Dispatch From Phar Lepht

New Stuff for the Winter

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:19:00 +0000

It has been ages since I posted any of my creations so here are a few:

as you can see, I have been doing a lot more with metals other than silver. Not only because of the cost but I love the look of copper and pewter as well.

OtHeRWorLdLEE GoOdS booth

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:24:00 +0000

Here are a few pics of my new booth tablecloths and easels for the jewelry. They are a bit dark but I think one can get an idea of how it all appeared, at least an inkling. Notice the beautiful wood easels and pad holders in the first and fourth pics. I am very happy with those! One of the nicest things about them other than appearance is that they come apart to store flat...very important feature. The picture with my new bags is really dark but none-the-less I sold three of them!

Bag Age

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 01:07:00 +0000

One of my newest projects is my beaded bags. I hate to sew, I mean I HATE to SEW! So in order to create what I wanted, I found a crafty friend who makes purses, bags, etc. for the shows and asked her if she would use my pattern and my chosen materials to sew the bags for me and I would do all the rest, woven handles, beadwork, decoration, etc. I think they turned out wonderfully ...what do you think? Sizes are about 4" w x 5 or 6" L for the body of the bag and can be worn around the neck to hold a cell phone, wild money, tube of lip gloss or whatever.

Beaded Earrings

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:05:00 +0000

Here are some of my new earrings, some of which are fairly complex beadwork. The top three sets use a technique of beading around a round bead in the center and the bottom two sets are beaded around a glass tube.

The picture doesn't really do them justice as earrings always look best when they are hanging not laying on a scanner!

Bracelet Bingo

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:36:00 +0000

Not sure how these will come out (or where on the page). The first is a macrame bracelet using vintage African trade beads along with some African sand cast beads. It was fun to make.

The second is a multiple charm that is a flower garden using Czech glass mostly. The last is another macrame with some nice glass and lampwork by Beads Unique.

New Year, New Gear

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:32:00 +0000

One thing that is new is that I didn't make the trek to Tucson this year to buy materials. Fact is I have plenty of materials in my studio other than the usual stuff I always need to stock up on. Now that the silver people and some of the bead people come to town and that I have a good supplier that is local that carries some of the standards...I really don't have a good excuse to go and blow a bunch of moola. Now that Cec is making more jewelry, I do want to take him for sure next year if possible and that means saving up starting NOW!

Enough blab...here are a few new things I have made for the upcoming show at the end of this month:

The one on the left is a piece that highlights the beautiful lampwork beads made by another El Paso artist Tamara St. Jean. She has just started making beads and man, she is really good! The one on the left is a wirework piece with lampwork by Karen Cascio...love her beads!

The piece in the center above is basically a reflection of my creative process right now, full, colorful and opaque. I call it "Fiesta". There is lots more but I am having a time getting the pics to come up in the spots I want them to so I will have to work on that!

Decorate your BAG

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Tue, 22 May 2007 15:26:00 +0000

Here's some purse jewelry that I made for the leather shop in Ruidoso.

Fringe Benefits

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:51:00 +0000

Here is the latest pair of beaded earrings that I completed while at the beach in North Carolina. They were an order I had from Tucson. Was sitting outside a bead show watching an incredible sunset when a woman noticed my earrings and ordered a pair.
These take a considerable amount of time but are relaxing and meditative for me to do. Unfortunately the pictures really don't do them justice as they need to be viewed hanging on a pair of ears not crinkled up on a scanner. There are some copper metallic seed beads that really are neat as well as the twisted bugle beads that just don't show up here.

Picture Charm Bracelets

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 11:28:00 +0000

Unfortunately, the studio is still a mess, too messy to work and i have multiple orders to fill. So i do not have any new stuff to post but these will have to do. They are picture bracelets, three of which are made with Cecil's art and the other with origami paper. I may have posted them before but don't remember.

This new blogger has me flummoxed as I don't know how to place the pics where I want them. I am not a big fan of changing something that works just fine.

deja vu

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:18:00 +0000

The last time I posted here I had just returned from the Tucson Gem Show. This was exactly a year ago. Needless to say, I haven't written much in 2006. (notice I am writing in short sentences. That is about all I can muster.)

I have a new journal elsewhere. I plan on using this place strictly for posting news and pictures of my stuff. 'Nuff said...

Here is some stuff:

My kitchen sink necklace. I have a jar where I toss left-overs...this is the result, it has everything but the kitchen sink.

Las Cruces necklace, lampwork, amethyst, sterling fish, Santa Fe style sterling crosses. This necklace has had a couple of reincarnations none of which I was happy with. I gave it to Cec to rework and help me. We collaborated and this is the result...and I am finally happy. Las Cruces is in New Mexico...right down the road.

Studio Tour of Phar Lepht

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 12:24:00 +0000

Yikes! I just spent about an hour writing and posting pictures and then totally lost it!!! I just goes to show... Hah! (You will never know how brilliantly I wrote this the first time.)

Anyways, I am gonna try again. This will be my last journal entry until we return from our vacation (Yay! Vacation!!!) as I have a show next week (first weekend of March) at Ft. Bliss, Tx and then leave soon after for the big event. I have a show the first weekend in April in San Antonio so my time is going to be limited for journaling.

I spent a lot of time after returning from the Gem & Mineral show in Tucson rearranging and reorganizing the studio. Let's just say, I got carried away...

I took pictures of the new and improved. Let me know what you think.

My birdie Sky, reference materials, catalogs, bead mags and books. This is facing the dinning area on our sunporch and you can just make out the bird head in the jar on the dinning table. I am refurbishing a wooden roadrunner sculpture my Daddy made for me years ago. The pink 'blankie' is Sky's.

My desk...notice the wooden shelf on top which holds some of my tools and small findings. This was also made by my Dad and he and my Mom gave me the anvil on the desk. See my new chasing hammer and rubber mallet! The small lavender bookshelf which holds bead boxes was my Grandmother Hettie's (she taught me Crafts!)

This is the corner of the studio, you can see my suncatchers (except for the one I just got from Caryn...I didn't have it then.) It is too dark (hey! I am not the photographer in the family) but you can see my view and the aleppo pine that I planted the year Noah was born. They are both big boys now. It was a rare and cloudy day in Phar Lepht.

My card-table work-station thingee which I use depending on the project. The cool Ott Light (natural light) was a gift from Cecil and the huge magnifier in the back was made by my Daddy (he is clever, isn't he?)

The sewing table desk next to my jewelry desk that belonged to Bernadine (Nana.) I gave the sewing machine to my daughter-in-law Jenni but kept the desk (I need all the space I can get.) On top is an organizer box that holds jars of beads which I painted in my folksie style. Also is my carousel spinner beady thingee which is exceedingly cool and I got that for free with an order. Notice, more tools and please ignore the dust, I do...

My storage cabinets which hold paper, bags, paints, glass, empty jars, bobbles and of course, more tools. The postcards on the outside are ones that I picked up at different bead shows and are inspirations.

The following are just some close-ups (ignore the dust, I do...) of some areas and the labeling I did. The Barnum and Bailey tin holds my glues and is appropriate considering my parents were/are Clowns. (Really!)

Well, you get the idea of my space. Thanks for coming on the tour...the door is always open and yes, that last picture is a dog. Yogi (the Yog, Yoggie Doggie or Scobby Do) and he is a fixture too.

Today I Can't Drive 55

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 12:41:00 +0000

I am not even going to send out invitations to this post. Today I am having a Daytona 500 Par-tay and I am the only one I can invite. My Posse has no interest in the big race, my partner indulges me, my youngest is aghast at my 'before the TV antics' as I scream and yell and let my pedal to the metal mentality go to the floor (although, I hear him scream and yell at those wrestlers in the other room...) My oldest is only slightly interested and didn't get the racing gene from my side of the family. My Mom, Dad, Pop, and Bro all have the gene.

