#Italian furniture texas

[roxygen22]

Still Here (Chapter 6)

Summary: Dinner with Timothée reveals feelings.

"There is something I want to show you."

It was Friday, so your curiosity over his words could finally be sated. Timothée was due to pick you up about 6 o'clock so the two of you could go out for dinner in the closest city of any appreciable size, Hartley. Unsure of where exactly where you were going, you opted for a cute blouse, jeans, and cowboy boots.

Madison was cozy on the couch with her grandparents with a bowl of popcorn in her lap when you walked out of your room. She had convinced them to watch the new Wonka movie with her while you were away. You hugged them all and kissed Madison on the head.

"Be good, do as you're told, and remember to brush your teeth."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mom."

"Love you!" you called back to her as you grabbed your things and walked to the door. Right as you looked out the window, you saw Timothée's blue truck pull up. You locked the door and skipped down the steps. It felt like you were in high school all over again. You were all smiles as you walked quickly to the passenger side.

"Hi!" you said cheerily as you climbed in.

Timothée looked up and down at your outfit. "Howdy," he replied through a grin.

"Hey now, I can get right back out of this truck if you're going to make fun of me," you sassed.

He held up his hands to feign surrender. "No, no. It's a good look! I swear!"

You playfully popped him on the arm. "So where are we going?"

He put the truck in gear and moved along. "There is an Italian restaurant I love to visit when I'm in town. Thought we could go there."

"And?"

"And what?" He clamped down his lips to prevent himself from smiling.

"There was something you wanted to show me. Surely it wasn't an Italian restaurant."

"Oh yeah, that. Yes, definitely that, too," he said with an exaggerated nod.

"What is it?!"

"You'll have to wait about..." He looked over at the truck's clock. "30 minutes to find out. We'll stop there before dinner so you can actually enjoy the food instead of wonder."

Timothée drove through Hartley's downtown square, pulled up in front of a closed shop, and turned off the truck. "We're here!" he said excitedly.

You looked around. "Ooo...kay. Where is 'here'?"

"Well, come on, get out of the truck."

"But Timothée, everything on this street is already closed for the night."

He held up a key. "Yep!"

He walked to a storefront and opened it up. You followed him through the door. "Wait here," he instructed. He walked to the back and flipped on the lights. You found yourself surrounded by the most beautiful wooden furniture you had ever laid eyes on.

"Welcome to my store."

"Yours. This is yours?" You spun around to take it all in.

"Yes. I made all of this."

"You what? Oh, wow. Mr. McDowell from wood shop would be so proud."

Timothée chuckled. "He was, actually. Bought a chair for his deck before he passed. Your mother bought a piece, too."

"She did?" You went through a mental list of all the furniture in the house as you walked through the showroom. "The porch swing?"

"Yep."

"I love that swing. Even more so now." You fingers gingerly grazed the handcrafted dining table next to you. "It's beautiful."

"Yes," Timothée said, not looking at the table, but at you. He cleared his throat when you turned and made eye contact. "Thank you."

"Where did you learn how to do this? Let me guess, another hobby you took up after you came back from Texas?" you inquired.

He shrugged. "Something like that. I needed to keep my hands busy. I turned the barn on my parents' land into my shop, and I sell out here. More traffic."

"What took you to Texas, anyway?"

Timothée's stomach growled. "Maybe we should discuss over dinner."

You stifled a giggle. "Fair enough. But don't think you are getting out of talking about yourself that easily."

The two of you loaded back up in the truck and drove a couple of blocks away to the Italian restaurant Timothée raved about. After you were seated on the patio and placed your orders, you set your chin in your hand and stared at him.

"Now spill." You grinned and waggled your eyebrows.

Timothée smiled. "Where should I start?"

"Well, the last I time I saw you before running into you at the grocery store was graduation. How about there?"

"As you know, I still hadn't figured out what I wanted to do. I hadn't made any plans for college, so I continued working at the hardware store for a while. That got boring. Sure as hell didn't want to do that for the rest of my life. So I started taking some auto mechanic classes at the vocational school here in Hartley."

"Is that where you learned to fix up the truck?"

"Yep. But that didn't seem like the right path, either. I felt...lost. Like I said the other day, once I got over the hurt of you leaving, I began to understand that you had the right idea all along. I even seriously considered giving you a call to see if your invitation still stood, but by the time I worked up the nerve, I learned from your mother that you were getting married. I didn't want to mess that up for you."

He paused when the server came by with the food. You both thanked her and took up your utensils. You couldn't believe what you had just heard. He considered coming all the way out to California. For me.

"What happened then?"

Timothée continued his story between bites. "Well, I figured I shouldn't waste the momentum to leave this place, so I just got in the truck in left. I held down some odd and end jobs, camped out in state parks or hotels until I got to the oil fields in Texas. Found a steady job and set myself up pretty well there for a few years until Mom died. I came back to help my dad keep up with the land and the house. He's not in great health, either."

"I'm so sorry, Timmy."

He paused, fork mid-air. "You haven't called me that in ages."

"Oh, sorr-"

"No, don't be. I- I've missed it." He half-smiled.

You blushed, dropped your eyes to your plate, and cleared your throat. "Any...significant others along the way?"

"I was engaged for a bit when I was in Texas. She was a nice girl, but I broke it off because it just didn't feel right. That was right before Mom passed. Since then, between work and taking care of my dad, I haven't had much time for, uh, exploring."

"You two ready for dessert?" the server asked as she came back around.

Timothée looked from the server to you. "The tiramisu here is amazing! Want to split one? Dessert's on me."

"That sounds divine."

With the previous candor interrupted, the two of you idly chatted while you waited for dessert. You asked after some of your high school classmates. He asked you about college life in California. Timothée offered you the first bite of the tiramisu when the server dropped it off.

"Oh, wow - that IS amazing!" You covered your mouth with your hand so as to not reveal the half-chewed cake.

Timothée chuckled. "Told you," he bragged as he popped a bite into his own mouth. You continued to take turns taking slivers of the cake until it disappeared.

You leaned back in your chair. "Mmm. That was so good."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

You settled the tab for the food, and he did so for the dessert. You left the restaurant and slowly ambled side by side back to the truck.

"Timmy?" You stopped short on the sidewalk in front of the truck, forcing him to turn back to look at you. "Thank you for making this whole...situation...more bearable. I can't imagine how lonely I would be right now if I hadn't bumped into you at the store."

Timothée stepped closer to you. He brushed a hair behind your ear that had been loosened by the wind. Your heart hammered at his touch and you felt heat flush your cheeks. He nudged your chin with his index finger so he could look you in the eyes.

"I should have followed you when you asked me."

<><><><><>

Chapter 7

Masterlist

Tag List:

@croatianprincess @bluizh

[spidertalia]

Hello hello!! I saw your states post and was wondering if you can share with us your headcanons for New York or Texas, whichever one you feel more inclined to !! Thank you so much in advance! 😺💖💖

i'll post both since i have quite a bit on each ! so beware, this is gonna be a long post lmao

i'll go on about new york first because i have a lot on him dfghj. firstly, his human name is theodore douglass (he was given his first name by england, but chose his surname); he sometimes goes by theo, but only ever lets close friends call him teddy.

when he was a kid, theo was surprisingly shy, but very nerdy. he was a somewhat quiet child who loved to spend every waking moment reading and/or learning. england was actually kinda proud because of this, since new york could speak five languages by the time he was physically seven. he didn't really much else to do as a child, and was often left alone, so he would read and read and read.

nowadays, he's much prouder and loud, but still very, very nerdy. he can speak 31 languages fluently (outside of his indigenous languages), and is learning a further nine languages currently. he's fluent in english, spanish, cantonese, mandarin, russian, yiddish, haitian, italian, hawaiian, bengali, french, arabic, korean, hebrew, japanese, tagalog, hindi, polish, germany, greek, lithuanian, french creole, portuguese, urdu, ukrainian, swedish, norwegian, czech, finnish, danish and dutch fluently. he's reaching full fluency in afrikaans, and is currently learning slovenian, indonesian, samoan, romanian, swahili, yoruba, igbo and somali. he prides himself highly on his vast language fluency (nyc is actually one of, if not the most linguistically diverse city in the world !) and likes surprising the nations with their native language whenever he meets them. he knows more nations than any of the other states- he's actually friends with romano and lithuania ! he and romano have a mutual respect for each other, especially since new york was so eager to learn everything he could about italian culture while romano was living there, which romano appreciated.

he's also well educated outside of languages. he has a vast knowledge of art- from paintings and sculpture to dance, film, music and theater. he has a near encyclopedic knowledge on theater and plays. he has an extensive film collection of at least 25,000 films, and have an even bigger music collection- most of which he stores in his houses in nyc and manlius. he genuinely adores every field of art, and spends the majority of his time in nyc going to galleries, plays or art museums. his favorite areas of art are paintings, music and film. his favorite music genres would probably be classical, rap, r&b, hip hop and rock. he has a deep love for the rap and hip hop scene that was born out of nyc, and many of the artists that became major during the time are still his favorites.

he's also a very, very efficient worker; which is ironic, as he hates work. he's very fast and thorough in his work- if you want something done right, you go to him. not only is he good at paperwork and such, he's actually surprisingly good with his hands. he can repair cars, do home renovations, fix wiring, build furniture, make and mend clothing, hunt, fix machinery, knit, crochet and even farm. he's developed a vast number of skills over the years, and he loves learning more and more skills. he often busies himself with learning whatever new skills he can. he also often spends his time just tinkering with things for fun.

he also has a vast knowledge on fashion, and prides himself on his fashion sense. he's the most fashionable state out of all of them. he does usually dress very stylish and such, but he enjoys dressing in several different types of clothing, including punk, grunge and boho. he has quite a few walk-in closets, i'm sure, and has even made several of his outfits by hand.

he does have a bit of a superiority complex and is quite proud. he's generally pretty unphased and hard to surprise, as many nyc residents are. he's good friends with pennsylvania- they both have a love of machinery, tinkering and reading. they have occasional movie nights. he constantly argues with new jersey and massachusetts.

i also see him as being jewish, as new york state has the highest jewish population of any state.

now as for texas !

texas is very much a second alfred, minus the hero personality and plus a deep love of meat and meat-based dishes. he has a strong accent, one that he's very proud of. he's a very good cook, especially with meat-based dishes; he likes experimenting with meat and dishes in general. he's the older triplet to arizona and california, but ironically spends a lot of time fighting with california. he is, interestingly enough, quite good friends with florida- they both have loud, boisterous personalities and bond over being the 'weird' states. he's also, thanks to this, friends with ohio; the three have formed their own little club. he does typically get along well with his other state siblings (arizona, new mexico, nevada and utah). he's quite close to utah, as that's his only brother and he spent quite a bit of time with him when utah was young.

texas, in terms of personality, can absolutely be insufferable, obnoxious and loud at times; however, when he's hosting people he becomes a completely different person. he's a truly impeccable host; he'll cook several of his best dishes, extensively plan out activities and check in very regularly with his guests to ensure they're doing well and having a good time. he's insanely welcoming and hospitable, and is one of the best hosts of all the states.

he's also very similar to alfred in appearance- both in facial structure and hairstyle !! many have even remarked texas is basically a darker haired, dark skinned version of alfred.

[goalofthecentury]

all of that being said new years resolutions for 2023: get good at italian / get good at french again / go to the beach more / go to texas / get more bruises / learn how to make all our house cocktails from memory / wear more leather / buy some balcony furniture / watch one new film a week / figure myself out a bit more / + a bunch of stuff that will not leave the dms amen

[briefkingdomarcade]

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[wegottahouse]

[youmightfindyourself]

It’s Hard to Find a Good Lamp Donald Judd 1993

In the middle 1980s I wrote that in the middle 1960s someone asked me to design a coffee table. I thought that a work of mine which was essentially a rectangular volume with the upper surface recessed could be altered. This debased the work and produced a bad table, which I later threw away. The configuration and the scale of art cannot be transposed into furniture and architecture. The intent of art is different from that of the latter, which must be functional. If a chair or a building is not functional, if it appears to be only art, it is ridiculous. The art of a chair is not its resemblance to art, but is partly its reasonableness, usefulness, and scale as a chair. These are proportion, which is visible reasonableness. The art in art is partly the assertion of someone’s interest regardless of other considerations. A work of art exists as itself; a chair exists as a chair itself. And the idea of a chair isn’t a chair. Due to the inability of art to become furniture, I didn’t try again for several years. However, I’ve always been interested in architecture and continued to sketch ideas.

