Liner Notes: March - Mitski/Bury Me at Makeout Creek/The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We

 As is the way, let's start with a song:

I love sad songs. Always have. Mitski is notorious for writing some of the best sad songs out there...and most of them are under three minutes long. To be able to devastate someone in such a short amount of time is truly a gift. Several of her saddest songs appear on the album Bury Me at Makeout Creek and one of my favorites, "My Love Mine All Mine," appears on The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We. Dazed rated the seven saddest of her songs, and I think they get it right. 

If you've never laid on the floor in your bedroom or living room or wherever and listened to records when you were feeling down, you are officially a much more well-adjusted person than I am. I can't exactly explain why laying on the floor and listening to music is such a healing thing but it absolutely is. Perhaps it's the way the music falls over me when I'm at a lower level in the room than I would be if I was sitting on the couch or my bed. Maybe it's the fact that my body is at rest when I'm doing this and I can just let the music be the focus. I'm sure there are studies about this, but I'm too tired to go find them, so you'll just have to believe me when I say that one of life's great pleasures is laying on the floor listening to music. Listening to sad songs and Broadway cast recordings are the best songs to listen to while doing this but really any music will do. 

Anyway, the first time I listened to Bury Me at Makeout Creek I was laying on the floor while the album played. I didn't know about this album when I heard Mitski for the first time. I wonder if my Mitski journey would have been different if I had known about her first album when it originally came out. Who knows? What I do know is that it's one of my favorite albums to listen to when I want to lay on the floor and listen to music. I would also recommend listening to the original cast recording of A Chorus Line, any album by ABBA, most of Lou Reed's solo albums, and the original original cast recording of Cabaret while laying on the floor. My brain is a great place to be. 

This week I worked on the second tiny cat for my version of the Tansy House. We're going to get to the Tansy House in more detail for the last week of the March liner notes, but for now, bask in the cuteness of yet another dopey cat. 

I'm also working on the next and final phase of the Tansy House - tiny art. I was trying to find some fabric with figures on it over the weekend, but didn't find anything that would work so now I have to draw a portrait to embroider for one of the pieces of tiny art. It's going to be something. I have some other embellishments like buttons and brooches that I plan to use for the other art in the room. The dopey cats are going to love it all. 

Here is this week's stitch journal entry. 

March 15

March 16

March 17

March 18

March 19

March 20

March 21 - look at the little heart! I did fill it in, but it was super cute.

The cats are done! I'll attach them tomorrow and move on to tiny art.

Programming note: The last March liner notes post will be posted on March 31 rather than next Saturday. 

The Thrift Does Not Disappoint

I did make some progress on a few WIPs I have in the works, but the real story of this week is the wild thing I found at this tiny thrift store I love to visit. I was coming home from my optometrist appointment last Saturday feeling all sorts of ways about having to get progressive lenses for the first time. My eyes are officially old. Also, why are the lenses of my glasses so expensive (even with the insurance discount)? Why do we have separate insurance for our teeth and eyes? Why is everything a scam?

You can see where my mind was after this appointment. I drive by this tiny thrift store on my way home from my optometrist so I stopped. I deserved the little treat of walking around a thrift store and possibly finding a treasure. This particular store is magical. I find something amazing every time I go in. I'm convinced the women who run the place are witches. As I'm looking around, I spot this trinket shelf near the front of the store that's full of trinkets. I thought they were selling the items on the shelf as individual items. No, no, that was not what was happening. It's a complete shelf filled with wondrous little treasures. Two people walked by this treasure without so much as a second glance. I don't even know how that's possible. 

The whole thing cost $25 and they were having an end of winter sale so I only paid $12 for it. It's amazing. I haven't photographed every shelf/item yet, but am planning on a longer post about the trinket shelf once I clean it and document everything. Some of the items are collectibles on their own if they are what I think they are, but as a collection, it's even more amazing. The woman working at the front of the store didn't know much about who donated the piece, but she had been staring at it since it was put out earlier in the day. No one stopped to look at it until I came in. Wild.

My guess is this person traveled a lot or had someone in their life who traveled and brought back the small things you find at gift shops. Some of the items are in line with small trinkets that were popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Everything is glued down so I can't check for things like stamps or signatures. Some of the glue is wearing away; three items are currently not attached so it's possible more will come off, but I don't think some of these things are ever going to move. The shelf and the trinkets are filthy. It's the kind of dust that's sticky so this has been sitting in someone's house for a long time. My April project will be to clean and document the entire thing. 

I hope this is the result of one person's adventures on this planet. I don't know anything about this person and I probably never will. It feels right in my house like it feels right to be using MLM's thread collection for this year's stitch journal. Just one more weird and whimsical thing to enjoy every day.

The flower is similar to MCM brass table decorations I've seen on Etsy shops. I think they came in different sizes so this could be from that period or a very good copy.

I've never seen this exact horse (I think it's a horse) but the design is similar to Indigenous figures I've seen in museums and online.

It's a duck - I don't know what it's made out of but I love it.

The Dutch girl is one of three items from Holland and all three are similar to ceramics that were popular as gifts in the 1960s.

Metal toys like this were popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Not sure if it's vintage or not.

I think this dude is from Portugal.

A. There's an octopus. B. There's a sea horse that I'm 99% certain was alive at one point in history. C. That's probably a small Wedgwood vase.

There are lots of birds.

More birds, a snail, and a tiny cat.

Quite possibly the most insane thing that's included...it's a metal figurine of Danny DeVito as the Penguin. I don't know what else to say about it.

This particular bird looks like the work of Mexican ceramicist Jorge Wilmot but I don't know if this is one of his pieces. The eye detail is very similar to pieces I've seen online. I know he made miniatures, but again, I'm not sure if this is one of his.

There's also a little mouse that I think may be from Pigeon Forge Pottery, but I have no way of knowing. I'm really excited to get it cleaned up and ready to display. Right now, it's sitting in my studio and is surrounded by pillows so a certain tiny cat leaves it alone. She can't help herself. She loves art and weird stuff. Like her mom. 

I'm off to GalaxyCon in Richmond. I may or may not be wearing a Wolf Girl shirt for my photo op with Luke and Kirk from Gilmore Girls. It's going to be great. 

If you're feeling something this weekend, try laying on the floor and listening to music. I know it'll help.