Lady Lydia wants a booth at career day

[Sobeknofret]

17 hours ago, refugee said:

That was so bizarre. I don't know what she thought she was trying to accomplish.

To be honest, I don't know if she knows why she posted here. I really wonder if she's quite all there sometimes. I understand that she's a low-energy person, and that's not a big deal, but the constant insistence that all women need to conserve their energy and refrain from all but minimal contact with the world is a little odd.

[nastyhobbitses]

22 hours ago, FundiesInParis said:

@Lydia It's so silly to assume that women outside of the home can't have immaculate homes. I'm a graduate student and my fiance works a very well paid IT job, I don't have much time to "keep house", so he just pays for a housekeeper to come and do it.

Plus, we don't have kids, which means things don't get too messy in the first place. 

I'm a grad student and I actually use cleaning as a procrastination/calming activity. It takes just enough brainpower to stimulate me, involves getting up and moving around, and I accomplish something by doing it. Plus it's an excuse to crank up my guilty pleasure playlist and dance around while sweeping the floor or cleaning the shower. But alas, I occupy too much of my ladybrain with thoughts of linguistics and education policy, and I don't put doilies on everything, so I have failed at femininity.

[Palimpsest]

@nastyhobbitses cleaning and cooking to music is my favorite thing too.  It makes boring housework go so much faster.

I'm pretty sure I'm several years older than Lady Lydia but she makes me feel like a bouncing energetic baby lamb.  Lydia would have fifty fits if she witnessed me cleaning while stepping to the left and jumping to the right, putting my hands on my hips, and bringing my knees in tight.  The sight of me doing the pelvic thrust would really drive her insane.  

Yeah, I'm so old I saw the original stage production of Rocky Horror Show - before the movie turned it into the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  

[Sobeknofret]

2 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

@nastyhobbitses cleaning and cooking to music is my favorite thing too.  It makes boring housework go so much faster.

I'm pretty sure I'm several years older than Lady Lydia but she makes me feel like a bouncing energetic baby lamb.  Lydia would have fifty fits if she witnessed me cleaning while stepping to the left and jumping to the right, putting my hands on my hips, and bringing my knees in tight.  The sight of me doing the pelvic thrust would really drive her insane.  

Yeah, I'm so old I saw the original stage production of Rocky Horror Show - before the movie turned it into the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  

I usually clean to the uplifting sounds of the Clash or the Ramones. Cooking is strictly the Beatles.

[Palimpsest]

6 minutes ago, Sobeknofret said:

I usually clean to the uplifting sounds of the Clash or the Ramones. Cooking is strictly the Beatles.

Me too!  

Other music I clean to is Queen.  And (shhh, please don't tell anyone my dirty secret) but when I spring clean I have been known to blast out ABBA's greatest hits!  

[Sobeknofret]

4 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

Me too!  

Other music I clean to is Queen.  And (shhh, please don't tell anyone my dirty secret) but when I spring clean I have been known to blast out ABBA's greatest hits!  

Oh, no judgement from me- I love disco! Soul Train and American Bandstand were my groove in the 70's!

[Four is Enough]

Cleaning is for PRINCE. 

[feministxtian]

I, the dirty feminist, leave most of the cleaning to the husband. I'm the type who drops her pants on the floor and walks over them over and over until I forget they're there and trip over them. I only do the serious stuff...bathtubs and stain pre-treating. 

My decorating style...it's still evolving, but here in the oversized closet, it looks more like an episode of Hoarders than anything else. I DO prefer more contemporary styles, clean lines, vibrant colors. Maybe when we have a larger place. 

[PennySycamore]

I used to clean my kitchen on Saturday afternoons while listening to the Metropolitan Opera on the radio.  I need to start doing that again.  I typically have the PBS cooking shows on then.  

[Sobeknofret]

5 minutes ago, feministxtian said:

My decorating style...it's still evolving, but here in the oversized closet, it looks more like an episode of Hoarders than anything else. I DO prefer more contemporary styles, clean lines, vibrant colors. Maybe when we have a larger place. 

I'm a decorating idiot, so my house is stupidly undecorated, but if I could pick a style to really do right, I'd go for French country or Tuscan. I just am so timid about changing things up.

[feministxtian]

1 minute ago, Sobeknofret said:

I'm a decorating idiot, so my house is stupidly undecorated, but if I could pick a style to really do right, I'd go for French country or Tuscan. I just am so timid about changing things up.

