Acquainted with the Night

Acquainted With The Night is one of the most famous examples of an American poem written in terza rima. (So says Wikipedia & that happens to be correct.) I haven't been reading Frost lately, who is not a huge favorite. It's just my lazy, quick way to post a title that does not say "Oh my %#$@(*&, I have to go to a clinic overnight for this now." Not tonight but soon. I'm so floopy & weirded out that I probably cannot make it to Carol Gillot's reception this evening (see post below). Mimph. Whine. Snarl. Week's End post that will be, if not hilarious, then somehow funnier. (Tim Walker & yes, I'll find other photographs soon. Vogue UK 2006)

Update already - Breaking news from any number of literary listservs, etc. Oprah just announced that Freedom is her next book club choice Maybe I'll hop in to the Franzenphilia/phobia-festival after all.... No, I don't watch her anymore (in years). Yes, I read The Corrections the day it was published (OK, well it took a week to read & should be cut by 200+pages.) I'll be reading Freedom, too, I can't buy it at the moment.

I've started to feel sorry & concerned for Franzen's mental health now. Another reason for not sleeping. Oprah--how dare you? Couldn't you have consulted me & waited until next week? (For Antipodean pals...I don't know if it's published there yet, though it has been in UK. BTW, it cannot have gone unnoticed that The Oprah is on her way to Australia. Hold onto your hats. Oy.)

Sunday Shopping - Sleep in a Persian Garden

It is no secret that I suffer from sleeplessness.

I just removed 700 words of fairly amusing drivel but it needs to be edited. As the tree near my desk is being whipped to a froth, the silvery undersides of the leaves showing, & the prospect of another power outage looms, I shall simply go straight to the shopping bit. The edited drivel will magically show up (in Parts I & II) next week.

In early June I finally tired of washing out a navy silk made-by-enslaved-masses sleep mask & needing it before it dried. So I went looking for another one & did so much better by visiting Bonnie, mask-maker extraordinaire, of BibBon on etsy. Bonnie has over 100 hundred masks to choose from, including a plain black one (which is important, I think, not just for men but for minimalist moods). I chose the one above, Persian Garden.

The two adjustable straps idea is wonderful & the sewing is sturdy & tightly done. I will never ever ever buy a mass-made sleep mask again. Not only that--it was less expensive than buying that popular navy silk deal in Whole Foods, ULTA, or wherever you found yours. Yes, really. The version I chose was $12.00 (yes, you read that correctly) + shipping = $US 13.30.

Bonnie will ask your choice of inner linings & guide you to what you want/need. That's it. It arrived quickly, washes beautifully, & I feel more glamorous than I should. If I am able to begin working (for money) again soon (please), I'll climb BibBon's luxury ladder for one of the silks.

Oh & a major side benefit about these masks from my perspective: Julie the Cat cannot budge the thing off my face as she can the other. While she seems to feel this has diminished her quality of morning mischief, I could not be happier (about that, at any rate). Go visit Bonnie at BibBon.

Have a great Sunday/Monday & I'll be back soon (if the power is on). Cheers & here's to a good night's sleep.

PS: Un grand bisou, Phoenix Olivier. Bon anniversaire!

[photographs via BibBon with permission, all rights reserved; Shell Cure for Insomnia via LIFE Archives]

My Baroque Brain (Breathe II)

The afternoon before I had lain across

my bed and my cat leapt up to lie

alongside me, purring and slowly

growing dozy. By this ritual I could/ clear some clutter from my baroque brain...
The Cloisters, Wm. Matthews, greatly missed.

I must have 100+ images of (North African/Levantine baroque) bedrooms but not for tonight. This is from the Verhext tumblr; marvellous San Francisco artist Tina Tarnoff of Thought Patterns has a post using images from this site. I highly recommend a visit to Pleasure.

Off to the virtual Libyan desert tomorrow for more basket magic. If only he would...hold that thought.

The Nereid of the Seashore

That would be AKTAIE in ancient Greek. This is where I'd like to be this morning. Alas, I will be out in 90+ degree heat attending to other, non-marine, matters. [image from liquid sunny day/deviantART via we heart it]

Friday Update: I'll be back with some pix before midnight. Have received emails asking about Julie. The asthma is pretty bad; the meds are worse; the cost for everything is..well, I'm gonna have to write a disgusting (true) memoir about my family or something. You know, sell out to make money for the bills. I'm serious. J. now hates me & is fighting the medications. She was uncharacteristically freaked out by the trip there & back. Usually, she's like a dog, eager to take a ride, especially with her pal Maria Caterina who took us there (no taxi necessary, it turns out thank goodness). Thanks to MCat for putting up with huge drama yesterday.

Blue Flower Clouds

[image via random thoughts/tumblr, via we heart it)