Tuesday, July 27, 2010

it's not the heat,

it's the stupidity.

Actually, it's not unbearable today, and I did get my heinously appalling basement (think the city of Berlin circa 1945 in basement form) somewhat less appalling.  But there are a number of admittedly easy things I still have to do before I get an investor in here to buy this hovel, and I just don't have the energy.  Or maybe just the discipline.  

Or maybe it's that I have a new kitten, and cuddling and playing with same takes precedence over everything else.  

 

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

the most salient characteristic of Japanese culture

You can talk about how they're all about the group, rather than the individual, or about their traditionally delicate artistic sensitivities, or about how mind-bogglingly hard-working they are, or how they came up with classy ways to waste time, i.e. the tea ceremony, the flower arranging ceremony, etc., etc.  

That's all well and good and it's a small world and it takes every kinda people, yada.   

But when you think in terms of low-end material culture, you simply have to admit that nobody knows cute like the Japanese know cute.  Nobody.  Could any other culture have come up with Hello Kitty?  I don't think so.  Could any other culture have come up with lustreware figurines of cats playing fiddles, or roosters wearing clothes, or a dog sleep-walking? 

A DOG SLEEP-WALKING???  I think not. 

for the frog collector




































Here it is:


the BESTEST FROG FIGURINE EVER.

lovingly Made in Japan circa 1950-something.

colorful.

charming.

well-dressed.

makes friends easily.

Monday, July 12, 2010

girls just wanna have...

two-tone hot pink shoes from the 1980's!

I can totally see someone wearing these at one of the weddings I used to attend back then. (In addition to boyfriends, I had a lot of male non-boyfriend friends, and whenever one of them was invited to a wedding 'and guest,' I would often fulfill the guest role.)

These would have been worn with an above knee-length dress with a dropped waist enhanced with a sash, and a poufy skirt below.  Color would have been black or an eye-searing pink. 

To complete the look, the wearer would also have had about six pounds of spiral permed hair growing out of her head, moussed up to the high heavens. 


One of the weddings I remember best was one where the groom was a truck driver and the bride a lawyer.  ALL of the bridesmaids were either lawyers or law students, and ALL of their hubbies/boyfriends were truck drivers, or steam fitters, or roofers.  This also extended to the guests, with the sole exception of the guy I came with (banker) and me (full service bohemian), and another couple at our table where the woman was a lawyer and her companion was a proctologist.  I will always remember the proctologist, because at some time during the reception, the conversation turned to restaurants, and he described one as being 'pricey, but not psychotic.'  

milk glass is back!

Since I started wheeling and dealing in the early '90s, people's interest in milk glass slowly seemed to go from "Yeah, I'll buy that -- it's milk glass!" to "Milk glass?  Ugh."

As near as I can tell, though, it seems to have found approval again, at least from people buying on Etsy. 

Oddly, what seems to sell is the real junk milk glass -- those cheapo bud vases and planters that I think originally came from FTD, as in "For Mother's Day 1962, why not send Mom a lovely arrangement in this cheapo milk glass vase?  She'll not only love it, she'll re-think cutting you out of the will in favor of your sister!"  These are found in every single thrift shop in the country, along with those old Christmas lps one of the tire companies used to put out. 

So, I've been buying milk glass, but only the classic Westmoreland stuff and other non-junky items.  Hopefully, the milk glass buying public will soon tire of the junk and start pursuing the better quality article. 


Monday, July 5, 2010

Introducing Little Ivy


On Wednesday, my two doors down neighbor knocked at my door to report that he'd saved a kitten from my nextdoor neighbor's backyard.  This yard hasn't been mowed in about 18 months or better, and could fool just about anybody into thinking it's actually part of the Amazon.   

Anyway, Mr. Two Doors Down heard a kitten shrieking, and managed to make his way through the thick vegetation to find this poor little thing with a vine wrapped around her neck. 

Being's as I'm the block's go-to girl for cat-related issues, he asked if I would take her, because otherwise "suh'm out here's gonna kill it," and he already has plenty of pets. 

Well, so do I, but since two of mine are over 10 years old, I figure adding one more to the line-up won't be a problem. 

She is only about 100 times cuter than what you see in the photos, she is oh-so-sweet, and has the most adorable little squeak. 

owls... and how!


Owls were huge in the Seventies.

You could wander through any mall and come home with an owl pendant, a lamp in the shape of an owl, a rug bearing the image of an owl, copper wall decor depicting owls, owl figurines of every material and description. 


Owl fairy lamps.



Owl trivets.



Owl salt-&-pepper shakers.



Owl pitchers.



And so on...















Why owls, I wonder?  If the Seventies was the 'Me Decade' (although I firmly believe that's a misnomer.  It was surely the 'Tasteless Decade.') then why owls?  What's 'me,' or even tasteless for that matter, about owls?  Wouldn't fun-loving otters have been a better choice?  Or something funky and counter-cultural like gila monsters or wombats?