the power of a smile

The unfortunate trend of underestimating the power of a smile, face to face, is nudging us not so slowly towards the end of human interaction.

I think by now we all have sufficiently experienced the "small-world-ness" that the technology age has afforded us. I find people I haven't been in touch with for 30 years. I ask questions, get answers, and find out random information about any subject in a matter of minutes. I play music from something that fits inside my mouth! Amazing as all this progress is, it is also paralyzing the fundamentals of human nature.

Some years ago when my husband first got his Blackberry, he might have been one of the first addicts. I had put it in the silverware drawer in hopes of having his attention for 10 uninterrupted minutes. When there was this obnoxious rattling coming from somewhere near where we were standing, I knew it was going to be a long battle.

While more and more people have Blackberrys; controversy, discussions, public forums, articles, and statistics clearly outline the deterioration of public conduct.

A couple of weeks ago I shamefully became, yet again, another targeted consumer. I was totally sucked into the 'buy 1 Blackberry and get the 2nd one free' campaign. And if that isn't bad enough, the free one went to my 15 year old daughter.

Of course my BB practices will be...aahhhhh NO! I won't even say it. I will not be any better than any other technophile. It's been two weeks, max, and I am so bad. Rude social conduct; from corresponding or searching while someone is talking to me to figuring out any number of "how tos" at a stop light. Yes, definitely shameful.

However, I do have the learning curve in my favor. I am aware of my habits, which does count for something, right? And I am committed to practicing Blackberry etiquette everyday (formerly known as humanity and random acts of kindness).

This brings me to the point of this blog (BTW I realize none of this has anything to do with my business of interior design or three.home). It is really challenging not to explore, play, correspond, zone out, or multi-task when in possession of one of these little, mobile, limitless creations. However, not all exploring, playing, corresponding, zoned-out Blackberry owners intend to disrespect, ignore, or annoy the person with whom they are face to face.

That being said, with my most sincere apologies to all who have experienced this bad behavior in my company, and to all those who undoubtedly will, I am committed to the weighty task of keeping my behavior in check and resisting (mostly) the temptation and the ever captivating lore of my new toy. A new toy that just happens to connect us to the future (and our children).

our earth

With everyone doing a little bit to help the earth, and some people doing a lot, it is so appalling when I see the blatant tossing of trash out of a car window, or an engine running in part for an extended amount of time.

ON MY WALK THRU THE PARK THE OTHER DAY I SAW A WALMART RECEIPT ON THE GROUND. I was shocked. Partially because I don't find a lot of trash in our parks system. But also, because I think most everyone has accepted littering as a sin of sorts. I am sure this receipt accidentaly fell out of someone's pocket rather than the alternative.

After I saw the receipt I started thinking about all the receipts and to-do notes I am always accumulating, trying not to loose. And that led to thinking about the endless supply of paper I write these notes on.

All of this mindless thought and worry made me think of the whole recycle, sustainable, green movement that is happening all around us. We are at the point on this earth that if we don't change the way we live with regards to living 'lighter', there won't be much earth to live on. However, we didn't always think and/or worry about the air around us, the water in our rivers, or the soil.

But then I remembered this cute grocery list 'kit' I have at the shop. I don't know the exact date - 50's or 60's I am guessing.

All of the sudden this random thinking had a purpose - sort of.

'Back in the day' (whenever that was), people didn't think about the earth and how they lived on it or abused it. They didn't look at what they could do now to save the earth later. And yet there was something like this gem. How much more 'green' can you get than a grocery list you can use over and over again? How conscientious, and they didn't even realize it.

Next thought... SWAPPING home accessories. Kind of like a civilized flea market or something like that. I read about a clothing swap party. It sounded like a great idea in terms of recycling cute things around your home that you have grown out of, and a way to get something new without spending alot of money. You know the old adage; one person's trash is another person's treasure.

I have proven that many times over. I recently found these great iron scroll-y benches at the 'collection' area near where I live. We take our trash there when we have more than what fits into our toters. These benches are light green and the seat is wood. They are a little beat up, but that works. I don't have to worry about leaving them outside all winter. They are sturdy and a great color in my backyard.

Maybe I will plan an event around the idea of bringing in any home furnishing that you are ready to pass on, and have great discussions, libations, some laughs, and the opportunity to come home with something new to put on a bookshelf or table.

Input from my followers or anyone else is always welcome.

twilight zone

Ok, how weird is this? I was driving on I271 last week and I saw this in the parking lot of the JCC. By the time it registered as something other than odd, I was past it. So I made sure I drove the same way the next day. Still there. It seemed a little like the Twilight zone, or Harry Potter-esque for all those born after the 90s. It was still there on Friday, so I drove to the lot and took some pictures close up. I was so curious what it was all about, where it came from, and the purpose of the upside-down part, other than the obvious – the bottom half of a bus flipped over on top of regular bus.

I found a bit of information on the other side of the bus when I got close. It’s from the organization Teva Learning Center, which I believe is based in NYC. They teach about interconnecting with nature and Judaism. This was not as exciting as I had anticipated (no offense to anyone). But, I am glad I investigated its origin. And I am presuming they are here in Cleveland coordinating some kind of program with the JCC.

Maybe they travel around the country and offer special introductions to their organization, or maybe just in certain areas.

I don’t have any idea what was so fascinating for me about this visual anomaly. I think it was like seeing a really huge, cool sculpture in the middle of an urban setting, like our “free” stamp (Claes Oldenburg). Or some of the other unusual sculptures around the country. Honestly, I just wanted to see the bus up close.

