muerto de risa

body parts and mail

thank you for all of your interesting (albeit disturbing) stories about travel and home visits.  since moving to ecuador we think a lot about things like cultural tourism, eco-tourism, artesan rights, etc.  there is such a fine line between helping, supporting and learning and offending, infringing, and exploiting.

and speaking of artesans, when my parents were here we also visited Calderon, a small city right outside Quito that is famous for making dough figures.  above are some heads and below some bodies.

i also owe some thanks...

first to tiel for sending me a little surprise of tea and beads. (no photo as we drank the tea right away.) 

and also to denitsa who sent me one of her amazing figures (mine's a bunny!), two prints, and a cute-as-pie apron her mom(!!!) made for me.  i feel honored.  i love corresponding with denitsa and she always makes me smile.

thank you tiel and denitsa!   

february 12th is my new favorite holiday

brwhat's one way to feel  old?  go watch one of your husband's all male basketball games and sit with the wives/girlfriends while working on a needlepoint rug. :)  i went to one of jordan's games last night and despite feeling old it was fun to watch him and the other super nice teachers but on their serious game faces and play.  it's funny how a person who is so gentle and laid back can transform into an aggressive ball player.

besides being a cheerleader yesterday, i was also a little girl on christmas morning.  or at least that's how i felt when i received four packages in one day, two of which were complete surprises. (perhaps they all know the 12th is the anniversary of my first date with jordan?)

the incredibly whimsical and funny and sweet vanessa sent me a most beautifully wrapped parcel.  love the dress.  love the striped tights.  love the tea theme.

and inside?  treasures i can wear to my next tea party!  i am totally in love with the little purse...thank you vanessa for adding a little sparkle to my life!  i'm already planning my next package for you.

these photos do not capture the awesomeness of julie's wall jewelry.  the texture is amazing and when i look at it hanging on our bedroom wall it seems to be some sort of lucky amulet from another time.  thank you for the wonderful surprise julie!  (i've heard other bloggers mention finding a long lost twin among their blogging friends.  julie is more like the female version of jordan.  how great is that?)

a most delicious smelling soap arrived all the way from norway.  britt-arnhild surprised me with this lovely handmade treat.  the packaging is as beautiful as the soap.  thank you britt!

 

little treats also arrived from yael frankel. yael lives in buenos aires and her creativity makes me excited for my trip there in april.  it seems like a city bubbling with creative juices.

while it didn't arrive yesterday, the arrival of marieke's package also felt like a special occasion.  the terrible photo of her print does it no justice.  it is stunning in person.  thank you marieke!  i even like the blue envelope. (why are european stationary supplies so much better than what we can get in the states?  or ecuador?) 

thanks again all of you sweet package-sending friends!  you brighten my days.

our new roommate

did you all have a nice weekend?  i met a new friend on saturday.

for some reason he looks a little sad in that first photo, but he was actually quite excited to move in with us.  he was born in the ecuadorian province of bolivar in the home of an artesan collective called simiatug samai.  the women there make all sorts of neat things using a textile method that is sort of a cross between knitting and embroidery.

   

dolls similar to our new bunny friend were featured in the new artesan museum in quito and when i saw them there i knew i had to have one.  i am especially fond of the ones that can be pulled apart and velcroed back together.  after two years of searching out ecuadorian crafts it's rare for me to find something different.  and while i've seen potholders and bags made with this technique this was my first time seeing the dolls.

i'm kind of inspired to make my own stuffie with pull apart parts.  i'll add it to the list. the very long list. :)

have a great day!

puppets are cool

i would love to take a workshop in pageant puppetry.  and wouldn´t it be wonderful to take this workshop in the italian alps?

      

this trip is hosted by the superior concept monsters, the same group who designs the puppets for the annual halloween parade in nyc.  i love this parade mostly because of the fabulous puppets.

       

check out their website for more puppets and parades.

      

i wish i could share the cute as pie fabric for which i am about to find a coordinate (for a little bag i plan to sew).  i think it´s from the '50s and is covered by cute primping dogs.  but as our computer is still down i can´t download photos...hopefully i can share it with you soon.

have a great weekend!

squabbles and inspiration

ugh.  sometimes typepad can be a real pain!  i could not figure out how to make a decent banner for "fluid" length posts so i had to make my posts more narrow which now screws up all of my previous formatting.  ugh again.  hopefully, i will have this problem fixed in the next day or two.

