6 Things on Saturday
AKA, your weekly dose of randomness, this time on Saturday. Perhaps I could have made a Friday Randomness post, even though I didn’t write anything on Thursday, because I got up at about 3am yesterday. So gross. Why? Couldn’t sleep. Probably wine, which doesn’t metabolize as well as it used to. Onward.
I saw this post the other day and immediately thought of Elisabeth, and how getting away from the dark of Nova Scotia might be helpful in the midst of winter. I mean, she’d be away from home for Christmas, but also, she’d wouldn’t have the work and stress of Christmas.
Nicole recently shared a picture of her bookmark collection, established after the tragic loss of her prior collection in her big move a few years ago. That reminded me that I cannot find my favorite bookmark, which I got at the Musée de Cluny in Paris, and shows a fragment of one of the famous ‘Lady and the Unicorn’ tapestries. I am starting to suspect that I accidentally gave it away, tucked into a book that I donated to a Little Free Library. If this is the case, I hope that whomever wound up with it loves it almost as much as I do. I started thinking about it, and realized that in addition to the bookmark and a magnet for my fridge, I also bought some notecards. I have been sending them out, judiciously, as they are precious, but also, that is their purpose, to be sent out. Might this card have a different, equally precious, purpose? Couldn’t I cut it to make a new bookmark? This seemed like an excellent idea to me, but I don’t trust my hand (or my scissors) to be as straight and accurate as I want.
Enter my local FedEx store, where they kindly let me use their paper cutter for free, and voila, I now have 3 beautiful bookmarks, all also purchased at the Cluny on my trip to Paris in 2022. I’m so happy with this, and wonder if I might want to make more beautiful bookmarks out of cards?
Speaking of museums, I took Tuesday off from work and went to the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco (which warrants its own post, so here is a glimpse). The exhibit was based around Matisse’s famous painting, Femme au chapeau. At the end of the exhibit was this amazing painting, Qusuquzah, une tres belle Negress 1, which I loved. I loved the confident stare, as well as the use of rhinestones in her eyeshadow, lipstick, and veil.
It looks like we will be spending at least part of this weekend appliance shopping. Our dishwasher has a broken pump, which is more expensive to fix than to replace. I hate that, and at the same time, if this pump is going, there is another pump and other components that might also fail, so keeping it seems like a bad idea. Humbug.
We had more fun shopping for this raised planter box last weekend. Ted didn’t like this bare spot in our little back yard, and had a vision for it that included a planter. I wasn’t sure at first, but decided it was a good idea, especially if we got something with some height to it, as it’s kind of hidden by our bbq grill. I’ve seen these flowers around the neighborhood and think they’re so pretty, and I love the way they look here.
Our Friday dinner this week was a favorite French restaurant, where I tried something new to me, quenelles. Described on the menu as dumplings, they were closer to a soufflé. Puréed northern pike is whipped together with egg whites and then gently poached. It was served with a delicious creamy crayfish sauce and sautéed spinach. Consider me a fan. Mine didn’t have the crème fresh or whatever on top, and I didn’t miss it. Photo from the restaurant’s social media. I came home and watched Julia Child make quenelles on YouTube.
These three kittens are still at the local PetSmart, waiting to be adopted. They’re so sweet, pretty easy going, and relatively clean. I’d love them to go to a home together, but I feel like that’s a lot to ask. Maybe that’s why they’re not being adopted, no one can bear to separate them.
I hope your weekend plans are more fun than appliance shopping. Wish us luck!
43 Comments
Nicole MacPherson
Oh, what a great solution to the bookmark loss! And now you have three. That’s perfection!
J
I know, I’m so happy with them! I had to ask the nice employee at the FedEx store to help me with the paper cutter, I hadn’t used one in so long that I forgot. But when he had cut the first one, I told him he made my day, so hopefully that made up for my total incompetence!
nance
What a great idea for new bookmarks! And those notecards are gorgeous. I, too, have a huge supply of notecards and hardly ever use them. I need to; after all, that’s actually why I bought them. Duh.
I’d pass on the French fish dumpling thingy. Fish is always tough for me. It tastes…fishy. Another duh.
I’m sorry you have to replace your dishwasher, and on a weekend, too. Ugh. I will say that we’re very happy with our Bosch dishwasher. It’s reliable, quiet, and has great space for everything.
The painting you highlighted is awesome. It reminds me that I need to head back to the Cleveland Museum of Art. It’s been far too long, and I’m proud of its collections.
Those kitties! Really tugging at my heartstrings. I miss mine terribly.
J
I’m sorry that the kitties are tugging at your heartstrings Nance! I remember when Genevieve died, that I couldn’t bear to look at dogs. I wanted everyone to keep their dogs at home. I thought, “NOT FAIR, YOU CAN HAVE A DOG AND MINE IS DEAD” and it was horrible. When Mulder died I wanted to see all of the dogs. Our minds are weird sometimes, and grief treats us differently from instance to instance.
You would not have liked these quenelles. Definitely fishy.
