My Secret Weapon for Home and other Projects UPDATE

Years ago painters left behind some sanding sponges they used to achieve a perfect finish in the high gloss surfaces.  Something made me pick one up to try sanding an ugly heating pipe coated in green enamel. The ease-of-transformation was a revelation. I’ve been using that perfect sponge ever since for all sorts of fixes and projects around my house.

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Morph Your Ancient Laptop (even Macs) into a ChromeBook

After Improvised Life’s part-time editorial assistant Mira Keras had a health challenge that lasted months, causing extended leave from her two steady gigs, her laptop broke. It happened just as she was feeling well enough to return to virtual work at Improvised Life AND when her emergency-slammed finances were at an all-time low. She told me about…

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Dept of Impermanence: Ode to Broken Things

When our favorite 50’s coffee cup slipped off the counter and into the sink SLAM, right into a delicate glass for a double whammy of perfect breakage, we got an early morning reminder that this beautiful stuff we have is just that and NOT what’s essential. With Ai Weiwei and Pablo Neruda.

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paolo goldstein on how repair can be a way into creativity

(Video link here.) Paulo Goldstein sees himself as a craftsman in his approach to repair. It seems to us, he has the viewpoint of an artist, and certainly his repairs reflect a rare sensibility. We found this short video incredibly illuminating, for the many levels of living he addresses. Here’s the gist, but there’s way…

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