Start small...scout second-hand places in the upscale neighborhoods. Switch out  one thing at a time.

When we lived in VA, we had a more colonial style house so my decorating style then fit the house. Now, we're in the southwest and I'm branching out into brighter colors and sleeker lines for furniture. 

 

[PennySycamore]

2 minutes ago, feministxtian said:

Start small...scout second-hand places in the upscale neighborhoods. Switch out  one thing at a time.

When we lived in VA, we had a more colonial style house so my decorating style then fit the house. Now, we're in the southwest and I'm branching out into brighter colors and sleeker lines for furniture. 

 

Estate sales are good, too.  I read yesterday (on Houzzz, IIRC) that that one reason that MCM has become so popular is that good Mid-Century Modern pieces became available on the resale market.  Mad Men didn't hurt either.  Some of that furniture was cool!  eg, the egg chair in Roger Sterling's office.

[feministxtian]

I'm a serious IKEA devotee. I would love to find a MCM house to buy and refurbish. However, here they're WAY out of my price range or in neighborhoods that I don't want to live in. We did find an apartment that has that MCM sort of vibe but with the current lack of employment thing, moving isn't in the cards any time soon. It has 10' ceilings, big windows, an incredible balcony, but with some more modern touches like granite countertops and stainless appliances. Hopefully next year. 

[Palimpsest]

1 hour ago, Sobeknofret said:

Oh, no judgement from me- I love disco! Soul Train and American Bandstand were my groove in the 70's!

Hello, my friend and fellow disco era person.

And I just noticed your Avatar!  Is it new or am I just very slow?  I definitely remember your name because it always makes me think of Ancient Egypt - although i think that was Sobekhotep.

ETA.  My decorating style has been called "eclectic."  I think that person was being polite. It means second hand and thrift store, with a few actual rustic antiques, too many collectibles, and some African and contemporary art thrown in.  I like to support living artists.

The only "new" furniture in this house is one battered 30 year old This End Up love seat (AKA the dog couch) and a king sized bed. 

[ladyamylynn]

Speaking of guilty pleasures, I may or may not have just been listening to the Backstreet Boys while scrubbing the kitchen floor... There may have been a glass of white wine involved. 

[lawfulevil]

I really don't get her. Like her "housekeeping list" from 6/18... well, okay, sure, but what do you do the rest of the day? Any given house only needs SO MANY hats, doilies, tea trays, tchotchkes, frilly ass curtains, matching frilly ass frumpers, hair combs... I mean, she's constantly rambling about the materialism of women (gasp) working, but her blog is about nothing but wasting time and filling your house with crap. To serve your husband, and God, of course. Does she really think her husband is into pink ruffles? Judging by the truck, he doesn't give a shit. I bet he'd be happier with some extra income and a house that didn't look like a thrift store puked on it. I also bet he'd be happier if she had something to talk about besides yet another conversation she had with the dirty dishes about what to make for dinner.

 

[nastyhobbitses]

3 hours ago, Sobeknofret said:

I usually clean to the uplifting sounds of the Clash or the Ramones. Cooking is strictly the Beatles.

I feel like such a phillistine. I just blast all the trashiest pop from my youth: Vanessa Carlton, Nelly, The Killers, Taylor Swift, NSYNC...

Though my study playlist is Sigur Ros and Alt-J, because I'm a hipster underneath my deep, abiding compulsion to scream-sing A Thousand Miles whenever I hear it. And I guess I like male singers who kind of sound like Kermit the Frog.

[feministxtian]

I've truly entered geekworld. I listen to documentaries while studying. Currently listening to a NOVA documentary on the Apollo program. For some reason (could be my oddly wired brain), music distracts me while I'm studying. 

[Sobeknofret]

(While reading lawfulevil's post I suddenly remembered something my dad told me, 12-15 years ago. He worked as a ranger for the National Park Service Service in California in a park surrounded by lots of small organic farms of various kinds, a really good artisanal cheese company, a beautiful organic bakery that sourced their ingredients locally, and so on.

