Redecorating A Little At A Time

 

"Have no fear of perfection, you'll never achieve it."

~Salvador Dali

I am hoping to do some painting, and redecorating, in the coming months. I just want to change some basic aspects of my home. A lamp here, and vase there. A new quilt set can change the whole feel of a bedroom, as can a lamp or throw pillow. Money, as you might expect, is an issue now that Trump has caused prices to raise. It's truly a shock to the system. DO I buy a lamp right now, or do I put the money away in case some unforeseen emergency arises? I need towels, do I start there? While home furnishings have only raised about 2% since 2024, it still seems like a big spending luxury, when you're paying so much for other goods and energy costs. I can't change my whole domestic surroundings at once, which is a shame because for me it's easier to imagine the look, but there is something to be said for allowing my condo to speak to me as I add a piece at a time.

Let's start here.

I love my current quilts, but it creeps me out that they were seen by everyone and their brother when we listed our house for sale, several years ago, and again when were considering selling in 2023. People I don't know, knew my style and what the bed I slept in looked like. Ugh. So, and new quilt set wouldn't be out of line. 10 years is long enough for a quilt set. Full stop! And it's also not out of line to dismiss an icky feeling that's followed me for years! Let's consider quilts.

I like this one from Wayfair. I love Wayfair

But this one is pretty nice too.

I can add a vase with some artificial orchids or maybe peonies to create a soft, inviting room. Colors easy on the eyes, so sleep is only a snore away. Funny, I used to watch CNN and MSNBC to fall asleep, now the news terrifies me so much, it's anything but rest inducing. Now to fall asleep, I use restful noises from my Alexa or if my sleeplessness it really bad, I use little bottles of essential oils I keep by my bedside. Lavender and cedarwood, and are all great for you if you seek rest. I also enjoy cinnamon and clove, as those are my favorite scents. Below is a great article from the Cleveland Clinic about the uses of 11 specific scents and how they work to benefit you. I love farmhouse style, Mid-century and eclectic with a sense of humor. I want to do each room eventually, but mixing too many styles can come off insane. It's a process. So, sometime soon I will share about where I have landed with things. I might even repurpose old items I have packed away. A new lampshade on an old lamp can make all the difference! I just wish I understood why lampshades are so expensive!

Cleveland Clinic 

11 Essential Oils: Their Benefits And How To Use them.

It's going to take a little time. 

All Things Christmas Eve & Movie #24

 

"One Christmas eve, in my childhood, my dad asked if I wanted to leave alcohol out for Santa. I agreed, but said to only leave a little as I was afraid I would wake up on Christmas morning to see, Santa drunkenly circling over our house in his sleigh."

~Stewart Stafford

Whew! We made it! If the storm doesn't flatten my condo (see my previous post) I will lots of time to myself to bake cookies, wrap packages, watch MS NOW, and listen to some holiday music. I found something wonderful on YouTube... Hipster Holiday Party Jazz. I all stuff mid-century, I find it truly amazing! If you're not really mid-century hipster, you might still enjoy a different way of hearing the holiday classics! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the music! As for the movie I will be watching...

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Mid-Century Cocktails, Cafes, Bowling And Life

 

"Autumn is an honest month; it does not delude man like spring does! 

It shows him the dark face of life, the tragedy, the rot, the separation, the sadness!"

~Mehmet Murat ildan

 Two new examples of Mid-Century excellence! I have been eyeing this first awesome building, since before we settled in Stockton. I first noticed it when we were still looking at properties. We passed it one day, when we went to see the magnificent Elm st. mansion. What a cool that place was! Two stories, with gorgeous turn of the century crown moulding, and chandeliers throughout. Not usually my style, but it worked in this place. A full-sized wood carved bar off the living room, and a really nice private office that faced the street. It was impressive at $200,000, and it was in our budget, but it was too much house for us. The stairs would have been hard for me, given my arthritis, and it was right on the street with no yard, and if that wasn't enough, it was right near Harding, which is a really loud street. It was just all wrong. Ultimately, we ended up across town, in a really nice mid-century, ranch style, with a pool and really great early 1960's charm. Perfect... for us! But this building, with the cool sign was never far away from my thoughts of doing some photography, once I got settled. I bet this was a snazzy bar back in it's day, it seems closed now, but the cool sign lives on!

 

This one is the second of two bowling lanes in Stockton. Situated a little closer to where I live, it's a bit newer sign than most of my previous ones, but this one has some fairly cool lines all the same. Places like this are still closed in San Joaquin County, so I have never seen the inside of any of the buildings I have photographed so far, but maybe one day I will be able to venture in, to see if there is any original advertisements or decor. That would be really fun to find and photograph! I love that the sign is shaped like a bowling pin. I know it's pretty much a given, but it's making me happy inside somehow, I don't know, I am just happier over all these days. Shrug. Maybe it's being able to get out with the camera, or perhaps because I have found so many terrific subjects to photograph, I am not sure, but I am doing better, and for that I am grateful. I will hold onto that as long as I can, and continue looking for autumn leaves, and mid-century life, and try my best to not live in the past, except for when it comes to my love for the kitschy styles of the 50's and 60's.

