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.

Love Story, New Doll & Aging

Sunday I was hit with the "I'm so fried and bored," bug that I decided to just sit around all day and waste my precious time on watching television. Why I felt brain fried, well, I really don't know. It's not as if I've been doing anything terribly intelligent that necessitates using lots of brain power, so I chalk it up to the heat and humidity. I have already complained incessantly about our evaporative cooler...an oscillating fan and a spritzer bottle filled with water does a better job at cooling me down than that piece of crap, so I just lounged away the day. I was hoping to find "Time Bandits" which has been playing lots on cable, but nope, no listing for Sunday...drat. DH wanted to see NASCAR and I'm not one to oblige him with my company on such programming, so I left the comfort of the living room and came into the bedroom, or deadroom!! However, I did take my spritzer bottle and told him since he got to use the big tv with all the really cool cable channels and I relegated to the deadroom, I get the spritzer bottle! So off I went, sprawled on the bed and turned on the tv to see what was playing. I found a new channel, OWN, ok, I know, you're asking, "Georgina, where in the hell have you been??" I had no idea the famous Oprah had her own channel..ahem, excuse the pun!!

So what's playing, "Love Story," based on Erich Segals novel with the same name.

Wow, did that bring back memories. I had just graduated from high school in 1970 and was entering my first semester in collage that summer session...bad idea! I had no problems in high school because I was a product of both private and public education. I attended an all girl's school the first 2 years of high school and loved it. I worked my patooty off, burning the midnight oil every night...that was a rigorous curriculum set for us goils. My sister had just graduated in '66, the same year I entered high school, and she was off to a fancy, shamncy private college, University of San Francisco, which is Jesuit run. So fast forward '68, I was taken out of my wonderful, comfy environment and foisted into public ed. The reason being, is that I wasn't doing well in my private high school...had a B+ average...WTF???? The real reason, unbeknownst to me at the time, was that my dad was struggling with my sis' tuition and something had to give...guess who??? I later learned of this, but to this day, my mother sticks with her story, it was my failure to compete well enough!! Whatever!!

I realized once in public school, the rigors of or lack of, were very different. I breezed through my Junior & Senior year without any problems...didn't bother to compete...why, it was too easy! However, I wasn't given the same opportunities as my sis, so I had to stay here at our local university...she had met some psycho moron in CA, married him and spent the next 9 years of her life in complete terror...he was a psycho, so my folks didn't want that for me, so here I stayed, to find my own TX psycho!! LOL

So I read the movie was coming out and was so excited. I loved Ali McGraw!! She was a big time model, now would be considered a "super" model, and she was one of the few women I had seen in the fashion and teen mags that wasn't blond, blue-eyed with a cutsie nose. She was tall, thin, brunette with dark eyes, kinda like me at the time. I knew who Ryan O'Neil was from the "Peyton Place" television series; loved watching him and Mia Farrow. I had read the book sometime before that. I remember I took a bus to one of my fav book stores downtown and stood in line to buy the book, which took me all of 3 hours to read!! LOL Easy reading, folks! I wonder what happened to that copy...I know I still had it in my old house, during my other life, so maybe I just left it there, who knows.

I went to see the movie with my boyfriend, Bill. We had just started dating and he was really cute, tall, 6'5", blond, green eyes, great smile...was a dream!! Someone once told me he was a "Robert Redford," type...yep, have you seen how well that guy aged...eeeewww!! So Bill and I went to see love story and I used most of my Kleenex tissues from my little pocket package. What a great movie, so I thought back in 1970 when I was 18.

So fast forward 41 years later, I'm watching it again in my deadroom, I'm no longer 18 nor slim with long dark brown hair, but short with lots of gray, about 80 lbs. over what I was back then, sprawled out on my bed with the oscillating fan going full blast, spritzer in hand, watching this incredibly dumb movie!! What happened to me?? When did I become such a non-romantic, when did I stop loving love stories, when did I stop appreciating badly written scripts??? "Love means never having to say your sorry??" WHAT?????!!!!!!! Oh, pleeeezzzzz!!!! Now that's a bunch of bull caca!! It seems that's the only time you say your sorry because you always hurt the people you love, so again, pleeeezzzz!! After than was over, there was this program about Ryan O'Neil and his daughter, Tatum. They apparently haven't spoken to each other in 25 years or something like that and this "reality" show was about them reconciling or something like that. Turned that off, grabbed a book and read instead...should have done that to begin with.

