Dispatch From Phar Lepht

New Stuff for the Winter

2008-11-08T11:19:00.003-07:00

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

2008-03-11T14:24:00.006-07:00

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

2008-02-28T18:07:00.003-07:00

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

2008-02-19T09:05:00.002-07:00

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

2008-02-14T18:36:00.003-07:00

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

2008-02-14T08:32:00.005-07:00

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

2007-05-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

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

Fringe Benefits

2007-04-15T03:51:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-06T04:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-09T05:18:00.000-07:00

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

2006-02-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

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

2006-02-19T05:41:00.001-07:00

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)

2006-02-11T04:15:00.000-07:00

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

2006-02-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

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

2006-01-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

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

2006-01-05T06:44:00.000-07:00

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

2005-12-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-21T04:53:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-22T04:19:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-19T05:31:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-11T05:49:00.000-07:00

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

2005-08-02T05:23:00.000-07:00

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

2005-05-03T04:39:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

2005-04-20T03:19:00.000-07:00

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.

Starving Artists

2005-04-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

The road to San Antonio is punctuated with mesquite and an abundance of desert primroses due to the break in the recent drought. When you leave the environs of Phar Lepht and the traffic and head out on Interstate 10, you are sure to notice the good verses bad drivers on the highway. Those that know how to behave on long stretches opposed to those that think the highway belongs solely to themselves. I, of course, think I am one of the former and not the latter but only another can tell.

A nine hour drive brings you to the brink of the city and more traffic and a loop that seems to take forever when your arms ache and your eyes are bleary. Fortunately, I didn't have to set up my tent at the crafts show until the next day and could enjoy the company of friends and a good dinner that evening.

Friday, the day we set up was windy and unkind especially when your tent is made of the same material they use for kites and hot air balloons. I held it down while my partner Jan scrambled from leg to leg of the tent to set the 50 lb. weights but even with the weights, the tent slid four or five feet after a big gust. We sat down to watch and consider the options and finally decided to just set up the tables in the corners with heavy tubs on top and continue the set up the next day when the winds were supposed to subside. They did...

Saturday was beautiful and there were beaucoup artists this year but unfortunately a plethora (I use that word where I can) of jewelry artists and nonartists. My real bane is the fact that in these so called juried shows, a few always get in that don't belong there and don't make what they sell and they are always jewelry booths. So you end up competing with cheap ass jewelry that is bought and resold and the people that run the shows never seem to notice even if you tell them year to year.

I barely made expenses even though the weather cooperated and the crowds were plentiful. It was discouraging and frustrating. I have to reconsider doing this show again next year if the situation remains the same and there is no telling until one gets there. A nine hour drive both ways for just a pittance doesn't seem worth it.

To top it off, the ride home after an exhausting weekend was a typical desert wind event. The dust storm and wind blew my little truck all over the road and I had to fight the wheel all the way home. By the time I arrived Monday evening, my arms, wrists and shoulders were aching.

I am glad this one is behind me...my luck is bound to change, at least that is my hope. It seems I am just moving from one trying situation to the next and keeping my chin up is becoming more of an effort.

New Horizons

2005-03-29T09:57:00.001-07:00

To keep my mind off of the flood disaster in the basement (and because I really needed some new inventory) I have been working feverishly in the studio on some new stuff. Thursday I leave for the San Antonio show and I want to be as prepared as I can.

Here are some of my new pieces:

copper enamel beads, beaded beads and wirework beads by SooZen with turquoise donut, czech glass, seed beads, german vintage glass and matching earrings

copper enamel and beaded beads by SooZen, bronze freshwater pearls, firepolish czech crystal, vintage german glass, seed beads with matching earrings

washer bracelet made with galvanized washers, japanese triangle seed beads

The Ides of March

2005-03-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

I should know better by now...something goes on in March that afflicts both Nathan and myself. I can look back at the calendar and see it written there through the years. The year that Nate got lost, got bit by a pit bull, nearly got shot by a policeman and on and on...all those things happened in March. But you don't think about those things when you are 'in the moment'...I don't anyway.

Cecil and I decided to go out to dinner with some old and dear friends on Wednesday. We normally don't go out for dinner (it is expensive) but we hadn't seen these folks in awhile and on a whim, I called them and asked them if they wanted to go to a favorite Mexican restaurant that has killer margaritas. We had a great evening (Nate wanted to stay home to watch his show) and when we got back home Nate met us at the door..."HELP!" was all he could muster, "the water is everywhere!!!" Cecil zoomed in the door and down to the basement where our bedrooms and Nate's TV and art room are. Water was everywhere...everywhere...all throughout the entire area, the carpets were soaked, lots of stored items were soaked, it was an ocean and poor Nate kept saying, "I'm sorry, its my fault!"

Seems the toilet got plugged and Nate was unable to stop it so the water just kept coming. Cecil and I stayed up until the wee hours trying to sop most of it up...which was futile. Finally, we fell into our bed which was now an island and Nate had to sleep upstairs in our guest room. Thursday was spent talking to insurance companies, with huge suckers and blowers brought in by water removal experts. Carpet and padding stacked in the front yard, ripped out in huge hunks. Piles of trash which once was treasures are everywhere. Furniture is here, there and yon. To top it off, I feel down on the tile floor last night, bruised and skinned my knee, sprained my finger and had a good crying jag but otherwise I am just fine. Hah!!!

I am writing this to the hum (actually, it'sa roar) of dehumidifiers and drying fans. It is a wonder I could sleep but I guess exhaustion just kicked in.

Nate is okay too. He was more concerned about me and my apparent shock at the whole ordeal. He gets over stuff fast and recovers his peaceful countenance quickly...it will take me a bit more time.

Beware the ides of March...maybe 'be aware' the ides of March should be my motto this time of year but you never see it coming.

SooZen

Note: because I don't have the energy to write this whole thing more than once...it will be posted more than one place that I tend to write in.

Before the Show

2005-03-23T06:54:00.000-07:00

Next Thursday I will be on the road again heading down (or is it up?) to San Antonio for the Starving Artists Art Show held charitably by the Little Church of La Villita there on the riverwalk. It is a beautiful setting and I am hoping for good weather (one time we had a tornado warning and very high winds!)

Also, I may get to visit with an old friend from our San Francisco days (before Cec and I were married...that's a long time ago) who now lives in San Antonio. His brother Philip served in the Navy with Cecil and that is how we met Jeffrey. Both guys are dear to us and I haven't seen Jeff in many, many years so I am so looking forward to that. Plus I am hoping that he will lend his manly hands to helping us set up (even if he can't, I am anxious to see him.) Thinking back to the 'olden' days, we had some great times together and Jeff and Phil both have been to Phar Lepht at one time or another (Jeff even stayed here with us for a visit.)...so you can see, I am excited and looking forward to this trip. Also, the wildflowers should be riotous because of all the spring rains from here to there so the trip should be beautiful.

Here are some new pins I have been experimenting with. Tell me what you think:

Fringe Pin number one

Fringe Pin number two

Fringe Pin number three

My scans are crooked, not the pins!

Also got some new signage made for my booth (thanks Cecil!) and some new postcards and business cards done. We did them ourselves on the computer and cut and pasted the originals the old fashioned way but they turned out quite nicely. A lot cheaper than the commercial ones that you can get printed and that counts for a bunch when you are watching your pennies. Besides, they have that 'handmade' look and feel that I like.

Will be very busy in the studio for the next week so will update my journal when I return. Wish me luck!

SooZen

Springtime in Phar Lepht

2005-03-13T05:16:00.000-07:00

One of the anomolies of the Phar Lepht desert is the beautiful Mexican poppies that bloom in the spring if we get enough winter moisture. This year the rains were kind and our persistent drought seems to have taken a hiatus for the poppies are blanketing the northeastern slopes of the Franklin Mountains. Cecil and I took a day to go out and explore this wonderful and breathtaking sight. From the Wilderness Park museum parking lot, you can get up close to the poppies and the view of the mountain with its shawl of orange and yellow. Instead of waxing poetic about the sight...I will just show you:

All photos by Cecil B. Lee

closeup of Mexican poppies

SooZen in poppies

poppies with Franklin range in background

Shady Lady in the Wilderness Park

poppy carpet

poppies on the slopes

Let the Shows begin

2005-02-28T03:04:00.000-07:00

Well, with a little 'tweaking' I have changed my blog so that anyone can reply to it. Please let me know if this is not working or you have problems with it. I can still delete any reply, if I so want so be warned. Hah!

On the home front, I have a show coming up this next weekend at Ft. Bliss. With all the new troops they are moving in, it could be a fairly good show. Normally, this is just a venue I do because I am more than ready to get on the tent circuit again after a long break. It is never a biggie, or hasn't been but just a good time to meet the gypsies again and turn over some of my 'leavings' from the last year. Lots of low end items and none of my high class stuff are the order for this show.

My weekend was very quiet, if you can call Nates' TV blaring 'quiet'. (That boy is nearly deef...my throat chakra is very well developed. heh.) Anyway, Cecil was in Ruidoso to visit with John and check on the Far Out House, our little getaway in the mountains that my dear folks gifted me with. They had about 6 to 8 inches of snow in the village and a bunch more on Sierra Blanca. I know that a dead pine had fallen in our yard, barely missing the back part of our shack. He was going to take care of that but the snow gave him an out. (The folks cabin next door is for sale again. I can hardly believe what it is on the market for now.) All the snow and rain has been great for the flora and fauna and the fire danger this year should be low. The creek behind the cabin is full and the Rio Riodoso has a good amount of water in it. Cecil says he is having a good time, I'm sure he is as it is always good to get away for a spell.

Watched NASCAR on Sunday...while making some new beaded beads. Unfortunately my boy Dale Jr. had a few problems with tires but I had no problem with the beads. They turned out just great. Now I just need to put them, along with my new copper enameled ones together for the show next month in San Antonio. I have dreams of a new Cowgirl necklace too, with charms and some of the new beads. The studio is a mess right now as I have still not gotten everything organized since the Tucson bead show but that is next on the list. Since we have started going through all of Bernie's stuff (that's my Mother in Law who died and left us a ton of you name it, we found it) the studio is suffering. I would show you pictures, but it is embarrassing. Hah! Instead, I will show you a picture of something I made at the end of last year:

Lookingglasses Necklace, crystal, czech glass, art by Cecil B. Lee

Goodbye Gonzo

2005-02-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

(Note to Mom...Don't read this, you're not gonna like it...Or maybe?)

I spent the long weekend in Ruidoso and surrounding areas and was all set to write about my blissful retreat. Then I find out Hunter S. Thompson blew his brains out while I was eating a vegi-burger with a full load of fries at the Western Cafe in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. What??? Leon (Jan's pard) told us after we drove up to her house to unload. What??? HST took the easy way out, so it seems...Or was it?

