flickr faves

1. Untitled, 2. The Expired Future, 3. Untitled, 4. light_shed, 5. Cambridge, Mass., March 2008, 6. Untitled, 7. Balcony (Santiago de Cuba), 8. Untitled, 9. RA BLER

Created with fd's flickr toys.

Day 19 Polaroid Project

I used to check into Day 19 regularly and then somewhere along the line, the link disappeared from my bookmarks and I forgot about it. Jeremy and Claire Weiss are wonderful photographers and so I was happy to be reminded of them again recently via a post on Flickr:

Started this about a year ago and have already shot over 150 people that we feel are doing cool shit in the world. We shoot 1 4x5 type 79 each (about $5 a shot). Rumour has it there will be other companies quickly filling the void of Polaroid leaving the instant film market, but then we'll have to call it the "instant film project".

Check out the fabulous series of 4x5 portraits.

Time Capsule

Another nifty little Photojojo thing to do if you have a Flickr account. Sign up for the Photojojo Time Capsule and every couple of weeks, you'll get an email with a selection of your most interesting photos from a year ago. Just to refresh your memory.

I've gotten two so far. The week of March 15 which reminded me that I used to sew...we went to Lulu's birthday party and wore masks...and that I *love* that picture of the glitter and chandelier. (I have to admit when I saw the title of the picture before the actual picture loaded, I was expecting to see T. Glitter and a chandelier!) The second one came this week and it contains some of my favorite pictures ever.

I wish it went further back than a year though. I've been on Flickr since June of 2004 and I'd be more curious to see pictures from 3 or 4 years ago. But oh well, the blast from the past year is fun too.

flickr faves

1. i'll tell you how the sun rose......, 2. red white and blue, 3. polaroid 3, 4. Untitled, 5. day dreaming, 6. save polaroid, 7. autumn, 8. Um..., 9. Untitled

Created with fd's flickr toys.

Save Polaroid on ABC

A short clip short clip on Polaroid and Save Polaroid.

Company Video

Via Jami - The video for "Poison Ivy" from Company's new album. Directed by Andrew Deutsch from Home. Beautiful song, beautiful video. The new album, Old Baby, is available from Brah Records.

flickr faves

1. self portrait, 2. 1002081, 3. evening, 4. today. i really miss him., 5. Untitled, 6. Blue Sky Yokohama - 04, 7. Untitled, 8. roses, 9. pola.a.day: mar15a

Created with fd's flickr toys

Happy Spring!

Today I purchased my all-time dream chaise lounge chair.



I love the old school webbed lawn chairs so I was delighted when we stumbled across this one while buying more Polaroid film at Wal-Mart. This lounge chair is so perfect for the backyard. I can already see the books being read and the summer cocktails being sipped while I lounge in it. It was a bit windy for sitting outside today, but I soaked up some sun for awhile nonetheless. Watched the clouds float by and took some pictures.



Rocky was out there with me, sitting in the shade of the tarp.



Ah yes, the perfect first day of Spring!

*Sigh*

Who knew that my need for breakfast this morning would lead to a dent in our car? Not me. If I had known, I would skipped the trip to Whole Foods.

But...hungry and craving eggs with toast, I discovered that our bread was green and we had no eggs. And really, we didn't have any other good prospects for breakfast. So while Will searched for his 2006 tax file, I went to Whole Foods. Turned into a lane to find a parking space, saw a SUV backing out, blasted my horn, smash, dent, car accident in the parking lot. Nothing like getting into a fender bender with low blood sugar. I basically jumped out of my car and said, "oh my god, I am starving and need food and now THIS..." Fortunately the other driver does have insurance and was quite nice about the whole thing. I mean, it was not my fault. Called the police, blah, blah, blah. He gave us a form to fill out and split the scene. Didn't even ask what happened.

So here's my new dent:



So glad that we now have to get this fixed after already dropping 1500 bucks on the car recently. Granted insurance will pay for this, but nevertheless, not a happy thing. I was amazingly calm through the whole incident. Did my grocery shopping. And then on my way home, I started thinking about how I haven't had an accident since I was 16 and I don't know, it just upset me. And then I discovered that I bought the damn gel toothpaste instead of paste paste! The horror!

But, like my calm husband said, at least no one was hurt, the car runs and, well, it could have been worse. I *really* felt like doing my taxes after the parking lot incident. But we did and they're done and the wee bit money that I get back from the feds, I get to send to the City of Pittsburgh. Looking forward to next year when we have only federal and one state to do. No city.

So yeah, accidents happen.

Polaroid Love

I am so loving the Polaroid SLR 680. The clarity of the pictures never ceases to amaze me. So glad that I finally managed to purchase one.