THESE ARE SEA CONTAINERS STACKED TO FORM A BUILDING - Pier 54 Chelsea,
architect shigeru ban

artist gregory cobert; nyc-architecture.com

THIS INSTALLATION WAS IN CENTRAL PARK -'THE GATES' by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

island in the sun

Hello from the beautiful island of Abaco in the Bahamas. Not too easy to get internet access, good food, or any other luxuries we enjoy in the USA. However, the water, sun, and sand are exquisite and worth every day of sacrifice. Just to give you a little visual...

These were not the sunniest days :(

I have felt remiss in my posting. I actually miss the connection I think I am having with the WWW, reporting on my random-ness, discovering if anyone new has found my blog yet, if anyone who is following has any good feedback, etc.

During all these days of quiet, sun, and relaxation, I have been pondering the life and times of three.home. I have missed my little world of beautiful things, and I do mean little. All of about 900 square feet layered with home accessories of all kinds.

I think about all the buying trips I have been on, what I have seen, and all the inspiration. I miss the stories that occur and then later come to mind when I find treasures for the shop. The most adored elements of owning my own shop are the buying, the placing, arranging, merchandising, displaying, staging and so on. All the same. My connection is tactile, the touch and the visual.

I love the hunt, whether it is antique shows, estate sales, people offering something they want to sell, gift shows, or other misc sales - I love it all.

And then there is the next step. Where in the shop to put each piece I find, what things should be together, on what shelf or piece of furniture, high, low, with similar objects, with pieces of similar color. My mind wonders at times about the most unexpected place for a treasure to be, and then I can't wait to try it.

I will be back to regular posting next week and looking forward to it.

Hi Anne, we all miss you if you are following this week...

yoga

RANDOM-NESS: Target has the best plain popcorn EVER!

Yoga, something I have always thought would be a good thing to do when I got older and couldn't run and really needed to stretch and strengthen my muscles softly. Well, here I am, older and can't run.

Now having gone to yoga with my daughter and her friends a couple of times, I will say, it is not as intimidating at 44 yrs as it was when I was twenty something and early 30's; walking into a room filled with women and men scantily dressed, and in mostly great shape. So when my little, hard-body, with a cute butt, daughter goes right up to the front line in the middle of the room and rolls out her mat, I am OK with it.


I am surprisingly more flexible than I thought I would be. And I can balance in the 'eagle' position fairly well. Of course there is another side to this accomplishment of being somewhat limber. I expect to do the 1/2 pigeon position.


















No coincidence this photo could pass as me, HA but no, because I couldn't get into this position, let alone get out of it and switch! Looks easy enough.



Staying focused, what I wanted to mention was how great my last visit to CLEVELAND YOGA was and why. It wasn't the physical challenges or benefits I experienced during or after the workout. It wasn't the relaxation, it was this one instructor, I think her name was Candy. Her role that day was to go around the very crowded room and adjust us as needed, while Tammy was leading the class. As I was ever so busy trying to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing, trying to relax, empty my mind, not sweat my brains out (it is the HOT yoga class), all of the sudden, but delicately, I feel these incredibly gentle fingers, then palms very very slightly moving my hips to center and pushing down. I am not talking about a touch that was sexy, intimate, intrusive, or inappropriate. NONE of those. Her touch was like a feather dropping down from somewhere and landing on my back. Its not like I got some magic power from her and could suddenly 'do' the 1/2 pigeon like a yoga instructor - I still couldn't. But I think I felt some subtle energy passing from her hands to my back. It wasn't like a big, loud, sparkly something. It was more like telepathic, but through touch. If I hadn't been trying so hard to get my F*%#-ing leg up where it needed to be I might have missed the whole experience. T I imagine the ancient Chinese may have had moments like this one from practicing yoga millions of years ago.

I can't promise this will happen if you go to a class there, but I was not a believer in the whole relaxation, clearing of mind, breathing deep concept. As I mentioned I have always big into cardio exercising and the endorphin rush, big time. I couldn't understand how yoga could replace that feeling. I have to say that I did infact relax completely, and I didn't think of any other part of my life during the hour class, felt the mind out of body thing, it was cool. I will continue my journey with yoga.

trivia 101

This evening I have a trivia question for anyone who is reading...
what do the following things have in common:

low voltage light bulbs- packaging and all
rit dye in powder form
night-mouth guard (actually 2 to date)
some intimate part of womens undies-can't mention on the web
corners of toss pillows
sofa cushion-just one cushion
an entire roll of t.p.
and the cord to an iron





I will give you a hint...



Answer:

a)E.Z.
b)Garcia
c) all of the above

Oh if they weren't so cute, and I wasn't such a push over.

I have to share some personal stuff, at the risk of bigger and dirtier looks from my kids. They were both dressed up and expressing their own personal styles. Pia made her dress, very cool, she looked beautiful - all the girls looked fantastic. Wyatt had a yellow belt to pick up the yellow in his shoes. I can't imagine where my children got all this creativity and desire to be individuals...I am so proud.

Pia had 9 kids for dinner before the Spring dance and Wyatt had 2 buddies before a Bar Mitzvah.

Lindsey, Pia, Eve, Sonia

Will, Alex, Wyatt Wyatt, Pia

Spen, Sammi, Sonia, Eve, Lindsey, Pia, John, Tom, Oliver, Baui

This counts for one of the great things about parenting!