So this started me thinking, what's with all this aging crap that's going on? I don't know about you, ladies, but all of a sudden I find that I'm growing things that were never there just a few years ago, even during my menopause. So what's with the red, dry spots that just randomly pop up on your body? I have had 2 on my left arm for a while now...not cancer, had it checked out, but these red spots, then I found two more on my right leg, then just last week, I found 2 more on my neck and clavical area. What's with the 2's, do they travel in pairs like scorpions?? Also, my sis and I were discussing these horrible little things called "skin tags." GROSS!! I have developed those also, one on the back of my neck and found 3 of them under my left breast the other day. I recall my dad having them on his neck and stomach.....what's with that?? They're small, but I know they're there and it's really getting annoying...I'm becoming a "Crone!" Just waiting for a skin tag to develop on my nose, which will eventually collapse since I don't have a septum...blew it out with over-usage of Afrin back when I was a young woman, my hands are already boney and veiny, like my mother's (I was always afraid I'd get her ugly, bony hands and I did), a curved spine....hell, just waiting for a broom stick now!! All I can say is there is no such thing as growing old with dignity, but I don't intend to fight it either...as they say, sh-- happens and it happens after 50 for many of us!!

Also, thought I'd show you my newest doll from the ADO (Art Dolls Only) monthly challenge, "Celestial Summer Nights." Well, mine isn't exactly ethereal and light and beautiful, but more nightmarish...just got the idea and ran with it. May I introduce you to "Black-Hole Hannah," the meanest black hole in the Universe:


I made her out of paper & polymer clay, plus, I actually did a bit of sewing! I wish I could put her up on my Etsy shop, but while I was moving the tray from the ironing board with all the parts to assemble, her head flew off and onto the floor...she lost a horn which I had to furiously look for. Love that E600 adhesive and it hid the break, but I can't sell her knowing she's damaged, so she is now part of my "Wall Art" in my studio.

Well, my friends, hope you all have a great week. Will update you on what's going on with my step-daughter-in-law...we have another court hearing this Thurs., so hopefully, it will be resolved so keep her in your prayers and keep sending her good vibes. Oh, by the way, I thought I'd let you know what happened to that really good looking boyfriend, Bill...I married the jerk..and he aged just as badly as Robert Redford!!!! Peace out.

Etsy Shop & Prayers

Yikes, now I know why I procrastinate listing my dolls on Etsy...what a chore!!! I've finally listed everything I have on board, so take a look over at my Etsy shop and buy something!! LOL I haven't set up a PayPal account yet and I know that's important since everyone seems to demand instant gratification, present company included, but again, I'm procrastinating....maybe later on this week. So here's the link or just go to the banner on the right side of my blog. http://www.etsy.com/people/barrobabe?ref=si_pr

I just shipped off a large box to Xico, Inc. and they've already asked for more dolls, so it's off to the lab/studio and get to work on my little darlins'. I was able to play with paper clay the other day and had very little problems working with it, no cracking or drying in my hands.

I'm asking you to keep someone very close to me in your prayers. My step daughter-in-law is going to court tomorrow to fight for custody of her only child. She's a terrific mom, wife and stepmom to her hubby's 3 children...she's an amazing lady and has a full plate with her family, plus, she's going for her B.S. in Nutrition. Her mother started stirring up her caldron (buzz word for witch and beyond if you get my drift) in Oct. Her mother is not a very pleasant person to be around, has this permanent scowl on her recently altered stretched face. She was upset because her grandson was not allowed to visit with her on a weekend, which she gets every other week, because Dana reprimanded him for something he did at school, his punishment was to stay at home that weekend and clean his room and help his stepfather in cleaning out the garage. The woman went into an uproar and that's when the problems began.

In spite of all this, Dana allowed her son to visit his grandmother, even though he has already told his mother on several occasions to please ask her to stop barraging him with "bad questions" about her and his stepfather. About a month ago, CPS shows up at Dana's door with all kinds of accusation from the mother and now, her brother, Mr. Ph.D in social work!! After speaking with Dana and the kids and friends, she was convinced this was just a ploy to put a control Dana, so she closed the case. Again, won't go into any more details, too many and not so interesting, she gets served by her ex that he's going for custody of their son. She was beside herself and we all knew who was behind this web of lies and manipulation. I felt so badly for her, here was a good, hard-working woman who was betrayed by her own mother and now, brother. So tomorrow, we're off to Las Cruces, NM for the hearing, my honey and I will be testifying for Dana and she has an attorney who specializes in these matters that will be speaking for her 8 year old son. The poor little guy is experiencing all kinds of anxieties and fears that he will be taken from his family, so please pray for them or send good vibes out to the Universe. Peace out.