I love, love, love NASCAR and am not afeared to admit it. I know the oldies and goldies, I absolutely adored Big E and his outlaw black Chevy. I love Chevies too and drive one to this day.

I don't like Jeff Gordon (sorry bro) and his holier than thou attitude, his treatment of his wife or a multitude of his sins. Hah! I don't care for anyone named 'Bush' either. If you drive a Ford, get out of the way!

.

I like Kevin, Kasey and Mikey and that Stewart is hard to beat but my love is always for the ones that earned-my-heart and now it is little E...he's my boy-o

So don't bother me today. I am busy. I have a race to watch. I have snacks and sodas. I have to scream and yell, hide my eyes and stuff like that...

Note: NASCar has a new rule about 'driving agressively'...Whaaa??? That is a stupid new rule.

Vacation (Not the Chevy Chase Version)

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 11:15:00 +0000

It hasn't been that long since my last journal entry about Tucson. Don't get the idea that I am going to post here more than once a month but I am so excited, I just had to tell you...

I AM GOING ON A VACATION!!! A real time vacation, something Cecil and I have NEVER, EVER done with each other since we have been married. Cecil's brother (one of the evil twins) didn't believe in vacations, and since Cecil worked for him...he didn't get a vacation (paid or unpaid) in twenty some odd years. Oh, a weekend now and then but never a trip with the kids and me seeing the world outside our window as we cruise on down the road. People, take it from me...go when you can and don't let anyone stop you!

Now, you know I take a lot of road trips...drive in, unpack, set up, pack, drive out kinda trips and I do short trips with my Posse, girl weekends and that sort of thing but NEVER Cecil and I together on the road. We went to see Charlene once for her birthday but that was before Nate was born and he is 29 now. (*EDIT: Opps! Sorry Char, I guess Nathan was born but stayed home with his Nana...didn't mean to age you that much.)

Are you tingling in anticipation? Hah! We are going to Dallas for a quick overnite stay with my Pop then to Nashville for Nathan to see his buddy Jake (he misses him terribly). Nate will stay there after our four day stay and then Cec and I are off to South Carolina to see my folks and my bro and sis-in-law!!! I am soooo 'cited. Of course, the beads and jewelry are not forgotten. I am doing two trunk/home shows, one in Nashville, one in S. Carolina. Gotta pay expenses you know and it will give them all a chance to see what I am doing up close and personal. Yippeee!

It is a long haul, days of hard driving but I am so ready for this. Of course, made longer by my need to hit every rest stop from here to there. (Old age is creeping...)

We will be gone for fourteen days and thanks to Cactus Mary, my buddy who makes the soap, Yogi, Annie (our dogs) and Sky (my budgie) will have a good care-taker.

It's all set...more on this as it develops, concludes and pictures too.

BeadWitched, BeadDazzled & BeadWildered

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 02:43:00 +0000

Tucson is an assault on one's senses. Everywhere you look tents, tents and more tents, buildings, motels and hotels all filled with the treasures of our earth and some not of this earth. The largest metorite in the world was there looking mostly like a giagantic potato...it was not pretty but could be filled with peridot crystals but who will open it? Too valuable...so it sits like a giant spud inspiring awe, I guess, I only saw a picture on their local news and a magazine.

Not for me for you see, I have a chronic and fatal disease (you will die with it)...BEADiTis. Once you have it, there is no cure. I like the rocks (I still gather them occasionally, like eggs) and the fossils fascinate me but BEADS...that is another story. When you catch BEADiTis it tends to take over your life, not to mention every nook and cranny of your abode. They roll around the floor, fill tables and sometimes end up in the most oddly of places.

In the mass of the shows (mostly wholesale for artists, rockshops, collectors and designers) there are 6 shows just for beads and I don't mean little shows either. And now, years since I started coming to Tucson to do my buying, most all the vendors in the others shows sell beads. It is like a giant BEAD flea market, gallery, nonstop shop. There is an area just for the Africans and their arts and crafts but mostly...BEADS!

I must say that I had a very good time for I was not really looking forward to the show this year what with the arthritis/fibro thingee. I had fun, fun, fun and felt pretty fair for most of the time. Took plenty of breaks, drank my water, ate reasonably and watched the people...a ton of people.

You could tell the northerners, they basked in the sun like gila monsters while I sought out the shade for relief. Those self same people ooohed and ahhhed over the sunsets and the sunrises for there is nothing like those colors and skies of the southwest, or so I have been told and I truly believe it. I took one of my breaks to watch a beautiful sunset show and Richard (master beadmaker from Phar Lepht and one of the tribe) joined me outside and wistfully said, "I wish I could capture those colors in a bead..." When I noted that I had one of his that I likened to the colors..."not like that, but I am still trying..."

Janice and Robyn are great traveling companions. They both make me laugh, a lot. Poor Jan went at a gallup the whole time and worried me a bit. She refused to slow down and suffered some but I know she had a good time. Rob is a soul mate of mine and we can get on the same wavelength easily. She was BEADazzeled too and keep noting that she really didn't NEED all these beads but alas, she has BEADiTis too.

While in Tucson, I had a lovely visit with long-time friend Charlene and her sisters, Helen and Carol. (Notice, I said 'long-time' and not 'old' Char! Hah!) She came and picked me up at our hotel, wined and dined me and shared much love and laughter. I had a wonderful evening at their home. It was a wonderful break from the BEADiTis but of course we talked about jewelry too!

About the images, they are large and will take some time to load, excuse me but I wanted to give you a good sample of what jumped in my bag. The only pieces I purchased just for myself was the small turquoise and ivory colored lampworked boot in the first picture and a painted horse from the same artist, Whim Wham beads which is on order. It cost me a pretty penny but it was irrestible for after all I have a bad case of BEADiTis and my reserve was admirable.

That's it in a beadshell...as friend Jam said, It must be like Bead Mecca and I did go and circle the stones.

Peace

A Bead Makes the World Go Round

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 14:27:00 +0000

Okay, I know it is corny but this is how I think...they are "beadicisms" and they run through my head to the point that I drive myself somewhat batty. Here are a few:

All beads great and small

Life, liberty and the pursuit of beads

Grin and bead it

The importance of beading earnest

Bead us not into temptation

Give us this day our daily bead

I want to bead alone

Busy as a bead

Only a bead in a guilded cage

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your beads

Well, if you want to bead that way

Far from the beading crowd

A bead is a bead is a bead

Anything you can bead, I can bead better

A bead in time saves nine

Stop! In the name of beads (are you humming this in your head?)

The Beads of Wrath

Gone With the Bead...

Okay, enough! You are probably thinking of additions to my list right now. Can't help it can you? Sorry, blame me. Hah!

Since my last post, I am still dealing with pain from my arthritis but such is life. I fell off a horse when I was eighteen and he landed on top of me...I landed on my right side and that shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip and knee are what plagues me now. Just shows that every thing you do in life, stays with you. I was doing something foolish at the time and now my old bones are paying their dues.

The reason I mention my aches and pains (really, who wants to hear about that!) is that next week I am leaving for Tucson, Arizona for my annual bead buying trip and that means carrying around bags of rocks and metals all day for three days. I told my Mom and Dad that I need a donkey just to haul the goods. If you don't know about the gem and mineral show in Tucson, you aren't a beader. It is an incredible experience...the whole town is filled with vendors from all over the globe, selling their specialties...venetian glass, austrian crystal, bali and indian silver, african trade beads...and this is only a brief sampling. I buy for the entire year because the prices are so very reasonable compared to other sources and you can find some items that you would never see anywhere else. It is definitely worth the trip! Janice and Robyn are going too which always makes the trip fun. More about the show when and if (hah!) I return.

