Monday 6 June 2011

Day 227 & 247-OM

Pic taken in Aug 2009 after a hard day's work..

Remember OM? 

...of building table, daybeds and other furniture for the Fair  

No, not the ashram Omm but OM or Old Man who is ironically, the most hardworking character in the village although he is hardly ever seen in anything but a supine position. 


This was OM when we first met two years ago and I have yet to find another I love more. I was smitten at first sight despite his awful stone blue chaise lounge-village style. And I spared no expense  for love. 

OM and relatives in front of what was to be The Rolla House-12 Aug 2009
Not only did I have to pay for him and his three generations worth of relatives plus family priest and pet (he refused to go home with me without them), I also had to give him carte blanche for the building of  the Rolla's home. 

OM at the Family Store 2009

Two years and an almost completed Rolla House later, I decided it was time to broach the subject of the chaise lounge with OM. I remembered that day clearly. It was a nice bright Saturday morning in February i.e. Day 229 and I found OM under the big tree just outside the house in his usual position, eyes half closed. 

Hello OM, I started, taking yet another break? 

I need it to clean the alcove here...OM grunted

Yes, of course, another challenging project?
But I am sure you will figure something out.

Silence from OM, eyes almost fully closed.

And you have done such a beautiful job on the house too.

Slight snore

Now that the house is almost done
I was thinking we should maybe get you a new chair....

No! No! No!
plus a few unpleasant threats with eyes wide open.

 I stormed off in anger but about 15 minutes later, this is what I saw.


OM has somehow in that 15 minutes, managed to make his chaise look even older and dirtier.


As if that was not enough to drive me nuts, he had also laid a torn and filthy strip of bamboo mat over the seat. 

I stood flabbergasted as OM told me with a wicked twinkle 
Let me introduce you to my new chair, Sans!  

And that was my 1st lesson on : Do not TRY to tell OM what to do if it is not what he wants to do. 

20 doll days later, I learnt my 2nd lesson. It started with me asking OM maybe he should think about getting some  new clothes, even a haircut. He then asked me for some fabric. Something sexy, he said. 


I took out from my stash a colourful piece of ribbon which I thought he could make into a really *hot* and skimpy singlet. I also handed over some fake fur (nice hat?) and a  strip of horse hair ( sassy bow tie?) which I had saved from a pair of broken DKNY shoes.



And this was what he did with my precious ribbon. He put the cloth over his lap and cut out enough of it to cover his knees and feet. He then rubbed the cut piece in mud and soaked it in water, to soften and comforta-fy (a word he invented from its root word comfortable) the fabric, he claimed. 


While the cloth was still wet, he put it over his knees while lying in his new chair, closed his eyes and slept. When he woke, the cloth had dried and miraculously, it had folded and stiffen , without losing its softness mind you, to form around OM's lap and feet like a 2nd skin. 


When I next saw OM, he was as usual relaxing in that chair of his, this time in what appeared to be a new cotton shirt and sarong . He even had a towel thrown over his right shoulder but because he had worn them to clean the alcove (yes, he had already made the ladder) , OM's  new clothes already looked suitably seasoned.  


OMee-heavens, is that hair on OM's head and face ? ? ?

No wonder he could not tell me when  I asked him what happened to my fake fur and horse hair. 



You laugh now, OM told me with a shrug.
One day, all the best and greatest will want the OM Look.
You just wait and see.



You think OM was right?

42 comments:

rosanna said...

Teehee, you always make me laugh!!! I love how OM turned out, I thought of Einstein before I saw the pic. So funny!

Plushpussycat said...

How silly and fun! OM has reinvented himself, and he is looking quite dapper, and maybe a little MORE intelligent, if that is even possible! ;-)

Flora said...

Ah Ah Ah :-D
If I may, now that he has become more mature, has more charm...
Beautiful woven blanket

Norma Soulet (AZArtist) said...

Oh Sans, You are so funny! The OM looks like Einstein for sure! LOL
Hugs

BiWuBär said...

OM really has a style of his own... the OM-look... great. What a funny story! And I can absolutely understand your feelings with OM doing what he wants and not what you want him to do... it's exactly the same thing with Flutterby. He used to be one BiWuBär among others and is now developing his own bearsonality day by day. I can only hope he won't go for the OM-look... ;O)

Have a great week - and special greetings to OM!
Birgit

Daydreamer said...

