From the archives: Paul Klee on the priorities of life

First posted March 2015

"First of all, the art of living; then as my ideal profession, poetry and philosophy, and as my real profession, plastic arts; in the last resort, for lack of income, illustrations."   —Paul Klee.

(Gualtieri Di San Lazzaro, Klee. Praeger, New York, 1957, p. 16)

Project 333, Spring 2018: Just a sample

Fashion Revolution Week is April 23-29, 2018
"We love fashion, but we don’t want our clothes to come at the cost of people or our planet." ~~ FashionRevolution.org

Inspiration for the Season

Tom Thomson, "Nocturne, Algonquin Park, 1915"

Last year I called this page "End of Winter"; but this year I'm feeling more optimistic and hoping for an actual Spring. Birds! Flowers! No March blizzards! (There's usually at least one surprise snowstorm.)

Some clothes I had expected to pull out this spring, that were on every tentative list, suddenly didn't make the cleanout cut. I had a size-six grey dress I thrifted last fall, that I finally admitted was too tight for comfort. Another print dress had had its day. A denim shirt, that I wore as a jean jacket, just felt done. A skirt that didn't have enough of a waistband to stay up properly: time to say goodbye. A blue jacket that was a good colour, but the puffed sleeves were a little much: it also went in the donation bag. At least letting go is easier if you haven't put much money into it.

But I've found good, "keeper" things, too.

Read the rest.

Wednesday Hodgepodge: It's Chili Out

1. Where do you go when you need some inspiration?

Place, person, or thing? Pretty pictures of Hygge things, that would be Pinterest. Words of wisdom, ideas about dinner, or an opinion on whether something matches, that would be Mr. Fixit. A reminder that so many lives intertwine: online friends.

And don't forget books.

2. What's under your bed?

Storage baskets, spare bedding, and a Christmas tree.

3. Thursday, February 22nd is National Chili Day, National Margarita Day, and National Cook a Sweet Potato Day. Of the three which would you most like to celebrate? Is that likely?

I made white chicken chili on Tuesday, so I guess that counts.

Chicken Chili, adapted from "White Chili" on A Year of Slow Cooking

2 cups chicken broth
some chopped cooked chicken
1 can corn, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 little can chopped green chilies (don't drain)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chopped garlic (I used jarred garlic)
a little salt, pepper, and oregano, plus a spoonful of dried onion flakes

Combine in a pot, bring to a boil, turn down to low, and cook for about an hour. Serve with sour cream.

4. What are you 'snowed under' with right now?

Not exactly snowed under, but pretty busy with course work. It means I am not finding much time for blogging right now.

5. Tell us three to five things that make you feel balanced?

An interesting question, but I'm not sure of the answer(s). One would be Sunday worship in church, as a start/end to the week. Also having a mix of things to do, between working at home and going out.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I'm halfway through the current 10 x 10 Wardrobe Challenge! 

And in relation to that, I did something yesterday that could be considered strange. After I finished my volunteer morning at the thrift store, I saw that the two blazers I donated recently, and that I had been feeling a bit regretful about, had been relegated to the 75% off rack. So I bought them back for $2 each. Better than sending them to be baled up and shipped off or turned into seat filling or whatever might have been their destination.

Linked from The Wednesday Hodgepodge at From Across the Pond.

Quote for the day: Genuine, custom-packaged authenticity (pay with your credit card)

"In a world of proliferating choice (consumer choice, that is), we are less prone [than we used to be] to feel we are deprived of an identity we value. In fact, it is likely that someone is trying very hard to understand what we feel is authentic so that it can be packaged somehow and sold to us in the form of a rebellious T-shirt or self-help book." ~~ Donovan Plumb, "Critical Adult Education in Canada in the Time of CASAE," New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education, 2009(124), 5-14.

"Karen's Doilies": An all-thrifted 10 x 10 wardrobe challenge

It's time for another 10 x10 Wardrobe Challenge, created by blogger StyleBee. You choose 10 items, and use them to create 10 days of real-life outfits. If you haven't seen any of my 10 x 10 challenges before, I do them backwards, or maybe it's forwards: make the plan and take the photos before it starts, instead of posting it as it happens. 

