reverie 2a

1. Libra Ring : I have had my eye on this ring for some time.... it's only a matter of time before I breakdown and get it.

2. Philosykos Eau de Parfum : When I was in LA I stopped into Space NK and was delighted to discover this lovely scent. With it's hefty price tag this may be something that ends up on my Christmas Wishlist.

3. Chock A Block Necklace : Until recently I kept my distance from the all too present statement necklace. At first it seemed to trendy or goofy to stick but like many times before my initial judgment was way off. Okay, maybe not way off  - I still think it's purdy darn trendy - but the goofy part, now that was wrong. I love the chunkiness of this piece, the deliberate shape choices, the simple colors. 

4. Borja Tumbler : Zara has a new home collection. What I love about this line is its adherence to classic shapes, lines, and colors. I was drawn to the refined design of this glass; how its small size and clear glass allow for the embellishments to really shine.

5. Case for iPad : During my NY trip I was lucky enough to find my way over to Purl Soho, a yarn store I have long since been a fan of for their patterns, quality yarn selection, and presentation. They had these Baggu iPad cases I was extremely close to purchasing. Again, simple and practical with wonderful color selections. 

I should mention that I am a fairly avid pinner so if you find yourself so inclined, feel free to follow me here.

mini midweek mix .v10.

1. Dreamboat Annie - Heart

2. Lost - Lee Ranaldo

3. Always Awkward - Onuinu

4. Lose Your Mind - So Many Wizards

5. Badlands - Wymond Miles

6. Follow - Seapony

7. Sweet Talk - Jessie Ware

8. Baby - Donnie & Joe Emerson

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

'tis autumn

{Sunday stroll around Greenlake} 

{Lavendar mocha and greeting cards}

{Ivars lunch on the waterfront with c.m. fiske}

Fall is here and I couldn't be happier.

Here is a song to usher you into this lovely season.

'Tis Autumn - Stan Getz

What's it like for you in Washington?

mini midweek mix .v9.

1. Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
2. Denise - Clem Snide
3. What Are You Afraid Of - West Indian Girl
4. Human - The Human League
5. Among the Leaves - Sun Kil Moon
6. Live in Dreams - Wild Nothing
7. Big Dipper - Built To Spill
8. She Bangs The Drums - The Stone Roses

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

mini midweek mix .v8.

This is the THE mix. Totally came together organically and didn't even realize all these bands start with THE until song 7.

This mix finishes out perfectly if I do say so myself.

1. Until She Comes - The Psychedelic Furs

2. 1904 - The Tallest Man on Earth

3. I'm A Believer - The Monkees

4. What You Were - The Drums

5. Shattered - The Rolling Stones

6. Up The Down Escalator - The Chameleons

7. Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks

8. This Is The Day - The The

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

ear to the wood

little attic bedroom, 7. 30 .12

mini midweek mix .v7.

1. Grey Seal - Elton John

2. North American Scum - LCD Soundsystem

3. Happy Day - Talking Heads

4. Bim-Bom - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

5. Desperation Breeds... - Andrew Bird

6. Shiny Happy People - R.E.M

7. Laughter In The Rain - Neil Sedaka

8. Les Plus Beaux - Francois & The Atlas Mountains

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

grandpa's boots, a poem

a poem I wrote about the passing on of stories and histories - how they become entrusted to those left behind, but slowly, over time, decrease in the telling and lose traction, until we push them further into the attic as younger stories are collected and retired.

a portrait

Ariana - by c.m. fiske
watercolors + melted ice, at herkimer coffee
7. 21. 12

life lately

Some cute flowers right outside my office.

Chelsea at the CHBP.

Fresh lettuce from my friend Connie's garden.

final words {on light}

To complete my posts on light, here is a 

humble bit of poetry I wrote a while back. 

Do enjoy.

______________________________________________________________

           Passing through the mountains

there I saw a monk

bathing in a fountain

I watched him as he sunk

Fast 

       I went to grab him

reaching for his arm

He sang a sparkling hymn of praise

showed no signs of alarm

His skin as smooth as     butter dust

slipping from my reach

light reflected from his flesh

like beams upon the beach

A warmth, I felt, 

as down 

              he 

                plunged,

unfolding from the air,

a gold that I could nearly taste

a lightness I could wear

What is this?

I whispered 

with breath of gilded flecks

light

I felt him sweetly say

And what is light?

I answered back

The source of every flame.

The thread of life is in us all

burning as a fire

joining every vital voice

it's weaving hand can sire

I'm charged by an electric yarn

that sparks within you too

A match that's calling to be lit

but is struck by just a few

A ray of light defies its death

when crashing to the sea

unsuspecting waves reflecting

shimmering debris

So burn strong now, but when death rears

your fear you must resist

for as the sunshaft on the swell,

your light, your love, persist.

