You May Be Sensing A Theme Here
Behold the newest addition to my kitchen! Isn't it lovely? This gigantic map was a birthday present from Sean last week and on Saturday we affixed it to the wall. Not, I might add, without playing a neverending round of "Can you find ____ on the map?", a game that will surely serve me well should I ever make it onto Jeopardy. The exact location of the South Sandwich Islands for $10,000, Alex! I'll take it!
There's so much more I want to say---honestly, I have a whole dissertation on "just about" and how I WAS ROBBED!---but I spent much of Sunday prone and whimpering in bed, having been felled by some sort of....well, I don't even know what it is; it's not a cold because my nose isn't stuffy at all, but someone has obviously crept in during the middle of the night and sandpapered my throat to rawness while punching me repeatedly in the head. My neck hurts. My skin hurts. My hair hurts. I hardly ever get sick, so this is no fun at all. Aside from the part where you're a little high on Dayquil at work. That part's kind of fun.
Feb 14, 2011
We're now up to 21 globes, a map wall clock and three wall maps (vintage Sicily and Arctic Circle, one regular world map), though I am insanely jealous of the magnitude of your birthday map. Whenever we buy a house, we're going to have a room simply titled "The World," and its sole purpose will be to display our globe and map collection.
Feb 15, 2011
Your eating area is lovely. In the area where the white lamp is sitting, it really looks like it is floating with all the dark color around it! how did you do that a floating lamp?
Feb 15, 2011
Oh .. I really have to do this, I'm sorry :D Can you find Slovenia on a map? :)))
Feb 15, 2011
Wow - that bug has crossed the Atlantic now? Had it just after Christmas and it was horrid - sore throat, ear ache, ridiculously painful headache, v. high temp (was in bed with socks, leggings and a jumper and two duvets and still shivering!) and even the root of my tongue hurt! It was a killer and I sincerely hope you are feeling much much better!
I love the map - I'm a little obsessed with maps too and am looking for the perfect vintage globe (I often buy old maps in antique shops, along with old lacy table cloths and handkerchiefs, from which I intend to make cushion covers one day. The fabric, that is, not the maps). If you have one of them, I may just ignite with envy!
Feb 15, 2011
The map is brilliant. My friend has one by her dining table and it really is such a great conversation/competition starter.
Feb 15, 2011
I thought I was obsessed with maps until I read Camels and Chocolate. However don't think she mentioned glass covered mapped coffee table ;)
Feb 15, 2011
Would Sean be willing to part with the information on WHERE he found that map?? I've been searching high and low for a decent, large wall map that didn't look like the one from my 2nd grade classroom (so no Soviet Union or bright primary colors). I want your kitchen to be my kitchen.
Feb 15, 2011
I can just about see your birthday map around that huge freakin' lamp.
P.S. That means I can't actually see it.
HA!
Feel better, you.
Feb 15, 2011
Lindsey, I'm pretty sure that's the PREMIÄR Ikea map I've been lusting over for the last few years. There is a link here for you: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70119430
It's on my wish list for next time we move house!
The kitchen looks amazing Holly, and happy belated birthday!
Feb 15, 2011
I hope you feel better soon. And, I authorize a complete Birthday and Valentine's Day Do Over for you once you're well.
Feb 15, 2011
I love the map, particularly against the light fixture and the vintage buffet against that back wall. I've been looking for a similar buffet for a while. Well played, madam.
Feb 15, 2011
This just gave me a huge shot of nostalgia: my grandparents used to have a world map behind their kitchen table. I grew up eating my grandmother's stew and tracing my finger over far-off places like Mongolia, Madagascar, the Maldives...
Feel better. I wish I could bring you some of that stew.
Feb 15, 2011
If the throat isn't better in a day or two, or you have a high fever with it, head for a Doc and have a quick Strep test done. We've had a pretty bad strep season here and it's a bear to get rid of sometimes.
The map is beautiful and I second the person asking where Sean found it.
Feb 15, 2011
I love your chairs but I'm biased because I have the same but with arms. Same table too but walnut top. Your place looks gorgeous.
Feb 15, 2011
Holly,
I think you have strep throat. One of the symptoms is a severe sore throat and horrible headache. My doctor said that whenever someone says their hair hurts with a sore throat that is usually what it is. Good news is that with meds you should be fine by tomorrow!
Kate
Feb 15, 2011
I'm just still flabbergasted that I/you/we lost the poll. "Just about" means that you CAN do it! (And while I was born in South Korea, I was raised in the U.S.)
But don't worry, Holly, all of those other people are totally entitled to their wrong opinions. ;)
Feb 15, 2011
Thanks all! Vicki is right, the map is the "PREMIAR" from IKEA. I've been gazing at it for five years (only ever in IKEA though, not my own house until now.)
Feb 15, 2011
I have that same map and I love it so much. It's great at parties.
