HOT DOG!!!

I got up early this morning and   unpacked boxes that had been sitting in the condo since my trip in  from  Santa Fe last Wed. I then headed out to do errand running for supplies for my classes next week. My first stop was about 9:45 for breakfast at Mimi's while I waited  for the bead store to open. When I came out about 10 :30 I heard a dog barking in a car . I searched the lot till I found the poor thing. A big white  Husky type dog  locked up in an equally  big white Cadillac  . I live part time  in Scottsdale Az and  this time of year and day  the temp. is  already about  90-95+ degrees( over 100+ in a locked up car) and illegal to leave any living creature in you car!!! I called the police and while I did so the owners came out. I told them I had called the police and that it was illegal to do what they had done . They had Oregon plates  so I assumed they had no idea how hot a car can get and that what they had done was dangerous. I was shocked at what spewed from both these old fools  mouths. I was called a F-*#@+**#^ ....   B-*%#@+*%^&**%^   and to mind my own business, I was told I was  a stupid woman  and that their dog was NOT at all hot .  Oh and that I most likely was the stupid type who voted for that  N#*_+*$#@ Obama  and   I was even more horrible  for driving a foreign car that they would not even pay me a $1 for ( I have to say they were right on this part as my lemon is worth maybe 2 cents)!!! HMMMM, the dog even growled and barked at me !!!! These where very harmless  looking sr. citizens, but  behind their "average" masks  they were VERY SCARY and ANGRY!!!.I told them that  they were just mad because they knew what they had done was dangerous and it was them selves  they were most mad at . They left before the police  came but the officer said he would look for the description of them and the car. I just do not get some people!! Anyway the pictures are of some of the pieces I am submitting as class proposals  for Art Fest . Please wish me luck as  this event  is soooo hard to get into. Also our negotiations  seem off on the very low ball offer we got on the house friday. So I am a bit blue and scared that there are more fools like the ones in the white "caddie" out there doing stupid things and to ignorant to learn!!!!

Where books come from

 My sweet Aunt Deb covered a ton of eggs for me in my favorite ...old book pages . They were setting all lined up on the table and I thought I would take them outside to get a good picture of them as they looked so cool all together. When I plopped them down in the gravel they looked like a nest and my first thought  was OmG I have found a book nest and they are just waiting to hatch into books.

Sirens

"Sand Castle Sirens"   mini art retreat on Coronodo  Island at Jane Pollacks fabulous vintage ocean home  is just one week away!!! Check it out on the link to the right !! Boy I   really need some ocean air !! I am melting here in AZ!!!

 

I said one last  good by to my garden...

And headed down the road to Az  with a loaded pickup truck and Q-tip.

The last 3 hours of the trip  is through the mountains. There is a view in one section that  always captures my eye. I hit it last night just as the sun was setting and Q -tip was tossing her cookies . Poor thing she gets so car sick. I got in around 10:00 P.M. amd as of this morning Q- tip is still mad  as she glares at me from under the bed.

Death and Beauty

This is going to be a strange post. Yesterday Gail, Juli and I went to the Funeral Museum in Houston , the only one of its' kind.  I am into all  things gothic also  in my love for  victorian  ornamentation I  knew this would be a treasure trove for both . Most of these artifacts have  come from the 19th century the hey day of  acceptable  open grieving .  What we viewed was amazing, but it did leave me with a dark hangover. Here are some of the images.  The large wide  coffin was a custom job  built for three people, a father and mother who had it made after their child died. They planned on killing them selves and  would then  have their daughter  exhumed.  After that  they would  all be  placed in the same casket and  buried together. The parents did not carry through with their plans. But I say  SHAME on the undertaker for taking  advantage of  them   in their time of grief . This happened in 1930 when there may have been few counselors to help them. The ornamental animal caskets are from Ghana  and the glass casket was never put into production as the lid was so heavy that when it was closed it  had a tendency  to crack the glass base. The white hearse was reserved for  children  and was made to be  pulled by 2 men dressed in black .

Houston

Cal and I are in Houston this weekend with some of my oldest and dearest Friends; Gail and Don, Juli and Chris and  Amy and Joe . Juli is the  most darling of hostess. Greeting us at the entrance to her and Chris's warm and inviting home and gardens was  a basket of fresh flowers. She had made each of the "Girls"  personalized wine glass charms. Fabulous food ,good wine and warm conversations have  been  flowing . The "Boys" have been golfing while the" Girls" took a trip to the bead store and are beading. Today we are going to the funeral museum. A place I  have been dying to visit to for a long time. No pun intended.  Pictures to come!!! 

Patience

Thanks to all for the words of support for Bruce yesterday. Now we wait for 4 weeks to see if he gets the job. I was thinking about waiting and patience and thought how much we learn from nature. Yesterday I spent the whole day in my beloved garden. Each year the different plants that come back bring me a new surprise . Some that I thought would never make it or that do very little the first and even second year after you have planted them come back several years later to surprise you with their growth and beauty. It just takes time, care and patience . I am not a very patient person in general. I am known to leap out of the passenger seat of a car when it is still pulling into the parking space . But when it comes to my garden....  that is different story . Today I would like to share with you some images from my garden and once again say nature is the best teacher and artist off all .

