cookoorikoo blog

its been a crazy couple of weeks. busier than i would've imagined for february but here we are. days off when you work for yourself are few and far between but i took one today. i woke up to sunshine and went for a long run. i had my massage therapist beat the crap out of me. i had another quick appointment and when i was leaving that i saw the sweetest, most tender, public display of affection i've ever seen. 

i came home for a quick breather and food, snuggled monkey a bit and then went on a walk around my neighborhood with jenna, hunting urban wildlife. she and i have been trying to do this forever. we couldn't have picked a more perfect day. 60-ish and so very sunny. signs of spring everywhere we looked. not to mention the lovely company. jenna's great and watching her do thing is awesome. she gets all up in those plastic animals' business. it was really fun to watch.

we met kateri at the house and all went to see ruby play basketball. you haven't lived until you've watched first and second graders play basketball. no, really. we all smiled and laughed the entire game. ruby made a (coach assisted) basket and looked so happy. so happy. 

we finished the night with cocktails and stories. perfection.

when i returned home, i looked at my work tray and the necklace in progress and decided to leave it until tomorrow. it was a fantastic day off. 

last night, we found out a friend in chicago died. he'd been sick for what seems like both a really long time and no time at all. he was young. he was an awesome dad and really one of the sweetest guys i've ever known. so good. and he's gone. 

so, today i'm sad. i don't feel like writing, making things or doing much of anything. unless its call and write everyone i know and tell them i love them because i sort of really want to do that.

like you. i love you.

i took this picture on Fat Tuesday, 2007. It was early but we'd been on St. Charles for hours, waiting for our Zulu coconuts. i took this picture at the beginning of one of the best days of my life and although i carried my camera with me all day, i shot very few pictures. i was taking it all in and just enjoying the day. pictures couldn't have captured 1/10 of the magic of that day.

since then, i've spent fat tuesday pouting. i spend the day questioning our decision to move to portland instead of new orleans. i put "do you know what it means to miss new orleans?" on repeat and weep.

not today. today, i'm listening to WWOZ and eating king cake a friend sent. that same friend just texted me a picture of a parade taken from a balcony. i'm sure its not the last i'll get from her today. but its  ok. its not making me sad. at all. this evening, shawn's playing in a second line. we will eat some crawfish, drink and dance. i'll miss my friends and all that magic but i know i'm where i'm supposed to be today.

but next year in new orleans, right? 

i'll tell ya. they were cracking me up. all. day. long.

according to tradition, when i  find myself near the ace hotel on a friday i must go visit the photobooth. must. and so last friday, we did. we suffered near heartbreak when we discovered that the photo booth had an out of order sign hanging in it. we stood inside the photo booth lamenting this sad turn of events when, a nice woman walked up and said, "i'm here to fix the photo booth." photo booth friday was saved! we thanked her and got out of her way. then, kateri & i and another lucky couple of people got free photo strips because she needed to test the booth. i think its my favorite one we've ever done.

we thanked her profusely and told her she has the best job ever. what followed was a very interesting conversation about photo booths and the keepers of the magic photo booth knowledge (mostly older men), the number of vintage photo booths in portland, the ridiculous sum of money the one at the ace earns per hour, the new photo booth at the spaceroom and her dream photo booth repair uniform. she was awesome; the photo booth fairy of portland. 

while talking with her, kateri and i decided a fun photo project would be to hang out in the lobby of the ace on a friday or saturday taking pictures of everyone who visits the photo booth. we may need to make this happen.

"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
 - Dolly Parton
 

well, i just can't stop. i love making these so much. i still love my original style of yoyo necklace - those won't be disappearing anytime soon. its just that making something new is fun. these are a bit more of a challenge for me. picking supplies, wire wrapping the beads, getting the balance right - i don't quite know the formula yet. i don't know for sure if there will be one hard and fast formula for these. time will tell. right now, i'm just enjoying making them.

this last necklace was sold before i listed it on etsy. i posted a picture to instagram and twitter of it and one of my very favorite regular customers declared it hers. her exact word was: "MINE!"  that made me happy. then, i head from a few other people who are interested in getting a necklace like this one. so, i placed my first vintage bead order yesterday. (i cannot, after all, completely deplete kateri's stash of beads!) as soon as they arrive, i'll be making a few more. 

when i started assembling this one, the combination of metallic finishes and the blue silk reminded me of the elves in lord of the rings. the leaf toggle clasp, long buried in my stash, was a perfect match. when the first person tweeted that she wanted it, she asked if i was naming it something elvish. why yes, i'll be calling it mithril, i replied. because i'm a nerd. a nerd who makes pretty things.