The good/bad Doctor of gonzo journalism who took to the campaign trail hunting Tricky Dicks and Hump Humphries. I read all about it in the Rolling Stone with Ralph Steadmans' art spattered across the pages like a bad suicide. HST as we call him, as if we knew him, was my first foray into politics. I couldn't hardly wait for the next issue, next episode in this slice and dice literary voice of reason or unreason. It was the season of Patty Hearst and the SLA, marches in the streets about a war over there that had no meaning. The tube was filled with dead bodies, boys that could barely shave fighting for who knows what. HST was on, dead on. He was a madman with a pen, over the top, excess, excessively.

"They" say he waited until his wife left the house. O goody...That was nice of him. "They" say he was in chronic pain, every day, pain. O yeah? Well, I and a few that I love dearly are in pain, every day, pain and yet we hang on...Stay here. Yeah, I know, we all gotta die of something but taking your life? What??? I'd like to go out like Dale Earnhardt, doing what I love as fast as I can on the last lap of the Daytona 500. I mean, to me gun control is knowing where you are aiming...

What can I say, what more can I say? I loved the way he wrote. I have read him and admired him greatly for his abilities, his cutting to the quick style. But I think he is a chickenshit for leaving his body parts scattered about and his loved ones to pick up his pieces. His son found his body...Now isn't that sweet?

"Presidential politics is a vicious business, even for rich white men, and anybody who gets into it should be prepared to grapple with the meanest of the mean. The White House has never been seized by timid warriors. There are no rules, and the roadside is littered with wreckage. That is why they call it the passing lane. Just ask any candidate who ever ran against George Bush -- Al Gore, Ann Richards, John McCain -- all of them ambushed and vanquished by lies and dirty tricks. And all of them still whining about it." Hunter S. Thompson, 2004

Geez, I'm mad at you Hunter. Not for the 'fringy' way you wrote, not for the drugs, not for the silly fool you were but...for...taking the easy way out. He wrote that piece above last year, he could still write, he could still write! Damn.

I hope you rest in peace (finally) Hunter and say hello to Tricky Dicky for me...

SooZen

Dawg Daze

2005-02-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

It is my habit of late to arise before dawn, roll a smoke (I am trying to quit but keep falling off the wagon so the harder I make it on myself, the better), go outside with the dogs and think about what it is I want to write that day...The dogs are always good company, the best sometimes...

Now, I know this is gonna be long, it's about dawgs so settle in and give it a chance, especially if you have a dog or have had a dog in your life

I started thinking about dog stories yesterday. The day was spent with my friend and Posse member Karen. She loooves dogs! She has a blue tick hound, a papillion that was inherited from her daughter and a mixed breed that is the son of Genii, the papillion. Cactus (I love that name, I had a stick horse as a child by that name. We horsey girls that didn't have horseys at the time, had stick horses)...Where was I? O yeah...Cactus is a cool dude kinda dog with shepherd, papillion and 'who knows' mixed in. He looks something like a coyote but with a grizzled blue and tan coat. Whiz or Whizzer, the blue tick, is Karens' old dog, nearly blind, deaf but still lifted into the car for the evening ride for sunsets and ice cream.

I can remember and have had many dogs in my life: Cinder, Draggin'(Drag), Gertie, Zacharia (Zack, Zacko), Andrew (Mandrew, Drew, Droopy), Annie (Annie Fannie, Annie Girrll) and Yogi (Yog, Yoggie Doggie, Nate calls him Doggie Doggie or Scooby Doo). Some of these canines have been GREAT, Near GREAT, or just Wanna be GREATS.

The only thing I remember about Cinder was her death. I was quite small then and she was killed by car in front of our house on Timberwolf Street. The death itself is quit vivid in my mind although I don't think Cinder was one of the GREATS.

Drag was. She was the smartest dog I have ever known in my life...Some have come close, but none was as GREAT as Draggin'.

My grandfather actually found Drag hanging about our yard (no fences there). I should say 'slinking' about our yard as she was obviously abused and skinny and lost or escaped, most likely. Granddaddy (on my Momma's side, talked to all animals too and would be known as a horse whisperer nowadays) would sit out in the yard, toss her bits of food for she would not come close...He would do this for hours, talking to her in his dog reassuring voice. He and my Mom musta realized she was a GREAT because they spent long hours teaching her to trust again. She came by her name honestly, she came draggin' into our lives and stayed until a very old girl...Her death was more peaceful than Cinders.

Drag loved to go fishing with my brother, go riding horseback riding with us, running along side, ignoring all other dogs, her tongue hanging out about a foot trying to keep up with our wild forays She went just about everywhere the family went. Always getting car sick but man, if you opened the car door or started packing bags she was into the car and you had to drag Drag out! Hah! She looked like Ole' Yeller (that movie still makes me cry), mostly yella lab, she loved water and would go swimming in the Franklin Canal behind our first place, cutting her feet to bits on broken bottles but she loved to swim! She liked cats, bunnies (she would steal baby bunnies from next door and play gently with them)and kids, but had no truck with birds...She was a bird dog and killed a few of the neighbors chickens. Granddad tied a dead chicken to her neck once, that chicken rotted there and that was the last of her chicken killing days. Her experiences with skunks are family legends.

Once she was left out in the desert by us accidentally after we had gone to go riding at our stable. When we arrived home my Mom was furious at the perpetrators. "Where's Drag?" she asked when we returned. Whooowee! Was she pissed! We drove back out there in the dark, hoping against hope that she would be found...There she sat in the middle of the dirt road, he eyes glowing in the dark, waiting for us to return. Drag hated to be locked up...(separation anxiety at its worst). You couldn't leave her alone in the house, she would claw the door until she was bloody, if you didn't lock the door good, she would open the door by the doorknob and escape. My Mom and Dad probably still have the dented and toothmarked doorknob my Dad mounted on a plaque for my Mom. She was the best of friends, never knew a leash, a free spirit who had a definite personality and a big heart...Drag was a GREAT. I could tell a hundred more tales about Drag, but I won't, I need to get to the other dogs in my life.

Gertie was a short-timer, a dachshund Cecil found wandering about lost, she loved kids, I mean she loved kids with a love that was blinding. We had no kids at the time so she escaped, probably following some school kid home and having a kid for the rest of her life, at least I hope so. She wouldn't have been a GREAT anyway, she was just sweet.

Zacharia (named after the Country Joe cowboy movie of the same name)was another of the GREATS. We picked the litter for this boy...He was the biggest of the lot and had a mischievous heart and a sense of humor to boot. Part Australian Shepherd and part 'fence-jumper', he came and stayed until his sad death. Zach was really my first child, he'd sit in my lap as a puppy and 'goffer' a ride, looking out the window, happy as a clam. When my first child was born, that was his child and he watched Noah like a hawk. He was a shepherd after all and shepherd Noah he did. Once, the boy was in the back yard with Zack (fenced, this time) and I was in the house for the phone had rang. Noah, dressed only in a diaper and tennis shoes and only two at the time, climbed the fence and took off for a walk...I returned to find dog and boy gone! I was frantic, I called the police, I called a local talk show on the radio, I called and called and called for Zack and Noah and looked high and low. Some lady heard my plea on the radio and called the police saying she had found a baby walking down the street with a large black and white dog. Noah told the lady, "I'm thirsty!" and she quickly took him in but was worried about the dog who wouldn't leave her porch, laying down right outside her doorway...Zacko (as Noah called him) wouldn't budge as long as his 'child' was in that strange house. I could also tell a hundred tales about this GREAT creature. Just thinking about him brings a tear to my eye and talking about the way he died is still hard for me, so I won't. For a long time before and after his death, we saw black and white progeny all around our neighborhood as Zach was a real ladies' man. He hated other males and would fight them even if they were bigger. Alpha dude all the way. Hah!

Andrew or Mandrew as my Nate called him was the most worthless piece of dogflesh you could ever meet and the only dog I ever paid for. He cost me $100 bucks and that was like throwing money into a stiff breeze. His only saving grace was that Nate loved him, he was Nate's dog and either snapped, bit, or growled at everyone else, including me and Cecil. He never ever snapped or bit Nate and Nate would run up to him, grab him by the neck and hug him. No one else ever dared do that to Droopy, he would getcha! He was part Cocker and part Bassett Hound, Cecil called him a 'cockasset' heh. He loved Annie Fannie, our rescue dog, also and always tried to love her good but he was not smart enough to know where the business end of Annie was. Poor girl had a messy face and I will leave it at that... Drew died of cancer, in the yard he so loved with me there brushing ants off of him and keeping watch with Annie. Cecil and I cried over that worthless dog when he died more than any other for the only time we could even pick him up is when we laid him to rest.

Annie or Annie Fannie is my girl and Cecil is her GOD. He found her curled up on a rag in the desert on his way to work one morning. Something about the look in her eyes made him stop his car, back up and invite her in which she did and gladly. She was soooo skinny, her hips were bruised and sore from being thrown out of a truck probably, she was starving for a home and Cecil has a soft spot for doggies. She used to tell me 15 or 20 minutes ahead of time when he would arrive home, she sure couldn't have heard his car that far away but she could read his mind. Annie is part Australian Shepherd and part Chow for she has that black tongue, in fact Annie is an all black girl and I tend to step on her in the dark. She's fearful of thunder and loud noises, gets carsick when you are driving 'away' from her home...she is my velcro dog and no one will drag her away again. She is also a chow hound, big as a blimp and getting arthritis in her legs and shoulders but still plays with Yogi, in a very dignified way. She never liked doggie toys or playing fetch or any doggie past-times, always snorting at dogs who do. She spent a week with me alone in Ruidoso at my little shack there and other than the thunder and me kicking her the heck outta my bed one night, we had a companionable time. Annie is not a GREAT, but nearly so...

Yogi is the dog that Cecil shouldn't have come home with but dogs pick us, we do not pick them. He was but a baby, a victim of the gulf war so to speak. His owners where both young and in the military. Cecil was doing a moving survey (his previous job) at this young soldiers house. The boy had a sad tale of his wife flipping out and in the hospital, he being redeployed and having two puppies in the back yard. "Please Sir", he asked, "don't you want a dog?" "NO!" replied Cec, "My wife would kill me if I brought home something else to take care of." I had threatened him a few times, I guess. Hah! Anyways, the boy offered Cecil twenty bucks to take a dog. Cecil went out in the yard to have a look and there was this little, tiny, sweet faced boxer mix (supposedly all boxer). "Keep your money son, I'll take that one but I hope you know my wife is not gonna like this," he grinned. I was away in Ruidoso at the time, Cecil called and said he had a new puppy (a puppy!!! like baby...poop!). What could I do, it was too late and Yogi came into our lives.