I will keep my eyes out for a Bosch. We have such a tight space for it, we bought one once that we had to return because we couldn’t open it fully, the door hit our oven door. So we have to keep that in mind.
StephLove
Love the bookmarks.
When we got the pair of cats before our current pair, there was a trio I fell in love with at the shelter at the same time, but three felt like a lot and couldn’t bring myself to take two and leave one, so we chose a duo instead.
When we got our current cats, they were in a litter of four and taking two I could imagine at least that the other two would be adopted together. I actually think about them a lot and wonder if they are together and what their personalities are like because the two we have, while quite bonded, have very different temperaments.
J
My cousin and her wife went to the shelter to get one cat, and came home with three. I mean, they could have taken one and left the other two, but it felt mean to them to separate them. And now they’re overwhelmed with kittens. Or, they were, it’s been a few years now.
AC
You remind me that I have a bookmark that I purchased 67 years ago, and maybe 69. It is a native-crafted leather bookmark that says, “Here’s where I fell asleep.” It reappears from wherever it goes every few years, and then it goes to wherever once again. I have posted about it at some point.
J
I’m wondering if my bookmark might reappear at some point? I hope so. In the meantime, now I have these and I’m pretty happy. I love the idea of a bookmark that you’ve had for SO LONG.
Margaret
I love those bookmarks–what a great idea! I didn’t realize how much I liked souffles until having one in Ireland. However, making them the few times I tried, didn’t go well at all.
J
I’m not sure I’ve ever made a souffle, but yes, I love them too. So good.
Lisa’s Yarns
I have some cards that I purchased from another blogger (my friend Jeanie in MI) but I am so stingy about sending them out since I love them so much. But they are meant to be sent so I really should put them in the mail.
That museum exhibit sounded amazing! You are fortunate to live close to such great museums! We have some in the twin cities but nothing compares to the museums of the largest cities in the US!
J
I do feel fortunate to live close to several excellent museums! Maybe you could save a favorite notecard and use it as a bookmark or frame it or something…
Michelle G.
I love your “new” bookmarks! What a fun idea!
I think the quenelles look delicious. Seafood is tough for me because where I live, it’s rarely fresh. But where you live, it’s amazing!
Your new planter looks so pretty!
J
I’m not sure you want to try to make quenelles, they look like a lot of work. But if you were so inclined, the fish was river fish! You have a river right there, right? It just needs a white fish that’s not too flakey.
San
Are those magenta poppies? I’ve seen them around here, too. They’re so pretty! (I LOVE poppies! In Germany, they’re usually bright red!)
What a great idea to cut up the card and make it into new bookmarks! So pretty.
I hope the kitties find a forever home together! It would sad if they had to be separated to be adopted.
P.S. That t-shirt up at the top is hilarious 🙂
J
I love poppies too. I’ve been admiring the ones that I’ve seen around here, and am so happy to have them in my yard now!
NGS
Someone sent me an absolutely lovely striped birthday card and I used it to create three booksmarks. I felt crafty!
How about I take those three kitties?! LOOK HOW PERFECT THEY ARE. Can you imagine how incredible they’re going to be when they’re not nightmare kittens anymore? (Never again with a kitten. NEVER AGAIN.)
J
I hear you on the kittens. So cute, but SO MUCH ENERGY, and SO DESTRUCTIVE. These kittens look like they’re always sleeping, but I’m sure that they could get into a lot of trouble, given the chance!
NGS
Hannah and I were at Pet Supplies Plus because she need a B-A-T-H and there were three kitties there that looked just like the ones you posted except they had little white boots on their paws! One of them was playing with a toy and the other one grabbed my finger and licked it! Hannah and I were very excited to take the kitties home, but SOMEONE ELSE who lives with us vetoed it.
J
OMG all three? YES! Also, yes, we have vetoing around here as well.
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Love that new planter.
I create my own bookmarks all the time from old cards and nice paper. It is the best.
Yours are great!
J
I’ve used a postcard as a bookmark before, but somehow it has never occurred to me to cut them this way. It made me so happy!
Diane
We had to appliance shop a few weeks ago when our fridge stopped working. The whole experience was actually really nice- we went to a local family owned appliance store, told them what we had, the guy there told us what we should replace it with, and he gave us a loaner mini fridge to use in the mean time.
We’ve use this place often in the past to replace appliances in our rental units- they are very straight forward and tell us what is the closest current model to what we are replacing, and the guy has been in business so long that he can usually tell from the address if the appliance will fit through the door.
(He was also wearing Trump 2024 socks, but I’m not holding that against him. Trump supporters are so rare in this area, it was kind of like spotting an endangered species.)
Anyhow- I hope your appliance shopping experience is not too painful.
J
We ended up buying at a local independent company as well. I think it’s bigger than your place, and our salesperson was knowledgeable but not like your guy. Anyway, aside from the money spent (would have been cheaper to fix the old one, but we decided we didn’t want to go that way because we worry that something ELSE will break and then we’ll be losing money), it was a good experience.
coco
these 3 kittens are soooo cute!!!
we went to see a cat for adoption yesterday and 3/4 of famiky members want to get her, but i’m still hesitant. I don’t know how it will change family dynamics. but can’t stop thinking about her.
how quick/slow is a cat to find adopted family? will petsmart keep them as long as they are not adopted?
