The bend before the Wyoming Exit #13 on I-75
These aren’t Christmas lights, they are year round decor [ View the whole photo ]
If I was hankering for a project while the snow falls outside, I might experiment with this project to customize the shapes of bokeh. (The Flickr Blog has some fine examples)
But there’s lots to do that I didn’t quite squeeze into the earlier part of the week, and if I get all that finished and the roads look good, I’m driving south for the first holiday party of the season.
Current music: My Morning Jacket “One Big Holiday”
Trubyte Bioform Shades
I have no idea, but I thought these were too neat to disregard.
In other news, the days are packed, absolutely packed with stuff, be it meetings or work or eating. Not enough chill time, not enough sleep, but lots logs on the fire.
Current music: T.I. “Whatever You Like”
Making the cover
Cincinnati Magazine just released their annual “Best of the City” issue for 2008 (on newsstands now).
In it they list 110 of their favorite things around town, from restaurants and shops to services and activities (including kilt rental and clogging lessons.) They not only gave a shout out to Wire & Twine for our shirts, but they had us print up a batch for the cover along with a tee for every winner on the list.
This is the type of thing we file under ‘awesome’ around the studio. A great reward as we approach our anniversary and look forward to 2009 and lots of new projects.
(Related link: The “Open for business” post.)
This appreciation would not be complete without tipping our collective hats to everyone who filled up a cart and checked out of our virtual store, ‘blogged about a product, emailed a friend with a link, or even sent us good vibes.
Thank you thank you thank you.
Our third visit (previously)
So we’re there on the first day trees are for sale and they only have one variety in-stock—Fraser firs—same kind we had last year, but I can’t remember for sure.
I google the variety on the spot to check and see if they’re any good.
Search results prove favorable.
Back when I was a kid, you had to rely on personal knowledge, memory and experience to make such decisions.
Thank goodness that’s over.
Hauled the thing home and gravely accepted that two strands of lights were half-blown. We made do with them and went about the business of decorating. Been on this planet for 30-some-odd years and it hasn’t gotten old yet.
This is how it turned outCurrent music: Frightened Rabbit “Old Old Fashioned”
I don’t believe this is lens distortion throwing curves, it’s just that our blinds are wonky
There are mere moments while gray light spreads across the morning sky, yet hasn’t enough power to shut off the sensor in the electric holiday candle.
We placed these decorations in the windows this weekend. There is no ecological justification, I’m sure. They’re probably as bad as an inflatable Santa on a motorcycle. But we did it anyway and in return we’ll set the thermostat extra low and wear thick socks to offset the energy consumed.
In bed this morning (procrastinating a trip to the bathroom) I made mental note to leave camera bedside sometime, hoping to catch this play of cool and warm light.
Then I realized if I didn’t do it right then, that very moment, I might not remember.
On the matter of time, today is my brother’s birthday. I owe him a howdy.
Now I just have to learn how to use a sewing machine
Video of the whole process coming soon.
(The how-to-make-a-scarf bit, not the me-trying-to-sew bit).
I can still smell and taste everything from the awesome meal from yesterday
THE MENU
– Seared scallops with wasabi (appetizer)
– Roast turkey (brined and cooked perfectly from a Good Eats recipe)
– Blue cheese and bacon mashed potatoes
– Brussels sprouts with lemon
– Corn pudding
– Mulled wine cranberry sauce
– Ginger squash pie (for dessert)
Yum is not a big enough word to describe the delight.
Thank you Chris and Inger.
cuttin it up
This is Joel.
You may have noticed him modeling some of the new shirts over at the shop. Well maybe not, since I’m always cropping off everyone’s heads.
Anyway, Joel has been with us for like a year now, so he’s technically not the new guy, but he is the newest. He comes in a few days of the week and can jump into darn near any project we’ve got going. That alone makes him valuable, but the real bonus is that he’s a bright and fun guy, with a passionate (and yes, maybe quirky) taste for music; whether he’s picking out an album to play, or talking about his own creations.
The only thing we disagree on is how to say Appalachia.
All in all, we lucked out finding him.
Current music: Thao & The Get Down, Stay Down “Yes, So On And So On”
a tiny slice of the much larger spread
Birthday party / early holiday get-together with Dan’s family today, somewhere up north where harvested fields give way to elaborate churches or grain silos on every horizon.
No one left with a black eye and I don’t think any wills were re-written, so I’m considering it a success.
I had brownies and cake!
Using Elmo to bribe the boy to look at the camera
After OSU’s win (yay), I went to several box stores and the mall to torture myself trying to find something that only exists in my imagination: sea-foam colored ornaments for our Christmas tree. Because nothing goes better with football than shopping.
I believe a consortium controls the color schemes of holiday decor across most retail outlets. While this might make it easy to mix and match between stores, it doesn’t offer much diversity, or in my case: sea-foam.
I need to look off the beaten path or simply let it go and decorate with scarlet and silver gray.
Oh, the photo? I was carrying the point and shoot. To spice up the scene I tried some of that fancy fake “tilt-shift” effect. It looks more interesting un-cropped and bigger, I think. Not sold on the technique, but it was fun.
Current music: Patsy Cline “Faded Love”
on the tube
Apparently I’m unhappy because I watch TV, but I’m actually MORE unhappy when there is nothing good to watch on TV.
I decided to upgrade my XBOX account in order to get Netflix on demand but that turned out to be the single biggest entertainment let-down of my entire life. True.
But all is not bad. Case in point: The Rivalry on HBO gives an in-depth look at the history of football between Michigan and Ohio State.
Now I am a Buckeye by degree, but I only went to one football game in the entire four years of my education. We lost (thanks John Cooper), and on a sidenote: no one wanted to work those days and I was anti-establishment so I took up the extra hours.
After seeing this show (twice! Even taking a shoddy photo of the screen above), I have grown nostalgic for a spirit I never allowed.
I’ll now be rooting with newfound vigor.