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This is the on going record of my adventures travelling across the US to Jerome, Arizona, and my 2 month stay down there! A pilgrimage of sorts into revisiting and expanding my creativity! Why Jerome? In 2006 Rae and I came across Jerome by accident in the night driving on a crazy 158 S curve road over Mingus mountain to get to Sedona; went back to check it out the next day to explore it and I started crying standing in an art gallery there because I felt "at home".

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Oct 4th- Oct9th, Jerome: Getting Settled












Oct 4, Sunday, 1st day in my apartment
  • Wake up to a gorgeous sunrise view of the valley.
  • snoop around - check out the kitchen, living room, bathroom and the adjoining laundry room to the one side and the walk in closet to the other.
  • Lots of windows! Every window has a view that is …gorgeous! And a cool sandstone patio with wicker chairs, a patio set and a big clay chiminea
  • I unpack the car and put everything to the top of the stairs that go down to my apartment outside; and then take things down to the carpet in my living room ~ I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW MUCH I SQUEEZED INTO MY LITTLE INTEGRA!!!
  • I clean the cupboards and closet and re-arrange things in here to suit my needs. Everything was pretty clean already-its amazing how the dust comes in with the windows open! She has a lot of books - I love snooping around other people’s books! I pick out some interesting ones I would want to read and look into and pack the rest away to make space for my books and art supplies. I also do 2 loads of laundry and have my closet looking all set for living it up here for the next 2 months!…have I got the right gear? What’s the weather going to be like?...
  • End of the day ~ I am done moving in! Yeah!
  • Time to go grocery shopping down in Cottonwood I get to the FoodCity for 8:30pm ….luckily they are open till 11pm. INTERESTING shopping experience…this place caters to the large Mexican population here in the vicinity- cool stuff and off course I am inspired to cook Mexican style; beans, avocados, salsa, hot pickled jalapeno peppers, real corn tortillas, small ones called Mini Rancheras and lots of veggies and fruits! I cook myself a great chicken and eggplant veggie medley …yum so hungry!

Oct 5, Monday; time to get organized:
  • I go through all my bills and tally up what I all spent on the drive. I’m missing my favourite silver bracelet - not at the Parry Lodge L :-(
  • After checking out the local yellow pages I make a deal with a Lori, the owner of a Cottonwood gym for 2 months.
  • Afternoon: I visit the library in Jerome and visit Lisa’s office below to pick up a package from Rae- my new VISA and a yummy heart melting love poem folded into a bird-WOW! How can I concentrate at the computer after that?! Lisa tells me about all kinds of community events- a garage sale on Fri am and when I tell her I will be looking for a big pot and a blender she insists on getting that for me - super!
  • Evening; I workout in the new gym…feels good! I’ve missed the weights! I talk to the guy at the desk and find out about a good bike shop in Old Cottonwood to fix my gears the won’t gear down. After working on my photos I hit the hay trying to watch TV..but screw up the clicker system and fall asleep!

Oct 6, Tuesday; Landscaping and town visit:
  • I started working in the overgrown, rock covered garden and build wood for a fire in the chiminee with the wood I gathered.
  • I ask the landlady if its ok to prune and for a rake - they only too happy!
  • I go to town again to buy tickets for the Ghost tour on Friday evening and after the Historical Society & the little grocery shop were closed for lunch, I decide to have lunch at the famous Haunted Hamburger place- so good! I dispensed with the bun and had the baked potatoe and as many vegie fixing’s they offered at the Fixin’s bar….and their famous house Margarita! This was a late lunch at 3;45pm! Turned out to be dinner too…
  • I build a big fire and as sparks begin to fly …I panicked! The garden and tall grasses all around is bone dry ---I race inside to get a the Brita jug of water and douse it! I call the local volunteer fire dept and leave a message to ask about the safety of these fires.
  • I watch the Buffalo Girls movie from the library:..all about Calamity Jane( Christine - this is for you! ) & Annie Oakley, with Anjelica Houston, Melanie Griffiths & Reba McIntyre playing these roles ~ perfect to see because Buffalo Bill was part of the main story line.