Some of my favorites from the week (from my own photostream):


The Green Door


Apple Tree


Into The Sun


Untitled Diptych

I also had fun playing with the Holgaroid, something I haven't done in over a year. I set it up on the tripod and took a few self-portraits and a few shots in the backyard. Most of them didn't get exposed correctly, but still, it was fun. It made me sad that the type of film it takes is no longer available...types 87, 88, 89, etc. And of course soon, *none* of the damn Polaroid film will be available. The thought of it continues to break my heart. I've got a pretty good stock of 600 film right now, but I still get moments of panic and want to run out and buy more. And the prices are still rising. I saw it listed somewhere for $50 a two-pack. That's highway robbery! Anyway, here are two of the better shots from the Holgaroid:





Hope you all are having great weekends! Today we're off to my parents' house to do our taxes. Fun, fun!

flickr faves

1. Chandelier, Golden Gate Club, 2. Untitled, 3. sea, see, 4. Untitled, 5. i'm hoping for ..., 6. traveling by train, 7. IDUV_022, 8. Scarf, 9. Trees

Created with fd's flickr toys

Photojojo

Photojojo = a nifty photo newsletter.

Ten Ways to Love Polaroid Before It's Too Late

Get Postcards From Around the World

Some Links

Show Me Anything. Really love the simplicity of this site.

And the installations of Sarah Applebaum are absolutely amazing. Go see for yourself.

Old Polaroids

With Polaroid at the forefront of my mind these days, I've been wanting to find my dad's old pictures. Last evening we had dinner at my mom and dad's so I dug out some of the old photo albums. I scanned a bunch of them today so be prepared for lots of old pictures on my Flickr.

I love this shot of my mom sitting in the grass.



It was taken sometime in 1982 in the courtyard of the house I grew up in here in Santa Fe.

I also love these shots that my grandfather took with a Polaroid Land Camera.





Both shots were taken on 24 November 1966, Thanksgiving Day. Pictured are my grandma (paternal) and my uncle, my dad's youngest brother.

I have no idea what model of Polaroid my grandfather had. I asked my dad if he remembered his dad having a Polaroid and he said that if he had one, it was one that the government issued to him for work. I was hoping that maybe he had some secret Polaroid collection that I never knew about!

This Week

First, a special birthday shout out to Leah in Pittsburgh...Happy 30th!

This week has sort of been all over the place for me. On Monday, I *finally* was able to purchase the Polaroid camera that I have been wanting for a couple of years, the SLR 680.



I came across an eBay seller who just happened to be located in Santa Fe. It was great because I actually got to test the camera before I bought it. And boy, it is a sweet camera. I'm quite happy with the purchase, no matter that the film it uses is going to be gone in the next year or so. (Yesterday Will and I bought 10 2-packs of 600 film at Wal-Mart. Yes!) Of course I haven't been out much this week so most of the pictures I've taken are of the cats.



It takes close-ups at 10.5 inches. Nice.

That day we also had to take Rocky to the vet. Not so nice. We had to take him again on Wednesday evening because he developed an abscess and it needed to be lanced.



It's healing up nicely though and he's been a great patient. He's a little grumbly because he has to be inside. He got lucky yesterday because we got snow. About six inches! So he was allowed to go out to the backyard since we can close the gates and he can't get out. The snow on the ground meant that he wouldn't roll in the dirt and get it in his wound. He tunneled around out there all morning. So cute.



What else? Oh, I had to rip out all the 21-inches of knitting that I had done on the vest project. Argh. I was not a happy knitter that evening. But I got back on it and hopefully I'll do it right this next time around.

Also, our friend Trevor has an opening at the College of Santa Fe Fine Arts Gallery tonight and there's a big write-up about it in the Pasatiempo. And yes, this means that we'll actually be leaving the house this evening.

We've only watched one movie this week, Away From Her. I was really looking forward to it, but then I ended up not being that impressed by it. It's a heavy story and it made both Will and I think a lot about growing old and perhaps having to deal with an ill spouse. But it seemed really disjointed to me, and maybe that's the way it was supposed to be considering the subject matter, but I don't know. I just didn't love it.

So there you have it. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and doing forget to change your clocks!!

flickr faves

A special Polaroid-only edition today!


1. 110+4, 2. "I'm Throwin Rocks Tonight", 3. Untitled, 4. lines and lights, 5. in the balcon, 6. Water Drop (March 1), 7. rabbit, 8. makes up for such short goodbyes

Created with fd's flickr toys.

SAVE POLAROID

Save Polaroid website and Save Polaroid on Flickr.

Polaroid group on Flickr.

An amazing collection of work at Polaroid.

More great work to be seen at Polanoid.

Price gouging on eBay. And everywhere. The prices keep going up at B&H and Adorama and currently most places don't even have any film in stock. It's rather nerve-racking and I imagine it's only going to get worse.

My Polaroid collection on Flickr.

flickr faves

1. 686, 2. One last storm, 3. IMG_2718_tone, 4. Untitled, 5. brillobox huh 010, 6. Untitled

Created with fd's flickr toys.

So Not Good With Titles Sometimes

We went to Albuquerque last Saturday. It was a good time. We got to ride around town with my sister in her fancy Mercedes. You can warm your ass up in the front seat. Pretty nifty.

