The most uncomforatable chair ever!

look at them curls!

i take care of akello's grooming. Clipping his fingernails, toenails, brushing and combing his hair, and washing his face in the morning as part of our routine. but these curls are soo cute, i have been sparing him the usual comb/brush/massage/blowout in order to keep these curls!

MITN openhouse is just two days away! we are excited and nervous. still much to do. i finished the front today. i got to say thanks to my dad for helping me out on most of it.

the before before


the first revision, when mulch was trendy


the final revision, sick of replacing ugly grey mulch/found all that pea gravel on craigslist/neighbor gave me 2 giant agaves. Oh the agaves. what a story. i installed those myself in one night. when i get excited about something...nothing stands in my way. but that a story for later





dash of akello to keep it interesting.....



ok here is the story for today. its late. but i still have enough juice for this.....

so i walk akello in the mornings on my days off, or when i dont have to go in till late. its great excercise and i get to tour the neighborhood, akello will sleep for an hour, so i can time my walk to arrive at home just as he is waking up. well half of my hood is nice and clean, part of a new subdidivision. the other half, (My half) is older and some homes are nice, but most are whateves, and some are downright ghetto. in fact ive been thinking of bringing the camera with me on the walks to document the ghettoness and starting a new blog.....JUNKSTARS!!

T came up with an idea for a tv show called junkstars, but maybe it should just be a blog. or coffee table book? i dunno. anyway. so i am walking by this one house with a ghetto fence thats so decrept you can see straight into the persons backyard.. and what do i see in said persons backyard??????

well take a look and see if you can spot this beautiful piece of midcentury sculpure.



did you see it? its kinda hiding. i took the pic super fast cuss i didnt want the neighbors to call the cops on me. and id zoom in on the pic, but remember, i had my camera set to stun b/c of the memory card that can only hold one picture, a small one at that. i have since picked up a new card. get this. the one we lost cost us 100 bucks and was one gig. that was a year ago. i went to circuit today and got a 2 GIG card for 35 dollars!!! a scandisk ultra at that. always buy scandisk ultras. anyway,

i have been formulating my plan for a couple of days as to how to attack this. oh! and if you couldnt make it out, its a harry bertoia side chair. New, they cost $384
used, well....it depends on who's buying and whos selling.......ooooohhhhhhh.....
and get this, there was also another under the porch. so these people have 2 of them!!!!

so i formulate my plan: i will ask where she got'em, and that my dads been looking for two of them b/c he as two and cant find more anywhere. This will be a good opener to see where the person stands, and then i can go from there.

so today i went over and knocked on the door

EXT. DAY - NEIGHBORS HOUSE

Gil slowly drives up to the house and notices a minivan parked in the drive. He slowly and methodically takes off his watch and wedding band, tucking them under his seat while his eyes scan for anything that could give him more knowlege of what hes up against. The birdfeeder, not designer. the minivan, means the person is definitley older has kids. the iron bars across the windows, shows them to be cautious.

Gil steps out of his truck, takes his wallet out of his addidas tennis shorts and puts it back in the truck.

He steps to the door and rings the doorbell. an old lady in her 60's answers the door. gil knows that this could go either way at this point. she either knows what she has and purchased these herself way time ago. or she aquired these in some way.

LADY
Mikes not here.

GIL
oH, Im not here for mike.

the ladys interest peaks and the screen door opens.

GIL
I was walking by this morning and i noticed you had
two white chairs in the back there.

Gil waits for a response, and eyebrow lift, a grin, a rested shoulder. but gets nothing and presses forward

Gil
Where can I get some chairs like that?

the lady walks out and starts to shake her head and laugh, as if shes told this story a thousand times.

LADY
You know. i dont know where you can get them
i used to work at IBM and one day they were
just giving em away so i took some. i have
four of them, two more are in the shed,
why? you looking to buy some?

the lady grinned and stepped closer, Gil was one step away. but how much would this step cost him?

Gil
well, yeah sure, but ...i kind of wanted some
new ones. see my dad has two of those chairs
but we cant seem to find them anywhere. he wants
two more.

LADY
Well lets go look at em!

she leads the way to the back. gil follows close behind reminding himself not to get too excited. he still has to be sure that there not knock-offs, but being that the chairs came from IBM, this is highly unlikely....

LADY
Where did your dad get his?

Gil lifts the side chair. weight feels right.

GIL
He got em at his scholl where he used to teach
they used em around the pool. i guess cuss you
can get em wet.

theres one more test. the sit test. gil takes a seat and its confirmed immediatley. this is the most uncomfortable chair in the world. one who's beauty is such that people will look passed the lack of comfort just for them to grace their patio or kitchen. they are purely sculpture.

And just then, gil waits too long and takes a mistep.

LADY
HOW MUCH YOU GIVE ME FOR THEM?

thats right, she has beaten gill to the question. He has but one choice. stall.

Gil
ummmmm. lets see........
ummmmm. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

it works.

LADY

GIVE ME 20 DOLLARS FOR ALL FOUR!

A slow grin crosses gil's mind. yes.oh how sweet it is....but he still sits there...thinking, and humming.


GIL
HMMMMM............
Well thats 5 bucks a chair.
yeah, that seems fair.
you know, i dont even have
my wallet on me.....oh i think
its in my truck. hold on, oh,
would you mind helping me
carry theese?



With his iconic seating collection, Harry Bertoia transformed industrial wire rods into a new furniture form. The events that made this work possible began a decade earlier at Cranbrook Academy of Art when Bertoia met Florence Knoll Bassett (then Florence Schust). Years later, the Italian-born designer was invited to work for Florence and her husband Hans Knoll. The terms were favorable to the artist and Bertoia was given the freedom to work on whatever suited him, without being held to a strict design agenda. The result of this arrangement was the Bertoia Seating Collection (1952). Featuring a delicate filigreed appearance that's supremely strong, these airy seats are sculpted out of steel rods. In his art, Bertoia experimented with open forms and metal work, and these chairs were an extension of that work. "If you look at the chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture," said Bertoia. "Space passes through them." After designing his seating collection, Bertoia returned to focusing mostly on sculpture. His work was often used in projects by Eero Saarinen (another Cranbrook friend), notably at MIT and the Dulles International Airport. The white chair can be used outdoors with proper care and limited exposure to the elements. Manufactured by Knoll according to the original and exacting specifications of the designer. Made in Italy.