Fall Garland

I finally had some time to get the garland up.

The leaves look like different shades

 in the lighting, but they are the same. 

I used my favorite Tim Holtz paper pack.

Kept me busy for a few evenings while listening to 

tunes and daydreaming.

I like it.

Boo-tiful Ball and I LOVE FALL

Quite a few years ago,

I designed a 

King and Queen of The Skeleton Ball

 for a magazine cover 

Since then, the couple has hung around in my studio.

 A few weeks ago Annie was hanging 

out with me up there watching me work, 

(she says she likes to watch? and the chair is really comfy),

 and she hinted 

that she would love a pair of her own.

A late September B-day

was the perfect occasion to 

surprise her.

Meet the Prince and Princess

of 

The Boo-tiful Ball

I'm still overhauling the yard after major demolition,

working my new part time job,

washing all the linens/towels after kid's visit,

prepping for classes etc.

My windows are all open,

hazelnut candles are burning

and I am 

my best self this time of year.

I LOVE FALL!

I am a fall addict

clothes,

food,

temps,

filtered light,

early dusk,

furry slippers,

long sleeve pj's

twinkle lights are even better!

My house even looks it's best in the fall.

It fits in.

I LOVE FALL

Now I'm going to start attaching over 100

 wired, double sided, paper oak leaves I just 

made for a fall garland.

If I don't fall off the ladder,

( which I tend to do)

I'll be back soon with pics

Z

orange for fall

Message Block Class

Class is November 14

You choose your block size, font, colors

Blocks are 4 sided

Still a few spots left in Wreath Class

October 31

I used one of my sets ( I have three sizes)

to spell out B-day wishes to Annie

Just a few phrases you can make with your set:

and you can personalize with

additional family names

   HAPPY BIRTHDAY
   HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAPPY EASTER

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

HAPPY CHANUKAH

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

BE MY VALENTINE

TRICK OR TREAT

WELCOME HOME

I LOVE YOU

APRIL FOOLS

MERRY CHRISTMAS

LET IT SNOW

WINTER WISHES

JOY TO THE WORLD

PEACE ON EARTH

LUCK O THE IRISH

GIVE THANKS

BE THANKFUL

CONGRATULATIONS

CELEBRATE

TO THE MOON AND BACK

October Class

I love paper.

My father was in advertising 

and he received boxes full of

sample papers at work

which he brought home for me 

when they became outdated.

I adored the stacked sample cards 

of colors and textures

and happily created projects

for hours with just scissors and glue.

I still can cut and paste happily for hours,

so October's class is all about paper

with a few pretty beads thrown in.

Join me?

Still Here - Still Playing

Brown Paper Packages Class was last weekend

We went from these kits,

to this, in the blink of an eye.

I provide all the supplies needed,

but encourage students to bring special 

items to make their projects

more personal.

I didn't snap a pic of the two big racks of 

ephemera, papers, tapes, ribbons, tags,

tinsels, stamps, inks, etc they also use.

We were all in the living room,

since the late season heat wave

 prevented us using the new garage 

studio space.

Next class hopefully.

I had some samples left over so 

I painted and silver leafed

a branch from my 21 year old tree that

I just had removed, and then hung it above

my sink and draped

more tags and mementos from it.

I will add some teensy battery lights,

 as soon as I remember the

perfect spot where I put them, dang it.

I'm playing in the studio all week

making pumpkins

like these yummy chenilles.

also working on projects for two

 upcoming Gatherings,

and Christmas items for boutique.

I rearranged the studio about a week ago and

I am loving the new lighter, brighter area. 

I removed the curtain that kept the studio hidden.

Floor space remains the same,

 but visually much more open.

I also cleaned and purged 

every single cupboard and drawer!

I now have many empty ones which also 

makes me happy.

All the kids will be here  

quite soon, fitting in a visit,

 in between extremely

busy schedules.

WOOT!

I Need Fall

If you arrange it, it will come?

I may only hold on a few days longer

Z

On A Personal Note

DD, Hannah and BB, her beau Blake

At Del Mar for his birthday and their 4th Anniversary.

