I bring you a timely instructional for this season of giving and getting:
Or, rather, Jim Linderman of the fantastic ephemera blog DULL TOOL DIM BULB will allow you to peep his digitally archived instructions for making a sock simian all your own!
I’ve never had one, myself, but I have spent some great times on the couch, following the adventures of a certain other hat-wearing primate:
Thank you, Tony Millionaire, for giving us Uncle Gabby.
Good news?
The good news is that the With Care empire embraces Manifest Destiny and has already moved some of its wears to the other coast of this pretty alright nation!
What I mean to say is:
I’m very happy, pleased, and chuffed to announce that With Care-ables will now be sold at the intriguing, exciting, and enthralling Tumbleweeds Odd Shop of San Diego, CA. It is just one of the many things that super-talented duo Beca and Doug are responsible for. Another thing that they are doin’ it well on? This ridiciulously amazing sun glasses series:
which features professionally set wood (actual wood!) veneer of, literally, many stripes. I love glasses and I am particularly enthused about these. Eye glass frames are probably my most expensive and regular financial indulgence (with bicycle gear coming in a close second and gaining) and these have certainly made it onto my “fill with prescription” list. The most difficult part is choosing which pair I like the most.
Speaking of the vision-times, I made my twice-yearly pilgrimage to Providence Optical today. Not only can expect one new and one good-as-new set of glasses waiting for me next week, but I finally brought by the first-ever pair of vintage glasses that I bought. I had purchased them at least 4 years ago and had them filled before realizing that the fit problems were not something that I could easily fit myself. Today, it took all of 2 minutes in their able, detail-oriented hands to bring the ol’ gals back into proper shape. Thanks, Providence Optical!
(the little silver blobs in the corner are two stars where the hinges are bolted in. Not sure if this is typical of the Victory brand eye glasses of the era but, a detail with just the level of whimsy that I can get behind.)
It’s Black Friday sale time!
I’m not a huge proponent of going out and spending tons of money on crap you don’t need but, if you are considering buying a holiday present or two anyway, why not save a buck or five? Attend yourself to the above infographic and save 20% off of any With Care purchases that you might, um, “care” to make this weekend.
I am thankful for a great many things, particularly sitting around and watching both Peanuts Thanksgiving specials on the tee vee. I have a deep, soft place in my heart for the scenes where the Peanuts gang try to make their own rag tag holiday celebration. I also have a soft spot for caricatures of Pilgrims.
(Noble in intention/short in execution, the recent popularity of “secret restaurants” in Providence will forever remind me of living in the above scene where Peppermint Patty is delivered a platter full of pretzel sticks, pop corn, jelly beans and buttered toast. These days, I just politely decline.)
I’m also Thankful for all of the friends that I have been able to spend time with this past week: eleven in six days! Eleven folks that like and care about so much but only am able to see a couple times a year at most- once every 5 years at least! I’ve tried to withhold my sappy emotions but, it is difficult. I spend so many hours of my evenings and weekends alone in my studio that I have developed something of a fleeting loneliness complex. Thus, I tend to take it to heart when my presence seems to improve the quality of someone’s life, even if only for a few hours. Some real heart-to-heart shit.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for the Lady Gaga Thanksgiving special.
A few words about Sgt. Stubby, a former stray who went on to become the most decorated American war dog.
“Stubby also had a talent for locating wounded men between the trenches of the opposing armies; he would listen for the sound of English and then go to the location, barking until paramedics arrived or leading the lost soldiers back to the safety of the trenches. He even caught a German soldier mapping out the layout of the Allied trenches. The soldier called to Stubby, but he put his ears back and began to bark. As the German ran, Stubby bit him on the legs, causing the soldier to trip and fall. He continued to attack the man until the American soldiers arrived. For capturing an enemy spy, Stubby was put in for a promotion to the rank of Sergeant by the commander of the 102nd Infantry. He became the first dog to be given rank in the United States Armed Forces.” – From Wikipedia
Watch out, Martin. You just might be getting a Sgt. Stubby costume to wear for Halloween next year.
For even more information on Sgt. Stubby, check out this article.
Enough has been committed to North American culture regarding how well New England wears the colors of autumn. However, all those beautiful reds and yellows take on an electric and otherworldly glow in the middle of the night.
Nighttime photography might rate up there with “high school surrealism” as far as used, abused, and unenjoyable avenues of artistic expression.
Too bad for you.
