eclectic.

e·clec·tic  (-klktk) adj.

1. Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles: an eclectic taste in music; an eclectic approach to managing the economy.

2. Made up of or combining elements from a variety of sources.

chic.
+ mixy.
+ artsy.
+ soothing.
+ surprising.
+ playful.
+ cozy.
+ coordinated.
+ organized.
+ practical.
+ joyful.
+ welcoming.
+ homey.
+ cute.
+ beautiful.
these are adjectives I try to keep in mind when arranging my personal living space.

Add 'em up and they spell e-c-l-e-c-t-i-c.

Decades ago, the two words I favored for home decor were Japanese + Simplicity.

Living in a new suburban house in a California subdivision with hubby, two kids, several pets and no extra 'mad money' made that aesthetic all but impossible to achieve. It wasn't long before I accepted that the long dreamed about dining area comprised of a simple, large, low, smooth, shiny, black lacquer table set upon thick and fragrant tatami mats in an otherwise empty room with sliding Shoji screen walls - was not to be my reality. Minimalism was not in the home decor cards for this gal and her brood.

Plus, truth be known - I like 'stuff'.
As much as I can appreciate plain lines and very few knickknacks, severe minimalism isn't 'me'.

From the early years of a-home-in-the-making, eclectic started as, then began to define, my version of decor. In styling our various abodes over the years - found objects, hand-me-downs, poor choices in the purchase of new furnishings, acquisitions of previously abused used this and that - eventually led to a mixed decorative bag. To date, much of the old stuff has been replaced, yet things have remained decidedly mixed though not quite matched - which happened accidentally on purpose.

My hope now is to achieve a status of home that is a sanctuary of traditional, whimsy, artfulness and welcome.
A cute environment that is fun to be in. Cute and Fun are not typical buzz words when it comes to making a house a home. I ask myself 'Is this cute?' 'Is this fun?' Moreover, 'Will potential buyers be turned off by this look when it comes time to sell and move again?!?'

Much excitement can be derived from looking at a website like the one above. In the less obvious areas of a photographed room setting, inspiration lurks. Glimpses of a tabletop or wall-hung vignette of items can trigger decorating ideas with one's own stuff in mind. I truly become excited when I see an unusual set-up of books, or dishes stored in unexpected ways. I also get antsy to rearrange things when I spot beds, sofas, chairs and desks placed at interesting angles to the space. My preference is not the predictable grouping of everyday objects, but something beyond the usual, leaning a tad towards the unorthodox. Perhaps a bit more --- artful?

Such imagery is surprising, and often provides better indication of the homeowner's personality than would copying, 'verbatim' (in the case of the physical, item per item), the decor as laid out on the pages of a home decor magazine.

Spaces created with an emphasis on the dweller's unique world view best tell the stories of those who occupy that space. Much can be ascertained from placement of furnishings, choice of embellishments, the importance given to treasured items and how they are arranged.

Rooms can serve as fanciful shadow boxes, reflecting ideas, wishes and musings.
For those of us who enjoy taking note of individuals in their home environment, seeking out decorative clues that reflect a persona makes for a fascinating study indeed. It fairly tickles my aesthetic sense to do so.

What holds the greatest appeal for me are groupings of personal, practical and pleasing pieces, chosen purposefully and set together with the elements of design in mind. Conversely, an all-pervasive approach to decorating in the usual ho-hum way and applied to an entire home is much too predictable. It does not inspire me in the least.

Big Yawn on Solidly Seriously Staid!

Huzzah Huzzah for Exhilaratingly Excitingly Eclectic!

Photo-Play: going going gone

 

 

~ 1977 ~

MIA: a veggie garden

Missing in action: a veggie garden.
Aka: The continuing saga of The Forest Dweller With No Damn Decent Place to Set Down Some Roots.

... It sure would be nice to plant these seeds if they even sprout, now that they are a bit old, since I bought them last year in time for a fine springtime veggie garden ...

what is 'iffy' is that the area designated last year to be the new veggie garden may or may not be ready by planting time ...

HubbyDear started work on it in early spring 2010 (I said HURRY PLEASE!) and got this far by mid-summer ...

... note the deer prancing by, probably also wondering when this rumored garden was going to be offering the first of its tender shoots for nibbling on.

