Yesterday morning – Stella in light and shadow with Don’s “lost shaker of salt.” That was a gift from the producers. The other three sides have the names of the cities on the tour; Chicago, New Orleans and Houston.
Oil was delivered. (Side note: it’s jumped in price since the last time we ordered, a mere month ago.) We are relieved. Right now it’s about 20 degrees out there, which seems positively balmy compared to the last 3 or 4 days. Tomorrow will be warmer. But we’re due for some snow showers later in the day, so it’s cloudy.
The den late in the afternoon yesterday with the usual hodgepodge of books, papers, remotes, and more books. Do you remember the sign I found at Vignettes several years ago? It’s the Miss Keyboard’s School sign above the window. I feel in love with it and it hung above the piano for a couple of years until we found the lithograph of the Aquitania, which we quickly realized was a better choice for that wall. So I moved the Miss Keyboard sign to this place, which is rather perfect.
Don hit on the idea of collecting skeleton keys that we can hang from the little hooks on the sign.
The light that pours into this room from three sides makes it difficult to take pictures, but nevertheless, I keep trying. There are little hooks on each key, made to hold something or other that taught the young piano student about keys and octaves and sharps and flats.
I found three skeleton keys when I was antiquing right before Christmas. They are the beginning of our collection. We aim to search for them on our travels so that each new key tells a story – because you know we’re fond of a good story
The new leaf on the rubber plant has opened and it looks as if another one is coming up right next to it.
The peperomia has been doing a bit of acclimating, which necessitated the pruning of some leaves. I think – fingers crossed – it’s finally settling down.
I find I watch award shows less and less and the Golden Globes are usually a big old No. But we watched them last night for some reason. The fact that three female directors who were at the helm of three highly acclaimed movies were not nominated for Best Director is indicative of an industry that is still male-dominated. Patty Jenkins directed Wonder Woman, which was truly stunning and a huge, huge box office success. Dee Rees directed Mudbound, also highly acclaimed. And Greta Gerwig directed Lady Bird, which won some major awards last night. Note: Both Mudbound and Lady Bird should be in our mailbox soon, as they are SAG screeners, and I’m so looking forward to watching them.
Inequities exist in every profession and the film industry is no different than any other. But in the wake of disturbing allegations about men in power in Hollywood (I’m looking at you Harvey Weinstein and Brett Ratner and Kevin Spacey and James Toback and Bryan Singer) it’s no longer a dirty little secret that women are paid less, are sexually harassed (as are some men) and are still not on equal footing.
When I was teaching at Boston University, the President of the university was John Silber, who routinely paid women professors far less than male professors. It was a culture that was shocking in its male/female salary disparity. That’s part of the reason I left that position to take one in San Diego.
It still happens everywhere.
So hearing Oprah’s clarion call to women and men was simply stunning in its power and truth. I’m so glad I watched it. It was a cry from the heart. (If you haven’t seen her speech, make sure to catch a replay of it somewhere. It isn’t long and it’s totally worth your time.) Yes, indeed: #TimesUp.
Okay. Have to get moving. We’re headed over to Rick and Doug’s to see two dear friends who are coming for lunch. Trish and Colin are both actors and I first met Trish when I was living in Boston. She’s had a long career and was a part of Laurence Olivier’s acting company when she was just starting out. Imagine! She worked with Olivier!
Happy Monday.
I watched the Golden Globes last night and was moved and inspired by the stories told. Oprah is a powerful speaker and her words were indeed special. I also encourage everyone to watch it. #TimesUp I finally got my Christmas decorations down and put away, I feel better. It’s a busy week and I needed that done. Enjoy your lunch with friends. Stay Warm.
She has more than a bit of the preacher in her, Linda!
Christmas decorations will have to wait until tomorrow until I have time to take them down. Don wanted them up one more day!
Mine are all still up; I’m enjoying them. Inside and outside.
I’ll probably take them down tomorrow. But I’ll check with Don first!
Glad you’re warmer, a bit.