Anyway, we had lunch with my sister and two of my nieces at the Flying Star Cafe in Nob Hill. I remember it as the Double Rainbow back in the day. I had a BLT that was drenched in butter and mayonnaise. It kind of freaked me out. After lunch, we walked around and checked out some of the cool shops around Nob Hill. That area has changed so much since I lived there (way back in the early 90's), but some of the shops remain the same. I've always loved the paper store that I think is actually called Paper. That's where I bought the Lotta Jansdotter postcards and the sweet vintage cat card in the photo above. They have great cards and a huge selection of journals, a dangerous place for me to be. I have a hard time resisting paper products.

Eventually we made it down to the Buffalo Exchange, another store that's been around since way back when. I was hoping to find some new spring duds, but no such luck. I did finally talk my nieces into letting me take their photo.



I lugged around 3 cameras and took one picture. Nice. I really wanted to spend more time with the girls, but Cassidy had a boy/girl get-together to attend and Caroline had plans with her dad. So we headed back to the West Side with my sis and ended up going to see Juno. I'd already seen it, but I loved it so didn't mind seeing it again. And then it was back to Santa Fe. A quick trip but better than nothing. We haven't been anywhere in freakin forever.

This week has been mellow. Work. Knitting. Watching movies. We rented We Own The Night, American Gangster and 3:10 To Yuma. 3:10 To Yuma was the best of the bunch. I thought We Own The Night and American Gangster were terribly mediocre. For tonight we have The Darjeeling Limited which I am excited about. Hopefully it delivers.

And speaking of going places, we're hoping to be able to take a vacation this summer. First on our list is getting to Maine for the wedding of two good friends. We're thinking about taking the train out there. If we do it, we'll probably stop in Pittsburgh for a day or two, New York for a couple of days and then to Boston where we'll rent a car and drive to Maine. I've never been to Maine and have always wanted to go there so we'd probably spend 5 days or so up there. Then back to Boston and fly home. We'll see though, it might be more than our budget can stand. I've just been wanting to take a train trip again. I took the train out east from Albuquerque in the early 90's and it was such an experience. I met some of the strangest folks. Good times. And I figure it would be less stressful than flying both ways considering the travel anxiety I get around flying.

So there you go, I'm either totally neurotic or totally boring. Or I don't write at all. No wonder I have like two readers out there. I'll be back tomorrow with my Flickr favs.

flickr faves

1. Room no. 1, 2. 20080113, 3. zickig, 4. acceptance, 5. Watermelon, Mercado Municipal, 6. a tree on a hill

Created with fd's flickr toys.

Just What I Needed

I was off today and I was very determined to relax after stressing myself out for way too many days in a row. No errands, no cleaning, no thinking. Okay, so I did do some thinking, but I did my best to quiet some of the chaos in my head. I watched two not so good movies and worked on my latest knitting project, the Accidentally On Purpose Vest from Stitch-n-Bitch Nation. Usually one of the cats will eventually come sit with me while I am knitting which I love because they keep me warm. But today, not one but *both* of them hopped up on the couch and settled down next to me. A first, I believe. And oh how sweet it was!

So, on the job front, I did not get the new job so neuroses and stress have quickly come to an end. I'm not really disappointed since I had quite a few misgivings about the whole thing and according to my recruiter, it wasn't me. Yeah, I know, but this business exec. really didn't seem to know what he wanted so I am not terribly surprised. Apparently he decided he needed to "rethink" how much he was willing to shell out for an assistant. So there you go. Overall, a learning experience for me so it's all fine and dandy.

The End of An Era

Does This It Explain It?

Virgo Horoscope
(Aug 23 - Sep 22)

This Full Moon Eclipse is in Virgo, overwhelming you with complex emotions. Your feelings have been intensifying for the past few days, but now you must acknowledge what you feel in your heart, even if it creates additional problems. Although you cannot ignore the facts, things won't settle down until you surrender your irrational need for logic. [via tarot.com]

I slept slightly better last night, but I am still overtired and thus filled with anxiety about what direction I should follow. I am so conflicted and have not felt this out of sorts in a very long time. I don't know if I should read that as an indication that I should NOT make a job change in my life or if it is just fear holding me back. All I know is that my mind will not stop today. I am totally obsessing and it is not particularly rational or productive. Here's hoping for some good sleep and better thinking mañana.

Feeling A Little Distraught

You're either on the bus or off the bus. Right now I feel like I am UNDER the bus.