~Carly

Stockton, California

October 25th 2020

Reality Of The Same Intensity

"The object of art is not to reproduce reality

 but to create reality of the same intensity."

-Alberto Giacometti

I had been wanting to photograph this old motel for a long time. The first time I spotted it, was five years ago, when I moved to Stockton. I was on the freeway, on my way to my new house, from the motel I had been living in, in Turlock. Man, it was the longest summer in that Turlock motel, waiting for the condo to built, and then when that situation blew up, it was even longer while house hunting, but we eventually found our home and our community. It was scary, but having a brand new canvas of possibilities was good. New sights and sounds. New things to photograph. New histories to learn.Too bad I just wasn't in the right head space to embrace it, but still, that didn't stop me from taking a visual note of that great sign, so that when I was ready, I would know where to go for inspiration.

I edited two versions, color and black/white. Frankly, I am not sure which I like best. The color shows it's original funky mid-century style of not just the lines, but the overuse of that hideous orange color. Funny how folks felt about color back then. Orange and turquoise? And yet I have seen more than one building, from that era, that had that exact color scheme. Stockton is full of it, and for some inexplicable reason, it's growing on me. The black and white is really great because it's like I had to step into an old movie to accomplish the photo. Both are great. Maybe I will leave it up to Twitter to decide.

 Feel free to leave me your thoughts. 

Carly
August 25th 2020
Nikon

The Ethereal Past

"The ethereal past had blinded him, and the

 highest happiness he could dream was a return to it."

~E. M. Forester

Maurice

It's Monday. The first Monday in January, and the first Monday of the new year, and I feel like I have already lived a month of Monday's just since New Year's day, last Wednesday. History will document the events of this past week, in great detail, but I will touch lightly on it a bit, just for clarity, you see, we are probably standing on the precipice of World War III, and yes, it was indeed caused by, you guessed it, Donald John Trump! As if that comes as a surprise. The thing is, I don't know why I am not more scared than I am. Yes, low energy. No real desire to do anything. Not putting any planning into anything, including getting out of bed, or out with the camera, but mostly, I don't feel any particular need to cling to Alan, or sit in a corner and cry. I just feel like missiles could be flying over at any moment, and really, I don't particularly care if they are, or if it kills me!

I don't know if the anti-depressants are finally kicking in, I have only been taking them since the day James Comey was fired, back in 2017, or if I have finally matured in the fact that I can't do a single thing about my death, whether it happens in 50 years, or Thursday of this week, at 11:21PM. It's out of my hands if it comes by a nuclear missile hitting my pool, or I am attacked in my driveway by a band of rabid dogs. I can't control how, or when, I will die. But the thought that it might be Trump that causes it, still remains so insulting to me. Death, is a part of life. Period. But you also know that there are better ways than others to leave this world. Take, for example, that I have come to believe that one day, some beautiful autumn October afternoon, I will be standing in a big pile of beautiful leaves, and will be bitten by a gorgeous, highly poisonous spider, and die right on the spot. But if I did, at least I was enjoying beautiful autumn, the season that makes me feel most alive, when it happened. And oh the irony!

LOL.

But I don't want to go at the hand of that ignorant, stupid asshole. If I have to murdered, couldn't it be by someone with as much charm as Ted Bundy? Or the someone with the mildly attractive looks of Scott Peterson? Sigh. Nah, they aren't great choices either. Maybe if one is going to be murdered, it should be by the hand of a stranger. Yes. That does seem more interesting and exotic. Murdered by a stranger, and that's not even a bad title for a book either! Maybe I should write a book, or at least a short story to get my mind off things? Maybe if I stop thinking about nuclear annihilation, I can get back to crying over stupid shit, like Trump's presidency in general. Or maybe I can just let the feelings come, as they find their way to the front of my consciousnesses. Good plan!

Also, I am beginning a new category in my photography... "Mid-Century Style". I am beginning with the photograph above. I took it in November of 2019, near a cemetery I was doing some late autumn photos in. Our house was built in 1962, and has a really lovely mid-century style and vibe to it! Things from that era have been catching my eye for a long time, and so now that we live in the Central Valley, with all these lovely old buildings, it seems that this is the right time to take advantage of my location. And it's a good way to not give up on photography completely, while I struggle will the lack of will to enjoy what life I have left.

Do you remember the ethereal musician? I miss him. He would play his sax, and my mood would improve 100%! It was fine that I never found out who he was, he remains a magical mystery to this very day, but I sure do miss him... and his music. There were days when I was so sad that I didn't think I would ever smile again, and then suddenly, through the back door, in the middle of the day, came his music, and I would feel happy again. I am so nostalgic for those times. Me and Elvis and the ethereal musician, all sharing music and the little things that make life worth holding on to.  If I close my eyes, I can almost hear "You're a Friend Of Mine" being played on the saxophone, and feel Elvis's fuzzy paw pressing on my cheek, waking me up from our afternoon nap. He loved the music too. This memory has me so nostalgic for that peace of mind, if I close my eyes, I can almost touch it.

Sigh. I guess there is something to be said for living in the moment.