Square Peg/Round Hole

Posted May 11, 2016 – Narrated by Carmen

(There is no podcast due to our transition into living in our Airstream)

The moving-out is done.

The moving-in process continues.

It’s been about two weeks, but we’re finally beyond the awkward, ugly duckling phase …

My studio will probably be in the bedroom

Fitting square pegs into round holes isn’t an impossible task. It’s a craft – an art form requiring patience, preparation and (toward the end) careful, deliberate and constant whacking.

The preparation took two years – beginning with weekends and, ultimately, nearly full-time effort for three or four months. We predict the whacking part of the process will take another two months.

By the time we leave Chula Vista and drop a few items off in Mississippi, at Daddy’s house, we will have Beauty and The Beast properly outfitted. Meanwhile, the integrity of our old sticks-and-bricks lifestyle is slowly being embedded into the spare simplicity of our new Airstream lifestyle.

It’s been a collaborative achievement.

Over the last year Jim has passed many a doubtful glance toward some of the items I put aside for Beauty … like, for instance, my large scale art pieces from the house.

This one didn’t make the cut …

Our little New Orleans style garden with the aluminum-framed Monet print on polymer from Ikea against the wall. It hung outdoors, fully exposed to the elements for over 10 years and we sold it two weeks ago, still in near perfect shape. I will eventually, have another Premiar Series Print from Ikea and adapt it into a sunscreen or a wall covering for the bathroom – it’s tough enough.

I love big art. It’s showy, inexpensive, readily available and is often weather proof and/or water proof as well as fade resistant. This particular Monet – printed on lightweight sheer acrylic fabric – almost as durable as window screening

A print of a Claude Monet painting – also purchased from IKEA.

now adorns our entrance… and gives Jim just enough cover for his weekend cigar moments.

This still-life in our old dining room, once mounted on a street lamp in Los Angeles …

A detail is from a painting in Her Majesty’s Royal Collection and manufactured by Royal permission by the J. Paul Getty Museum

Is now an elegant outdoor table cover.

And, when an unexpected rain storm, approached, it provided instant shelter for my beloved trike.

Designed to handle harsh weather conditions, and with exceptional fade resistance, this street banner will probably come in handy for years.

It is cheerful and cleans up easily. And look! One of our neighbors, only a few spaces away, has even another repurposing idea!

Not just another sticky shade of beige, eh?

Thanks to The Getty Center Store’s Ongoing Exhibition Banner Sale you can find retired street banners with stunning images to suit almost every taste – purchase online or right there at The Getty (Oh, wow … that Pollock is calling my name … or maybe the Metzler).

They’re cheap, too. Making a decision is the hard part. People actually craft these into luggage – so, go wild with ideas and please share!

And … be still my heart! … Jim successfully pulled-off the installation of my AirDesk like it was designed exclusively for the Airstream! He’s now planning to install one for himself.

We can’t say enough about AirDesk – intelligent, creative, versatile, elegant, and an early adaptor in the new generation of desks designed for the digital age.

It’s genius has changed the way I work. And, it’s so durable! My AirDesk looks and functions the same as the day it arrived nine years ago.

I can’t imagine any other workspace for writing, editing audio or just relaxing with Facebook and watching a video with my coffee (or wine) safely tucked in its handy, no-spill holder.

AirDesk is more than furniture, it’s an entire office that takes up like, no space.