Dust, Wood, Books, Light, 2013
Yesterday during an appointment with a hair stylist I experienced the indulgence of having my hair washed by someone other than myself and contemplated the creation of a hair shampooing robot.
Books. They've contributed to my life in so many ways. How will electronic publishing change this contribution? I've tried reading from an iPad mini. It was okay, it didn't kill me, but there was something a little sad about it. The reading felt less intimate.
Often my workouts take place in an old theatre transformed into a gym. It's a unique space, but this isn't my point. Today while on the second floor looking down at people sweating on various pieces of gym equipment I thought of body shape. Imagine all of the physical labor involved in a pre-industrial society. Body shape for many must have been determined by profession. A plowman most likely had well-developed leg muscles due to his maneuvering on foot throughout the day while a seated coachman probably had weaker leg muscles. Today most of the work we do doesn't require muscle, we have more control over our shape.
The unusual May heat here this morning reminds me of Salina.
Kathleen Jamie has me wandering around the Bergen Natural History Museum's Hvalsalen, in my mind, contemplating enormous whale skeletons.
Cut peonies fade too quickly.
Denise: i like your Woolf-ian stream of consciousness today... i get my hair cut at super-cuts; i ate carrot for lunch(from carrots picked in my garden); i miss Salina (we traveled there every summer, by boat); i do not like reading on electronics, i like the printed page; I just learned to weave; we are moving homes soon, will have more book space (which makes me happy). Have a wonderful (random) day
ReplyDeletep.s. that was... carrot soup (that i ate, for lunch, today). I type too fast. English is my second language.
ReplyDeleteI liking of liked "i ate carrot" ;)
DeleteCut peonies drop petals in the most romantically soft way though.
ReplyDeleteI tried an ereader. Not for me.
Love following thought trails....
The transformation has been amazing. They have transitioned from bright pink all the way to pale yellow and are just beginning to drop their petals this evening.
Deletemay heat? pgoah! may it not travel across oceans.
ReplyDeletei sometimes wonder about the 'evolution' in our dailies. as much as we stay the same, i mean peoplewise, the way we experience our days has radically changed from bodily physique to inexplicable inertia. it's against our nature, i think, and we suffer.
but that's a morose note i'm writing, because it does make me sad we all need gyms now, in order to shape up. it shouldn't be that way at all.
off to brisk walk now. ;)))
n♥
The gym. It does feel odd at times. I do all of my walking outside, only weights, stretching, and yoga indoors. Hope your brisk walk was exhilarating.
DeleteThe all too fleeting beauty of peonies...sometimes they just crumple up and look like they were made of tissue paper and will be used on a parade float.
ReplyDeleteI work on my feet, standing all day, only sitting for lunch or a brief moment on the computer.
I lift, I carry heavy buckets up stairs and sometimes take out the floral debris, using my triceps to heave the box up high into the dumpster.
I need to be strong.
xo Jane
My bay window is beginning to look like a parade float. You build strength at work and in the gym. This seems a better form of evolution.
DeleteI am trying to always keep fresh cut flowers on my desk. Helps me stay awake. I thought maybe you meant Salina.
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking about putting flowers on my desk. I really need to make that happen. I have not been to Salina, Kansas, but I have been to Salinas, California .
DeleteThank you for sharing the whale article. It was so interesting to learn about.
ReplyDeleteI read it in her book of essays, Sightlines. You might like it, Alexandria.
DeleteThese days I have been using my phone as a sketch pad. I never, ever thought I would do this. Like you and electronic books I thought nah not me, I need paper. Well, I still adore paper obviously, but I love carrying this little electronic 'moleskin' around-how easy ,what an abundance of possibilities! So, you never know Denise, there is a possibility of adding a new tool, not replacing and eliminating the other, just having more choices! Happy weekend to you;-)
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel, annamaria. I had a similar experience with digital photography. This is one reason I never say never. My life is filled with unexpected changes and I like it that way. Enjoy your new sketch pad.
DeleteBooks on shelves, sunlight on books, dust on covers, a stranger's scribbles on a book's margins from a different time. I'm not ready for anything else just yet.
ReplyDeleteYes, Pia. Beautiful things, indeed.
DeleteThere is little I love more than having my hair washed - or generally fiddled with - by someone else. Confession: if there is film watching going on at home I park myself on cushions on the floor and get my husband to gather my hair in a ponytail and pull and stretch it. For hours. Utter bliss! The functional muscle strength and stamina needed, by both men and women, before machinery entered the workplace and the household, would have been immense. Just waiting for peonies to bloom briefly in the garden.
ReplyDeleteI think I like your husband, Kate, without even meeting him. Enjoy your peonies. Clearly, I need more.
DeleteI like the randomness of this post.
ReplyDeleteMy peonies are a while away yet.
Lilacs just finishing.
Lilacs. Nice. Memories of my childhood.
Deleteas a bricks and mortar bookseller (once again) i love that we now have choice about paper or e-reader, and i love that most booksellers (the ones who will survive) do a bit of both.
ReplyDeletei make terrible, naughty notes in all of my margins, so i naturally prefer paper, but i watched people in mexico on the beach reading e-things, and it made a good deal of sense.
my body is changing for being on my feet a lot more - very interesting observations, d.
(plus, my peonies and tulips go in today! whoot!)
I'm still open-minded about e-things. I changed my ways with my camera, so...
DeleteHmmm...a hair washing robot - I dare say such a thing is already in the works somewhere. Mind you I'm not sure how I feel about robots in general, yes they have created huge leaps forward, but perhaps in our embrace of them we have lost something... A neat segue on to electronic books! I confess to not being able to embrace them (even with the wonderful practical-ness of being to store many tombs on one small device). So many facets of our lives involve screens and digital what-sits that to be able to read a book (and thus escape) feels even more important than ever. And I am rather partial to an attractive dust-jacket.
ReplyDeleteYour workout location sounds intriguing, as does your pondering of body shapes. A book I am reading touches on this concept - a woman is described as having unusually large and muscular hands and arms due to years of hard physical work skinning and tanning buffalo.
These three thoughts of yours make me wonder what it is we have lost and gained, and what we may continue to lose, and gain, as we march forward into an increasingly technological life....
And I continue to think of these things. They are, at this point in my life, impossible to avoid.
Deletelove to hear how your mind twirls.
ReplyDeletemakes me feel like i have company. ;)
You do. I'm happy to know I do too.
DeleteI like this post, Denise, and I look forward to my bi-annual haircuts with Tameka, the master at washing and cutting hair. She advised me to come into the shop at least three times a year. Reflecting on the massage that awaits is enough to reconsider.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see pictures of your peonies this spring.
They were not my garden peonies, unfortunately, just peonies I'd purchased. When I grow my own, one day, I'll be very happy to share.
Delete