Amber & Back In The Day

A often forgotten fact about me is that, for a brief time, before I left the island (only to come back in season 6 because, well, life was better for all of us on the island, even with the smoke monsters and ridiculously crowded 1 trains) I lived uptown.

My LaSalle Street apartment was lovely and significantly less expensive than Avenue B.

There was a large, lovely kitchen.

There were lovely French doors to the bedroom which was a totally different room than the living room, unlike Avenue B.

And there was a lovely claw-foot tub in which I took many, many bubble baths...
 

...and sometimes, kitties took naps under.

 

And then there was the "second bedroom."  Now, by most standards this was a closet.

True, a closet big enough to fit a computer desk, but it was a closet.  The rods for hanging outfits and the shelves gave it away, as did the fact that it was too small for either a couch (living room) or a bed (bedroom).  But the real estate lady insisted it was a bedroom.  When I pointed out it was too small for a bed, she explained, "You can put your baby in it."  And that, I certainly could have.

One not-forgotten-about thing about living on LaSalle Street (other than the fact that real estate agents lie like sound-absorbing rugs in rent-controlled closets that you can put your baby in) was that it was super close to Dinosaur BBQ.  They've recently moved across the street (to a new site which seats 30 more hungry clients and will have outdoor seating in better weather) and are now in that weird area under the bridge on 125 near Fairway (don't even get me started on how awesome having Fairway as my main grocery store was--except for the walk back up the Tiemann Place hill carrying way too many impulse purchases).

Dinosaur is definitely a place I would take visitors who craved ribs.  I can't tell you if the brisket is any good because I just get sucked in by the ribs every time.  The sides are awesome, too.  I love the sauteed greens (which are vegetarian, vegetarian people!) and the mac & cheese and the Syracuse Salt Potatoes.  And they have a super beer menu.  And it is festive; there is a painting of pigs, a steer, a goat and some dinosaurs playing cards!  (That seems like the very definition of festive.)

And did I mention the ribs?

Sigh.  I miss living way down on 125th.  James took this great photo of me at Dinosaur once, and you can tell I am super happy (even though I lived in Wisconsin at the time and am probably just happy to be in NYC).

He also took this one of CRD, but CRD looks more pirate than happy.

Happiness means different things to different people.

Amber & Target Demographic

So, I was just in D.C. overnight for biznusses.  And I stayed at the lovely Quincy hotel, mostly because it was cheap and also right around the corner from where the biznusses were conducted.  (And because my old apartment at the Argonne has probably been rented.)  There were several notable things about the Quincy which I will proceed to note hereforth.

1.  The couch in my room was totally the larger L version of my home couch.  Same fabric, same feet shape, same velcro attachments for the pillows.

Same, same, same-- except less cat fur.  And no sheet covering it to protect it from cats or little decorator pillows or Ginger.

2.  There was a very strange music thing happening, both in that they chose to blast all of the songs from my "HS Memories" playlist in the lobby (see sidebar), but also because, very randomly, there was a Billy Squier album cover on the wall on my floor near the elevator.

True, they never played any Billy Squier in the lobby, but there he was, gazing at me while I waited for the elevator.  This prompted Kevin to say, "This must be a hotel for young people."  And that made me laugh uproariously since that album came out before some of my younger friends were born.

3.  There was a giant mirror against the wall.  (Even bigger than yours, CRD.)  It made me realize that I really need a full length mirror if I am going to avoid making outfit mistakes like that one time I wore the balloon top out in public.  Or, maybe just forgetfully not make outfit choices at all.

4.  In this big mirror, I also noticed that my skirt (seen here with the oddly ruffly sweater, both acquired during my total blogging black out at Outlet Mall Weekend Edition of Awesome Club) matched the orange couch pillows.

Is there such a thing as fate?  Are some matches are meant to be?  E.g.,  My skirt + the couch pillows? Me + The Quincy?  This must be a hotel for me.

 Billy Squier doesn't want me to embed his video as my conclusion, but it's here.  But, we also heard this song in the lobby, and it made me touch my heart in nostalgia and emotion.  And a voice inside my head said, "Don't look back-- you can never look back."



Except at the Quincy.