Two of my three favorite people.

Now that Dearest Son and Darling Daughter 

live five minutes apart,

they see each other often.

They like each other as friends,

as well as love each other as siblings.

Mama could not be happier.

They are even going on vacation

together this year.

The three kids are campaigning to 

get me to LA permanently and I have spent hours

researching any possibilities,

but location and financials are mind boggling.

Houses are unaffordable since I refuse to 

take on a mortgage, after not having one

for over a decade, and condos come

 with large HOA fees.

Both come with triple the property taxes 

I pay here.

The worst though is where?

What small town within 60 minutes

of Culver City would suit me?

Definitely not more than 90 minutes away.

My eyes cross after hours on Zillow

and Realtor.com.

Any CA girls out there I'll GLADLY take any advice, 

area recommendations, realtor names etc.

I'm just thrilled that they want me near.

Till then the 4 hour drive seems to

be getting easier for all of us.

We're averaging about every other month.

and if they ever would build the super train...

of course in 80 years they will live much closer as the

rising ocean will have pushed em back 1 hour my way...

BUT I'm sure I will be long gone by then.

I told them last week maybe they should hold 

onto this property as it is in the very south of town and 

will be beach front real estate some day in their retirement! 

Ha!

forever stuck in lala

*******

And yes Amy, since you asked, I would love to have

 folks travel in for a Gathering class.

3 blocks away is a lovely large casino hotel 

Green Valley Ranch

with spa, movie theaters,

and adjacent a wonderful mall called the District. 

Mall has Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma,

Anthropologie, West Elm, great dining and more.

by car

I am 2 hours from St George and 

4 hours to Culver City in LA.

if that helps...

There are still a few spots in Sept class,

and it will be cooler then.

Bring your hubby, leave him at the casino

and come play with some great gals for the day.

On A Stage With No Vaginas

"On a stage with no vaginas there 

were a lot of opinions about vaginas."

I love Margaret and Helen

and if you still don't get it,

none of the federal funds to 

Planned Parenthood can ever

be used for abortions.

again and louder....

The fed funds @ PP do not fund abortions

So by all means dickheads,

(sorry my friends) but I am riled,

go and take more aid away from 

those who least can afford it.

If the heavens could open and make it so that no

woman you care about could ever receive

medical care, cancer screening, pre-natal care,

birth control, disease prevention,

or for that matter any funds for woman's disease

 research since you good ole boys only care about Viagra;

maybe we could drill it into your thick skulls.

While we're at it let's remove your premium

 health insurance and make you go to the

 emergency room and wait hours for any

kind of care for your babies....

I am disgusted and repulsed by men

 proposing to be our leaders,

telling out and out lies and fear mongering.

And now we no longer have Jon Stewart to call em out.

Oliver, Maddow, Colbert, Wilmore

save us from ourselves.

Hot August Days and Nights

Oh, those hot August days...

so much going on..

Had workmen here all day Sunday

 as they ripped out

and sawed down 21 year old

trees to make life easier.

My enormous African Sumac 

in the far corner had to come down,

as well as decrepit, way past their prime,

 bottle brush trees that lined the walkway.

Javier cut stump for me with foot rest

The Sumac was always too big for the area, 

invaded into neighbor yards and created 

so much debris that at least three times a year I 

had to pay for help in clean up.

I was dangling from tall ladders

cleaning out gutters,

making friends and kids frantic with worry.

(Ok I only fell once ...geez)

totally new updated sprinklers,

new plantings...

new dog run area..

pre-plans for vegetable gardens

Whew!

The yard looks foreign to me 

right now. Far less shade,

less cozy.

I'm working on it.

But as we age we have to come

 to terms with our capabilities.

I was astounded when my folks moved 

down to a wee space when we had always had

sprawling homes with lots of land.

I get it now.

made a fountain

Finished all the prep for the next Gathering class.

Kits ready and waiting, very early this time, because 

I am sooo excited for this one.

