wallpaper animals

before i went to bed last night, i picked up one of my dad's this old house magazines (do y'all read this....it has some good stuff from time to time) and saw this fun before and after kitchen.  i thought y'all might enjoy it too!  the backsplash kind of reminds me of tom scheerer's fabulous kitchens.  i'm away for the rest of the week so i hope y'all have a fabulous weekend!!

it's a strange feeling when you wake up and you have an email saying "did you see this"!   seleta, you rock for filling me in...and San Francisco Chronicle- i love you more than peanut butter hearts jelly for including me in your article.

*images courtesy of dirty pretty things, sweet nothings, suzie beezie, emmas blogg

This was an attempt this evening to make my daughter's maths tables fun. In fact I think we succeeded in making it hilarious! Whether the exercise did any good I'm not sure (she still struggles with a few of them..) But it gave us all a very warm feeling. Will that warm feeling now over-ride some of the negative emotion she has experienced with relation to her maths in future? I don't know, but everything's worth trying...

One thing is for sure -- she wants to do it again!

I found Hermann Weyl's 'Symmetry' in the library, sought out via a circuitous route by way of Stafford Beer's 'radar' reading list and a fascinating discussion yesterday. It's beautiful. What's interesting is the two uses of the word 'symmetry' - one for proportion, the other for mathematical bilateral symmetry, and the way the two forms of usage relate.

Symmetry and pattern are related. Musical forms have symmetry: typically A-B-A forms, but the second A is often not the same as the first. It happens at a different moment. I wonder if physical symmetry is also like this - happening at a different 'moment'; the moment when the pattern is first cognised, and the moment when it is re-cognised. What does symmetry tell us about ourselves? What does it tell us about the flow of our experience as we are geared to respond to it? But that the symmetry which has the most powerful effect on us is often imperfect. What are the regulating moments of playful experience that go on as we look at a sphere or a cube?

warren had a guys trip this past weekend in the mountains (fly fishing/ tailgating/ football game...aka no wife/ no kiddos invited).  i had the kids solo for 4 days....i admire everyone out there who is a single parent.  i learned i am not good alone (anyone who knows me knows that i'm a chicken).  i don't sleep at night b/c i think that robbers and kidnappers are lurking in the neighborhood, i lost my keys while we were on a shopping excursion and taylor looked at me after about 30 minutes of frantically searching and said "mommy, it's okay...don't cry" (i was totally about to cry)...luckily, the nice people at the gap had them.  i was so happy to see warren when he returned last night....i told him i was glad he didn't find a college girl he liked better then me....and then i went to bed at 8:30 and slept sooo good.

*images courtesy of dilly dallas, chapman interiors, domino, a life more fabulous, down and out chic

Astrid and I spent much of today visiting my dad in a 'respite' home. He didn't really want us to leave - but we're powerless to do anything else. Despite the best efforts of the staff (some of whom were very caring), it was full of desperately confused people: "Do you know where I am?" came one somewhat existential refrain from a lady who continued to ask this question even if you attempted to answer it. "Who are you? I haven't seen you before!" came another. It was like being thrust into an Ionesco play.

By the afternoon, the lady who didn't know where she was decided not only did she still not know where she was but that with equal determination she had to find "the end of the dining room". This obviously caused further confusion. Whatever anyone did contributed to the dynamic which led to the question being asked once more "is this the end of the dining room?".

The problem is, this sounds funny. But for those who are there, including my dad, it's like being in one of the circles of hell. I was wondering why the repetition. I suspect the two confused ladies are regulating themselves with these riffs (you often see children doing the same sort of thing). Often like children, they are regulating themselves at the cost of others. My dad doesn't need repetition to regulate himself, he needs intellectual stimulation. The coercive craziness of this situation must be unbearable. How could you give people the regulation that they need in this situation? Is it worth experimenting with some sort of personal technology? It would have to be bullet-proof and very easy to use...