Dad was chosen to accompany the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall around the area for a short while, while they toured the park and then visited some farms and the local feed barn/farmers market; apparently they both have a strong interest in organic and sustainable farming. My dad hated the whole idea of royalty and pretentiousness so I was waiting to hear how he'd offended one or both of them

Instead, he was positively gushing over both of them, but particularly the Duchess. Dad said she was warm, friendly, interested in the minutia of the farms and the park, conversed with everyone and anyone, and was obviously having such a good time, she put everyone around her at ease. They even had lunch around the the local dive tavern, invited everyone to come eat with them, and bought a round for the whole place. When their schedule was delayed, the Prince and the Duchess unexpectedly  ended up spending about an hour at the house of one of the park rangers. Dad said the place was kind of a mess, but the Duchess was so completely at ease, and so gracious to everyone, she made everyone in the house feel at ease and relaxed.

He finished off with the highest compliment he was capable of giving: "That was a *real* lady." Not her title, her pedigree, or the way she dressed made her a lady in his eyes, but how she made the people around her feel. Lydia could learn a few things from her, on how to be a *real* Lady.

[Howl]

6 hours ago, Sobeknofret said:

I usually clean to the uplifting sounds of the Clash or the Ramones. Cooking is strictly the Beatles.

Ramones and Clash ARE uplifting.  Eleventy! Did you ever see the Rock N Roll Highschool movie? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_'n'_Roll_High_School

[refugee]

10 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

 

@nastyhobbitses cleaning and cooking to music is my favorite thing too.  It makes boring housework go so much faster.

I admit, I clean to the sound of podcasts. And now I've found the most wonderful app for my phone that reads webpages aloud...

5 hours ago, feministxtian said:

I've truly entered geekworld. I listen to documentaries while studying. Currently listening to a NOVA documentary on the Apollo program. For some reason (could be my oddly wired brain), music distracts me while I'm studying. 

Hah! I love this! I mean, I find music distracting. Somehow it fragments my concentration. But give me a podcast... I'm so grateful for podcasts. I can pick and choose my listening material, rather than the crapshoot of talk radio. (If I never hear another ad for "Men's Clinic" it will be too soon.) NPR's not too bad, but I really like being able to choose the subject matter.

Am such a nerd. One of my favs is Grammar Girl. (ETA: Another is K.M. Weiland's "Helping Writers Become Authors".)

[feministxtian]

7 minutes ago, refugee said:

 

Hah! I love this! I mean, I find music distracting. Somehow it fragments my concentration. But give me a podcast... I'm so grateful for podcasts. I can pick and choose my listening material, rather than the crapshoot of talk radio. (If I never hear another ad for "Men's Clinic" it will be too soon.) NPR's not too bad, but I really like being able to choose the subject matter.

Am such a nerd. One of my favs is Grammar Girl.

If I get to a song I don't like...that can just totally destroy my concentration. I pick geek documentaries from Youtube and listen to them. Right now it's Wernher Von Braun tells the story of Apollo 11. I know...any possible cool cred I ever could have had is long gone...LOL

[Black Aliss]

1 hour ago, feministxtian said:

If I get to a song I don't like...that can just totally destroy my concentration. I pick geek documentaries from Youtube and listen to them. Right now it's Wernher Von Braun tells the story of Apollo 11. I know...any possible cool cred I ever could have had is long gone...LOL

You obviously don't know what some of us consider to be cool. WvB tells the story of Apollo 11? I have to find that!

[lawfulevil]

8 hours ago, Sobeknofret said:

He finished off with the highest compliment he was capable of giving: "That was a *real* lady." Not her title, her pedigree, or the way she dressed made her a lady in his eyes, but how she made the people around her feel. Lydia could learn a few things from her, on how to be a *real* Lady.

I've always thought that was very telling too- actual nice people make other people feel comfortable. Sadly, I think Lydia would rather enjoy snubbing someone for using the wrong fork, and isn't particularly interested in enhancing anyone's life but her own.

((I have a very frou frou flatware set but I maintain that the "right fork" is whichever one isn't in the dishwasher right now.))

[Grimalkin]

23 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

@nastyhobbitses cleaning and cooking to music is my favorite thing too.  It makes boring housework go so much faster.

I'm pretty sure I'm several years older than Lady Lydia but she makes me feel like a bouncing energetic baby lamb.  Lydia would have fifty fits if she witnessed me cleaning while stepping to the left and jumping to the right, putting my hands on my hips, and bringing my knees in tight.  The sight of me doing the pelvic thrust would really drive her insane.  

Yeah, I'm so old I saw the original stage production of Rocky Horror Show - before the movie turned it into the Rocky Horror Picture Show.  

      My husband works from home, I need my privacy to do this!