Of course if a person is at once making art and building furniture and architecture there will be similarities. The various interests in form will be consistent. If you like simple forms in art you will not make complicated ones in architecture. “Complicated,” incidentally, is the opposite of “simple,” not “complex,” which both may be. But the difference between art and architecture is fundamental. Furniture and architecture can only be approached as such. Art cannot be imposed upon them. If their nature is seriously considered the art will occur, even art close to art itself. The mistake I made with the table was to try to make something as unusual as I thought the work of art to be. Back of this was the assumption that a good chair was only a good chair, that a chair could only be improved or changed slightly, and that nothing new could be done without a great, strange effort. But the furniture slowly became new as I dealt easily with the reality. A good chair is a good chair. The particulars slowly created the general forms that could not be directly transferred. I can now make a chair or a building that is mine without trying to derive forms from my own works of art. After a few years I designed a pair of sinks for an old building that I bought in New York City and for which I’ve designed much subsequently. These were designed directly as sinks; they were not a conversion; I didn’t confuse them with art. The basin of the sink is an ellipse, which so far I’ve never used in art, instead of a circle, which I do use. I also designed a large table with chairs, somewhat like benches, to be made of folded one-eighth-inch stainless steel, brass, or copper. These were never made because the fourth floor of the building in which it was to be is very open, primarily two planes, floor and ceiling, while the table and chairs are very closed. The latter would ruin the space. I later made some bookshelves for the third floor.

I kept the building but moved to West Texas with my two children, where I rented a small house on the edge of town. The house was quartered into eleven-by-eleven-foot rooms. There was no furniture and none to be bought, either old, since the town had not shrunk or changed much since its beginning in 1883, or new, since the few stores sold only fake antiques or tubular kitchen furniture with plastic surfaces printed with inane geometric patterns and flowers. The two small children played and slept in one of the four rooms. In order to give them each an area of their own notwithstanding the one room, I designed a bed which was a closed platform of one-by-twelves with a central, free-standing wall, also of one-by-twelves. The bed was designed so that the lumberyard could cut the few different lengths to size and I could then nail them together in place. I liked the bed a great deal, and in fact the whole house, for which I made other furniture. Later, in a large place in town, I designed desks and chairs for the children using the same method of construction. More furniture developed from this beginning.

It’s impossible to go to the store and buy a chair. In North America since the “Mission” style became unfashionable in the 1920s and in England since the similar furniture derived from William Morris also became unfashionable, there has been no furniture which is pleasurable to look at, fairly available, and moderate in price. The only exception is the bentwood furniture developed by Thonet, which became less fashionable in the 1920s but has continued to be made until now by Thonet and others. This is still not expensive but it is not down the street in the store. The furniture designed in the 1920s by the well-known architects that continues to be made is expensive for most people, although not as expensive as the materials and the construction imply, and is hardly nearby to purchase. Neither is all of it agreeable. Mies van der Rohe’s is still the best and should not be considered as only a worn status symbol. As bad ideas should not be accepted because they are fashionable, good ideas should not be rejected because they are unfashionable. Conventions are not worth reacting to one way or another. Most of the other furniture in production, such as Breuer’s Wassily chair and Le Corbusier’s furniture, is an early civilized and almost forgivable sentimentalizing of the machine. The chairs of both architects are derived from the better camping and military chairs of the nineteenth century. Old good ideas made new and shiny are now a dismaying precedent. Sentimentalizing the machine is now a malignity of the century. This is present in most available furniture and in most buildings. It is extreme in Pompidou and Lloyd’s. In furniture this puerility is usually combined with the puerility of domesticity, the societal progress of the machine with personal progress in the society.

Almost all furniture made since the 1920s and much before in any of the “styles,” “modern” and “traditional,” has been junk for consumers. As I’ve written, the ornate and overstuffed furniture of the last half of the nineteenth century, crowded into corresponding rooms, was not supplanted by simple and functional modern furniture. Instead, this was turned into Victorian furniture, also crowded into matching rooms. Decoration isn’t just applied; a chair is decorated. Modern, progressive furniture has been corrupted into the opposite. Primarily, “traditional” furniture, Victorian furniture, continues. It’s ordinarily what’s in the store. This is what most people have to choose from, whether in Yellowknife or New York. As in politics, this furniture is not traditional and conservative but is an imitation of past furniture. The appearance of the past represents status by invoking a higher class in the past than the purchaser is in in the present. The imitation old furniture symbolizes up and the imitation modern symbolizes forward. Usually the first is in the home and the second is in the office, sometimes one or the other in both, and seldom the reverse. Good office furniture is also difficult to find. The bizarre and complicated “modern” office of the rich executive, who has photographs on his desk of his wife and children in their traditional setting, is a summation of the surrounding corporate headquarters. Since he or his wife is on the board of the museum, it must look progressive, like the headquarters, but with a touch of tradition, for her, for upward mobility to the past, for something better than business, such as learning, although there is nothing better, and, generally for the gentility of art, which symbolizes all of these. Then, also, he may be on the town council, or he builds shopping centers, or he builds apartment houses, giving the people what they want, to go with the furniture in which they had no choice. Upward and forward, and lower every year, not only in architecture and art, but economically and politically, since reality is equally absent. Anyway, what kind of a society is it when you can’t even buy a chair?

Architects, designers, businesspeople, even politicians, say that they are giving the people what they want. They are giving the people what they deserve, because of their negligence, but they are presumptuous to claim to know what they want. What they want is what they get. An exception to imposing upon the public what they want, or perhaps a rare good guess, is the design of Sony television sets and other equipment of some other Japanese companies and of some European companies. This has no relation to traditional Japanese architecture, which is fortunate, because if it did the new version of the old would be just as debased as it is in the United States. Department stores in Osaka are floor after floor of kitsch, as they are in New York. And always surprisingly, and always everywhere, new Japanese and Korean architecture show no fundamental lessons learned from their past architecture, the same as in Paris. In the United States the television machine began disguised and continues as at once the myth of the machine and the myth of the old home. The Americans gave the Americans what they wanted; they didn’t want it. Neither did anyone else. In addition to the success of Sony’s design, there is the smaller success of Braun, whose design must be the model, somewhat better, as earlier usually is, for Sony’s design. A few months ago there was a curious article in Lufthansa’s magazine justly praising Braun and its chief designer, Dieter Rams, praising “German” design of course, but explaining that “German” design was now second to “Italian” design (consumer products are not where nations differ in design) but that Germany would catch up. This means become worse. “Designer” Italian furniture is the world’s worst. The only things as bad are the plastic bottles for liquid soap. It is an exception and a possibility that you can go down the street and choose a TV and enjoy looking at it when it’s turned off. In Texas, when I made the first furniture, I wanted a television set. This wasn’t down the street, but almost so, twenty-five miles away. All the sets were American, all were made of plastic imitating wood, some like your Anglo grandmother’s sideboard, some like your Italian grandmother’s credenza, some like your Latino grandmother’s aparador. I chose an Anglo set by Zenith. Again as usual, the design and the technology were congruent. The color was that of the first colored comic strip, printed during an earthquake.

Most of the furniture that I have designed remains fairly expensive, because of its methods of construction, and it is not easily available. We have made a serious effort to lower the prices but the furniture is handmade, basically even the sheet-metal pieces made by Janssen, one by one. These would be cheaper made by hundreds but still there would be considerable handwork. The wooden furniture cannot change. Lower prices require great numbers, which require a large distribution. This usually leads to the department store. The distribution of furniture, and of books, probably of most things, are monopolies against diversity, which eliminate exceptions and complication, which have an invariable scheme for production and for costs, and of course for appearance, and, for books, subject matter. For both furniture and books the designer and the author absolutely receive very little. The production cost of furniture is not as fixed as the cost of the designer, but it is low. The cost of the designer must have developed from that of real modern furniture, since the architect was always dead. The producer, not the factory, and the retailer, or both as one, receive the most money, some as profit, some for the expenses of the distribution and the salesroom. This makes an impossible price. And of course it seems that the middleman should get less. The larger the distribution the more to the middleman. Therefore the best method is a small distribution, which is what we do. And, importantly, we are the producers, which combines that profit and my profit into one, leaving only the retailer as extra. Our furniture goes around the world, but only one by one. Most things could be made in the area in which they are consumed, eliminating the big distributor, often one company charging for three functions, instead of two for one as in our case, charging three times as the distributor, the producer, and the manufacturer, that is, profiting as corporations. Almost anything they can do anyone can do anywhere. And obviously even cars and TVs could be made by any large city or small country. I have always thought it strange that there are no cars built in Switzerland. I have heard that there was once a company. Why should Texas import cars and trucks from Michigan? The oligarchy of monopolies of distribution prevents innovation, invents only restrictions, and raises blank walls. The flat and boring society is a maze of blank walls just above eye level. This prevents new and real inventions, so obviously there is no chance for only a new chair or a little book. The purpose of big business is to maintain its oligarchy rather than to do anything else, for example, to fulfill two of its biggest claims, competition and innovation. Efficiency is another claim, part of progress, efficiency for profit, not necessarily for production, and not for the public. Only in the mythical “progress” is there a suggestion of benefiting society. Most businesspeople think that such slight altruism is part of their advertising. And “free enterprise” is a slogan of the Pentagon.

Noam Chomsky writes:

Free trade is fine for economics departments and newspaper editorials, but nobody in the corporate world or the government takes the doctrines seriously. The parts of the US economy that are able to compete internationally are primarily the state-subsidized ones: capital-intensive agriculture (agribusiness, as it’s called), high-tech industry, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, etc.

The same is true of other industrial societies. The US government has the public pay for research and development and provides, largely through the military, a state-guaranteed market for waste production. If something is marketable, the private sector takes it over. That system of public subsidy and private profit is what is called free enterprise.

My experience is that both furniture distribution and book distribution are impossible. On the other hand the art business is such a one-horse business that something larger seems better. But this is perhaps because the context for art is so weak. The only possible way, perhaps, to make cheap mass-produced furniture is to start with a construction cost and to design accordingly. At present we would have to debase the construction of the existing furniture for mass production. Beginning from a fixed construction cost still leaves the questions of too little to the designer and too much to the producer-organizer-wholesaler and to the retailer.

The roughly made pine furniture made by me and others in Texas was made first, with a few exceptions. So far this has not been made for sale. Next, well-made furniture in fine solid wood was made for my building in New York and then in small numbers to sell, as it still is. The wood and the craftsmanship make this the most expensive. In 1984 I designed some chairs, benches, a table, and some beds in sheet metal, which were painted one color to a piece. There were also a couple of chairs and a table made of copper. This was for myself but also was the first furniture to begin as furniture to sell. Since this was sheet metal and the construction is common, I thought it would be cheap enough to be used outdoors in public, but there is still too much handwork. Until then, except for the first pine chairs, all of the furniture was somewhat heavy. Five years ago I designed some light chairs and two tables in solid wood. These are simply but well made in Yorkshire. Similar ones were made recently for outdoors in galvanized steel and of granite, again heavy, and also in Texas in painted steel and of slate. A few years ago, first for use, then for sale, desks, tables, and a bench were made in Cologne of clear plywood. The sheets of plywood are cut as little as possible and are slipped together, interlocking, like a children’s toy, an old idea. These also, sometimes with the plywood coated commercially with a color, as well as chairs like those in pine, are made in New York.