I, too, watch fewer awards shows now but it worked for me last night and I loved how Frances McDormand said of women in the industry (and the ceremony), “We’re not here for the food, we’re here for the work.” And, yes, how could Oprah’s speech not bring any person to tears.
I confess I watch some of this sort of thing because I love couture fashion and enjoy seeing designer gowns on a red carpet, which seems shallow and silly to speak of with everything important going on, but I thought the female celebs in their refined black looked, for the most part, dignified and elegant, appropriate for the seriousness of the night’s theme.
And, yes, how could it not be missed when actress Natalie Portman, as presenter for Best Director, said “Here are the ALL-MALE nominees.” (Or something along those lines; she made her point. Good for her!)
We’ve awakened to rain showers, pre-dawn. Compared to the rest of country in blizzard conditions, rain probably doesn’t sound like much of anything, but we’re so unaccustomed to it here in SoCalif, and we still have wildfire burning in the back-country since Dec 4. Today’s the day that kids in public schools return to the classroom after more than a month off due to the disaster, so that’s I’m sure a big traffic jam in the wet weather.
I thought I’d be doing a happy dance because we need rain in continuing drought but now, of course, the big concern is burned hillsides sliding and I just hope/have to trust that, nearer to me, local gov’t officials (their time and responsibility stretched to the limit in the fire aftermath) have been diligent about clearing barrancas carrying water down the hills and canyons, so that they don’t overflow due to a tendency to ‘dam up’ if they’re blocked with too much debris (which can be from the whole year, such as downed trees and branches simply due to time/age & being water-starved, not just burned trees).
We had severe flooding at the house I’m in (I was a teen; LONG time ago) when a nearby barranca did overflow, and what saved us was being on an impressive raised foundation as water gushed over the hillside, between the houses (rising nearly three feet) and into the street. It miraculously didn’t intrude indoors but dozers had to move the mud afterward and it took a couple of days before we could enter/exit the neighborhood; couldn’t get cars out, obviously. In those days, there were no emergency alerts, so we had no warning but the diff was that it had been raining for days & days, unlike now.
A rain event here is always a big deal in SoCalif ‘moisture-less’ life. The ‘bigger’ part of this storm is supposed to start after lunch and then no let-up til tomorrow evening. So, a blessing on the one hand to perhaps finally put out said fire still burning in the wilderness; but a big concern for the burned-out areas with no vegetation to now hold the earth. People who have returned to subdivisions where there’s been burn damage are under mandatory evac again; first fire, then flood, so it’s a lot to deal with in five weeks for a homeowner.
I’m coming down with a cold. Darn.
No, I know from living in CA that the danger of mud slides and rain are very serious, especially after very dry weather and, in this car, horrific fires. I’ll be thinking of you. You (and everyone else out there) has gone through so much already!
We had a break in the late morning but showers now steady for a few hours. I feel cold but, of course, I have a cold, too. (We’re in the 50s at 5pm-ish, so that’s nuth’in; must seem tropical to you!) It’s the night I’m somewhat dreading. Glad my husband will be home from work and that perhaps a good number of people will be off the roads, safely asleep in their beds, when the hardest rain is slated to occur. Thanks for the good thoughts. It’s just all feeling so…iffy.
I understand.
We made a sort of last minute decision and did watch last night. SO HAPPY that we did. One of my favorite parts was NOT having the women asked “What/ Who are you wearing?” Showing them twirling (like Snow White) and flashing the jewels seems to just play into that hand of being damsels in distress. So glad that was skipped over last night. The REAL story, or outcome, will be if it stays that way in all of those shows which flood the airwaves for the next couple of months. Oprah was amazing, and Natalie Portman’s comment was perfect, especially in that moment.
It has warmed up here, too. And the sun is shining, so it sort of feels like a spring day, even though it is only about 33*. Perspective, I guess. Have a fun lunch and a great Monday.
That’s what Don said – it was so nice NOT to hear that question!