Now, if you have made it this far...bless you, for I can ramble on and on about my passion and I am well aware that most people could care less. I feel the same way about a host of things but I am always interested in what turns on those that I love and appreciate because having a passion about what you do is what makes life such an interesting journey (and it blunts the pain.) Have some passion on me...salud!

Spent this last week making 'purse jewelry' for a shop in Ruidoso where Robyn works and had a great visit with John who was in "El Pisso" (as he calls it) for a few days. I also worked on the following since my last post:

Remember those beaded small mirrors? This was done on a pine heart for a charity auction to be held on February 3. The charity takes care of families that are in need and to raise funds they hand out the pine hearts for artists to do with what they want. Last year was my first time to donate a heart and this year I made this one which I call The Bead Maiden.

This is the bracelet with the oriental feel that I mentioned in my last post. It is made with origami paper, beautiful silver/grey pearls and austrian crystal. It doesn't show up very well on the scan but you can 'click' on it to see a better image.

Another pair of my long, fringed, beaded earrings but this time I used some different materials and style. The body of the earrings are made of Japanese delicas (a type of seedbead) which are very consistent in shape unlike most seedbeads and make the finished work very smooth. I also made a diamond shape in the body instead of my usual triangle. And, as a experiment, the drops at the ends of the fringe are made of flat circular beads called rondells. I used these on a vertical plane instead of how they are usually used on a horizontal plane. Cecil said they reminded him of India so that is what I call them...

Please let me hear from you as this is one way I keep in touch with all my friends...

Art of Rock keeps Rolling

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 13:44:00 +0000

Another year has come and gone and I must say it was one of the busiest ever for me. My business (that sounds so formal, doesn't it?) kept me hopping all year long and I did more shows this last year than ever before. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn't leave much time for writing, something I truly enjoy but there seemed to always be a show or deadline looming and sitting down to write was a luxury of time that could or should be spent in my studio.

We had a quiet Christmas with a tree for Nathan and a equally quiet New Years Eve with just the three of us celebrating...yes, we celebrated. This 'off time' since the last show in December (Hal Marcus Gallery open house on the 17th) has been spent resting (I was exhausted) and working on some new designs of things that take more time and creativity than I usually have just keeping up with inventory. Lots of detailed beadwork and experimentation with wire. I still have so many ideas running around like wild animals in my head and would like to tame a few and make them a reality. Being the first of the year though, I had to sit down to figure and pay my state taxes in both New Mexico and Texas. This is not a task I enjoy but has to be done and since I have licenses in both states, I have to pay in both states. Ugh!

Health wise, Cecil and Nathan are both doing well. I have had a few issues with fibromyalgia and osteo arthritis especially on my right side, but have gotten used to dealing with ongoing pain. Just a fact of my life but it tends to drain energy and make getting things done a challenge. This is probably another reason I don't write as much. My right wrist aches and part of the reason is that I twist it like a pretzel when I use my pliers or a needle and thus typing at this keyboard just strains it further. So, it becomes a matter of choice...do I use my limited mobility in that wrist for working or writing? My work usually wins out.

Cec gave me a new dremel tool set for Christmas (I love tools!) with a flex shaft and a drill press, courtesy of Ebay. The flex shaft attachment should make using the drill much easier for me and having a drill press will also ease my work. Right before Christmas, I was hammering pennies into flat copper disks (don't tell the Treasury Dept. about my disfiguring our currency. Hah!) and Cec was sorely tempted to give me my gift early. When I saw the huge package wrapped under the tree, it made me cry because we have agreed these last few years since money has been tight not to get each other gifts. I knew I had nothing for him and the sneak waited until the last minute to wrap and place it under the tree. Still, I was thrilled.

So you know what I have been up to since my last post, the following are some of the labor intensive pieces I have been working on and keep in mind that you can click on the pictures to see a larger image:

This piece is called Mardi Gras and was inspired by the past of New Orleans and the fact it may never be the same. I tried to capture the color and spirt of the event. The technique is peyote stitch in a wirework base using as colorful beads I could find, mostly Chinese lampwork. I was pleased with the effect.

I call this set Neo-Tribal for it is new, yet incorporates bone, amber and some incredible carved prehinite beads I found in a large tub of stone beads at the Santa Fe flea market. I spent a good amount of time rummaging around in that tub for these beads which, because they were groved and carved, I knew they could be beaded, I just didn't know what the final pieces would be. I also used some of my wire work and beaded beads as well as some hill tribe silver which are made by the Karen Hill Tribe individually by hand.

This bracelet reminded me of the beach and the sea, a place I don't get to visit but memories still inspire me. It is a wire work base beaded in peyote stitch with some nice lampwork beads. The wire and clasp are copper.

I am not sure what these are going to be but I decided to use some small mirrors and bead around them on a felt base. I think I may turn them into pins with an suede backing but they may also end up as pendants. They remind me of Mexico, the gaudy colors and the sun shape. As you can tell, these are still works in progress and please excuse the smudges on the mirrors.

So you see, I have been busy and this is just a few of the things I have been doing. A bracelet is awaiting some more work right now in my studio using charm pictures which has a decidedly oriental feel. If it turns out, I will post a picture.

Happy New Year to you all. I hope you are blessed. Keep smiling...

Just a Quickie

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 15:45:00 +0000

Since I haven't written anything since the end of September, this post is strictly guilt driven. Something should be written...right? It is not because I have nothing to talk about as plenty has happened since that time but I have just been too busy to write about it.

Tomorrow Cecil and I leave Phar Lepht to do a show in Austin and spend a brief time with our kids, Noah and Jenni. Since Noah has to work (he has a new job which he is thrilled about...a gaming company) there won't be much time for visiting so our visit will be a quickie.

So counting the show in Austin, I have three more shows and then Christmas. Whew! See you next year...

Fall In

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 11:53:00 +0000

Since my last dispatch, one hurricane has come and another approaches. As I write this, hurricane Rita has been upgraded to a catagory 4 and looks like another monster storm not unlike the destructive Katrina. One may wonder why...but I don't. This planet is an active volatile place that we try and tame but we are deluded and our species in the meantime thinks that living on the flood plains, the bases of volcanos, the fault lines of earthquakes, below sealevel on the coast can be without consequences...but it is not and is proven time and again. We silly humans will rebuild time after time in places we shouldn't and then bemoan our fates. According to the Dalai Lama, this is the age of compassion and we have plenty to feel compassionate about.

Lots has happened in this cowgirl's life, two shows in the Sacramentos, a party on the deck and the Farmer's Market continues until mid-October. Jan and I did the Ruidoso Down's All American Festival and as usual had a great time and a good show.

Then Cecil and I did a little show in Lincoln, New Mexico , the Art in the Orchard which turned out to be one pleasant experience overall. That Saturday started out stressful enough as Cec and I did the Farmer's Market in the morning, packed the tent after our four hour stint and headed up to Lincoln to unpack and set up the tent again for the show on Sunday. The show was supposed to be in an orchard but due to the rains this time of year, we gypsies set up in a vacant lot not far from the little town of Lincoln. (Nathan stayed in Phar Lepht with John and Robyn's daughter Autumn keeping an eye on him as he insisted on not going...I have burned him out on shows, I guess.)