I am often asked if the furniture is art, since almost ten years ago some artists made art that was also furniture. The furniture is furniture and is only art in that architecture, ceramics, textiles, and many things are art. We try to keep the furniture out of art galleries to avoid this confusion, which is far from my thinking. And also to avoid the consequent inflation of the price. I am often told that the furniture is not comfortable, and in that not functional. The source of the question is in the overstuffed bourgeois Victorian furniture, which, as I said, never ceased. The furniture is comfortable to me. Rather than making a chair to sleep in or a machine to live in, it is better to make a bed. A straight chair is best for eating or writing. The third position is standing.

First published: Donald Judd Furniture: Retrospective, exh. cat. (Rotterdam: Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, 1993), 7–21.

Donald Judd Text © Judd Foundation

[hometoursandotherstuff]

I still can’t wrap my head around using chipboard as an architectural feature, (look at how the coffee table is bowing), but Alan went daring and sustainable in his Texas home. 

The first thing he did was use pegboard for the ceilings, then paint them black.  The ample living room, dining area and kitchen are open, so the low, dark ceilings keep the place feeling cozy.

There are plenty of vintage furniture finds, family pieces, art and fun accessories to fill the space with warmth and interest.

The long leaf pine floor, was laid at a dramatic diagonal & to differentiate areas of the open floor plan, the wood planks were put down in different directions.

The way he used the flooring to separate the spaces is best seen in the dining room.

A cool, modern kitchen is perfect for entertaining lots of guests, and a long, tilted mirror above the kitchen cabinets catches your eye and bounces light into the space.

This is a lovely powder room. I like the choice of wallpaper.

In the master, he painted the chipboard black.  He made many of the furniture pieces, like the bedside tables in the master bedroom, the barstools in the kitchen, the living room coffee table and more.

The closet is decorated in a standout red with posters. (I never thought of decorating the closet, have you?)

There were elements, however, that he wasn’t afraid to splurge on, like the Italian gray and white marble that covers the kitchen counters and a honey onyx stone in the master bathroom.

He wallpapered over this bedroom’s windows for more privacy, yet keep the great light.

He also built a semi-transparent barrier wall on the house’s exterior to give him privacy, from what he calls poorly placed living room windows, and still allow light in.

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/alans-colorful-daring-and-dram-155732

[sirjustice1311]

WiFi app enabled ballot boxes

Early morning bathe not in the dawn kills one faster as they are deemed such people, lovers of already made and know nothing, shortly after 8:00 AM bathing grants ya longevity and that's why in USA and Eu People works 3 days a week and the other off time given to them to do as above not early bathing to grant them longevity cause are helpful to the community as have been see and so u relent in life by what u r up to in those days some people like that always without getting anywhere every morning dude

When u want to know the lineage of a person as in what line of occupation or operation his ancestry came from so if they shave the hair head, if u take a glimpse to see in a vista quickly like lawn mowers most are Pakistani or Taiwan people, if u wanna get to Canada kinda, u see a truck and it hoots as they hate such people blooded as most are rude Italians who started Texas where truck drivers, Motor bike riders most USA folks, NEWS paper sellers where Alabama people or Britain, owning books shops and food vendors, police men were Russians as the green men collected such people of same occupation b4 they left and placed them in 1 land, Dutch were flower pickers and housemaids, Norwegians were band people in music and more i cant mention all but now you know dude. Hungarians were taxi operators or people who opted 4 that job in the society while Canadians were parcel delivery guys and farmers dude or tractor engineers, french men loved dance people and while majority others were taken out of training pretense dude and even knowers of certain skills and subjects can be taken into a nation and even church goers and preachers or good cookers as Serbians, Mexican were house  and machine repairs, China were making welded doors, window people, Japan furniture, Germans were computer software installers or cyber people who married with those whites or plumbers/carpenters, Italians were shoe shiners dude many, get to know this, if i tell ya not, as if i had killed myself prior, u could not have know so the utility dude

When u want to kill one while driving or in any place as collapse,1 who belittle ya, u chop wood on top of his photo on concrete slab while on slipas on spring press with ya feet on the ground as if breaking and boom they are down after talking to the devil or chop carrot on their photos on wood slap feet on carrot in mud step on as u can make hole on wet cut boxes or Cd and they are down or make a hole on the photo place u want to grow wound, then insert ya penis to rub with the wall as u chew gum or break candy with ya teeth and boom harm directed to that part dude

Making artificial soil to replace with the infected ones as high chemical contents that affect ones health like with make u insane water soil placed with enemies, just write tea growing soil as its called then step on within Cd hole on black soil with cut pieces or fumed clamped cooking pots, heap guava and paw paw or cabbage as u wash ya feet in juices mixture like pineapple with kids or women or chop hay on wood board soaked in water or mixed fruit juice extracts dude

Naked kids should not surface outside dude, if u have a glimpse at their nakedness 1, gets you off the things of life and kinda u feel to kill one and 2 induce spirit in ya of being suspicious with women as maybe they have gotten a point they want to force the old but reality is of the essence dude

Wanted to come to pick stones and send to Eu or USA as store bank as no stone the other-side and on sea bed kinda depleted dude, and encroach unto water catchment lands to reduce the water level, so river water not much and dams drive even through making holes 16 to below to pour out to make the above possible as using wireless electric van or holes underneath bring their electricity and sell after making much population here of Kikuyu blooded which knows shit and can just be in suffering and hustling chasing unknown thing and that was their intent dude and if u cut the timber to warm house 4 winter in such lands takes long to grow and its a curse dude, so in East Africa takes less time, so they people wants to be here to grow the same to sell back there to make whooping cash as electric heater gives u cancer and shorten lifespan they have known and now hate dude and after making space shuttle, rather get to their lies, if u have not known how to make machines, cause can take a flight out earth to mass or any other planet leaving you as long before Africa was colonized all of ya perish not after long so rather get into their lie plan even if u know the reality or marry their own if u wanna survive if u know not how to make machines, even if bad blood or die dude if they can take a flight off another planet dude

You can take the photos of house, buildings and machines in Ps4 or 5 and write such names b4 u step on or print the photo of the same and given to ya, mentioning the game name dude, take an array of many such buildings and houses as u can re-partition inside and even with bridges and roads and anything u love into those games dude

Tree bring about ample supply of fresh gases around that if u r around such places grants ya long life as compared to no tree infested lands but not with all trees, as u must know which trees as some do the reverse. Get to the compound of 1 lived long and get to know which trees planted next to his yard and which he sits down and remember to burn ya bed mattress and seat, sell not when u r of age in heap or red soil alone maybe if 1 is around groups of kids dude as this grants 1 longevity but a thing many will refute and put to reproach cause they know not dude. Most people having swag got, teacher blood in them or motor bike riders of maybe of big bikes, they love bikes and when such gene finished finishes bike thing and that's it dude if u got big mind bro, wants to finish such economies of the past with motor bikes as their customers the above dude, but not in much hills or to flat lands but in between the 2 dude, you plant the investigated trees as above bro

Want people to buy Russian made weapons or air defense system to make their economies big so u find another refuge, think twice on how many nation have made the same and selling to other nations to bar ya plans to make you wild at the same time puzzled dude. Take ya anger to ya mama with ya old rudimentary ways of missile not mine of radar propelled and air surveillance u cant now talk as u want and attacks, u will never rule the world or surface again even in Afric medicine- hata kwa dawa, u kisii blooded of wanting free things, u stupid and foolish and idiot dude as in the link below

https://www.topafricanews.com/2018/09/26/burundi-rwanda-purchasing-russian-air-defense-systems/

https://www.armyrecognition.com/april_2020_news_defense_global_security_army_industry/south_korea_army_received_first_local-made_cheongung_km-sam_air_defense_missile_systems.html

https://asiatimes.com/2020/02/a-new-anti-drone-system-shows-promising-results/

https://sputniknews.com/africa/201809031067705026-rwanda-deal-defence/

https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/05/05/israel-acquires-firefly-loitering-munition-for-close-combat/

https://thearabweekly.com/turkeys-goal-become-major-arms-manufacturer-complicating-row-us

Write the name and step on with one heap, step on or press with a knife or rubber, stick or any plastic as ruler on the CD hole on old roofs or try with any surface, heap on the tarmacked road but made withing it small pot holes heap can be ginger as in the link below as u step on a spring below it heap of cut pieces of all veggies around, fruits, berries, leaves or chemical mixtures. That spring wide on the base not touching all the heap and u step on the upper narrow part to touch on the same and with any method of press with ya hand or anything as above dude of 1 heap

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/first-londoner-covid-vaccine-croydon-b217971.html

Covid message alerts dude in the link below and even chasing criminals with gun as well

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-jordan-among-mideast-countries-deploying-drones-in-virus-response/

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/top-stories/coronavirus-rwanda-deploys-drones-to-spread-covid-19-awareness-in-neighbourhoods/ar-BB12vT5H

Buy the new armored glass transparent ballot boxes or write the name armored and step on below the photo of the same as in the link below and can add combination lock or finger print/Bluetooth enabled with touch heat panel generator, heap being single on curved part of the road as above or cabbage with hay or paw paw with guava as u step on the same on CD hole on hay as u wash ya feet with people in surgical spirit or chop hay on wood board soaked in curdled milk with lemon or in mud or sorghum/millet porridge or in grass extract dude in the dark or dim light or take such photos of lock u want inscribed in it fold and step on the box photo above, u can even add digital weighing scale box suspended on with GPS tracker and phone up b4 u cross down in lines as discarding and given to ya and even same applies to supermarket shelves with temperature sensor and such WiFi smartphone/computer enabled app weighting scale an with anything dude b4 employing the step on spring method as above dude

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Ballot-Transparent-Box-With-Lock-Clear_60770620592.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_image.a9197ca6rvGWX2&s=p

https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=coded+padlocks

Russians also were motor bike riders but of big bodied and north Korea of wide body while USA of small body dude, bad men were left on earth after the flight as above to other planets dude

USA missiles images in the links below

https://www.army-technology.com/projects/patriot/

https://www.army-technology.com/projects/gps-block-iif-satellites/

https://www.army-technology.com/projects/improved-ribbon-bridge-irb/

https://www.defensenews.com/smr/space-missile-defense/2017/08/10/lockheed-debuts-new-next-gen-missile-defense-radar-ahead-of-army-competition/

https://missiledefenseadvocacy.org/defense-systems/sampt-air-defense-system/

https://defpost.com/u-s-air-force-selects-three-companies-for-3delrr-radar-demonstration/

https://defpost.com/northrop-grumman-demos-hammr-on-the-move-ground-radar/

Nyathi jabookshop gi japiki piki weri go and thats why i hate Russians esp Big bodied people rather small bodied they get into shit not dude, read between the lines bro

[sirjustice1310]

Race gimmicks thing bro

Early morning bathe not in the dawn kills one faster as they are deemed such people, lovers of already made and know nothing, shortly after 8:00 AM bathing grants ya longevity and that's why in USA and Eu People works 3 days a week and the other off time given to them to do as above not early bathing to grant them longevity cause are helpful to the community as have been see and so u relent in life by what u r up to in those days some people like that always without getting anywhere every morning dude

When u want to know the lineage of a person as in what line of occupation or operation his ancestry came from so if they shave the hair head, if u take a glimpse to see in a vista quickly like lawn mowers most are Pakistani or Taiwan people, if u wanna get to Canada kinda, u see a truck and it hoots as they hate such people blooded as most are rude Italians who started Texas where truck drivers, Motor bike riders most USA folks, NEWS paper sellers where Alabama people or Britain, owning books shops and food vendors, police men were Russians as the green men collected such people of same occupation b4 they left and placed them in 1 land, Dutch were flower pickers and housemaids, Norwegians were band people in music and more i cant mention all but now you know dude. Hungarians were taxi operators or people who opted 4 that job in the society while Canadians were parcel delivery guys and farmers dude or tractor engineers, french men loved dance people and while majority others were taken out of training pretense dude and even knowers of certain skills and subjects can be taken into a nation and even church goers and preachers or good cookers as Serbians, Mexican were house  and machine repairs, China were making welded doors, window people, Japan furniture, Germans were computer software installers or cyber people who married with those whites or plumbers/carpenters, Italians were shoe shiners dude many, get to know this, if i tell ya not, as if i had killed myself prior, u could not have know so the utility dude