            

besides fighting with typepad i've been organizing my craft supplies and was newly imspired by some old images.  i love this pygmy hipo (above) and feel like i know this man:

                   

his name is earl and he lives in saratoga, ny.  he is a lawyer with his own small firm and loves to bet on horse races.  he walks with a slight limp due to a childhood injury that never fully healed.  he is married and has four children, three daughters and one son.  he hopes his son will one day come to work for him.  his favorite food is fresh baked apple pie.

the center where i work is moving next month so i am going to try and take pictures of it this week.  hopefully, i will be able to share them with you soon. (i need to get permission from the program head.)

have a great monday!

more little stuff...

                             

i love little things.  as mentioned in my previous post, i especially like little food.  i also like little scenes which is why i love latin american retablos.  originally retablos reflected religious scenes and were small images usually painted with oils on wood carvings.  today, retablos are often three dimensional scenes and in addition to religious imagery, also depict scenes from daily life.

these photos are from a retablo mirror we have hanging in our bedroom.  there are four scenes surrounding the mirror: a woman selling masks, a man selling hats, a group of folks selling flowers, and some masked people performing a traditional dance (not pictured).

cute, no?

and speaking of cute little people, check out this cute laundry woman made by valeria:

                                

i like to eat "real" food for breakfast

                                             

i decided to play along with mecozy's friday fives senses game. 

first, some things you CAN see in this photo:

-some of the furniture that came with our apartment.  not my taste, but it didn't make sense to buy an apartment worth of furniture for only two years.

-the mustardy yellow walls that i also probably wouldn't have chosen but now enjoy

-me

-some of the little treasures i've collected while in ecuador arranged tastefully in our dispay case

second, some thing you CAN'T tell from looking at this photo:

-the photo was taken after i ate a bowl of tomato soup for breakfast.  -i added some fresh basil to the soup, partially for the smell, partially for the taste.

-i flipped through a copy of venus magazine while eating.

-i'm still hungry but we ran out of bread.

-after this post i am going to go and buy a new loaf.

-two airplanes flew by while i was taking the photo.  the airport is in the middle of the city so when planes pass they are quite loud.

-i am once again wearing stripey socks.  they match perfectly with my earrings from lisa.

                     

actually, you can see the socks and earring in the above picture.  i couldn't resist sharing.

on a different note, have you hear about dawn's new paper quilt project?  i am lucky enough to be participating in the first month.  i can't wait to get my paper!

have a great weekend!

samplers are cute

happy monday folks!  i hope by now you've all recovered from all of the tea party action.  i still can't believe how many of you joined us!

and since i seem to be getting lots of new visitors, i wanted to ask if any of you out there live in denver or colorado?  if so, can you please get in touch with me?  i will be moving there late summer of this year and would like to meet some new people. 

when i was home in ny a few weeks ago i read a bunch of my mother's antiques & fine art magazines and was inspired by many forms of antiques.  i plan to share some of these with you over the next few weeks.  one of my main inspirations were the antique samplers, from the late 18th and 19th centuries, particularly those that include people and animals.  i love the idea of art created by girls and young women.   

the following sampler, created in 1797 and available through raccoon creek antiques (for a small fortune) is one of my favorites.  i love the washed out colors and i love love the little women.

here they are a little bit closer:

what do you think they are doing?  picking fruit?

while most samplers were made in the u.s. and great britain the next example, made in 1820, is actually italian (and available through a dealer specializing in samplers, m. finkel & daughter).

i adore the woman in the polk dot dress:

tea party day!

yay!  bienvenidos a la fiesta!  i'm glad you could make it.  please come in, make yourself comfortable, and enjoy looking around.  there are some name tags on the corner table, feel free to write your name and/or blog name so we can recognize you faster.  next, check out the huge buffet table covered in goodies from around the world, the tea bar brimming with freshly steeped tea in a every flavor imaginable and an array of cups, saucers, and tea pots both old and new.  take your cup of tea and sip it while browsing through the tea-themed gallery or sit down and chat with some of the other guests.

i've already enjoyed my first cup of tea:

i decided to go for a simple, but colorful outfit for the day, including my favorite big red resin beaded necklace.  for the evening portion of the party, i plan to go fancy...in my most comfortable floor length black gown and bright pink candy earrings:

i decided to drink out of my brand new bright orange tea cup and blue-striped saucer but i also brought along my collection of vintage cups and saucers:

