Posts

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Dos Mujeres

I recently made my second trip to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and I enjoyed their recent acquisition, Dos Mujeres by Frida Kahlo. This was the first painting Kahlo ever sold, and it was mounted with the back exposed to reveal a lovely inscription by the artist and various friends including Kahlo’s soon-to-be husband Diego Rivera (the two married a month later): “En recuerdo de una noche muy agradable con la autora del cuadro” (“In memory of a very pleasant evening with the author of the picture”). Pro tip: Always ensure that a museum allows photographs. Most do provided you do not use a flash.

Frida Kahlo's Dos Mujeres
Frida Kahlo’s Dos Mujeres acquired in 2016 by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
The back includes a lovely inscription, and the museum helpfully displayed it to include this detail.

 

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Mucho Gusto

I’ve been fascinated by language for a long time. On my way to earning my MA in English, I completed four semesters of German as a graduate student and passed an equivalency exam. This was as close to a real language experience as I ever had. I started to think in German. It was lovely.

However, German is a tough ask. It’s a level two language, which means it requires more time for a native English speaker to master than French or Spanish or, curiously, Romanian. It is also rarely seen or heard in the United States. Unlike Spanish, and to some extent French, products and advertisements are rarely translated into German in the States.

New technology has made languages easier to learn, and so a few years ago, I felt my moment had arrived. Duolingo is a great way to start, and it’s free. I went entirely through the French version and am halfway through the Spanish course. I learned enough French with Duolingo to read passages and news stories, but my listening comprehension and ability to explain grammar are lacking. I still subscribe to French Facebook and Twitter feeds, which are great ways to incorporate the language into your life.

Babbel and Rosetta Stone now offer online courses with more grammar and culture coverage, and there is a trove of help available at Udemy, Coursera, and on YouTube. To take my Spanish to the next level, I subscribed to Babbel and will work my way through their Spanish course in the coming months. I have already secured a language buddy at work when my production ability improves.

While language learning is a life long goal, it is also what I plan to do in retirement. I’m 20 years from that day, but I have a plan. I’d like to help new arrivals to the U.S. learn English, and what better way to prepare than to learn Spanish now. Wish me luck.

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The Friendly Toast

Finding the world’s greatest breakfast place is usually my husband’s job when we are on vacation. Breakfast is very important to him, and since we often skip lunch, he wants something substantial and good. This sometimes means an uncomfortably long early morning walk or a dead end when we find the perfect place opens too late. (We’re early risers.) In New Hampshire, we found this nifty place in Portsmouth, The Friendly Toast. It turns out the Portsmouth location is the mother ship as this is a chain now has outposts in Boston (Back Bay) and Cambridge. The menu was eclectic and vegetarian friendly, which is important for us. I had veggie biscuits and gravy for the first time ever.  The decor is pure kitsch to match the menu and the groovy staff. You can check out their decor on their website under “Our Gallery of Goodness.” Highly recommended.

Table Decoration Kitsch galore at The Friendly Toast

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The Press Hotel

I just returned from a trip to New England that started in Portland, ME. My husband and I did some quick math and figured out it had been 8 years since we stayed in Portland. The Press Hotel was our first stop. This hotel did not exist on our last visit, and I found it utterly charming. It was housed in the former home of the Portland Press Herald, the largest newspaper in Maine. It operated here until 2009. The decorators included some completely wonderful type and print references throughout the building to reference its history. Highly recommended. Tips: Use the valet parking. It really is cheaper and easier than parking your own ride. They sell the lovely cup pictured below, but at $30, I wasn’t willing to risk it breaking in my luggage on the flight home.

Press Hotel Mug
Custom made cups in the room was a beautiful touch.
Accent wallpaper with type
This accent wallpaper in the hall referenced Portland and Maine.
Type on a carpet
That’s not an optical illusion. The type falls off the wall and onto custom made carpet.
Hotel room number
Hotel room numbers were projected via a clever light fixture. ADA compliant signs are underneath.
Type embroidered on a chair
A bit of filler text embroidered on the back of the office chair.
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A Little Spray Paint

This little seating area was in Portland, ME. Someone took a can of spray paint to some inexpensive chairs and created a lovely little outdoor space on a budget.

