Under the Glass Bell

If These Old Walls Could Speak

We went out with a real estate agent today. We'd put house hunting on hold for six months or so. Things are slowing down again so we're gearing up to find a place. Oak Park or River Forest is our destination.

We saw three places today, one of which had a perfect ground floor, basement and back yard. The second and third stories, not so much. One bedroom was weird in that you had to walk through it in order to get to the stairs that led up to the play room in the attic space. Also, the master bedroom had a tiny bath with only a shower and the closet space sucked. I was excited, however, this was the type of place that we are looking for and it was well within our price range. It was also in the best grade school district in the area and within walking distance of the Synagogue.

I'm feeling overwhelmed from the trip today though. It's crazy to walk through a house, currently loaded with another family's life, and think about how the space will work for you when your two year old and a potential child yet conceived are teenagers. This place had a living room, family room, rec room and play room. I plotted it out in my head. So, C could be downstairs with his friends playing Wii in the rec room, but only on weekends, so I wouldn't be disturbed in my office. And then, Kid #2 could hang with his/her friends in the family room. B and I could be reading the Economist and the New Yorker respectively in the living room in front of a fire. Then, we'd all gather for a huge dinner in the dining room.

Uh...you talkin' to me? How in the hell did I get here?

Baby C stayed with T, M & the kids while we were out house hunting. We took him in and he immediately ran after Coco (one of their kitties) yelling "Coco! Coco!" He barely waved goodbye to us as we walked out the door. He had such a good time with them. And, they wore him out! He FELL ASLEEP in the car on the way home. He hasn't slept in the car since he was nine months old.

Next topic of discussion: potty training! (Or "potty learning" as the books say.) He seems to be ready to go in that he's exhibiting all of the "signs". B and I are both cautious (scared shitless - pardon the pun). Evidence indicates that potty learning has broken better parents than us. Anyone know the patron saint of the potties that we can pray to? We're going to need all of the help we can get.

Dry is Good and Wind is Better

Quote from hub about twenty minutes ago upon hearing that it is 10 below AGAIN today:

"That's awesome! That's how I like it."

Ha!

They Always Reach a Sorry Ending. They Always Get it in the End

I was horribly dissatisfied in that I didn't really get across what I meant to about FLW in my last post. To break it down, I knew he was a maniac when it came to form serving function. I knew that he was a stubborn pain in the ass. I thought of him as a real hard ass. So, I was surprised to see that he cultivated quiet places to sit and contemplate art. It was clear that he took inspiration from it. For him, I thought it was more about form and functionality. It was refreshing to have my opinion about him changed.

Ahhh....just playing out of the iPod:

Hillary went to hear death
because she couldn't think of anything to say
Everybody thought that she was boring, so they never listened anyway
Nobody was really saying anything of interest, she fell asleep
She was into S&M and bible studies
Not everyone's cup of tea, she would admit to me

But if you are feeling sinister
Go off and see a minister
He'll try in vain to take away
The pain of being a hopeless unbeliever

Ah, I love Belle & Sebastian. There is an iTunes only Live version of If You're Feeling Sinister. It' required listening for anyone who gives half a shit about B&S.

I just snapped this photo via photobooth. AH, this is for you...remember the discussion of the Illustrated Version of Strunk & White's Elements of Style?

The caption reads, "Wondering irresolutely what to do next, the clock struck twelve."

How about this one?

He noticed a large stain right in the center of the rug.

Finally:

But animals do not comprise (embrace) a zoo--they constitute a zoo.

Bon nuit.

It's a good book. I believe I found it on MightyGoods.

It Won't Be Funny When They Rat-a-tat-tat You Down

Been a long time since I listened to any Kate Bush. Have the iPod on shuffle this afternoon and a lot of Kate has been coming up. Do you know she was 17 or something insane when she wrote Wuthering Heights? Brilliance.

I've really tried to get into the Rilo Kiley's latest. Can't seem to do it. Nothing beats "The Execution of All Things" in my book.

Bought the hub a WII for his birthday back in November. It's a total blast. We bought the Revolution Dance Party game. It's a lot of fun. I have to wait until C is in bed, however, because we once accidentally bonked him in the head with a numchuk. I played that cow riding game with him sitting in my lap and he make a "ccpow" sound every time we hit a cow. Fun!

Went with A and a client to see Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in Oak Park last weekend. I didn't think I was a huge fan, but ended up being totally knocked on my ass by how amazing it was. I knew he was an architectural innovator, but it went beyond what I thought. His house was designed and built about five years before our house was built. That blows my mind as our house is pretty standard middle-class house of the period. His house seemed like it was from a completely different era as ours. I guess I associated his prairie design with the 20s and on. I was so wrong.

It was apparent from both the house and studio that he required beautiful and functional surroundings. The lovely guide who gave our tour pointed out time and time again that he took inspiration from his environment. These lovely carved cranes all around the studio caught my eye. He loved them as they symbolized birth. He built places to hang or study the Japanese prints that he collected throughout the studio and his home. He believed in built in furniture. And had his artist friends paint murals in both his bedroom and the kids play room.

The biggest take away, however, was the strength of his belief in himself. He knew that he was on to something and he was going to do everything his own way. He blocked out the windows of an entire side of his house because he didn't want to see the house that had been built next door. He thought it was a monstrosity. The man was known to design dresses for specific rooms of a clients home and require the lady of the house to wear it when she entertained.He obviously went overboard, but it's still inspiring to see an artist who felt that strongly about his ideas.

Also makes me think I need to watch the Ken Burns Frank Lloyd Wright documentary again. Gets into the more scandalous areas of this life that the ladies of Oak Park didn't touch. (Also, later work.)

Going to be freezing this weekend. It will be a good time to catch up on movies. I've got Running with Scissors, Marie Antoinette and Curb Your Enthusiasm Season One ready to go.

It's the Only Thing We Can't Seem to Turn Upside Down

Ah, well that was refreshing. The two and a half month break I took, that is.

Let's see. Holidays were good. The baby, um, I mean TWO-year-old, is doing better than fine. Hub = good too. Can't complain.

I tried to rent Sleeping Beauty this week. (Although Blockbuster was out.) Seriously, you'd think I'd had enough with kid shows, no? Anyway, last week I remembered a fantasy that I used to have when I was a girl. Basically, me floating under water, waiting to be rescued by the charming prince. I remembered it in a flash and the strength of the visual shocked me.

I can't seem to shake the image. It's one of those things that you remember so suddenly that you have to be remembering it now for a reason. It has to play into something that you're trying to figure out about yourself now as an adult. Thus, the new masthead. It's not the exact image, but in the same genre.

Oh, yeah, so Sleeping Beauty. I started telling someone last week that I never went to movies as a kid. Then I remembered that my mom and grandma did take me to see the Disney Movies as they were rereleased. I distinctly remember Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. Sleeping Beauty really clicked. Our heroine is prone and helpless, waiting for someone to come save her.

Strange things are afoot in my head and heart these days. Might as well follow Sleeping Beauty down the path and see where she goes.

Speaking of heroines, divas and demigods, I'm so bummed out about the Tori Amos show. I stopped seeing her live because I really didn't dig her with a band. Maybe she needs a better sound tech, but she gets drowned out. You kind of feel like you're being hit by this wall of harsh sound and you can pick bits of Tori out of it. She did do a couple of songs solo with the piano and they were stunning. Anyway, made me kind of sad.