Hung up on Denim 2 and Google

Thought I would publish this as it was so interesting.
Dear C

What would I do without Google and where is this taking me?

Remember when you were a child and you needed the answer to something? In our house the World Book Encyclopedia sat on a shelf of importance waiting for all our questions. Every year an update book arrived and was added to the collection. It was a luxury akin to our first TV.

Today? I just google it. It seems like I no more than turn off my computer and I have another google I want to do. This morning it was denim.
Denim...in usage in America since the late 1700's. Denim...a weave structure based on a twill weave, over two under two. Denim...derived by shortening the name serge de nimes, a fabric first woven in Nimes, France. Darn, I thought we Americans invented denim. Well we certainly perfected it. Talk about obsessive compulsions.
Everyday in my store we spend hours helping women of all ages find the perfect denim jeans. The pair that makes their butt look great. The pair that slims their thighs. The pair that makes them look taller. The pair that minimizes their waist and on and on. It's a very serious business. What does this say about all of us? We've come a long way baby, but we have a long way to go? I'll leave that one up to you. It might be a main topic for 2010.

Gotta go. Gotta go Google something.

Love,

R

ps. I love the photo of your mom. Can you scan it at a high res and send it to me? As for computers wasting or saving time, I just spent two hours on mine and enjoyed every minute.

Hi R and other BB friends

I will have to go up in the loft to the box of photos to find it - one could call it Pandora's Box.

Interesting info on denim - love the name 'serge de nimes' - you could use it to market your jeans. I think denim deserves a more exotic title for such a valiant fabric. 1700's - Everything old is new again.

We BB's can related to the importance of fit and flattery. My favourite current pair of jeans are an ancient Buffalo brand which I love because they have just enough stretch to make them fit like a glove while at the same time have enough strength to keep me in. They are, however, hipsters, so this creates the 'Muffin effect' when you sit down. Another current pair of Calvin's K are not quite so flattering but are better when I sit down but the very best jeans I have ever had were a pair of black Versace's which have just the right amount of stretch, and are higher up on the waist. I have had them for over 10 years and pour myself into them when the occasion calls for 'sexy' dressup.

I consider good jeans to be a great investment, much the same as good perfume or jewelery. What about 'Invest in serge de nimes for fit and flattery?

On Google - I agree. A moroccan recipe which I must post soon, having meandered away from food, called for cilantro leaves, a term which mystified my friend who then asked the guy at the Fruit and Vege Mart, without success. So of course she Googled it and there it was - Coriander. I told her not to worry about asking people next time - just go google it.

Love Clara

http://www.shopatnextdoor.com/


Welcome to my journey as I photograph something I created everyday for a year... RRT
Leaf it to Me... February 27th Hand printed sweater.




























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Hung Up on Denim

Hi R and BB Friends

How good is denim? Timeless, trans- seasonal, always there waiting for you when there's nothing else to wear, the perfect match with a crisp shirt or a beautiful creative piece. How did we ever live without it?

Mum, hanging clothes 1950's

Babyboomers have seen many fashion trends - the evolvement of easycare fabrics which I considered ugly at first with crimpaline slack suits gradually giving way to stylish durable garments. 1950's women spent considerable time ironing and cleaning but things were changing. Dad was a gadget man, buying all the latest for Mum - two must-haves stood out - one was a potato peeler, a tap driven device, which agitated the potatoes over an abrasive surface and in doing so, took off the skins; and the other being the Ironette which every 50's domestic goddess needed in order to iron sheets, towels etc as you did in those days, even when you were living in reconstructed fibro housing.

http://www.babyboomerconnections.com.au/1950's

Speaking of timesavers, Blogger does have Spellcheck which I just discovered - click on the ABC and a little drop menu suggests other alternatives. - but not for Crimpaline Are computers time savers or wasters?

http://www.shopatnextdoor.com

Welcome to my journey as I photograph something I created everyday for a year... RRT

Hung Up On Denim...February 26th

Today's work was a collaboration with my good friend and artist, Karen Halt. We took my Tattooed denim and designed our first run of limited edition jeans. We look forward to many days ahead of being hung up on denim.

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Here Comes the Sun

Hi R and BB Friends

They are adooooorable!

"Here Comes the Sun" - a title of hope - I can see it - somewhat weak but still there. This was how Wisconsin looked when we first arrived in January - the coldest winter in a decade. I think I will have this printed .

I love your descriptions - they add so much to the images.

Good News - I finally managed to publish my website http://www.babyboomerconnections.com.

having spent a torturously confusing time where every time I published I lost data and had to rebuild the site several times - a bit like Groundhog Day movie. It turned out to be one little command which was causing all the trouble.