Patient water

sealed him neatly

         holy commandant -

All remaining

radiating

were  ripples    on      the font. 

mini midweek mix .v6.

I'm a little late on this one - my apologies. Here is a grab bag of sorts ..... just like the fireworks above.

1. Don't Let Me Down - Michael McDonald

2. Bruce - North Highlands

3. How Do I Know - Here We Go Magic

4. Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings - Father John Misty

5. Greyhound Romance - Shimmering Stars

6. The Move - Beastie Boys

7. We Got The Beat - The Go-Go's

8. Make A Move On Me - Olivia Newton-John

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

scenes from the coast

Recently I was able to get away to the Oregon Coast. It was wonderful to knit, read, cook and laugh.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

 

“The heaviest of burdens crushes us, we sink beneath it, it pins us to the ground. But in love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man's body.The heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously an image of life's most intense fulfillment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?” 
-Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being


...Something to ponder. 


                   Here are some of my disjointed scrawlings on the matter:


I don't quite know what to say concerning where I stand on lightness. I am undeniably captivated and compelled by the idea of weight and meaning and consequence. But, more often than not, I find myself trying to shed that desire for weight in an attempt to experience 

                                                     what it means to be 

light.

I suppose my question for Kundera is this: Can't we be light, without being insignificant?

By virtue of the fact that we exist, are we not also implicitly significant, regardless of our lightness or weight?

Can we achieve lightness, without dismissing our significance? Or, is the surrender of any lingering suspicion (or hope) that our existence is born out of some great intention imperative for complete weightlessness?

Perhaps I am reading too broadly and Kundera is simply implying that one living outside the demands of weight and burden possesses a complete disregard for the consequences of action. And that we can chose this or not. The end.


  If this is the case, I think I'd feel awfully alone in a weightless world.

Perhaps my true folly lies in confusing lightness and heaviness with insignificance and significance. The subsequent folly being my preoccupation with the issue of meaning and significance altogether. Which brings me to this reflection: 
                                                                                we exist, and that is significant. and remarkable.

Implicit in our human experience is the possibility to  experience both weight and lightness. So like Kundera says, there is a choice.... I just don't think there's a right one. Each is a valuable experience. The complete experience of one or the other (weight or lightness), however, is unattainable for a person with even one toe in the opposite pond.

maybe the beauty is in the balance -

I think I'd rather have a little of both. It's how I approach 2 scoop ice cream cones. And, like I should but never say:

Life is ice cream. Sample every flavor.

?

___________ . ___________

As for the book: A really interesting and insightful read by a Czech author. Makes poetry out of the mundane, unsavory and vulnerable bits of human nature. Expect reflection. Expect plot that occasionally feels like filler, bridging awesome philosophical essay to awesome philosophical essay. Plot which does, however, serve to cultivate characters and context worth investing in, allowing for fuller appreciation of aforementioned essays. {investment worthy characters? yes. flawed and perhaps even unlikeable? that too.}         I recommend, if you haven't read it.

{Thank you for reading the 4th installment of my posts on light.}

mini midweek mix .v5.

1. Shuffle a Dream - Little Dragon
2. Wrong Opinion - Chairlift
3. A Chicken with Its Head Cut Off - The Magnetic Fields
4. Walkabout - Atlas Sound
5. Night Swim - Frankie Rose
6. Swing Lo Magellan - Dirty Projectors
7. Light Out, Words Gone - Bombay Bicycle Club
8. Pat's Solo - Pat Metheny (from Shadows and Light)

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

ye olde luminance

old light bulb {watercolor, pen} - caffe fiore, ballard

I got distracted from my week of light posts
               so here is the next. Behold! Ye Olde Luminance!

don't hide your light{switch} under a bushel basket

the theme {for me} this week is
                     light.
How cool that we can harness it! How crazy! This is no mundane thing - let's give the ole flick of the switch the fancy it deserves. 


Why be plain,
    when you could be painted with flowers?


I painted these for my sister's house in Tucson. I took inspiration from fabrics around her house {I sound all crafty and homemakery!...bleh!...Ari, what have you done to me!?!?} Anyways, just some simple acrylic paints on Home Depot white switch plates - think about it.

mini midweek mix .v4.

This one may not be very seamless but it puts me in a good mood. 

1. Hold My Life - The Replacements
2. Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now - McFadden & Whitehead
3. Popmuzik - M
4. Thought of You - Justin Bieber
5. Stick Figures in Love - Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks
6. Who - David Byrne & St. Vincent
7. Such a Night - Dr. John
8. Harvest Moon - Neil Young

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

i dream of creating lighting fixtures.

tabletop tree lamp ©c.m. fiske

This is my lamp.