 

it looks like some of them have already been used.  i think between all of us we will be able to drink tea all day and never have to reuse a cup!

i also set up some place settings  and flower arrangements for those of you who prefer to sit while you mingle:

my food contributions are sweet, sweet, and more sweet. some yummy fruit tarts, mini-chocolate layer cakes, and for those coming to the tea party in the morning, some just baked chocolate croissants:

and my sister decided to bake us all a cake and bring some pretty moroccan tea glasses:

my mom brought some wonderful tea sandwiches and her famous banana chocolate chip muffins.  i better slow down, i'm already getting a stomach ache!

don't forget to to let me know once you've posted.  i don't want to miss anyone.  and also send my your address for favors.  if you're brave i'd still love to see some photos of you!

i'm off to mingle with all of the other ladies who made it (from australia, bulgaria, canada, denmark, ecuador, england, france, germany, holland, israel, japan, norway, portugal, scotland, and from all over the united states):

julie with her girls and some freshly-picked lemons

louise and her collection of international tea ware

paula sharing little stories and facts and who was smart enought to bring her camera

divine seating and lovely gracia

vanessa brimming with sparkles and lace

an incredibly cute drawing and miss denitsa

whimsical vintage cups and saucer (but no chai!) arrived with tiel

veronica and some argentinean mate

a beautiful watercolor, yorkshire teacakes and sweet lila

britt-arnhild shares stories and golden tea cups

corey and her antique adventures

cute kitties and a rainbow hammock arrived with djbebe

some vintage goodness, coffee, and phyllis

sarah and the cute little waitress, eliza

a tea party picnic with jill

janet in her wellies brings spiced apple tea and wine (i love that we now have wine and coffee to go with the tea!)

ashley in a bathrobe

paula2 with her tea, or is it coffee?, cup and saucer

beautiful roses and a great teapot came with lovely lisa

dear shari brings tom, abigail, fancy tea cups, and more

and abigail brought freesias, in the way only abigail can

lemon ricotta biscuits and peppermint lattes and marsha

alex and her sweet mismatched teapot

sabine and friends and cupcakes

owls and smiles with jillypickle

more cupcakes (one can never have too many!) and donuts arrive with wendy

loonytick brings lady grey tea and cornbread

denise and mmmm...bubble tea

lisa-gabrielle and a whole gaggle of little friends

an animated photo! and tatjana

super busy ellia relaxes with chai

more owly goodness with sarah2

vintage fiestaware came with kristin

vanilla chai and jane

shash brought laughs

genevieve and a lovely white-haired couple

egg salad tea sandwiches came with stephanie s

and black spice chai with gina

taryn drinks tea the persian way

emily likes her tea cups EXTRA large

babelfish wears polka dots

a polaroid catches jerusha's fun

yay! yah brought an extra special cupcake

amisha with stories and darjeeling tea from darjeeling

jordan, my love, shares a poem

pretty drawings from marieke

la vie arty and her orange and almond cake

a beatrix potter cup and bowl are being used by cute nancy

mariyarn and swan-shaped biscuits

anastasia brought polka dot tea (i love polka dots!)

chamomile (manzanilla) tea and stories of childhood with monica

geek+nerd in her pajamas

renee made it just in time

and don't forget christy

tricia just made it

as did tracy

and rebecca

thanks for coming!  be sure to check back as this list will continue to grow! (from now on new guests will be added to the bottom of the list to make it easier for those of you who are coming and going.)

thank you

thank you for even more wonderful responses to the tea party!  i can't wait to see you all tomorrow.(and if you missed them, instructions are here.)

today, however, you should all hope on over to paula's blog and tell her how great she is to have sent me a wonderful package (see above) of papers and other crafting supplies for the boys i work with at the residential treatment center.  muchas gracias paula!  i am truly touched by your generosity.

and some links to entertain you...

do you like beer?  then you might want to participate in this project to design a sewn slipcover for a beer bottle.  all submitted designs will be inlcuded in an exhibit at the lakenhal museum in the netherlands.

and i love these cardboard faces by senor b.  actually, i have a general thing for art on cardboard.  link found via happy belli.

i'll see you tomorrow!!!!