Hmmmmm.
It was August, and there were two raised beds.
No soil.
No back fence to enclose the space.
No gate.
It was not ready.

Hurrrumph.

To satisfy my desire for home-grown veggies, I ran out in haste (mid-summer, remember?) to the local garden center and purchased one of the last few patio tomato seedlings left on the shelves. As late in the season as it was, this was a pretty substantial little plant. As far as seedlings go, sturdy and full of promise. Several vines even sported tiny, hard green tomatoes at this late point in time. The thing fairly ached for a transplant into more dirt, water, sun and a bit of TLC. I was encouraged to think that, within a week or two of ideal conditions, I could coax from this plant a bit of a yield. I transplanted the lush little seedling into a good-sized pot, topping it off with nutrient rich garden soil. The pot was set on our back deck, where adequate sunshine would be certain to shine upon it ...

... that night or early the next morning, my poor defenseless tomato seedling was immediately chomped on by some foraging forest critter. It could have been a deer. Or a hare. Or ....

... Whatever it was boldly tromped onto the deck sometime between when I planted and the following morning when I looked outside to admire the greenery (and to imagine sweet vine-ripened tomatoes in my near future, even if two or three in number) - only to find that some voracious woodland creature done munched my lovely tomato seedling to a pitiful little stump of a stick ...

... save for left one small hard green tomato ... with a nasty bite in it.

Gee, thanks.

In any case, it turned out to be a disappointing year all around for home grown tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes did fine, and were being harvested in buckets, if not a peck or bushel. Yet, even by late summer, full grown tomatoes were still green on everyone's vines. Instead of the usual relentless overbearing heat of July and August, temps stayed relatively cool throughout the season. Across the board, home harvests were delayed, and a bit skimpy - from what I could surmise from the talk circulating amongst my buddies. They who swore to me each time I asked 'Any tomatoes to spare?' - that they had nary a love apple harvest worth boasting about, much less sharing - just yet.

So -
a 2011 veggie garden here at the humble abode? Will there be one? Who knows?
You will be kept posted, either with a rave and lotsa pix, or a curmudgeonly Bah! Humbug VeggieGarden!! post or two. Lord knows, I can write me a fairly novella-length curmudgeon post now and again. And what better topic, than the ongoing saga of the MIA veggie garden, eh?

IF the garden space is actually completed in time for planting fun, I will certainly show a photo or two of tomatoes or bitter melon on the vine. News of which will be nothing altogether too exciting for those of you who have generous amounts of both space and sun, of course - with lush gardens to show for it each year. Some, like me - live in the forest, with dense trees all around, with the strongest and most consistent sunlight occurring for a minimum of hours (typically between 11AM and 1PM most summer days). Hardly worth the effort of putting time and energy into a Victory Garden, but we get our cheap thrills where and when we can.

Since moving to the woods, gardening for us has never produced the most satisfying of results, but hey - if I yield a few good veggies as well as some play-in-the-dirt pleasure from any meager plantings, it will be a satisfying project. News of which I will strain your reading eyes, if not bend your ears - with tales of.

If not - oh bother.
I'll go back to buying my bitter melon from a stall in Chinatown ...

 ... and photographs will be of ready made Chinatown dim sum lunches I partake in during those supposed produce shopping sprees.

code

fust code uv 2011.
eechee troat.
coff.
dwippy dose.
cungessjun.

dwag.

2011: NOT a Resolution

As a rule, I don't make New Year Resolutions.
Hey - did I already state that last year or the year before?
Perhaps in saying that I don't - I do.
Hmmmmmm.
So early into a new year and already I am toying with dichotomies. Is it yes? Is it no? Is it both yes and no? Acccccch. Let's move on, shall we? For you will, I have no doubt - wish to get through this one rather quickly...

Not a Resolution #1: I do expect, if not resolve, to be extra feisty and contemptuous this year. Why the heck not? More caution to the wind, I say. 2011 marks for me almost 60 years before the mast. That in itself is cause for celebration and extra ornery-ness. Take it or leave it. Some ladies wear more purple as they get older. Others just get more bitchy. Others more loving and still others - less so. What say I wear a bit more color and hone the bitchiness to a fine art? Oh yes, that does sound good.