Bruce

This is my brother-in-law Bruce. He means I great deal to me .He is married to my sister and I was married to his Brother, Mark . Mark as some of you know passed away. He and Bruce where best friends. Bruce  is an environmental compliance officer. As you can guess under the last 8 year of the past  presidential administration he has been out of work for 5  of those years.   With the new  "yes  we can" administration, Bruce has his first job interview ( after sending out 100s of applications) in 5 1/2 years. It is today and a perfect job, only a few minutes drive from home, even though he has been willing to move anywhere to find work. I hope you will all light a candle for him today, as getting this job would be a god send.  I want him to get it so badly I could cry.

Today's Philosophy

Today I am the posting the Philosophy  of Charles Schultz. You don't have to answer the questions just read them..........

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.

4. Name the 10 people who have won the Noble or Pulitzer Prize

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies . Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificate are buried  with their owners and sold on ebay.

Here's another quiz See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey thorough school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you thorough a difficult time.

3. Name five People who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials , the most money , or the most awards. They are the ones who care. 

Penut update

Peanut flew through her surgery with flying colors! She is  with her " Gramy" recovering  while I am in Santa Fe catching up on things. She is now a little "gimpy " but should be able to put weight on the leg in 1 week and back to "Walkies" in 8 weeks. Whoaa... that will be hard to wait out.  

and the award goes to ......

I am honored by Silkie  She gave my sister Lorrie and I blogging awards!!!  What fun. Her site is one I love to visit everyday she had  frogs peeping out of water yesterday .I miss that living  in the desert   .O.K.   I will be spreading the award around  !! So look out peeps I am coming your way

on the go and on the road

What can I say about  the Domestic Bliss soirée Friday and Saturday. It was pure magic  . So many people came by that I just wanted  to spend more time with . I want you  all a part of my life . I hope Dan and Kristen will do it again next year. I will have my sister come just for this show. She will go crazy. I  have to say I looked with blinders when it came to shopping  as I was tempted  by everything everyone was selling . I know Cal's and my financial situation will pass and  we are so rich in so many other ways. It does  hurts though to not be able at this time to  buy and   support other artist . I know I will be able to again, just not right now when Cal is out of  work in one week. So to all who  showed your wares, it was wonderful stuff please keep being creative and putting it out  for us to enjoy. Then  my darling "Aunt Deb" ( she is only 4  1/2 years older then me  ) helped me with my booth the last 3 hours  in the heat no less!!! She did this so  I could catch up on other things at our AZ home and  get ready to go to our SF  "home"( which I fear  will never sell UGHHH) It will be  the first time in 8 weeks and Cal and I have not  seen each other in  that same  amount  of time.  A big THANKS to Deb. She means so much to me and  is always so ready to help in any way shape or form. She  supports and lifts me up  in so many ways !!  Visit her at Momama loves vintage. How do I every repay such a giving spirit? Then on to last   night.  I took the best break and hung  at  Maija's  home with women I hope  to see more of   as they were all so very  "real".   All so ready to share their  passions , joys and love . Don't you just  love the creative spirit.  And I word about Maija , she is the most gifted person I know. She has the rarest gift of   qualities.  Her spirit  combines  true honestly , a generous spirit ,creativity, realness , love of people, animals , art, beauty, the world , and her family and she is so humble  I could go on and on, oh did I say  funny as hell too !!   Her home is full of all of the above . Whoa-then I was up early this a.m. and  flew home. I  spent the remainder of the day with my Sweetie.  We went to the amazing home he is finished with in one week.  He has worked on it for 2 years . He is the most talented builder. Such attention to detail. I also spent time in my garden and  we ordered pizza  with green chiles and watched the Tudors ( I am so into all of that )OHHH  That horrible womanizer -King Henry the 8th . He  is on to Marriage #4, Anna of Cleaves . We shared a bottle of champagne too . My sweetie did a great job caring for the house when I was gone .. Ummmm minus a few plants.  I go crazy when  I see that some have died I LOVE  Garden he  just forgot to water them ,oh well . So   sorry for the long post my heart is so full tonight . I send love to all who's paths I crossed this weekend. PLEASE if you stop by, leave a comment as I want so much to stay in touch. You are all beautiful and amazing!  een more so if you take the time to read this long post .  I had some great photos and then screwed up importing them and deleted many I did not mean too ..Boo Hoo.Then at Maija's I  got everyones email on a piece of paper and misplaced it, I blame it all on menopause. Hugs Julie P.S I will be stopping by blogs to say Hi in the A.M. 

busy day

It has been a long day. Peanut went in early for her surgery. She did just fine and I am told  is resting just fine  at the clinic  all "morphed up"  and in no pain. What a relief!!! . Grandma " and I will pick her up tomorrow afternoon.  I spent the rest of the day getting ready for the bliss event . Lots of steam punk birdies. Well I am pooped and heading  to bed. 

Shamed into a cleanup

O.K. Humpty is back together again. I only wish I  had all the kings horses and all the kings  men to help me clean  . I spent 2 hours cleaning when I could have been creating. Being a pig is a bummer!!!