I Hate You, Rain Clouds

This segment of my blog was written yesterday, July 21st, late afternoon:

My mother has this apparatus around her neck that if anything were to happen, she presses the button and an emergency vehicle is on their way, while they are also contacting the next door neighbors, my brother and me. I was reading when the call came through and I didn't recognize the area code...718, but I answered it anyway. They had already hung up after my phone rang for about 3 seconds. They left a message informing me they received an emergency alert from my mother and she wasn't answering. She has this special phone that is connected to the emergency phone line and if there is an emergency they call out to her, like an intercom, if there is no answer, they dispatch the 911. So I listen to the message, call my mother, no answer, call my brother who lives in Las Cruces, NM, about an hour from her house, to see if he had been contacted, he said no....he neglected to give them the new number after he gave his blackberry back to Uncle Sam upon his retirement last month. So I frantically call my mother again, still no answer and leave a message on her machine; I'm on my way.

She's about 10 minutes from where we live, unless there is a wreck on I-10 East, lots of those lovely big rigs slugging along and slowing traffic, 5 p.m traffic or variations or all the above! I knew I had to keep my cool, which is almost impossible due to the fact it's friggin' hot and humid out here...they said 102, but one of the office buildings, along with my car, were reading the temps at 105. I knew I was going to get the slow traffic, all red lights on my way to the interstate and slow traffic heading east. Yeppers, that's exactly what happened! I finally got to her house and as I enter the door from the garage, I hear, "I'm alright, honey!" Of course I was relieved, but all this anxiety and frustration....aaaaaahhhhhhhh!!! So we visited for a bit then I left, knowing the traffic now heading west to my house was going to be even worse and it was.

I decided I wasn't going to rush, after all, my car has a great air conditioner and it's cooler in my car than my house, so I just went with the slower traffic on the far right lane. Now invariably, as one approaches this one particular exit, the one to the mall and all those other neat-o stores which are just down the street from me, everyone who was too impatient to just drive along in the slow lane, now begins to try to swerve into you and try to fit their fat ass' where your front fender should be. 'These are the "entitled ones." The approaching traffic is already, at that hour, bumper to bumper and these crap-heads intrude on your space, so leaving one car length from the car in front means, 20 cars will get into that space just to make sure they get off that exit.

So after that very terrifying experience, the traffic that is, I realized huge clouds just hovering...hovering like a bunch of Amsterdam window ho's, teasing and titillating us with the idea of rain. "I hate you, rain clouds!" They whirl, taunt and tantalize our already simmering brains, tossing out lightening rods and heaving their large billowing blackness with loud thunderous promises of the wet stuff, just to be completely left, high and dry.

Notice the dry shrubbery and the green below it...the Oleanders suffered during the freeze in Feb. and the green is the new growth...plants either died, like many palm trees, or they're coming back slowly, like our neighbor's Oleanders.

That's what looked very promising, but like an old high school flame, it fizzled out. Reminds me of a joke that my grandmother always told us of a little peasant from a small village in Mexico, who was taken to Mexico City and was treated to the opera. When asked about how he liked the opera, he casually explained, "I heard lots of music, but where was the opera?!?" So it loses some in translation, but that's exactly what happened to our black, rain clouds...lots of glitz, noise, but ultimately, it bombed, like a bad John Carpenter movie...oh wait, I love John Carpenter!! LOL

Below is a pic of our air conditioning which has been the mainstay in the desert for many years, till recently. My hubby promised me he would convert to refrigerated air last year for this summer...yea, promises, promises, promises. So this is a "swamp cooler," or "evaporateive cooler" and it works beautifully in April and May, then again in late September, October and even into November, yea, folks, November!!

If you can read the above little graphic, it explains how the worthless piece of dreck works.

The following are my additional words for today, July 23:

So I shall continue to further rant about my air conditioning system. The hubby and I were talking about growing up here back in the 50's and 60's. We had hot weather in the summer, but there was none of that computer, game-boys, DSL or XYZ's or any that technology that impairs our youth today. It might have been in the 3 digits, but we played outside...you can see pics of our Franklin Mountains, well, I played in those mountains. There were always lots of caves to explore, fossils galore, tad-poles that had limited time to mature before the water in the tanks, indentations in the rocks that would fill up with water during the rainy season, rattle snakes that had to be avoided, garden snakes that were caught then let go, horn toads and blue tailed lizards to catch then again, let go. Mother nature was our playground. Later on, a park was built near my house, and we had an extra place to play, but regardless of the hot weather, we were always outside. There was always a neighbor's garden hose to insure we were properly hydrated...at night we spent our time playing hide-&-go-seek or just relaxing under our non-baring Mulberry tree. Nights would cool down to a pleasant 64 or sometimes lower, and in the middle of July!! We would shoo away coyotes that wandered into our streets, looking for "people food" to savor and on occasion, we'd spot a mountain lion also looking for something to eat, usually some old woman's Chihuahua!!

