brave little toaster's Profile

I live in an 1913 co-op apartment with a pretty courtyard and fountain, which is a historic landmark. I think because of the designation, there is a rule that you can't have air conditioners in the windows facing the courtyard, spoiling the look of the facade.

Whole apartment ac is a non starter, because most of the walls are thick concrete, and anyhow, the wiring really isn't up to it. My main rooms-LR and DR face the courtyard. This is my first summer here, and I was pretty worried, as I came from a rental where I blasted the ac like a loon.

Here, there is one small unit in the 2nd bedroom-where the tv and desk are...plus 2 ceiling fans- in the LR and sunroom. I am doing really well with the purchase of just 2 extra fans- one for my bedroom to encourage the cross breeze across my bed, and an air mover one for the DR. The fans can be pretty noisy too, but it is a much more natural feeling, and I have a better tolerance for the heat outdoors these days.

These older buildings are often cooler than more modern ones...you notice coolness coming in at the front door on a hot day. The airconditioning at work is starting to be too chilly for me, though.

Can't wait for Part 2. It's full of stimulating and inspiring ideas of the sort you don't want to just copy, but perhaps expand upon or adapt...which is what makes it the most exciting, creative house tour yet, IMO.

I wonder if you are thinking of a book documenting the various changes and stages the place has gone through over time. That would be the kind of home design book people can really learn from, as opposed to the usual list of rules and hints. (Not that I object to the latter, which often fun, but there are generally only a few ideas to be taken from each of them, in the end.)

Angie's List is so worth it- for this and many other kinds of businesses.

I bought a nice, plain hinged wooden glass topped store display case on ebay for $20. I has a velvet lining and my fairly extensive collection of vintage costume jewelry (mostly pins- some earrings, rings) fits in nicely.

I can arrange my stuff prettily, and rearrange it for my amusement and display, which is fun. The case is pretty flat, and about the size of the top of my dresser, so it doesn't take up much actual room. I like to keep it clear, so you can see the stuff, but it's quite solid, so you can set things on it without worries.

It doesn't store or display necklaces very well, I'm still working on something for that.

Having fewer things enables us to take proper care of the things we have,and being careful what we accumulate means that the things we have are worth the trouble of taking proper care of them.

That doesn't mean that the things we choose need to be costly, just that they should be beautiful or useful, as the old saying goes, and, preferably, both. Beautiful and useful things can be found in the curbside trash, as well as in fancy shops, but we should be willing to pay for the work of artists and craftspeople, and they should be able to earn their living, and a decent one.

Property without responsibility is no good for anyone, we shouldn't claim what we won't really use, or take care of. there is no real satisfaction in it, it breeds triviality and alienation. All of this is much easier said than done. Better to treat the world as a little more of a museum, and less as a big shopping mall.

Oh no, Marianne, I don't mean those purple foods taste bad, they just look terrible when a dish of food is all purple and murky.

All the purple foods, IMO , need to be served with other things to look appetizing- blueberries and blackberries and figs with mint or cream or something, eggplant with tomato sauce or parsley, red cabbage and radicchio look awful on a plate alone, and beets- really scary at times.

Many of those other items are brown-raisins,for example- but they all taste lovely, you're right about that. Damson plums come with their own pretty green innards, and lots of the nicest plums are yellow, red or green.

Purple is a great color for flowers and clothing. Not so great, except in small, accent amounts, as used in these good examples... for decorating or, usually, food. IMO, as it approaches brown, with the addition of more yellow, as in paint, violet gets less dire. Add more red or blue, and shrillness ensues, or white- mawkishness. Yet these same hues and shades often look wonderful against skin tones. Dunno why, but that's how I see it. There are no bad colors, but....

I don't see the MacIntosh print?

I was lucky enough to have a clean (albeit shabby) kitchen to move into, and so, I did it first, along with making up the bed. Since I had some access before the move, I was able to bring in a laundry basket full of essentials- paper products, and coffee maker, a pot, flatware, a couple of dishes and glasses, and bedding, so that I could just collapse when the movers left, and start serious unpacking the next day.

Yes, the red chair...it's great! What is it?