Oct 23- 26 .. Three Days of Creating~Dancing~Parading & Partying!!

I'm finally publishing my blog updates from local Safeway-on one of those electronic buggies by the store entrance because their Starbuck's cafe does not have a plug, and these buggies are connected to a HUGE power cord that I can use to juice up my laptop battery :-) (Nov2)

                                                                                                             Oct 23- Friday; This morning is Katie Lee Parade and Party in the Jerome Middle-park!

• Up early to hammer in all the staples in my canvases- Karen is up too getting ready for work
• 7:45; I ride up the mountain into town...an elderly gentleman takes me on the 2nd corner ...without huffing and puffing like I was!! When I get to the Fire Hall i see such amazing group of connected and creative participants gathering for the parade to celebrate the bravado and celebration of Katie Lee's famous ride through town in the 80's in the manner of Lady Godiva to pull the town's spirit out of the funk it was in at the time. This was due to a recent death in the town. The scene was cool~ fake breasts galore, some even squirting water; real breasts dressed in vibrant flowers, and bras of pink lace, red lace, leopard skin; and in my case, plastic orange bowls with painted daisys; and even a couple of men adorned with paint cans reading "Nice Cans"and tennis balls with google eyes glued on them; One woman proudly walked with her real breasts bared to the sun.
• The fire chief led the parade with the siren going...and the crowd walked, rode bicycles, motorcycles and even an open roofed flourescent green VW with fake Tigerplush covered seats....waving plackards we sang Happy Birthday till we got to the town's upper park steps, where Katie Lee sat with her friends totally blown away by the parade and so surprised and tickled by the gesture of the spectacle!
• After there was a breakfast laid out in the middle park with fresh coffee and even "Strip & Go Naked" lemonade( 1 can water, 1 can beer, 1 can vodka!) I helped clean-up and needed a ride home... so i could get home safely :-)

Afternoon: I finish the garden finally...till dark!

• I build an inunnguaq ( A structure similar to an inuksuk but meant to represent a human figure, (ᐃᓄᙳᐊᖅ, "imitation of a person"), has become widely familiar to non-Inuit.) See this link for the details http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inukshuk
• plant the 2 cactii, after finding some beautiful green rocks to add extra dimension to the garden space. This is after I made sure that i had 4 different types of materials in the soil: small stones, reddy soil from the pile by the driveway, sandy soil by the patio, and the grassy-leaf bits I raked up..hopefully the plants will like these!
• for the final touch I plant the indigo vine into the stove!

PM:

• A quick bowl of soup while I start making my 1st movie cooking breakfast.....
• then up to the Spirit Room to go dancing to the Johnny Lingo Trio with Karen and her friend Kathleen, who is celebrating her birthday today! Meet up with some other locals there and have a great time ~ of course. Meet a cool local artist/business woman who designs furniture for the wealthy and owns a Gelato Cafe in Old Cottonwood.

Oct 24- Saturday; Kaleidoscope Workshops all day run by the Nellie Bly Scopes shop (http://nellieblyscopes.com)

• I registered for the 9am class, making a stained glass Kaleidoscope...was going to keep it a secret because this one is for Rae, but at least he won't see the finished product until Christmas!
• I get a real appreciation for the exactness required to put the mirrors together that make the inner body of the Kaleidoscope.. Picking the little do-dads and bits that go into the disks that get attached to the Kaleidoscope is all part of the fun and science too! I also got an appreciation for the detailed work it takes to solder glass...still sporting a scar from a piece of solder that dropped on my thumb! My teacher, Bob Ade (http://www.scherergallery.com/kaleidoscopes/ade.htm) was very helpful in making sure that I could add some other embellishments I thought of...and I ended up being the last one out of class.. I think i'd like to look into this some more.