Our swamp coolers were turned off for the night and open windows were sufficient to keep the house cool and comfortable. You see, sand doesn't really retain that much heat for any great length of time, so it would cool down quickly once the sun rested. By the next afternoon, my mother would turn the cooler back on at about noonish and the house would remain very comfortable till it was shut off before my parents bedtime. The humidity was never an issue, we always had rain on July 4th but that never squelched any family gatherings..it was just expected to happen...just like on Good Fridays, the wind blew and we had dust storms...like clock work.

In the last 30 years, the population of our little city has grown expeditiously and with it, progress has come along, giving us more highways, streets, buildings and the ever encouraged, xirescaping...a garden filled with plants, flora and fauna of the desert, utilizing rocks instead of grass. It's a very efficient way to keep water usage down, but with all these additions of concrete, pavements, houses, rocks, etc., the evenings are no longer cool and comfortable. So our house never really cools down from it's 80 degrees during the day with the swamp coolers that run 24/7 at high speed and don't work because now we have high humidity, something we never experienced during my childhood and into the 80's. The times they are a changin' and so it our climate!

Well, I don't know what's going on with Blogger, but for some reason, they're bent on keeping my blog in bold, italicized lettering...I'm giving up and just letting them have their way. I can "Un-bold" the lettering, but not the italicized version...stupid blogger!!!

Today, I'm going into the lab/studio and just let my imagination run again. I already sent off a large box to Xico, Inc. in AZ and have received a reply from Hannah that they want dolls for Dia de los Muertos, so I'm off to make dolls, more ornaments and just what happens to spark my little gray cells., or what's left of them! Hope you all are keeping cool and as I told Anne the other day on FB, after we both complained about the heat and humidity. I told her I've made arrangements for us to spend our summers below the Equator...hope she likes penguins!! Peace out.

Prize, Truckers & Random Stuff

First of all, I want to thank Sylvia Smiser for the wonderful little prize I won over at her blog during the Mad Hatter Party, an event which I regret not participating, but had no time this year. Anyway, I won this adorable little flower. Take a look.

You can take a look at more of Sylvia's work over at her blog, www.anaboocreationsbysylvia.blogspot.com.

I had quite an experience this past Sunday. I happen to be a proud owner of a '99 Intrepid. When my father went legally blind, he gave me this car in 2005 right after my college graduation. I then turned around and regrettably sold my '98 Taurus to my daughter. She was in need of a car since they were a one-car family and her Mustang was heading to "heapsville." My daughter is not one who cares for her vehicles, so I knew my wonderful little car, which I took so much care of, was not going into good hands, but again, I put my grandchildren ahead of everything else. Anyway, since then, I've cared for my father's car as best as I can. Since we have no garage or cover for our vehicles, it sits out in the severe heat during the summer and the mild winters. As for keeping the exterior clean, forget about it. When our sprinklers go on, my car is right on target for the driver's side, so that side and the front and rear windows are always dirty. But other than that, I make sure my little sweet car is cared for, making sure her innards are taken care of and repaired or replaced and serviced.

So what happened on Sunday!!? I was taking my son, Ian, back to his father who lives in far east El Paso. It's a good 30 min. to his house if the traffic isn't heavy, and on Sundays, it's usually light till you reach the the last stretch of I-10 before I reach my exit. That's when the damn truckers can drive on the left lane, slowing all the other traffic in both lanes. The powers that be, finally decided that within the city limits, the trucks must stay out of the left or passing lane. Around here, the left lane is used for everything but passing! Sooo, back to my experience...I realized that on my way to the eastside of town, my car was acting a bit peculiar, lurching or jack-rabbiting every so often. Certainly was cause for concern, especially when your going 60-65mph. I thought it was the rug, since that darn little thing sometimes crawls under the accelerator, but nope, wasn't the rug. So when I dropped my son off, I continued on to head out west again, when the "Check Engine" light went on. Now I know that little light means you better check things out or else you're in for some trouble in the near future, but how near, was the question and I'll tell you how near...about 5 mins. after the damn light went on...talking about no real warning!!! I've been driving now for 44 years, and never, and I mean NEVER have I had to stop and pull over on the road, Interstate, lane, street, boulevard, well, you get the meaning. As I began to accelerate as I was getting on the entrance ramp back onto I-10 west, my speedometer began to decrease, so the more gas I gave it, the slower I went. Decided it was time to pull over onto the shoulder. Thankfully, I had my cell phone on me so I called DH and he then told me he'd call a tow company...great! So I waited, and waited waited, all the while, looking at my side mirror and watching all these huge trucks storming down the road. Now it's a law, if you can, pull over to the left or right lanes if you see a vehicle, especially with the emergency lights on. Nah, no such courtesy in this town!! Only a few drivers, truckers included, did that. Now I realize sometimes you can't due to traffic to your left or right, but I could see many times, that wasn't the case...just rude bastards!! So each time a truck would zoom by, my poor little car quivered and shook. I then decided to move to the passenger's side of the car!

