Dolls, Music & Youthful Memories

The other day I went out and did a bit of shopping even though it meant me descending into the bowels of Hell, but had to "blow off the house stink, " as my ex-mother-in-law used to say. I told my hubby that we were running out of toilet paper, and he replied "his" brand was not on sale. Well, I told him that toilet paper was one of those items you just can't wait for a sale, right?? He's very particular about the kind he prefers, so I trekked out to Target to get a couple of packages. While there I decided I was going to treat myself to some music. My weakness' are music, books and art supplies...I'll take those things over a diamond any day...really! However, with the simplicity and easiness of downloading music off the Internet, it's becoming more and more difficult to find stores that still carry CD's. I like downloading, but if I can buy the CD first, that's the direction I like going. So I went to the music area of Target and they still had a small cache of CD's. The other day, I was singing this song, "Somos," and my son, who doesn't speak Spanish, asked me if I knew the entire song since I was just singing the same lyrics over and over again...told him that's all I remember!! So back to Target, I found this collection by Eydie Gorme. Yes, Eydie Gorme, she sang great and wonderful songs in Spanish. When I was a kid, I recall seeing her and her husband, Steve Lawrence, entertaining at various hotels and clubs in Las Vegas. We used to go there practically every year, after Disneyland. Back then, Vegas was the ultimate mecca for many entertainers (& the Mafia). We always stayed at the Sands, which was razed many years ago. Anyway, I read the song selections and it took me back to the summer 1969, no, not Woodstock, NY, but Mexico City, my summer of love.

That summer I went with my best buddy, Judy, and her mother. They went every year to visit friends and vacation there and Acapulco. That year, my folks gave me permission to go with them after being invited a couple of years before. I was 17 and had just broken up with my boyfriend, so I was ready for new adventures. We stayed at this gorgeous hotel on the Zona Rosa, an area bustling with trendy boutiques, restaurants, and night clubs. On the second day of our stay, that morning we got ready for the day and we all realized we had been robbed...of our underwear, slips and petti-pants (cutsie bloomers). Of course, the hotel was very magnanimous and reimbursed us for our replacements since the only pair of drawers were the ones we were wearing. Judy's mother was so angry at this that she found other accommodations for the 3 of us. As I said, they had lots of friends down there and one of them found this wonderful little flat off La Reforma. There we spent the next month enjoying all the wonders Mexico City had to offer. One of the friends lent us a record player and plenty of vinyls for our listening pleasure. No Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix, or any of the artists teenagers listened to back in those day, but songs all in Spanish. For some reason, Judy and I gravitated to the Eydie Gorme.

I met quite a few of their friends, one family had 14 kids and all living at home. I recall going over there for lunch, and in the middle of their living room, was this long dining table....filled with all sorts of delicious foods and drinks. A couple of the older sibs were students at the University and were Communists. Yea, real live Commies!! Don't worry, I didn't fall for their propaganda, but it was still exciting for a couple of 17 year olds to be among such a diverse group of people. Upon my return from Mexico City, my mother asked me if I had gone to see the sites, the Pyramid of the Sun, El Zocalo, Xochimilco, etc. I told her I had not, but went to these really cool coffee houses and clubs were Communists hung out!! LOL Ok, also went to a few nice night clubs, not Commie friendly, and danced the night away. We even took a bus ride to Puebla, a very historic city, and stayed with these wealthy people....I remember the guy had the gout and was such a turd!! The bus ride was worth it. We sat in the back with many of the indigenous types...they offered us food and drink from their baskets...making small tacos and burritos and of course, it was all homemade.

We made this stop somewhere in between and this young couple got on, went directly to the back of the bus and quietly sat down. We then heard what we thought sounded like a pig. Well, it was a pig, a piglet and under her shawl, she hid a rooster and a duck wrapped in another shawl....we had a farm in the back of the bus! The bus driver stopped the bus after he heard the piggy oink and asked if anyone was carrying animals, which apparently aren't allowed on the buses. No answer from anyone, but Judy and I had to contain our laughter....tears running down our faces!! LOL

All in all, it was a great adventure for us and one we'll never forget. We still laugh about the time we went to a fortune teller who read a small demitasse cup after drinking a thick coffee concoction. I think there was molasses at the bottom of the cup, which settled after drinking the coffee and then we'd turn it up upside down on the saucer and the molasses would coat the inside of the cup. I was to meet a tall, dark, good-looking stranger with a mole on his cheek. When we arrived in Puebla, these friends of her mother's had sons, who introduced us to their friends. We were "Las bellas del Norte," or the beautiful girls from up North...you could hang your laundry on some of those lines!! A small group of guys walked into the family room and there he was, the guy with the mole on his cheek...Judy and I just broke out into laughter...they never knew what was so funny. I didn't hook up with Mole Boy but the whole incident was hilarious anyway. These guys took us out one evening and introduced us to "chanclas" or better known around here as a "chimichangas." There in Puebla, they were called "chanclas" or slippers in English. In fact, the first time I had a chimichanga, from Taco Hell to boot, I called it a chancla and they looked at me like I was growing lobsters out my ears!! I recall these same young men bought us each a bouquet of roses...11 of them. We wondered what the heck was wrong with them....around these parts we get a dozen, but they told us that the 12th rose was us...oy vey...what schmalz!! Like I said, you could hang your laundry on some of those lines. They told us they liked "las Nortenas," because we had the reputation of being very honest, and did they ever get a truckload of it too!! LOL

When I arrived back home to El Paso, I called my grandfather to thank him for the spending cash he sent me and he began laughing...said he could tell I had been to the "capital" because I was singing in Spanish...apparently the accent down there. Also, while I was gone, my sister decided to marry her psycho boyfriend from CA, so I went from the airport to the seamstress for my dress fitting...nah, it wasn't one of those military weddings, like everyone there had a gun, but she was under the gun to either stay in El Paso and finish out her college or marry the jerk or he would break up with her...too bad she didn't take him up on that offer.

I also purchased the new CD by Adele, "Rolling In The Deep." If you haven't heard of her, look her up on YouTube. That young woman has one hell of a voice and her lyrics are just as powerful...now that's a break up song if I ever heard one.

I have some good news too. After 4 little boys, my daughter and her husband are expecting a girl!! Yea!! They actually went through some kind of process that prepares the system to ready itself for a particular gender. I won't go into it (really funny shit too), but it worked. It will be interesting to see how that household will function with 2 Queen Bees now!! LOL So I went to one of my favorite little shops yesterday and told the owner that come Jan. I want her to make that tutu I've been waiting to order...it's going to sickly sweet....want my teeth to ache!! I just had to buy something for my future little girl, so I got this little headband for her...it will match that little skelly outfit she described to me. Yep, the girl's going to be "skellied" up, just like her older bros.



Speaking of skellies, here are 4 more little skellie ladies I completed last week. Had a blast making them. Luckily, I don't set everything in stone, so I was able to do some changes from my original idea and it turned out lots better.



Today, we're having some friends and family over for a "meatfest." I'm not sure what kind of meat yet, but I'm making a huge batch of potato salad and maybe, if I want to heat up my house, bake some dessert...maybe I'll just go out and buy ice cream. Also, please continue keeping Dana in your prayers or good vibes. This whole thing has been a total travesty and poor little Hunter is scared he's going to lose his mother...I hate lawyers, judges, etc. There is no such thing as a Hall of Justice, but a Hall of Injustice. People can lie on the stand and actually get away with it, judge knowing there's some fudging going on too!!

Well, my friends, hope you have a great weekend and next week be a good one. Take care and as always, peace out.