Dear Sans! You have worked MIRACLES with this man of all trades who must, of course, rest from his labors! He looks so amused by his new hairstyle.... perhaps the Rip Van Winkle job of the dollhouse world?... he fell asleep for a very long time so his beard and hair grew longer....! But he must be smart to know how to rest all the time!
And your improvements to his chaise are just perfect! I am Always amazed at what vision you have for your projects! I Love it! You have worked wonders.... and I love the telling of his story too.....:)

Sans! said...

Rosanna, one of my biggest pleasure is the ability to amuse. Glad I can still do a bit of that , hehe, so thank you! :)

You know, maybe OM himself has seen Einstein beforehand. :)I myself love the resemblance.

Sans! said...

Jennifer, OM is clearly a confident man and he takes pride in the way he looks but a dapper he is not :). I am sure he will be mighty pleased to hear your compliments though.

I have made his clothes dirty with the wet blanket (teehee) and torn. When I show the completed external part of the house, this story will be the background to what he was doing.

Sans! said...

Flora, the woven blanket came from a big piece of ribbon. I will send some to you :). I think it is versatile enough for both the shabby and maybe a more elegant setting.

I have a long list of to send and I am trying to do at least 2 a month but May and June is so hectic !!!! arghhhh

Sans! said...

O really? Norma S , you think he really looks like Einstein? I am over the moon. Thank you!!!!

I really do love OM. For me, he is like the old man I want to grow up to be if I am a man :). OM is inventive and a thinker and totally careless about leaving an impression. So you see him lying around in his chair the whole time and yet he's the man around the house, building, inventing, repairing even stitching and cooking. But because he uses both his brains and muscles so much, he also rest well. He is a very wise man. In my story, he is Ro's father and Ro takes after him in the sense that she is also creative and good with her hands and cooking but unlike her father, Ro feels a little guilty if she is seen relaxing too much. Just like most strong women I know ..hahaha ;P Kind of like the mural painting 2 posts before this.

But societal pressure does not help either. When men relax, they are tolerated. When women do, it is frowned upon and labelled "sloth".

Oops, this was meant to be a short reply. Hahaha!

Sans! said...

Hahahaha, Birgit, you cracked me up! Flutterby with the OM look. OMG, OM will be so super thrilled that there is a bear out there who wants to look like him :). OM will not give credit to Einstein for that look but sadly, the person who made it famous is not the creator (OM of course) but Einstein, the "copycat", teehee. I read that

You know OM and Einstein could very well be from the same era because my setting is British India.

This is what I had read about Einstein and his dressing.

"Another story about Einstein that is highly exaggerated but has some basis in reality concerns his clothing. Many say that Einstein wore the same thing every day and had a closet full of the exact same suit, shirts, ties, and shoes. This isn't true, especially when Einstein's second wife, Elsa, was alive. Elsa took a firm hand when it came to her husband's appearance, and pictures of the two of them touring everything from Japan to the American Southwest show Einstein in beautiful silk vests, and dapper neckwear -- as well as in a kimono and an American Indian headdress. But after Elsa passed away and Einstein spent his last 20 years as a professor emeritus at Princeton, his clothing did become more, er, irregular. He openly disliked wearing a suit and while already legendary for often going sockless, now he wore sandals. Perhaps the most common pictures of Einstein from that time show him happily shuffling around his Princeton study wearing a big gray sweatshirt. Luckily for Einstein, his life coincided with the invention of the cotton sweatshirt -- for he was enamored of the soft warm comfortable garment."

How very OM of Einstein :):)!

Sans! said...

Thank you thank you thank you Bets :):).

OM is a Rip Van Wrinkle (sic) only for the wrinkly part ..teehee :) I am afraid the old man knows exactly what he is doing, never mind the why he does it.Not only that, I think OM has been the driving force behind the building of Ro's home.

I had thought the Rolla house was built for and around Ro, the lady of the house and maybe it was but for most part, it is clear to me now that the builder was OM.