We looove Yogi! Annie mothered him, Nate loves him and so do we. He is a GREAT dog!!! Trouble with him is if he could flip flapjacks, he would. Too clever, too smart with a big assed grin on his face and sure to be a GREAT of the GREATs in the annuals of GREAT dogs. (By the way, he is as big as a pony now...serves us right!) His tail, never docked and always sweeping or banging into something is like Drag's, always in trouble. He's huge and sometimes walks like John Wayne (it may have something to do with the tail thingee) kinda sideways in the back, he knocks on the window outside (Knocks! not scratches) when he wants in. He sleeps in the big red chair next to our bed curled up like a donut. The chair has become too small for him so he gets up and down all night long to stretch his long legs but he loves that chair! He is a people dog and likes all our friends. Dear friend John in Ruidoso says he will take him anytime we want to relinquish him and he already has a GREAT dog Leila, but it is a done deal. He will live here and die here with us because he is a GREAT.

Hah! Thanks for sticking it out all the way through. Was that GREAT or what?

SooZen

Picture of the Lees circa 1975 or '76, Cecil, SooZen, Noah and Zacko by Jim Mulhauser.

Our Real Treasures

2005-02-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Those of you that know me well know that I am an environmentalist...yeah, I have been know to hug an old tree or two. I have supported many environmental causes such as Greenpeace, World Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, Audubon Society and National Humane Society. I am the environmental writer/contributor to a local rag hence the following rant.

I come by my love of nature naturally (heh). My mother is a nature lover, she talks to the animals, loves trees and flowers. Raccoons would flock to her door, birds would follow her on her walks, abandoned dogs were like her kids. Growing up my brother and I were allowed (unlike many kids we knew) to have all kinds of creatures in the house and yard. We were also required to take care of them and that teaches children great lessons in life. Alan (my bro) and I had horses, gerbils, rats, various reptiles, hamsters, squirrels, chickens, rabbits, dogs, cats, fish, bugs...hey, we ran the gamut. All the time my mother was tolerant of this managerie. We learned about birth, sex, death and most of all, caring and kindness for another creature. (Bless my mother for passing her love of all of the denizens of the planet on to me. I owe her greatly for this. Thanks MOM!) Also, anyone that knows me, knows too that I am a 'horsey girl', always have been, always will be. Please, read on...

Anyway, the reason for this blog is the situation concerning the wild horse and Mr. President's efforts to repeal the long and hard fought for protections of same. First he goes after the old growth forests and now he wants to re-instate the slaughter of the wild horse. Now granted, wild horses are not native species but they have reverted back to the wild style and are a symbol of the fast disappearing wildness of the west. Horses are very sensitive creatures, they have language, customs, family values (yes, they are family type creatures too!) and they have suffered and loved us human types to our advantage. How should we pay them back? This action on the part of the current administration is certainly not the way.

One of the reasons given and justifying these actions other than the fact that McDonalds or Burger King might suffer is that the horses to be culled are too old or stallions or some such nonsense. (And anyway, the ranchers are more in danger of Bush's letting the government drill on their lands, without their say so, for methane than wild horses grazing.) Now this concept of culling is pure D bull, bunk, balooney! Any horse can be gentled IF you can talk horse... This attitude that they are a valuable commodity, hence slaughter them is...is...well, it burns my noodle when I think about it. Cows are in abundance (and I am not saying you shouldn't kill a cow and eat him although we sure are far removed from what we slaughter) so use what is already on the plate. All of the creatures on this planet eat or are eaten but there is no reason to catch wild horses and make dog food out of them or send them to Japan for someone's 'bone appitight' (we into colloquialisms here, heh.)

There is so little left on our planet that is wild and untouched and the way we are going, our grandchilden and grandchildren's children will never know the beauty of the wild spaces if we don't care. Please care and write your legislators about this issue. You can find out more at this site: http://www.wildhorserescue.org/bill.htm

Take the time and take some action.

Thanks and Peace.

From Here to Forever...

2005-02-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

Yes...I know. It has been a long time since I have written anything but I promise you, I haven't been idle. I have a whole list of things I have been doing including being depressed, being creative, being sick (part of the reason for the depression), being gone and just plain old "being" avoiding writing for awhile. I needed the retreat to refresh and renew myself and to escape the trap of being redundant and HoHum (although, there is nothing wrong with Hummin'...it's the wHOa part that gets you everytime, if you catch my drift pardner.)

Anyway, I digress (a specialty of mine)...and I will just jump onto the stuff I have been doing and skip the nasty, sick stuff including the depression. That never lasts anyway and just an excuse for being down and resting my bones. Besides, I am finally learning to trust in the universe that everything will turn out as it should...I am a slow learner when it comes to myself and I am sure that will continue until the day I die for none of us should ever stop learning.

My beady buddy Jan and I just returned from the Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson. Now, I want you to understand...This is an AWESOME event. Within the Gem and Mineral Show are five, yes, I said five separate bead shows. You can find anything in Tucson in February from geodes the size of a VW van to the fossilized head of a velociorapter. Folks come from far and near; India, Australia, China, Sweden...everywhere in world you can imagine, just to buy and sell the jewels of the earth and even the universe. There is a whole show just for meteorites!

Being that my finances are very limited right now, I skipped all the foufou and falderah and went straight for the beading events and bead artists that gather in Tucson to show off and sell their creations. I had a mission, a quest, and when you are surrounded by such bounty, such beauty, is it extremely difficult not to be swayed or tempted for a bobble or a bargain. Jan and I go to Tucson to buy materials for the entire year or even two years. I needed, yea, wanted glass beads from a bead artist from Rhode Island by the name of David Christiansen. He was part of my quest and the moment we arrived (it is about a four hour drive from Phar Lepht) and checked into our room we headed out again to the location near the Tucson airport where Dave was supposed to be. He was right there where he was listed in the back-breaking catalog that is in every hotel and tourista location that lists all the shows and vendors. Fortunately, this big ass catalog even provides maps so there was little chance of us getting lost (although we did manage to get waylaid occasionally.) David makes what is known in the trade as furnace glass or art glass. His is the best and only the best for will do when you put your heart and soul into what you create. I spent a good two hours going through his beads, all the colors, the shapes, the beautiful new pendants he has made until I had about two pounds of his art in my backpack. If someone had hefted my bag and asked, "What's in here, rocks?" I would have to say, "Yeah!" We took a quick perusal of the rest of that show where Jan found some beautiful Swarovski crystal from Austria and then on to another show. We did this from Wednesday afternoon until Friday evening...going from show to show (me trying to stay focused and within my meager budget and Jan impulsively flitting from flower to flower.)

We had a great, grand time eating at a favorite natural foods restaurant, bending over bead tables until our backs were aching and opening a bottle of wine at the end of long days in our crummy room where the prices were jacked because of the shows. I bought silver spacers, silver cones, silver beads made in India and Bali, silver, silver, silver and managed to keep from buying all the amazing and beautiful art beads that took my breath away but were priced out of my range. I am sure I left my drool on them though... I did cop a few little artists beads to intersperse in my own creations, besides, I am making my own beads now (that's another story kiddies!) I was very glad to talk to these artists who generously shared techniques and tips which I could bring home to my own studio. I found out how to etch copper with a solution from Radio Shack that is for circuit boards, dental tools make great bead clay molding artifacts and on and on...I really got pumped and am anxious to put some of these materials and knowledge to work. (So if I disappear again, you will know why.)

Another item in my quest were the tiny seed beads made in Japan that are exactly triangular shaped. They are what I make my peyote stitch beads and bracelets from and fortunately the Universe steered me to the right place as those beads are extremely difficult to find. I even found a show where a lady was demonstrating their use and gave me three free tubes of the little gems and a "how to" book to boot! Oh, I was so very lucky. Hah!

Beads are what we go for, beads are what we crave, need, and yes, desire. A beader never has enough beads for there is no such thing but let me tell you, bead magazines and periodicals are almost just as valuable (and expensive). Tucson had bead mags everywhere and for FREE too! I grabbed copies of Ornament (my favorite), Bead & Button, Simply Beads, Lapidary Journal Annual Bead Issue, Belle Amour, Expressions...Man! I had enough for a library and FREE! (Don't you love it when someone gives you something free that inspires creativity in you!?) The bead artists were also giving away postcards of their bead art and if you are on my mailing list, keep and eye out...

Enough about the Bead shows and Tucson already! I am making my own beads now out of copper tubing (plumbing supply and home improvement stores) and enamel with a process that doesn't use a torch or anything that will fall into my lap or burn down the house. I am still experimenting so I have nothing to show you but I did take a sample with me to Tucson and got some positive feedback (and tips!) More to come on this when I have put it all together.

Visualize Peace and while you are at it, take a look at some of the stuff I made while I was sick in bed (post Tucson). Tell me what you think either by email or here. I love, want and need to hear from friends and family and will promise to get back to you. All of these bracelets (along with all of the jewelry I post here) are for sale to someone that will love them so keep that in mind too so I can afford to go to Tucson again. Hah!

SooZen

"Dragonflies" Peyote stitch with triangles, drops and vintage button

"Falling Leaves" Peyote stitch with triangles, drops, copper button

"Chakra" Peyote stitch with triangles, lentil drops and Krishna button

New Year's Day, 2005

2005-01-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

It is the first day of the new year, 2005 and as usual, my new year's days tend to be eventful. Hard to put it all in perspective considering the pall that is cast by the constant reminders of the immense tragedy of the tsunami in Asia. Never-the-less, when it is personal, one tends to notice.

New Year's day, 2003 we found my mother-in-law sick and in need of emergency care when Cecil went to bring her a morning coffee. She spent the year in and out of the hospital, in my care and foster care and died on September 3.

New Year's day of 2004 I was away from Cecil and Nathan because of my father's illness in a South Carolina hospital. Needless to say it was a time not of celebration but of worry and concern. Happily, Dad is recovered and looking forward to a new year.

Our New Year's eve was pleasantly spent with friends Janice and Leon in their home but we didn't even manage to make it to midnight before we needed to go home and get some sleep. Nate spent the night with his buddy Jake celebrating with chocolate pie. When we arrived home, I checked on my cat Sara who had been going downhill for a couple of weeks. She was in pretty bad shape, unable to walk but when I came in she dragged herself over to me. I sat on the floor with her and she put both her front paws around my ankle, holding on to me with her head resting on my leg. When she fell asleep, I crawled into bed. She died at 9:20 this morning, New Year's Day and Cecil and I both cried for she had been with us for 16 years. I will miss her spirit, she was my shadow and friend and she loved me unconditionally. No more cats in my life for none can ever replace Sara.