Afternoon:

• I lucked into an extra workshop in the afternoon due to a last minute cancellation and it was paid for!... so glad i had my cellphone to get the call from Lisa....and I am very lucky I know so many great people in this town! This 2nd workshop was taught by the Reynolds brothers, Peach & Mark, and their wives. See http://www.kaleidovisions.com/
• It entailed painting a huge cardboard tube- I was inspired by the pink one and decided to make a special one for Alexia's birthday! Then I picked the special bits of glass etc that are going into the disk that they will put together with oil ( an invention by Peach, well known in the K-world) and install it for me after this weekend, along with the mirror design I picked and mail it to Alexia- I hope she gets it in time for her birthday on November 5th!!
• I meet Reva in this workshop who is just ending her 2 month visit to Arizona. She stayed in Sedona and also drove by herself across the US from Michigan. We were both excited about meeting one another and made plans to attend the Snow White & 7 Dwarf's Party together that night at Nellie Bly's
• home to get a costume together, which was sort of 'Snow-White'ish and when Reva arrived I showed her my place before we drove up to the party; WOW -when they have a party - they know how to do it up right here! Lots of amazing food and drink AND lot's of people dressed up in character from Snow White: crazy dwarf creations - lots of magic mirrors and several witches...one person even made a mock up of the tree with the poisonous apples and wore that on her head!
• a 4 man band called "Cornville Philharmonic Symphony" played oldtime instruments: washboard, washtub and even a vacuum cleaner ~ I kid you not!!! A cute couple came in later looking for a place to dance and they dazzled everyone with their great smooth jiving moves
• Postscript: Here is my 1st ever video uploaded to YouTube on Feb28th/2010 in the wee hours of the am: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEwvw4IXlRE
• I stayed after to join the clean-up crew after; it was an honour to do this...karma yoga...wanted to give back..having been able to participate in the extra workshop and it was fun!! It was fascinating to see the store being brought back to its original state...creating a beautiful magical space in the store for patrons coming in the next day, who won't have a clue about the clean-up; moving out the food and leftover liquor bottles, vacuuming, moving back the merchandise....placing glass balls in corners and Kaleidoscopes in just the right viewing angles & on special fabrics to show them off in special way.

Oct 25-Sunday;

AM;

• Human Society Brunch at the Honeymoon 'Cottage'. This link is a good one with other pics of Jerome and talks about this home: http://www.sedona.biz/jerome-historic-home-tour0109.htm. This home has a spectacular view of the Verde Valle with a vineyard planted on the hillside below the front garden. The brunch was fabulous with traditional green chili grits and biscuits to go along with all the other delicious egg dishes. The bar served the spiciest BloodyMary I ever had with pickled beans, corn and okra as additions to put in your drink...not the usual celery!
• at the auction...The 'Canadian' ups the ante for the gorgeous crystal geode but holds back to play for ...and gets the cool necklace, bracelet and earing set; beautiful metal work of graceful detailed eucalyptus leaves. I will get the name of the artist later.

PM;

• I get a lift back to the village (we had to take a shuttle to this place) and go look at the Raku art gallery....10 minutes later I fall in love with 2 beautiful Venetian Carnival style leather masks, designed locally, and call Karen to help me decide on which one to get. I end up getting the black, red and green one with an accent of rattlesnake skin! ( see future Halloween blog!)
• Coffee and more shopping with Karen in town- I get a dancing skirt and shoes from a retro used clothing store...
• then dancing to the Cadillac Angels on a Sunday afternoon at the Spirit room from 2-6! They always do that here- everyone was out. The band was very very good: a guitar player accompanied by a drummer and a base player.I took a ton of photos and video. Two margaritas and LOTS of great dancing later we drove down the mountain
• ...to Clarkdale for pizza and more dancing. I finally got asked to dance by a stranger ...but not a great experience as he was drunk and kept on wanting to dance real close to a fast song ..I artfully kept changing the steps to do more jiving and then went back to my friends.
• I haven't 'spent' a cool Sunday like this ~ well... ever!

Oct 17 - 22

I'm updating my blog finally in the Jerona café in Cottonwood:

Oct 17-Saturday:

AM; laundry, grocery shopping(cool health food store) & cactus buying; Francis showed me how to cut & plant local cactus; i bought 2 - a teddy bear cactus & a purple coloured one...and a branching out indigo plant for old cast iron stove

PM; lunch-- at Cafe Bella to hear drumming circle that Gwen, from my hiking group, plays in what a way to have lunch and then even dance with others under the shade of the cafe porch.