I have been exploring some of the mysteries of Blogger and I'm thinking using labels better will give a tighter focus to the site, as I weave everyday life and ideas into my blobsession. (When I first read your new word, I interpreted it as blob session not bl obsession. G tells me that I am 'obsessive / compulsive which is probably the same thing.) I envy you, your focus on your work/expression as I tend to have too many ideas which tumble over each other, jostling for my attention and focus. Perhaps I need to just keep engaging that drive and see where it takes me. I sense that the photography re your creations is as important as the work itself. We live in an amazing world - where I can photograph my world today and send it across the world for you to view at breakfast.

Love Clara

Welcome to my journey as I photograph something I created everyday for a year... RRT

Tee Time...February 25th

Here comes the sun.

It's February 25, day 17, cold and windy. The sweater is suspended between the branches of the sumac. I love the red berries against the blue of the sky. What a contrast to yesterday's photo

http://www.shopatnextdoor.com/

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The Importance of Pets

Hi R and other BB friends

Doggy Land
From Memoirs of a Babyboomer - 1970's
Importance of Pets
"It impresses me the power of companionship, the pivotal support that pets can provide in life. They share our emotional territory without judgement or blame. It is that atmosphere of acceptance - of wordless cheer- that is so deeply comforting even transforming."Pets" Barney Bardsley

Approaching thirty but with a few years still to go, and childless, meant that if you had a dog it was considered to be a child substitute; let alone having two Golden Retrievers, which absolutely consolidated that belief. Gigi was a gift from a friend and named already, was a lovely pet and was much loved by all.

She was joined by Nordi, a more robust dog which we purchased after checking out pedigrees etc. I almost feel that I should use 'who' rather than 'which' as she actually believed that she was a human.

I understand why people, particularly when our children have moved out, nuture their dogs almost as though they were another child.

I look forward to some photos of your three, Renotta, but also the other three offspring I missed out on.
Looking chilly today!

Love C

Welcome to my journey as I photograph something I created everyday for a year... Renotta

Jacket Required - February 24

Loom Knit Kimono Jacket in a World of Grayscale

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My job is not to waste a precious moment

Cat's Meow - February 22nd

Wired February 23rd
Hammered Pewter Wire Neckpiece

"I can walk out the door unencumbered whether it is to go for a walk or photograph objects in the snow or work at my store. There's a wonderful freedom that years of hard work and responsibility has given us. I can honestly say that it is the best time of my life. Sure I look in the mirror and pull up the skin on my face, but that's a small price to pay. My job in this next stage is to enjoy, keep myself and my family healthy, and not waste a precious moment...... Renotta

Hi Renotta and other friends

Your comment above, says it all so beautifully. Thanks. You certainly make the most of your time. We still have much to catch up on!

Meet my cat - she sits on the doorstep all day and night, and doesn't eat much.
Because we like to be free to travel, this is the only pet I have. I am visited, however, by the real furry kind, Felix, who lives in the unit downstairs and likes to sit on our comfortable chairs in the sun.

Your descriptions on your work seem to have disappeared - Blogger does funny things sometimes. I better not say too much or he might hear me. My version does have a spell check ABC with a tick but it doesn't seem to correct which is a pain.

Must correct my spelling of 'decolletage' the other day. An article "Lowdown on your neckline', this week suggests that the decolletage area has less oil glands, and the skin is very thin, so needs to be kept well moisturised. " Use body products up to the neck, and face products down to the bust".

Love the Hammered Pewter work - very dramatic and wonderful contrast with the soft pink of the stones. Love Clara

To BBoomers - not ready to give up being as vibrant as we have been.

Hi there BB's and others

We actually don't have much of a blueprint on how to deal with the future. Because we are different from the role models of the past, we need to establish our own way. Which is why I would like you to contribute on this site in order to blaze our own trail into the future.

Perhaps you have a perspective which could help others in our position ie Ageing but Gorgeous BB's, who are not ready to give up being as vibrant as we have been, or could still be.

Cheers Clara

Close-up perspective

Still on the same day........... More to come tomorrow.
About the Rowers!!!!!!

Hi Renotta and other BB friends

Still getting used to the unstructured nature of Blogger where I can't seem to place photos where I want them to be. Hopefully I will get better at it, but technology, wonderful though it is by allowing us Babyboomer women to connect, actually brings me out in a rash.

I adore these unfurling ferns, and the lichen on our native sandstone. If I was still weaving, these photos would provide a fabulous starting point. (I still have my loom - that is the good news - the bad news is that because of the necessity to downsize, it is in storage- perhaps the body corp will allow us to go 'UP').

'Unfurling' is a good starting point or 'emerging' . "Clara is an emerging blogger. She will 'evolve more structure over time." In the meantime, my 'inner dragonfly' is in full flight - changing direction at will.

