Color achieved

So, I settled on the even more saturated version of what I was looking at:

Painting underway . . . and photos to come as soon as it's dried and I can find my camera!

Longing for color

I don't know if it's the cold weather or what, but I'm thinking a lot about home decorating lately. And I'm really getting the itch to do a little painting in my house. Though it was the living room I was really wanting to do before, my new area of particular interest is my bedroom. My idea is to do a bold turquoise wall behind my vanity to create a fun, relaxing space for dressing and getting ready in the morning.

So I've been poking around, I stopped in town to look at paint chips, and this evening I looked for some examples of bold turquoises I like. I once had a scarab that my elementary school friend Lisa brought back from Egypt, and this is kind of the color I'm thinking about, to contrast dramatically with my deep red comforter.

I like the idea of using non-toxic paints, so I'm leaning toward Mythic, and I think I'm mostly settled on Island Magic, below. It would probably be more sensible to take time and think about it, and consider the other shades a bit more, and bring home chips to look at in different light, but I'm feeling like doing something whimsical, and buying a quart of bright paint to color a wall seems like it could be just the thing.

Conference preparations

Well, conference time is coming up fast -- four presentations in the next couple of months. This is exciting and nerve-racking, both. I still have some writing and work to do on the papers themselves, and I want to prepare Powerpoint presentations with the images I am talking about, for sure.

I'm going to have a fun toy to aid me, the Targus Voice Recording Presenter with Laser Pointer, which I found refurbished for a nice fat discount. It will give me the flexibility to change the slides while moving around, which I definitely like to do. And I ordered some reasonably cute professional clothes, a chocolate brown pinstripe suit and a red double-breasted suit, both of which I think I can wear with the Born shoes I got on sale in New York, so I won't look totally sloppy.

I submitted my request for funding for the one in Scotland in March, and I've got my fingers crossed. Oh man, I guess I had better get my passport renewed!!!

Kittens on a Roomba

OMG, this is SO PAINFULLY CUTE AND HILARIOUS. Kittens on a Roomba. /dying

The photo above, from Amazon Watch, is a human banner created by indigenous persons demonstrating at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Brazil, to raise awareness about the deforestation of Amazonian rainforest.

Living deliberately

My neighbor had me over for coffee this morning, which was just so lovely. She's a really interesting, creative, generous person, a gardener and a baker, who thinks deeply about things and does lots of engaging activities, and is always a source of joy and light in my world. A recent retiree from Ford, she has a really different set of experiences from me, but a similar world view in many ways, and it's fascinating to talk with her. We talked about singing, about death and loss, about her involvement in the threshold choir, about the nature of leadership, and most of all about the inauguration. We shared pannetone and her homebaked ginger and coconut cookies over the coffee and I played with her cats. I could see this being a wonderful regular Friday occurrence when I'm hiding out in the cottage reading about Native American and Aboriginal Australian child policy for my social work prelims.

I have a new toy, which I love. I was inspired when I saw that my favorite aesthetician in Ann Arbor believed in it. Wow. My face has never before felt so soft and clean.

It continues to snow and snow. The icicles are giant out here.

I haven't the slightest idea how I can catch up, I am so behind from being away for a week so early in the semester. I guess I'll buckle down this weekend and see what I can do.

Talking Heads

THIS is both frightening and strangely fascinating. And makes me think about Fight Club all over again.