Peanut and the Mess

 Peanut and I just got back to this mess after her vet visit. The good news is that the dysplasia  is not as bad as thought, so she will not need a new hip YIPEEE .  However she does have a torn ACL  and will be having  surgery in the morning to repair it. She needs  a recovery time of 8 weeks so no walkies for that time period ... poor sweetie , but then no more pain!!! I am so relieved that she does not need a new hip. But now  I am torn about the Bliss event as I will pick  her up Friday afternoon and I hate to leave her that evening . She is my little  baby and when she is upset it adds to her stress when I am not around.  O.K. now about the "beyond messy studio".  I swear it was clean monday morning!!!  I think this should be a contest to see who has the messiest studio. Personally  I think I win hands down . But I Challenge all of you to post  your own personal nightmare  and we can all vote. I really try to keep it clean but then I am creating away and I have just the right thing in mind that  a want to add and off I go digging for it. I am so in the obsession that things just fly. Does any of this sound familiar?? I am pretty sure I will never be asked to be in " where women create" but just may be the cover page for "Where women Destroy"

Late nights

I walked out in the early evening about 3 nights ago and looked up to this beautiful full moon, The desert is so full of life at night as I hear all sorts of wildlife  sounds while I create    late into  night. The neighboring complex that I walk through in the  morning and evening is full of large pine trees and grassy knolls . The doves  bed down for the evening in the tress and the nightingales start up their songs at dusk. But last night as I meandered along under a large pine tree, I heard a WHOOO WHOOO, I could not see him but I heard him. He is most likely planning an evening snack of dove meat. It amazes me  in the heart of the city that so  much wildlife  lives . Thank god it  can adapt to us  as we continue to  encroach upon its environment. Also last night Peanut went with me on the walk. The anti inflammatory is helping and I just had to give  into her  begging at the door to go . I carried her to the grass  so she remained on a  soft surface.  She was so happy to be out side. We see the specialist at 9:00 in the morning. 

Domestic Bliss's Bohemian Soirée'

O.K. Peeps. Its count down week to the Domestic Bliss Bohemian Soiree and Vagabond Market This friday night and saturday morning at Dan and Kristen's Fabulous bungalow. If you live in the Phoenix area You do not want to miss this event . Go to  the  site and check it out. And if this is all news to you and you have never been to the Domestic Bliss Shop in downtown Mesa then it needs to be a must do on your list.... It is SWEET . Here is the link to the Soiree's site and the photo is a peek at some of the goodies I am going to be offering at the market. It will be HOT ( Unfortunately I  mean that literally too)http://bohemianblissmarket.blogspot.com/

Fran Isaacs -My Mom

Happy Mother's Day. What to say about Mothers... There is no one like them in the world . No one can replace them and no love like the love of a mothers. It is as simple as that. I hope I honor my mother everyday not just on mothers day. I am so happy and grateful  to have her in my life . She helps me in sooo many ways .When I am in town at our part time home only steps from her place ,we have lunch everyday together it is a routine I really enjoy. Mom is coming over for dinner tonight .She eats like a bird so I am  feeding her bird seed NOOO just kidding. I am making steak baked potatoes ( she loves them) and roasted veggies. My Aunt Deb is coming over too. I only wish my sister could be here . Deb has written up some origins about  the apron on her blog it   ties in to Mother's day perfectly. So visit her blog and  take a peek she is at Momamma loves vintage .My Mom still works. She has an ebay business . She is a hoarder and so now she is selling all that  "stuff" on ebay. Yet she still collects and hordes so basically she never really gets rid of anything she just sells to make room for more . Someday a will enchant you all with photos of her hoard piles. It is a site to behold. We worry that one day it  will all collapse and we will find her tiny body under the pile with one hand hanging out clutched to some precious garage sale find. Tee   Heee 

My poor little button head.

Well, the news is in with my sweet Peanut. She has one knee out and a  ruptured ACL  in the other,  as well as that knee out too. She also has very bad hip dysplasia.  The  Dr. says on a scale of 1-4 she is a 4 . I saw the xray and her hips have   no sockets.  The little bones just hang out there helplessly and put all the pressure  on her knees and then they just cave in. She  needs her hips replaced and has been in chronic pain for who knows how long as hip dysplasia is degenerative . I had no idea, she is only 5 or will be june 15th . I am sick to my stomach knowing  she has been in chronic pain and now  adding  the knee pain, her pain level at this time  the Dr. says is about an 8-10. How can they tell us  they are in pain , bless their  little all giving hearts  ? I feel horrible . I had no idea, it just all visually showed itself  in the last 2 days. My poor little baby . We have her on doggie morphine and a sedative to keep her from moving around to much, yet she still wanted to go for a walk tonight. She keeps  hobbling  over to the door and  plopping  down  and I keep taking her back to the nite nite nest as I call her bed. We  see a specialist hopefully monday. My heart is breaking  to see her in such pain.

wheel out

My little darling Peanut has a "wheel" out ( that is what my sweetie calls her legs) . I gave her baby aspirin I am wondering if I need to make her a new one?