Monday Miscellany

Let’s mix it up today.

Starting with this cutie. . . some of you will have seen photos of this turtle checking on my container garden on the terrace, but since then, I’ve knit them (gender-fluid, at least for now) a jumpsuit which outlines their shell texturally. . . The pattern is @fromcinthia’s Jodie Turtle, but this particular turtle’s name is still to be determined.

My Monday Miscellany has to include some viewing recommendations:

On HBO, we’ve just watched the new season (4) of In Treatment, and as fans of the first three seasons (featuring Gabriel Byrne as analyst), we were very impressed by the new cast, particularly by Uzu Aduba as analyst (such a different role from Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ in Orange Is the New Black).

And on Netflix, we loved the Korean series Navillera. Yes, it takes a bit to settle into the slow pace, but then that pace reveals itself as a luxury we don’t often enjoy. The story of a retired man, just turned 70, committing to a lifelong-suppressed urge to study ballet — against the wishes of his family — is intensified, complemented, and complicated by the stories of various family members as well as by those of his young teacher. I won’t say more, for fearing of spoiling the series’ surprises, but I’d love to know what you think, if you get a chance to watch this.

My Italian teacher recommended a series we’ve just finished: Generation 56K — it’s a light, romantic comedy-drama, nostalgic, and it will take you to Italy.

And finally, some Miscellaneous What I Wore . . .

And What I Saw While Wearing It. . .

This building  — the Deloitte Summit Office Tower  –has been taking (striking) shape through the pandemic. . . whenever I come to Vancouver’s Colosseum-styled Central Library just across the street, I marvel at this new construction, and also at how the city has changed over the 60 years I can remember clearly.

This project is huge and, again, changing the cityscape dramatically — I’m pleased that it’s at least incorporating the iconic post office, the monumental International Style architecture.

 

And while we’re talking change . . . (okay, that segue’s a stretch). . . I bought some new sneakers. . . (Brand is new to me: On Cloud . . . They’re both comfortable and supportive

and I think they’re rather cute as well.

That will have to do for now, or I won’t post this on Monday, and then my alliteration will be out the window (Trite Tuesday? Nuh-uh!!).

Currently working on a post about an Italian chef and a German artist and an international art movement and a trip to an exhibition in Bordeaux two years ago. . . It’s all connected, and coming to this space soon.  But meanwhile, hope this post wasn’t too miscellaneous for you.

Comments?

Any viewing recommendations to share? And what about changes in cities you’ve known for decades and decades? Any beloved buildings gone? Any new ones you’ve come to love?  All fodder for chat, my friends. The mic is yours. . .

20 Comments

  1. slf
    27 July 2021 / 4:46 am

    I think Katherine Hepburn was certainly ahead of her time when she decided to wear only sneakers, even for formal occasions. Your new sneakers look very comfortable and stylish.

    • fsprout
      Author
      27 July 2021 / 8:01 am

      She somehow made sneakers — and everything she wore, for that matter — elegant. I can’t do that, but mine are comfortable at least. 😉

  2. CathyinVA
    27 July 2021 / 7:02 am

    Last time I travelled-(Oct 19) One of the women in our group was sporting the on cloud sneakers and she loved them- I thought they were great looking too. I intended to check them out when we got back- but promptly forgot. Thanks for the reminder. If I remember correctly, they are a Swiss Company- love the Swiss engineering! The Library building is Amazing!

    • fsprout
      Author
      27 July 2021 / 7:59 am

      I’m loving the OC sneakers as well — the Swiss engineering is evident in the lightness, the support, and the bouncy sole.
      Isn’t that a cool building?! It’s actually the Deloitte Summit office tower — and it’s across from our Central library, which roughly resembles the Colosseum in Rome.

  3. 27 July 2021 / 8:11 am

    I love your sneakers+dresses/skirts. Thanks for the recommendation on the Korean series, I will give it a whirl. And I quite liked 56K too. Please give my regards to your gender neutral turtle and tell them I find them extremely adorable:).

    • fsprout
      Author
      27 July 2021 / 12:53 pm

      I’ll be curious to see what you think of Navillera. And my turtle friend thanks you! 😉

  4. Wendy in York
    27 July 2021 / 8:29 am

    I like the new sneakers . I’ve just bought some new hiking/walking shoes that are rather snazzy . They are by AKU , an Italian company . Mine are style Bellamont lll in brown & they are very light & very comfortable . It seems a long time since I wore kitten heels with pointy toes .

    • fsprout
      Author
      27 July 2021 / 12:56 pm

      I just checked out those AKU shoes — snazzy indeed. Sighing for my kitten heels with pointy toes — hard to imagine, now. And before that, even higher heels, which honestly seemed like fun at the time!