After setting up, the artists were invited to a reception on the lawn of the Ellis Store Bed and Breakfast hosted by David and Jennie Virgil. Jennie is a gourmet cook and won the award for Best Cook in New Mexico a couple of years ago and we could quickly see why. She put on a wonderful spread of appeteasers, puff pastries with crab filling, little quiches, egg rolls, stuffed jalapenos were just some of the tasty morsels...man o man...it was delish! And beer or wine to go with! A gal from the New Mexico tourista bureau served as waitress and kept us all happy through the evening. The setting was devine too as the Ellis Store is one of the oldest and best kept buildings in Lincoln and surrounded by a huge lawn with old shade trees and comfortable wicker chairs. A great ending to tiring day.

Sunday, the day of the event was great too. They had a homemade pie contest for the locals and Jennie outdid herself again with peach, apple, apple and green chile, blueberry and raspberry cobblers for the attendees (with vanilla ice cream!) There was live music, the sherrifs posse and their horsies, and a very congenial atmosphere. John and Robyn both made it up from Ruidoso to visit our tent (Ruidoso is about a 30 minute ride away.) To top it off, our tent won second place in a contest for the best decorated tent (the blacksmith and his little wagon won first place...as he should) and we received a gift certificate at the grocery store in Ruidoso which we turned into wine later. Got our picture taken for the local rag but wonder if I will ever see that.

Besides these events, Cecil and I are still doing the Farmer's Market at Ardovino's Desert Crossing in Anapra, New Mexico every Saturday morning until noon. I love the Farmer's Market. This is our first year to do this event and we are having a ball. Besides all the fresh locally grown produce, there is some great art there (including us of course) but the best thing of all is the other vendors, a really great group of people. Of course you must arise at 4:30 and get your butt in gear to get there and set up before dawn but it has been a wonderful experience. Besides my jewelry and Cecil's prints and photos, we also sell our pomegranates which have have been very popular especially after promoting the idea of my fresh pomegranate salsa (pico de gallo) and a few tips on cutting open pomegranates. (Past years of making tons of pomegranate jelly has made me an expert.)

Besides the shows, we took on the task and joy of inviting a few very close friends over to the Lee house for a little celebration (yes folks, the house is finally ours...no more lawyers, the deed is passed and the release from any future litigation has been signed!) Nothing like a party to make one tidy up and get things in order. Cecil and I worked most of the week on the yard, bought a new grill, put up lights on the deck and shopped for the fixin's. Hey, we even sent out little invitations! After the FM on Saturday, we had a nice get-together that evening with brats, beans, beer and bolillos. I think it was a great success as our dear friends who have wined and dined us many, many times seemed to feel comfortable, congenial and well fed.

I am now officially pooped...I slept all day Sunday after the party and all night Sunday night and all day Monday. Today, Wednesday, September 21 is the first day this week I have had any energy and I have to get back in the saddle and ride again as there are shows all the way up through December.

Happy Birthday to Janice who shares the same birthdate as myself and to Jacob, Nate's best bud and hey, Happy Birthday to me...I made it another round.

Art, Literature & Rollercoasters

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 11:19:00 +0000

It has been an event full weekend. There is lots of stuff rolling around in my head, news, the blues and beautiful views.

I saw the tail end of a movie recently and I am not sure when it came out or even the name of the flick (I am sure putting this out will solve that.) It was starring Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen and the whole thing was about family and friends, life and death, chaos and calm, well, you get the idea. Anyway Steves' grandma (who lived with him and Mary) was in the kitchen and the couple were arguing about the fact that Mary was pregnant. Steve had just lost his job and was not too happy about the situation and yet you could tell, he really loved this woman, his wife. All of the sudden the elder grandma started talking about her relationship with her husband (all this time Steve is shaking his head at Grandma) and how life is like a "rollercoaster" and not a "merry-go-round". I will paraphrase here, "You start off pretty slow and then, ZOOM! you pick up speed, you have some fast ups and downs and you never know what is around the next bend." As grandma exits the kitchen, Steve remarks on how crazy she is and Marys character says, "I think your grandma is the wisest woman I know..." I know some wise women and that was pretty wise but you, dear reader are probably wondering where this is going...(I know, I don't use those dots at the end of sentences always correctly but for me they have meaning) The movie had one of those happy endings which I love but 'taint always so in this laboratory, lesson room we call life. Things always work out but not always as one wishes.

NEWS:

Jenni, my DIL is recovering well and quickly from her surgery. Her mother came down to Austin afterwards to help out and Noah took the week off. I am so proud of him for doing this as family should always come first. That boy is not a boy but a fine man even ifn' I do say so myself.

Cactus Mary loved her new earrings that I made for her with Karen's beads and little silver prickly pears. (I even thought they were perfect) Just a little thanks again for being there when I needed it. Let's hope she gets her wish of a new mini-van soon!

Lee Byrd stops by the booth at the FM (Farmers Market) almost every Saturday, usually trailed by her granddaughter. She of Cincos Puntos Press and a terrific writer, has a new book coming out this year about fire. Both her boys were terribly burned as children so she knows about fire! Son Johnny came by the booth too for a wonderful chat (he and my Noah are friends from gradeschool on...and all agree that John is one of the nicest people you could ever know.) She also commented that I write purty good so coming from her, I swole up a bit. Her daughter Susie is now my city council person and yes! we voted for Susie. Good luck with the book Lee. I will need an autographed copy. heh.

Billy (sorry Billy, I have a hard time remembering to call you Bill as I have known you since you were knee-high to a jackrabbit) strolled into my booth. He looks great and was with his mom and Lou. Aunt Judy is doing well, keeping the faith and recovering. Best wishes Judy. Daddy Bill went to see Uncle Mike and he is also doing well...has more kids than a cat but still kicking. Billy likes my art and always admires it when he comes around.

I found out that my article on Paul Reps, the haikuist, which was accepted and printed on the old Litkicks literary site (sigh...gone and revamped...I am not too crazy about tearing down old buildings and places that I love to build something new and "efficent"...sorry Jam and Caryn, but you already know how I feel.) I am now used as an "authority" on Reps (one of my heros) on a Hungarian Buddhist site. Unfortunately, they only credited "Buddhabitch" (my handle on Litkicks...ask Cecil, he gave me that nickname) and not my given name or SooZen Lee, a name I more commonly create or write under. I sent them an email asking them to correct it but no reply. Besides my Hungarian is a little rusty. Ah well, at least I can say I am published somewhere besides in the Litkicks Poetry anthology and the original article.

Karen (the beadmaker and leader of the band) has returned from her wanderings this summer...Canada, Ore-gone, Santa Fe and a Taos jaunt. Just follow her lead and you will have a great time! The matriarch of the Posse, she, as you may know, is known as "the Kid" because you better have your go-go boots on when she takes off. Welcome back Karen and thanks always for the sage advice!

Janice is finally getting back into the swing after the death of her mom. She is our "Princess" (pretty spoiled, rotten as we call it, but she is as pretty as a chestnut filly and full of life) and she claims I am the boss of her. I did teach her to bead and now she is the fastest gun in the west. Cute stuff too! Bought her some white sage to bless her and her families spaces. Heard Leon play the blues (he is a bass player, artist, school teacher and best of all, married to Jan) at the Civic Center Saturday nite...I had to sit outside and babysit Nathan's cup...you can't take it in and I would be in "do-do" with Nate if I threw it out. The boys went in for a close encounter and Jan brought me a Tecate, lime and salt and I enjoyed the music (the doors were thrown open) and the cloudview from my seat at the fountain.

Got to meet Silas (27), Patricia's boy and had a very nice visit with him at the FM. He's got all his frontal lobes clicking and talking about finally getting hitched (they've been together 10 years.) and having children. Now I have met all of their brood including her beautiful daughter and grandson Carter. Silas lives with his girl in Austin and looooves it there. Patty looks great and recovered...that's another story. I have some project in mind for hubby Fred for my display. He is a master carpenter...you should see Patty's house!