I am dead tired, distraught and in tears...not because anything is so bad, but because I cannot deal when I am overly tired. And I don't mean just a little on the tired side. I mean, OVERLY TIRED. My current boss is quite understanding when I have this problem, but in addition to that job, I had a job interview today which was short and sweet and hard to really absorb in my zombie-like state. I have no clarity of mind when I am like this and so when my recruiter called, I should have said, "I need to sleep on this..." but instead I said, "okay, okay and okay," and now I don't know WTF I have done. I have turned my quiet little comfortable existence upside down in some ways. And it's probably okay. Once I get some sleep, I may realize that it is all fine and dandy. But right now I feel like I have made a bunch of big ass mistakes. But see, this all started because I let myself get too comfortable and maybe, just maybe, I should challenge myself instead of taking the softer, gentler path. But you know, when you don't know what you want to do, it's hard to leave one job for another because, well, neither of them are the dream job. It's only recently that I have even come up with a dream job and it's one that I probably can't have. I want to work for the NFL. No, seriously. I want to be that person who funnels historical facts into the commentators headphones. Or something like that. And of course that's not actually going to happen, at least not in Santa Fe and, well, we're not going to be moving anytime soon. So in a way, for me, a job is a job is a job. And I prefer a job that lets me have a life as well which is exactly what my current job does. Perfecto, no? No. I just fear that I have signed on for too much now, but hey, maybe making some extra cash will be good considering that every time I see things like this on the internet, it makes me totally panic and buy more film.

I hope I sleep tonight and this all makes sense to me in the morning. Good grief.

240 Miles Later...

...Cat Found Unharmed.

I love happy endings like this. And I guess there is something to be said about putting a microchip in pets.

I Wish I Could Sleep

(Polaroid Spectra shot of the lovely Valentine's Day tulips.)

Insomnia is wearing me down again. After many weeks of better sleep, the past week has been far too many nights of laying awake for hours and hours. Last night was the worst as I have a big day today and all I could think about was how tired I would be. Sometime around two I finally fell asleep, but I still feel pretty out of it this morning. Tired, anxious, on edge. Lack of sleep brings about much anxiety for me which is not a good thing. Here's hoping I get through the day without screwing things up. Or getting overly stressed and upset about the decisions that need to be made.

It all feels too heavy right now. And it doesn't need too.

flickr faves

1. Untitled, 2. pink january, 3. 20071222, 4. Letting Go Was A Lie, 5. .791., 6. the ten, 7. Untitled,
8. Kitty, Frederick Street, 9. Untitled

Created with fd's flickr toys.

Good Things Are Afloat

Hope you all had a enjoyable Valentine's Day yesterday, if you are into that sort of thing. I don't have any strong feelings about the day myself, but I certainly don't mind getting a bouquet of lovely white tulips from my sweet husband! I gave him the oh so romantic gift of SLASH! We had tilapia tacos for dinner and finally watched Once which I think we've had for about a month now. (Not making very good use of the money I pay out to Netflix every month!) It was a super sweet movie and the soundtrack is so beautiful. I mean, it is a movie about music, and wow, yeah, I really loved it. In fact, I downloaded the soundtrack this morning and I am listening to it this very moment. Good stuff.

I should also mention that I did make it to see The Savages. It's pretty damn depressing, but a good movie. I saw it with my mom and her comment was that she hopes she never gets that old.

Regarding the title of this post, I say good things are afloat because I had a really productive interview at an employment agency yesterday. Shocking, I know. I generally have very low expectations when it comes to employment agencies, but the person I met with yesterday seemed to get what I'm about which is a nice change. I'm not actually in serious job hunting mode, but the agency had a listing that I felt I should investigate. I love my current employer and the job itself is entertaining most of the time, but it's not a situation that is going to change very much with time. I think that if Will and I are really going to be here in Santa Fe for a long time, I'll probably feel more fulfilled if I have a work situation with the potential for growth. It's so easy for me to let myself be stagnate, I have to be careful. So anyway, I don't know if anything will come out of the meeting that I had, but it made me feel excited, like something good is going to happen.

I'll leave you with a photo of my sweet Rocky.



Both cats have been so happy with the warmer weather. Rocky likes to sit in the flower beds in the backyard. I often shut the gate so he can't get out and I think it makes him feel safe. We're supposed to get anywhere from 3-5" of snow tonight...we'll see if the weather folks are right. Will and I are going snowshoeing for the first time ever on Sunday so it'd be nice to have some fresh snow. Happy weekends to you all!

P.S. I'll post my flickr favs a little later.

Not Just Another Internet Rumor

Sad, but true, Polaroid abandons instant photography.

Hopefully Fuji or some other company decides to pick up the slack. I love using Polaroid film and the "instant" nature of digital photography cannot be compared to the old school instant photography. *Sigh.*

This means I will continue to stock up on 600 film before the prices start getting totally jacked up and it disappears altogether.

flickr faves

1. The Perfect Snow, 2. Sometimes, that is just that, 3. awesome color with kid millions, 4. Untitled, 5. Santiago de Cuba (Havana Club), 6. Behind the Madonna, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. butterfly

Created with fd's flickr toys.

GIANTS WIN!

Need I say more? No, but I will anyway. I can't tell you how joyous we were to see "The Path to Perfection" come to an end. Enough about the damn Patriots already. See, they are not so perfect after all. And I suspect that the whole media lovefest over the Patriots probably went to their heads just enough to make them think they actually were perfect. Or superheroes. Sometimes it pays to be the underdog.