Gold chairs
Someone spray painted these chairs for a rather lovely effect.
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Book Sale Finds

Find at your book sale

Reduce, reuse, and recycle your books. These gems were picked up at a local library book sale. I also find books at yard sales and thrift shops. Not pictured here is a copy of Sophia Amoroso’s book #Girlboss, which I picked up at a yard sale a week later. I read it at the library but recently wanted to re-read it. 50 cents at a yard sale? MINE!

I buy so many books used that I stopped remembering what was on my pile. Recently, I made a Google spreadsheet of them so I have easy access to my list while on the road. Thanks Google Drive. It currently numbers more than 150 in alpha order. It’s not hoarding if it is books, people. Look it up.

I found a hardback copy of David Greene’s book Midnight in Siberia, pictured on top of the pile above. This was a most fortuitous find because I was able to see him speak two days later at an event for Leadership Lancaster. He signed my book after the event. I’m part of LL’s book club, and along with another attendee, we asked that Greene’s book be our next selection.

Leadership Lancaster David Greene Event
David Greene speaks to WITF’s Tim Lambert (left) at Leadership Inspired, May 24, 1017, Lancaster, PA
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Making Peace with Oil Based Paint

More than 10 years after buying my home, I may finally have made peace with oil-based paint. The last time I painted this metal Bilco door, I got a big assist from the paint team at Lowe’s – specifically one knowledgeable woman behind the counter than gave me the scoop on how to make it work. Sand that surface lightly, clean it well, don’t mix the paint too vigorously, and take your time.

Sherwin Williams paint and Purdy brushes are my favorites, but I had purchased a cheaper brush for this job thinking I wouldn’t be able to clean it to my liking. With a little patience,  I have been able to reuse it. Take your time cleaning it. Soak it, rinse, soak again. When I thought I had as much paint as possible removed, I took a bit of Dawn and rinsed out the brush one final time. Dawn was used to clean bird feathers after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska. It works.

Painting Metal Surfaces

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Custom t-shirts

In leu of the “Cher’s Awesome T-Shirt collection” post that I did not yet write, here is a t-shirt I made with Uber Prints. Full disclosure: I cribbed this design after seeing it in Teen Vogue. I’m not exactly in their demographic, but I’m a Lauren Duca fan. I subscribe.  I pulled this image into Illustrator and matched the font. Take advantage of all the font tools in Illustrator to match any font. The font I started with was Blair TT Medium. I changed the tracking to 200 and the vertical scale to 150%. I changed the horizontal scale to 105%. Finally, I changed the font to a path and added a 2.5 pt stroke.  It’s a near perfect match.  If you’re really stuck, use the Font Identifier tool in Font Squirrel. Since I have hundreds of fonts, I prefer to match them whenever possible and avoid buying new ones.

I’ve also used Cafe Press for t-shirts. I can recommend both sites, but I’ll probably be back at Uber Prints in the near future to make some gifts.  This is a Bella Canvas t-shirt. It is very soft fitted t-shirt of nice quality. It’s a digital print, and the white t-shirt was slightly cheaper than a black or gray one.

The Future is Female

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Preoccupation

“I’m always amazed at my commitment and preoccupation, obsession, with little bullshit aggravations. I know what is going on. I know why my brain does it. It’s sort of like the opposite of spirituality but seeks to serve the same ends. When things are terrifying and out of your control, which is most things, why not get completely preoccupied for a few hours with a scuff on your new boots and obsess about what an asshole you are for not paying more attention to walking and what you do with your feet? Then, over time wrestle that attack on self and events that are natural and out of your control into some kind of acceptance. Boots get scuffed. They’re boots. Stupid.” – Marc Maron