On a happier note, the New York Audubon Society managed to get the residents of the town house in Manhattan to put the nest framework back up for Pale Male and Lola the hawks. They have been on the new nest site, bringing twigs so that is a very good sign that they will nest there again.

Also, today is my sister-in-laws birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARI!!! One of the nicest people I have ever known.

I hope the New Year is filled with good things for you all, especially Love and Peace.

O Happy Day

2004-12-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

Well the big day has past and Nathan is most happy with his take on Christmas. He is one that is very easily and happily satisfied with very little. It doesn't take much to please the fella, just some participation and enthusiasm suits him. Jake and his family gave Nate a DVD player which is one gift he had asked for. His weekly trips to the video store had become problematic as there were few VHS tapes available anymore...just more DVD's. Those visits every Wednesday are important to him as it allows him freedom to be on his own in the store, shopping (which he loves to do!) while Mom and Dad go get the groceries. All in Blockbuster and Hollywood Video know the guy and he is in good hands as we watch him until he disappears inside. Speaking of shopping, all his other friends and family gave him some cash to do just that and he is already making plans for the bookstore, new pants, new DVD's and some lunch at his favorite fast food place. All Cecil and I have to do is go along for the ride...

Christmas was quiet and peaceful although I sorely missed having my extended family around, I felt their presence and got some nice presents from them too! Spent the morning and part of the afternoon cooking a small turkey, cornbread stuffing, mashed taters, gravy, roasted carrots, sweet taters and onions, stuffed pimento cheese celery, and pistachio ambrosia. We ate huge for Saturday and Sunday. O yeah, a homemade pumpkin pie for dessert along with the sand tart cookies which I made for Cecil. The menu is strictly Nate's request...he knows what he likes. Turkey sandwiches with mayo make him smile too.

Here are some of the bracelets I made from Cecil's art. They are already sold, snatched up by Jake's family who love both my jewelry and Cec's stuff too"

The first one is from an painting Cec did for our twenty-fifth anniversary called, appropriately, "Twenty-five"

In the middle is snippits from both Lookingglasses with hand made glass beads by friend Karen Cascio

Finally, black and white images from "Crawdaddy Concentration" and "Serpent Time"

They were lots of fun to make and I hope you enjoy seeing them...

A Christmas Story

2004-12-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

I write so infrequently anymore on the lit sites that I am feeling rusty (that sounds weird...see what I mean?).

Last year, at this time I was in South Carolina at my Dad's bedside, away from Cecil and Nathan for the first Christmas ever. Dad was not expected to make it and I needed to be there...He beat the odds or had a miracle or something akin to that. He believes in angels, not just believes in angels but believes he has one that personally takes care of him. What do I know? I don't think he lies about her and as far as I can figure, he doesn't lie about anything to me so he must have an angel. I don't believe in angels but I don't disbelieve in angels either so I guess you could say I am on the angel fence, between belief and disbelief. I can state that there were some strange goings on at that time. For instance, a pure white pigeon used to perch above the hospital door that we used for our comings and goings to visit Dad. She was hard to ignore and showed no fear of the humans that frequented the place. The security guards that patrolled the grounds had taken to feeding and watering her and even given her a name, "Noel". Dad was having one crisis after another, in and out of consciousness. Noel was like a signal, a sign of some sort, at least it seemed that way. She was a symbol of peace, a white dove at the doorway, watching over us as we came and went. One day a guard said she had seen a hawk attack her and found some white feathers on the ground. Noel disappeared for a few days...We assumed she was dead but low and behold, she showed up again, feathers intact, at the doorway with her black, beady eyes cast our way as Dad continued to hang on to a thin thread of life.

The doctors were realistic, all along telling our family that the odds were great that Dad was not going to make it through this crisis. Dad talked, when he could, telling tales of his childhood and his experiences in life, he wasn't eating and barely drinking anything but he would create recipes of a great dinner party with many courses starting with oxtail soup and a fine wine. He asked me one time, when we were alone and Mom and my brother had gone home to get some rest..."What would you do if you met a savior?" I was rather taken aback at the question and the insistence in his weak voice. "come on, answer the question, WHAT would you do if you met a savior?!" I replied that I didn't know, fumbling for words of what I deemed an moment of import. "You know what I would do?", he asked smiling. "I would walk up to him, introduce myself and ask him to join me in a beer and Chile rellenos." Hah!

Dad made it, he beat all the odds, he always has. He told me that he was ready for one more round and I know that he will savor every moment, his angel on his shoulder. I am sure that this will be a special Christmas for him and by the way, he now has his own blog so check it out: http://almandbob2.blogspot.com

My Christmas will be merry, I hope yours is too.

SooZen

Pell mell and Pale Male

2004-12-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

Man, these posts have been few and far between but those of you that are familiar with my schedule this time of year should understand...crazy busy!

Cecil and I just returned from the Wheatsville Art Festival in Austin, Texas. Show was a success for us, they looove us in Austin. Not much time to visit with the kiddos as we drove, we set up, we showed, we broke down, we drove...kinda like that. Noah did make some killer griller on Saturday nite which we smote with a vengence after a long day. Saturday was beautiful, Sunday rainy, cold and dreary but we still made some flat gravy. The art there is amazing, the potters had stuff I drooled over but the budget prevailed and besides, I have promised myself...NO MORE STUFF!!, 'especially stuff that catches dust (have lots of that!). I did make a few trades for some soy candles (love them) and wild wired women that an artist makes and sells there (I will bead and sell them as pendants.) Nate had a good time visiting with his brother but was glad to come home. Like the lady said, "there's no place like home".

Next and last show of the year is the open house at Hal Marcus Gallery the weekend before Christmas. That is always a fun event and those last minute shoppers make my day. I came home from Austin all fired up creatively with some ideas for making picture pendants from Cecil's art. I have already made two and working on some charms to go with. Happy with the results so far...will see how well they scan when I am finished and will post them here.

Many of you know that I am now a contributing writer for a new mag in Phar Lepht called Natural Living. My area is the environment and so far they have published both the articles I have sent them. NL is a mag about healthy lifestyle and spirit and I am proud to be a part of this new adventure. I have a few extra copies to send out to family and friends.

Speaking of environment...something on the newswire sure chapped me off. Maybe you have heard about the red-tailed hawk that has nested in Manhattan for the last decade in a high rise across from Central Park. There was a documentary made about his efforts to raise young in the big city and books too. Pale Male (his moniker) has had three mates during this time. They mate for life but both previous mates died, one from poisoning and the other disappeared. Anyway, Pale Male has managed to raise 23 fledgelings over the years from this nest. That is phenomonal and has brought a predator to an area that is rife with pigeons and rats. He and his mate Lola raised three young'uns this last season and that is amazing. Seems some of the rich folk that live in the building objected to the occasional rat or pigeon carcass on the sidewalk below, not to mention the bird droppings. Sheesh! These folks are so far removed from mother nature that they don't realize what an amazing and beautiful thing they have (had) happening there. Since red-tailed hawks are not endangered (except in New York City) there seems to be nothing that can be done about the nest removal and resulting eviction of Pale Male and Lola. He is one of the most studied and famous hawks in natural history. People come from all over the US and other countries to watch him and Lola do what comes naturally. Children have school programs where they come to watch the hawks raise their young. This plucky little hawk has beat all the challenges that mother nature has thrown at him but he can't beat human nature. For more information on Pale Male and Lola visit: http://www.palemale.com/

Time to be Thankful

2004-11-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well, things have been so busy around Phar Lepht that I haven't had time to blog, email my family or friends or even 'think' about writing something creative. I still haven't found much time for any of those things but I am going to make some to at least write here in my journal.

The Good News: Noah got a job! He had been applying all over Austin and was beginning to get discouraged at his prospects but low and behold, he got a job with the state agricultural department as a computer tech. Now both he a my DIL Jenni are working for the state and only a block from each other. He will be taking a large pay cut from what he earned but doesn't have to worry about the state filing for bankruptcy and the benefits are good!

Cec and I did a show this last weekend here in Phar Lepht. Las Artistas is one of the premier shows in this area and I have been trying to get into this juried show for several years. It's not that I have been rejected, I couldn't even get an application. A very popular show for sure and other artists and craftfolk have told us that customers come to buy, not just look. They liked our presentation and several of the board members even bought some stuff from us. Cec sold several of his creations. He is really getting into the jewelry making and was encouraged by the sales and comments he got from the public. Funny though, he makes the most delicate and dainty items whereas I tend to make the more bold and ethnic pieces. He is a great salesman too, the ladies love him as he is very charming and charismatic.

The bad news: Our water heater bit the dust and leaked all over the floor. Replacement was not on the agenda but that is one of the joys of home ownership. We went a few days without hot water which is no biggie but makes you appreciate the convenience of modern living. Water heaters have gotten very expensive too. Ugh.

Two more shows before Christmas so again, I will be busy in the studio since we did so well at the last show. I have lots of empty spaces to fill. The next show is in Austin where I will get to see Noah and Jen. Not much time for visiting as it is a ten hour drive on Friday, set up and show on Saturday, show on Sunday and ten hour drive back home on Monday. Nate will get to visit with his brother though and he is excited about that.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I have much to be thankful for and am grateful.

I Hold These Truths...

2004-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

The old adage about not discussing religion or politics usually holds good for me unless I am with family or close friends. My Mom has always loved politics and has been a good example of an enlightened woman who grew up dealing with the male bias in the workplace. She believed(s) in being well informed about what is truly going on the world, not trusting in one source but seeking the answers and listening to your heart as well as your head.

In listening to my heart, I am personally aghast at what the Bush administration has done and is doing to our republic. This election is a turning point in the history of our country and the world. Watching Bill Moyers last night, I was struck by how real conservatives are puzzled and dismayed by what Bush, Cheney, et al, have done to the beliefs and values that they hold dear. There is nothing compassionate or conservative about the current administration for more reasons than I care to list. Not that I am a conservative...I am an artist, after all! I value most of all my personal rights as a individual in the greatest democracy of modern times. Under the guise of fear, those rights are being threatened, under the guise of morality, those rights are under assault and I am greatly saddened by the disinformation that has been fed to the populace in these last four years.

I am going to vote on Tuesday and can assure you that I will use my heart as well as my head. I just hope that others will do the same...

