each piece in its place

 

I am deep into "living the questions" mode. Luckily I have some solids in my life at the moment, a few givens that make the rest a little easier when the going gets tough. Or simply too transitional.

Most (if not all) of life is that space between the trapezes, when you've let go of one but not quite grabbed onto the other. I think that sometimes you're just more aware of the net underneath, and that helps make the experience more exhilirating than terrifying.

Am I being too random? Well. I'm just thinking. Maybe it's the music (from one of my favorite movies) that I'm listening to as I write this. It puts me in such a chilled out mood. I can't wait to listen again on the train tomorrow morning. Perfect soundtrack for viewing the passing landscape as the sun comes out, which happens to be an extremely relaxing start to the morning. ::sigh:: I love a new day. I'm very Anne of Green Gables in that way.

last saturday

No surface was safe from my mop, rag, and sponge.

I even washed the windows.

today i

-bought liquid eyeliner. (black, of course.)

-painted my nails their favorite color, which is red.

-am now the proud owner of new stockings. they are "sun" colored and - this is the best part - they have seams. i think it's in some like it hot that marilyn monroe ("sugar") says, "are my seams straight?" i am now capable of having that particular marilyn moment.

lots of much more cultured, interesting goings-on have been going on. like visiting MUSEUMS and analyzing ART and sitting in BEER GARDENS and more swimming. but stockings with seams? and black liquid liner? and red nails? ::sigh:: i am very much a girl at heart. the kind of girl with a princess-style rotary dial telephone. (it was free, i was eleven. and i have no regrets, except when it comes to touchtone banking. internet to the rescue!)

time for bed. i have a big day of puzzle-making tomorrow (more on that if i ever feel like it). and also even more swimming, and probably yoga. why, yes. yes, i do know how to live it up, thanks.

my muse is back

And it all started with this:

papergirl-berlin.de

I really, REALLY want to participate. We'll see if I have enough guts. In any case, I'm feeling crazy-inspired. Which is excellent.

Not only is it the "Easter Monday" holiday here (which means everything is closed), it's also rainy and drab. So I've thus far spent the entire day in my pj's, listening to music, watching DVDs, doing laundry, drinking coffee/tea/wine, and sketching (sorta):

It's nothing perfect or spectacular, but the sentiment and feel of it ring true to me right now. (As does much of the song from whence it came.) I'm excited at the prospect of what it could become. I'm also increasingly drawn to the idea of using handicraft materials in my work - building on the idea of my embroidered library checkout card from a few years ago - and I think this may be a piece that lends itself well to that, on a variety of meaningful (to me) levels.

Another in-the-works idea (not necessarily for papergirl, but just because) came from a conversation I had with Laura on our recent trip to Prague. She mentioned something about "words you can frame" - words that encompass so much in their own language that it's pretty much impossible to translate them in any acceptable way. Laura happens to really like the English word "obnoxious," for which she says there is no German (or Italian or French or Slovak) equivalent (yep, she speaks some of all those). A few other words we came up with:

namaste
ubuntu
gemütlich
hygge

...and I now have what I think is a very cool project idea, starting with the last word on that list. (It's Danish, and there's a nice description here.) I have a whole 'nother week off (end-of-term hols, you know), so I'm hoping to get to one of the most glorious stores on earth within the next few days. Then hopefully I can make tangible some of the whatnot in my head.