I was inspired by this photograph of coloured-thread doilies, crocheted by the multi-talented Karen Glass.

Lacy, loopy, intricate motifs; in plum and wine colours plus neutrals, and a few bonus flowers.

Here are the clothes

In the photo below are (top) a tapestry-fabric jacket, a cardigan which I love but which got bumped from the list in favour of a poncho (see below); (bottom) a turtleneck sweater dress which works as a sweater (it's showing as brighter blue than it really is), a knitted vest, and a cotton pullover sweater.

One openwork grey poncho, instead of the cardigan, plus its matching circle scarf. It seemed to work better with the crocheted theme, and I already had a jacket for something warm-with-sleeves.

A collarless paisley print shirt which can also be worn as a cardigan, with a pair of dark-wash jeans; and a plum jersey t-shirt with a pair of grey cords.

That makes nine items. 

I had thought about including this skirt, which goes with almost everything including the poncho.

But I added a grey t-shirt instead, because I didn't really have enough tops there for ten days. Also, the coming week is going to be busy with a couple of extra meetings, but nothing dressy enough to need an extra skirt. The sweater dress will take care of anything not-pants.

 Most of these clothes came from the MCC thrift store; the cords came from Bibles for Missions (another thrift store); and the cotton sweater and poncho are from a consignment store.

Accessories

So I'm thinking about Karen's doilies. What do I have that reminds me of those shapes and colours?

Jewelry: some thrifted, some gifts

Closeup of the earrings

Two extras, found at the thrift store

Scarves and a shawl, all thrifted except for the little silk one (I've had it since I was a teenager)

An extra infinity scarf, from the thrift store

Hat made by daughter

Four purses, all thrifted

Shoes, not all thrifted (sorry)

Here's the list

Saturday, February 17 

Plan for the day: Errands (groceries), and finishing an annotated bibliography assignment

Outfit: jeans, raspberry pullover

Accessories: grey scarf with roses (or maybe the pink infinity scarf), flower-shaped earrings, grey boots, grey purse

Sunday, February 18 

Plan for the day: Church, plus leading a class this week

Outfit: Sweater dress, grey poncho (not in the photo)

Accessories: Scarf that matches the poncho. Earrings. Tights, flat shoes. Small purse.

Monday, February 19

Plan for the day: "Family Day" in Ontario, but we have no special plans, so I'll probably be doing online course work, writing a term paper on the value of reading in later life, and doing housework. Or we might go to a local art gallery.

Outfit: cords, grey t-shirt, jacket

Accessories: knitted hat, purse, boots, if we go out. 

Tuesday, February 20

Plan for the day: Thrift store in the morning, "school" in the afternoon

Outfit: jeans, plum t-shirt, paisley shirt

Accessories: Earrings, purse, socks, shoes

Wednesday, February 21 

Plan for the day: Afternoon meeting at thrift store 

Outfit: cords, grey t-shirt, jacket

Accessories: tba

Thursday, February 22 

Plan for the day: At home, doing "school" and housework

Outfit: Sweater dress, vest

Accessories: fleece-lined tights, maybe some beads

Friday February 23 

Plan for the day: Thrift store in the morning, course work in the afternoon, and evening CM study night 

Outfit: jeans, grey t-shirt, vest / swap for poncho

Accessories: tba

Saturday, February 24

Plan for the day: Errands, and finishing off the week's class work

Outfit: jeans, dress as sweater

Accessories: tba

Sunday, February 25 

Plan for the day: Church

Outfit: cords, raspberry pullover

Accessories: paisley shawl worn as large scarf; purple earrings; small purse; grey boots

Monday, February 26 

Plan for the day: At home, working on term paper

Outfit: jeans, plum t-shirt

Accessories: fuzzy socks!

One of Karen's doilies, put to use in the Treehouse

Better than a dozen roses

Mr. Fixit and I went to the antiques market on Valentine's Day, and found just the right mirror for the blank space over this cabinet. It's also in the right spot to bounce light back from the balcony doors. You might think it's a funny Valentine, but I like it. 