Octoberfest and Dad fest

2004-10-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

As many of you that read my journal know, Ruidoso, New Mexico is one of my favorite destinations. It is in the Land of Enchantment after all and that is no understatement. Fall is my favorite time of year in the mountains, the air is cool with the promise of winter, the aspens are golden and Mount Sierra Blanca is a patchwork quilt of greens, reds and yellows. The Ruidoso Octoberfest is a small show that I do mostly because it is so much fun and not that it is a big money maker. This year is no exception, it is fun and I manage to make more gravy than the past few years due to the fact that the regulars that attend the show are starting to look for our booth. The Ruidoso Civic Center is a nice venue too, not too large and in a beautiful spot next to the Links golf course and a great view of Mt. Baldy (the locals affectionate name for Sierra Blanca). Needless to say, Jan and I had a wonderful weekend with beer, food and a continuous party and at night a safe haven at our dear friends John and Robyns' house. The show only runs Friday night and all day and until the wee hours of Saturday so after packing the tent, we had Sunday off and decided to take the back road from Ruidoso to Cloudcroft and then down to High Rolls to check out the Apple Festival. This road runs through the Mescalero Apache Reservation and the little farms and ranches along the way. The early morning sun lit up the patches of aspens with a yellow so bright you could hardly bear the beauty, it was so intense. We enjoyed visiting with other vendors at the Apple Festival, our friend Cactus Mary was there with her husband David and quite a few of the other gypsies that we do shows with. After a nice stroll through the junipers we headed on home to our guys and a nice evening and best of all, our own beds!

Today is a momentous day...my Dad's 84th birthday. He is a man that I have measured all other men by and that is not an easy thing to live up to (just ask Cecil!). His life has been one of many adventures and because he choose to write them all down in a voluminous journal, Dad's history is something I will always have and treasure. In his eighty four years he has seen and done many things; the youngest Chief Petty Officer in the Navy at the time, he was there at Pearl Harbor when it was bombed; he is a recipient of a Purple Heart; he played in a Dixieland Jazz Band (he could play any tune on his piano just by hearing it); he learned to clown around and he and my Mom spent a great deal of time as Sugar and Spicey visiting sick kids in the hospital and old folks in rest homes; he could do magic and slight of hand; he made his first grandchild's cradle, rocking horse and wooden toys for both the boys. All his life he has not only been creative but a man of his word, a man of honor, and the best example a child could have of a parent. I give him all the credit for any wisdom that I have garnered in this life. We have a special bond and I am justly proud to have been raised by such a man. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, I LOVE YOU!!!

Dad and Nathan, Summer of 1984, Ruidoso, New Mexico

Ruidoso Aspenfest

2004-10-05T05:11:00.000-07:00

Clouds hang low over the distant Sierra Blanca as the truck starts the long climb through the Hondo Valley and through Mescalero towards Ruidoso, New Mexico. It is the monsoon season in the Chihuahuan desert and Ponderosa pine islands that surround the Tularosa basin. The Sacramento mountains are the deep greens of juniper, pinons, pines and firs on one side of the basin and purple and blues spires of granite of the Organ mountains on the other. A long sliver of pure white of the gypsum sands ribbons the valley below as the little chevy pickup leaves the valley floor for the shades of green of the mountains to my right. 'Monsoon' is actually a misnomer for it is not the monsoons of India that one would think of, rather an afternoon shower each day, sometimes a downpour with pea-sized hail on rare occasions and then clearing in the evening. That is our 'monsoon' where the hurricanes and storms roll up from the Baja and bless the mountains with precious rain.

The oppressive heat of the desert gives way quickly to the crisp, cool mountain air and I roll down the window of my truck to take a hit, inhaling the piney wet soup. Ahhhhh!!! There is really nothing like mountain air to refresh the soul. As we pull into Ruidoso we soon notice the vintage cars and trucks that come to the village for the Aspenfest. The high school and locals put on a parade, chili cook-off and arts and crafts fair to celebrate the turning of the leaves. This year the leaves of the aspens and oaks that dot the base of Sierra Blanca are just turning sodden and dropping without the usual show. That's alrighty with me, it means the rain is abundant this year and the drought stressed ponderosas can fight off the pine beetle infestation that has been the bane lately in their long lives. I hope for good weather for the weekend and our show but I never curse the rain for I know how dear it is in my beloved forest.

Coming up on Thursday gives us time for defragging before set-up and a bit of porch sitting that evening, margaritas in hand kindly whipped up by our hostess Robyn. Friday morning we have time for a few errands and some visiting in town before we have to hoist the tent. I am determined to find the 20 gauge copper wire that has eluded me in Phar Lepht. Lowes doesn't have it, none of the big home supply stores have it and they look at me like I was from Jupiter when I ask about it. Here in Ruidoso is my favorite of all hardware stores, Village Hardware, where the men are downright friendly and the little place is crammed with cool tools, wildlife supplies for the garden and lots of wire! They have copper, brass and galvanized in all gauges, including the elusive 20 that I need for my copper rings and suncatchers. I buy three big rolls and am a happy camper (and I spent less than 6 bucks!)

Then we head downtown (that sounds so big in this little village peppered with galleries, gift shops and the like) to visit with Robyn in her new job at a leather goods store. Being a cowgirl at heart, I love the tooled and smooth leather goods, purses (bags!), belts, wallets...you name it. I especially love a zippered day book, whose three-ringed insides include a calendar, room for addresses and the all important lists I have to make to keep me on track. The cover is tooled in oak leaves and acorns and is a rich brown. It is a little 'pricey' for me even with Robyn's employee discount so I reluctantly leave it behind...besides, I have one that I use for all the shows but it doesn't compare to this little jewel.

The tent set-up goes smoothly. This whole show always goes smoothly and is well run by Bonnie and her troop of little gymnasts that use the vendor fees to fund the programs for the kids. Bonnie is all business, friendly business, and makes sure we are happy and in the place we want to be. Jan, my pard, and I have the same spot year after year as do many of the tent show gypsies that do the circuit. We meet and greet each other warmly, we are a tribe and see each other each weekend of the long show season...

Saturday starts out beautiful, the air is cool, almost cold, with the evenings rain and you can't beat free donuts and coffee for the vendors to start the day. The crowds are aplenty and Jan has a super day. I have a fair to middlin' day but the atmosphere more than makes up for it. It turned cold and rainy in the afternoon and we are glad to have our layers of clothing on. Sunday is gorgeous all day, with a few cloudy moments in the pristine skies above the branches of the pines that shelter us. I do better on Sunday which is unusual because Saturdays are consistently better in this business but not this time, not for me. One of the greatest benefits of doing these shows is the people you meet. The couple that moved here from back east, he from Ohio, her originally from Germany (makes me think of Anemone, my pal from the Black Forest) and their talk of the persistent elk that is eating the geraniums in their yard. Many folks have moved to Ruidoso from far and close and love the weather (no hurricanes, tornados, volcano's, earthquakes!), the beautiful scenery, and warm, friendly people in the village. Bartering is the order of the day for the tent show gypsies, (which makes me think of judih and the kibbutz in Israel.) I score some great stuff, pottery, a crocheted boa of multi-colors for myself, a soy candle, all gifts for my loved ones for the holidays and all for stuff I made myself. Cool!

Sunday evening, after packing up our display and tent, we head over to Weber's Grill for some good eats with Robyn (thanks for helping us break down!), Cactus Mary (she had a great time and made some new natural soap converts!) and a last goodbye before heading off into the darkening forest for home. After dropping Jan off at her house, I head home to my boys who are always glad to see me. Nathan greets me at the door with a big hug, Cecil with a big smack...I am home again, for a few days, until the next show and the road beckons...this time of year, I don't even bother to unpack the truck except for my clothes and stuff. This week will be spent in the studio with Cecil helping me make more adornments... it will be another busy week. Stay tuned...

Rain shrouded forest near Lake Bonito, Ruidoso, New Mexico. Photo: Cecil B. Lee, Fall 2001

Road Show

2004-09-30T04:58:00.000-07:00

Well fans and fannies, I am off on the road again today. The little Chevy truck is packed to the gills and I am ready to hit the pavement. As many of you may or may not know, the shows come fast and frequent from now until the end of the year. This is making gravy time as after December...no shows until April! Cecil has been in the studio with me making jewelry too! I sell everything he makes faster than flipping flapjacks, so I appreciate his help, mucho! He made an amazing two strand bracelet with petrified wood stones and copper...I am sorely tempted to keep it for myself, but ahhh, someone out there will LOVE it too...

Cactus Mary (www.cactusmary.com) is going with us (me and my pard, Jan) for the first time. Mary makes hand crafted soaps and potions, incense, essential oils, loofas, etc. and also handmade paper greeting cards (designed by her mate David, buddhahead arts, inc.) She is an Aspenfest (Ruidoso, NM) virgin and we have taken her under our wing and will treat her gently. Besides, I am ADDICTED to her soap!!! and need to keep her by my side.

The leaves will be turning (hopefully the blessed rains haven't ruined the show) and the golden aspens and red leaved oaks will be a crazy quilt among the deep greens of the ponderosas and firs. I can almost smell the mountain air now tinged with the mesquite and pinon smoke from fireplaces. It is cool during the day and nippy at night, a welcome relief from the desert (although we have had some rain too lately.)

We will be staying with Robyn (posse member) and John who make us as comfortable and as cozy as bugs. Bless them!!! I am looking towards this trip, seeing my beloved Sierra Blanca and old and new friends.

Will tune in when I can... Ya'll take care and play nice. Visualize Peace...!

SooZen

The Bash A Smash

2004-09-27T04:40:00.000-07:00

The birthday bash was a big success...Wine, women, songs and cigarettes. Hah! The men were there too, thankfully, and provided much needed entertainment. Not much time right now to go into the details but it was a great evening and I am grateful for my friends...my real treasures.

There was a slightly sad note and someone out there forgot my birthday...someone, you know who you are...who should have celebrated the day with me and not a word, a card, an email. I know you are busy, but damn, it was my BIRTHDAY!!! And I never forget yours, never for I was there... (Get over it Soo! Hah!)

I have a killer schedule coming up (I hope it doesn't really kill me) and my posts here may be few and far between. Starting next weekend with Aspenfest in Ruidoso, I have shows almost every weekend until January...then I get a long, three month break, except for the bead show in Tucson *and that ain't work!* so hang in there kiddies and folkies, I will be back or have a broken back or something...

