Friday Musings

My photos always look a bit washed out after I "save for the web" in photoshop, which makes sense I suppose.  Anyway, here is a shot of the new-to-me rug next to my bed.  Its a threadbare Persian(?) carpet that was cast-off by a friend.  I took it because the colors are nice-- rusty red and blue.  It was really dirty and I didn't want to shell out the big bucks for professional cleaning since it's so worn, so I washed it myself.   Take note, I am not recommending this to others.  Wash your rugs at your own risk!  That being said, it worked out fine for this carpept.  I washed it in cold water in the bathtub.  I used Woolite and let it soak for a couple of hours, and then I rinsed and stomped it several times in the tub, before taking it outside and doing an extensive final rinse with the hose.  It definitely bled a lot of color during the wash, but it didn't look visibly faded once it dried.  At least not any more faded than it already was.  I moved it from the tub to a large galvanized bucket in order to catch the drips as I carried it from the bathroom to the backdoor, and also because I was afraid that I'd drop it or drag an end on the ground by accident and undo all the cleaning.  It was awkward because its large and heavy when dry, but even heavier when wet.  I rinsed and dried it by draping it over four very sturdy outdoor chairs because I new my clothesline would probably collapse under the weight.  I left it out in the sun for a couple of days to make sure that it dried throughly and then voilá-- I had a new (old) rug.  I like it and it looks surprisingly good with the different shades of blue in the bedroom.

Since my friday musings are always just a compilation of some of the things I'm thinking about throughout the week, here are a couple of things totally unrelated to carpets.  Our Spring planted raspberries are fruiting!  We have just a couple of fruits forming on two of the seven plants (one cane totally bit the dust).  Exciting!

And finally, I got two discs in the mail from Netflix and had to laugh-- Maggie, if you are reading, my weekend viewing is dedicated to you-- Crazy Heart and West Wing: Season 1, both raved about on The Freckled Citizen this year.  

(Image via here).

The third movie is a classic film from 1946 called Without Reservations in which John Wayne and Claudette Colbert meet on a train trip to Los Angeles, apparently have a lay-over in Albuquerque and stay at the Alvarado Hotel.  I'm watching just to see scenes of the Alvarado, a Harvey House Hotel that was demolished during urban renewal in 1970.  The city has since built a cardboard copy version on the same site, minus the quality craftsmanship, details and building materials of the original.  It houses our downtown transportation center-- or city bus hub.  The building interior is largely unused.  At least it fills in the urban fabric better than the empty lot that fronted Central for 30 or so years.  Still everytime I really look at it all I can think about is how much better it would have been to have stopped the demolition of the original.  I mean, really wouldn't you rather be sitting on this patio sipping a lemonade and watching people get on and off the Southwest Chief right now?  I would.  [Edited to say that the Alvarado is not in the movie at all!  They do drive into Albuquerque and under the railroad bridge on Central, but the hotel scene is obviously a set, and not based on the Alvarado at all.  Bummer.  Misinformation led me to watch, but no Alvarado.  It was entertaining nonetheless.]