Eve; Contra dancing at the Old Cottonwood Town Hall-fun! Dancing with Karen and Larry and the locals was a blast..There was a very patient and clearspeaking woman 'Caller' who gave us 'newbies' a lesson for the first 1/2 hour while the band warmed up their instruments. Then the huge band from Flagstaff guided us through a series of dances that whirled us around the dance floor. We went through various dance steps and moves in sequences that were tied together and repeated...similar to square dancing ..but not as rigorous. See the video I added & also see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contra_dance

Later as I got tired ..I got the giggles being whirled around, trying to remember all the steps.. and one thing led to another ..got my foot stepped on 'cause I lost track ~ sprained my right ankle and crawled to the bench. Crap! ICE and pillows magically appeared and thankfully one of the folks was a reiki practictioner who happened to have 2 lazer pens on him and applied that to my ankle in between icepack..

Oct 18th-Sunday; Pee-Wee, the cat upstairs greets me as I greet the mornings sunrise. I rested in bed & on patio most of the day, taking it easy, doing energy healing work on myself....enjoying the reading and sleeping. As I check out the sunset I almost step on a little snake who was heading towards a beetle on my log foot rest..he tried curling down to the grass below the deck and then fell half-way. I checked out the internet and I think it's a Sonoran Gopher Snake; sent an email to the author of the site to ask him to confirm.

BEST part of the day?...a bath in Karen's upstairs neighbor's clawfoot bathtub with candles on! She was away for the night and offered it to me

Oct 19th-Monday; Mile High Grill for breakfast to update blog and email with friends...no poker night tonight- thank god! I need to research on the web more about Poker so I can take that Mary down for the next game :-)!!

A spectacular gorgeous sunset over Jerome mountain...like fire in the sky.

I put my beautiful lamp together and have a great light for my desk now!

Oct 20- Tuesday;

AM: I love how the sun is now shining on my pillows in the early morning ( i took down the air-conditioner that was in the window between the laundry room and my bedroom) and take tons of photos as the sun changes its path ....the folds and creases of the sheets create beautiful lines of light and shadow.

~ Mojo To Go Café in Jerome: I take care of personal banking & business on the computer at this cool cafe with a spectacular outlook point ( library doesn't open till noon today) drinking first a capaccino ...then a mocha. Tourists walk by admiring my great office space!

Afternoon: I make an awesome Mexican chicken soup with the fresh organic chicken I bought last night, I was inspired after reading a cool Mexican cookbook found in this apartment that was written by Diana Kennedy, the wife of a New York Times correspondent in Mexico during the late 50's and 60's. After sauteing the cut-up chicken , I threw in corn, hominy, beans, pickled Jalapeno peppers, cabbage, celery, onions, red pepper, and chili powder~YUMMY!!

Eve;

~Gym; to work out those mocha calories. After taping up my feet and ankles..I had a GREAT workout till closing: cardio for 35 minutes on the bike and full weight program & my ankles were just fine!! The ice, Reiki and lazer treatment at the moment of injury really helped me bounce back!

~Home Depot; finally get the right sized staples for my staple gun and leather gloves for planting those cactii and finishing the rock garden. AND I find a cheap table lamp to give me better lighting!

Oct 21; Wednesday ~ work on canvases

~I finally walk down the lane to the old deteriorated school...the sun sets very quickly and I vow to take more photos with the rising sun!

6pm I drive down to the La Bella Café so I can join the Clarissa Pinkola Estés online seminar...except I had a hard time concentrating on taking in her story telling messages with the other goings on in the café. Fortunately I can download it after 72 hrs and listen to it at home.

