Song of the Week #24 Kate Bush "December Will Be Magic Again"

This song is one of those busy tunes that sounds like it should have either become three separate songs, or an operetta. Still, I love it. This is one of those perfume songs for me. Some songs take me right to a place in time, the way the familiar scent of a perfume does. During my Kate years, I was living out in Scarborough in a house that overlooked Lake Ontario.

KB was my musical hero when I was a teenager. Her lyrics were so original and her music unlike anything else on the radio. A friend introduced her music to me when I was in Grade 8 and the following year Kate released her phenomenal Hounds of Love album. When she came to Toronto to promote the record on MuchMusic, I waited down on Queen St. (East - location of the old CityTV building). Sure enough, she came out and signed the back of my copy of Hounds of Love in silver marker. I will treasure it forever. Years later, when she released the disappointing Red Shoes, I was working as a freelance music journalist and I got to interview her. She was beautiful and so human. When the interview was over, I left the fancy hotel she was staying at and wondered what reasons I had to continue writing about music since I'd met Kate. Throughout the nineties, music changed and I found many new things to excite and write about, but nothing as great as Kate.

Here's the video for "Running up That Hill." Kate was a trained dancer and this is probably her last great dance piece. The lyrics are all about the difficulties men and women have relating to each other.

Thrifted Bears in an Oil Spill

In Science, my class is learning about Energy Conservation. We've been exploring fossil fuels and the environmental damages caused by oil spills. Last week, I bought two bags of brand new stuffed bears (10 bears in total) for $4.00 at Value Village. Yesterday, the class recreated an oil spill using cooking oil, black powdered paint, and water. I wish I could include pictures of the kids on this blog, because they were totally into the activity. Look at the poor bears.

"No, you can't do this to me!"

"Aaaaagh!"

A little clean to see if the grime will come off.

No such luck. Next week, the students will perform an autopsy on the bears to see what they look like inside.

Song of the Week #23 Rockettothesky "Grizzly Man" + Marimekko Update

Do you remember my textile treasure I scored on the weekend?

I've since learned a few things about Marimekko. Click here http://www.marimekko.fi/eng/marimekkocorporation/history/1950 to learn about the history of this amazing company which began in Finland.

Here's a blurb about designer Maija Isola. What a talent.

Maija Isola (1927–2001) designed her first printed textiles in 1949 for Printex Oy, Marimekko’s predecessor. She worked as head designer of Marimekko’s interior fabrics until 1987. She also had an illustrious career as a visual artist.

Maija Isola was a tremendously versatile and bold artist. She interpreted the events of her era from her own unique perspective and foresaw future trends. Her body of work includes over 500 prints – a brilliant selection of patterns representing different themes and techniques. She drew inspiration from traditional folk art, modern visual art, nature and her countless trips around the world.

It's all gorgeous and I want it all.

While I'm singing the praises of all things Nordic, here's my song of the week: "Grizzly Man." Rockettothesky are an arty, folky band from Sweden, but I still like them.

Finnish Fabric and Vintage Chef Clock

Yesterday, my sister Lise took the gang out for some serious thrifting at two Value Village stores: Eglinton at Victoria Park, and Lawrence East. I hit gold.

I discovered this large piece of fabric featuring a bold design of toucans perched on branches.
How cool is this? The fabric was stamped "Maija Isola 'Pepe' Marimekko Oy Suomi Finland 1972." I know the name Marimekko. I'll have to do some Googling later on. If you know anything about this designer, please leave a comment.
Over the holidays, Lise is going to teach me how to hem on her sewing machine. I'm going to turn this into a wall hanging.
When I thrift, I can't help wondering the back story of what I find. In the case of this fabric, how did it end up in Toronto? Who owned it?
And how did it end up being sold at Value Village in Scarborough for $1.99?
My sister found this delightful kitchen clock for me. It cost $6.99 and appears to work. Made in America.
The Value Village at Lawrence East was a bit ghetto. As soon as we arrived, a shopper walked up to me and told me she had just had her wallet stolen and to be extra careful. This was a first. Anyway, I did find this insanely retro Battleship game. It cost $3.99. All the pieces seemed to be included.
Look at the sixties housewife and daughter doing the dishes in the background. Hilarious.

I love that it was made in London, Ontario.

I bought Duncan Yum Safari. We'll try to set it up later.

All these retro games reminded me of the "game closet" scene in The Royal Tenenbaums. You'll find it between 3:30 and 4:00 on this clip.

I bought this old, but never used Christmas wreath for my classroom door.

The price was discounted and still nobody wanted it.

Until Value Village put the right price on it.

Duncan wanted these glittery pipe cleaners for crafts.

Every time I turned my back, Lise had dressed Duncan up in something crazy. He loved this hat, so I gave in. It looks like something my father would have worn in the eighties when he was shoveling snow.

It is made from pure wool in Toronto. Wow!

We ended up at an Ikea last night and I almost screamed when I discovered this gorgeous bird tray. Ikea is one of my favourite stores, especially for their kitchenware. It cost $6.99.

Here's the opening scene from The Royal Tenenbaums. If you like vintage, and eccentric characters, you'll love this movie. I connect with this film because the house I grew up in was a bit like the house the Tenenbaums lived in. The cultural refrences from the seventies and eighties that you see in the film pretty much sum up my childhood.

Oodles and Oodles of Christmas Charm

I love the blog Oodles and Oodles. Here is a photo of a retro alpine village from a recent post. If this was in my house growing up, I would have begged my mom not to take it down after Christmas was over. Check out Oodles and Oodles (linked on the right).

Electric Company Theme - Dig

Remember this? I remember later episodes and reruns.