Amber & So Much Has Happened

If you noticed, I have not been blogging lately.  Soooo much has been happening that it has been hard to find time to blog.

For example, I got this new hair...

But then I didn't like that hair and so I got this other new hair that has a tendency to Alfalfa.

I am also, in that photo, wearing a new and very strange ruffle sweater that I got on a special Outlet Mall Weekend Edition of Awesome Club with these boys in a rental vehicle that we could have removed the seats and camped in.

On that trip, I also got this new jacket which matches my tights that I already owned.

Oh!  And there were all these doilies in the office, mysteriously one Monday.  Kevin thought I brought them in.

Oh!  And then there was the week where I bent to get the soap in the shower and stood up and scraped a giant raspberry into my back.  And then, I stubbed my toe in the office.

Although from hair, we can tell that was before.  Probably around the same time I got these great wall flowers in San Francisco.

Oh!  And I painted my nails!

And alot of stuff happened with the cats, but they can't send their Skype BFF photos, so we don't really have the same level of documentation of their activities.

It sure is lucky I am back to blogging so I can do something with these photos daily rather than save them scattered all over my desktop.

Amber & A Penny Saved

How can you tell I am on a savings plan?  Because I bought this face wash for $4.99 at Trader Joe's instead of my usual product for seven times the price.

Yes, I did also buy a pack of heirloom tomatoes and some artisnal bread, but that was probably cheaper than a burrito or whatever else lunch delivery I often get.

What am I saving up for?  Emergencies?  More vet bills?  Why, I am saving for a Wee House.

I am $27 closer (well, $26 because I also did buy a blue eyeshadow in the clearance bin at Duane Reade today) to owning my very own River House.  Of course, that still leaves me quite a way and a plot of land away.  But, baby steps.

Amber & What I Did On My Summer Vacation

I took a vacation from blogging this weekend to rest my creative word energies for all of the exciting posts to come when we arrive at the River next weekend.  (Cats!  Cocktails!  Friends!  Happy times in lawn furniture!)  Instead, I used my creative hands energies to sew a bunch of stuff.

First, I made this swell dress/top modeled on Le Sac, which you may remember if you visited me on bed rest.

A few notes about this photo.  First, notice how I match the small decorator pillows on the couch?  Next, have you any idea how hard it is to auto-time a photo of your whole body from your laptop?  A little behind the blog secret?  Sometimes, it doesn't work quite right and quite a few photos are left on the cutting room floor.

(Do you feel closer to me now that I have shared the secrets behind my art?)

And, I made this bolster pillow out of the leg of a pajama that spit at the seams.

I am demonstrating one possible usage to Nick.  Mostly, though, I intend to use it behind my knees.  But, that would have required an even more complicated photography session.  But, you get the general idea.

I also made a bunch of little sacks of cat nip.  But those had to be hidden away as soon as they were made lest they be eaten.

Sew much sewing!  (Get it?  Sew!  Homonyms!)

Amber & Sunday Well Spent

In addition to celebrating Woodra Pooja yesterday, and performing all of the honored rituals including seriously seven rounds of sink hands, I also beat my high Sudoku score.

Of course, it's the Easy version, so rather than being on fire I was really just luke warm.  But it's still pretty fast compared to my average time.  Although that seems to suggest it was just a fluke.

You know what wasn't a fluke?  These cutie little decorator pillows I made yesterday!

I finally used some of this fabric I love to make two 12" pillows.  Why are the so small?  Have you seen how small my couch is?  A bonus is that the gray in them matches well with Ginger's fur.

And the ecru color matches nicely with the sheet I have to drape over my couch to protect it from excessive fur build up.  See? Even though I have to protect all of my things from cats, I can still have pretty things.  Very small pretty things.  And cats.

P.S. A shirt is in the works out of the same fabric.  I can't wait to wear it and blend in like camouflage on the couch!

Amber & New Neighbor?

Kevin sent along this news piece announcing that Kyle MacLachlan, one of my original mallards, whose career I have followed from Blue Velvet to Desperate Housewives and for whom I was brave enough to sit through Twin Peaks, is selling his Chelsea apartment which I imagine looks something like this.

I have only this to say to Kyle now that he is about to be homeless.

