Remedial Blogging, May 2nd 2013

Well, I've been away, obviously. I was a little bored with the blog, had a lot of things on my mind, and my old tripod didn't fit my new phone. So.

I'll clearly be learning how to take pictures of myself all over again, and here is an outfit that points that out.

MOST of my head is in the frame.

But this is cute, no? Another thing I forgot how to do is take closeup shots of details. The jacket is an eBay find after typing in "polka dot jacket". The dots are actually little octagons woven into the fabric.

This is probably the last wearing of tights, unless the temps drop unexpectedly.

I can't remember how to write, either. New purse fancy.

Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?

It seems that the lack of a new tripod isn't the only thing standing in the way of my near-daily blogging. I've spent the past twelve months chronicling what I wear and why I wear it. Them. Seeing myself through the camera's eyes has given me a much more clear picture of what looks good on me, what I own, and what my style goals are. It is so much easier to get dressed these days, and it doesn't seem as necessary to process it all out loud, as it were.

So I think I'll extend my little break until the new year, and then only post occasionally thereafter.  The last outfit picture I posted was completely representational of my style, anyway, and I'm kind of digging it as an end point.

While wearing that outfit, I had a conversation with my boss about brown going with black (this was in the context of furniture, actually), and she said with a smile, "But you think red goes with purple!"

Yes, I do.

Red and Purple

One of my FAVORITE color combinations! This outfit began with a more royal purple knit skirt, but it wasn't heavy weight enough, and clung to my tights, so I changed to this one.

The sweater is merino and requires a lining camisole to prevent itchies. The skirt is really more of a deep pink but looks purple enough against the deep red sweater. I have on black tights and boots, which is why my legs seem to trail off into nothing.

The whole "feeling fat" thing went away - go figure. Maybe I had just had some really salty food? We used to call that "the Greek food hangover", when you go out for a few plates of flaming cheese and sausages and olives and pilaf (and a couple of glasses of retsina) and wake up the next day unable to wear any of your rings.  At any rate, the day after my rant, I put on a plum blazer with a ginger silk skirt, matching tights and shoes, and felt lovely. Still sticking to salads four nights a week, though.

And can you tell I still don't have my new tripod? Heather took this picture for me. I'll go tripod shopping this weekend for sure. 
 

Orange and, Whatever

Not much to report, gang. I have a lovely new phone, my tripod doesn't fit it, and I haven't gotten out to get a new tripod yet.  Plus there was a wonderful four day weekend and a visit from Ben along the way. We went out to eat, saw Skyfall (hubba, hubba, Mr. Craig), and sat around with the cats.
 

I wore this at some point, and really liked it even though my neck was cold. J. Jill skirt, Talbots burnt orange top, and taupe Born boots.

Then I tried to make THIS happen without success.

I look all hunchy because I'm trying to keep the blouse from gapping in the front - it is just too small in the chest. Beware purchasing something on eBay that you hope will fit even though you know that isn't your size. I trusted the measurements and hoped the tunic was loose and blousey. It is Jones New York and the most fabulous fabric; silky, drapey, filled with orange and gold and brown and even a bit of plum. The pants are brown ponte from Talbot's and went immediately back to the store. Look at those baggy knees! I don't know if they are too big and I don't care. I'll stick to brown pants OR brown Leggings, both of which I have a-plenty.

And now I'm going to have a good whine about how FAT I feel.  GIANT and PUFFY and MICHELIN MAN-ISH. I know it isn't particularly true (probably no more than five pounds) and I'm sure I don't look different, but everything feels snug except the truly stretchy things or tunics. I really don't like that big shirt/ leggings look at all, but I feel like my waist is VANISHING. Many of my pants and skirts feel very tight. Some of this might be, shall we say, timing. I'm just coming out of M (abbreviated in sympathy for my readers) and I know weird body changes are to be expected - just like puberty! Ha!

Also, I haven't been my usual walkabout self. My left foot is really hurting - plantar fasciitis - so my roaming habits have been curtailed, though hopefully only for a while. I went out and bought a bunch of rugs for my hardwood-over-concrete floors. I also ordered cushy mats for my kitchen. 

The combination of ouchy feet and many delicious meals makes me a big couch potato. And it pisses me off that I have a number of great things that I paid good money for and now make me feel like ten pounds of couch potato in an eight pound sack. I bought a shaping camisole but it mostly makes me feel squished and even fatter. It's all mental, people.  

So. Salads for dinner as many nights as possible, and no new clothes until the new year. I even resisted Monday/Cyber/Black/Whatever. I did venture out to Barnes and Noble to replace my Nook at 40% off. That was totally worth it. I went to the Barn quite early and then had breakfast at The Bagel.

And then (I'm excited to do this) I'm going to keep track of piece of clothing I buy in 2013 in an Excel chart! Tracking my eating always worked really well for me, and I think this will be a really good habit. I already track the spending, but I haven't tracked the what very closely. I'd like to do an inventory of my closet someday, but the idea has been too overwhelming. I hope this chart will be a step in that direction.
 

 

Albany Arts

I flew into the Albany Airport when visiting Mom, and I adore that airport, so I took some pictures this time.

Since Albany is the capital, they've devoted time and money to what is essentially a small town airport. There are less than 100,000 people in the community, but the airport has multiple art installations, reliable and powerful wifi, and an eclectic gift shop featuring merchandise from dozens of small regional museums. So get yourself a latte and a cinnamon roll, and we'll tour some of the artwork.