For the sharp-eyed: the space to the left there was where we had the guinea-pig cage. Muffin and his hay were causing allergy problems, so he is now residing with with another family member (our family, not his).

Quote for the day: Abundance

"To believe in abundance is to believe that we have enough...This thinking is a stretch of the imagination. It envisions social relationships in a different world, in a manna-based culture. It's a sharp contrast to a culture organized around commerce, a market ideology based on scarcity and the central premise that we cannot believe in sufficiency. It declares that we can never be satisfied with what we have, with the effect that customer satisfaction is truly an oxymoron." ~~ Peter Block, Walter Brueggemann and John McKnight, An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture

Thrifting: how do you choose?

Things I've found at the thrift store lately, with their rationalizations:

Silver and purple pendant necklace. Out of a whole rack of necklaces, why did I choose this one? Size, shape, and colour. I could see it fitting in with the clothes I wear most often. 

Plum-coloured jersey top with...poppies, maybe? The photo is showing purple, but it's more reddish, the same colour as the necklace. Why this one? It took a little more thinking: I don't usually buy clothes with pictures on them, and I do have a plum-coloured top already. But I liked the springy flowers very much, I like jersey t-shirts, and it is mostly cotton, not synthetic fabric. The fact that it was a half-price deal decided it.

Teal-green trench coat with a button-in lining  The winter weather has been "stink, stank, stunk," but by March this coat should get lots of use. Why this one and not some other coat? Honestly, need (and the fact that it was four dollars on the clearance rack)! I used to have a brown trench coat (no lining), and I wore it to church and places like that for years...and years. Finally I started to feel like a relic from 1989 every time I put it on, so I let it go, and I've been long-raincoat-less ever since. I did remove the shoulder pads on this coat, an easy fix since the inner lining isn't sewed down at the hem.

Conclusions: This story seems to need an ending. Here's one: know what you need, know what you like, know when to stop.

Quote for the day: Commitment to fish

"It doesn't matter what the subject is; I want an ichthyologist to be as committed to fish as [A. Hyatt] Mayor is to prints--to make me think there's nothing more important to him...if we care about the writer we'll follow him into subjects that we could have sworn we never wanted to know about." ~~ William Zinsser, Writing to Learn

Quote for the day: sometimes ideas are there and not there

 

"Ideas are everywhere, in the words and, so to speak, behind the words, present because they are literally present and present even if they appear to be absent. A writer may despise the idea of zoos and communicate that hatred by writing a book about animals in the bush, never mentioning zoos, never alluding to zoos or dropping a hint about zoos. Because of the way the mind works, we get the message...A book about the ethical nature of Christ may in fact be an argument against Christ's divinity. A book of recipes for winter soups made by cloistered monks may really be an argument against the modern world...If you picture a page of writing as three-dimensional, with the words hovering a half-inch or so above the paper, then you begin to see where the ideas are: behind the words, between the words, really everywhere." ~~ Eric Maisel, Deep Writing

Laugh for the day: faking it in fashion, 1967

es, Mr.
Stephens.
Oh, Miss Warbell, I'm dying to ask you a question.
- What is it? - Will boots be popular next year? I'd say that all depends on how Boots behaves herself this year.
- Well, shall we go? I'm starved.
- Yes.
I don't want to leave without my notes.
I hate to rush you through lunch, but I have a lot of notes to go through Oh, excuse me a minute.
Oh, there you are, Miss Warbell.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=bewitched-1964&episode=s03e27

Endora, pretending to be a fashion journalist: Oh, there you are, Miss Warbell. I'm Miss Krovistrod. I write the fashion copy for Tate & McMann. I've seen your picture a million times... I would like your opinion about the new polyester fabrics...

The Crone of Cawdor, masquerading as Miss Warbell the fashion expert: I think Polly Esther is as good as the next designer.

Someone else asks Miss Warbell, "Will boots be popular next season?" Her response: "I'd say that all depends on how Boots behaves herself this year."