As for the temperature, it’s all relative. After the subzero temps and the horrific wind chill, 28 seemed warm today!
I agree with all three of you! I love the clothes (nuts about the clothes!) but never liked the first question being “who are you wearing?” as if that (#1, first and foremost before all else) defined the woman right out of the gate. Should never be the first thing to ask. Or, ideally, ever asked at all (but there’s a caveat**). When did it ever become a thing to talk to these celebs on the red carpet anyway? Why does there need to be a host, asking questions of them, pre-event? Why is it entertainment? Isn’t the awards show enough?
**The problem, the way I understand it, is that if they want a free designer dress (because they generally have A LOT of these functions to attend between now and the Oscars or whatever – and, even for them, it can get mighty expensive, remembering that these are gowns worn once and never again by the celeb), they have to somehow mention the designer, i.e. a walking advertisement (part of the deal). Some of these red-carpet dresses not only almost can’t have a price put on them because they’re bespoke/custom (range of $30,000 to $125,000 is what’s sometimes guessed), but if they are available to buy even off the rack, it’s nothing for them to cost a minimum of, say, $12,000 to $30,000 (like from Neiman Marcus, as an example, although what A-Lister on a red carpet would buy off the rack [?] except that not every designer jumps at a chance to design for, say, a hard-to-fit celeb).
There was a Forbes article I clipped from a couple of years ago (I’m ‘into’ this stuff; it’s a hobby) that said (about the Oscars), “This year, $749,252 in attire was worn by the 20 people nominated for best leading and supporting actor and actress roles, according to LookLive, a company that tracks clothing and accessories worn by celebrities on and off screen.”
Not a surprise to read that not one red carpet dress last night at the Golden Globes was by Marchesa, the high-fashion label of Harvey Weinstein’s wife – which, on the one hand, is a shame because I pretty much loved anything Marchesa ever made. It was just meticulously-crafted, fairytale (let’s go to the ball), gorgeously-embellished, elegant party clothes. I didn’t like hearing that Weinstein forced ‘his actresses’ to wear his wife’s clothing line – I imagine a lot of them would have been happy to wear Georgina Chapman’s clothes (that’s the wife) without his interference – but the fact that they were apparently urged (coerced) to wear them is a whole ‘nuther thing.
The fashion industry is cut-throat and it’s hard for any designer to stay ‘hot’ and relevant (or even break into it) but I have felt Marchesa could have stood on its own without the extra ‘help’ of the monster-husband’s involvement/’expediting’; maybe, maybe not (I’m probably too naïve). As in so many things, how do you get known as a newbie?
(Like, look at all the wonderful unknown authors who struggle to get published and never get noticed, yet somebody like Tom Hanks – and I like Tom Hanks – writes a book about typewriters and gets it out there, and read, although it wasn’t apparently, to a lot of critics, very good. But, he’s Tom Hanks. Another ‘star’ with a vanity project. Same thing with his wife. Actress who likes to sing. She gets to cut a CD [three of them], in her 50s-turning-60. I listened. Uh, not so great; just okay. Not any specific originality. Seems like a nice person; but the voice is easily forgettable. So, privilege; getting to do something for fun when you’re rich & famous; indulge in your fantasy – – but, to other very-talented [not known] people who don’t have the name, connections or the money, it would mean EVERYthing to get their worthy writings or music/performances to a wider audience [same for actors, right{?} – hate to bring up Dustin Hoffman’s name right now but, as in “Tootsie”, example of the character’s struggle to get better parts but going nowhere as ‘himself’ despite some good credentials/work].)
Back to Weinstein, I initially thought his crimes which came to light in 2017 couldn’t touch his wife’s fashion label; boy, did I think wrong. It seems Marchesa is toast, and it’s unfortunate, because Georgina Chapman and her partner in Marchesa, Keren Craig, were (I feel, although I’m no couture expert) talented and inventive; they had the art/ design/textiles backgrounds (education) and worked successfully as a design duo (going back to early 2000s). I dunno; I’ve read reports he bankrolled them from around the time the two women actually started the business; who knows what’s true and what’s not. But these women weren’t lightweights; they knew their stuff.