So after 20 mins., I called DH and he said he was still trying to get a hold of someone...seems the towing bidness in El Paso isn't a 24/7 kind of thing. I can imagine many decided to hunker down for the hot evening, enjoying their cerveza (beer) and cook-out. Now I can't blame them, but hey, if you're in this business and advertize you are on a 24/7 call, well, then what's that about?? Then about 25 mins. later, DH calls and told me he got a hold of one and that "Jesus" would be there in 30 mins. So I waited, still clenching my teeth every time my car quivered. Well, I'm not kidding, 30 mins. to the second and there was my angel, Jesus!! Now, I have a whole new appreciation for this kind of work. This guy had to gauge every move according to the traffic, especially the trucks. I was impressed and scared at the same time. He was very polite and asked me to please step into the truck while he got my car readied for our trip back to the garage on my side of town. I "climbed" in, try to imagine a 59 year old, slightly chubby, lady heaving herself up onto a tow truck!! As I sat there, I realized the music that was playing was of Christian genre. I had no idea such stations existed in a predominantly Catholic town, but it does. I'm not born-again (got over that after my experience as a Baptist...oey vey, a whole other story) nor do I consider myself religious, I'm what's called "spiritual," which means, non-committal!! LOL I do have my beliefs, using many Catholic tenets, but otherwise, I don't practice it unless I attend rosaries for a deceased friend or family member or Mass for the same reason or weddings, that's the extent of my attendance in church. I've also attended many Jewish ceremonies, but I doubt, I'd be considered Jewish even though I had a great-great grandmother who was. Anyway, the music was very nice and uplifting...I really enjoyed the serenity.

Ok, I digress, as always. Jesus got my Intrepid hooked up on the hydrolic lift thingy and we moved on down the road. Now, the weather people had stated the temps would be in the mid 90's....WRON-GO!!! It was over 100 and I waited in a car that was reading 105, however, thankfully, we had some kind of wind going on, so if I "sweated" I sure wouldn't have felt it!! I should add, that Jesus' truck was not equipped with air conditioning, so again, if I perspired, I sure wouldn't know!! Oh wait, yes I did, as soon as we got off at the garage...I could tell then!! So DH met us at the garage, he left a note with his bidness card on my parked car to let the proprietor know who's car it was and what was going on and he would take the keys over the next day, yesterday, and let him take a look. We said our goodbyes to my angel, Jesus, and we came home where I took a shower and tried to cool down the rest of the evening. WHAT A DAY I HAD!! Well, $504 later, my car is running like new. They also fixed my car door panel. When my daughter came to visit, she didn't know her strength and pulled the plastic interior panel away from the metal door. Now she claims it "just" happened and probably was going to happen, regardless, but according to this guy, she pulled so hard, the ribbits that held the door, along with some kind of industrial type glue, were yanked away, making it difficult to either open or close the door at times. Plus, he fixed my ignition switch, we think he just sprayed W-D 40 since he didn't charge us for that!! LOL Hey, I love W-D 40 and duct tape....they were life savers back when I was single!! Now we have one more problem. My mileage reads "94,145" miles. Now when I had my car safety inspected back in April, I had 60+K miles...yea, I don't get out much, and I noticed last week it was at 93+K....how can that be??? So, something with this damn module that we paid a small fortune to replace was already acting up, unbeknownst to me. Now what?? The mileage is way off!!

