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jenettWelcome to our second salon discussion thread. Wander in, invite a friend along, and chat! (Not sure what's going on? Here, have a brief FAQ.) The first one went swimmingly! People! Talking! About awesome stuff! Feel free to talk about anything: my topic of the day is just to get us started.
Some of the comments in last week's thread got me thinking about the little stuff we do to make dealing with the world easier for us (lifehacks). And then why. Some stuff I do (briefly, on the theory it might encourage conversation)
1) I am very boring about my clothing. (basically, a black skirt and coloured knit top, or a coloured skirt and a black knit top.) Except for special occasion clothing, it is all cotton, it all goes in the wash together, and I basically only have to think about it when I want to. When I want to be fancier, that's what jewelry is for.
2) I do not have glasses in my house. I have pottery mugs. I am less likely to drop them (yay, handles) and if I do, they break into bigger and much less transparent pieces. (I am not as clumsy as I was during the worst of the medical foo, but, y'know. It's still useful.)
3) I have no idea what I did before a smartphone, which for me is less phone, and more "thing that fills at least a dozen other needs, but is only one thing to keep track of, plus more than enough books to keep even *me* occupied for a while, and oh, yeah, occasionally it makes phone calls.")
4) I periodically write up a document called "The care and feeding of Jenetts (or at least this one)" designed to help people navigate spending time with me. I had hoped to have a sample here but a) the week got away from me a bit and there was other stuff that had to take priority and b) some bits of it need to go under access lock. (For those who can see my locked posts, I expect to finish it by the end of the week.)
Anyway, this includes things like methods of communication, privacy notes, basic health stuff, more in-depth health stuff (with a focus on "Here's what you need to know so we can enjoy time together."), things I like as presents, things I'm really bad at doing, foods I eat and don't eat (and a brief "why" so people can figure out which bits really apply in a given setting), and stuff people should know if they want to visit me.
What stuff do you do? I'm especially curious about anything where you do it and other people look at you and blink and then go "Oh, that's an awesome idea!" (I've had that with my mugs, for example.)
(A word on advice: please don't give it in this discussion unless someone asks for it. A bunch of people I know will read this have Complicated Stuff, and I trust that they have found solutions that work for them for reasons that work for them. That said, if you'd like advice, go ahead and ask for it!)
Music in the background: Last week's salon had a lot to say about the topic of music, and it got me thinking about listening to the stuff that connects us to the universe. So, on my playlist for this week's salon are "One Voice" by the Wailin' Jennys, "All Will Be Well" by Meg Barnhouse, "Brave" by Sarah Bareilles, "Allegria" by Cirque du Soleil and "Give us room to roar" from Ruth Mackenzie's Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden.
A quick reminder
As noted, the basic thing here is 'leave the conversation better than you found it, or at least not worse'. The FAQ has more help with your choices for comment (DW account, OpenID account, or anonymously) if you need a hand. Or ask, and someone (likely me, but maybe not) will be along to help. We'll work everything else out as we go.
Some of the comments in last week's thread got me thinking about the little stuff we do to make dealing with the world easier for us (lifehacks). And then why. Some stuff I do (briefly, on the theory it might encourage conversation)
1) I am very boring about my clothing. (basically, a black skirt and coloured knit top, or a coloured skirt and a black knit top.) Except for special occasion clothing, it is all cotton, it all goes in the wash together, and I basically only have to think about it when I want to. When I want to be fancier, that's what jewelry is for.
2) I do not have glasses in my house. I have pottery mugs. I am less likely to drop them (yay, handles) and if I do, they break into bigger and much less transparent pieces. (I am not as clumsy as I was during the worst of the medical foo, but, y'know. It's still useful.)
3) I have no idea what I did before a smartphone, which for me is less phone, and more "thing that fills at least a dozen other needs, but is only one thing to keep track of, plus more than enough books to keep even *me* occupied for a while, and oh, yeah, occasionally it makes phone calls.")
4) I periodically write up a document called "The care and feeding of Jenetts (or at least this one)" designed to help people navigate spending time with me. I had hoped to have a sample here but a) the week got away from me a bit and there was other stuff that had to take priority and b) some bits of it need to go under access lock. (For those who can see my locked posts, I expect to finish it by the end of the week.)