Anyway, I am thrilled the Giants won and we are happy that post-season is over so we can actually do things on Sundays again. Yesterday was the last day of stuffing ourselves with food and beer until next season.

After the game, it really seemed to me that the announcers were all so in shock that they had no idea what to say. They truly thought the Pats would take it all and had no back-up plan.

Any given Sunday.

And what have you been doing?

Well hello there, if there is anyone out there. I barely come here anymore so how can I expect you to visit? At any rate, I have the best intentions and keep meaning to post more around here, but then, you know, I end up knitting instead or watching movies or running errands. And so on.

Our lives here in Santa Fe are pretty quiet most of the time...no rock shows to report on or embarrassing party pictures to post. Just me, my husband, our two cats and the days passing by. In the best of ways.

So, I am just going to ramble on in no particular order about what we've been doing. Or not doing.

We don't go to movies very often, but this past week, we went to see No Country For Old Men. We both liked it and in fact, felt it was one of the best new movies we've seen in a long time. I highly recommend seeing it if you haven't yet (it's been showing for awhile) and it's still playing at your local movie theater. It's worth seeing on the big screen. A few days later, I went to see Juno and I absolutely loved it. Imagine that, two of the best movies I have seen in a long time, all in one week. Next up, The Savages.

It's been bitterly cold for the past month or so. We had a break for about a week and then it started again. I guess once February rolls around, no matter where I live, I am just done with winter. Right now I am tired of freezing at home, freezing at work and wearing the same damn outfits every week because I don't have that many sweaters. Not that we moved here expecting a warm winter - I grew up here, I know that it gets cold - but the low temperatures that we've had are unusual for Santa Fe. It's been anywhere from 0 to 10 degrees for many mornings. That's cold. The saving grace is the sunshine. The afternoons are always somewhat tolerable just because the sun warms things up. And while I have had the winter blues for a couple of days, I think the daily sunshine has also saved me from a longer period of the winter doldrums. (Knock on wood.) So come on Spring! No matter that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow.

Have I mentioned that it's been bitterly cold here? Oh yeah, I just did. And our cozy little home is not so cozy. We have gas wall heaters and a couple of electric baseboard heaters and they are just not that efficient. If I stand directly in front of the heater, it's nice and warm. Anywhere else, not so warm. And gas prices here are so high that even though we freeze half the time, we still have to pay out the ass for it. The utilities for our much smaller house here are significantly higher than they were for our four-bedroom house with a basement and an attic in Pittsburgh. Nothing like living in an expensive city!

Oh, earlier today while browsing Flickr, I discovered that Polaroid 779 film has been discontinued. Sucks. Fortunately I have a few packs in the fridge, but still, I wish I had gone ahead and ordered more in early January when I was ordering other film. It's already being listed on Ebay for exorbitant prices. The fact that both Adorama and B&H are both out of Polaroid Spectra film made me panic and I ordered some from a place via Amazon. Hopefully it shows up as the last time I ordered from this place, they just randomly canceled my order. Apparently Polaroid is going to stop manufacturing the OneStep cameras this year, or maybe they already have, I already forgot the specifics. That's not the end of world since I have plenty of OneStep cameras, but it doesn't bode well for the continuing production of the regular old Polaroid 600 film. One day it too will be gone. And what a sad day that will be. In the meantime, I may have to buy a bunch of the 4-packs at Sam's Club before they disappear.

My trouble with insomnia continues although I am sleeping better than I was there for awhile. I don't have trouble falling asleep at night, I have trouble staying asleep. Or maybe I don't actually have insomnia, I just have two bratty cats. Anyway, I've started keeping a "sleep journal" by the bed. Basically I just keep track of what time I go to bed, what I eat and drink, what time(s) I wake up...I don't know, I am just trying to figure out if there is a pattern to my insomnia. From what I read online, as you get older, the worse you sleep. Fabulous! Another thing I do every night is pop in the ol' earplugs. I actually hate having them in my ears, but they do help in blocking out the cat noise. The cats are pretty smart though. The past three or four nights, Rocky has been lobbing himself onto to the bed causing the bed to rock back and forth. I can't even begin to tell you how annoying this is, particularly at two in the morning. If that doesn't rouse one of us, he starts smackdown time with Simon. Now that Simon is sleeping on Will, at least he gets the brunt of the smackdown. And if that doesn't work, Rocky's final tactic is to stand on my back, forcing himself to weigh as much as possible. That usually works because it seriously feels like he is trying to crush me. Yes, our worlds revolve around the cats.