When u want to kill one while driving or in any place as collapse,1 who belittle ya, u chop wood on top of his photo on concrete slab while on slipas on spring press with ya feet on the ground as if breaking and boom they are down after talking to the devil or chop carrot on their photos on wood slap feet on carrot in mud step on as u can make hole on wet cut boxes or Cd and they are down or make a hole on the photo place u want to grow wound, then insert ya penis to rub with the wall as u chew gum or break candy with ya teeth and boom harm directed to that part dude

Making artificial soil to replace with the infected ones as high chemical contents that affect ones health like with make u insane water soil placed with enemies, just write tea growing soil as its called then step on within Cd hole on black soil with cut pieces or fumed clamped cooking pots, heap guava and paw paw or cabbage as u wash ya feet in juices mixture like pineapple with kids or women or chop hay on wood board soaked in water or mixed fruit juice extracts dude

Naked kids should not surface outside dude, if u have a glimpse at their nakedness 1, gets you off the things of life and kinda u feel to kill one and 2 induce spirit in ya of being suspicious with women as maybe they have gotten a point they want to force the old but reality is of the essence dude

Wanted to come to pick stones and send to Eu or USA as store bank as no stone the other-side and on sea bed kinda depleted dude, and encroach unto water catchment lands to reduce the water level, so river water not much and dams drive even through making holes 16 to below to pour out to make the above possible as using wireless electric van or holes underneath bring their electricity and sell after making much population here of Kikuyu blooded which knows shit and can just be in suffering and hustling chasing unknown thing and that was their intent dude and if u cut the timber to warm house 4 winter in such lands takes long to grow and its a curse dude, so in East Africa takes less time, so they people wants to be here to grow the same to sell back there to make whooping cash as electric heater gives u cancer and shorten lifespan they have known and now hate dude and after making space shuttle, rather get to their lies, if u have not known how to make machines, cause can take a flight out earth to mass or any other planet leaving you as long before Africa was colonized all of ya perish not after long so rather get into their lie plan even if u know the reality or marry their own if u wanna survive if u know not how to make machines, even if bad blood or die dude if they can take a flight off another planet dude

You can take the photos of house, buildings and machines in Ps4 or 5 and write such names b4 u step on or print the photo of the same and given to ya, mentioning the game name dude, take an array of many such buildings and houses as u can re-partition inside and even with bridges and roads and anything u love into those games dude

Tree bring about ample supply of fresh gases around that if u r around such places grants ya long life as compared to no tree infested lands but not with all trees, as u must know which trees as some do the reverse. Get to the compound of 1 lived long and get to know which trees planted next to his yard and which he sits down and remember to burn ya bed mattress and seat, sell not when u r of age in heap or red soil alone maybe if 1 is around groups of kids dude as this grants 1 longevity but a thing many will refute and put to reproach cause they know not dude. Most people having swag got, teacher blood in them or motor bike riders of maybe of big bikes, they love bikes and when such gene finished finishes bike thing and that's it dude if u got big mind bro, wants to finish such economies of the past with motor bikes as their customers the above dude, but not in much hills or to flat lands but in between the 2 dude, you plant the investigated trees as above bro

Want people to buy Russian made weapons or air defense system to make their economies big so u find another refuge, think twice on how many nation have made the same and selling to other nations to bar ya plans to make you wild at the same time puzzled dude. Take ya anger to ya mama with ya old rudimentary ways of missile not mine of radar propelled and air surveillance u cant now talk as u want and attacks, u will never rule the world or surface again even in Afric medicine- hata kwa dawa, u kisii blooded of wanting free things, u stupid and foolish and idiot dude as in the link below

https://www.topafricanews.com/2018/09/26/burundi-rwanda-purchasing-russian-air-defense-systems/

https://www.armyrecognition.com/april_2020_news_defense_global_security_army_industry/south_korea_army_received_first_local-made_cheongung_km-sam_air_defense_missile_systems.html

https://asiatimes.com/2020/02/a-new-anti-drone-system-shows-promising-results/

https://sputniknews.com/africa/201809031067705026-rwanda-deal-defence/

https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/05/05/israel-acquires-firefly-loitering-munition-for-close-combat/

https://thearabweekly.com/turkeys-goal-become-major-arms-manufacturer-complicating-row-us

Write the name and step on with one heap, step on or press with a knife or rubber, stick or any plastic as ruler on the CD hole on old roofs or try with any surface, heap on the tarmacked road but made withing it small pot holes heap can be ginger as in the link below as u step on a spring below it heap of cut pieces of all veggies around, fruits, berries, leaves or chemical mixtures. That spring wide on the base not touching all the heap and u step on the upper narrow part to touch on the same and with any method of press with ya hand or anything as above dude of 1 heap

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/first-londoner-covid-vaccine-croydon-b217971.html

Covid message alerts dude in the link below and even chasing criminals with gun as well

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-jordan-among-mideast-countries-deploying-drones-in-virus-response/

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/top-stories/coronavirus-rwanda-deploys-drones-to-spread-covid-19-awareness-in-neighbourhoods/ar-BB12vT5H

Buy the new armored glass transparent ballot boxes or write the name armored and step on below the photo of the same as in the link below and can add combination lock or finger print/Bluetooth enabled with touch heat panel generator, heap being single on curved part of the road as above or cabbage with hay or paw paw with guava as u step on the same on CD hole on hay as u wash ya feet with people in surgical spirit or chop hay on wood board soaked in curdled milk with lemon or in mud or sorghum/millet porridge or in grass extract dude in the dark or dim light or take such photos of lock u want inscribed in it fold and step on the box photo above, u can even add digital weighing scale box suspended on with GPS tracker and phone up b4 u cross down in lines as discarding and given to ya and even same applies to supermarket shelves with temperature sensor and such WiFi smartphone/computer enabled app weighting scale an with anything dude b4 employing the step on spring method as above dude

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Ballot-Transparent-Box-With-Lock-Clear_60770620592.html?spm=a2700.galleryofferlist.normal_offer.d_image.a9197ca6rvGWX2&s=p

https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=coded+padlocks

[zillifurniture]

Corso Como King Bed: Luxurious Bedroom Elegance | Zilli Furniture Zilli Furniture's Corso Como King Bed will make your bedroom seem better. This bed, which was made using pricey materials and meticulous attention to detail, combines comfort and style for a peaceful night's sleep. It stands out in any bedroom environment because to its streamlined form and high-quality workmanship. With the Corso Como King Bed, discover unmatched sophistication and elegance right now.

[thelanguagecommunity]

“what language should I learn?”

“is it better to learn [x] or [x]?”

“is it worth learning [x]?”

I get this type of question a lot and I see questions like these a lot on language learning forums, but it’s very difficult to answer because ultimately language learning is a highly personal decision. Passion is required to motivate your studies, and if you aren’t in love with your language it will be very hard to put in the time you need. Thus, no language is objectively better or worse, it all comes down to factors in your life. So, I’ve put together a guide to assist your with the kind of factors you can consider when choosing a language for study.

First, address you language-learning priorities.

Think of the reasons why are you interested in learning a new language. Try to really articulate what draws you to languages. Keeping these reasons in mind as you begin study will help keep you focused and motivated. Here are some suggestions to help you get started, complete with wikipedia links so you can learn more:

Linguistic curiosity?

For this, I recommend looking into dead, literary or constructed languages. There are lots of cool linguistic experiments and reconstructions going on and active communities that work on them! Here’s a brief list:

Dead languages:

Akkadian

Egyptian (Ancient Egyptian)

Gaulish

Gothic

Hittite

Old Prussian

Sumerian

Older iterations of modern day languages:

Classical Armenian

Classical Nahuatl (language of the Aztec Empire)

Early Modern English (Shakespearean English)

Galician-Portuguese

Middle English (Chaucer English)

Middle Persian/Pahlavi

Old English

Old French

Old Spanish

Old Tagalog (+ Baybayin)

Ottoman Turkish

Constructed:

Anglish (experiment to create a purely Anglo-Saxon English)

Esperanto

Interlingua

Láadan (a “feminist language”)

Lingua Franca Nova

Lingwa de Planeta

Lobjan

Toki Pona (a minimalist language)

Wenedyk (what if the Romans had occupied Poland?)

Cultural interests?

Maybe you just want to connect to another culture. A language is often the portal to a culture and are great for broadening your horizons! The world is full of rich cultures; learning the language helps you navigate a culture and appreciate it more fully.

Here are some popular languages and what they are “famous for”:

Cantonese: film

French: culinary arts, film, literature, music, philosophy, tv programs, a prestige language for a long time so lots of historical media, spoken in many countries (especially in Africa)

German: film, literature, philosophy, tv programs, spoken in several Central European countries

Italian: architecture, art history, catholicism (Vatican city!), culinary arts, design, fashion, film, music, opera

Mandarin: culinary arts, literature, music, poetry, tv programs

Japanese: anime, culinary arts, film, manga, music, video games, the longtime isolation of the country has developed a culture that many find interesting, a comparatively large internet presence

Korean: tv dramas, music, film

Portuguese: film, internet culture, music, poetry

Russian: literature, philosophy, spoken in the Eastern Bloc or former-Soviet countries, internet culture

Spanish: film, literature, music, spoken in many countries in the Americas

Swedish: music, tv, film, sometimes thought of as a “buy one, get two free” deal along with Norwegian & Danish

Religious & liturgical languages:

Avestan (Zoroastrianism)

Biblical Hebrew (language of the Tanakh, Old Testament)

Church Slavonic (Eastern Orthodox churches)

Classical Arabic (Islam)

Coptic (Coptic Orthodox Church)

Ecclesiastical Latin (Catholic Church)

Ge’ez (Ethiopian Orthodox Church)

Iyaric (Rastafari movement)

Koine Greek (language of the New Testament)

Mishnaic Hebrew (language of the Talmud)

Pali (language of some Hindu texts and Theravada Buddhism)

Sanskrit (Hinduism)

Syriac (Syriac Orthodox Church, Maronite Church, Church of the East)

Reconnecting with family?

If your immediate family speaks a language that you don’t or if you are a heritage speaker that has been disconnected, then the choice is obvious! If not, you might have to do some family tree digging, and maybe you might find something that makes you feel more connected to your family. Maybe you come from an immigrant community that has an associated immigration or contact language! Or maybe there is a branch of the family that speaks/spoke another language entirely.

Immigrant & Diaspora languages:

Arbëresh (Albanians in Italy)

Arvanitika (Albanians in Greece)

Brazilian German

Canadian Gaelic (Scottish Gaelic in Canada)

Canadian Ukrainian (Ukrainians in Canada)

Caribbean Hindustani (Indian communities in the Caribbean)

Chipilo Venetian (Venetians in Mexico)

Griko (Greeks in Italy)

Hutterite German (German spoken by Hutterite settlers of Canada/US)

Fiji Hindi (Indians in Fiji)

Louisiana French (Cajuns) 

Patagonian Welsh (Welsh in Argentina)

Pennsylvania Dutch (High German spoken by early settlers of Canada/ the US)

Plaudietsch (German spoken by Mennonites)

Talian (Venetian in Brazilian)

Texas Silesian (Poles in the US)

Click here for a list of languages of the African diaspora (there are too many for this post!). 

If you are Jewish, maybe look into the language of your particular diaspora community ( * indicates the language is extinct or moribund - no native speakers or only elderly speakers):

Bukhori (Bukharan Jews)

Hebrew

Italkian (Italian Jews) *

Judeo-Arabic (MENA Jews)

Judeo-Aramaic

Judeo-Malayalam *

Judeo-Marathi

Judeo-Persian

Juhuri (Jews of the Caucasus)

Karaim (Crimean Karaites) *

Kivruli (Georgian Jews)

Krymchak (Krymchaks) *

Ladino (Sephardi)

Lusitanic (Portuguese Jews) *

Shuadit (French Jewish Occitan) *

Yevanic (Romaniotes)*

Yiddish (Ashkenazi)

Finding a job?