Certainly a designer will get more mileage out of a wealthy celeb whose name is in the entertainment news than the quiet, equally well-off socialite customer who isn’t always a news item. (Marchesa clothing is very expensive; high end. You’ve got to be able to afford it.)
Anyway, I’m glad I got to see the clothes I did from them, over the dozen years of gazing over Marchesa’s catwalks/lookbooks via the computer (fashion weeks, more than awards shows, for me); I totally feel that some of the Marchesa gowns will eventually land in a fashion museum exhibit in a future ‘era’, many years from now. I feel for the seamstresses and other employees who will, if they haven’t left already, find themselves out of work. A fashion house goes down and takes a lot of other people with it.
I seem to love the doomed designers; I also was a huge fan of L’Wren Scott long before I knew she was Mick Jagger’s life-partner at the time (well, that’s probably not how to describe roving Mick[?]; let’s just say, his long-time romantic, live-in partner [their personal life was their own, not for anybody else to judge]). She also made exquisite clothes, beautifully handsewn, sumptuous fabrics, luxurious beading & embroidery . But that’s also time-consuming and costly to create; costly to buy; I never knew all the details from what I read but she was falling into financial trouble with her business and seems to have been mortified to have had to take a bail-out from Mick. Then, she took her own life. Again, I’m glad I got to see the clothing I did from her, in those past years. It was a treat and a real feast for the eye. High glam; pricey works of art.
I’m rambling, aren’t I. And now off subject (Chris’ comment). But, yes, Harvey Weinstein, his own red-carpet days OVER and the subsequent reckoning – – was it Seth Meyers’ comment last night which cut mercilessly but rang true, that 20 yrs from now when the “In Memoriam” is onscreen, Weinstein will be the only death-departed industry person who is booed by the seated audience. Sad, when someone in that position could have otherwise been a fantastic mentor and leader, admired and honored. And the tidal wave continues – – but with MeToo and Time’s Up, maybe the Weinsteins of the world will think twice/thrice before conjuring their dirty deeds.
I’m not that into fashion – though I admire it. And I’m certainly aware of Marchesa’s designs. It’s sad that she’s getting penalized for his bad behavior. That shouldn’t be the case.
Seth Meyer’s was a little disappointing to me. I like him a lot and usually love his political commentary. But he had decided he was going to skewer these people and he didn’t do it with any wit or style, just with a vengeance. So it fell flat for me.
When my sister worked in a bank many years ago. It was a known fact the men were paid much higher than the women. The reason was the women would leave to get married and have a baby, while the men had a family to support. No matter where you work it is always two sets of standards for men and women.
Marilyn
Yes, you are absolutely right, Marilyn!
I loved these homey posts-feel like I am right there with you. I hope you had a good time with your friends…Olivier!!! Imagine that!
I didn’t see Oprah’s speech so I will look it up tonight. She always speaks with wisdom, I think. xo Diana
She really does, Diana.
I love the full shot picture of your living room in this post. It looks so warm and inviting and comfortably put together. Reminds me much of my home and style. It’s so nice to see that others love the comfy look too where every little thing means something. Again, thank you for your posts, as always. I look forward to them. I appreciate someone in this world being real and honest. So thank you.
Thank you so much Brooke! (It’s the den, however, not the living room.) xo
glad we can do a lot of things in our own times … like taking down Christmas decorations when we want (or, in my case, not having put up any at all this year).
love that photo of your den! don’t think i’ve seen a shot from that angle before and it reinforces the charm and coziness of mockingbird hill cottage so well! and i don’t know the style of that round side table to the right of the chair, but I love it and its color. thanks for sharing photos of your home, pieces of your heart. :)
kathy in iowa
I don’t quite know what it is, either, but I got it last year in the Berkshires. I loved it so much and the paint color sealed the deal.