't figure out, is that really only one small person could fit in there at a time, it's a dizzying ode to narcissicm. I would leave the mirror, definitely. :-> There's roof access, the view is incredible, the building is 4 stories in a 3 story neighborhood. It's weird, it stinks, people are rockin hella loud hip hop on other floors, but it's dirt cheap, top floor, and huge. 2.2 miles from the shop, close to my subway on Eastern Parkway, if I need it, otherwise a pleasant, ass-reducing bike ride in good weather. Pets could get long grass-underfoot walkies on Eastern Parkway. Oh, what to do, what to do... 5.03.2005
I'm breaking my {unofficial} moratorium on knitted content, because You Must See This: Make Jennifers's Blanket. Run like hell, Ladies, to the yarn store. {via Annie Modesit}
"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"
-Lewis Carroll, mathematician and writer (1832-1898) Spending the entire day in the city, for both business and pleasure. Finally slept like a log last night, insomnia, or the cause of it, removed. 5.02.2005
Have insomnia for various reasons. Here's an odd twist: Saw another top floorthru of a historic limestone mansion in Crown Heights this am, this one in beautiful shape, newly painted and renovated, with it's own aerie deck, a corner building with east, west and southern exposures. Totally affordable, and about 3 houses away from the apartment that got away, it looks across the street into it's empty windows, actually. Dying for it. Want it bad. Trying now to get it, not getting {too} excited until something's signed.
Shop's been extraordinarily busy, it gets busier evey week. Enjoying it very much. Had a group of small to medium aged girls in saris utterly destroy my flower box outside the shop yesterday, while I was open. They stared at me blankly when I got upset. Flowers were strewn all over the sidewalk, bare stalks and stems left in the box. I had to have a glass of wine to calm down, I was livid. Lots of ups and downs. Little Penny is getting used to regular meals, filling out, and getting very soft and silky. Her gnarled toes are straightening out, inch long nails dispensed with. She yodels when I get home. I may enroll her in a therapy dog certification class, as she's so sweet, unafraid and affectionate. |
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