Yes, Please.

You may indeed buy me some of this luggage.



And, once I get my hair cut, and modify my hair to look just like this:



I will officially be primed for time travel, fancy clothes, and imminent engagement. To be sure.

I have been babysitting up a storm and raking in the cash, so I can at least take care of the hair!

-Papermoon



Images of luggage c/o Streamline Luggage.

Film stills of the prettiest woman alive c/o Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Chanel, for the new Chanel No. 5 'filmercial'.

Bleeds and Paint.

Prime quotes from camp today:

"Painting outside?... Did you ask if you could do this with us?"

"Ugh. I don't want to go home. I wish you could come over for a playdate."

(One girl to another:) "Did you get hurt? Is that really a bleed? Or did you paint yourself? DON'T TRICK ME, OKAY?!"

Oh, children... you are so strange and wonderful. I particularly like this hilariously common kid-practice of calling scrapes and cuts "bleeds" or even "bleeders". There is something very Dennis the Menace/Leave It To Beaver about it.

Camp has been eating up my time, as we've gotten quite a lot of rain. Kids come to camp with the primary objective of playing on the playground and screaming down the waterslide, so it's been a huge effort to cheer them up with crafts. But, I'm making it work. Today we had some sunshine, so our art effort was some watercolor painting, en plein air. A very interesting activity with five year olds. I think they initially thought it was illegal.


On another note, related to my last post, sister Maggie and I finished a painting yesterday based on the delightful aesthetic of A Hundred and One Dalmatians. Nice, eh? And it will match her room!



Summer is excellent.

-Papermoon

A Dalmatian Plantation!

Yesterday I enjoyed a post-work movie with some of my siblings and my mother. My youngest sister and I had the unique opportunity to pick out the movie without the input of the others, so we opted for the genre that might not be the first choice at a 'family movie night': a cartoon!




We both feigned interest in a few other films we'd included in the 'options pile', but settled on the movie we really wanted to see: One Hundred and One Dalmatians, made in 1961. I had forgotten how completely beautiful the animation is!




While searching for images, I discovered an utterly fascinating blog dealing with color in animated film. Check it out here. (The images I am using came from Mr. Iten's site.)



I love the almost papercut-like look of the buildings, and the way the foreground and background move like stop-animation. I also can't get enough of the color scheme... or the characters' clothing!



Lovely!

-Papermoon

Camp. / Up.

First day of camp job #1. This being a very general, half day, primary-grades day camp, I felt that I was running the risk of planning too many activities for such young folks. After today I had to kick myself... these almost-first graders wanted a lot more out of me. Tomorrow I will have a much more chock-full schedule for them, I think.

Not that I had a bad first day... we opened with visor and backpack decorating, which (due to the inclusion of Sharpies and stickers) was a hit. We then moved on to some waterslide time; a good idea except for how cold they get, and how looooooooong little girls take to change into their bathing suits. If only women didn't talk so much.

Next up we played some games (a variation of 'heads up, seven up' and some playground tag) until lunchtime. Despite the fact that no child under the age of eight years eats real food unless forced, lunch went alright, too. After lunch we took a vote and decided on another round of playground time, before finishing out the day with pastels and colored paper. This last bit was a 'fly by the seat of my pants' moment because I got some very flawed advice from a fellow camp counselor, and had banked in a 'storytime' period. Which I knew wouldn't work... Should have trusted my gut.

Tomorrow I am going to give it a go this way:

9 AM Arrival, hopefully wrapping up by 9:15.
9:15-10:00 Model Magic 'fake food' craft–usually a big hit.
10:00-10:30 Water games, hopefully extending well past this time period.
10:30-11:00 Team obstacle courses. The two counselors will each champion a team.
11:00-11:30 Changing out of bathing suits.
(You would not believe how long this takes. It's unbelievable. I think I will have a sidewalk chalk or obstacle course game going on out on the blacktop so that once kids are done they can go join an activity. This, or the playground.)
11:30-12:00 LUNCH
12:00-12:30 Playground time.
12:30- 1:00 Simple paper kites (with popsicle sticks).


Hopefully it will work out.

* * * * *

On an another (though still vaguely child-related) note, I saw Up! today with a friend and my sister and mother. It was wonderful. Simultaneously evocative of childhood enjoyment of Disney movies while also drawing a very nuanced, adult tear from my eye, it was a real story achieved through absolutely breathtaking animation. I am pleased to say this was a movie (like Finding Nemo) that was better because it was digital. Purist that I am, that really matters. The balloons carrying that dear old man's house looked SO real, and that wasn't something that classic animation could have achieved. Reality was surely suspended!

I am too tired (ah, first graders) to go on... but everyone should see the film. The little boy's character is made to seem pesky in the commercials, but he is actually irresistable on the screen. Likewise, what can seem to be an annoying dog character in a quick preview is actually hilarious.

One warning: I cried throughout the movie. My face was consistently soaked. So was my eleven year old sister's. While we are both sentimental, I don't think I could fairly say our reaction would be unusual. You have been warned.

-Papermoon

Quiet.

A grey afternoon, two months worth of The New Criterion, my new favorite Pandora radio station*–enhanced by my sister playing piano downstairs, my red armchair, and a rabbit friend.

A much-needed detox moment.

-Papermoon

*After many tries, I have found the perfect station for background music. Type "Limehouse Blues" and choose the Tyree Glenn version. Summery, mellow, and varied, it suggests gin and tonics and beautiful clothing. Enjoy.

Home again.

Five days in and it's still a whirlwind!

I haven't yet slept in my own bed (guests abound this time of year at my parents' house) but I am settling in to being back home. I enjoyed the pool the first day in, in my new bathing suit (pictures to follow–it was cute, but needed some home modifications). I have been adjusting to the richer, more expensive, more delicious food (no hardship!) and to all the lovely company.

These last few days, my family has enjoyed the addition of more family. It is always fun to have cousins around, and to imagine what it might be like to have an even bigger group! We have had such fun with my aunt and uncle and their kids, who all came out to celebrate my brother's graduation. Last night brought my grandmother in, as well.

My brother James and I accompanied these visitors into New York yesterday–a trip that had me as much a tourist as my Atlanta-rooted relatives. I really don't know anything about the city! Moving will be quite the adventure. Of course, our tourist trek wasn't exactly in my new neighborhood...but, still. I have a whole new city to learn!

The best part of yesterday? The top of the Empire State Building in complete fog.


-Papermoon

Goodbye, Chicago!

Well, it's official. My move has begun. My parents have texted me "On the way!" and the view outside my bedroom window already looks more nostalgic.

I am not going to allow much sadness over this move. I have been here for five years, enjoying what Chicagoland has to offer, and that makes me lucky. I am heading for a lot of good things: great summer jobs, time with my wonderful family this summer at home, and a new, exciting job come September. I will dearly miss my roomie and friends, and this city, but I will be back. I see no point in getting too sad. This isn't a forever goodbye...Chicago, after all, is only a matter of hours (and no oceans!) away.

Time to wrap up the packing, enjoy some sunshine, vacuum the carpet, and then welcome my parents!

Thanks for the fun, Chicago!

I'll likely post next week, when the crazies settle down...

-Papermoon