QUOTES FOR A THURSDAY

"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like" -Will Rogers

"People wish to be settled. Only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them." -Emerson

"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly." -Bertrand Russell

"Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life." -Herbert Otto

"The truth of Zen, just a little bit of it, is what turns one's hum drum life, a life of monotonous, uninspiring commonplaceness, into one of art, full of genuine inner creativity." -D.T. Suzuki

{Gathered from Zen and the Art of Making a Living, Laurence G. Boldt}

OLD BRASS BED

When I found the parts to an old brass bed at the thrift store for $12 I couldn't resist, even though they were missing the connector pieces. So I designed a way to connect an exposed box spring to the pieces using nuts and bolts. After an evening of struggling to make that work, a cinder block and zip tie solution finally did the trick.

MONDAY EP

For their Monday EP, Brianna Lane and Cahalen David Morrison (together, Harbor Collective) deconstructed an old atlas to create unique, handmade CD sleeves. A customized name stamp adds the finishing touch. Get your own at CD Baby.

SUITCASE STORAGE

I'm using old suitcases as storage containers. They look better than those big, plastic totes you see at box stores and when I'm ready to move (which seems to happen pretty frequently), I can just grab the handle and go.

ROAD TRIP READY

Stopped by the library this afternoon to pick up a couple books on tape and some fresh music for my weekend road trip to West Virginia. Amy introduced me to the magnificence of driving to books on tape when she rescued me from New York.

RECENT FINDS

I recently picked up this vintage Wisconsin sweatshirt, as well as the clothing stand which I'll be utilizing for upcoming clothing alteration projects.

LETS

Local Exchange Trading Systems. Most of my graphic design services are offered on a bartering basis, so I'm very interested in LETS. Anyone have any additional info?

GO OUTSIDE. NOW.

It's finally warming up here in Wisconsin and there's nothing like emerging from a long winter to make you appreciate the great outdoors. If I ever find myself feeling anxious, worrisome, etc, my coping mechanism is to simply spend some time outside. Photo taken atop Parnell Tower in Kettle Moraine.

MADE FROM SCRATCH

A recent new purchase has been the book, Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life. Jenna Woginrich is my age, works a full-time desk job, and has written a very practical, easy-to-read memoir about her adventures in self-sufficient living. A lot of the chapters aren't quite applicable to me in my yardless studio apartment, (beekeeping, chickens, house dogs, etc), but I mostly wanted to support a 26-year old writing about homesteading. Check out her blog, Cold Antler Farm.

ZIPPER REPAIR

When the zipper on my favorite pair of pink pants stopped working, I thought I had to retire them. But low and behold, Arnst Zipper is located across the street! For $5.25, my pink pants will live on.