As many of you know, I love to write and I am a regular on many writer forums, in fact, I may even have a 'reputation' Gasp! I write poetry, haiku (more than poetry) and short stories. Here is a poem I wrote yesterday:

PUT ANOTHER BUFFALO IN THE JUKEBOX BABY

sometimes the silence between the words is all i can hear
deaf to pleas, done with conversations, digging
holes in spaces, writing these dots...connecting dots, collecting
dots...

i am going to be one of those old women that you see in
outlandish clothing, polished like glass, fragile but tempered.
o that temper, that temper! when you pass, you will say,
"look at her, she must be crazy" in a polite whisper...

there is no thing polite about me except "howdy", and a
warm touch, a snort when i laugh, loud enough to frighten
my own children, i peel you back and look interior... a view,
an intuition, a psychic vision...and if you venture closer...

claws in one hand, hardly trimmed, but poised...sometimes
a fist, a hammer, a rock hard slap in the face that hurts you where
you hide out...then a touch, a soothing word, an apology that is
carried in my bag, a tissue for you to blow it out on the other
hand...

i will be one of those old crones that smiles when you question, nod my head agreeable, mirror and shapeshift to your face, your mask that lies *liar!* in front of me. you may see, you may see me, that old and still beautiful woman who smiles when you question...

saturn, the old man *very old man* takes a stroll with me, he is ringed, bejeweled, and passing out chickens like cigars to all the houses on my block...naked saturn, with hula hoop frown, lives in the 9th house on the block...he'll stay awhile, a guest that runs around in his birthday suit...flashing me as he passes...dirty old man...revealing all...

and another milestone passes on the road, this long windy, pock-marked, rocky road with a view that would stagger anyone by it's very lucidity...a cormorant flew over me, escaped from japanese fishing village only to view the rio grande...double rainbows, twins, before my day, crossed the mountains...i see...i sea...Susan Elizabeth Appleby...SEA, see?

i want, or should i say, i desire (cannot escape the desire, nor do i want to, yet) him still, he who suffers the slings, the arrows, the darted looks, the lidded eyes, aye, him, the thing, the one i most cherish and love must suffer with me...for we suffer the most the ones we love...

when i get old, older, i will dwell in dreams, live in light, that woman you pass on the street, whisper, "she must be crazy, look at her eyes...she must be..."

SooZen
9-26-2004
day after...

Here is a piece I recently sold (yippee!), vintage german glass beads, india glass, copper beads, and czech glass and crystal, lampwork pendant by Marco Marcus (17 years old at the time).

You say it's your birthday...?

2004-09-24T04:54:00.000-07:00

The birthday gifts and greetings are starting to roll in (but where is that package from Rio Grande Jewelry supply that is three days late? I need that stuff!).

Here is a list so far:

1. Big ass box of Henry and David jellies and preserves from the folks including Blueberry and Meyer Lemon, Strawberry and Rhubarb, Apricot!, Bing Cherry, and Plum...there's more, but those are my faves. Funny thing, around here, biscuits are King (someone has to be KING! so we named biscuits), and we have to have a little jelly or something with them (gravy is Queen)...I was running low on preserves, box arrived just in time! Hah! BTW, Pillsbury makes a frozen biscuit that is pretty close to homemade.

2. A beautiful, beautiful card from the folks telling me how much they LOVE ME! Whooohooo!

3. A card and book from Leti. Leti, is an old and wonderful friend and she sends me the neatest stuff! The book is very old with a soft, worn leather cover, called "The Beauties of FRIENDSHIP," copywrite 1906. Pages are linen with deckled edges, handbound with a leather thong. Leti is the Thriftshop Queen as opposed to the Bead Queen (me) and finds the most unique and appropriate things...this gift was so amazing!

4. A t-shirt and card from Alan and Shari, my brother and sis-in-law (she and I are closer than bugs in a rug and drive my brother crazy when we get together. Hah!) Anyway the t-shirt says "silly boys" next line in hot pink, "Trucks" next line, "are for girls!" Now, if you are not a southern girl with a Truck, you may not get it. I get it and was very amused!!! (I played with Tonka when a kid, had a little blue pickup with horse trailer) I LOVE my real Truck, a little white Chevy S10 that I haul my tent show around in. It was a Mothers Day gift from my boys and mate. Cool gift from the sibs (Alan, Shari), but Richard and Karen (posse member) didn't get it...o well, I DID! Hah!

5. Cecil gave me a new CD by Jai Uttal and the Pagan Love Orchestra (doncha love that band name?), I heart Jai and this is one with meditative chants on it, "Music for Yoga and Other Joys." He is also taking me OUT to dinner Saturday nite to celebrate with a few close friends, there will be wine and song...a gift that keeps on giving...o yeah, and a couple of tequila shot glasses that are hand engraved (for both of us), one is for a 'writer' and one for a 'artist' (we can mix and match)...long and tall and very cool. Also some new bead mags (trip to the bookstore!)for continuing inspiration and dreaming.

6. I got myself a 'brand new bag' (insert James Brown impression here). I could write reams about bags...I LOVE bags but I get attached to the one I carry and carry it 'till it will carry no more. For all of you that don't know, I call a 'purse' a 'bag'. I am the original 'bag lady', I have bags for show stuff, bags for shopping, bags for storing bags, well enough bags to bag the world. My purse bag is another matter, I use that bag like a backpack, it has to have backpack possibilities, lots of pockets on the outside for an address book, checkbook, show calendar, little notebook for reminders and creative thoughts, camera (cheapo for me to take candid shots with a finger on the lens), ciggies and flame...you get the idea and it has to be not too heavy to haul. Found just the right bag at Ross (bless Ross!). Got black leather, looks like a saddlebag, which suits me great! Enough about bags already!!!!

That's it for now...I will be sure and let you know what else comes in..."aren't cha 'cited?" (as Nate says.) Hah!

Cats in the Cradle...Let's get political

2004-09-23T05:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I couldn't let this day go by without commenting on the rerouting of Yusuf Islam's (formally Cat Stevens) flight to the US, his detention and deportation back to England. Cat has been 'Islam' for at least 25 years, he converted to Islam due to his peaceful nature and concern for people. He is not, nor has he ever been, to my knowledge, a terrorist or a threat to anyone. We that grew up in the sixties are well acquainted with Cat, he was a sweet, gentle soul that crooned about peace, love and understanding. He stopped playing his music publicly for awhile, devoting his time to his Muslim faith and some charity gigs. He started a school for Muslim children in Britain, the only private school there that got government funding.

When the US government pulled Islam off that plane, they pulled more than him from his seat...They pulled a bit of you and me too. Just because he is MUSLIM, he is suspicious, a threat. What's up with that??? What is happening to our country? Our freedoms? Think about that on November 3 and for all the world's sake, please vote your conscious.

The following is an excerpt from the Associated Press Wire Service:

"Everybody knows who I am. I am no secret figure. Everybody knows my campaigning for charity, for peace. There's got to be a whole lot of explanation," he said.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complained Wednesday to U.S. officials about their treatment of Islam, telling Secretary of State Colin Powell "that this action should not have been taken," the Foreign Office confirmed.

The Foreign Office declined to say what he meant by "this action" - whether it was Islam's detention, or his inclusion on the watch list.

Straw's protest was a reversal of the Foreign Office's hands-off position earlier Wednesday, when a spokeswoman had said "the reasons for his detention and return are obviously a matter for the U.S. and not for us."

Okay, I've had my say...back to my world:

Tonight I have an opening at a local gallery, Mel Clarkston's Gallery & Studio, where my jewelry will be featured. Mel, a wonderful, delightful and down right cute gal and her musician husband, James opened this gallery last year to feature local artists and their output. Unfortunately, here in 'struggle town' (that's what Cecil calls Phar Lepht) selling art is, well, a struggle, especially 'contemporary' art. Cec and I contributed some of his canvases and prints and my collages for the walls. People would come in like it was a museum, comment on how wonderful the art was and walk out the door... Mel and James had to do something, this little gallery and their art and music lessons pay the bills, after all. So they are going the gift shoppe/art gallery route. Mel has started making adorable painted purses (she is making me a funky, gypsy-cowgirl purse! Hah!) and James is making wooden clocks. They haven't given up on their art, they just had to get another horse mid-stream. That is how you survive as 'artists', you have to give the public their due and right now, 'functional' is key to selling art. Women will always buy jewelry (thank you women!) but 'wall art' is another thing. Cecil is gonna have to rethink his focus and we are going towards the 'gift shoppe' tent show direction. Wish us luck! We want to make our artistic life a rewarding one and of course, PAY BILLS!

Cec is taking the digital camera tonight, I hope to have pictures of the event soon, check back.

This Saturday, September 25, Jan and I have a little one day show in the upper Rio Grande valley at a Methodist church in their new Fellowship Hall. We would usually be doing Phar Lepht's Art in the Park (which we LOOOOVE!) but the city is redoing the park, putting in new bathrooms, a new fence (the ubiquitous rock walls that Phar Lepht is so famous for ~ opps, don't look at where they are blasting away the Franklin Mtns. for all that rock!), a new permanent stage for the entertainment, ecetera, ecetera. It should be done (I said SHOULD but knowing Phar Lepht...)by showtime next spring. Let's all keep our eyes crossed.

Anyway, (I sure can ramble on, can't I? heh.)this Saturday is mine and Jan's birthday!!! Applause is welcome, I made it to 56 and that is no small feat! Jan and I have shared more than birthdays all our lives. She is a Libra with a Scorpio moon (watch out!) and I am a Libra with a Scorpio accendant (scary mask!) but we are both really airheads. We have know each other since 7th grade, been sisters-in-law for a very short time, d-i-v-o-r-c-e-d those boys and married the loves of our lives. We always spend our birthdays together, even in those busy years of raising our children, she kept the tradition up and come Sept. 25, we were together. I have some nice surprises for her, and I ain't telling here because she reads this burp ('cuse me.)
After the show, we are going to Richards and Karen's (part of my Posse) to 'fluff up' (as Karen calls cleaning up the sweat and reapplying face) and then on to an Open House where a friend of theirs has built a replica of an Anasazi (however that's spelled, them's ancient Indians) ruin in his front yard. Should be interesting, huh? Then we will go on to Ardivinos on the mesa, above Sunland Park, New Mexico, an old Phar Lepht area establishment, and shall sit on the patio, smoking and joking (well, Cec and I are smoking) and looking out over the valley and the lights. I expect gifts and more gifts of friends, good times and a bottle of vino. Will let you know how it all goes...