So this is pretty cool, right? The whole installation fills a wall, so it's maybe ten feet across and six feet tall. Up at the top you can just make out a herd of mustangs, and Mt. Rushmore, and maybe some elephants, and throughout the piece the forms hint at faces and places that are more recognizable when you're looking at it full size. But then you get up close:

  
And it's willow twigs, all hand-knotted together with bits of twine!

Then there were several hanging installations of invented historical artifacts (the artist called them "treen"), modelled on small functional wooden items from the nineteenth century. Wikipedia says these are actual things, but in this case the artist made her own from found objects.

Same installation, photographed at two elevations.

Finally, and I am only sampling this beautiful space, there was the whimsical Cormorants and the Whale:

It reminded me of the scene in James and the Giant Peach, where all the seagulls fly the peach over the open ocean.

To see more of this amazing airport, book a flight to Albany International Airport - or visit 

www.albanyairport.com/site_installations.php 

and

www.albanyairport.com/art_concourse.php

Pig, Turkeys and a Fisher

Last week I visited my mother in Indian Lake, New York, unofficially known as the Middle of Nowhere, just north of Forever Wild. Every time I travel there, I re-visit my childhood haunts, at least those that still exist.

Every summer (and the occasional Christmas school break), my family drove from Akron, Ohio to the Adirondack Mountains, specifically Indian Lake (12842). Indian Lake is in a little hollow at the confluence of three lakes; Abanakee, Adirondack and Indian Lake. It was a long, boring drive, even when you were allowed to do 80 MPH on the thruway in a Chrysler Newport.

By the time we reached the border of the park it was always dark, so we kept our eyes peeled for the first official landmark of our vacation, The Rock Pig:

Freshly painted, 2012

The Pig has been there since I can remember, and means we are only about 15 minutes from our destination. I have no idea who keeps up the paint job.

For many summers, we rented a cabin or house owned by a particular family, the Chamberlains. Violet Chamberlain cooked a mean apple pie. The story goes that she left one on the window sill to cool, and a bear took it. Her husband was named Shirley, which made my brother and I giggle. A favorite location was Forest House in Blue Mountain Lake, just north of Indian Lake, with a handy restaurant next door. One summer there was a friendly doe who came to the yard at twilight and let us feed her windfall apples. Behind the house were sunny boulders and blueberry bushes, picked by us and occasionally black bears.

Sorry about the glare.

Eventually my parents bought property in Indian Lake in the early 70s, a three bedroom house and a garage with a full apartment over it. After my father passed away in 1977, my mother moved here permanently.

My rental car at right.

There have been bears in the yard here, too. My mother stopped filling the bird feeders after she looked out the window and saw a bear licking one clean (this is a true story). She also has a fox family, and one spring looked out into tall grass (not mown yet) and saw a sleeping fawn. 1 2 3 awwwww! This is the view from her deck:

My dad could name every one of those peaks.

We drove into Speculator on my first day there, right past a flock of wild turkeys. Apparently they are becoming a nuisance, like disrespectful teenagers, hanging out in parking lots and on the side of the road. The drive to Speculator is really beautiful, going south along the shores of Indian Lake.

One day I had lunch at this scenic overlook.

Of course, I stopped to visit the Indian Lake Public Library. No flies on them, they have ten public PCs, which is a ratio of one computer to about 90 people. My library has one computer per thousand. Their hours are limited, but their selection is great! I got the latest issues of Vanity Fair and the new Kurlansky bio of Clarence Birdseye. And a Dennis Lehane novel that I didn't have time to read.

Mom and I had a really good visit. It always takes me 24 hours to slow down to Indian Lake velocity, but it was made easier on this trip by my mother's new-ish PC, and wifi in the house, thanks to good-looking Bill, the Frontier.net technician. She is a news junkie, and kept asking me if I wanted to watch Rachel Maddow with her. We read and walked (she more than me) and ate. I cooked, she washed the dishes. I wore jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt every day, and took off my Smartwool socks only to bathe (it was COLD there).

It was a great thing to see her, and know that she is feeling well, and living well, in that remote area. Indian Lake doesn't have much of anything, but she doesn't desire anything beyond cable news and email and the beauty of the natural world.

Oh, the fisher. I went to Blue Mountain Lake, to visit the Arts Center (where my mother's Steinway now resides), and of course all the summer residences are now closed up for the season. I walked along the lakefront.

We swam here sometimes - brrr!

I spied a beautiful dark-pelted creature, bounding along the water, too bouncy to get a picture. I thought it was a pine marten, but my mother's friend (a trapper long ago) told me it was a fisher. 

Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Thank you for coming on my wilderness journey with me!

Black, White and Velvet

Of course, I don't reach the top of the pyramid every day.

The top is Jones New York via eBay, and a little big, but so lovely and silky that I don't really care. I have the arms scrunched up for the picture. The pants got pulled out of the Goodwill bag this morning. They were there because they are a cat hair magnet and and also pinch my tummy. However, the color is great and they make my legs look longer, and that was essential with this long boxy top. Maybe I'll hang them back up in my closet. I wore my pointy black ankle boots, which you cannot see. I'm wearing two silver necklaces, virtually invisible against the print.

I will be in upstate New York all next week, so no blog updates. I'm not even sure how well my phone will work in Forever Wild, but I'll definitely take some pictures with it. See you soon!

Buffy gets nervous when I pack.