A Few Favorite Things
My kitchen, which is so tiny it seems like an architect’s idea of a joke, or an ironic afterthought, has a wall of tea just above the doll-size stove. There is no room for my two teapots, however, which would otherwise multiply like oversexed bunnies if it wasn’t for the scant square-footage. I love teapots almost as much as the leaves steeping within—such a simple equation of form and function working in concert to brew the perfect cup of tea. And it’s their simplicity that draws me. (I veer away from painted ladies with garish florals, overwrought pastels, or those that try too hard at being “whimsical”.) I like my teapots classic, streamlined, and absolutely mindful of their singular purpose. You can always be sure of an ordinary teapot. It will not transmogrify into something else or lay a golden egg when you’re not looking. (I cannot vouch for coasters, though, those sneaky bastards.)
Is anyone still knitting socks that aren’t Jaywalkers? I just finished the cuff of Nancy Bush’s Fancy Silk Sock (part one of two!) with gorgeous, gorgeous Fleece Artist Merino in “Mahogany”. If you don’t have her delectable Knitting Vintage Socks: New Twists on Classic Patterns (it’s well-worth the sticker price, folks), the pattern can also be found reprinted here, uh, hopefully with permission.
Does anyone dig furnishing and kitchenware catalogs as much as I do? I fish them out of our mail piles with glee, and devour them slowly like I do a good book. (Then, much to the consternation of my much-beleaguered husband, I repeat the browsing process while tugging at his sleeve, going “Lookit! Lookit!”) I plan to get a thick binder, rip out pages from my catalog collection (eeks!) and then organize those disembodied parts into different sections of our dream home. I’ve already managed to pull said husband into watching various home-improvement and decorating shows on cable television with me, insisting that we are amassing knowledge we can put to use when we buy our first house. (My hunch that his cheapskatedness would overcome his disdain for interior decorating proved correct.)
A non-sequiter: I watched snatches of Merlin on the Sci-Fi Channel this afternoon. What’s up with their portrayal of Nimue? The Nimue (also “Vivien”) of legend was what my husband calls a skankoid1 who seduced Merlin into imparting all his magical knowledge to her and then used it against him to seal him in a cave for all eternity. None of this mushy/kissy rubbish.
1He has also taught me words like “ASS-plode,” as in “I just ate something that didn’t agree with me and I’m about to ASS-plode.” I’m so glad we’re still discovering new things about each other after all these years.
Lisa said,
January 15, 2006 at 6:04 pm
I LOVE kitchen stuff!!! I am drawn to the 50’s retro look. When we moved into our house there was a gigantic stove from 1945 in the kitchen. I have decorated my whole kitchen around it (it works like a dream) One day when we were cleaning we pulled it out from the wall and we found the original invoice stuck to the back. It cost $599.99 in 1945!!! WOW!!
I also watched a little of Merlin on the Sci-Fi channel today. I was not very impressed, where in NY do you live? I am from Albion, which is a small rural town between Rochester and Buffalo?
stephanie said,
January 15, 2006 at 6:23 pm
Your husband sounds like he would be funny to watch tv with! : )
I love the furnishing catalogs too. Right now I treat them like fashion mags though - they go straight into the trash. I’m broke so no fun new stuff for me! Why torture myself? :(
Danielle said,
January 16, 2006 at 3:30 pm
I love getting home furnishing catalogs! All those possibilites. My hubby and I head over to Crate & Barrel when we need to ‘test drive’ our future furniture… when we settle down and buy a house. My sister got me a book by Better Homes and Gardens called First Home with Style; and it’s packed full of great information and little money saving to tricks to make your home rock.
My mom used to have a tea pot collection. You’re right they’re the perfect combination of form and function. :)
juanitatortilla said,
January 18, 2006 at 7:34 pm
ASS-plode !!!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha …
The Worsted Witch » said,
January 25, 2006 at 2:10 pm
[...] Still, being vegetarian, I often wonder if I could keep my carrot-tops and assorted vegetable trimmings from landfill-entombment by composting my dinner scraps. This automatic, bug-free composter, which needs 10 watts to power up, is pretty durn sweet. I wasn’t exaggerating, however, when I said my kitchen was small. It is, as George Orwell, might say, doubleplusunbig. In other words: No. Room. At. The. Inn. Even. For. You. Baby. Jesus. [...]
The Worsted Witch » Burt’s Bees Vanishing Facial Powder said,
March 19, 2006 at 2:49 pm
[...] Once I repressed the psychic scarring and used a smaller sponge, however, the powder glided on smoothly on my skin and blended in quite nicely. Not to sound like a total skankoid or anything, but if it’s alright with you and your bees, Burt, I think I’ll keep looking. [...]
The Worsted Witch » It’s Getting Hot in Here said,
May 2, 2006 at 3:38 pm
[...] 9. Cancel paper catalogs—I like flipping through catalogs, too, but I cancelled all of mine last month when I realized deforestation is responsible for 25 percent of all carbon emissions released into the atmosphere through the burning and cutting of 34 million acres of trees annually. Browse online, instead. [...]
The Worsted Witch » The Great Purge said,
January 9, 2007 at 4:09 pm
[...] I’ve mentioned my doomed love affair with home-decorating catalogs before, which I put the brakes on this time last year, along with cancellations of as much junk mail I could get through in several determined sittings. [...]