merci, gracias, asante, danke, spasibo

can thanksgiving be the new christmas? we could sing thanksgiving carols, share what we're thankful for, eat good foods, and hang out with people we like. let's take thanksgiving back from its terrible history! celebrate thanksgiving eve and day. go see a movie the day after instead of shopping. the cornucopia can be like a stocking with nuts and tangerines and chocolates.

i'm a genius.

today bill picks up the 24+ pounds turkey and we (hopefully)start abrinin' that bird. tomorrow we'll cook and clean like crazy for our 10-12 guests. i'm so excited.

i'm thankful for (in no particular order)
the health of my friends and family
my siblings' children
my job
my husband
my new boss
cheese bagels
president obama
stretchy jeans
my individuality
the internet
dogs
colors
art

p.s. no possession can really be called mine until there's coffee, alcohol and dog spit and chew marks on it. my new moleskine is ready to go.

nibs 'n' ink

i bought a little moleskine sketchbook to practice my letters. (i also bought a second gridded one that is, as yet, virgin.)

here's my halloween homage. mmm, walnut ink.

make it sew!

it's blustery and storming here, but i arrived to work warm and only a tad moist. i've spent the morning doing some internet shopping and crafting research for christmas presents for the fam and friends. i think i have some great ideas, but need to get off the ass and get to work. some of my ideas will need supplies and others a few weeks to make.

what i need to do is get on a project-management binder à la Monsieur DeFrank and his Amazing Spectacular Thanksgiving binder.

here are a few internet sites that have been offering some inspiration:

the tasty online face of Craft Magazine

Benita in Sweden posts projects to her blog Chez Larsson. Great pics!

Inside a Black Apple. Cute, classy.

Bolt on Alberta. i just gotta find a reason to shop here. they have buttons you'd generally never find in one place and fabrics to make your eyes drool (yes, this is a thing that happens). too bad their website is so spare.

I've never tried the patterns from Sublime Stitching but I have been meaning to get back into embroidery. i'd like to embroider some dinner napkins and some hankies.

art to talk about

i've been seeing Wangechi Mutu's work around in magazines. It's so sumptuous. Her collagey things are elegant and grotesque, beautiful and frightening. I'm not going to bring up the culture and gender themes in her work; right now I just like to look at them. Yummy.

here's an image from the Saatchi Gallery:

aka the pubis and the ulnar nerve

my depth perception or equilibrium is off today because i keep bumping into stuff. i hit my crotch on my keyboard tray and then my funny bone on the shelf in the bathroom. what is up?

This book makes me feel gemütlich.

I was at Powell's on a me-date looking for some books on typography and i found Fraktur Mon Amour, by Judith Schalansky. It's so beautiful; I love it. This fat little sexy book isn't like any typography book I've ever seen.

It's 8 x 5 inces of black, white, and pink and includes a disc of 150 fonts for your delectation. The 720 pages are filled with Blackletter fonts and crazy beautiful patterns made from an element of the type.

from the amazing and wonderful website/blog i love typography:




After my visit with this book at Powell's I convinced my boss to get it for the library. I now have it at home and am trying not to drool all over the pages. I'm not sure what it is about Blackletter and its babies that make me feel enraptured, but there it is. To see more glorious images from this book, take a look at the site Ministry of Type. Ooooooh.

We have the English-language (second edition) version and in the forward by the author I found this word:

Gemütlichkeit.

A German word that has been adopted into the English language, Gemülichkeit, is a noun that connotes coziness. (See schadenfreude.) But it's not just the coziness of a cup of tea at a toasty fireside. It's a feeling of warmth and belonging. What a great word for the holidays. Now I just need to figure out how to say it.

here's another book i look forward to perusing:

Mexican Blackletter

Yes, we can!

we did it.

i still get a little verklempt.

i'm so proud!

President Obama!

let's barack and roll, kids

bill and i made some votives for election day.