John and Cathy (my boyfriend, Cecil's girlfriend) just celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary! Geeze, how do you stay married that long? Hah! I only have 34 under my belt. Old and dear friends (we have known each other longer than dirt knows earth), John asked me to create something special for Cathy for "the day". I must say I was inspired and musta channeled Cathy because the results were spectacular. Richard (Karen's "old man"...her words) is an amazing bead artist master and when I saw this set in their studio, my jaw dropped and I had to have them. I just knew they (the beads) were for something special. Ona (another of the clan and Johns' sister) and her "old man" Bob (my words, sorry Bobona) came out to the FM to say Howdy. I love this family dearly! Kids and grandkids are all good and plenty. Cathy is dealing with her aging Mom but I know she will deal well.

Sue, sis Cheryl and mom Julia are loving Nashville. As you may remember, Sue is the mother of Nathan's best bud, Jake (also Down's.) Got a nice letter from Sue and from Julia and both are very happy in the trees and greenery. They have a big spread now and Jake has a riding lawnmower (gasp!) and with a little instruction, he is mowing the big lot and bit crooked but what the heck. Good on you Jakey boy! We'll make a farmer outta him yet. He misses Nathan and the feeling is mutual but we are on the rollercoaster and moving... Haven't seen hide nor hair of Julie (Sue's daughter who stayed in Phar Lepht but that means she is fine and dandy.)

Robyn and John just returned from Californica after attending his brothers' wedding. Had a great phone chat with Robbie last night on the deck. They are both retired and unretired. John is still driving a cab in Ruidoso (what a place to retire!), he was in the educational field forever and Robyn is pushing bags at a leathergoods store (she pushed me to start Candlelighters and was the driving force for that organization for children with cancer. They lost daughter Jenni when she was eight to a brain tumor.) She pushes my 'purse jewelry' too, and for that, I am grateful. Besides, I get a discount and as a result two new bags grace my shoulder (no, one at a time!) The girls (or 'squirrels' as Robbie has monikered them) Amber and Ananda are going great guns, volleyball, school stuff and boyfriends. You have to admire these two folks for what they do...I know I do.

Bob and Sharon are still trying to move to Meheeco (Mexico) but things are still up in the air. Their son Greg is also an old childhood friend of Noah's but that is because we met them first. I miss them already, if they move, it will only be a tryout until they are sure (are we ever sure?) it will work for them. Barbara (Bob's sis) and Alex have gotten a new computer. When I was down there in San Antonio, it was bucking and acting up so they went that route. I wish you luck...this contraption throws me too, occasionally. Sis Beverly has a new grandbaby, Issac. His daddy Jason is also a childhood friend of Noah's but that is because we were all 'with child' together and raised 'em up together. Congrats to Jason and Karen!

Sadly, a few of my friends are dealing with "issues" with their children, some quite heavy and distressing, and I am not naming names or situations but I wish you peace and a swift resolution. Nathan (always something with that boy!) has also got some health issues that may or may not be serious that I will have to deal with but more about that as it evolves.

My friend Danelle's new husband has an advanced stage of cancer. Karisha (her daughter) came by the booth and we shed some tears. Danelle has already lost one mate and now this...her ride is without a seat belt. I am thinking of you Danelle and wishing you peace.

Claudia and mom Verda keep me laughing...I love those two artists. Claud (her words) has a cynical but joyous sense of humor and Verda keeps the goats herded, if you know what I mean. I always get a hug from Verda and Claud just when needed.
Thanks kids!

Finally called my Mom as I haven't heard from her in a long time. Hoping I hadn't offended her (I did forget her birthday one year and I will never forget that incident) but no, she had gotten my long "chatty" letter and was playing Gin Rummy with bro Alan and SIL Sher. You don't really want to play games with my Mom, she will whip your ass. Anyway, playing Scrabble is out of the question and she has the luck and logic of a fox in any other board or mind game you want to play. Dad is doing well and still "on this side of the dirt" (his words) although I miss his emails and tibits of wisdom and where is his blog? Life is busy when you are retired.

My Pop (my father by blood) is having a time with the arthritis but I enjoy talking to him through email. He seems to be a happy man and that is all well and good. He has some grandchildren through marriage and they give him heck about Nascar and Tony Stewart as he too, is a Little E fan. Hang in there Pop...don't let them pass! Haven't heard from his sister and one of my favorite aunties, Helen, in forever. Patty, my cousin writes occasionally...Hi Patty...! (note to Patty: just know Bush will be out soon as he has plenty of rope and a lots of trees.) My cousins were "horsey-girls" too and we had many wonderful times together as children.

Les is still building fireplaces of stone in NC...he likes to get my goat and occasionally, let's say rarely, he manages. Les is a gnome, working with stone and rocks to build wonderful pieces of art. (we flew him to Phar Lepht to lay the tile in our kitchen and sunporch) We kinda raised up this boy and although he claims he is a Republican, he is just a smarty pants, very smart this boy, and most of his arguments are based on economics but we'll see how things work out on this ride. (Sorry Les...I think of you as another of 'my' boys. We have ongoing email discussions. I won't call them arguments...Hah!)

Phil is well and still living in San Fran. He is a navy buddy of Cecil's and just as eccentric as Cecil is. I love talking to him as he is a fount of info. Howdy Phil, say hey, if you ever hear from him, to bro Jeff.

Dear judih is back in Israel with her family after a jaunt to "Canaday" and the States. I so wish that we could meet in person and I am grateful to the universe that I met her on this 'puter. Hi jud, welcome home.

Anemone, my black forest of Germany friend, is quiet but I have a great, good surprise for her...ssssshhhhh! Besides, she is always peeking out of my pocket.

Alan (same spelling as my brother) is holding court in England. Got your postcard buddy. I have intentions of sending you one soon but you know about intentions. Alan wrote a book on Jethro Tull (the great band, Ian Anderson on flute) which talks history, he is a history buff and a very interesting guy besides being a great poet. I will never forget his poem about a squirrel...blew me away and I knew I would like to know this fella. Hi bud!

Charlene may come to Phar Lepht to visit on her way back or through her vacation to Meheeco. We have a room for you dear.

Ted is wrestling with lawyers and I see probate in his future...(yikes! I know all about that number.)

All my friends on Studio Eight are still jamming...howdy and smacks to you all. One of the things I wish for is time to do more writing and poetry jamming with the amazing writers I have met and communicate with there. Refugees and a rag tag group from the old Litkicks along with some new and talented writers, Doreen and Clay (Lightning Rod) have created for us a space I call 'home' and I bless them for it. Doreen is a whizz and LRod is a wizard.

Jamelah and Caryn are still 'raising cain' and frequently make my day and sometimes make me gasp at their adventures. Jam's really getting into the beading and has a great affinity for wire, her new stuff is killer. Hi kiddies! Jam, tell yo momma Anniefay to get blogging! I miss that woman!

So now, it is time for me to say that I like all these folks, family and friends. They are all different, different beliefs, different lives, different intent but they make my life full and at least I am not on this coaster alone.

RANT:

By the way, here is a fact I just heard, most people under forty don't buy art. They don't even look at art. Of course, my people are the exceptions. My DIL Jenni knows who Miro and Chihuly are, she is an art major but that is really an exception now days. Every one of the people I just talked to and about either make art or buy art or live a creative life. It is what makes you smart. Cutting art from our schools, reducing funding for our public TV and radio stations...all of those so called cost cutting things that our politicians are doing is stifling our ability to think rationally. A huge percentage of college entrance-aged children are not literate enough to fill out an application, we are falling behind in the sciences and math fields in comparison to the rest of the educated world and I think I know why. We don't support, emphasize and celebrate the arts enough and hence we squash our kiddies minds, their abilities to read, and think on their feet. Thank god my Mom and Dad were artistic and loved art! It is truly sad that we spend a billion dollars a week in a tribal country that has no clue as to our form of democracy and our young people in the military are paying the high cost as well as the population of that country. A billion dollars... that is ONE THOUSAND MILLION DOLLARS!!! a week and yet we are cutting the arts as quickly and surgically as possible. Create your life, ride that rollercoaster to the end and make it an art and please, support the arts for it is our best hope for sanity.