Try looking around for what languages are in demand in your field. Most often, competency in a relevant makes you very competitive for positions. English is in demand pretty much anywhere. Here are some other suggestions based on industry (from what I know!):

Business (General): Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish

Design: Italian (especially furniture)

Economics: Arabic, German

Education: French, Spanish

Energy: Arabic, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

Engineering: German, Russian

Finance & Investment: French, Cantonese, German, Japanese, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish

International Orgs. & Diplomacy (NATO, UN, etc.): Arabic, French, Mandarin, Persian, Russian, Spanish

Medicine: German, Latin, Sign Languages, Spanish

Military: Arabic, Dari, French, Indonesian, Korean, Kurdish, Mandarin, Pashto, Persian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu

Programming: German, Japanese

Sales & Marketing: French, German, Japanese, Portuguese

Service (General): French, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Sign Languages, Spanish

Scientific Research (General): German, Japanese, Russian

Tourism: French, Japanese, Mandarin, Sign Languages, Spanish

Translation: Arabic, Russian, Sign Languages

Other special interests?

Learning a language just because is a perfectly valid reason as well! Maybe you are really into a piece of media that has it’s own conlang! 

Fictional:

Atlantean (Atlantis: The Lost Empire)

Dothraki (Game of Thrones)

Elvish (Lord of the Rings)

Gallifreyan (Doctor Who)

High Valyrian (Game of Thrones)

Klingon (Star Trek)

Nadsat (A Clockwork Orange)

Na’vi (Avatar)

Newspeak (1984)

Trigedasleng (The 100)

Vulcan (Star Trek)

Or if you just like to learn languages, take a look maybe at languages that have lots of speakers but not usually popular among the language-learning community:

Arabic

Bengali

Cantonese

Hindi

Javanese

Hausa

Indonesian

Malay

Pashto

Persian

Polish

Punjabi

Swahili

Tamil

Telugu

Thai

Turkish

Urdu

Vietnamese

Yoruba

If you have still are having trouble, consider the following:

What languages do you already speak?

How many and which languages you already speak will have a huge impact on the ease of learning. 

If you are shy about speaking with natives, you might want to look at languages with similar consonant/vowel sounds. Similarity between languages’ grammars and vocabularies can also help speed up the process. Several families are famous for this such as the Romance languages (Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Romanian), North Germanic languages (Norwegian, Swedish, Danish) or East Slavic languages (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian). If you are a native English speaker, check out the FSI’s ranking of language difficulty for the approximate amount of hours you’ll need to put into different languages.

You could also take a look at languages’ writing systems to make things easier or for an added challenge.

Another thing to remember is that the languages you already speak will have a huge impact on what resources are available to you. This is especially true with minority languages, as resources are more frequently published in the dominant language of that area. For example, most Ainu resources are in Japanese, most Nheengatu resources are in Portuguese, and most Nahuatl resources are in Spanish.

What are your life circumstances?

Where you live with influence you language studies too! Local universities will often offer resources (or you could even enroll in classes) for specific languages, usually the “big” ones and a few region-specific languages.

Also consider if what communities area near you. Is there a vibrant Deaf community near you that offers classes? Is there a Vietnamese neighborhood you regularly interact with? Sometimes all it takes is someone to understand you in your own language to make your day! Consider what languages you could realistically use in your own day-to-day. If you don’t know where to start, try checking to see if there are any language/cultural meetups in your town!

How much time can you realistically put into your studies? Do you have a fluency goal you want to meet? If you are pressed for time, consider picking up a language similar to ones you already know or maintaining your other languages rather than taking on a new one.

Please remember when choosing a language for study to always respect the feelings and opinions of native speakers/communities, particularly with endangered or minoritized languages. Language is often closely tied to identity, and some communities are “closed” to outsiders. A notable examples are Hopi, several Romani languages, many Aboriginal Australian languages and some Jewish languages. If you are considering a minoritized language, please closely examine your motivations for doing so, as well as do a little research into what is the community consensus on outsiders learning the language. 

[sirjustice1309]

Races known thing dude

Early morning bathe not in the dawn kills one faster as they are deemed such people, lovers of already made and know nothing, shortly after 8:00 AM bathing grants ya longevity and that's why in USA and Eu People works 3 days a week and the other off time given to them to do as above not early bathing to grant them longevity cause are helpful to the community as have been see and so u relent in life by what u r up to in those days some people like that always without getting anywhere every morning dude

When u want to know the lineage of a person as in what line of occupation or operation his ancestry came from so if they shave the hair head, if u take a glimpse to see in a vista quickly like lawn mowers most are Pakistani or Taiwan people, if u wanna get to Canada kinda, u see a truck and it hoots as they hate such people blooded as most are rude Italians who started Texas where truck drivers, Motor bike riders most USA folks, NEWS paper sellers where Alabama people or Britain, owning books shops and food vendors, police men were Russians as the green men collected such people of same occupation b4 they left and placed them in 1 land, Dutch were flower pickers and housemaids, Norwegians were band people in music and more i cant mention all but now you know dude. Hungarians were taxi operators or people who opted 4 that job in the society while Canadians were parcel delivery guys and farmers dude or tractor engineers, french men loved dance people and while majority others were taken out of training pretense dude and even knowers of certain skills and subjects can be taken into a nation and even church goers and preachers or good cookers as Serbians, Mexican were house  and machine repairs, China were making welded doors, window people, Japan furniture

When u want to kill one while driving or in any place as collapse,1 who belittle ya, u chop wood on top of his photo on concrete slab while on slipas on spring press with ya feet on the ground as if breaking and boom they are down after talking to the devil or chop carrot on their photos on wood slap feet on carrot in mud step on as u can make hole on wet cut boxes or Cd and they are down or make a hole on the photo place u want to grow wound, then insert ya penis to rub with the wall as u chew gum or break candy with ya teeth and boom harm directed to that part dude

Making artificial soil to replace with the infected ones as high chemical contents that affect ones health like with make u insane water soil placed with enemies, just write tea growing soil as its called then step on within Cd hole on black soil with cut pieces or fumed clamped cooking pots, heap guava and paw paw or cabbage as u wash ya feet in juices mixture like pineapple with kids or women or chop hay on wood board soaked in water or mixed fruit juice extracts dude

Naked kids should not surface outside dude, if u have a glimpse at their nakedness 1, gets you off the things of life and kinda u feel to kill one and 2 induce spirit in ya of being suspicious with women as maybe they have gotten a point they want to force the old but reality is of the essence dude

Wanted to come to pick stones and send to Eu or USA as store bank as no stone the other-side and on sea bed kinda depleted dude, and encroach unto water catchment lands to reduce the water level, so river water not much and dams drive even through making holes 16 to below to pour out to make the above possible as using wireless electric van or holes underneath bring their electricity and sell after making much population here of Kikuyu blooded which knows shit and can just be in suffering and hustling chasing unknown thing and that was their intent dude and if u cut the timber to warm house 4 winter in such lands takes long to grow and its a curse dude, so in East Africa takes less time, so they people wants to be here to grow the same to sell back there to make whooping cash as electric heater gives u cancer and shorten lifespan they have known and now hate dude and after making space shuttle, rather get to their lies, if u have not known how to make machines, cause can take a flight out earth to mass or any other planet leaving you as long before Africa was colonized all of ya perish not after long so rather get into their lie plan even if u know the reality or marry their own if u wanna survive if u know not how to make machines, even if bad blood or die dude if they can take a flight off another planet dude

You can take the photos of house, buildings and machines in Ps4 or 5 and write such names b4 u step on or print the photo of the same and given to ya, mentioning the game name dude, take an array of many such buildings and houses as u can re-partition inside and even with bridges and roads and anything u love into those games dude

Tree bring about ample supply of fresh gases around that if u r around such places grants ya long life as compared to no tree infested lands but not with all trees, as u must know which trees as some do the reverse. Get to the compound of 1 lived long and get to know which trees planted next to his yard and which he sits down and remember to burn ya bed mattress and seat, sell not when u r of age in heap or red soil alone maybe if 1 is around groups of kids dude as this grants 1 longevity but a thing many will refute and put to reproach cause they know not dude. Most people having swag got, teacher blood in them or motor bike riders of maybe of big bikes, they love bikes and when such gene finished finishes bike thing and that's it dude if u got big mind bro, wants to finish such economies of the past with motor bikes as their customers the above dude

[sirjustice1308]

HOW RACES WERE RESHUFFLED DUDE

Early morning bathe not in the dawn kills one faster as they are deemed such people, lovers of already made and know nothing, shortly after 8:00 AM bathing grants ya longevity and that's why in USA and Eu People works 3 days a week and the other off time given to them to do as above not early bathing to grant them longevity cause are helpful to the community as have been see and so u relent in life by what u r up to in those days some people like that always without getting anywhere every morning dude

When u want to know the lineage of a person as in what line of occupation or operation his ancestry came from so if they shave the hair head, if u take a glimpse to see in a vista quickly like lawn mowers most are Pakistani or Taiwan people, if u wanna get to Canada kinda, u see a truck and it hoots as they hate such people blooded as most are rude Italians who started Texas where truck drivers, Motor bike riders most USA folks, NEWS paper sellers where Alabama people or Britain, owning books shops and food vendors, police men were Russians as the green men collected such people of same occupation b4 they left and placed them in 1 land, Dutch were flower pickers and housemaids, Norwegians were band people in music and more i cant mention all but now you know dude. Hungarians were taxi operators or people who opted 4 that job in the society while Canadians were parcel delivery guys and farmers dude or tractor engineers, french men loved dance people and while majority others were taken out of training pretense dude and even knowers of certain skills and subjects can be taken into a nation and even church goers and preachers or good cookers as Serbians, Mexican were house  and machine repairs, China were making welded doors, window people, Japan furniture

When u want to kill one while driving or in any place as collapse,1 who belittle ya, u chop wood on top of his photo on concrete slab while on slipas on spring press with ya feet on the ground as if breaking and boom they are down after talking to the devil or chop carrot on their photos on wood slap feet on carrot in mud step on as u can make hole on wet cut boxes or Cd and they are down or make a hole on the photo place u want to grow wound, then insert ya penis to rub with the wall as u chew gum or break candy with ya teeth and boom harm directed to that part dude

Making artificial soil to replace with the infected ones as high chemical contents that affect ones health like with make u insane water soil placed with enemies, just write tea growing soil as its called then step on within Cd hole on black soil with cut pieces or fumed clamped cooking pots, heap guava and paw paw or cabbage as u wash ya feet in juices mixture like pineapple with kids or women or chop hay on wood board soaked in water or mixed fruit juice extracts dude

Naked kids should not surface outside dude, if u have a glimpse at their nakedness 1, gets you off the things of life and kinda u feel to kill one and 2 induce spirit in ya of being suspicious with women as maybe they have gotten a point they want to force the old but reality is of the essence dude

Wanted to come to pick stones and send to Eu or USA as store bank as no stone the other-side and on sea bed kinda depleted dude, and encroach unto water catchment lands to reduce the water level, so river water not much and dams drive even through making holes 16 to below to pour out to make the above possible as using wireless electric van or holes underneath bring their electricity and sell after making much population here of Kikuyu blooded which knows shit and can just be in suffering and hustling chasing unknown thing and that was their intent dude and if u cut the timber to warm house 4 winter in such lands takes long to grow and its a curse dude, so in East Africa takes less time, so they people wants to be here to grow the same to sell back there to make whooping cash as electric heater gives u cancer and shorten lifespan they have known and now hate dude and after making space shuttle, rather get to their lies, if u have not known how to make machines, cause can take a flight out earth to mass or any other planet leaving you as long before Africa was colonized all of ya perish not after long so rather get into their lie plan even if u know the reality or marry their own if u wanna survive if u know not how to make machines, even if bad blood or die dude if they can take a flight off another planet dude

