I’m always on the lookout for birds.  Since reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen in 3rd grade, I watch for movement everywhere I go.  I like to spot the birds no one else can see.  I know which Seattle parks have the widest variety of waterfowl in the winter (Magnusson and Seward!) and how to identify a raptor at a quarter of a mile away.  As often as I can, I bring the Sibley Field Guide to North American Birds, and a waterproof notebook with me on road trips to help me identify other regional species, and log their names for my life list.

It’s around this time of the year, when the leaves have mostly gone from the trees, that I get excited about birding.  You can see the birds easier without the almost oppressive verdant foliage — they come further out of the woods to feed on berries and seeds people leave for them, and their colors are more contrasting against the gray skies as they migrate south.  A window into their world opens up and I feel like my nearly 2 year old nephew when he spots an airplane in the sky.

Although I love birds, I’ve not fully embraced the birdy trend in home decor that’s been popular for the last few years.  I have a taxidermied snow goose on the wall of my studio, and a pair of Korean brass cranes on the kitchen window sill (along with my blue rose in a coke bottle), but that’s about it for my avian decor.  I also often wear headbands with mini birds on them – like last Christmas’ cardinal headband, and another that’s in the works of a goldfinch, Washington’s state bird.

The items below just might inspire me to bring more bird into the house….what do you think?

I kinda hate windchimes, actually, but I could see the cardinal attached to my front door at Christmas, announcing guests.

I have a thing for geese. And I need to have a safe place for my engagement ring. Perfect!

This is a gorgeous handcarved mobile, from Anthro

Hooked on birds!

Very Scandinavian...

(actually, I do have this one...)

(this would be a really good rug in my living room....)

I want this fabric....

Great English Outdoors

Striped wool blankets

Lumberjack decor

Anyone else loving wool’s comeback?

Who wants to help me paint my bedroom wall plaid?

]]> http://warmcorners.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/yes-please/feed/ 0 Ginger Great English Outdoors Stripes plaid walls http://warmcorners.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/origins/ http://warmcorners.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/origins/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:53:32 +0000 Ginger http://warmcorners.wordpress.com/?p=13 ]]> I would like to intersperse posts about my origins and the origins of my aesthetic with the posts about style and diy projects.  I think that these “origins” posts may help you (and me!) figure out where I’m coming from, why I gravitate towards certain styles and patterns and materials, and help to profile a style in the making.

My family came to America from various corners of Scandinavia during the last decades of the 19th, and the first decades of the 20th centuries.  They came from inland Norway, the bogland of Denmark, the harbor cities of Karelian Finland, and the birch forests of Sweden.  They settled on the lakeshores of Minnesota, the rolling plains of North Dakota, in the mining towns of Utah, and coastal harbors of Washington.

Here is one who came from Norway:

Ole Bellerud, c. 1890

This fresh faced young man emigrated from Toten, Norway in 1890 on the ship SS Norge.  He made the journey with his sister Klara.  He is my great grandfather.

In this face, I see my father.  This looks like him in his early 20s.  I never knew my grandfather, Melvin, who was born and raised in Nekoma, North Dakota, where Ole opened the Nekoma Mercantile with his brothers.  I’ve seen photos, and they look like this man. I see my nephew, Steven, too.  He may very well grow up to look much like him.

I also see myself.  I have his almond shaped eyes.  That’s my nose and my chin.  Those are my earlobes.  My mouth is a little smaller, but I’ve finally found where the sharply defined cupid’s bow lip line comes from.

What else would we have had in common?  A penchant for wool blankets and aquavit?  A love of salty foods and moody music in minor keys?  Maybe I’ll never know.  He died in 1927.

Although even 50 or 60 years ago things were more geared toward the utilitarian than the trendy, through the ages of human history people have followed the fashion for clothing and possessions.  The reasons for these fashions may have been more about practicality and cultural identity than marketability and celebrity, but still these objects meant something to their owners.  That we even have the terms heirloom, antique, and vintage means that there is an inherent value to the objects that we own.  It is not frivolous to value an object if it gives you comfort, allows you to reminisce about good times or old friends.  I can close my eyes and see a child of ancient Greece loving a particular toy, or a woman in Meiji Japan treasuring a certain teacup, or a gold miner on his way to the Alaska Yukon taking comfort in the embroidered name in the collar of his Filson mackinaw coat.

Humans love objects.  They are the physical embodiment of memories and feelings.  They are the landmarks of our inner thoughts, and materials, shapes, smells, styles can evoke these thoughts and feelings.  To surround oneself with things one loves completely is to seek out the warm corners of our minds, to find comfort in the life we lead, and to pass down a memory and a feeling to the next owner – be it a family member or friend or purchaser.

In this blog I will explore the warm corners of my mind, and share the things I take comfort in, work on to bring back to life, and put in my home to create an atmosphere of love, friendship, coziness, and whimsy.