Anecdote ----- I did at one time, and only once - make a resolution at the start of a spankin' brand new year - that was maintained - and for over seven months, at that. Allow me a moment of digression from today's primary topic of NOT a Resolution to amuse you with The Resolution That Kept (at least for awhile)...
To be sure, it was silly in nature and frankly, a bit scatological to boot. Funky resolutions concerning impolite habits are simple to make. They are also the easiest to keep from breaking within the first fragile hours/days/weeks of a fresh year. F'rinstance, I will not blow my nose into my shirt...I will shower at least once a month...I will stop licking all the dessert spoons after everyone is done eating ice cream...


So - what exactly was the one-line mantra that someone as weak-willed as 'b' might have resolved to do - or not to do? What unholy ruling could she have possibly entertained being confident of keeping for the whole of - 12 months?


It was, my friends (if you dare to read on and I to risk your judgmental declaration of OMG!, b!) - this:
I had resolved .... when in a small enclosed space with a few other people .... post the natural and very human bodily function known in polite circles as flatulence has been enacted ... I promise not to ask ....

'WHO FARTED?!?'

Ahem.

Because, Dear Readers - once a pass has been made - it matters not who the culprit be. Really it doesn't. For what good does it do for someone to take credit? Moreover, what good does it do others than have an opportunity to make admonishments? It won't serve to change what has taken place, nor does any good except to embarrass the perpetrator, who is already at a loss as to how to cover the faux pas of letting loose in a public place. Life is short. If someone uncontrollably (perhaps purposely) passes gas in your presence, you may, at will, remove yourself from proximity. So there.


This was the most well intentioned of any and all resolutions I'd even thought of making (but didn't) over the years. Resolving to lose weight, be a kinder person, read more books, do more art, volunteer for a charitable cause, be less over-sensitive, grow only organic veggies, knit less - or more --- these things would not hold for me. Not for a day, much less a fortnight or longer. But not to ask 'Who farted?!?' Hey - this would, ultimately and surprisingly - prove doable. I adhered to my resolution for 7 whole months - ignoring any and all odiferous passes in my presence - successfully avoiding temptation to identify and/or berate any one person when it did occur. Then, one day - I inexplicably, and without very much prompting, uttered the un-untterable.  With that, I failed the 12 month resolve.

That was the end of Accusatory Sobriety Concerning Public Flatulence. Lasted 7 whole months, and I deserve credit. One for the record books.

Not a Resolution #2:  More of a lifestyle change, really. Here goes:
I am not going to 'multi-task' as I used to. That is to say, multi-tasking will no longer be a much anticipated approach to my days.

(the humor of this cartoon is applicable 

only if one attempts to juggle 

while at the same time scratching one's ear real fast with one's foot)

Not so long ago, I discovered that multi-tasking is not altogether so productive a conduct as it is purported. More of an exercise in futility than not. Take the duo acts of walking and chewing gum at the same time, or washing dishes whilst listening to a book on tape --- duo or multi-tasking in this manner is not unreasonable. For me, however, taking on multiple duties has always meant more. I perform one concentrated task right up against another one of equal significance. This usually proves to be counter-productive. More often than not, simultaneously working on projects that each, in their own - require full attentiveness - results in spontaneous combustion. One can almost detect an audible 'poof into destructive roaring flames' of the desired results.

Visualize me multi-tasking --- studying French while watching a streaming Netflix movie on the computer would be an example. Neither gets my focus so I do both poorly. Sewing and baking cookies. Granted, there is wait time with baking, but one must still be attentive to the task at hand - and a sewing project can certainly distract from being mindful of a batch of cookies in the oven. Blogging while chatting on the phone with a friend - also not the best idea. I put little concentration on blog content, neither is much attention paid to lively banter of conversation. Definitely a lose-lose situation.

The manner in which I multi-task makes for one thing that does not serve the other. Rather, it takes away from. Such 'multi' activities is what I resolve to wean from. In due course.

Mind you, this is NOT a Resolution for the New Year 2011.
What it is, is working towards management of a proposed lifestyle change. There is no official start or stop time frame. Success or failure depends largely on a concerted effort to make a change.

When is a resolution not a resolution, then?
Simple. When I say so, of course.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Play time with semantics. Ya gotta love it.