Anyway, this includes things like methods of communication, privacy notes, basic health stuff, more in-depth health stuff (with a focus on "Here's what you need to know so we can enjoy time together."), things I like as presents, things I'm really bad at doing, foods I eat and don't eat (and a brief "why" so people can figure out which bits really apply in a given setting), and stuff people should know if they want to visit me.
What stuff do you do? I'm especially curious about anything where you do it and other people look at you and blink and then go "Oh, that's an awesome idea!" (I've had that with my mugs, for example.)
(A word on advice: please don't give it in this discussion unless someone asks for it. A bunch of people I know will read this have Complicated Stuff, and I trust that they have found solutions that work for them for reasons that work for them. That said, if you'd like advice, go ahead and ask for it!)
Music in the background: Last week's salon had a lot to say about the topic of music, and it got me thinking about listening to the stuff that connects us to the universe. So, on my playlist for this week's salon are "One Voice" by the Wailin' Jennys, "All Will Be Well" by Meg Barnhouse, "Brave" by Sarah Bareilles, "Allegria" by Cirque du Soleil and "Give us room to roar" from Ruth Mackenzie's Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden.
A quick reminder
As noted, the basic thing here is 'leave the conversation better than you found it, or at least not worse'. The FAQ has more help with your choices for comment (DW account, OpenID account, or anonymously) if you need a hand. Or ask, and someone (likely me, but maybe not) will be along to help. We'll work everything else out as we go.
Tags:
Clothing and other textile goods
Date: 2013-06-12 01:41 pm (UTC)I approach my clothing as a practical issue: I find a brand/style I like and buy several of them at once (usually in each of the acceptable colors), then rotate through them until they wear out.
For shoes, that means a trip to the New Balance outlet to pick up their walking shoes, which work really well for me. For pants, lately that's been LL Bean chinos (flannel-lined in winter, regular in warmer seasons) and shorts. For shirts, a mix of T shirts (usually the ones I get free at work every so often) and comfy long-sleeve shirts (LL Bean again).
I do have Nice Clothes (aka "responsible adult cosplay outfit") for those times and events that need them, and some nicer shirts (polos & button-ups) that I can use as a slight step up from the day-to-day...but yeah, mostly T shirts.
Towels, sheets, and the like tend to get the same treatment: find something usable and buy a few of them. Costco works quite well for this (as well as socks; their house brand athletic socks are really good).
Re: Clothing and other textile goods
Date: 2013-06-12 02:15 pm (UTC)(In case it's handy for anyone else: I'm about a US size 22 or 2X, and I get most of my stuff from Land's End, which has a much better color range in their plus sizes than L.L.Bean (which is annoying, because I can, y'know *drive* to L.L. Bean, and would buy more stuff there if they gave me more options.)
My skirts always have pockets, because I always have to carry my work key at work, and my smart phone in the other. I have been getting them from Deva Lifewear for a long time, but they're currently having material supply issues, so I have two coming from Decent Exposures in the near future, and will gladly report on what I think.)
Re: Clothing and other textile goods
Date: 2013-06-12 02:55 pm (UTC)(I'm considering returning to my quest to get a modern version of Victorian or Edwardian swimwear, just because.)
Re: Clothing and other textile goods
Date: 2013-06-12 02:54 pm (UTC):swoops down on phrase:
:carries phrase back to nest:
Also, buying multiples of something that works is an approach I'm using more often these days, but that probably has to do with not doing quite as much thrift store shopping as I used to. It is turning out to be very comforting to have something that works, and to have more than one of it, though I am finding that color turns out to be an even bigger deal to me than I thought, which given the whole artist thing is saying something.
I still love thrift store / secondhand store shopping, though. And buying stuff directly from people who make it, when that's possible (affordable, findable, not a hassle) to do, is great, because every time I wear the stuff I'm made happy by that thing of "I met a person who made this!"
Re: Clothing and other textile goods
Date: 2013-06-12 03:44 pm (UTC)Re: Clothing and other textile goods
Date: 2013-06-12 05:53 pm (UTC)Re: Clothing and other textile goods
Date: 2013-06-12 06:52 pm (UTC)Re: Clothing and other textile goods
Date: 2013-06-26 02:44 pm (UTC)This extends even to my socks and underwear, because I like interesting ones that don't tend to come in multi-packs.
But there are a few things I have multiple times over, whether in different colors or merely duplicates of the exact same thing. I'm learning that this can be an effective way to acquire and possess clothing! But my closet is so overstuffed that justifying new clothes, let alone multiples, is difficult.