Note: Google (that is like coke or kleenex, a slang for the whole kit and kaboodle of search engines) Cactus Mary, Studio Eight, Buddhabitch, Mtmynd, Cincos Puntos Press, Outta My Gourd, Litkicks, Paul Reps, Action Poetry (the book), sage smudging, or just click on the names of the folks that comment on this blog to know more...

Another Note: Cecil and I argued (discussed) about my apostrophes in this long-ass blog. I sure do use a few too many but wrongly, it seems. He wins. I hope I corrected most of them.

If you have gotten this far, bless you and thank you for your patience in blogging through. I may be quiet for awhile again as the ride is getting intense at this stage and a lot of shows are just around the bend. This breather is brief and off we go! Salud! and Vaya con Dios...and as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (more of my heros) sang, "Happy Trails to you until we meet again..."

September Dreams

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 12:31:00 +0000

September is approaching FAST! I love September, it is my favorite month of the year. Not only was I born in September but the month is when the air cools in the desert, the leaves turn in my beloved mountains, the pomegranates (Grand Nadas, as Cec calls them) and mountain apples ripen...man o man, there are many reasons why I love September and these are just a few. Every morning the mtmynded one and I sit on our back deck with his fresh cuppa joe (put a little cinnamon in the grounds!) and watch the sun rise. This time of year, the clouds create one spectacular view and like my momma says, a view is worth more than money (we are suckers for views.) We don't get the sunset (and those are spectacular in the desert too) as the Franklin Mountains hide the show but the sunrise makes up for it and besides the Franklins are cool, sitting there granite like and the moon-set on them makes you weak in the knees.

As a zennist (that is not a 'pure dee' buddhist but more of a lifestyle) I struggle with my 'desires'. As a wise guru once said, "Enjoy life! Live a Zorba the Buddha exsistence, not denying materiality but not ruled by it either." Well, I have cowgirl dreams of owning some pretty material things... If I had the money, I would buy me a Chevy SSR pick-'em-up, in red or maybe yellow. Those little beauties (if you haven't seen one, they are the pace 'cars' for the NASCAR races and if that means nottin' to ya, check this out...http://www.chevrolet.com/ssr/) are small block super 8's with a corvette type engine and the interior looks like a jet but yet the outer truck looks very retro, like something from the late 40's. VA VA VAROOOM! Of course, to own and maintain a truck like this...and I could never get my tent in it anyway, you must be rollin' in the big bucks. One would have to win the lottery or be an extremely successful artist...but I can dream can't I? Besides, one never knows what the universe will provide. Just last week, at the Farmer's Mkt. a gal came into my booth, bought some stuff and just happened to mention that she had bought a new truck, an SSR! (Durn, they need a sexier name than that!) She had to special order it. Well, I almost laid an egg...my heart was drumming like an old Rolling Stone, and I had the ovaries to ask if I could go see it in the parking lot when she was through shopping. True to her word, she dropped back by and took me to nirvana (at least my heavenly dream). When she started that little baby up...it purred like a mountain cat and that brushed aluminum in the interior and the roll bars (DANGER! you need roll bars in this beauty) and how that roof rolls right into itself. Yowser!!! At least I got close...

Okay, I admit it, I have a shoe fetish...besides loving bags (purses, etc.) and beads (any kind), I love shoes. I want to paint some of my shoes too! One of my regrets at this age (I will be 57...gulp and YEEHAW!) is that I can't wear my cowgirl boots anymore. I still have them (two pair, riding and dress) as I am reluctant to part with that part of my life but I have gotten rid of all the other shoes that were stylish but uncomfortable, especially those heels from my 'job' days. I have issues with my feet, they hurt most of the time and I wear berks (Berkenstocks) for that reason mostly. I have a pair of Clarks and just got a pair of Earthshoes (very cheap) at Walmart of all places but I miss my boots! I have a cool pair of mocs with a beaded Thunderbird on them and cool rubber soles that Mom bought me in South Carolina (at Walmart! heh.) that everyone comments on but I have almost worn them out. Most of my shows are in dried grass or dirt (muddy when wet) except for the indoor ones so shoes take a beating but I have a DREAM! And this one is a bit more realistic...Lucchese mules! Take a look: http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/7154704.html Low heels, cowgirl stylin' and easy on and off. (for those that don't know computerese, go to 'edit' and copy and paste the addresses to see what I am raving about because I don't know enough to html this stuff.)

I may be able to afford that dream...and it means I can wear a cowgirl boot, without having to bend over and pull them on or off. My bad hip, leg and foot are arthritic (a horse fell on me when I was 18 so I call that side 'Chester' and if you didn't watch Gunsmoke...you have no clue what I am going on about) and would love these 'mules' besides I always wanted a mule and now I could have a nice pair, a team! Wish me luck on the shows so this gal can reach her dreams!

Enough about my fantasies...I love September, new truck or no new truck (I have a nice one anyway) or mules or no mules...at least I am not barefoot or pregnant.

Here is "Blanca" (I nickname all my cars), my chevy S10, resting at the Far-Out-House in Ruidoso...

Wishing you Peace.

The City Different

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 12:49:00 +0000

I have returned from Santa Fe...and the trip was longer, more fruitful, a tad bit stressful and a whole lot of fun.

There is something about the atmosphere in Santa Fe, both literally and figuratively, that stuns your senses, hits you between the eyes and leaves you wide eyed, slack jawed, and immensely stimulated. I know, I have heard all the negatives about the city; the commercialism; the hoards of turistas; the expense; the traffic; how it is 'not' like the Santa Fe of old. Yes, all of this may be true but that is a half empty cup attitude and I am a half full cup kinda gal. Santa Fe will always remain in my mind and heart, a place of creativity, beauty, art and soul. Every visit inspires a welling of creativity, ideas spinning in my head - I get totally stimulated by the place and the art that comes from there and return to Phar Lepht with a whole new set of ideas waiting to be released.

Now that you know from whence I've come...here is the tale to be told:

Janice (if you don't know her by now...my beading pard and friend from childhood and a stanch member of our 'Posse') and I knew from the start of our trip that it was going to be an unusual foray. It may have been the trees in the median of the interstate, far from civilization, that were decorated with geegaws and such. Or maybe it was the boat abandoned in a ravine looking for a good flood or perhaps the clouds in that turquoise blue sky that resembled dragons blowing smoke. There were many signs along the road from Phar Lepht to Santa Fe that portended an adventure of sights to behold.

We arrived on Thursday evening and drove straight to friend Jodi's home, a little adobe not far from the Plaza of the city different. Jodi is a childhood friend of Karen (who was visiting too and another of the Posse that we hang with) and is a concierge at a hotel in town so she knows how to make you feel welcome and all the spots in town to hit. Besides, she is a Sagittarius sun with an Aquarius moon so fun loving is her modi operandi. (If I lost you here...don't give up, it is just my way of thinking about people.) We had the evening to play and play we did. It was good to see my friends, reconnect, rehash and replay where we had been since our last physical meeting. Karen and Jodi are older, wiser than most people I know and always there to help with tibits of this wisdom they share. Jan and I soak it up.