Ok, I've complained enough about that...it's upward and onward and perhaps a new car in my future!! LOL So something random. Yesterday, after I came home from driving Miss Daisy on her errands, I decided to just relax and read my book club book for a bit. It was wonderfully quiet, except for the occasional white tail dove cooing up in our Cherry Laurel outside, when I heard this deep roaring sound. I thought at first it was a low flying airplane, but it got closer and closer, so of course, that just sparked my curiosity and I had to look out the front door to check it out. I couldn't beleive what I was seeing. It was this guy on a tractor type mower, you know the kind that's used on large parcels of lawn, like plantations, driving up our street. It gets better....he was wearing a powder blue "leisure suit," (for those of you who were born in the 70's or later, look them up...oh Lord, that designer should have been shot), a WWI fighter pilot hat with goggles, very steampunk, but that suit!! Oh yes, and what we used to call back in the 60's, chuck-a boots. My husband arrived just in the nick of time to see this guy and had to even wait as the lawn mower slowly made it's way up the street so he could drive into our driveway. He got out of the truck, looked up the street as if making sure that's what he really saw then looked at me and said that was just too WT!! I about fell down from laughter right about then!!

Well, I think I've had my fill of excitement for the last couple of days. I'm going to get into the studio and get my mind off of old cars, speedometers, leisure suits and large lawn mowers and do something creative and a little laundry too...how normal is that?? Peace out.

Books, Art, Blogger and Other Stuff

I just sent out my new blog. I hit that little "publish post" bubble and wa-la, it was posted, but not on the friggin' blogger roll...in other words, my friends, it didn't exist!! Am I pissed, you bet, but I know many of you have had these problems in the past and I know how frustrated it's all been for you and I sat there and would say, "that's never happened to me, " well, I too now can wear my "I got screwed by Blogger" badge!! Now I have to commit to total recall as to what words of wisdom and wit I conjured since I had to delete the whole damn thing...even tried to cut and past on a new page, but nope, they're too smart for me...pinchis ([pronounced: peenchees] not a nice word in Spanish, but oh, so effective).

So let's see what I can remember. Oh yes, I mentioned my book club meeting from last week. We read "Water for Elephants," and it was an excellent read. We usually meet at a restaurant because we just don' t want to cook for everybody or even "pot luck" it, that would mean we'd have to enter our kitchens and make something. But this time, we met at one of the members beautiful home. She has an interesting story. Even though she and her children were all born here, they have lived in Mexico for many years due to her husbands business. He has a furniture factory and makes these wonderful large pieces of formal and informal furnishings. Well, since the cartels began flexing their drug induced muscles, many areas in Mexico have experienced total political anarchy, especially the city across the river from us here in El Paso. Well, many regular non-cartel thugs have decided to get a cut of the action since neither the city nor federal police are doing a thing about it and the police are even getting into the act, needless to say, there's very little law in Juarez presently. They lived in a very nice residential enclave, the country club area of Juarez, an area my grandfather helped to established many years ago. Since then, it's gotten the name "Narco Village" for the number of families involved in the cartels, however, there were many who still lived in that area who were not connected at all, and I say "lived," because so many of them have moved here to our city to get away from the violence and have established my of their businesses that were successful there.

So, this friend's husband was abducted by a group of these "wannabes" and held for ransom. They waited till he left the office and grabbed him...they had been watching his every move since they decided to kidnap him...seemed he had lots of $$ since he owned a factory. Long story short, my friend hired a mediator, which is common over there, they don't really want to involve the police since so many are in cahoots with the bad guys. He was released, the kidnapper, a 17 year old kid, was tried and got 7 month...go figure. Well, to add insult to injury, they found out that now the entire family was in danger, so one evening, they grabbed what they could, threw everything in their vehicles, stopped at her mother's house to get her out also; this poor woman was in heavy mourning for her husband who had just died 7 days before...awful. They all caravaned out of Mexico and into the U.S. where they all happily and safely live. Her husband still runs his company but in the comfort of their home in his office here on this side of the Rio Grande. He has these large screens mounted on the wall showing the different areas of the factory and is in constant contact with the foreman of that particular room.

Well, back to the book club meeting. One of my friend has access to how shall I put it, black market movies, but they are downloaded from the Internet. So Cari had this wonderful spread of delish treats, much wine and we watched the movie. Now if you saw the movie and not read the book, let me know what you thought of it; I was very disappointed because as usual, the book was much better, but then that's usually the case. Hollywood has a habit of crapping up and good story and they exercised that right with this movie. Now that's not the end, this movie had Spanish subtitles and that's where the evening became hilarious. Most of us are bilingual, for the exception of our Barbara and Carolyn, Barb is of Irish/French decent and Carolyn is Lebanese, but we translated for them! We figured out that the translator of this movie either had minimal command of the Spanish language, spoke "English very few," or Chinese!!! Whatever, but we roared at some of the translations...not even close!! Our next book selection is "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan," by Lisa See. So far it has been very intriguing, especially the process of "foot binding," ouch!! I recall many years ago, my father telling me that when he was in China during the war, Shanghai, to be exact, they were still binding feet...he'd see the ladies in the street shuffling along, some using canes, since the binding was botched. I just discovered a couple of new books that I've read about, "The Peach Keeper," by Sarah Addison Allan and "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," by Ransom Riggs. I read the review and saw the trailer for Riggs book over at http://maggiessecretgarden.blogspot.com/. If you're into the dark and macabre, this sounds like the book for you...go check it out.

