icarusancalion

I noticed when my arm brushed the tag on my shirt.

H'okay, I may've been tired after chatting till 6am. My shirt was on inside out.

(Good thing there aren't any witnesses. I hustled off to the bathroom.)

Just to prove it wasn't an aberration, minutes later I reached up to drop some bird treats in the bird's food bowl, to top it off.

*Sploop!*

Wrong bowl. And I'd just changed that water.


In other news: I may have overwritten that Star Trek: TOS fic I've been trying to resuscitate. I do lots of creative things ... painting, finishing the OAR (Overly Ambitious Rug, yes, I know I finished the sections months ago but I still haven't latched them together)... but I miss writing.

I've been surprisingly social this week.

I invited Ani S. K. to lunch. ("Sorry it's been over a year," I said. S.K., with her Tennessee twang, "I've been trying not to take it personal.")

Then! I invited myself over for a movie with single-dad-with-two-month-old-oh-he-is-so-on-verge-of-cabin-fever, J (yes, he of the nun!mom grilling). Just friends, BTW, his personal life (note the baby that didn't exist last fall) ... uh. *backs away slowly* He hadn't seen X-Men First Class. *cue shock*

Sunday I went to a late lunch and then Buddhist class with my buddy M.

Monday -- Iron Man 3 with K.

That's a social whirl for me, folks.

In other news ... I feel like writing.

Any advice on how to revive a stale project? I'm busier than I used to be, so more often than not I start a project, and it's weeks before I can type it.

The little 28" octagon table I'm using as my dining table ... sigh.

It would be nifty (octagon!):

a) if it weren't part of a teak patio set, and
b) if it allowed people to put their legs underneath.

Table + no room for legs = not a table.

It is to be replaced by the simple pedestal table found here. With tablecloth.

I am tempted to get the unfinished version. Or would be if I hadn't screwed up the refinishing of the second chair. Now I have to sand it all down -- again -- and refinish it -- again.

On the other hand, table troubles aside, I would be able match the chairs and table neatly. And the first chair, on the second try, does look nice....

The daffodils think it's spring.
The weather thinks otherwise.
But the daffodils are resolute.

It's 9am.

"I'm late, I'm sorry. I was looking at the numbers and they didn't make any sense."

"What numbers?"

"The numbers on the clock."

There's reality, and then there's the stuff I have to do. Trivialities: I'm supposed to be at work. Reality: How did my cousin get the gun?

In the car: speeding to work. Thinking: My brother had been sure he'd be okay. I'd been sure. I wanted to go to the funeral. But we hadn't been close. How do I explain that I care? There'd been no sign of it before.

The practical: All eyes are on me as I walk in. The reality: My cousin had been found in the front yard with a bullet in his head. My first thought had been, "How considerate of him." No mess to clean up. I didn't say it out loud.

I had a cousin yesterday.


~*~*~

Rest In Peace, Savion Gabriel, age 22. I don't know why you did it, and don't have the right to ask.

Rothy's curled up on my coat and hat.

I'm charmed, complimented ...

...and wonder if I'll have to wear a different one to work.

Found this one Facebook. Apparently citrus + vinegar makes a great cleaner.

I'm willing try it out.

1. Store your orange peels. You can put them the freezer if you like. When you have enough, fill up in a glass jar with the peels.
2. Then pour in white vinegar to the rim and let it sit for 2 weeks.
3. After two weeks strain the liquid.
4. Put peels in your garbage disposal. (Helps clean and gives it a fresh scent.)
5. Mix water with the orange-vinegar in a ratio of 2:1.

Curled up with kitties, happyhappy. Rothy knows how cute he is, and he knows how to use it.

Oooh, kitty!stretch, wriggle-wriggle, flirt! Cuddle in a little ball ... snuggle, snuggle, purrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Nose-to-tail, paw over face -- then peek!

Hi! Have you been watching?

I'm having fun here. In no hurry, but I do want to buy a new bed. (Finishing the chairs and the kitchen cabinets will come first, of course.)

So.

*claps*

*rubs hands together* Let's have some fun.