I am sure for most if not all of us, dollhouses are built this way: We 1st give the "intended occupants" (even when no dolls were used) personalities and then build the house to reflect these personalities. I know you do :)

Kathy said...

I really like the ribbon. I can do without of mud and soaked it in water! It doesn't see, comforta-fy.

Ascension said...

Sans......xD, es clavadito a Einstein jejejejejejejejejejejejejeje, no se si lo has hecho a proposito pero te ha quedado como su hermano gemelo jejeje
Ha sido uan buena idea lo de ponerle la esterilla queda mas real y si encima le pones esa preciosa mantita mejor (de que esta hecha?).
He tenido problemas para traducir y entender (cuando utilizas segun que signos, me las veo y me las deseo para saber que has dicho jeje)
Me encanta esas figuras, son tan bonitas.
besitos ascension

The Old Maid said...

Another great make-over Sans! I should say make-overs ;D Love the new chaise look and OM looks much more handsome and younger now:) guess he will have a blogland's fan-club now ;D

Natalia's Fine Needlework said...

Sans! I am so glad you are back from your vacation. I missed your stories and now I enjoy reading all of your interesting posts and listen to the beautiful music on your blog. Thank you very much! Natalia

Kim said...

oh my- what a handsome man OM is with his make over! How will he get any work done now- the ladies will be bothering him too much! I especially love that he has a touch of grey in his hair- so distinguished looking :) You work miracles Sans :)

dalesdreams said...

Girlfriend, you crack me up! :)

Glenda said...

That OM sure does have attitude!!
Love the chair! I can imagine him lying there, just quietly murmuring small comments on improvements and lazily lifting a small finger to emphasise a point, and what's more, everyone's happy to agree!
The Einstein of the Ashram, haha :D
xxx Glenda

Jollie said...

Those are some very amuzing make overs Sans! I really enjoy your inspiration and OM looks a lot like Einstein now :)

Thank you for sharing allt he beautiful photos too, I just caught up with everything... dind't have a lot of time for blogs lately :(

Big Hug, Jollie
p.s. Love your background music soo much!

Margriet said...

I love your stories Sans..they make me laugh ;-)
OM looks wonderful, I like the Einstein-look...and he's sooooo relaxed!!!

Unknown said...

wah ha ha so so damn funny can!! X{D
(see my emoticon also got moustache!)

My Realitty said...

Lol! Such a character! CM

Meapuntoatodo said...

Yuo are funny !!! The OM rest after working all life ... ? He seems to be OK . The ribbon looks very comfortable.
I wwoud like give you a small gift, it is in my blog. Thank you Sans. Mariajo

Unknown said...

Well, they say that Einstein did his best and hardest work earlier in his life, and it was more reputation than invention in his later years, maybe OM is working, or not working in that kind of model. Maybe he's working hard deep within, and his hair and moustache is the physical manifestation of all this inner energy? Um. Well...Probably not.

Pubdoll said...

Sorry for the delay my dear, I have to share the computer with my kids who use it every weekday evening for their homework (at least that's what they tell me).

Love the story, I chuckled when reading about you paying for OM and his extended family. OM was cool even before, but now he's fabulous, I love his new look, especially his Einsteiny hair and moustache! I'm guessing he has a lot of female admirerers!
And he's done a great job on that chair as well!

Sans! said...

I agree, Kathy O-O, only a crazy old man will rub this precious ribbon in mud although it did soften the fabric a bit (kind of like stone washed jeans) :) and aged it considerably.

OM asked if you want the rest of what he didn't use. He promised not to mud rub it :).

Sans! said...

Ascensión, una vez más, le doy las gracias por su paciencia y elogios.

Yo no tenía intención de OM para parecerse a Einstein. Pero porque no puedo hacer el pelo OM así, el pelo de Om terminó buscando jajajajajajaja loco. Y que otra parte del mundo tiene el pelo loco? Einstein, por supuesto:), que ahora creo que es mellizos OM. jeje

Yo no hice la manta. En realidad, es una cinta. ¿Te gusta? ;)

Creo que la palabra se encuentra difícil de traducir es "* HOT* "? o hot? Hot se utiliza generalmente para describir picante o el clima. Pero en este caso se utiliza como una palabra del argot para "sexy":). Creo que sexy es casi un lenguaje universal ahora? jajajaja

La próxima vez, usted tiene alguna dificultad con la traducción, simplemente copia y pega el paso o la palabra y me escriba en el cuadro de comentario y voy a tratar de escribir mejor para la traducción para usted:). Mi estilo de escritura es ya difícil de entender en Inglés porque no me gusta usar ciertas marcas de puntuacion por ejemplo, entre comillas. Por lo tanto, utilizar colores o cursiva para indicar conversación.