Marking items down at boutique

to make room for new holidays to come.

job interviews.. new directions

Proofing latest script for DD

Kids are thriving with

exciting projects, possibilities.

A surprise visit from my "surrogate son"

Ivan, made for wonderful long chats as the sun 

went down last week.

Making smoothies

has been the extent of my cooking 

this summer.

Cannot wait for cool weather

soups stews casseroles.

I am such a cold weather gal,

stuck in 

the wrong place for a long time....

Z

Can You See Me?

Can you see me Sweetie?

I'm here....

My poor sweet Justice is 14 and 

deaf and blind.

But she keeps on truckin'.

Wish I were as brave.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other

This is another "get 'er done" post

This chair in my studio gets a lot of use.

Both sides looked like the left one 

before I thought to snap a pic.

Around 11 pm last night I decided I had put off fixing

these arms long enough, as in YEARS. I knew it was a quick fix

and I was tooling right along, covering the damaged

"PLEATHER", and glued it all back together....

 until I hit the last of four bolts

holding the arms on..

Over 30 minute later and many, many, many, 

curse words later, I went to bed.

Tried again today and poof, went right together.

I was feeling pretty smug and pleased

 until I tried to download pics into new "photos"

on my new Mac.

Dropbox kicked up a mighty storm for some 

freaking unknown reason and 2 hours later

on the phone with Apple Care my brain exploded.

Can we all agree we 50+ somethings 

have a steeper learning curve with techno crap?

sigh 

Just sent out my first class announcement

for September.

 It's been 2 years since my last class, so

we'll see how it goes.

I keep forcing myself to face

new challenges, and deal with dignity

when life disappoints.

It's all a journey and I am NOT 

in first class seating, ha!

Z

Hibernation

Spending hours in the studio:

Preparing for classes,

listening to playlists as my mood changes,

pondering life's condition

and hibernating.

oh yeah

it's hot

It Started With An Unsold Cabinet -WBC 2015

When my friend Ronda and I closed our little space in 

Boulder City, I had a leftover cabinet that did not sell.

I parked it in the garage and there it sat for a few months.

I had a painting project that I worked on out there

and in the process I used the cabinet to hold supplies.

The lightbulb flickered and

A garage studio was born!

 A few years back I held a class out here,

 and draped some of the walls

 and ceiling with tulle and canvas to hide all

the storage and unpainted walls.

Gosh girls do you remember 

how much fun that day was?

2011

Normally I held classes running 

down the center of my living room,

and that worked too.

2013

I have not taught classes for several years now 

but.....

since I had the canvas, the space and the time,

I figured go for it.

Determined to set it up

with no expense,

I began a couple weeks ago.

Choosing to listen- choosing to act

Are you turning a deaf ear?

Refusing to listen? 

Refusing to act?

If you are brave enough,

look at your heart and

ask yourself why?

The glorification of busy

is a damn lousy excuse.

If nothing else, make a phone call,

write a letter, send an email.

DO SOMETHING!!!

Will you finally care when

 it touches someone you love?

and everyone else is shaking their head saying

"something should be done"

NV Legislators

NV Senators and Representatives

there ya go all nice and easy for you NV folks

other states

just google your state______ then senators/congress

                        ______then legislators

their emails phone numbers etc- all there

rant complete

for now......

Don't Follow Alice

On days such as this one

it seems to me 

that the world is no different

than the one Lewis Carroll

had Alice fall through

down the rabbit hole.

Emmanuel A.M.E. Church

It will not stop until

silent people stop being silent.

Until people in this country

care more about life and decency than

they do about their favorite 

sports team, tv show,  

and fake celebrities.

This does not happen in other

industrialized nations.

What the hell does that say about us?

Egads

Thought you might enjoy the before 

shot of yesterday's dresser.

I obtained it for free from pal Annie.

It had been behind "the little shed that could",

 exposed to the elements

for a loooong time.

Now she is all pretty,

with classy new knobs.

Elbow grease and complete lack of funds

go a long way for me.

What are you working on?

Z