I've been quite busy this past month. I'm preparing to send out some more work to Xico, Inc, the gallery in AZ. I made some little figurines and Christmas ornies. I thought if I sent the ornies early, I might not get slammed with special orders later in the season, but then, I assume nothing. So here's the latest that is coming out of my lab/studio:

Two very jolly Catrinas

The finished Virgen de Guadalupe

The shy little Mermaid

The Calaca Lovers

Miscellaneous ornies

Tree of Life ornes

Little Mexican Maiden ornies

I was doing some research the other day on Sumerian clay work and I found this pic of Sumerian votive figurines. They seemed awfully familiar to me, not because I had studied them back in my art history days, but because their eyes seemed similar to my little maidens above! Thought that was really funny....must have been receiving inspiration from them!! LOL

This year has been the year of realizations, lightening hot epiphanies, and many "a-ha" moments. Some have been the result of some rather unpleasant experiences and other from trial and error. One "trial and error" realization I had the other day was that, never and I do mean NEVER try to stock-pile paper clay when you live in a desert climate!! I haven't made any dolls this summer, so I decided to get back into the saddle and take up a couple of challenges over at ADO. I have the buttons on the side bar for those challenges, so you'll have an idea what I'll be working on. The other day, I took out my paper clay to start my Celestial doll and the darn stuff was drying in my hand as I was trying to wedge it. I had an oscillating fan behind me, which sure didn't help, but I'm sorry, it's friggin' hot in my house and I need that fan! However, for the sake of art, I turned it off and the clay still cracked which means the whole batch turned to "dreck." So this was my "a-ha" moment, don't stock-pile paper clay, buy as you need it and don't work with it in the summer unless you have central air conditioning, not that lousy swamp cooler crap!! We happen to have the latter of the two cooling systems and the swamp cooler is quite efficient when it's below 95 degrees and 8-10% humidity, so it works great in early May and again in late September and October, but in the throes of summer, forget about it!!! So I will be making my doll and marionette out of polymer clay since the clay isn't affected by the house temps, at least not right now!!

Oh for those of you who live Texas or are familiar with this store, "Specs" has arrived in El Paso. Of course, I had to go in and get my discount card!! Specs is this lovely store that specializes in booze...lots and lots of it!! It also carries specialized foods, spices and party supplies. My brother is a wine connesiur, no really, he is!! He lived in Northern CA for many years and lived in the heart of wine country, so his knowledge of wines, especially the CA wines is commendable since I know nothing about it, or rather, I don't know a thing about it, but I know what I like!! Anyway, I FB'd about it and he texted me and asked what it was and I called from the store and told him. Every Saturday, he drives down with his girlfriend and they spend the afternoon and evening with my mother, so I told him on his way to mom's, stop by. His girlfriend told me they entered and the first thing he said was, "Jesus Christ!!" He saw row upon row of wines and the guy thought he had died and gone to heaven. He mentioned that he found some wines that are cheaper than his "Wine Club" yes, he's in a wine club...insert finger down throat now!! LOL My mother said he came in with 2 sacks of wine bottles...told her it was more than just bottles!! LOL I feel sorry for the local liquor venders, though. My dad was in the liquor bidness, owning as many stores as this friggin' state allowed at the time. Yes, booze clothed us, fed us, sent us to school, etc., so leave me out of any Temperance Movement!! LOL

Also, to add to my pure delight, a brand new spankin' Michael's is opening up also and both Specs and Michael's are just down the street from where I live...heavenly!! Hey, I'm easy!! Well, my friends, time for me to check out and get my arse into the studio and start on my dolls. Thought I might add some more stuff to my Etsy shop too...nah, do that tomorrow....ok, Scarlet O'Hara!! Have a great weekend and will write more when I have something or anything else to say!! Peace out.

