La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
We stopped by our local market late yesterday to pick up a few things. There was gula (imitation baby eels) in the freezer section. In case you’re all out. The fountain in the middle of the park was lit with red lights. I assume for Christmas.
We hung more art today. We have a set of five bird prints that we purchased while antiquing in Chagrin Falls outside Cleveland around 1990. They’re signed and numbered and were supposedly brought back from Korea by a missionary. But the extensive commentary on the back of each one is in Japanese. So, we’ll never know. We thought hanging them over the kitty condo opposite the kitchen would give Dudo and Moose something to look at.
We also hung two more of my mother’s needle works. San Geraldo’s undergraduate degree was in Russian studies. He speaks Russian, which impressed my parents and has complicated his Spanish language skills. My mother saw the Russian sampler and had to make it for SG. My father’s parents were Russian; they left when the last Romanov Tsar was still in power. Now there’s Tsar Putin.
The other sampler has always been a favorite. An incredible work with so many special techniques included. At center is the devil sitting above a poem: “The trees are green. The sun was hot. Sometimes I worked. And sometimes not.” SG and I both always wanted to take that home with us and would tell my mother so. Around 2001, when we lived in Palm Springs, California, I phoned my mother one week to tell her I was coming in for a visit. She didn’t give me a chance to tell her but said, “If you come for a visit, you can take home that sampler.” When I told her I was in fact coming back, she was convinced it was all because of the sampler.
After 12 years with our defective sconce (the top candle holder was broken off by the movers when we went from Seville to Fuengirola), San Geraldo sat down with it and, within a few minutes, repaired it. I can’t stop admiring it.
Pasamos por nuestro mercado local ayer tarde para recoger algunas cosas. Había gula (imitación de anguilas bebés) en la sección de congelados. En caso de que se hayan acabado. La fuente en el medio del parque estaba iluminada con luces rojas. Supongo que para Navidad.
Colgamos más arte hoy. Tenemos un juego de cinco impresiones de pájaros que compramos mientras buscábamos antigüedades en Chagrin Falls, en las afueras de Cleveland, alrededor de 1990. Están firmadas y numeradas y supuestamente las trajo de Corea un misionero. Pero el extenso comentario en la parte posterior de cada una está en japonés. Así que nunca lo sabremos. Pensamos que colgarlas sobre el condominio para gatos frente a la cocina les daría a Dudo y Moose algo que mirar.
También colgamos dos bordados más de mi madre. San Geraldo se licenció en estudios rusos. Habla ruso, lo que impresionó a mis padres y complicó sus conocimientos de español. Mi madre vio el muestrario ruso y tuvo que hacerlo para SG. Los padres de mi padre eran rusos; se fueron cuando el último zar Romanov todavía estaba en el poder. Ahora está el zar Putin.
El otro muestrario siempre ha sido uno de mis favoritos. Una obra increíble con tantas técnicas especiales incluidas. En el centro está el diablo sentado sobre un poema: “Los árboles son verdes. El sol calentaba. A veces trabajaba. Y a veces no”. SG y yo siempre quisimos llevárnoslo a casa y se lo decíamos a mi madre. Cuando vivíamos en Palm Springs, California, llamé a mi madre una semana para decirle que iba a ir de visita. No me dio la oportunidad de decírselo, pero me dijo: “Si vienes de visita, puedes llevarte a casa ese muestrario”. Cuando le dije que de hecho iba a volver, estaba convencida de que todo era por el muestrario.
Después de 12 años con nuestro aplique defectuoso (el candelabro superior se rompió por los transportistas cuando fuimos de Sevilla a Fuengirola), San Geraldo se sentó con él y, en unos minutos, lo reparó. No puedo dejar de admirarlo.
Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
I could have done without seeing the faux baby eels, but enjoyed all the rest of your photos. I can see why you wanted that sampler!
Kelly:
That sampler is a brilliant work and it makes me smile all the time.
Love the way the house is coming together; and love all the art and the stories behind them.
Eels, not so much.
Bob:
The fake eels (and I’m sure the real ones, too) do taste good but they’re still unappetizing.
You truly have some very fine things and I know you must be so happy to have them upacked and where you can see them. I bet that figuring out where to place them has made you see and cherish each one of them in a new light. Literally and figuratively.
Moonsigh
Ms. Moonsigh:
This apartment continues to surprise us with its airiness. We can actually step back and enjoy our things. It’s be fun.