  5. Dottoressa
    27 July 2021 / 10:19 am

    What a cutie,indeed! Lucky recipient!
    Your new sneakers look lovely-Wonderful comfortable choices we have now,no?! Love your combinations!
    I hope that we’ll have some architectural gems,similar to yours, rebuilding after earthquake. There are old buildings that need restoring,but not all of them,especially the ugly ones
    Thank you for recommendations-I’m watching Schitt’s Creek,we have it this summer, for the first time,such a treat!
    Dottoressa

    • fsprout
      Author
      27 July 2021 / 1:00 pm

      I hope Zagreb may be graced with some loving, careful restorations, but also with some architectural gems, as you say, worthy of your wonderful city’s rich history.
      I’m thinking I might want to rewatch some of Schitt’s Creek soon — even though I couldn’t stand the idea of watching it for most of the time it was on air. The premise seemed so unpromising, and the titular pun unappealing. But what a delight, once my daughter and granddaughter insisted, and I got past those first awkward episodes. So glad you’re enjoying it!

      • Wendy in York
        28 July 2021 / 12:02 am

        I agree with you both about Schitts Creek . Not our kind of programme I thought but we loved it . So clever & funny .

  6. Mary
    27 July 2021 / 10:45 am

    Knowing you have been to this place, thought you might like to see something I recently read about a new hotel going up in Edinburgh that is causing a bit of a kerfuffle in the city. The W Hotel (opens next year). The top of the building as seen across the skyline evidently looks remarkably like an emoji for something objectionable. Here is the architect’s website with renderings. See what you think: https://www.jesticowhiles.com/projects/w-hotel-edinburgh/

    The Guardian’s viewpoint: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/jul/08/a-great-city-has-been-defaced-why-has-a-poo-emoji-arrived-on-edinburghs-skyline

    • fsprout
      Author
      27 July 2021 / 1:09 pm

      Hmmm, I checked out those articles — to my eye, the resemblance requires a considerable stretch to see, and I suspect it is visible more quickly to those who would prefer the skyline remain unchanged OR are perhaps jusitifiably opposed to the scope of the change. I have some sympathies with that position, to be honest, but I also know that it’s rare that any big architectural changes to a city skyline are greeted with unanimous pleasure. I wonder how much of that has to do with how little control we seem to have over development these days, over changes that so affect our immediate environment — so that these iconic new buildings become a convenient focus for our frustration. Thanks for an interesting example to think about.

  7. Ceri in Bristol
    27 July 2021 / 11:00 am

    Love the turtle. I’m planning to make a Tsutsu bear as I’ve been so taken with all the little critters you’ve made. I’ve downloaded Cinthia’s pattern and it looks a bit daunting but I’m going to print it out and trust the process (I think that’s an expression I picked up from you).

    • Ceri
      27 July 2021 / 11:02 am

      Or was it Trust to process? Or maybe something else entirely? Anyway. Glad to see that it’s much easier to pitch in to the comments from my phone on this new platform.

      • fsprout
        Author
        27 July 2021 / 1:15 pm

        I think I usually say “trust to process” . . . What makes Cinthia’s pattern look daunting — the length and number of steps — is actually what makes it so manageable: her instructions are clear and detailed and very methodical. The one pointer I might offer is that if you can, use the Magic Loop technique circular needles — it’s easy enough to pick up from YouTube videos. I did the first two with double-points, but because there are only 4 stitches (divided on your three needles!), it’s really finicky getting that first round without twisting or dropping teeny stitches. It probably took me 20-30 minutes to do those first two tiny rows. So for the third bear, I decided to review Magic Loop (which I’d used only once before and not loved). . . and it’s the perfect solution for a neat, easy start. Do let me know how you get on, would you?
        (oh, and I’m so pleased that the phone comments work better now that I’m on WordPress!)

  8. Carol
    31 July 2021 / 9:39 am

    That new building is quite something! It’s really going to change Vancouver’s skyline, isn’t it? Now I want a trip to Vancouver….

    My last walking shoes were On Clouds – I really liked their comfort and looks, but I discovered when we got here that they’d worn enough that they didn’t play well with the calçada Portuguese – the stone that makes up pretty much every sidewalk here. I found that if there was any amount of moisture, I slipped, so I had to give them up for some grippier trail shoes. I wound up with Hoka One One Speedgoats, which have a ridiculous name but are incredibly cushy as well as grippy, so I’m bouncing along in supreme comfort now.

    • fsprout
      Author
      2 August 2021 / 11:16 am

      For me, the skyline has changed so much over the last decades — so many landmarks gone, so many striking new buildings (and even just clusters of tall, not particularly striking buildings). . .
      Oh, I do remember that slippery stone — although mostly I remember the wonderful mosaics on seemingly every surface my feet trod!.
      Chuckling because “Hoka One One Speedgoats” doesn’t quite trip off the tongue. Supreme comfort an obvious plus, though 😉

  9. 2 August 2021 / 4:55 pm

    I like your dress and sneaker combos, and quite a few people I know have started wearing On sneakers. I shall have to check them out. Thank you for the viewing recommendations as well.

    • fsprout
      Author
      4 August 2021 / 7:18 am

      I think you’d especially enjoy Navillera, Mardel

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