Happy 4th, Art & Revelations

Good afternoon, my bloggy buddies. I checked my calendar and found that today would be the best day to get a post out before I roast to death in my hot leetle house!! Actually, the temps are falling below 100, but then what do these meteorologists know!!?? It's supposed to reach 97 today and it was already 95 at 11 a.m., MDLST, (Mountain Daylight Savings Time). I wish Texas had the balls to eliminate that daylight saving crap, like Arizona...who needs more sunlight in the friggin' desert during the summer!!????

I'm planning on making my version of buffalo wings tonight and that means that I'll have to turn on the oven, set it at 400 degrees F., raising the temps in my home to maybe 79 or a bit above!! My brother's girlfriend told me my brother, C.A.M., has their house set at 79...all the time and my bro lives just right up the road from me in Southern New Mexico!! At least my house cools down at night, unlike his!! LOL You're probably wondering what C.A.M. means?? A few years back I gave him that acronym, means Cheap-Ass Mexican!! My brother can make a peso scream!! LOL However, of the 4 sibs, he's the most successful, financially, of the group, so there's lots to say about being a cheap-ass!!

Speaking of food, last night I made Coctel de Camarones, or Shrimp Cocktail, Mexican style.


It's easy and very refreshing during these hot summer months and sooo easy to make. This is a pic of my particular serving, since the other two Neanderthals I share a home with wanted there's served in a cereal bowl..."Ug, me want bowl!!"

Here's how I make mine: I buy a bag of frozen, pre-cooked small to medium shrimp, a bottle of tomato juice, any brand, a can of clams in liquid. Now for the veggies: chopped celery, green onions, tomatoes (remove the seeds), cucumber (remove seeds and skin), a little bit of celery tops, cilantro (careful, this is a strong herb so use to taste), fresh lime juice, Mexican oregano if not, regular (again, careful, use to taste), avocado, a little salt, pepper, Tabasco and I like using Cholula hot sauce, the chili lime kind, however you can also use Valentino or Tapatio, but the Tabasco is a must, and the good one from LA and a little splash of Worcestershire sauce. As you can see I haven't given specific measurements because you make this according to how many people your serving, so for some of you, it's lots and others, un poquito (small)! So mix the tomato juice, canned clams, juice and all, freshly squeezed lime juice, throw in the veggies except the avocado & shrimp and start spicing it up to how your pallet is set up....ours is up to high intensity, of course!! You want it spicy, again to your intensity, taste it and make sure it's not too limey (no disrespect to my English buddies), or have all the taste of the cilantro or oregano....you want it spicy and tangy. So put that in the fridge, I make in it in the morning and let it set until about 1-2 hours before I'm going to serve and add the defrosted shrimp (shells removed, please) and the avocado. Put back into the fridge till your ready to serve. If you have any questions, just email me and I'll try to clear it up for you.

So I've been working on some more little figurines. I ran into a problem with the finish on some of them, though. I used the Dick Blick craft matte finish on the little terracotta ones and they're sticky to the touch. So I did some research and polymer clay needs special finishes outside the usual brands. I wanted that matte finish and tried to go with it, but that didn't work, so I found out that Varathene satin finish was the way to go. Well, maybe so, but at $40+ a can, I think I'll need to experiment, so I purchased polyacrylic finish by Minwax. I applied some on the sticky pieces, as instructed with the Varathene, and surprisingly, the sticky texture is gone, but I'm still going to hold back a bit and see what happens to it over a few weeks time. Of course, most of my other work was finished with a popular craft glaze and I've never had any problems with it. So here they are, my newest work.



I'm not done with the Virgen de Guadalupe, still need to drill a hole and set her up on a wooden plaque for better stability. I haven't forgotten about my dollies, never, but I'm thinking up new things for Dia de los Muertos and Christmas, with a twist of the macabre...bwahahahaha!!

This past weekend was a very trying one, enough to make me stop and think about lots. I had a revelation, an epiphany. I realized, that I can't deal with people who live in the past, a past that's always being rewritten and modified for their own sense of power and righteousness. I was in therapy for some years after my ex and I split up and if anything I've learned, the living in the past can and will make you toxic.

Well, time to get going and start some trouble in the lab/studio again. Hope all my American friends have a great 4th of July and enjoy the festivities and fireworks. They've been outlawed here due to the dry, parched landscape and would you believe there are some who are whining about it...until the fires reach their home!! Please assign a designated driver or just stay home!! I doubt our founding fathers were lighting fireworks and drinking Modelo (insert beer of choice) while signing that long document thumbing their noses at King George III and keep in mind, that only covered 13 colonies!! Quiz next week!! LOL Just have a safe and fun weekend. Peace out.