Boud here, admiring all your artwork. Any chance you can get the Japanese translated? I’ve done that in my blog with a bit of Chinese — put up a picture, kind reader translated!
Is that a bit of Delft ware I see in your cabinet?
Boud:
We have considered translated the backs. Maybe. That 5-fingered vase was actually purchased in Williamsburg, Virginia; it was made in Portugal; and it was a very popular import during the colonial era.
If you have google translate app on your phone you can take a photo of the writing on the back of the pictures and it will determine the language and translate it (more or less—some translations better than others). I’ve used it when traveling — especially in art galleries and museums.
As always, your mother’s artistry is exquisite.
Mary:
One of these days, maybe we’ll translate. We had a friend whose parents were from Japan and although he wasn’t fluent, he was able to immediately tell us the writing was Japanese and he translated some bits (it was about the birds).
Your mother’s samplers are so wonderful! And you have them displayed with cabinetry and other objets d’art which enhance them perfectly!
Debra:
My mother would love seeing her works here. They show themselves well.
The place looks beautiful! I need to stop by more often, geeze, I’m missing all the good stuff. That glass cabinet with the barley twist legs is knocking me OUT!
redace1960:
Yes, you do! The cabinet is a tea table. All 4 sides drop down and the top lifts off as a serving tray. My mother bought it from an antique dealer in Brooklyn around 1970. We love it.
Fake or not, I will not be trying out any baby eels, thank you.
Your Mom’s work is exquisite!
As is your arranging of the birds and furniture. Getting there…..
Jim:
It’s coming together.
Those beautiful birds prints look like Audubon. Would be nice to get the Japanese translated. Your mother had an incredible talent with embroidery, this is real craftsmanship. You too have such a beautiful apartment.
larrymuffin:
My mother was very artistic. Needlework, knitting, crochet, sewing, painting, sculpture. And we’re lucky to have several examples.
You inherited some of her talent in your own art work
larrymuffin:
Thanks. She was usually supportive.
Such a pretty place. How do they cook the eels? I would try those, not the strangest thing that I have tried.
David:
So many different ways to serve the fake baby eels.
That fountain looks like it’s spewing blood! Seems more Halloweenish than Christmassy to me, but then, you do live in the home of the Spanish Inquisition, LOL!
LOVE your barley-twist cabinet — the perfect size for an apartment! The woman-in-an-Elizabethan dress is beautiful too: is it solid or hollow? Porcelain or ceramic? Antique or modern?
Tundra Bunny:
The cabinet is a tea table that belonged to my mother who bought it from an antique dealer in Broolyn around 1970. We shipped it over after she died. The woman in the dress is actually a menina. https://mitchellismoving.blogspot.com/2011/12/local-artist.html and https://movingwithmitchell.com/2012/03/26/oyster-shells-and-meninas/
Once again, I compliment your mother’s art skills. Did she ever sell anything or was it strictly a hobby?
Kirk:
She preferred to not sell and gave many works as gifts.
Just beautiful. You could charge admission. I suggest one bar of chocolate per entry.
Walt the Fourth:
I love that entry fee!
You can keep the baby eels, but the needlework is beautiful.
Frances
Frances:
We have a couple more pieces from my mother.
Are those bird pictures places next to the cat tree just to taunt the boys? 😂
It’s all looking lovely. You two should be proud! Jx
Jon:
I thought it would be entertaining, but the cats haven’t shown any interest. I guess all that’s new is the placement. They’ve seen those prints for more than 12 years.
That fountain is very RED — disturbingly so. The repair job on the sconce looks really good!
You could take pictures of the Japanese on the back of the bird prints and post them online for translation. I bet someone on Reddit or Twitter or some other such site could tell you what they say. I wonder if Google translate can read text off an image?
Steve:
Saw the fountain again tonight. The water level is above the red lights and it looks quite different! I’ll give translating a try.
Things appear to be shaping up quite nicely!
wickedhamster:
Definitely coming together. Feeling more like home and no longer embarrassed to let anyone see it!
I’m running out to get my bar of chocolate for my admission fee!
All so lovely.
Judy C:
We’d even let you in without the bar of chocolate.
Good for him! He’s a keeper.
Urspo:
He sure is.
The lady with the fuck off yellow dress is a winner
finlaygray:
I had no clue who you were talking about! Ah, yes, the menina.