Other than going to movies, not sleeping well and freezing to death, we haven't been doing a whole lot. Working, of course. My job is slow right now and Will is heading into super crazy busy time with a de-installation/installation happening next week. I've been knitting pretty constantly for the past month or so. I love it, although I need to move on from the hat making kick soon. Hats are just so quick; I love the instant gratification. My football obsession has subsided since the Steelers lost their first play-off game and every other team that I was for during the play-offs lost as well. Now I am stuck rooting for the Giants tomorrow. Because we all know how I feel about the Patriots. Hate them. With a passion. I started feeling nauseous this morning as I read the "Tom Brady Is Perfect" article in the Post-Gazette. Gag. Sure, they'll be making history tomorrow if they win, but do I care? No. I find them to be entirely unlikable. Not to mention the cheating. Um, Mom taught me that cheaters never win but apparently that's not true. And god, I hate to even mention Arlen Specter, but I have to say, I always wondered myself why Goodell trashed all the evidence. Oh well, whoever wins tomorrow, I'm actually just looking forward to it all being over so I can have my Sundays back again.

On the music front, I've been listening to the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss CD (Raising Sand) that Will gave me for Christmas. Also Led Zeppelin Mothership, the latest Cat Power record, Jukebox, and the soundtrack from Juno. I love the soundtrack from Juno. Love it. The Cat Power record is good too, but after a few listens, it still is nowhere near being my favorite Cat Power record. I think I prefer it when she does her own stuff. I am sure there are a zillion other albums out that I should be listening to, but I am bad at keeping up with the music stuff especially without CC to burn stuff for me. Oh, I got the new Mary J. Blige too which I dig.

Okay, wow, that was long-winded. Back to knitting now. Go Giants! Hope ya'll have a fantastic weekend.

flickr faves

1. ., 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. Polaroid 600, 6. warmsun


Created w/ fd's flickr toys

Happy New Year!

Gratuitous Cat Video #6

happy holidays and flickr faves

Hello! I don't think that I will have time for a proper post anytime soon so I'm going to wish you all a happy solstice and happy holidays right now! Hope everyone has a wonderful time, whether or not you celebrate Christmas, and a very happy and prosperous 2008!

We've been busy with the house renovations and now we are also busy preparing for our holiday guests and Christmas festivities. This is the first time I've been home for the holidays in about 7 or 8 years and I am super excited. I think it's going to be a blast.

And now for this week's Flickr faves:

1. I hate Christmas., 2. hills, working on his next album ..., 3. juli & will gave US a polaroid., 4. Shout it from the roof tops., 5. Untitled, 6. the first *kiss*, 7. 2007.12.07.21, 8. Untitled, 9. Nothing is ever as good as it was, 10. Vines, 11. Untitled, 12. raul andres walking home

Created w/ fd's flickr toys

Elf Yourself

So far I am finding the nifty Elf Yourself endlessly amusing. Yesterday I spent a good part of the morning making friends into elves and then sending the link to them. Today I made one of me and my boys and it cracks me up every time I watch it. Rocky makes such a handsome elf! So go check out our dance and then make your own! Feel free to post a link in my comments if you do make one.

Happy Elfing!

flickr faves from this week

1. nov18a, 2. 11/04/2007, 3. Western Series I, 4. Tree, 5. Paris, 6. gratitude, 7. places once lived, 8. Seedpods, 9. These are my friends

Created w/ fd's flickr toys

Los Gatos

Rocky and Simon went to the vet this morning for their annual check-ups and shots. Rocky was quiet as a mouse and looked rather forlorn. I think he recalled that he was just there last week and that it wasn't such a fun place. Simon cried the whole five minute ride and cried a good bit in the waiting room. He was angry about being in a cage. And boy, you should have seen how wide his eyes got when dogs passed by. I can only imagine what he was thinking! In Pittsburgh they had a house call vet so it's been awhile since they've had to deal with an actual clinic.

Anyway, Simon got a good report. He's gained about an 1/2 pound since last year and weighed in at 13 pounds, 6 ounces. The vet didn't comment on the weight gain so I guess it isn't a big deal. He's bulking up for the winter. And he's just a big boy.

Last week they weighed Rocky and came up with 13 pounds, 3 ounces which was totally shocking to me. He weighed 16 pounds, 4 ounces last year so that's a little too much weight to have dropped. But today when they put him on the scale he weighed in at 14 pounds, 6 ounces which sounds more reasonable to me. The vet said the scale may have been off last week. At any rate, because of the heart murmur, she was concerned about the weight loss. Rocky had to stay at the clinic for about an hour and it nearly broke my heart thinking of him back in the lab, wondering what the heck was going on. He had x-rays and an EKG. The vet said that his heart is on the large side and while she's not super concerned about it, she would like us to get blood work done and an ultrasound in the next 3-6 months. (Total cost about $450.00) We'll probably get it done sometime in January, after we recoup from today's visit! AND both cats were told that they need to have their teeth cleaned in the next year or so, a procedure that costs about $300 per cat. Holy moly!

So yeah, we're going to be spending more money at the vet for the cats health than we do on our own health, but that's okay. We don't have kids. The cats are our kids. And they are worth every penny. I suspect that Rocky is fine, but you know, I'd rather know for sure. If he isn't fine and needs to be on a special diet or heart medication, I want to know that now, not when it is too late. He's my baby boy and I can't imagine life without him.

And for the record, Rocky used to weigh twenty pounds. He did not like living in NYC so much.