Estoy agradecido de que amigos como ustedes siguen leyendo a pesar de mi post me hace tan difícil de entender. Así que será un placer todo lo posible por traducir para usted, ¿ok?

besos y abrazos

Sans! said...

Ewa, Om will lose his fans in no time if ever he has any because he will never reply fan letters, sign autographs or take pictures with them :).

But he says thank you :) .....only because I typed this for him :)

Sans! said...

And Natalia, I am glad to see you here :):) but I think you are here to remind me about stitching..hahaha. Ok , I will start tomorrow ! I solemnly promise.

Now that the competition is over, I will have time for my 1st love (non-human)again. MINI!!!!

Sans! said...

O Kim, miracles ? I am so blushing.

Psssst, by the way , your remark has OM going red as well...with anger that it took a "miracle" to transform him into "distinguish".

I don't think you need ever worry about him being a ladies' man.

Sans! said...

O Dale :). Thank you!

Sans! said...

GLENDA!!!!!!!! So are you settled at your new home???? When's the update?...ok after I typed that, I went to your blog and saw that you did have an update on 4/6. *slaps own head!

So, anyway, OM "just quietly murmuring small comments on improvements and lazily lifting a small finger to emphasise a point, and what's more"- he can dream on. Who can he murmur to? Anyway, you know his type? The type who prefer to do everything themselves because the others are not good enough and teaching them is a waste of time?

But I can tell you who is the "loud comments on improvements and lazily lifting a finger to emphasise a point" type, my darling daddy :). Cos mum is the OM type :).

Sans! said...

Thank you Jollie! So good that you came by and enjoyed the music. That selection comprises of some of the meditation songs by Snatam Kaur, the ones that I like :). The 1st one is entitled Hari Om in honour of you know who :).

I will play this selection again in another ashram post.

Sans! said...

Heyyyyy Margriet!! Long time no see!

Thank you :)

By the way , OM only "looks" relaxed.

Sans! said...

Cindy, you know when people typed LOL when they are really not. Well, I freaking really did!

I seriously think you are way funnier than me.You had me at { !!!!! hahahahha....I now want it for my own. :{) ( man with a weak moustache) >{. (wicked man with a mole) 8{ (Ghandi)

Love
S{ns!

Sans! said...

That's why I love him, Carol.

Sans! said...

Meapunto, THANK YOU for the award! Really touched that you thought of me . I have just posted it on my left bar :):).

You ask if "The OM rest after working all life?" The answer is no, OM is so good at work and life balance that he can work all his life because he always rest enough :)

Sans! said...

O Amy, I think everyone has misunderstood OM (which is precisely where OM wants to lead you). It really is him doing all the work, making all the inventions in the house etc. He just likes working when NOBODY is watching and pretends to rest when everyone is. But how long can someone watch another resting huh?

The greatest compliment to OM is when someone goes "you mean you made all these things when you were resting here? No way??"

And if you thought he was resting, you were again mistaken. That was when he was thinking.

Ommmmm

Sans! said...

Hey Helene! Were you late? Didn't even notice ;p!

O boy, what a week for me . I think life's a bit nuts for both of us huh BUT I really hope you read the nest post because now , I have something in common with Mari :):).

Thank you , dear friend for your compliments and for stopping by despite your crazy schedule. But if I were you, I would want to take back the computer and never trust the kids completely where computers are concerned!

Drora's minimundo said...

Your Einstein OM looks completely relaxed in his made over seat. I had fun reading this post.

Sans! said...

I am glad you enjoyed yourself Drora :):).

You know Drora, he came in a set but I only wanted him. The shop owner however absolutely refused to just sell the old man without the others..haha

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