Babyboomer women, I believe, deserve to indulge this creative part of themselves and to use our time exactly as we feel like, rather than what we feel we 'should' be doing. If we can't do this now, I question when we ever will. I am now 'jealous', not quite the right word; 'protective' of my creative time, is better. Women, have traditionally give away their time, freely, with love, and have received love and satisfaction for this as we are hardwired to nuture our young, just as men are hardwired to propagate the species. We are happy about putting others first. But not quite. Now is our time, my fellow COGS - (Crazy ole Gals)!

Love Clara

"One women's success can only help another women's success"

Turquoise Trail

February 21st

Loom Knit Shrug with Scarf

Hi Renotta and other Babyboomer friends

It is so amazing to be able to communicate and share our lives in this way. Women thrive on connections and are lost without them.
Wisdom of the day (from my desk calendar), "I've always believed that one woman's success can only help another woman's success."..... Gloria Vanderbilt

I actually feel sad for some men / women who believe that 'winning' is the most important aspect of an exercise.

Turquoise is a colour which in its various hues, suits most women. However, as we get older (and better), I/we tend to soften the hue. In summer, I take the lighter tint, and love the combination with white.

I look at my wardrobe with a half closed eye (G would say that is the only way to view it!) and the colours and hues that I have chosen, reflect the colour range of a 'Summer'. I haven't consciously chosen those, even though I had my colours 'done' a few decades ago. I just seem to know now when I feel and look good. There are mistakes but thanks to Vinies (do you have a recycle charity shop such as this - called St Vincent De Pauls?) I can discard without guilt, knowing that I am helping others.

Love Clara

A walk around Sydney

Hi Renotta and other friends
Still luring you to this part of the world. I am going to send you a heap of photos today - the reason being that, even they are probably not my best photos of the area, but were all taken yesterday which will demonstrate the incredible beauty of the area. Just as I am amazed at how you can come up with such beautiful, creative pieces every day, I want to amaze you.

These are the big picture photos, the closeups will follow tomorrow.

Thanks for saving the photos next to yours - that is very special.

Love C

Cremorne Point Walk pathway.

Cremorne Reserve stretches around the entire shoreline of Cremorne Point in a mix of bush and formal gardens, providing unrivalled public access to the harbour shores. It is a special reserve with a fascinating history in a spectacular environment

In one direction, Mosman Rowers Club - a great spot for a meal or a casual counter lunch/dinner and drink. Either return along the same path or take a 10 minute ferry trip from Mosman Bay back to Cremorne Point. (more to come about 'The Rowers'! We did have a drink there yesterday but I will save those photos for another day when I tell you why I didn't take G there when I first met him.)

If you choose to walk right along the path you follow Sydney Harbour foreshore to the lighthouse on the tip of The Point. You can then follow the path along the western side of The Point which offers superb views of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and city skyline. During the day and at night it's a wonderful sight - don't forget your camera!

Discovery and appreciation are the key elements of this wonderful loop walk. The interpretative signs will help you to discover something of its original Aboriginal inhabitants, the early Cremorne Gardens, the fine architectural heritage, the impact of development on the Reserve's flora and fauna and the work being done to bring back the bMosmanush.

A Walk Around the Block in Mosman - Sirius Cove

Sirius Cove

A dog's paradise shared with the occasional human
- the perfect place to leap through tiny waves, chase fellow canines and return the inevitable sticks to owners.

Early morning walkers turn their heads, still keeping up the pace, to breathe in the everchanging beauty of the safe harbour haven. Dancing ripples reflect from moored vessels in the foreground, and beyond larger ships and ferries glide across the bay.

Bushland, dotted with fortunate residences, fringes the bay while in the distance, city highrise and smog remind the viewer of the world of commerce.

Behind the nestling cove are the 'steps from hell' to return the walker to suburbia and reality.

Clara 1990's

Hi Renotta and other friends,

This is where I went the other day, with my trusty camera, when I decided to skip the gym. I'm showing you these for several reasons - the main one being to lure you over here in 2012. We are going to France next year but in 2012 it would be great to visit you, catch up, have a glass or two of wine in your studio, get to know your dogs, visit the lake cabin, then send you two off to stay in our place in Mosman, while we look after the dogs. Good plan?

The other reason is that I am in the beginning stages of writing a book about Mosman - probably will be an E Book or at least will start out that way. I am taking photos of this beautiful historic area - not quite sure how it will be arranged but as with our cogging, the process will evolve from the beginning the action.

Must go - my poor husband says I lose myself on my computer - (a bit like he does in his Sydney Morning Herald which is a huge paper both in size and volume, which he reads from cover to cover). We are going to go for a walk around Cremorne Point, then to stop for a drink at my old haunt 'The Rowers'.

Love Clara