I return with pictures! As I’d gleefully noted before, my books are up, which means I once again have, as Virginia Woolf would say, “a room of my own.” It’s such a simple thing, but it makes all the difference. After being away for over two years, I’m feeling truly at home again, and I’m grateful for it; my office is our living room, and it’s like a big cozy library. All the relics are here… the Chagall prints I’d scrounged from a dusty pile in that thrift store in West Germany almost twenty-five years ago, just before The Wall came down, and also from West Germany, the iron dragon candlestick found on a stroll through a street fair on a cold wintry night. My brother’s old Six Million Dollar Man thermos (c. 1974) and the white porcelain cat a friend gave me when I was sixteen. The fresh flowers, childrens’ books and pocketbook-size literature and pulp fiction in the dark bookcase by my desk, and, on the other side of the room, the bulk of my book collection awaiting detailed organization in the larger bookcases. The butsudan my Grandfather refurbished for me before he died. The candlestick a beloved friend sent from France. And so on.
My desk…
…with the old Chagall prints
Looking over my shoulder, I see the bulk of my book collection in the cases against the opposite wall
The typical array of candles, framed photos and knick-knacks lining the top shelf, and some art made by friends.
Corner detail by the butsudan…. I positioned the clock so we’d have a reflection of the time in the mirror.
So this is our living room. We’ve clustered our loveseat, ottoman and my beat-up old German trunk (serving as a coffee table, as usual) under the window on the wall between the two sides of the room. Callaghan’s all set up, too… he’s got the larger of our two bedrooms for his art studio, and it’s perfect for him.
In other news, I can’t believe it’s Thanksgiving week already!
That Asian-Looking Chick 
I love the new place! Your pictures remind me that I need to get a bookshelf to organize the clutter here. Haha
And we need to hang stuff on the walls. I’m sad to say our place is four walla of tan and white. We have a couple of little things here and there but no where near anything worth showing off. I took some pictures on my DSLR but I’ve been so lazy and haven’t put them on my computer to post anywhere yet. Im not sure where to post them simce I no longer have the book of faces. I should hang some, too.
I love the clock picture. Totally awesome.
♡G
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Hi G! Thanks! I unpacked and set things up as quickly as possible. After three years of living mostly in boxes, I was more than ready to settle in. =)
Post your pics in a blog! =)
Thank you… I love the clock pic, too.
oxox
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I lived for almost a year out of my car and friends couches/spare rooms, I could not imagine three years of not having your own place and belongings within arms reach. I can imagine being so excited to settle in as quickly ad possible!
I have a Tumblr and I enjoy it but I don’t use it very much. I just don’t really know what to post about. I’m awful at coming up with names and tag lines and things to post about. I’m also afraid I’d be boring but it is something to think about and look into more. I like the idea. 🙂
It’s getting cold here in Texas. I think AZ at this time of year would be lovely to live in.
♡G
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G, you are so strong… I’m so proud of you! I would love to read your blog, as you have so much life experience to inform it. It would be interesting and inspirational, and it would be a pleasurable way to keep up with you. =) ~It’s getting cold here, too, but I’m not minding it… plus, it’s beautiful here despite the temps! Stay warm, dear. oxox
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