Here is a pair of earrings which will be in the gallery show, Japanese Sen coins with citrine, branch coral and red agate, cute! aren't they? heh.:

Pictures, White Sands Invitational Balloon Rally

2004-09-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

Launch site, White Sands National Monument

Heather

Ona red hat and Jack (new puppy) in the pack

Inflation

John and Heather's balloon taking flight

balloons launching

balloons aloft

Bird in flight

John and Heather away...

all pictures by Cecil Lee, September 18, 2004

The Dragon's Breath

2004-09-19T04:24:00.000-07:00

Imagine...Floating...The earth slowly moving beneath you, the sky a turquoise blue, the distant mountains a purple silhouette, the white sands underneath sparkle like crystal as the emerging light hits the prisms of gypsum and the sound of a dragon's breath breaks the silence. WHOOSSSSHHHHH!!! You slowly, slowly spin and turn, you ride the beautiful dragon as her fire rises above your head, her colorful skin the colors of rainbows or chakras. Elves scurry below her, watching your every move as she rises into the morning sunrise... Wait! This is not my imagination (although it is yours), I am really watching the dragons, the elves and in the midst of it all, that beautiful scene. Let me start from the beginning...

John and Cathy are old and dear friends, we have known them a very long time and have shared many life adventures. All my friends, my family, are my treasures. Far above material things, it is the people that people your life that are those gifts that keep giving. Instead of waxing philosophical here, I just want to impress how important it is to stay connected. My friends John, Cathy, their children, Ona (C), Heather, Cindy, John's sister Ona (B) and her husband Bob are all treasures. We have stayed connected even though John, Cathy and family have moved far away from Phar Lepht. John's passion has always been the sky, flight, he is Icarus, the winged god, that liked to fly too close to the sun. Many times he has crashed back to earth (both literally and figuratively) but each time, he rises phoenix like, to fly again. Cathy loves John, she does not like to fly like John and instead, has been his support crew, making sure that everything is there so he can fly again. Ona (C) and Cindy have families and John and Cathy's grandchildren. Heather is like her dad, she likes to fly too and has become his partner in this adventure.

Cec and I rarely get to see this family, once or twice a year Ona (B), John's sister who also does the art show circuit with her husband Bob (Outta My Gourd, painted and carved gourds)lets us know so we know when they are coming to town. We try and see them, meeting at Ona's house for a party or just a quick hello. It is never long enough but it is a connection we all treasure. This last show (Kermezaar), Ona and I were chatting and she let us know that John was coming but that Cathy had a new grandbaby and would not be able to make this trip. I found out that instead, Heather was coming with her dad and I had not seen Heather since she was a child and since I had no show this weekend, I was determined to see them both.

This was no easy task as both of the boys (Cecil and Nathan) are not crazy about getting up at 3 am and riding for two hours to a spot in the desert where you may or may not see something happening. "It might be windy" he groused, "It might not happen and I don't like getting up that early!" This time, I gave them no choice, I stood firmly against their resistance, despite their 'grumping' and packed a picnic lunch, got the folding chairs ready by the door and Cecil set the alarm for 3. I was a brick wall and they could not get passed my will of mortar. Saturday, it was not bright, but it was early, they stumbled to the car and we headed out in the desert darkness to White Sands National Monument, a good 1 1/2 to two hour drive. I was my usual chatty, happy, chipmunk self... They were gloomily silent, as we drove through the starred night.

White Sands is an anomaly, you may have heard of the place...There is an Air Force base near there, Holloman (hollow man? hah!), and the small berg of Alamogordo where an air and space museum resides. The white sand is gypsum, a crystalline mineral and the dunes lay in the Tularosa Basin, slowly drifting across the landscape, stark white against the surrounding tan desert and the deep green Sacramentos and purple Organ mountains. We arrived at the gate to find hundreds of cars, trucks and RV's sitting in the parking lot, waiting. The party had already started. We ended up following the crowd to a viewing point, and as Cecil parked, I knew we where in the wrong place. Instead of arguing with him (about that, heh.) I leaped out and started walking through the throngs of viewers until I spotted a Ranger that was parking cars on the hard flat, white surface. "Where do the crews go?" I shouted, he smiled, "You are in the wrong place...Go back down the road and take a left. Talk to the Ranger there, he will direct you." Aha! My ingenuity and will worked again. We found Ona (B) and Bob and then were directed to John and Heather who were sitting and waiting by their truck and trailer for the pilot's meeting and the start of the event: The White Sands Invitational Hot Air Balloon Rally! (Kisses and hugs all around.) Cec and I had flown with John several times before and our oldest, Noah, had flown when he was but four or five years old. I trusted John, he was a good pilot and knew what to do in a high wind landing. I had had one of those with him before and survived. Today, the wind gods were kind, the sun god was peeking over the dunes, the happy buddha was happy, it was a perfect day to fly.

Cecil and I didn't fly this day, we crewed for Heather and John. A young air force pilot, who was a test pilot, and flew all types of prototype jets (the F15 is his favorite) crewed with us. He was going to get his first hot air balloon flight... He worked the lines, unfolded yards of nylon, followed orders and then got into the basket with John, Heather, and Judy (an old and dear friend of Ona (B)'s who is now handicapped.) Cec and I watched from the top of a large dune, Nathan went in the chase truck with Ona and Bob. John tried to get him to fly, but Nate hates to fly, "I'm afraid of heights!" and he wouldn't get in the basket. He rode in the truck though, as Bob followed the balloon. From our vantage point, we could see the surrounding dunes, the balloons as they circled in what is called a 'box' where the winds move different directions, depending on height, taking the balloons first one direction, then back towards us again and John's truck as Bob chased the balloon.

Imagine once again, the white of the sand, the early morning sun, the whoosh of the burners, the silent floating of thirty-five brilliantly colored, Easter egg-like balloons. There were a couple of shaped balloons too, these shaped balloons are always a hit with the crowds. Tweety Bird (or maybe she was a duck?) was there, she sat up in the space next to us. Smokey Bear (NOT 'the' Bear, okay Bob?) had his hat on. A balloon that had a small balloon looking as if it crashed into it was the strangest one. A beautiful tan balloon with painted kachinas (southwestern indian gods) all around the perimeter was my favorite (other than John's, okay John?).

After packing the balloon we headed back to Alamogordo where the event promoters held a picnic for all the pilots and crew. Food, gas (pilots need gas) and shady trees abound. John and Cliff (another pilot and friend) held the ceremonial first flight ceremony with a good dousing of champagne and pinning [guys are pinned on their zippers (yes, that zipper!) and girls pinned on their chest (yes that chest!)]. Ona pinned Dan, our fighter pilot and Cliff pinned the gals. Dan and I chatted afterwards as we sat in the shade eating, "you know what I loved about the balloons?" he mused. I could see the light in his eyes, "Well, what?" I asked, smiling back. "I have flown high and that is great, I have flown fast and that is wonderful, but the drifting inches above those dunes, just barely floating above the ground, I LOVED THAT!!" he grinned. Another convert, John should be proud. I know he is proud of Heather, she has got it covered and her beauty really shines through when she is with her dad, flying that dragon.

Mixed Bag of Tricks

2004-09-14T02:54:00.000-07:00

Like anything in life, no thing is either good or bad except for how we perceive it. I just finished another show on Sunday and this one is/was a biggie for me. The process for getting into big shows is an arduous task. You need to have professional (I am getting there) slides, pay your exorbitant booth fee and the extra fee for the jury that looks at said slides, make your creations and you as artists look unique, interesting, but not too eager in a few short lines (haiku helps with that) and stay abreast of other artist's feelings about whether a show is good, bad or just plain ugly.

We met all the criteria for getting into this extravaganza but come to find out, the old girl just ain't what she used to be. Kermezaar used to be THE premier show in the Southwest. Artists came from all over the place to be in this show. Times have changed and so has the show. Management or the show promoters now are a group of well-heeled elder women who sit on the board of the El Paso International Museum of Art. These women who volunteer their time and money to make this show a so called 'success' have no clue whatsoever what it means to be an artist, especially an artist that makes a living off of their art. Sadly, their patronizing attitudes and resistance to any suggestions for change are killing what once was a glorious event. As one of our elder artist vendors who has done this show for twelve years said at the artist's confab, "If you guys don't do something none of the artists who travel hundreds of miles to do this show will not come back and you will kill this goose!" Many local artists suggested that a vendor, an artist that makes their bread doing shows sit on their board. "We do have artists on our board!" was the haughty answer. (Come to find out, those artists are nice, elderly ladies that do art demos during the shows and not us folks that set up booths, work hard at our craft, and depend on these shows to survive, literally.) Nothing was as it seemed, all of the information in our packets changed or was incorrect. We couldn't park our trucks and trailers where we were told to park them, they nickeled and dimed us for every little thing and worst of all, they acted as if they were doing all these fine artists a favor . Some good folks who did some amazing photography were in the booth next to us. They had traveled clear across Texas from the Louisiana border, a long, long drive and they were soul and grace personified. The husband, a fine old gent commented to me, "I knew the personality of this show when I turned in my required $50 dollar donation (note: why call it a donation?) of art to them and the ladies behind the counter brushed me off with a quick, "I'm busy, put it over there and I'll get to it." " This is the most artist unfriendly show I have ever done" was his last comment to me as we were all packing up to leave. It is a sad, sad commentary on what had once been a amazing show. I will quit my belly-aching and tell you the good stuff.

All of the juried shows have artists as judges that go around and JUDGE you, your art, your booth layout and design, and I'm sure, your attitude. We don't usually know who the judges are as they are really sneaky and quiet and we are hopefully, too busy to notice them. We (my partner Jan and I) don't usually pay that much attention to them anyways as we have done enough of these shows to know that even if we consider our booth (and we get mucho positivo comments all the time from customers) delightful, creative, colorful and just plain old wonderful, it is also a bit too funky and edgy for most shows or show judges as our gypsy souls shows throughout. Only the categories that have 10 or more entrants even get judged and we always get judged because their are a plethora (I like to use that word when I get the chance) of jewelers in any of the shows and they always lump us together unlike distinguishing other types of art, i.e. watercolors, acrylics, oils, etc. Fine gold and precious stone jewelers are in with us bead and wire jewelers. I don't think they like that much either but that is the way the shows do it. Anyway, your chances of winning a top award as a jewelry booth is somewhere between that 'snowball in hell' and 'it would be a miracle'. Lo and behold! It was a miracle, WE WON!!! A Texan always starts a brag by saying, "Now, I'm not bragging but..." Hey, I'm bragging on us!, We got the big ass ribbon, the $50 certificate for next year's booth fee (helped make up for that 'donation' I talked about before) and of course, Braggin' Rights which shouldn't be underestimated. We were as proud as a bluetick hound with a new litter of pups!

Now, after all that grouching about how the promoters treated the artists, we did have a great show but that wasn't in any measure due to them, it was our hard work and efforts. The background music at the show put you to sleep, the turnout by the public was dismal, most of the artists there were not happy campers but we had a GREAT show! We raked in the bucks, we sold left and right (mostly lepht), we rocked! Those few folks that did show up went straight to our booth, it was packed most of the time. Jan and I promote ourselves, we keep a mailing list of regular customers, we send out postcards and hand them out at preceding shows, we are incredibly nice to any and all and our stuff speaks for itself.