He's done a great job of slimming down.



Pretty crazy, right?! He looks so good now and he's so happy. The vet also said it was fine to keep them on the R/D for now...but really, I don't think Rocky needs to slim down much more.

flickr faves from this week

1. Goofus and Gallant, 2. orange, 3. 10/30/2007, 4. What has brought you here?

A Little Quiet In Here, Please

I've spent most of my life with a lot of noise in my head. It peaks when I have a bout of depression and all I do is ruminate about negative and/or totally inane things. And it's not fun. All the noise takes up so much space in my head sometimes, it doesn't leave room for anything else. Love, creativity, fun. Nada.

Our lives in New Mexico are fairly quiet and peaceful so thankfully, my head has also been fairly quiet and peaceful. I have my moments when I find myself thinking about something, trying to figure *why* these things in the past happened, things that I have gone over so many times, it's kind of pointless to go back again, but the thoughts fade more quickly now. It's good. (Of course my favorite thing to ruminate about, "what am I supposed to be doing in my life", is still hanging around, especially now that I am growing a wee bit tired of my current job choice.)

Anyway, I'm reading this book right now and in the second part, the narrator goes to India to study with her Guru. Now, I'm not particularly into that sort of thing, and I have pretty mixed feelings about the book itself, but the whole trying to quiet the mind is pretty interesting. The narrator is struggling with meditation because her head won't shut up. I don't meditate, but still, reading about the process of learning to quiet the noise of one's mind has drawn me into this section of the book.

A monk tells her one day, "The resting place of the mind is the heart. The only thing the mind hears all day is clanging bells and noise and argument, and all it wants is quietude. The only place the mind will ever find peace is inside the silence of the heart. That's where you need to go."

I like that. So then, yesterday morning, I find my weekly horoscope in my inbox and this is what it says:

"Dear Rob: I have eight distinctly different
voices in my head. There's a hurt, oddly puffed-up voice that complains
about everyone who has ever done me wrong. There's an hysterical voice
that nags me with the thought that nothing I could ever do or say will
make any difference to anyone, so why bother. Then there's the still,
small voice. It has more gravity and feels more honest. It gives me useful
instructions about specific things I could do to live a more meaningful life.
The only trouble is, the other voices always blabber so loud I tend to
neglect the only one that's actually helpful. Any advice? - Drowned Out."
Dear Drowned: Set aside five minutes each morning and five minutes
before bed. Whisper "Shut up, all the rest of you!", and then listen
reverently to the still, small voice.

I find it interesting that all paths are pointing to the quieting of the mind this week. I take it to mean that I should pay attention to this message from the universe. Perhaps I can clean some of the junk out of my head that still gets in the way of living from time-to-time. Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those things that Dumbledore had? I forget what it was called, but he could just pull the excess out of his mind and put it in a pot for later.

Heart Murmur

Will took Rocky to the vet this morning to get his chest wound checked out. He got it last week and it wasn't bad so we let it be. It started to scab over, but then yesterday I noticed that he was licking and licking and licking. All the licking re-opened the wound and it was looking really raw so we decided we better take him in. No swelling and no infection fortunately. The vet put him on antibiotics so the cut will heal more quickly and he got one of those cones things to wear if he keeps licking. Poor guy.

Anyway, while he was at the vet, she checked him out a bit and apparently he has a heart murmur. Will called me at work to give me the report and of course I freaked out immediately. But apparently it's not that uncommon and it does not always lead to congestive heart failure. Rocky is in good health, his appetite is fine, he runs around a lot...so hopefully everything is fine. We're supposed to take him back in for x-rays or an ultrasound or something so that they can determine what exactly is going on. Guess I am going to be spending all my Christmas shopping money at the vet! Anything for my boy Rocky though.

So yeah, it's not necessarily anything horrible, but nonetheless, I am worried about him. The sooner we can find out more, the better.

Working For The Man

Working For The Man by Jeffrey Yamaguchi is another book that I am planning to purchase and you should too, particularly if you have an office job. You can get a sneak peak here. I love this page...there are so many times that I felt that way at work. I actually don't have an office job at the moment, nor am I working for the man, but I am sure I will be again one of these days. That's why I need this book. I'll be ready for the monotony.

Jeffrey is also behind the 52 Projects website and the book of the same name. The book explores creativity and is "a way of turning the ordinary into the extraordinary, and finding a flash of inspiration in our everyday lives." I find all of his work to be incredibly inspiring and he's a nice guy to boot!

flickr faves from this week

1. yelloworangeredvioletgreencyanblueblack, 2. Three, 3. Untitled, 4. a look, 5. nov 5, 6. One More.....

I believe that I have said this before, but I'll say it again, if you are a pola fan, you should check out polaroidjesus. His photos absolutely blow my mind.

The Kept Man

A short film inspired by Jami Attenberg's forthcoming novel The Kept Man, which will be published in January 2008 by Riverhead Books. The film was conceived and created by Jon Stuyvesant of Milk Products Media. Find out more information at jamiattenberg.com.