Amber & Some Things New, A New Thing Old

I feel like I am constantly in a struggle with the Entropy of Clutter in my home.  It's hard to carry out myself and the trash and the recycling--especially since the refuse area is down five flights of stairs, around the corner, and in an alley out behind the building frequented by what I like to think of as sleek-tailed squirrels.  And, I seem to accumulate stuff: direct mail samples, Fresh Direct boxes, books of to-do lists, cat fur, etc.  It's crucial to do a weekly Junk Round Up to make room for new, magical space-occupiers.  For example, I'd much rather have this weird sushi wind up robot that Nick gave me than a stack of Con Ed billson my desk.

(Seen here with Big Nose Felted Guy, another keeper from Nick.)

That's two pieces of inari on the left (my fave) and two pieces of tuna on the right.  And I can't show you because I got my phone before they invented video for iPhones (drat to early adapting), but the two sushis sort of bicycle up and down and round and round when you wind it.  Why?  Because it's amazing.

Gifts are not always keepers, but this new Ganesh statue that Diana brought back for me from India sure is.

(Like the mechanical sushi, Ganesh is not as blurry in real life.)

And that reminds me that my blurry-making phone is actually another place to collect wonderful, and muladhara chakra comforting, things.  Like this Ganesh application.

 (See how the bell is all lit up? You can pick it up and ring it. That is mostly what the app does.)

And, Jimmi referred me to this absolutely essential app where you can gong a mokugyo or the metal gong on the left and induce nagomi ("harmony").

(I won't spoil what "With Cat Mode" is.)

And, speaking of cats, this guy came to live with us a few weeks back.

(He's actually laying on a pile of books to return to other people, on the theme of getting rid of old stuff to make room for the new.)

This new buddy is actually an old artifact from the Boxing Day Heritage Booty.   I molded him from greenware, painted his eyes, paw pads and nose, and then glazed the heck out of him in ceramics class.  Proof?

Every great artist signs her work.  In 1981, I was apparently trying something new with my R's.

Amber & Games We Play

Today, Woody and I tried combining our two favorite games: Fleece Wand and Sheet Tent.  To play, Woody went into the Sheet Tent and then I would flick the Wand just outside the main entrance to the Tent.  My buddy then darts out from his hidey place and grabs the wand, thusly:

Next, crazy head and tugging ensues.

This was great fun, and Ginger wanted to be involved.  That seemed fine with Woody: Ginger would stick his paw near the edge of the tent, and Woody would reach out and swat it.

This was another five minutes of kitty Play and Seeking Emotions, exactly what Dr. Temple Grandin would prescribe.

But then, Woody got overstimulated and lunged out of the tent.

This broke the rules as understood by Ginger.  There was a threatening posture on the back of the couch, followed by a Woody growl and a retreat back into the tent.

And thus ended Sheet Scurry.  I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday evening.  Or to use an unwashed brand new sheet.

Amber & Kissable Cousins

The Mystery Guest Cat in today's Kevin Drum e-newsletter is a flame-pointed Siamese, just like Woody.

I think Woody is more handsome.

(photo by whomelse?  James)

Although Rustle does live in a home with nicer carpeting.

Amber & Signs of Recovery

My fever is down to 99.5°F today, after a really really rough night of alternating chills and sweaty-fits.  My throat is ridiculously sore today, though, so much so that I am trying to avoid swallowing.

So, I am still confined to my sick bed, kitties, tea, and laptop.

I swear someday I am going to finish painting that wall.

Amber & Personal Computing

Katie, Nick and Rob are having personal laptop and/or smart phone
time. Earlier, Jeremy made this awesome tower while the spotted
palamino looked on. I have been playing Scramble. Days off.

Amber & Arts and Cat Crafts

Over the weekend, I made an environment for the baby boys.

To make this deluxe duplex cat condo, I took two of my grocery boxes and cut strategic holes in them: one for an entrance in the bottom box, a hole to lead from the bottom box to the top box, and an escape door in the top back (or a place for Pickles to attack).  Then, I taped them together with the blue tape from my as yet uncompleted painting project.  And, I lined them with blankets both for comfort and to send the clear signal that my gift was not a homemade covered litter box.

Ginger seems to approve.

Of course, he really loves anything he can chew to shreds.