You can take the photos of house, buildings and machines in Ps4 or 5 and write such names b4 u step on or print the photo of the same and given to ya, mentioning the game name dude, take an array of many such buildings and houses as u can re-partition inside and even with bridges and roads and anything u love into those games dude

Tree bring about ample supply of fresh gases around that if u r around such places grants ya long life as compared to no tree infested lands but not with all trees, as u must know which trees as some do the reverse. Get to the compound of 1 lived long and get to know which trees planted next to his yard and which he sits down and remember to burn ya bed mattress and seat, sell not when u r of age in heap or red soil alone maybe if 1 is around groups of kids dude as this grants 1 longevity but a thing many will refute and put to reproach cause they know not dude. Most people having swag got, teacher blood in them or motor bike riders of maybe of big bikes, they love bikes and when such gene finished finishes bike thing and that's it dude if u got big mind bro, wants to finish such economies of the past with motor bikes as their customers the above dude

Even with corpse of your like can be made in the boom by taking the  exact big photo or small and give it measurements on the face, lips,  eyes and height, folded and u step within CD hole on white paper on  white guava extract, heap hay and mango in dim light in gone down places  within ya compound or in a tank as u wash ya feet with males kids in  detergent water after washing clothes and boom ya corpse or chop hay in  board soaked in kerosene

Like in Japan women locate men who knows  how to repair machine and operate a laundry as only loopholes left that  aint official jobs they should not compete with women when SME are  removed out of the fact of bringing ya own fake goods or foods and sell,  jeopardizing economy when it has been made a franchise as Govt taken  control of all aspects of production and the above only left as car wash  r automated dude and taxi left. When people of male in nature in a  nation like 60% knows how to repair machines as laundry, electronic,  motor bikes, bicycles and cars then, they can open garage and diffuse  the above as opposed to opposite dude, even if u got 1 car daily is  something dude, gives u some cash and women should locate such more than  anything as even carpentry overtaken as such furniture now made in the  boom and even building and construction to make such people redundant in  life dude and even plumber work can do, so think twice in this new  years of the next generation as snow shovel any1 can do provided u got  the machine, so aint a shit as much as lawn mowing u cant pride on such  dude

People who went via private schools in beef with those who  gone to Public, since they are more into the Govt they block the  majority who went via public schools and forms the larger percentage of  voters, so vote 4 ya own even if in tribe dude, cause out of the above  will block ya and favor 1 who went through private if u gone via public  and vice versa, a thing not known dude as they say, they helped create  much employment as compared to ya and paid much as they valued education  so why triumph over them and moreover they can relent and invest as  compared to the public school goers and even with colleges dude. Get to  private schools if possible to second ya ways dude

Detect human urine using this machine, instead of pointing figures mistaking others, if u got cash dude, if not be mum dude

https://www.amazon.com/Detector-Flashlight-Detects-Kittens-Puppies/dp/B01A27V5EA/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Write  Nairobi city CBD from this rd to this road, as u write and step on  within CD hole on hay with sugar or tangerine, heap sea water with grass  or lake water with hay as floating on water, then wash ya feet in  surgical spirit with kids and women your other hand steadfast on  metallic hook from the wall and boom ya city in water lands or in Normal  land heap guava and hay or chop mango on board soaked in milk and with  Any city just write as above and Step on the above or another something  else and chop many veggies/fruits/berries/leaves in wood soaked in any  one fruit, leaves, berries not in the heap above and even in grass, hay  or cereals both raw and dry or even on starchy foods and boom ya town or  wash feet as above in mixed alcohol drinks, juices, spirits, detergents  or the extracts of all mentioned above as u try on those locations as  named above dude

Edmonton Canada, such people love elder people or  hidden things, a people who loves respect and of few words, got such u  got that Canadian blood dude, they love people who talked as tipsy or  under influence of animal, who partially cares not as their women dude,  and love, early morning and torn/old things dude

http://www.world-guides.com/north-america/canada/alberta/edmonton/edmonton_maps.html

On  tea land next to the roads u can place the short range laser lights or  alarms to detect the same on such frontiers dude as in the link below as  u hide the panel in coolers within moisture absorbing chemicals or  duvet/blankets or within under ya ceiling or tomb

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LEDKIA-LIGHTING-Non-Contact-Sensor-Activation/dp/B08GP62HHW

https://www.amazon.com/Detector-Vehicle-Display-Highway-Detection/dp/B08J81CQ1P

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Tuya-smart-wireless-home-security-alarm_1600100727998.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normal_offer.d_title.55c27fcadno87g&s=p&fullFirstScreen=true

Many  heat panels add the watts to make it same to that of solar panel that  gets into the big inverter to power your house even in iron box, cooker,  laundry without burning as in the link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsVvBZQkHaM

https://www.amazon.com/thermoelectric-generator/s?k=thermoelectric+generator

https://www.amazon.com/TEC1-12710-Thermoelectric-Peltier-Cooler-154Wmax/dp/B072TQX2RQ/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=thermoelectric+generator&qid=1610281928&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRzBENlFRODZaM1pVJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODk5Mjg0M0pGSzRXU1ZaTkJIWiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNzYzMzU5MzhOQjkwQlBaQU40NyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Inverter-Charger-240Vac-Output/dp/B00O805FO4/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=10000+watt+high+power+inverter&qid=1610282027&sr=8-8

https://www.amazon.com/AIMS-Power-Continuous-Temperature-Indicator/dp/B008HSAX8G/ref=sr_1_35?dchild=1&keywords=10000+watt+high+power+inverter&qid=1610282027&sr=8-35

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=100+amp+solar+charger+controller&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

What bring spirits, many women along ya way and not made an affair with them and getting that way dude

Will  not help, something am a grown up and should stop eating on the road,  will not help, what u gonna do, now that betting is being ilegalised and  tea can be taken cold without repercussion and even vegetables when  taken super hot of artificial nature destroys not ya teeth but with vice  versa and with fruits destroy ya teeth when taken ripe but not raw, so u  know the antidote cause that way as if not with consequences thwart the  economies of the growing nations, and so truth should surface even in  chain stores of differential pricing. My money little even if u monitor  me will not help or save the day dude. Sell ya house to 1 as u claim to  want to sell to me, to get them off me dude

Equity close the a/c  dude i told ya and WSU keep the cash or give me faster, don't get into 1  cash yet his plight not solved, Russia warn putin dude, that's not the  way, he campaigned himself and even if payed peanuts and his own shit  not ours dude. Let gays and snakes be identified and shot down to end  all these dude, from dusk to dawn dude. Your kids next people, making  their manhood rise, cause they blow that smoke next when close to ya to  indict ya or the kid apply a chemical 4 the same dude, keep ya kids off  people and if special special to ya dude, stop disturbing me with that, i  will kill ya with ya kid using voodoo, if continue to disturb me dude.  Kenya poor and how will u wait and make all machines as other nations  also make, stop bro, u r poor u r poor, or like betting closed in  Uganda, call 4 siren gas and kill all who have refused to hear up on the  same issue dude

U wont get to people house and share their food  as yours previously u could not share, u of alcohol and betting tricks  as described earlier dude, don't play cool with me dude u of pulp wood  with Congo now made artificially even known to ya, rude at 1st just  laughing in absentia that all will get to Congo as they ship illegally  winning women dude to start the above without 2nd stance bro. Stop and  locate ya comfort zone of what u can do best and be there stop  disturbing one u know not dude, What u want dude, USA u will not attack  to take their wealth and SA or Tunisia u will not go and steal again  lest killed and my food as u r grown up u wont share with me 4 more than  a week, locate ya hustle dude and with TEA the above dude and every theft blocked as always explained bro. If continue some1 will stub 1 with a knife if police pro-act not dude and blame game on ya dude

Eliminate cash once and for good dude as in the link below the fear cropping the above dude

https://www.atmmarketplace.com/news/rototype-cashless-atm/

https://www.atmmarketplace.com/blogs/cardless-cashless-and-contactless-will-this-be-the-new-normal/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rototype-cashless-atm-to-revolutionize-nigerias-e-payments-landscape-279763402.html

[zillifurniture]

Dresser - Luxurious Bedroom Storage | Zilli Furniture Are you in search of bedroom dresser in Farmers Branch, Texas?  Zilli furniture will help you with our Corso Como Dresser. Handcrafted with exquisite detail and ample storage, this dresser combines elegance and functionality at the same time. At Zilli furniture store we have a large collection of contemporary Italian furniture for your home and office space. Visit our furniture store today.

[seenashwrite]

Hello, I’m Gone

Word Count: 5.4K   Category: One-shot; Behind-the-scenes canon-compliant; Baby/The Impala; Choices; Personal growth; Heart-grabber; Life, love, and family  Rating: Teen & Up  Character(s): Reader/Female O.C.; Male & Female O.C.s; References to familiar people/places Pairing(s): N/A  Warnings: Mild coarse language  Author’s Note(s): *This is a re-post, minus tags and links, in an effort to make it show in searches; more post-story Overall Summary: Chuck told us a story about Baby’s early days. And we know how she’s spent most of her life helping the Winchesters get to where they need to go. Here’s a little of what happened in between.

The Lucchese brothers set out for America from Italy, climbed off a boat in Galveston, Texas in 1882. Enterprising fellows as they were, Sal and Joe already had a nice little thing going, a boot-making shop out at Fort Houston, over in San Antonio, by 1883. Sal was a nut for machinery, really turned his crank - any word he got about something that might rev things up, well, he wanted to be the first to try it.  

The Luccheses became known for their hands-on approach, helped by those machines, sure, but only so’s they could give their work a boost. And they refused to cut corners, not even a little. The brothers believed that you should do things right, didn’t matter how busy you got.

Right around the turn of the century, their boots were coming in at around ten bucks. By the early parts of the 1900s, they were around $40 a pop. Then came the Hollywood bandwagon, handfuls of actors showing up wearing the Italian-meets-Western creations as word spread - back in that day, couldn’t just turn on a TV or expect to see ‘em plastered on billboards. Word of mouth and reputation go a hell of a long way.

The singer-songwriters and actual cowboy-types came along. And in the 60s, when style was starting to take a left turn, those boots were still hanging around. Hell, even the White House got in on the action - I’d heard some of the Kennedys got measured and fitted. Johnson, too.

Which, you should. I did. It wasn’t cheap, but worth it. You plan to surround yourself with something, day in and day out, you best make sure it’s a good fit. So I dished out some of the precious savings I’d squirreled away and got two good fits. Just in case I needed to walk.

And I would’ve walked, all the way, if I’d had to. I had 'em for a year, good and broken-in, those dark cherry-red dreams that came almost to my knees. Short legs, short strides, but I was determined.

They’d turned into what I thought were the most important boots - maybe the most important things - in the world. They kept me going, just needed to glance down at them, like they were a talisman. If I believed in that sort of thing.

Still. Funny how things can do that for you, and the people around you can’t. Won’t.

I’d been planning over that year of boot-breaking. To get out. Get gone. Away from that shithole outside Dallas, out of Texas completely. The boots set me back, my waitressing tips and the cash from hocking what little jewelry Momma’d had never quite plugging the hole. Especially when lots of it kept disappearing from my purse, went to his beer and liquor. And his girls on the side.

I stole his piece of garbage truck. I had the spare key, made sense with all the driving I did in it, picking him up from the bars when they’d announced everybody didn’t have to go home, but they couldn’t… well, you know the rest. And sometimes he wouldn’t head home and I’d find him wandering back from a cheap motel along the potholed road that led to the house. His house. His TV. His food. His furniture. His guns.

Stole one of those, too.

The world had sailed into the 70s while I was sailing nowhere. I had nothing to my name but some clothes, my picture of Momma and Daddy the day they got hitched, and my boots. Only brought what I couldn’t do without. A small start, but I figured it was better than nothing.  

