living below our landlord

so this is an unusual post and i wouldn't normally think to commit such an act of self indulgence well i  would think to do it but not actually do it... here we are anyway.  

about landlords and living under them,  i mean literally in our current situtuation.

when we were looking for a place one of our main criterion was laundry in the building.  Of course when we were looking our *i'll refrain from name calling here* landlord, was very proud to inform us there was a washer and dryer that they would be willing, due to thier GRAcious genrous natures, to let us use them. 

 well that gave poor me, who's few kicks in life reside in mundane things such as having laundry in their building, the impression that this place has (had) laundry. 

well the short is, now it doesn't. we have been without this convience, which i believe few would agree laundry in your building is less in the category of  convenience and more in the category of necessity. 

as i went to pay rent on the 1st yesterday with a check filled out, all but the amount, i was hoping for some kind of consideration and adjustment not expecting more than 30 dollars off our already, really too high for this 2 bedroom that's really a one bedroom with an office, rent.  

well he was ready with no hesitation and some aggressive defense. he firmly stated that the full amount was fair, and that no where in the 15 page ,seriously have you ever signed a lease for an apartment that long?, was there any agreement to the building having laundry.  then as a tactic he has used in the past, he let's me know how much he has suffered in letting us use THEIR laundry with NO charge. 

If he wants to charge us, charge us! I just want to do our laundry, is that so much to ask!?

he came down with the novel of a lease in his hand spouting off the paragraph and page in which it states that he has the smallest weener on the block and there is no such agreement to laundry.  Based on principal i shouldn't have wrote the whole amount right there but you never know what a boy who pretends to be a man might do. i wasn't about to have him throwing a tantrum in our living space, honetsly his demeanor was so disgusting i just wrote it and tryed to get him out as quick as possible. plus we were on our way to feast and "conflict and contention are in no-wise permited". 

obviously the issue still has me in its clutch, but ooo it feels so nice to vent here, since i know noone really reads this. if you do read this feel free to leave comments, what would you have done. oh and BTW there is no promise of the machines being fixed... if you are reading this and are one of those people who has kindly let us use thier machines, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

what's more interesting is what becomes so important to us...lol for me it's laundry, i guess i really am a full fledged house wife.

thanks for sharing this experience with me.  

the atlas collection

here are more books i made as party favors for my(our) baby shower. all the images are from an older atlas. lined notebook paper was used to fill them. they have about 20-30 pages each. i stamped the back with a little heart and my initials with a little 'thank you!', the guests chose which one they liked. making these out of recycled materials feels like i am making progress in 'simplifying' life. it keeps my hands and mind busy and there is a final product that can be reused in which lies the reward i suppose.

coasters

quilted coasters an excuse to do little embroideries and to use the smallest of fabric scraps. good for condensation although there is no drinking of icy beverages this time of year. :) even though the past few days have been a heat wave here in chicago today reaching a sunny 40.

other crafts

makin' books. i randomly watched a youtube video on making journals expecting it to be something i would have to gradually warm up to thinking there were too many steps and tools but i happened upon a relatively simple instruction and the process seemed possible. i wish i weren't so prone to instant or really quick gratification but ... the best i can in this case is share the info here and try to think about what good i can really do instead of making this junk for myself. :)

fun little project

well i had this odd painting and i thought it was silly by itself so i put it in a frame of sorts and added a veil to make it more interesting i guess. it was fun to make but what would someone do with something like this? i suppose it could be used as a stage if you wanted to make a stop animation, just add some little figures, and a story. strangely crafting this frame out of a cardboard box was really exciting then realizing i could sew into it to add the veil, maybe it's the gratification that an object is being made. although i need to work up to some kind of framing or display for the tree paintings. which i will need to get ready soon Feb 19th soon.

imagination, abiquiu

this is reminiscent of Abiquiu, a town in New Mecxico North of Santa Fe. The Dar al Islam campus is located there. We didn't find out that the remote almost deserted mosque we saw was part of a school. this is just an imagination from memories. Abiquiu is an interesting town, Georgia O'Keefe lived there for many years we met a man who told us that and she paid for his schooling. new mexico is a mystical place.

the pouch of pooches.
i tore strips of the poodle fabric then wove them into a new sold piece. obviously it's for novelty use but it fits some of the essential sewing tools so it's not completely useless. you could also hang it on a door knob and leave love notes in it.

this was constructed while we were still in japan but i finally put the button on it the other day :)