Dispatch From LA

random thoughts

school is ending.  vacation is beginning.  next friday i head off across the north atlantic for my scandinavian escape.  looking forward to cool days & long sunny nights.  or something like that!

i'm still cutting and pasting.

my norwegian krone arrived!  i went for a virtual walk in my bergen neighborhood.

something bloomed.

i'm almost finished with the passage.  i've downloaded samples of under the dome and 11/22/63 onto kindle on my ipad.  i'm on a thriller kick apparently.  one of those will become my travel book.

he was just the right one

i scavenged in my library for a proper book.  one that was just asking to go on a trip.  to nnnnnnnnorway!

this is a spanish speaking book.  but very amenable to learning new languages.  an older gentlemen...much older.  with a poetic sparkle.

he was just the right one.  and well...i'm a book whisperer.  i should know!

i can hear the secret longings hidden deep inside of every book.

so even though this fellow was very old, and water-damaged, and falling apart.  i knew he'd be the right one to make the journey from book of poems to book of traveler tales.  from a dusty bookshelf in los angeles all the way to the fjords of norway.

flip-top love.  i'm feeling it!  if you like "i like to cut & paste stuff"  i posted HERE, you can have it.  just drag onto your desktop, upload into PS, adjust the size and the color, print, cut, and paste!

goodbye long weekend.  it was nice knowing you.  let's be dignified and not cry.  okay?

foundation hosiery

i found this postcard last summer in kansas city on a coffee house bulletin board.  i accidently put it in my purse.  on accident!  i knew i would use it for something.  sometime.

i went back and collaged things on the top part of the pages.  this particular orla kiely book can be found HERE.  {in the unlikely event that you should want one.}    my friendy got mine at tj max for a few buckeroos.

i sewed one of my large labels to a piece of ledger paper.  which gave me the idea to sew more to pages in my norway journal before i stitch the signatures to the binding.  i'm so crazy about the flip-top that i am thinking i will make my travel journal a flip top too.  ideas are unspooling one after another.  right up here in my very own nutcracker.

!!!

by the way...i mentioned this already dearest label customers, but if you want your colors on the labels to be as rich and delicious as possible use matte photo paper.  the velvety finish just soaks up the color and they look exactly like my originals.  i use THIS kind.

hey... guess what?!  i've had flipboard since i got my ipad and had NO IDEA i could add material that i want to the pages.  duh.  i immediatly added cute overload, npr picture show, instagram, apartment therapy, nat geo travel, and other things.  lots of other things.

guess what #2 - free online sewing class - it looks great and it never expires.  i'm hoping for some machine cleaning tips.

guess what #3 - i always enjoy reading alternative views on blogging hive mind.  good article.  i don't agree.  i don't disagree.  but i appreciate diverse viewpoints on the culture of blogging.

okay.  my work here is done.  back to cutting & pasting.  maybe a nap

yes i do!

that's the truth.

i rescued a birdy from my fountain in the back patio.  he was splishy splashing around and couldn't get out.  poor little tweeter.  i scooped him out with one of the cat dishes!  it was in the drainer and easy to grab.  ha ha

perimeter was secured and catboy & catgirl wrangled inside.

tweety hid for about an hour under a geranium then took off to parts unknown.

non-stop catch & release over here at moss cottage.

plus non-stop cut & paste.

cause that's how i roll.  on a cool & sunny day in the little cottage on the little hill in the big city.

happy day to you!

cat figurines & new underpants

blustery & cool here in LA.  i headed out of my house early this morning and made my way to school on rainy streets.

caught these small street scenes as the city was waking up.  sipping my coffee.  driving.  window down a couple of inches to let in some drizzle air.

my bossy camera with a mind of its own.  pointed it up and this is what it wanted me to see.  crooked morning.  pale light.  i love this drive.  looking at the other people in their cars.  wondering where they're all going.  the people waiting at the bus stops.  extra 3-day weekend smiles.  hiya!

made the return trip 8 hours later.  all the way back to here.  home.

started building little collages in my little book.

just an excuse to use my little labels.  little little little.

these dancing robots remind me of tina fey & steve carell in date night.  the robot dance scene in the strip joint.

i think this 4x6 is going to be my quickie cut-um-up-and-stick-um-down book.  a good method of rounding up the stray bits of paper spread across my desk.

my sister and i just had our first squealing facetime ipad yack it up.  i think we showed each other everything.  from new underpants to cat figurines to actual cats.