I still lacked a surefire way to get me where I wanted to go. Wherever that was. Figured I’d know once I got there. I knew the boots would be loyal long as they could, but they weren’t gonna take me all the way. I wasn’t sure what could.

I got a feeling that would change when I spotted that big black dream, parked all lonely in somebody’s yard. A handwritten “FOR SALE BY OWNER” sign was taped inside the back window. It was dirty as all get-out, had a crack in the passenger side window, a bent fender, and one of the back tires needed air in a bad way.

But it hung with me well after I’d passed it, walking towards civilization and a phone, after I’d gone and got the truck stuck in reverse. Not too bad, though. Gotten as far as Lubbock without doing worse.

I’m not proud of it, pulling my gun on the guy I’d hitched a ride with. It was after my suitcase wheels had long got useless, my boots all muddy, and I was a wet rat, trudging down the road in a quick summer rainstorm, a mile gone from that car my brain kept chewing on. He had kept putting his hand on my knee, though. Wouldn’t listen to my polite - or my not-so-polite - rebukes.

So I tolerated it til we were close to a service station, and that hand sure did fly off quick when he heard the cock of the hammer.

I’d now chewed on that car til all the flavor was gone, even as I got a tow for the truck. I had plenty of cash for the tow, didn’t let on, though, as I talked the guy down with a little flirting. I’m sure changing into a sundress in the service station’s bathroom helped that along.

Had to cruise around a touch, before I found the turn-off from the paved to the unpaved, then about four more miles to the modest older house with the huge yard. As I pulled in, I saw it. Saw clean through all the bumps and bruises, right to the beauty underneath.

I’d parked and turned off the truck, then just stared at it with a slightly dropped jaw, my hand lingering on the keys that were still stuck in the ignition.

The creaking of a screen door and a hearty chuckle startled me out of the reverie. My hand reflexively shot from the keys to my purse. But the sweet, round, smiling face of the portly man in overalls leisurely coming down the porch steps, then across the yard towards me, set my mind at ease. Long time since I’d been this close to a man that didn’t give me the willies. Still. I rolled down the window but didn’t get out.

He finally reached me, resting a forearm on my door, but not intruding, the cotton of his rolled-sleeve shirt just peeking in. I briefly let my eyes close. A breeze had wafted by, and I caught the heavenly scent that told me his clothes had been hung on out on lines to dry in the Texas sun. It reminded me of Momma. His well-worn ballcap reminded me of Daddy.

The chuckle still floated over his words as he spoke.

“Well, we were waitin’ on you to knock, but I told the Mrs. we’d be waitin’ awhile, since you’d gotten a good look at 'er!”

I blinked, said, “Oh. Oh, I… how long have I been sitting here?”

Another chuckle.

“Not too long, just long enough. You want to come sit on the porch? I got hollered at before I came to get you that lemonade’s almost ready.”

I nodded, and he opened the door, seemed to understand when I hesitated and wanted him to walk ahead of me instead of the other way around. I snatched my purse off the seat and brought it with me. Just in case.

We had barely sat, he on a crate that I wondered at, not sure how it was managing his size, and me on the porch swing, when a woman came out of the house, rear-end first. Her backside pushed open the screen door, her hands busy with a tray. A pitcher full of what turned out to be the best lemonade I’d ever had in my life sat atop it, alongside three plastic tumblers.

I drank two-and-a-half’s worth before I spoke, and they were kind enough to keep pouring, waiting patiently. They looked about the age Momma and Daddy would’ve been, though maybe not as worn. Seemed peaceful out here where they were.

“I don’t like the truck,” I said when I finally spoke, a real great opener.

They had easy smiles on their faces, but didn’t reply.

“I like that,” I clarified, turning my head slightly, pointing back to the car.

“You know anything about cars like that, hon?” the man asked.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, then just shook my head. But after a second thought -

“I know they’re fast.”

Now, I couldn’t tell you what my face looked like when I said that last part, but I can tell you that woman’s eyes shifted from bright and shiny to something a little more somber.

Her husband didn’t seem to notice anything, just kept smiling and nodding his head.

“A little too fast for me, I tell ya what,” he said. “We’ve only had 'er a few years, I’ve kept 'er in shape, she’s always run like a dream—”

“She?” I cut in.

“Oh, something that pretty ain’t a boy,” he informed me, and his wife’s eyes went to sparkling again as she laughed.

“We have two boys,” she informed me. “Rough and tumble, right out the gate.”

“I’m afraid that’s how the crack happened,” he went on, then paused, but I could tell he wasn’t angry.

“Long story?” I asked, a smile of my own starting to appear. It was infectious. These people felt like family, and I’d known them about five minutes. Those were damn lucky boys.

Another rumbling chuckle.

“Well, it’s just a crack, anyways. No sense in getting worked up over the little stuff, ain’t that right?” he replied, looking over to his wife, who’d come and sat by me on the swing.

She nodded, then looked at me. "You got any kids?“

I shook my head. "No, ma'am.”

“Just as well. That car….” She trailed off with a bit of a tsk and a head shake. “I never felt quite right, when he’s run around with the boys in it. Fast, like you say. Made me nervous.”

“Aw, honey, now, we can’t keep 'em home forever,” her husband said, but with love, not criticism.

“Why’re you wanting to sell?” I asked.

He sighed, said, "Just too tight on me, on my knees and such. Need a little more room now-a-days.“ He glanced to his wife as he patted his belly. "If your cookin’ wasn’t so good—”

“Then we’d have never stayed married this long,” she finished for him. She looked back to me, saying, “And we’ve got a station wagon that’ll do just fine for now. No sense in keeping it.”

I nodded.

A few moments of silence, all of us taking sips of our lemonade.

“I, ah… what price were y'all thinking of?” I asked, hating how tiny I sounded. Maybe even how desperate. Well. I was.

He opened his mouth to respond, but she put her hand lightly over mine and spoke first.

“You say you don’t care for that truck - well, what if we make it part of the deal?”

She and I both glanced to him.

He raised his eyebrows, thought for a second. “That might not be a half-bad idea. Got good leg room?”

I nodded. “Yessir. I have to have the seat scooted all the way, and then my boots help some.”

“Those are lovely boots,” she commented.

“Thank you.”

“You are a slip of a thing!” he said. “Let’s get you in the Impala, though, make sure those boots’ll get you to the pedals, whatcha say?”

Now I nodded like crazy, I couldn’t help it. They were going to take me for all I had, I was starting to believe. Or it would be too rich for my blood. At least I’d get to sit in it, just for a little while.

It was clean-as-a-whistle inside. The way they’d talked about their boys, I’d have expected stale french fries and milkshake stains everywhere, but there wasn’t a sign telling me this car wasn’t anything except beloved. I laid my hands on the steering wheel.

Hi, there, pretty lady.

“Oof!” I muttered.  The door had stayed open, and he’d pushed the seat forward abruptly.

“Well, look-a-there, like a glove!” he announced, and he was right.

Granted, the seat was up all the way, but I wasn’t just using my tip-toes. My foot was centered on the pedals. I sunk just the right amount into the seat.

“I don’t reckon you’ll need 'em to drive, but them boots, they look awful fine in there,” he commented, in only a slightly leading tone.

But he wasn’t trying to woo me, he was just stating a fact. They did. It was a perfect fit.

I was sold.

“Now, she’s up to date on 'er check-ups, you ain’t gotta worry about that or oil changes or whatnot anytime soon,” he went on. “And ain’t nothing wrong with that back tire, it was just a little nail and it patched up fine, I just haven’t got around to fillin’ it back up.”

I ran my hand along the leather seat. My purse was still hanging across me. They were older. They were sweet. I could’ve stolen it, I bet.

Could’ve stopped in a grocery store parking lot, changed the tags. Be long gone out of the state, just keep changing them whenever I crossed a county line. Make our time together last as long as I was able.

“Your face is all wound up,” he pointed out, and I looked up at him to find that steady kindness staring back.

“I don’t have a lot of money,” I said softly.

“We can talk that over, hon. I need something—”

I nodded.

“—but I’d rather take less than, to have 'er go to someone who loves 'er, instead of lining my pockets three times over.”

A glance over the roof of the car. I followed suit, looking through the cracked window. The porch was empty.

“The boys are stayin’ over at a friend’s, and I know that woman’s still cooked enough to feed everybody in town. You wanna have a little supper before you head back out?”

It was the best meal I’d had in years.

“I was thinking,” I began timidly, once the meal was over.

She had stood, picked up her plate and was reaching for mine, when she slowly sat back down. I wasn’t looking at them when I began. When I brought my head up, they had something akin to sympathy on their faces.

What I must’ve looked like to them.

“I have about four hundred dollars,” I said, pulling the strap over my head and setting my purse on the table, then opening it. "And, then this… um… please don’t let me scare you or anything.“ I gingerly pulled out the handgun and set it next to my scraped-clean plate. "This can be part of my pay, too, and the truck, well, it tends to stick in reverse, but I took care of that earlier, and I don’t know what size shoe you wear, ma'am, but these are Luchesses, I don’t know if you know of those, but they’re real real nice when they’re not muddy, they’re only a year old, and you could probably get good money for 'em….”

I let my rambling drift off, those sympathetic stares still trained on me.  

“Never… never mind,” I said quickly, scooting my chair back and standing. “Y'all have been real kind, I appreciate the supper.”

They shared a look, and when I moved to pick up my purse and the gun, her soft hand once more covered mine.

“Now hold on there, missy,” she said in a slightly firm tone, one I assumed she typically reserved for the menfolk of her home.

“You’re gettin’ ahead of yourself - take that chair, then take you a deep breath,” he chimed in.

I nodded, did as instructed.  

“That gun’s not scary,” she told me, after I’d sat and looked back to her, her hand now holding mine, resting them both on the table. “We’re in Texas.”

The reminder set that twinkle to spark in her eyes, and I laughed.

“Yes, ma'am.”

“That truck run good otherwise?” he asked.

“Yessir,” I said, then paused. “It ain’t as clean inside as the… the…”

“Impala.”

“The Impala. Um, I… didn’t stop to… I didn’t have time to get all the beer bottles and cans and… well, it’s messy.”

“Messes can be cleaned up."

It was an easy-going response, and I gave him a look that I hope conveyed my thanks for it before I went on.

“Oh, the tires! I know two new tires got put on last summer… I don’t remember which, though.”

I was combing my brain for anything else I could tell them. Anything to make them want anything of mine. Anything of worth. I had so little of worth.

She released my hand and patted it, then looked to her husband. "Help me get these dishes to the sink,” she requested, standing and beginning to gather.

“I can—” I started, beginning to stand.

“No no no,” she fussed good-naturedly. “You’re company.”

He heaved himself up with a grunt, picking up his plate and following behind her to the kitchen. I stood the rest of the way anyway, glancing around. The dining area bled into the den, and I found myself looking at the pictures on the walls, drinking in the stories they told me like they were porch lemonade.

Good. Those boys were loved but good.

They came back in then, and I turned, kneading my hands behind my back.

He had papers in his hands, and they both had tiny grins on their faces. He set the papers down on the table, ambled towards me, hand outstretched, palm up.

“Gimme yer keys, lemme go see about how that truck’s running.”

I felt a flutter in my heart. Quickly retrieving them from the table, I handed them over immediately. After the screen door slammed shut in his wake, I looked to her.

“And that’s a .22, ain’t it?” she asked, pointing to the table, to the gun.

“Yes, ma'am.”

“Well, we’d been on the lookout for a little something for me to have when I’m out alone, which is gettin’ to be more routine these days, since the boys seem to be off on adventures all the time.”

“Yes, ma'am,” I repeated. Then I looked down to my boots.

“No,” she said, again in that firm, no-nonsense voice. I looked up to stern eyes and a jerk of a head shake.

“Yes, ma'am,” I whispered, feeling a touch of moisture hit my eyes, and it hit my cheeks, but two quick swipes from her and they were gone.