J
It varies a lot. Some kittens or cats get adopted right away, these have been there over a month. We had one that was in one location or another for something like 8 months. They keep them until they are adopted. Good news though, one of them was adopted yesterday! I think with only 2 left they might get adopted together.
Sarah
Oh man, now I want to be a lighthouse keeper.
J
I told Elisabeth that when she is ready to work 30 hours a week for free and live in a tiny apartment, this place is ready! Same goes for you!
Daria
Hi Julie, I am climbing from under a rock after a few hard weeks.
I still have the Omar Hayyam postcard you sent me a while back. It’s hanging at work on my board wall.
I am bad with bookmarks. I have no designated bookmark, rather I use a post-it or any small paper that’s within my reach. That’s probably because I read on kindle.
That light house is so dreamy. I fantisize about going away and living alone often.
J
I think anything that keeps your place in a book is valid!
I hope things calm down a bit for you, and I’m glad you kept the postcard I sent!
DB Stewart
Sometimes a favourite bookmark can get one through the struggle. Yes to the little things.
J
Agreed! Yes to the little things!
Melissa
That T-shirt is evil!
I love the bookmarks. Musee Cluny is fabulous, I loved wandering around there last time I was in Paris. I have a few bookmarks that I’ve collected on my travel (freebies mostly) or ones I’ve been given but most often I use the library reserve slip because I mostly read library books and it is there and conveneient when I first open it.
The planter looks cool. Being up may reduce snails and slugs as well.
J
We used to have a real snail problem, but nowadays it’s mostly squirrels that destroy my plants.
Cluny fans unite! What a beautiful museum.
PocoBrat
In awe of your idea and execution of the bookmarks, J… they turned out so pretty!
I know medieval times probably sucked for women (and everyone) but the colors and poetry are so lovely and rich… I binged a show called _Decameron_ recently It’s connection to Bocaccio was cursory, but still pretty cool.
I’m going to go find Julia Child making the things on Yu Tube–they look amazing and I love fish…
(Ive decided that I love Gloria Steinem and Julia Child too much to care that they took CIA money–they took it and used it for books and food rather than bombs and coups, right?!)
PocoBrat
Here’s the typo-free version :). Phone-typing is really not for me.
___________
In awe of your idea and execution of the bookmarks, J… they turned out so pretty!
I know medieval times probably sucked for women (and everyone), but the colors and poetry are so lovely and rich… I binged a show called _Decameron_ recently. Its connection to Bocaccio was cursory, but still pretty cool.
I’m going to go find Julia Child making the things on YouTube–they look amazing.
(I’ve decided that I love Gloria Steinem and Julia Child too much to care that they took CIA money–they took it and used it for books and food rather than bombs and coups, right?!)
J
LOL, agreed regarding Child and Steinem!
I love these bookmarks, and I’m thinking maybe I am going to be putting similarly created bookmarks into my Christmas Cards this year…for my bookish friends at least. We’ll see if I lose the mojo on that idea or not.
ernie
Another vote for a Bosch dishwasher, like Nance. I’m sorry your is broken and that you have to find one that fits in a tight space. That stinks. We have two dishwashers and one of ours is not functioning right now. We don’t need two often anymore, but we could’ve used it last night after I baked and cookes up a storm when we hosted our gang plus a few. I wrote a post about our weekend, but the damn reader thing is not updating for me, so not sure if new posts are showing up for others. I’m not able to see who has a new post out, so I’m just hopping around checking on who has something new to share. I’m also team ‘too fishy for me’, like Nance. The photo looks very inviting though. Oh, those kitties. They are so cute. I hope they find homes. That t-shirt at the top is hilarious. I love your creative answser to creating new book marks. The raised planter is really cute.
J
We ended up getting a brand of dishwasher I had never heard of before. Need to get used to it, it’s very smart. Too smart I think.
K @ TS
Quenelles are great! I had them in Lyon, as I think they come from there, and they were delicious. You can’t go wrong with egg and cream and fish right? They serve them at most of the bouchons there, and I haven’t had a bad one yet. That painting is interesting, as she also has glitter on her cleavage. I feel that she is a powerful woman from the pose and the stare!
J
Yes, they are from Lyon, as is Jacques Pepin. I tried to find a video of him making them, but I was impatient and when I didn’t see anything right away I went for Julia. You can’t go wrong with Julia, right?
Jenny
Amazing solution to the bookmark issue!!! I’m going to be on the lookout from now on for cards I could turn into bookmarks. I’m reading through the comments and see that one of the kittens was adopted! I was thinking that had to happen- now that one is gone, someone will be more likely to adopt the other two (two kittens seems like a good idea- three… not so much).
J
I am thinking the same thing, both about cards and the kittens! I’ll go tomorrow to see them, will keep you updated.