I’m currently writing this from my friend‘s wonderful (and so tastefully decorated) apartment in Red Hook, Brooklyn. For as much hate as I heap on New York City, I’m really enjoying what Red Hook has become. When I was last here, over 6 years ago now(!), it was empty and scary. Now, it is quiet and lovely and old. Since it is serviced by one bus line and on the water, it has a a great “edge of the void” vibe that I loved/love so much about Providence. Everyone knows each other and lives in the neighborhood. Everything is walkable and well kept. Also, there are tons of fabricators and workshops around here! And so many nice, old bikes. And well-made, strong cocktails. I was going to take a trip to the botanical garden today but neglected that most museums are closed on Mondays. Instead, I walked around the neighborhood, read a bit, and worked on the ol’ computer in the nicely slanting sunlight. Wonderfully relaxing and vacation-y.
Inspired by the Edna B. Lawrence Nature Lab at RISD:
Among other places and things.
And so I give you:
Available here.
For more about the Nature Lab:
Freshman year of high school, my parents bought me a shiny, new pair of black, 8 hole Doc Martens- essentially announcing to the world that I was ready to be really, really cool. Along with this purchase came my father’s military-born instructions for how to care for such a precious item of status and quality: “A little water. A little polish. A lot of rubbing”
In lieu of having your own father sit down and teach you this point of pride, this informative graphic does a fine job. Thanks to the blog The Art of Manliness for entering into my radar tonight. There is a lot of useful stuff on there!
 I once had an awful boyfriend who would comment, with some disdain, that due to my independence and interests I classified as being “barely a female”. At the time, something didn’t allow me to understand how enraging I found that comment to be but I never once let such a small mind make me second guess the things that I liked, loved, or enjoyed. And so, to wit, shoe polishing remains one of my favorite wardrobe chores. Twice a year, I’ll set aside a night, take out all of my leather shoes, and sit at the kitchen table- polishing the night away and feeling flush with pride.
Halloween in Providence is a big deal.
Big.
No Halloween themed anything that I have been to has ever been as impressive as the local Halloween parties that I have been to in the last six years. I’ve been almost crushed by giant puppets at the Village Halloween parade and marched in the streets of Red Hook, Brooklyn, NYC dressed in head-to-toe white. I also spent many years marching down Main St, Toms River, NJ and, I have to admit, with the haze of nostalgia clouding my vision, those were some pretty fun nights.
But nothing, so far, has compared with glorious anarchy of a PVD Halloween. What I have always loved about this place was the linear movement of “dream it” to “do it”. For a small place, there is a lot of actualization, often coupled with excellent workmanship. Despite being insular and fairly non-competitive, you really need to bring your A-game. Thanks to the American Industrial Revolution, there are still a good variety of large warehouse spaces that are, for one night, turned into multilevel parties. In years past, I’ve seen small coffee nooks, make shift theaters, a multiple-story fun house made from trash with built-in hidey holes for discreet make outs, a stage made to look like a giant cow skull that opened and closed with the pull of a rope, a wrestling ring, a room of breakables that existed only to be smashed (!), a floor of crazy home-made skateboards and wacky ramps to ride them up, and a blood-soaked haunted house/maze that took up an entire floor of a large, large warehouse space. Pretty much, Halloween in Providence is a fire inspector’s nightmare (plus, booze, bands, and staying up really, really late.)
This year, I went as a Virgin Mary statue. But, to keep it in the theme of the season, I was a “Virgin Mary Statue Crying Blood“.
(Stigmata thrown in for extra effect.)
Posing with our neighbors’ creepy, handless statue.
A good close-up of the halo.
I was pretty happy with how well this costume came together! I might even draw out a little tutorial of how to make your own Virgin Mary statue costume. My only regrets (not in life. just as far as this costume was concerned) were that I didn’t realize that my white tights were too shredded to wear and that I didn’t invest in a long, white skirt. In execution, however, this worked to my benefit because any long skirt would have been difficult to maneuver around in. Toting around all of that flowing lace was a little tricky, but a long skirt would have added another level of potential disaster.
And, since group costumes are for suckers, Dylan reinvestigated his ever-exceptional waiter costume:
And Lola went as the embodiment of Autumn in dress decked out with 3-d velveteen leaves and a kite tangled in her hair.
The sign board was a last minute addition taken from Dave’s Halloween costume of yesteryear. This year, he went as the fire inspector. I think a few people were even fooled.
Mr. Webley was once an ungracious house guest of mine but that still hasn’t quite ruined this song for me.
11/11/11.
Oh yeah.
With Care 