"VOMA Dawning" Event 2/06/10
Getting Organized
Not for the faint of heart...
1)Fabrics wrapped on boards and sorted by color.
2)Smaller pieces in trays by color
3)Bookshelf sorted
4)Magazines contained - sorting system in place
5)Closet repurposed
6)Shelving unit in place - Scrapbook paper easily reached and sorted by color. Glue/Glitter/Stickers have homes.
7)Made a ribbon rack.
8)Home for stamps, punches, and mail.
9)Place for library books
10)Crossed quite a few Items off my project list!
1) To hang as many tools as possible on the walls. This will promote creativity with easy accesss and increase valuable floor space.
2) To create separate spaces for sewing/painting/crafting. Essentially clean/dirty spaces kept apart to avoid oil paints on fabrics, etc. This is actually a mental separation as well. It's almost as if I couldn't possibly sew if the paints are out - will be working on that.
3) To use all the plastic storage containers I've accumulated, because they are brightly colored and too cheap to pass up. Labels are key.
4) Right now I have a "limbo box" of possible projects, ideas that haven't been executed yet, etc. Trying to make room for a "limbo shelf" - because I'm more likely to use it if I can see it.
5) Conquering my obsession with paper...or maybe just beating it into submission.
6) Come spring - I'm painting those ugly walls!
Above - The messy pile of fabric and a sad machine still in the bedroom...However, I made a good bit of progress Sunday evening - hung up a sweet lamp, made two rock lights, and worked hard to remove non-essential items (photo albums, writing notebooks)from studio. Below, the before picture of the "In Limbo" section. Today that box is mostly empty - I found a home for photo cds in an old napkin holder and a basket for transistional studio items, and by that I mean snacks! Ha!
A place for everything and everthing in its' place. A girl can dream.
Bon appetit, Baby Fishmouth!
My Favorite Nora Ephron Films In Order:
- When Harry Met Sally -
- Sleepless in Seattle (tied for first)
- Julie & Julia
- You've Got Mail
- Bewitched
I just can't decide between my top two. I consider both classics, near perfect romantic comedies. I like Tom Hanks more than Billy Crystal, but I love the supporting cast of "When Harry Met Sally." The Pictionary game makes me laugh out loud every viewing. I do like "You've Got Mail" but I'm not sure I should, and "Bewitched" is good, not great, but has one of my favorite lines in any movie.
Julie & Julia is a better film than Ephron has made in years. I loved how it switched time periods with little visual cues, for example, the heroines use the same orange pot. I loved both couples, especially their strong supportive husbands. Also, I will admit to cooking tofu with butter, instead of my usual olive oil, after watching this movie, I wouldn't recommend it.
I can't help thinking about the other Nora Ephron movies I really love, how they revolve around writers and each film keeps up with current technology. Meg Ryan's character in "You've Got Mail" owns a bookstore, loves "Pride and Prejudice," and writes a children's book after her store closes. The characters Annie and Sally are both journalists. Sally writes for The New Yorker, while Annie is a reporter for the Baltimore Sun. Nicole Kidman plays a witch turned actress - she does not fit in with this observation. Ignore her. Amy Adams plays a would-be writer who starts a blog which is eventually published. Which leads me to the thing about technology and Ephron. She keeps up pretty well.
Julia Child's has a pen pal she's never met in person but has corresponded with for years. Forty years later, 1989 era NYC, Sally's love grows through autumn walks in Central Park and late-night phone conversations. Four years after that we find Annie in her sweats and French braid plugging away on her typewriter compelled to make contact with a stranger's voice heard only on the radio. Enter the Internet and AOL in 1998, who provide the ultimate modern twist on an old story - love through (dial-up) instant messages. Times change and forms of communication change with it. Blogs are common and instant forms of expression - anyone can have one, not just the pros. Julie Powell's blog became a best-selling book and who else but Nora could have translated it so well into film?
"A Whole New Light" - Sandra Brown - 1989
Like Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele, Sandra Brown has so many books published I don’t know where to start. As with Ms. Steele and Ms. Roberts, I never particularly felt I was missing anything by not reading them. The thing is, I love a ‘friends first’ plot line, it’s right up there with unrequited love from a young age and marrying the wrong sibling for me. I’m a sucker. These characters - friends? Maybe. Shitty, sexist, and whiny? Definitely. I read the first two chapters, but honestly could tell from the first page I didn’t like the author’s writing style. Also, I really do hate the contempory 80’s romance novels, and I'm done wasting time with bad romances. Oh, and check out the difference in those covers.
"Not Another Bad Date" - Rachel Gibson -2008
Not another bad romance. Wow. I really haven’t been reading much lately. I feel more inclined to post about good movies I’ve seen (Julie & Julia, Whip It, Inglourious Basterds) rather than good books. I been a little burnt out – in fact I haven’t found a book that I loved in months – it’s hard enough to actually finish them. I’ve been in a contemporary mood, and for some reason (probably the crisp and bright covers) I think Rachel Gibson will fill the void JC left (Jennifer Crusie, not Jesus Christ, HA!). I want a nice fun read with normal people, no suspense, no mystery, no otherworldly beings – just people falling in love. AHH! Why is it so hard to find a good one? Just one, half as good as “Bet Me” would do!
Something about Gibson’s writing rubs me the wrong way. Her heroines aren’t stick think model types, and while I do like that, she focuses on their flaws in a way that comes off as vapid. In the case of “Not Another Bad Date” I knew I should have stopped reading about 12 pages in, when the hero’s dead ex-wife is in line for Heaven. That’s right., the afterlife. She has to fix the messes and selfish choices she made while alive in order to get past those pearly gates. Sigh. I just gave up. See she (the evil ex) was dating the hero, he dumped her to begin courting the heroine, only to find out the ex is pregnant. Marries the preggo ex, blah blah blah. My main issue with this book comes down to one thing – as college sweethearts, I buy that – but I never believed that the H/H liked each other as adults. They wanted to jump each other sure, but something was off in their non-sexual-chemistry interactions. So fuck it. I’m not wasting my time with books I don’t like.
Goals and Resolutions Part One
Three years ago I made a resolution to read one classic novel per month, and that classic book's title would start with the same letter of the month I’m trying to read it within. My plan started out great with “Jane Eyre” a book I should have read ages ago, even though I do prefer Jane Austen to the Bronte sisters…I kept it up through February reading Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” of which I don’t really have an opinion either way, but I’m glad I read it. Then I thought, what could be better than “Middlemarch” for the month of March? Huh. That book is huge, I got about 10 pages in started a new job while finishing my two weeks at my first job and gave up on the idea. Last year I didn’t even get past New Year's Eve. But this year I’m the queen of resolutions and good intentions, so here we are.
For my purposes a ‘classic’ is a book I should have read; perhaps at a different high school or college but for whatever reason, haven’t. I freely admit romances have become my go to read for the past 8 or so years, because they're entertaining and comforting and I love them. However, after a while they can start to feel like the literary equivialent of too much junk food. So, time for some whole grains and veggies.
January 2010 – “The Joy Luck Club” - Amy Tan - 1989.
A hugely successful debut novel about the complex relationships between mothers and daughters woven through and around complex ideas of national identity. Very good.
1 down, 11 to go.
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