On Sunday, I had a very painful incident, a back spasm with paralyzing pain. It was near the end of the show and I had to call mate Cecil to come and help Jan tear down. I kept it fairly together until all my stuff was packed as I am one of those particular, very picky persons that has to have things just so and am especially so when it comes to my art. I want it packed right and I was helpless as a worm on hot pavement. Cec, bless him, was patient and didn't get too frustrated with my demands. He has seen this happen to me a couple of times before and only when I was tired, not sleeping well, and stressed. I had worked the show a week before and didn't get much rest for this one as I needed to make more stuff to have a good inventory of my art. Jan, bless her too, had to manage the booth most of the day. Anyway, that was the worst thing that happened and as soon as I hobbled into my bed, got some stir fried brown rice and vegies from Cec, a good nights sleep and a few naps on Monday, I am doing good, just a bit twingey and the pain is gone back to whence it came.

It was good, it was bad, and it got kinda ugly there at the end but all in all, it was another experience that taught me mucho. I am very grateful today for being, as my Dad always says, "On this side of the dirt..."

And to end this ramble, I had planned on digital photos of the booth, the big ass ribbon and some of our customers but I planned that on Sunday and it didn't happen as the pain got in the way. Instead, here is a bracelet that I sold, double strand, artist lampwork beads by friends Debbie Thomas from San Antonio and Karen Cascio, El Paso, wire beads and beaded circles by SooZen and silver beads from Bali. As you can tell, I love bracelets, I always wear at least two and sometimes more. I am a gypsy, after all...

Charmed

2004-09-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a charm bracelet that I sold at my last show in Ruidoso Downs. It contains dangles made of Indonesian lampwork glass, Bali silver beads, Czech fire-polished crystal and sterling chain.

Mountain gods

2004-09-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

It is always a joy, pleasure and something I look forward to when I go to the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico. That old saying that if you could bottle the air you could make a million sure applies to how I feel about the atmosphere there. Something about the altitude, the smell of the ponderosa pines, and the coolness refreshes my soul. If I am feeling sad or worried those emotions give way as soon as I hit the outskirts of Ruidoso, a magical place. The crafts show I did Labor Day weekend is not usually a big money maker for myself and partner Jan but any excuse to go to the mountains will do. This year was a surprise, a pleasant surprise, as we did very well and better than the last two years we have been there. This was definitely a bonus for us.

We stay with old and dear friends who have a delightful home there. John and Robyn are always welcoming and generous to a fault. Our show ran from Saturday to Monday. On Saturday night John made home-made green chile chicken enchiladas and Robyn invited other friends to join us that evening. We had a killer dinner waiting for us after the show Saturday which included wine from friend Karen, green chile cheese casserole from friends Linda and Bill and my pomegranate salsa. WoW! says it all.

Many of the vendors at the show are there year after year and have become friends. Jan and I enjoy catching up with their lives and the show circuit with them. All of these folks have a great sense of humor and patience up the yingyang developed from years of dealing with all kinds of show situations like bad weather, bad promotions, bad turnouts, etc. We have a regular spot at this show as do many of the others but ours is under the only tree in the parking lot of the Senior Center where the event is held. Pitching our tent is like coming home. The Ruidoso Downs (that's a little burb outside the little burb of Ruidoso) Auxiliary made up of dedicated volunteers who use the gate fee and vendor fees to raise money for scholarships for kids there. The couple that have been the mainstay of the auxiliary are leaving next year to be near their grandchildren. That is certainly understandable but they will be sorely missed as those two have made this show homey and most certainly friendly. I hope their replacements are as organized and gracious as they have been. We will see...

One of the neatest things about doing these shows is the people that come into your tent and relate to what you are creating. We met an incredible woman that had raised four girls in NYC and was vacationing with them in Ruidoso (hey, I told you it was a great place!). She was originally from Jamaica and had the sing-song accent of that country intact. One of her daughters was an artist and gave us a brochure of her beautiful art. Her mother was full of wisdom and eccentricities. She embraced life with a fervor and gusto. Her children were beautiful, in appearance and demeanor. Plus, they loved our stuff and all of them bought pieces to take back home to New York. She gave us a big hug and blessing when she left (they came two days in a row to the show) and good feelings all around.

Like I said earlier, this was a great show for us this year but since I have another big show starting Friday, I am going to be busy trying to fill holes in my inventory that I certainly didn't expect. That is the catch...You want to sell everything in your booth but that means you have to go back to the studio and work your butt off to get ready for the next event. I am happy to work at something that is a passion for me. How fortunate can one be? Hah! Ten shows left in this year then a break in January. I think I will be ready for a break by then.

house at pooh corner

2004-09-02T05:23:00.000-07:00

I think it's a good idea to keep your eye on what is going on in the world but I declined to watch the RNC last night. I figured, I didn't need the aggravation as Cheney tends to do that to me. I did see Zell Miller (who calls himself a democrat. Get a grip!) call Chris Matthews out for a duel. Chris was trying to make the point that demos and repubs in the House and Senate vote on bills or don't vote on bills many times according to what is attached to them. They all do it and to single out Kerry was a bit unfair. Zell took exception to being questioned on that matter and 'took exception' is a mild observation. Chris deserves everything he gets but Zell is out of control (literally) and makes Cheney look sane... Whatever that means. I have also noticed (as have most of the opposition) that Bin Laden's name is never mentioned in all of this fear-mongering. He is the terrorist but one would think that the biggest danger to our country is Kerry. Fear and loathing has new meaning...

The truth is that these white men in suits with their token women and people of color aren't talking about issues that concern me. In my family and friend circle, we are more concerned about jobs, health care costs, silly stuff like that. My son is currently jobless and looking, my husband is jobless and now none of us have health insurance. My dear friend Leti who moved to Seattle recently has qualifications up the yingyang and she can't find a job. Other friends are unable to retire because of what it takes to just survive nowadays. Instead of inspiring fear of what the Iraqis may do to us...How about what the Bushees have done to us and our country? I am most impressed by the positivism and hope of the DNC rather than the negativism and fears of the RNC. Finally (on this subject) it is too bad that our present system has no room for a third party for I believe in alternatives. Both sides are toeing the party line after all.

This will be my last post for awhile as the road beckons and I have three shows this month and four the next. That about covers every weekend for September and October. November and December will be just as busy. The days between are spent making stuff to restock, cleaning and repacking displays and of course, getting some rest. I will try and report in as to my fortunes or fame.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a pair of origami earrings which I experimented with:

Another day without a dollar

2004-08-31T07:13:00.000-07:00

The Olympics are over and I will miss them. The TV was usually on while I worked. I can't say I was always watching it but I did do a lot of listening. Nathan (my 28 years old Downs Syndrome son) was overjoyed that the programming had ended as they pre-empted the soap operas he is addicted to. I have absolutely no interest in soaps but he follows the story lines and dramas with glee. He made sure I knew the Special Olympics (what do you expect he would call them?) were ending on Sunday and made announcements throughout the day to me. As I said, I will miss them for where else can one find countries of the world coming together for peaceful purposes. It is the way we should compete with each other.

The Republicans are starting their convention in NYC and now the TV is tuned to CSPAN. One of things I have noticed is how different it is from the DNCs big party. The Demos convention, which I also followed, was very high tech...From the presentations, the story boards, the stage levels, etc. The Republicans also look so much alike. . We would call them 'squares' back in the days. Suits, ties and bouffant hair seem to be the dress of the day whereas the Demos were a diverse group, not only in the way they dressed but in the skin colors. The best speech of the evening was given by Rudolf Guiliani, he seemed relaxed and smiling but I question the validity and content of his message. The focus of the evening was the Sept. 11 tragedy and an effort to link that to the war in Iraq. Hummm... I don't buy it.

CSPAN also covered the protest march and rallies outside Madison Square Garden and all those flag draped coffins carried by many parents who had lost children in the war were very effective. I was very happy to see that it was a peaceful protest too...

Clothes need to be washed, stuff needs pricing, truck needs packing and lots of last minute chores are waiting. I am in the home stretch before the show this coming weekend.

Here is one of my charm bracelets made with handmade glass and crystal:

Getting Ready

2004-08-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was spent mostly in my studio getting ready for the upcoming shows which will start fast and furious beginning with the Labor Day weekend. I am in the process of making what I call the bargain stuff after spending much of the preceding weeks creating some very labor intensive and involved pieces. The bargain stuff pays the bills though for rarely does someone walk into my booth and buy one of my bigger, more intricate pieces that is more expensive. Usually a customer oogles and ahhs over those pieces and then buys a piece of the bargain stuff. I can understand this as I can't afford to buy art either. So today will be spent making the things that make the gravy.

Here are some of my peyote stitch band bracelets. I usually make the body of the band while I am at a show (in the slow times...I need to keep my fingers busy) and then complete the embellishment in the studio. I have just completed five of these.

Living on the Edge...

2004-08-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

Today my son called from Austin to say his company has gone belly up and he is now out of a job. He is not the type to get down about what life has to offer when things turn negative but I can tell he is worried about this turn of events. After all, he and Jenni just bought a new house...There are bills and a mortgage to pay. Unemployment will not cover the costs and Jenni will have to give up her dream for awhile of getting her degree. I am sad and sorry for them and hope and wish Noah will find a job soon that he loved as much as he did the one he lost.

These last few years have been really trying for my little family, what with my dad's illness, the death of my mother-in-law and my husband's siblings fighting over the will. We have no idea what the future holds for us...Whether things will work out and we will have a home or be forced to sell our home of 32 years and start anew. I am sure we will manage somehow but the worry and stresses of the situation are constantly on my mind. Now with my son, it is just another rock on the pile...

Trying to keep positive in the eye of these storms is the biggest challenge I face.

Frida Kahlo Treasure Necklace

2004-08-27T19:11:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my last creations...I tried to capture the passion, art and world of Frida.

Everyone is Doing It...

2004-08-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Here it is, my first 'blog' page. Being an old fashioned kinda girl, I usually write in a journal. Said journal is a wonderful leather-bound jewel that can easily be carried in a backpack or purse. It is hard to lug this computer around, especially if you are in the wilderness or going to an arts and crafts show, which I do regularly. So...since so many have utililized this media for journaling, I thought I would give it a try. My oldest son, Noah and his wife, Jenni have been 'blogging' for years and I enjoy taking a peek at their lives since they live so far away from me. It helps me to keep in touch with them and what is going on.

Today was an unusual day for me as I spent no time at all in my studio working on my craft but I did scan a bunch of my jewelry to a file so I feel accomplished.