“Go on, bathroom’s down the hall on the left.”

When I came back out, he was sitting at the table, the papers in front of him, my keys nearby. She was peering over his shoulder, pointed at something, and he nodded, bringing his pen to that spot and scribbling. They looked up at the sound of my boot heels on the floor.

“Hon, I glanced in the glove box, didn’t see any registration,” he said almost carefully.

Damn. I couldn’t think of the last time that shitbird had kept up with things like tags and insurance and registration. And I could’ve kicked myself for not tearing apart the house for the title. I just hadn’t been thinking. Just packed, went to the diner to quit my job, and drove.

“I don’t– it’s not– it’s not actually–”

“I’m gonna be straight here, sweetheart, and you shoot me straight, too.”

“Yessir.”

“Anybody gonna be lookin’ for that truck?”

Is anybody gonna be lookin’ for you?

I shook my head, and this time my voice came out with one-hundred percent certainty and conviction:

“No, sir.”

A nod, then back down to the papers, more scribbling. She caught my eye, gave me a wink. The tiniest of smiles came to my face, and I found myself working my hands behind my back again, this time a different sort of nervousness coming over me.

Once he’d set his pen to the side, he looked over at me. "That’ll be three-hundred and a couple of John Hancocks, young lady.“

I inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath, practically lunged at my purse, pulling out the wad of cash, all three of us soon counting aloud. I had a $50, but other than a smattering of $1s, the rest were $20s. It ended up with $310 on the table.

"Keep the change?” I offered.

Two nods, two smiles.

I signed the paperwork, one a copy for them, then he picked up mine and walked over to a hutch, pulling an envelope out of a drawer. She handed me a - my - shiny key.

“What all do you need off your key ring?”

I looked at her with a grin that made my cheeks ache. “Not a thing.”

He sighed as he stuffed the papers into the envelope. “Well, Junior’s gonna have a fit, sharing a truck with me instead of the Impala.”

She snatched the envelope from him, passed it to me, then grabbed him in a one-armed, but fairly tight, sideways hug. She was the picture of bliss, knowing her sons wouldn’t be speeding around town like a jet bolt of lightning. He freed his arm, put it around her and squeezed back, letting out one of those chuckles that sounded like music to my ears.

I clutched the key to my chest like they clutched each other.

“Oh, your purse, honey,” she suddenly said, seeing as how I’d been turned towards the door in a bit of a haze, staring out the screen at my new partner in crime.

He helped me get my suitcase into that canyon of a trunk, then they guided me as I backed it up, doing a slow three-point-turn in the yard, straightening out onto their unpaved driveway. They came up to the driver’s side window, which I’d left down to hear their instructions. Now they fussed over me like I was one of their own. It was nice.

“You know where the closest gas station is?” she checked.

I nodded. “I was there earlier.”

“Now, you get straight there, get that tire filled all the way up, hear? Don’t get on no highway til you do,” he said.

Another nod. “Yessir.”

“You’ll be safe in ‘er,” she told me, leaning in to give me a little peck on the cheek.

“She’s traveled a lot in ‘er short life,” he added, patting the hood. A pause, a bit of a side-eye. “You don’t sell Bibles, do ya?”

They both snickered.

“Ignore him, hon,” she told me. “My best friend in Iowa’s the one we bought the Impala off of, she hated to sell, though - it had got her the hell out of Wisconsin after her husband died. He was one of them 'come-to-Jesus’, 'the-end-is-nigh’ types, went all over the state passin’ out the Good Book.”

��What happened?” I asked.

“The booze and the fried cheese caught up to him, dropped dead before he got to see his apocalypse,” she responded wryly and with an eye roll.

Then, despite her claimed nervousness and dislike for the Impala, I watched as she almost lovingly stroked the door beside me.

“Never thought that was a good enough life for her,” she commented softly, then brought her eyes to mine.

“I’ll make sure,” I whispered, answering her unasked question.

“She’s gonna get you there,” he told me. “Fast as you need, far as you need.”

And I believed him. Believed in them. Believed in her.

I topped off the gas, watched as one of the station attendants filled the tire with air. I leaned back in, opened my purse to go pay - and I gasped. The gun was there, a small sliver of pie inside a plastic sandwich baggie tucked next to it.

It was seventy-two degrees as I sailed out of Lubbock, and not too dark, but I turned on the headlights anyway. Sweet lord, did they cut through the night. I would see anything coming at me.

I laughed out loud, letting the wind whip my hair with fury, glad for once that it was still on the short side, else I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the feeling as much. I hadn’t bothered to check the radio before signing on the dotted line - it didn’t seem important. I could live without music if I had to, it would be fine.

So before I got on the highway, at the last red light before the on-ramp, I took a moment to unwrap my little slice of love, setting it in my lap. Moment of truth. I put my fingers to the knob.

CLICK

“Son-of-a-bitch!” I squealed, flooring the engine as soon as I hit the highway, banging my hands against the steering wheel, laughing like a maniac in between taking bites of the pie.

The speakers were not as loud as that engine, but goddamn, were they close.

“I’m sorry!” I yelled over the wind and the engine and the radio, apologizing to that heaven-sent hunk of metal for my sticky fingers as I reached for the dial, turning it off of one of the more recent hits that they’d been playing incessantly at the diner.

Anything that reminded me was like nails on a chalkboard. That would fade. I would learn to ignore it.

But not tonight.

“Aaaaahhhh!”

I was screaming again, couldn’t believe it when I heard the start of a song which was very familiar, had good memories attached to it.

“You hear that?!”

I patted the dash rapidly a few times, like I was getting the car’s attention.

“This was one of Momma’s favorites! She and Daddy would stop and dance when it came on!”

I cranked it up more, singing so loudly I’d almost drowned out Mr. Buddy Holly himself.

Maybe baby, I’ll have you Maybe baby, you’ll be true Maybe baby, I’ll have you for me

It was an old song, one from the fifties. I was little, but in my mind, I could still see Daddy’s huge smile and see Momma’s shocked expression, followed quickly by a fit of giggles as he’d whip her around, then dip her down when that song came on the radio. I always wondered why she was surprised - he did it every damn time.

“Love you, baby,” he’d tell her, when the song ended and they were standing close, still swaying a bit.

“I love you back, baby,” she’d reply, like clockwork. Every damn time.

A few tears slipped out, but they were replaced with a smile. I turned down the radio when the song ended. Then with one hand, I folded up the baggie, stuck it inside my purse, never even crossing my mind to toss it on the floorboard or in the backseat.

There were signs up ahead giving me a few options.

“Whaddya say, babygirl - I was headed west, but we can always do somethin’ different!” I reassured the car, giving another pat to the dash.

I chose.

“That okay, me calling you babygirl?" I thought on that for a moment. "You’re not a little girl, though!”

Another moment. My thoughts went back to Buddy’s voice. To Momma and Daddy.

“I don’t got anybody to call Baby, that okay by you?”

If a steady engine and headlights with beams like stars meant a happy car, then I was gonna take it as a sign. If I believed in signs. Which, I suppose, I did.

“Oh! And…”

I had taken off my boots before driving away from the service station, laid them on their sides in the passenger seat. I’d got all the mud off of them in the bathroom after I’d paid. They had their nice touch of a sheen back, even over the scuffs, my older babies seemingly just as happy as my new one.

“…these are the boots that got me to you! Get used to 'em, they’ll be in here a lot!”

I sang along to what felt like a hundred songs til my throat got sore. We drove quietly for awhile. I was a nervous wreck leaving her alone, but I was plumb exhausted, and had to get some sleep. Chasing shadows too long’ll do that.

Even so, I kept peeking out the little motel room window off-and-on for awhile. I’d asked for a ground floor room, so she could be right outside from me. I knew it wasn’t as safe for a single gal to be just off the parking lot, but I didn’t want her to be too far. Besides, I still had the handgun.

Those guardian angels of mine sure were somethin’ else.

I stopped to make a phone call before I hit the road hard. Well, two phone calls. The first was to kill the last speck of doubt.

“Yeah?”

“Hello,” I replied calmly, gazing out the phone booth at Baby.

“Where the hell—”

I smiled. “I’m gone.”

Daddy had relatives in Kansas, second cousins, but I remembered their kids from when I was younger, when we’d drove up to visit a few times. Pen-pal’d for a little bit with one of the boys, we’d kept up over the years. So I dropped in a dime, dialed a better number.

“Wow! You did it!”

I giggled. “I know!”

“You need to come stay with us?”

“If you don’t care—”

“Stop that! We’ve got the room, at least for five more weeks - I still haven’t got rid of the bed or put the crib together.”

“Well, then, I’ll help you. And listen - you’re gonna die. Or hate me. Or have a heart attack, because I’ve got a baby, too!”

My cousin’s reaction was priceless, even more so when I pulled in his driveway. I’d never seen somebody so happy for me and jealous of me all at once. And I had the same reaction when his daughter was born. It was one of the best days of my life, and before I knew it, better days kept coming.

I think the saddest day of my life was letting you go.

It’s strange, how much can change in a year. My cousin had set me up on a blind date with a friend of his, and I thought, shoot - a girl’s gotta eat, so I went. And oh, Baby, was I smitten. But you know - you were there for plenty of the kissing.

And you were there when we made our baby, did you know that? I can’t remember if I thought to tell you. Kansas tornadoes are just that way. Swoop you up into all kinds of craziness.

It felt like a piece of me was getting cut off, watching my husband shake hands, that dealer coming towards us. Your key was cutting into my palm. My other hand was on my belly.

I didn’t do it for the money. I had to do it for the baby. The new baby. And, you know, my ankles are so swollen, I don’t get to wear my boots, if that makes you feel any better. Doesn’t me, though.

We’re moving away. Just have to drop you off, under the rainbow, how funny is that? Then we’re gone.

I owe you my life. You saved me. You’ll save others, I just know it. You’ll get 'em out of tight spots, keep 'em safe, be there for hard stuff, but you’ll be part of so much good stuff, too.

I’m leaving this for you. I’m gonna pull up a little bit of carpet somewhere, slide it in. I don’t know where yet. Just so you won’t be alone. But I don’t think you’ll be by yourself for long.

I hope whoever you end up with finds this, reads this story. That they’ll remember some roads are gonna seem far too long, but if you’re with them, time will fly. That they’ll love you as much as I do and throw on some boots and floor it and zoom into the night and go raise some hell.

I got a feeling they will.

Want more stories? My Master Post is linked in my profile, and it tells you about getting on the Tag List, too! If for whatever reason it gives you trouble, don’t hesitate to send an Ask and I’ll link you. 

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Author’s Note #2: This was originally written for the SPN Writing Challenge “Baby’s Big 50″, a celebration honoring Baby for her 50th birthday via 50 song prompts, courtesy of @butiaintgonnaloveem

Challenge Prompt: “Maybe Baby” - Buddy Holly [featured lyrics in the story]

Author Prompt: “Hello, I’m Gone” - Trisha Yearwood [full lyrics below]

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Hello, I’m Gone ~ Trisha Yearwood [written by Kevin Welch]

Somebody’s waiting back home in Dallas With no idea where she has gone Got her suitcase all packed up in the back of a pickup Got her red knee-high Luccheses on She’s on any old two-lane, westbound she knows She was chasing her shadow when the sun finally rose And, man, she’s just running, it don’t matter where She figures she’ll know where she is when she’s there And she didn’t leave nothin’ she can’t do without That’s enough reason for leavin’ no doubt She rolls down the window, turns up a song Laughs at the weather and says Hello, I’m gone She broke down in Lubbock, got it stuck in reverse So she hitched down the highway, a little gun in her purse Got to the station, and stared at the phone Found herself thinkin’ bout calling for home But she didn’t leave nothin’ she can’t do without That’s enough reason for leavin’ no doubt She dropped in a quarter, made herself strong All that she told him was, “Hello, I’m gone.” Then she called up a tow truck, said - “Fix up what’s wrong. I’m paying in cash, boys.” Hello, I’m gone