On Friday, set up day, Jan and I get into my little Chevy truck and head over to the Plaza to find our space and get unloaded. We were a tad bit early (also the way I operate...I am never late, never on time, always early) so we parked the truck at a meter and took a short walk to a bench to pass the time. When our time arrived, the truck wouldn't start...nothing....no dice, no electricity, the battery was dead as roadkill. Fortunately, Jan had roadside service on her cell phone and Cactus Mary the soapmaker, another friend from Phar Lepht, was doing the show. Mary helped unload the truck into her truck and drove us a couple of blocks to our booth space. Bless her!!! (I am making her a nice pair of cactus earrings as a surprise and a thank you for this.) A tow from there to Pep Boys ended up with an expensive new battery but praises be that it was no worse. Needless to say, I was a bit stressed by this turn of events but Karen and Jodi, who also arrived to help, kept me calm and directed. Bless them too! Stuff happens and my little truck at least got me to where I needed to go and all ends well in this little episode.

Saturday was beautiful, the cloud-laden sky, the breeze that cooled...a nice respite from the heat we had lepht in Phar town. (An aside...one of the lessons in life that I am still learning is to 'trust'. Trust that all will work out as it should, trust that the world is a perfect place and that all is connected. Trust how I approach life measures how life will treat me. This may be the story of this fable I am telling.) I was disappointed with the take of the day, a pleasant day but the turistas weren't buying, they looked, they raved and walked on...
Phooey! That is what I was thinking, phooey! All that money and preparation for this??? That evening I had to pick up my truck and we had reservations at my favorite restaurant for later. After finding that no more than the battery was wrong and a big-ass margarita at Gabriels and the laughter of friends...I was thinking, "what the heck, I am still having a great time! Tomorrow will be better...TRUST!"

Sunday I was much more relaxed, in myself, into the city different. It was a great day, exceeded my take of the year before by a bit and I gave into the ambience of this great city and the people from far parts who wandered into our space. My fears were needless and only caused unnecessary stress. I switched into positive mode and the rest of the trip was wonder full.

Janice and I were supposed to leave on Monday, back to Phar Lepht and another week of catching up for the next show but I was 'talked' into staying another day by the girls to play and relax. It didn't take much talkin'...I was red eye and willing.
Monday Jodi had to work so Karen, Jan and I headed out of town and up to Taos, another favorite place. The snakey road which follows the ribbon of the Rio Grande is a thrill and incredibly beautiful. The cliff above the river are built up by years of lava flow eons ago and the black basalt rocks glisten in the sun. Rafters and kayakers bob on the river like corks, just watching them from the road above is a thrill.

Taos is a city different too, a enclave of drop-ins, hipsters, artists and politicos, all mostly liberals and their place reflects this. Peace and love is the order of the day and we are drinking it in. Our first stop is an incredible gallery of fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry (wow stuff!) and arts of all kinds. Since I still am smoking, I take a break on the lawn under a nice tree and have a puff or two. When I finally wander into the place, Jan and Karen are all a'twitter over the contents. Slowly, I look at everything, the handcrafted cabinets, the baskets that look as if a village had a hand in the creation...the handblown glass, all the intricate and beautiful things that creativity can inspire and craftsmanship is worked hard at. (my participle is danglin')

We had a great, good time in Taos, hit all the favorite places, the fabric store where I stocked up on unusual buttons, the yarn shop, the kitchen store, and lunch at the Apple Cafe on the patio for green chile chicken sandwich and salad, the bead store (OF COURSE!). It was a lovely interlude and tired but happy, Jan and I were ready to head home the next day.

I packed up early as we wanted to hit Whole Foods in Santa Fe before we hit the road to carry home some good bread, wine and other essentials. I loaded my bags and left the keys on the seat (can you see where this is going?) Janice loaded her stuff next as the truck has to be packed just so or stuff won't fit. My bags first and then hers...then she dutifully locked the doors...remember where the keys were? The first think she said after walking in the door was, "I hope you didn't leave the keys in the truck, cuz I locked the door." Yep, how did she know? Hah!

We had to use her cell phone service again to have someone come and open the door. I wonder what they must think, twice in one week. The same tow truck company arrives an hour or so later and quickly unlocks the door and we are off. The City Different tried to hold on to us and a bit sadly, we escaped.

Home again, to Cecil, Nathan, (my men) Yogi and Annie (our dog friends)and my own bed. It is all good. I loved the trip but I always love coming home the best.

A very Happy Birthday to my lovely mother Alma and my dear son Noah. Both of those Leo's make me happy.

Beadhead

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 12:23:00 +0000

I can hardly believe we are into the month of August. Tempus Fugit or something akin to that.

Actually, I can hardly believe I have not posted anything for such a long time but am well aware of the reasons. Firstly (is that a word?), I am so dog gone busy with my shows and when I am not doing a show (which is every single weekend), I am in the studio during the week trying to keep up with my stock.

Secondly, my head is so screwed into the creative bead process that I haven't had the will or drive to write anything. It just didn't seem to fit into my schedule and hasn't seemed the necessity that it has been for me in the past.

Usually, I have found writing, whether here or elsewhere, a boon and therapy for what ails but I ain't ailing so no writing medicine. Of course, there is the fact that there is a certain joy in the writing process but my joys have been elsewhere. I guess what I am trying to write (heh) is that I haven't written a durn thing in a long while and haven't missed it or felt a durn bit guilty either.

The thing I do miss is contact with my friends and family that writing here and elsewhere affords. I do miss that for sure and yes, there is a certain amount of guilt attached as I feel 'responsible' for keeping in touch and I haven't. So forgive me and hopefully understand the reasons or my excuses. ;)

Besides, I know I will get back into the writing at some point (maybe this is the start) when the mood and schedule allows.

Cecil has taken up a good deal of the computer time also since his business is now selling all our accumulated 'stuff' on eBay.

Enough about why I don't write! I have come to the conclusion that I have a golden retriever mentality. You know, the type that gets a hold of a ball and won't let go and that is all she thinks about. I am obsessive, compulsive and a perfectionist which causes me no end of grief and stress but understanding this is a way of curing the obsessions, etc. You may wonder, if you are still reading this blather, what the point is. I have no clue, I just keep on keeping on, learning to trust in the universe and knowing that everything will turn out as it should.

Beads! That's my ball, my compulsion, my obsession. I talk beads, I dream beads, I think beads almost continuously. Whether that is bad or good does not matter for it is the fact, jack. Cecil calls me a beadhead and he is right. I see holes and want to fill them, string them. Life looks like connections to me...all is connected and the bead is an example, a facsimile of those connections. Bead history fascinates me for it is the oldest known artifact that we humans have. The word bead comes from the Anglo Saxon word for prayer but besides that, in a cave somewhere or on a trek down a river ancient humans found a rock, a bone, a seed with a hole in it and strung it with some reeds and hung it around their neck. Beads have been used for contemplation, for money, for simple and elaborate adornment, for counting, and for attraction. Beads are my life but for me they also represent life...I just string it together, making connections and manifesting a vision.

Here are a few of my new visions...some are still with me, some have attached themselves to whom they were made for and are gone but not forgotten.

Beading round Beads, dichroic glass pendant, tube stitched beads, faceted carnelian

Experiment, copper wirework, moss agate

Images of an Mtmynd, milleflore beads, handmade lampwork beads by Richard Inman

Carmen Miranda bracelet, juicy fruity beads ("who's Carmen Miranda?)

La La Land

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Tue, 03 May 2005 11:39:00 +0000

Last weekend, La Vina Wine and Blues Fest was a great success. Not only for me and most of the vendors but the public that decided to attend this fun event and enjoy the music, the art and the food in a beautiful setting.