1. Our first contestant has casual mission styling crossed with Asian flair. At 12" off the ground, it's in the mid range of ideal bed heights. It has also the open foot board I require (having tall boyfriends, an open foot board is a must to avoid stubbed toes). It would, of course, have a 6" high quality handmade cotton futon mattress that costs more than the bed (plus shipping) giving it a lower line: 18" with the futon.

Introducing: the Jakarta
The bad? This is the bed WG and I had, so perhaps I don't want to go backward in time.

2. Our next contestant is a quality piece: not just a mahogany stain, but real mahogany wood, with a silky gleaming finish. Buyers tell us that it looks even richer in person. The curved headboard invites pillows and reading in bed. And it's sleek profile is low, lower, lowest, at a mere 9 1/2 inches from the floor: 15 1/2" with the futon. It has the open foot board, as required.

Next up: the Newport Tropical Modern
The bad? The flat edge headboard with the varied length slats... hmm... I don't know about that styling detail.

3. Our third candidate has a nautical feel crossed with a sturdy, rough-hewn cottage sensibility in dark walnut. Second-highest in quality among our candidates. There's an open foot bed and dark wood as required. The bed is adjustable, but upward, not down. It seems to go down to a low line at my mid range of twelve inches, again, 18" with futon.

Behold: the Manhattan
The bad: I can see it with my father's furniture, but I think it's just too heavy looking for my Asian-influenced furniture.

4. Our fourth contestant for your consideration (today) has old world British styling and a light, open headboard, for a dainty, airy feel. It belongs in a 19th century novel with a vase of tulips on a table alongside. There's an open foot board, as required, dark wood, and the bed falls in the mid-range, rising 12" off the floor (also adjustable, but up, not down), 18" with the futon.

Charmed, I'm sure: the Windsor
The bad? The details of this bed are not refined. There's a visible peg in each leg, and a squared off look to the larger side rails. It's less expensive than the others, but it also looks it.

5. Our fifth and final option for your delectation is the most stylistically interesting, and of course, the most expensive. It's hard wood with an eye-catching Asian design to the open headboard. Very unusual, and elsewhere I find it listed at $1,300 to 2,700, so this is a deal. It does have a footboard, however, and requires a box spring so would be higher than I'd like. The website is most uninformative, alas, but it is listed as low profile and seems to be a similar height from the floor as my other options.

Announcing: the Tribecca
The bad? It's hard to set aside the general Asian cool of this bed, and the foot board might be worth the risk (it is low), but requiring a box spring? I dunno. The main problem, naturally, is the price. Youch.

Well. Spoke with decorator!mom.

Turns out a bed, in terms of feng shui, should have a headboard. Who knew?

A headboard represents stable finances. Oh, hee, hmm, yeh, that's very important to me. Also, for stable finances the headboard should be of stable materials like wood or metal (and not, say, wicker).

Solved that question.

She, as predicted, was concerned about moving the daybed (where would it go?). But she also felt that as I was renting the space, it would be my aunt's responsibility to figure that out. Yes, yes, I know, of course, but I'm so happy here that I don't want to put her in a bind.

Decorator!mom doubted the whole bed idea. She felt that to have a larger bed in there I'd have to rearrange the entire space, with the bed where my living room is now, and the living room furniture where the bed is. "The biggest problem is the alcove wall. It'll stick out beyond the alcove."

No, no, I'd measured, and the bed would still fit within the alcove, with a good bit remaining. (It's a 70" alcove wall. A full-size bed is 56".)

"What about your end table?"

"End table?"

"Don't you have an end table?"

"No...."

"I can picture...."

Oh! I'd talked about getting one but I hadn't found one I liked. "I do have a pile of laundry there."

"Ah. I remembered something was there."

She explained that a larger bed would still take over visually.

True, if I bought a normal high bed with a box spring and mattress. "But I'm getting a low bed with an eight-inch futon mattress, so it's the same height off the floor as the couch seat." (Actually, I've decided to go with a six-inch mattress.) The eye will pass right over it.

She conceded maybe, though there came kiss-of-death moment, "Well it's your space...." I could hear she wished she'd kept her mouth shut.

"Nonono, thankyouthankyou. There's a reason I ask for your advice."

So she advised me to pile up blankets and pillows and stuff in the height and width of the bed to help me visualize it in the space.

I've done that. I think it's going to work. It would be big, she's right. But I think I can make it work.

One step at a time though.