(Bewitched, "The Crone of Cawdor")

Quote for the day: Wolves wearing sheep suits

"Besides, sweet reasonableness, more often than not, is a clever disguise for barely concealed self-interest." ~~ David. R. Williams, Sin Boldly!: Dr. Dave's Guide to Writing the College Paper

Some frugal finds, Part Three

Yesterday's Frugal Finds post stopped with Part Two, but everything's better in threes. Here are the rest of the recent Frugal Finds.

A fun tweed skirt. The texture and colours don't show up well in the photo (my camera always puts in too much blue); there's actually a lot going on here between blue, green, grey, and beige. You can see it better in the earring photo (below).

Here's what it looks like with a green sweater, and a purple necklace I found at the thrift store. 

The tassel earrings came attached to the same bit of cardboard as the necklace, but I didn't notice them hiding underneath until later. 

I like the skirt and the jewelry, but this book was the real life-saver this week.

Quote for the day: the democratic right to grammar

"Since we live in a competitive society in which the struggle for survival is primary, power exists, and power will have its symbols. Literacy is a far better tool and symbol of empowerment than any other, even money...However much you may hate grammar, think how much better a system ours is in which even the lowest peasant can achieve literary equality by learning rules of writing, spelling, grammar, and diction that are available equally to all and that apply equally to all." ~~ David R. Williams, Sin Boldly!: Dr. Dave's Guide to Writing the College Paper

A few frugal clothes finds: let someone else do the fixing

"'I like your clothes awfully, old chap,' [the Rat[ remarked after some half an hour or so had passed. 'I'm going to get a black velvet smoking-suit myself some day, as soon as I can afford it.'" ~~ Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Part One

I sometimes feel like the luckiest thrifter around. Many times when I've worried about needing something expensive, or finding what I need at all, something used but good pops up and reminds me not to be so anxious. There was that time I searched for pants, and finally found them on the clearance rack at the thrift store. (I'm still wearing those blue jeans.) There were the scarves, and the shoes, and the hat, and the cardigan, and the hook with a bird on it (or the bird with a hook on it)...and Lydia's bed, and the dining room table...well, you know the rest. (I probably forgot to mention the bed, it was a couple of years ago.)

Last week I was looking for pants again; but nothing grey, because almost all my pants are grey. I found a pair of dark-wash, high-waisted jeans for $1.50, plus a pair of "skinnies" to replace my worn-out jeggings. The skinny jeans are labelled "khakis," which I find funny because they're navy blue. Anyway, I came home with the two pairs of not-grey pants, and a belt, and a book we're studying at church (I was using a borrowed copy), all for about ten dollars.

The dark jeans fasten with a zipper plus three metal slide-plus-bar fasteners on the waistband. The zipper was fine, but two of the slides were missing. It looked like they'd never been added at all (maybe that's why the jeans were in such good condition). Walmart sells multi-packs of slides and bars for $5 (plus tax), but a) I wasn't quite sure how to insert them, and b) what was I going to do with the lifetime supply of extras? I decided to inquire at the same shop that took in a too-big skirt and hemmed my grey jeans, and sure enough they have promised to add two slides, for only a couple of dollars more than the Walmart package (plus tax). I'll be good for jeans (and blue khakis) for quite awhile.

Part Two

I was thinking about summery colours, and along came this slightly crazy top with a giant beaded flower and lace sleeves.

Yes, I bought it, because it was that kind of day. It really belongs with summer shorts, but it's not bad either with a purple jacket and grey jeans.

Quote for the day: keep learning

“You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting.” ~~ T.H. White, The Once and Future King

Free is a nice price: use what you're signed up for

Sometimes we are entitled to more perks and benefits than we're using. Our apartment building has amenities such as an exercise room and a sauna. Your public library might have online subscriptions to databases or to language-learning tools that you thought you couldn't access. There might be something in the income tax laws where you live that allows you to (legally) deduct something you didn't know about. Or your automobile association card might offer special deals at restaurants or shoe stores (we've used both).

This week we realized that, because I'm currently registered at a university, and have an Office 365 student mailbox, we could also download a much newer version of Microsoft Word, an upgrade we badly needed. Free for subscribers, straight to the computer, just like that: one very big wow, and thank you Mr. Fixit for making that work. If you have someone in your house with a student email account, check it out.