It is a tree                that sits on a table

It is gnarly, and   made of bronze, or brass or copper or wood.

Little      floating lights that mimic fireflies

glow  in miniature mason jars

that are tangled        in the branches.

oh monday

Monday Morning you sure look fine.....

mini midweek mix .v3.

............................

New Grizzly Bear.

Old New Order.

Remastered McCartney.

.............................

1. Sleeping Ute - Grizzly Bear
2. Cemetary Rain - Minks
3. So So So - Tomten
4. Punky's Dilemma - Simon & Garfunkel
5. Ram On - Paul & Linda McCartney
6. Cool - Pylon
7. Dream Never End - New Order
8. I'm Not Ready - Surfer Blood

*click the image to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

mini midweek mix .v2.

This one starts breezy, gets retro, and finishes with a little groove. Enjoy!

1. Goodbye - The Sundays

2. Exactly Nothing - Real Estate

3. King Harvest (Has Surely Come) - The Band

4. Goodbye Columbus - The Association

5. We've Only Just Begun - The Carpenters

6. Peace Attack - Sonic Youth

7. You Go Running - Deep Sea Diver

8. Lady Luck - Richard Swift

*click the image to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

blanket

I just started this new project yesterday. I've been working on a few other projects that are more detailed and time consuming so I'm really excited for this one to come together fairly quickly.

This is what I've accomplished so far (while watching the season finale of Mad Men).....

mini midweek mix .v1.

Here is a little something to get you to the other side of the week.

1. Remember Our Days - Lotus Plaza
2. Generals and Majors - XTC
3. Bumper - Cults
4. Gumball Machine Weekend - Yppah
5. I Feel Much Better - Small Faces
6. Silver Shore's Lake - Pure Bathing Culture
7. Blue Letter - Fleetwood Mac
8. Name Calling - Eli "Paperboy" Reed

*click the picture above to access the playlist on Spotify

gentle man

in honor of my grandpa speaking 

about his experience at omaha beach on d-day 

at mustang library {this wednesday}, 

here is a song i wrote {months ago} 

about him and my grandma ❤

{he's the one on the right}

From their two bit towns 

to the city

Nurses tend the beds

made up pretty

Boys with stripes and bars

in their closets

got presidents

in their pockets

bootleggers on her fathers farm

smokin' cigarettes at six

slim figured

covered neck to knees

spittin sharp tongued cherry pits

he's a boyscout,

hard workin Navy lad

came from Kansas pioneers

simple minded

dapper gentleman

kind eyes and floppy ears

She said you're gentle and

You don't drink

I've been knocked around a time or two

I don't ask for much

I know my lot

And a gentle man will do

In louisiana

he fell in love

with a French Canadian fire

but she said i want a boy who sneaks bourbon at church

not one who sings in the choir

Vous aurez une charmante epouse

On qui est vrai pour vous

You'll find yourself a lovely wife

One who's true to you

she was kissin boys behind the school yard

skinny dippin in the dam

turned down porposals from devoted drunks

and rose to the top of her class

I won't tolerate lazy man

I don't care how well you kiss

It's a man who'll be devoted

And probably promoted

Who'll be the lucky brunt of my wit

Vous aurez une charmante epouse

On qui est vrai pour vous

You'll find yourself a lovely wife

One who's true to you

Well the navy boy

and the New York nurse

share a chocolate ice cream

they settle in for a suitable life

in the land of American dreams

She said you're gentle and

You don't drink

I've been knocked around a time or two

I don't ask for much

I know my lot

And a gentle man will do

confessions of a work meeting doodler:

   oh, 

just a little poem, 

                                 and a 

lightbulb hot air balloon.

singin' songs at dusk.

just an evening cover of a camera obscura song. love them.

...it turns out her real name is petra

A letter to my sister. 


for her 


birthday.

 

photo cred: Sophia Agtarap

keepin' it classy

Yesterday I took part in my first regatta. Boating season in Seattle celebrated it's Opening Day and kicked the whole thing off with a string of crew races from Lake Washington to Portage Bay. My Auntie T was super sweet and offered to drive us to and from the Montlake Cut so we could cheer on GU (we happen to know one of Gonzaga's lovely lady rowers).

After the race my aunt picked up my mom and I and we settled into brunch at Grace's Kitchen.

I capped off the day with a night at the symphony taking in a bit of Mozart and Shubert. 

No one tells you that being fancy can be a tad exhausting. Hope you all had a sunny weekend.