orbit's Profile

My first apartment, at age 18, was a studio on Geary in the Tenderloin in SF, complete with roaches and colony of mice. The only view from my first story room was into a narrow "courtyard" which must have gotten sun 1/2 hour a day, blocked as it was by the other 4 stories of the building. My furnishings consisted solely of a hand-me-down tweedy couch, a floor lamp I bought new at JC Penney (How new and exciting it was to buy even one item of "real" furniture!), rounded out by a director's chair and small drafting table I found at a thrift store. Nothing else. And I wanted for nothing.

I am glad I was not too concerned about what my space looked like at that time--there was so much going on! Working full-time, going to school full-time, having a full-time boyfriend, political associations, protesting, parties after the protests, clandestine Marxist-Leninist meetings, drunken Saturdays at the beach, hanging out with friends. Nor do I remember what we wore, or what we ate or drank. Isn't that funny?

But I learned so much: which streets were safe enough to walk down alone to get the the Muni; not to linger too long on neighborhood streetcorners at night while waiting for the traffic light to change; where to find laundromats with the friendliest cross-dressers eager to quiz me on the best methods for cleaning lacy undergarments; proper protocol for joining (any) protest being staged at City Hall; dodging exhibitionists in the main library.

There is something about having your first place be in a big city that is magical, and amazing--what an introduction to the world!

While moving into one rental house I discovered a VHS videotape tucked far back on a high closet shelf. Naturally I had to watch it immediately, and what I saw cannot be unseen, as they say.

People, make sure take your sex tapes with you when you move!

The former owners of my current house were much more apropos, leaving only paints, surplus building materials, and menus for local take-out. Very thoughtful.

Oh, some of my faves: chinese fringe flower, barberry, coral bells, and japanese blood grass for reds...Fescues are beautiful for blue-green tints; hosta in all colors for your shade garden; flowering maple, noble grevillea; lamb's ears are always fun and a beautiful accent; pale gray-green yarrow with flowers in all colors; for annuals, I really like portulaca (moss rose) -- which has the paleness and waxiness of a succulent and beautiful vibrant flowers. One of my favorites for yellow-green is helichrysum, or lemon licorice--hard to find, but a beautiful color and nice contrast.

Narrow five-drawer cabinet (1 foot square and about 40 inches tall) from Ross or Marshall's or someplace like that, in some dark, exotic-looking woven sort of exterior. This has served for years as my miscellaneous storage spot: one drawer for pet supplies, one for batteries & light bulbs, one for cords and small electronics, one for small hand tools, So handy and really cute, with none of the frilly, cheap features of most of the "furniture" sold at these discount stores--and has held up well and fits nicely in most any room, usually right next to a door and under a light switch.

There is a woman on etsy who uses awesome platform shoes/pumps as planters--beautiful. Must see!

"...2 straight weeks of 75 degree and above weather in Paris has me dreaming of..."

*le sigh*

Love your Cake poster!

I'm not immune to this. My nephew once visited my 1000 sq. ft. house and declared upon entry, "This place looks like if you pressed a button, it would just fold right up."

I think we have a very limited knowledge of the REALITY OF HOW PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIVE. Despite what the media would have you believe: not everyone has an office job; not everyone has a house--and certainly not one with multiple bathrooms, a guest room, or an office--or any space they could turn into a "mancave" or "womancave." Not everyone is married; not everyone has kids, not everyone is young or white. Many folks don't drive and never had and never will and this is not an issue. And guess what--not all kids would find Disneyland a dream vacation (that is, kids who even get to go on vacations), and not all dads like sports. I could go on and on and on about the general cultural assumptions that seem to be reinforced every day...

And even the urban/suburban divide is not as AT readers seem to think: In my experience, many people in the suburbs are politically active, live in smaller homes and apartments and like art and culture and organic foods and drive electric only; and many urban folks I know are apolitical, live in large homes, chauffeur their kids to soccer in suvs, and prefer sports to art for entertainment. So I've become pretty wary of these generalizations.

That said, the media push for more and bigger has been relentless over the last 70/80 years, and we know how effective advertising and marketing are in shaping human "desires" -- to the extent that many folks don't really even know they have a choice about the type of lifestyle they WANT to lead.

A great solution for those like me with perpetually thirsty cats!

oops, sorry. I meant the other armoire/bar conversion was done in WHITE (not wide) wood...