Morning Wakeup: Water Drumming Song

We find this wondrous water drumming song to be a perfect uplift; it’s from the Banks Islands, part of the northern Vanuatu in the Indian Ocean.  Thirty-five seconds in and you will leap for joy. Of course we love that these women are hanging out together hip-deep in water, using IT as their instrument. And…

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Going AWOL

(Video link HERE.) It has been a TIME the past five months, with serious life events that have continued since June. Just as we’ve gotten our balance, another big wave hits. They say that big things happen in clusters and they have for us; we’ve been improvising like crazy, finding many unexpected answers as we…

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A Metal Frame Lounge Chair-Fort

The forts and bunkers of his childhood inspired Czech designer Michael Tomalik to design a wire frame chair that is “a place of convenience, comfort and personal repose“. His monkey-bar-ish construction is a kind of grownup fort, made comfortable with giant pillows and outfitted with books,  plants, and a light (to which we’d add a shade and…

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Celestial Music via Sen’s Sculptural Instrument

(Video link HERE.) We know nothing of how Turkish musician, Görkem Şen came to create the Yaybahar, his rather magical acoustic instrument made of fretted strings, coiled springs and frame drums.  He plays it with a bow or a wrapped mallet or just his fingers, switching between them like a dancer to create hypnotic, crazy-beautiful and unexpected sounds. It’s…

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Cool Wall-Mounted Kraft Paper Dispenser

We use Kraft paper all the time for jobs around the house — as a big page to block out ideas, a drawable tablecloth, decoratable wrapping paper, table protection when doing messy projects, and desk blotter/notepad. Right now, we have the roll standing upright in our tool closet. When we need paper, we have to unroll…

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Waterfall Swing

(Video link HERE.) It’s about time someone devised Waterfall Swing. Perfect for warm weather refreshment. We thought. When we read the fine print we discovered that this whole rig of water jets is computerized to predict the action of the rider. The computer creates a “hole” in the wall of water, to allow the rider to…

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Imaginings: A Jigsaw Puzzle Floor?

Wandering around Artists and Craftsmen the other day, we came across jigsaw puzzle blanks meant to be painted or printed on to make a custom jigsaw puzzle. We saw the jigsaw pattern as an interesting possibility for a ….floor, no doubt inspired by our white-painted plywood floors with their geometric grid of seams. From the beginning, we’ve thought…

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The Hash Improvisations

My favorite rescue for leftover roasted or grilled meat or poultry is hash, by which I mean a mess of skillet-cooked onion, potatoes and/or root vegetables into which I toss the diced leftovers. Last night’s hash was rare steak tossed it into a caramelized braise of diced onions, turnips and celery root, brightened with thyme and slivers of lemon zest. I

When my friend saw photo of my hash, and then asked how to make it, I took it as a sign to publish the method on Improvised Life.

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