Feb 15, 2011
Looks lovely! Feel better soon!
Feb 15, 2011
My parents have this map in their living room and it's probably my favorite thing in their house. I've been looking for the perfect map for a long time myself, but none of them ever have this size or this great color scheme!
Always loved this map, and it looks splendid in your kitchen! :)
Feb 15, 2011
What a lovely gift - and what a superb idea for geography fun!
Feel well soon.
Feb 15, 2011
the map looks gorgeous! love it!!! i'm going to be on the lookout for one of my own.
Feb 15, 2011
Lovely! Do you mind sharing where you purchased the buffet/cabinet that is under the map? I'm looking for one just like it!
And, happy belated birthday!
Feb 15, 2011
Sara, it belongs to my parents. My mother bought it from one of my grandmother's friends 30 years or so ago. Sorry, that's probably the most unhelpful thing I could ever have told you! I do know it's German in origin and has a marble top. Craigslist or ebay searching, I guess? Apologies!
Feb 15, 2011
As someone who has lived in the US and the UK, I can totally understand how the different construction works, and why you see it one way, and he sees it the other. It's like the use of the phrase "Could do," which is very UK.
I think that the way this comes about is that the underlying implication of the American version is "I can almost do it," or "I can just about do it," while the UK construction is "I've almost done it," or "I've just about done it, and in a moment I will have done it."
It's so very British.
Feb 15, 2011
if you ever get to seattle make sure you check out the really cool map shop in the sanitary market which is just a block up from pike place market. i think you might love it!
Feb 15, 2011
Simon - to use your own definition - you're saying "I've just about done it, and in a minute I will have done it"... which translates to "I have NOT DONE IT, and in a minute I will have done it." By the sheer simple meaning of the second half of the sentence, we know that the first half of the sentence means it has not been done. You have effectively proved what those of us who know what we're talking about showed in the vote.
Feb 15, 2011
Very cool! I love the map theme.
Feb 15, 2011
Marcheline,
What I'm getting at is that the implied portion of the sentence, the unspoken part, is different in each culture. I think we all agree that the phrase "just about" means "almost."
The difference here is that British people imply a clause that Americans don't imply when saying "Just about."
Americans mean, "I can almost do it, but I cannot actually do it." The British mean "I can do it, and I have almost done it, and soon I will have done it."
In other words, the substituted "almost" means to Americans "I cannot do it, but I almost can." The British are saying, "I can do it, and I am almost completed with the process of doing it."
It's subtle, but this is why talking to a British person can drive you up the wall.
Feb 15, 2011
It's just so lovely, Holly and Sean. Well done! If you don't mind my asking - where did you get the beautiful metal pendant hanging over your table? I'm on the prowl for a similar fixture. It's gorgeous!
Feb 15, 2011
Thanks, Lindsay! It's just good old IKEA. It's called the FOTO: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00128188
Feb 15, 2011
Hey! very good!
Thanks for sharing!
Feb 16, 2011
Nope, I am still sure we're right about 'just about'. After all, when you say you're 'just about to go out', you mean that you're going out, don't you, not that you're staying in! Just about means you can do something, but it's a squeeze or you haven't quite done it yet.
Feb 16, 2011
Finally my obsessive knowledge of the Ikea catalogue pays off :0)
I check out that map every single time we go to Ikea, but unfortunately the only wall big enough for it in my apartment is already taken up by a giant mirror. Ah well, next time we move!
Feb 16, 2011
Oh my goodness, that's amazing! I think it looks wonderful. I wish it was as easy to find a Gall-Peters map of that size/color/awesomeness. I feel guilty on my imperialistic ancestor's behalf everytime I see Africa on the Mercator map projection.
Feb 16, 2011
I think I might be in love with your house.
Feb 16, 2011
Beautiful!
Seriously.
Feb 16, 2011
Oh, I love it! Like Zan's, my grandparents also had a world map over their kitchen table. I want to have one too, if I ever have a proper kitchen table!
Feb 17, 2011
I LOVE the map. I have been map shopping for my toddler's room but now I am thinking I need to just get one for the whole family! I hope you feel better soon!
Feb 19, 2011
Isobel - the phrase we were talking about was "just about", not "just about to". They are completely different, and mean completely different things. You and Min should hang out together. And still, even if you want to use your example, if you say you are just about to do something, you have not done it at the time you're saying it. Just because you think you are going to do it doesn't preclude that piano falling on you from the fourth floor window.
Simon - you're a funny mofo!
Feb 21, 2011
I LOVE the map!! I think that is such a cool idea for your dining area or anywhere, really. I laughed out loud at the Sandwich Islands part. Ha! I heard about your blog from SuzRocks. So glad I did! Following you now. :)
Mar 15, 2011
That map and that stretch of wall are a match made in decorating heaven.
Totally perfect and I love it.
Post new comment