Oct 22, Thursday;

AM;

• Up at the crack of dawn ...literally! The sun is just kissing the edge of the right hand side of the valley ...creating a soft gold line against the still dark mountainside. I walk quickly to the old school just as the sun comes up over lower east side and hits the beautiful crumbling walls and open window holes.
• I am so excited to see the old cars too now past the school with the grass growing between them. I find some cool old car hoods..one in Pthalo green! ( while writing this blog today-Oct26; after researching vintage car hood ornaments on Google Images I find out one is a 1954 Cadillac car hood!! SO COOL!)I'm very excited about the lines in the hoods as they lie beside one another in the corner of the mountain side. There's also an old Model T Ford card sunken down in the sand...I am enthralled. I don't know why; these deteriorating cars lying all alone on this most interesting of hillsides; parts removed; the unknown history of these vehicles...
• I suspect I will find probably find out more when I talk to Julia Lasonto, the elderly woman that lives above me. I found out from Lisa that this property belongs to this family.
• I also see all kinds of building materials underneath one end of the school that is covered partially by a tin roof. And....a rope noose around the wooden support beam...hmmm...mysterious.
• I cook an amazing breakfast when I come back and decide to play with the video camera - hah!

PM:

• I finish stretching the last 2 canvases! It's a challenge remembering how to finish the corners... I should have research that on the web! Once I prepare them with gesso ....loved dripping the gesso on in swirls...should have kept on with the swirls & drips! I catch myself being tnot to be fricken careful with these things now...
• Lisa comes by in the afternoon to help me move the cast iron stove onto the platform i created for it last weekend in the garden. WOW - that took some muscle power! and it looks looks great! I creating something new out of this cast-off piece at the side of the garage...bringing it out as part if the garden design.
• I take off for the gym and am one of the last ones there again...but it feels good to stick it out....I just didn't feel like going tonight! ..AND ~ I felt so good after :-)

Oct14-16th~finding my bearings again

Oct 14; Takin' Care of Business & Sedona visit

1. 1. Oil Can Henry's; for a thorough oil change and once over service check -all looks good on my 'Trusty Steed'-sweet fellows with bow ties and caps, striped shirts working on my car & polite as all heck! They suggest that if I look at a new used car in town to drive by first & they'll check it out for me if its a sound bet.

• 2. Walmart for a new Camera; I go in hesitantly because its against my religion to support them...and lo and behold I check it out ONE more time: out pops my lens~HALLELUJAH!! My camera is working again!! I go check out their camera section and the attendant is very nice & gives my camera lens a thorough spray of pressurized air... oh, and found canvas in the fabric dept!
• 3. Red Rock State Park ~ "No Maam...we don't sell National Park Passes", and he sends me up to to the
• 4. Chamber of Commerce in Sedonna...LOTs of maps etc for this area...no passes sold here, except 'day' passes....cool...they direct me to a cool spot for WiFi where I hunker down for the rest of the day
• find a great place to sit and work on my Blog till dinner- first by the fireside and then on the patio facing the redrocks.

5. Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, author of Women Who Run With the Wolves; I joined the 1st session of "Mother Night", a 6 session On-line Seminar in which she invites us to tap the generative power of the goodness of the core self—that is, all creativity and understanding that lies out of sight in darkness—often called the unconscious. It was a very inspiring 2 hour session..and very timely for me!

• late drive home that night.. WIDE AWAKE and lifted by the inspiring words I heard tonight: "THROW OPEN THE DRAWERS (all the creative ideas put aside for years) - SEE WHAT IT IS!! THE CONCEPT OF THE SOPHIA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophia_(wisdom))-THE WIND OF CREATIVITY- THE CHINOOK WINDS = STAND IN THE WIND & BE SUPPORTED BY IT...ECSTATIC!!"

Oct 15: Tuzigoot;

• Cottonwood Safeway: early 7am arrival so I can make calls on Skype to folks at home- rising sun on the hill above Jerome is ....'gorgeous!'
• Tuzigoot is my next stop; heard its gonna be a scorcher today...still cool enough to wear shirt over my work-out clothes. I finally purchase my Yearly U.S. National Park Pass and buy a book on local desert shrubs and trees! Great plaques everywhere! Yes you can cook the prickly pear and I can cook the beans from the tree in my backyard ready right now--time to harvest! The age old hilltop pueblo dwelling rises 120 feet above the Verde Valley...a village populated by the Sinagua farmers between 1125-1400 ...and in the midst of these open room sit ancient grinding rocks in which they prepared their grains...see the photo from the top with Jerome labelled on the hill ( Tip: double click and the photos enlarge!)
• Old Cottonwood Village; take time touring Larry's large Antique store: room after room of historical artifacts from locals that pull me right in...old dishes, toys, cowboy & mining gear- love this place! I buy a hand embroidered satin hanky, a plate with 2 Southern gals in the middle, a handpainted tea cup and on the way out ..a WISK!
• next door a cool diner entices me...for a cheeseburger( freshly made patty and freshcut fries)
• ACE Hardware for sandpaper and staples for my staple gun...
• GYM for 1.5 hours to work off the lunch calories!