The winds were fierce on Friday when we set the tents up and that was no mean feat. Cecil and I went early to set up our tent and Jan went later to help set up her hubby Leon's tent. We struggled to keep the bugger on the ground, me holding it down whilst Cecil hammered stakes furiously. That night I worried whether or not it would be there in the morning as gusts were 50 miles plus but I guess we are prepared for it as the tent stayed put. This is an event where we have lost two tents before due to a micro-burst and hurricane force winds but not this time, not this day!

Saturday was beautiful, calm and cool because of the cold front that blew through the day before. The music was great all weekend, one modern jazz group and some amazing blues both days. Our tent is not too far from the outdoor stage and not too close as to be so loud that you can't hear the customers. Sales were great too so that makes it that much easier to bear the party atmosphere. Besides, our good friends and beadmakers Richard and Karen had us over after the show for a wonderful dinner. Richard made a killer curry and our friend Patricia had homemade coconut cake...can you beat that? It was a great day and even better evening. Hah!

Sunday turned out to be a repeat of the nice weather and crowds. Not as good a sales day but I did so well the day before, it was icing on the cake. In fact, I did so well at this show, I am going to have to get to work again in the studio.

Cecils' eBay venture is going great too. Who woulda' thunk that all those handbills and posters that he picked up in San Francisco at the Fillmore, Family Dog and Avalon Ballroom would be so valuable today? Those that he doesn't sell on the site, he is getting private email offers on so he is thrilled with the response and it beats working at Walmart for sure. He has an extensive library of first edition books and periodicals that he is liquidating as well and besides, despite all the descriptions and listings which are time consuming, he is enjoying himself greatly and never has to leave home.

Going to Ruidoso for a little break this weekend and to check on our Far Outhouse. We never get away very often to relax anymore since we both work out of our home so we are looking forward to a little respite in our beloved mountains. Nathan will be spending a night with his good buddy Jake who is moving to Nashville, TN. They are sooooo gonna miss each other and it makes me sad to see them parted as they are best buds and have known each other their whole lives. One last blowout and get together, I know they will have fun.

Here are the beaded earrings I made last week using Santa Fe inspiration and colors:

Hodgepodge Fandangle

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 13:00:00 +0000

Thought I would post a few items of interest (well, they're interesting to me!)

This Thursday, April 28, from 7 to 9 p.m. there will be an opening at Hal Marcus Gallery of Arte' Pequena, miniatures by 25 local artists. Besides refreshments and a cash bar (including pimento cheese finger sandwiches by moi) Cecil will have four new little pieces in the show (he likes BIG canvases so it was a challenge for him to size it down.) If you can, please come and check it out...

And for all those that keep asking, Cecil has a job. He is a dealer...NO!, not that kinda dealer! All those years of collecting stuff is finally paying off and disbursement has begun. He works hard photographing, describing and listing items for sale on eBay (you have no idea how much time that takes!) and is doing quite well, thank you. So if you are interested in first edition books, periodicals, paper memorabilia from the heyday of the sixties and seventies, and a whole hodgepodge of other things...look for him on eBay: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZmtmynd1
He even has some of his prints up this week...we'll see how those do.

For those of you that are NASCAR fans (good on you), my Bud finally did well this last Saturday night in Phoenix...him and Mikey both. If you aren't a NASCAR fan, you don't know what the heck I am talking about, do you? Hah!

While I watch NASCAR, I bead...have to keep those hands busy or I get nervous and shout at the TV...sometimes I shout anyway and scare the family who are busy doing other things. "Oh, it's just Mom, You okay Mom?" Anyway, I made some really gorgeous beaded barrettes and a pair of beaded earrings while not watching and watching the race. Really happy with the way they turned out and will post pictures of them soon as they are finished (glued to the backs, threads clipped, earwires attached, etc.)

This coming weekend (yes, I am sure of the date this time) Jan and I will be doing La Vina in La Union, New Mexico. I have been working hard to make stuff for this show and all the others coming up after. My summer is going to be very busy as I am also going to be doing the farmer's market at Ardivino's Desert Crossing on the Saturdays I am not elsewhere so postings here will be infrequent, I think.

Here are some new origami earrings(I sold all the other ones I made) that I finished last week. They are fun but very labor intensive as I coat all of them with a finish to make them sturdy and waterproof and each origami bead is less than an inch square...imagine the folding of those little papers!

Note: I tried to resize the picture but was unsuccessful. Sorry for the giant earrings! Really, I am not trying to slow down your computers.

(Whoops...came back and found that they resized really, really small. At least your computers will like them. I will try and fix them if I get the time.)

Go Figure

soozenlee@hotmail.com (SooZen) — Wed, 20 Apr 2005 10:19:00 +0000

I am indulging in a bit of self analysis, I mean, what is it about numbers and me? I really can't figure it out. (sorry, bad pun)

As long as I can remember, I have had issues with numbers, you know, math, 'arithmetic' as it used to be called. Some folks are afraid of snakes or bugs or heights...not me. The biggest cockroach in the world doesn't even make me quiver. I don't mind snakes a bit, tight spaces, high places...not a problem, but give me two or more digits and I am shaking in my boots. Do I have a 'number' phobia?

It seems, as I look back and try to remember, that this has always been an issue for me. Hiding in the cloak closet as a very young child waiting for the math portion of class to finish and the teacher never noticing is one memory. My grandfather used to drill me on my multiplication tables which by the way, I never managed to memorize and would dread. I can remember most peoples names that I meet but never their phone numbers, even old friends that I talk to frequently. I can't count although I have worked in credit departments, as a cashier, and do my own bookkeeping (how I manage is always questionable.) And it is not just math that makes me sweat...dates, times, anything, anything to do with numbers makes me nervous because I know I have dyslexic tendencies with numbers. I will get 'em mixed up more often than not.

And it is not as if I am not careful, very careful when numbers are necessary. I recently sent out postcards to several hundred of my customers on my mailing list with the upcoming shows, times and dates. I create the template for my postcards, go and print them myself, hand address them (my printer sucks, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't) and have that satisfied feeling that I've done all I can to insure a successful turnout to the shows. Then (EEK!!!!) I discover that I put the wrong dates...for the next show!!! There it is, in print...the wrong days, the wrong weekend. This is a quandary...do I go to La Union and sit by the winery and apologise to all that turn out on the wrong day for my show? Explain that I have issues with numbers? Hah! I can't send out correction postcards. Sheesh! At least, I called my friends (I looked the numbers up) and let them know the right dates and damn if some of them were planning on coming on the wrong date that I sent them... How in the heck did I get it wrong...even though I thought I checked everything carefully...?

They (the ubiquitous 'they') say that part of dealing with a problem is knowing what the problem is. I know I have this problem with numbers so I try and be very careful when I HAVE to use them. Although, more often than not my checkbook never balances, I have to do my taxes over and over, etc. And it's not as if I think I am stupid...I have a pretty good opinion of my capabilities, my brain function. String theories in physics fascinate me, cellular biology is something I enjoy reading about, Einstein's theories are fairly well understood and 'ubiquitous' is a word I use in a sentence but don't ask me what 9 times 8 equals...I'd have to calculate it and even then, I may get it wrong.

Now for those of you that have no issues with numbers, this may all seem a bit silly, a fear of numbers but think about how you feel about snakes or bugs or whatever it is that you have irrational fears about. It just is. Trying to analyze myself and the 'problem' I have experimented with several reasons why this may be. It is known that the right side of our brains has to do with creativity, communications, and is more subjective and the left side is analytical, logical and that's where we use numbers. Obviously, I am more right sided than left but is that the reason for my unreason? I am still working on it...until then, your indulgence is required if I sent you the wrong date, told you the wrong time and don't ask me to 'go figure' for you.