This a beautiful film short and will only take about two minutes out of your day so check it out. I can't wait for Jami's new book! You can pre-order it at amazon.com or request it at your local bookstore.

Polaroid Commercial

Directed by Michel Gondry.

flickr faves from this week

1. Untitled, 2. I knew him, Horatio..., 3. Untitled, 4. madonna, peelingoff, 5. Untitled, 6. june20

Created with fd's flickr toys

Frida Kahlo dollhouse

A mom made a Frida Kahlo dollhouse so that her daughter can learn about the Mexican artist. Super cool!

[via]

not lions and tigers and bear

but praying mantis and grasshoppers, oh my!

A few weeks ago, while pulling weeds, some mating praying mantises latched onto my pant leg. Freaked me out a bit, but I got them off and then ran for the camera:


A couple days later, I found one while I was cutting the deadheads off the dahlias:


Then there were the scary mutant alien grasshoppers:


And finally, yesterday evening, I found these two on our front porch:


What next, I ask you?

me-n-my star quarterbacks

In the past few weeks, I've had two dreams about Dan Marino. I don't remember either clearly, but the first one involved going over to his house on Sunday to watch the games on his flat panel big screen television. The second one involved a party in the basement of my brother's house which happened to be full of hot tubs. (For the record, my brother does not have a basement or a room full of hot tubs.) I know, sounds risqué, but Dan was more like my BFF. Then last night, I had a dream about Peyton Manning. Again, nothing risqué, but I'll admit that we were involved in some sort of courtship. When I told Will this morning, he said, "You and your star quarterbacks..."

Methinks someone just might be watching too much Total Access and Inside the NFL.

on any given sunday

Last Sunday I was watching football, of course, and I got up to do something in the kitchen. When I got back to the couch, this is how I found Rocky, remote and all. Cracks me up.

stuff you didn't know

A random and interesting list of stuff you didn't know...or at least of stuff that I didn't know! Lots of things about words, but lots of other stuff too like:

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

And:

Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, while dogs only have
about ten.

(I think I have heard at least one hundred of Rocky's vocal sounds at four o'clock in the morning.)

[via]

people do the coolest things with polaroids

This Polaroid slideshow is totally awesome. I don't know what the French blurb says, but just click the arrow to get through the series.

some recent flickr faves

1. 10/11/2007, 2. me, chris and linz, 3. Some days are like this, 4. firewalker, 5. ., 6. 10/03/2007, 7. 09/26/2007, 8. Untitled, 9. Untitled, 10. Chair, 11. Alone, 12. Untitled, 13. Untitled, 14. i'll miss spring, 15. Beach Balls, 16. last supper

trompos! simon!

It's been awhile, hasn't it? I was without my computer for three weeks which made posting a wee bit difficult, plus I just don't know what to do with this space anymore. Maybe I just need to change the template so that things seem fresher around here.

Here in Santa Fe, Evo Gallery currently has an exhibition up by the video artist Manuel Angel Rios that is all about trompos. This past Thursday, Manuel brought some folks together to play trompos at the Plaza. Will and Garret were two of the players and I went down to take some pictures. And wow. I had never seen the game played before; it is super fast-paced and I really didn't know what was going on most of the time, only that it was the black tops vs. the white tops. Tops were flying, ropes were flying, arms and legs everywhere. Garret breaks down the rules in his post. And then yesterday, there was an article about the event on the front page of New Mexican and yours truly is in the photo on the front page, albeit standing in the background. I'm a star! Ha, ha. Kind of neat though. Click through all the pictures and maybe you can spot Will and Garret as well. Trompos!

As most of you already know, my tale about Simon has a happy ending. Thank goodness.

Two Monday nights ago, he went out as usual...but then, not so usual, he did not come home. We were absolutely devastated. The cats are part of our family and without Simon, there was a giant empty hole in our lives. We checked with the animal shelter regularly, we posted fliers, we ran ads in the paper and we walked around looking for him day after day. It was hard to keep hope. Everyone has a story about how a cat disappeared for days, weeks, months and then returned. Hell, I had cats that would disappear for weeks when I was a kid. But still, Simon has never been gone for even 24 hours and this is Santa Fe. Mountain lions make visits to the Plaza! And then this past Tuesday night (well, Wednesday morning), I woke up at 1:00 AM because I heard a cat crying. It didn't sound like Rocky so I got up and checked the porch. It was Simon! Home at last! We were so thrilled and relieved. He was very, very hungry, but otherwise fine. He was also very, very tired and slept for about a day and an half straight. We have no idea where he was, what happened, nada. It's so frustrating. I wish that he could tell us about his adventures. He was gone for EIGHT DAYS. He is quite happy to be home so we kind of think that his disappearance was not completely intentional, but we'll never really know.

Tomorrow is my birthday. To celebrate, we're going on a hike. I think that's a good birthday activity. And that's really all I have planned.

A happy Labor Day weekend to you!