Oct 16; Creativity ~ elusive...

1. Safeway pkg lot for Skype calls; have a video chat w Simon; hear about his cross Canada photography gig & the cool red rocks out west;shared about being stuck or limbo about my creativity- how it 'should' look by now..and pressures(self-inflicted!) to create that 'perfect' suite of work - A FRICKEN HUGE IN ORDER TO!! Simon says: "Mama just do what you love!" Yes.....sounds like a plan!..why I am here after all? ..there's that jump from the inspiring thoughts and ideas in the brain & heart to putting it into the physical on paper, canvas or whatever!
2. Rogers customer service; I checked in to make sure that new plan I had was kosher. Good thing I checked ~The last person who dealt with me didn't set things up correctly; after ironing out the issues $180 were taken off of my bill and a new plan put in place!
3. Montezuma's castle- busloads of people already there so I keep drive around the loop and leave for ...
4. Montezuma's Well; a living desert oasis further north and not as busy with tourists...a sacred place that the Sinagua Indians settled from AD900~AD1400 http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/moca/montezuma_well/index.htm I walked up a hill on the concrete path-HOT-91 degrees again! ....past desert Cactus's and shrubs...and then over the edge of a rock outcrop; a large deep well..a delicious blue-green body of water way down....down...below. I take the winding rock staircase down through huge boulders that have fallen from the walls of the well...down to another living space at the bottom corner of the well cavity, shaded by trees. A hawk is flying over me as I sit down on a bench and breath in this new -old space. A photographer who is on travelling cross country capturing 'old ' spaces and buildings comes into this corner of the well...cool person to meet. He loves his new Sony camera and I tell him about the Verde Train ride ...Suddenly there is the busy chirping excitement of a school trip( the 3 busloads have arrived!) -- LIKE A FLOCK OF BIRDS...running loose..excited by the dwelling spaces below. I walk out and then down the side of the hill to the stream outlet from this well and the ancient irrigation canal built by the Sinaguans...an even more rare lush space of peace in the cool gurgling stream coming out of the mountainside. Dip my feet in the water...all dis-empowering thoughts... washed away. Then a delighted giggle of a girl beside me who joined me in the creek's delight! And as I stepped out to put pastel to paper; I enjoyed being in the presence of others drinking in the peace, inspiration and tranquility of this place; a grandmother of a young child in diapers who undressed him and waded with him in the water; just as she did with her son at that age~a meaningful family tradition! She was here with her daughter, who brought her date from college- another tradition: the serious dates are brought to this sacred place; and the lovely company of an elderly gentleman who told his party to go on without him, "this is my favourite spot in all of Arizona..I'm staying for a while!"
5. Starbucks @ HWY 260 & I-17; a well deserved nap in the car when tiredness hit from the heat this afternoon ~ 91 DEGREES TODAY IN THE VERDE VALLEY!..and then inside for an iced espresso updating my blog till closing time and work on the pastel from the tranquil outlet of the well...and yes, I loved recreating the space on paper with my Conté charcoals!
6. Spirit Room bar in Jerome: after a quick shower I drive up to meet Karen to take in the performance of Dave Rentz, artist and musician. We were entertained and moved by the passionate drumming and percussion playing! A beautiful creative dancer also added to the space and inspired the rest of us to join in. I found out more about her and have a new connection to play with my own joy of dancing. I'm lucky to have Karen as my neighbor upstairs! She is giving me such a cool access to the locals here...cause I also met another cool couple tonight, Stephanie and JW. They want to meet Rae when he gets here and have dinner with us.