With all the hoopla in the news about the the amount of plastic water bottles that are overflowing our landfills, I have been wanting to switch to a refillable water bottle, like back in the good old college days. Unfortunately, those trusty Nalgene and other hard plastic bottles are made of polycarbonate (#7) which are now being shown to leach Bisphenol A, an estrogen-like chemical. Recent studies have linked BPA to breast cancer and early pruberty, as well as possible effects on infants. Canada is currently looking to ban all BPA products, and additional studies are being done here in the good ol’ USA. So what is a girl to do? Well, check out these super cool aluminum water bottles by Sigg. They have a BPA free liner, not to mention have super cool graphics and interchangeable lids. I am thinking of stocking up on a few real soon.
Food Play
Here is an interesting article in the New York Times about food art. This is not the usual, radish roses, but pretty cool sculptures made from fruits and vegetables. I like the way the artists/chefs use everyday produce to imagine fanciful animals, flowers, and even portraits. The shape of the food lends itself to the object that is created. I wonder if they are as yummy as they are beautiful.
Photo by: Jimmy Zhang
The Final Countdown
Well, today is the last week that we will be in the apartment. We will be closing on the house on Friday and obtaining the keys. We will begin moving our stuff from the apartment into the house over the weekend and the movers will be coming with the rest of our things on Monday. It is like the week before Christmas when you are about 8 years old.
I have been working on a list of to do’s when we get in the house in order to help pass the time. I have also be dreaming about where I will be putting all of my kitchen stuff. Is it a bit obsessive of me to try to diagram where my pots and pans will go?
So cool!
This is one of those reasons why I sometimes wished I lived in New York. There is an exhibit that is currently going on at The Metropolitan Museum of Art that I would LOVE to see. “Superheros: Fashion and Fantasy” It is exhibiting actual costumes of superheroes from the movies as well fashion designs that were inspired by them through the years. It sounds like a fascinating show that would be a lot of fun to see. The above article is very interesting as well. It explains the theory behind the show and also goes in depth in the eight different “bodies” that are represented in both the superhero genre and in fashion.
Now all I need is to find a pair of Wonder Woman UnderRoos!
Image: Alex Ross – JLA – Secret Origins – Justice League of America
Home Stretch
Since I have not really posted anything in a long while about the house building, I thought that I would give you an update. Things have been moving at a rapid pace. I am shocked and surprised at how quickly time has passed and how much they have been able to do in such a relatively short period of time. The house will be completely done in two weeks! We have walls, appliances, carpet, the whole nine yards. Can you believe it?
I am already dreaming about decorating ideas and where I am going to put my lovely, much missed, cookware. I am going to spend days deciding where to put things, and I will enjoy every second of it.
The house is unbelievable, so much more than what I visualized. I am so blessed to be able to have this house and make it my home. The best part is that we will finally have enough room to have family and friends stay. No more sharing one bathroom, or people sleeping on couches!! Who will be the first to visit? I can’t wait!
Derby Day
Today is the 134th running of of the Kentucky Derby. I am a bit sad this year because we are not in Columbus, going to Beulah Park for the local Derby Party. A group of us have been going for years. Tons of fun, watching live racing, placing bets, drinks, and BBQ. I will warn you to stay away from the mint juleps though, nasty stuff. This year Shawn and I are just watching it on TV. Not quite the same, but still a good time.
(This year I am picking Pyro to win. Current odds are 6-1 one. )
UPDATE: The winner was the favorite, Big Brown. Pyro finished 8th, good thing I didn’t put any money on that one!
I am alive . .
Apologies for not posting in a while. Had a REALLY awful cold and it has set me back. I have just been getting back into the the swing of things the past few days. Still trying to get out of the resulting funk and get back into a normal routine. Malaise is a b*tch.
Spindle for Sale
Ok, not sure how many of you remember this, from “Wayne’s World,” but the Spindle is now for sale on eBay. The Berywyn landmark is located in Cermak Plaza and features cars from the 60s, 70s and 80s skewered on a metal spike. It was originally created by artist Dustin Shuler in 1989.
I read that Berwyn residents are divided on what to do with the structure, which is covered with rust and pigeon poop. (Gross!) It was supposed to be dismantled last year to make way for a Walgreens or something, but now preservation groups have formed and protested. My favorite one is www.savethespindle.com I think that I might have to get a t-shirt!
Good-bye JJ
Well, it took me the day before the show closed, but I was able to go see the Jasper Johns show at the MMOCA yesterday. It was a great exhibit, showing about 100 prints spanning from Johns start in the 60’s until today. It was very interesting to see his thought process evolve with several of his major themes, such as targets, flags, and numbers/colors as well as experimentation with the printing medium. I personally liked this part the best. It had a much more textural feel and you could see how Johns was riffing on a subject. I feel like it would have complemented the Gray show that is currently at MOMA in NY. All in all, a great way to spend a blustery afternoon.
Its Pooptastic!
A very bad thing happened yesterday. Extremely horrible, gross, stressful, and probably hilarious.
I was driving down to my parents from MSN on a lovely Friday afternoon. This trip is a simple two hour drive, mostly interstate with little traffic, farmland. Woman and her dog. Just listening to some CDs and enjoying the nice weather. So here we are at the end of our trip, about a half mile away from the house and Walter has a diarrhea attack in the back of the Jeep. KABLOW!!! None of his usual warnings: whimper, leaping up and down, etc. Nothing. Just God awful, merciless poop. Needless to say that chaos ensued. I am screaming at the dog and at the world in general, driving erratically. I actually drove through a stop sign. People were actually pointing and staring at me as I did it. I am sure that it looked insane. All windows down, going warp speed to get to my parents in order to get him out of the car.
I get to the house and get in the drive way jump out and get Walter out of the car. Tie him to the bumper hitch, run inside and get cleaning supplies. I needed a Hazmat suit and napalm, but settled for lysol, a roll of paper towels, clorox wipes, and three plastic grocery bags. I go out and clean the dog off. Walter had poop on all four paws, his butt, and tail. Yes, I cloroxed the dog. Then, I took him inside the house and locked him in the mud room.
Walking back to the car, I brace myself to look into the back of the Jeep. (All the seats are laid flat so it is one big cargo area.) It is like a poop helicopter back there. Words cannot describe. . . It takes me 45 minutes to clean the back out. Picture a short, Italian girl screaming, crying, and swearing like a sailor, ready to vomit and commit doggie homicide. My poor mom, her neighbors must think I have Tourette’s or something. I call Shawn at work about halfway through and left a message about what happened on his voicemail. He thought at first that I got into an accident because I was a bit hysterical. I guess that I told him that when he gets down here we would have to burn the car.
So, Shawn is now working on cleaning out the car with Resolve, more Lysol, and my dad’s ShopVac. We are then going to have the local car wash detail the interior on it tomorrow. If that doesn’t restore things back to its pre-pooptastic condition, I am selling the car. Period.
Widdershins 