Oct 7, Wed; gorgeous sunrise ...and it rained last night
  • AM ~ I paint---watercolor on my big new watercolor pad from Salt Lake City…so careful and tenuous though and when it came time to clean up the leftover paint I let loose!--the whole floor got covered with paintings on cheaper paper- fun! Now I want to paint BIG on canvas. This living room has to be changed to make room to get messy. I make a list for my next trip to town at Home Depot.
  • PM ~ Gardening and building a stone stepping path to the lower garden- I love getting into the dirt and working with the rocks --so many interesting ones to play with for the rest of the day and watch out for the black widow spider after Ann warns me about them( sticky ugly web-shiny black-nocturnal. Ann who works at the vet in Jerome, stopped by to deliver humane mouse traps & some rakes; also warned me to wash my hands after cutting down the large trumpet plant on the patio - it is a locally used hallucinogen.
  • The fire dept. calls back and tells me to make sure that the chiminea is not close to the house or grass and to put screening over the hole ...a to go ahead and enjoy!
  • Lisa delivers a big pot and a blender! She helps me move the chiminea to the center of the patio.
  • I make yummy lentil veggie soup that simmers while I’m gardening
  • Sunset; I call it a day when it starts to get dark to avoid meeting Mrs Black Widow.
  • "HISSSsss!!" ~ a scary sound of a big cat and I am reminded about Karen telling me that she heard a cougar in the evening _ YIKES- I look at the wire fence...about 7-8 feet tall...could the cougar jump over that? I retreat quickly to the safety of my 'Home'!!
  • After some of that yummy lentil soup and working on the blog and photos; I walk past my exercise area to bed and stop...OK...better not skip these... and do some ab exercises on my mat ( trying to stick to the program Anita!)
Oct. 8,Thursday; Getting to know Cottonwood
  • I go to gym for 730 am and work out till 10;05 am, after joining a Pilates/yoga class which was great! I heard some women talking after class about starting a regular hike on Tuesdays after class …so I invited myself along! My ankles are doing much better now and I’m gonna see if they can hack a hike!
  • Home Depot ~ for small chunks of thin plywood to paint on and other do-dads…the man who cuts lumber comes out to help measure the car- no way- I need a truck (future request from my Jerome friends
  • Then on the hunt for the bike shop…finally found it! Evan checked it out - cleaned & lubed it and found a little piece of string stuck inside the main gear hub…and didn’t charge me! When I told him about how I had a hard time to find the place he said they were thinking of putting a mural on the side of the wall…well you are talking to the right woman! And I promised to drop by in the next 2 days with one of my Streethaven mural cards.
  • As I unload my goodies I see a white haired lady watering her plants on the next home above us on the hill; 'Julia' has lived there for 85 years! She has a rooster (I hear him every morning :-), and chickens and goats!
  • After dinner I go to the library and end up staying till 10pm - Richard, a local volunteer was staying late to finish some chores- showed me where the back room was for tea & hot chocolate; " This is more than your library..its our community center" as we walk by a whole cool play area for kids. I catch up on my email and connect with loved ones, including a lovely long chat with Jennifer, who sent me the most sweetest ever photo of Alexia; when she was babysitting her in the am, they sent a photo of Alexia wishing 'GG' ( great grandfather) a Happy Birthday that she had written herself on the easel at home!
Oct 9th; What a Community!!
  • 7:30 am; Just as I'm climbing up the stairs to put the garbage out, I meet Karen, who is just calling me on my cell to ask if I want to go to the local garage sale up the hill ~ Sure thing!
  • After she throws on a load of laundry ( shared space) & I finish bundling the trumpet vines in time for the garbage truck...PeeWee is put back in the house & off we go!
  • The garage sale is right beside the Mine Museum; GREAT STUFF TO BROWSE THROUGH- I buy I a beautiful Mexican handwoven carpet, 2 vases, peeler, grate, and 3 CDs AND I meet lots of locals and Karen hooks me up with the 'Sunday Breakfast' group that she belongs to; about 12 of the locals take turns hosting breakfast on Sunday mornings.
  • After we drive higher up into the center of town we park and walk up to the next street to the Historical Society building to buy our tickets for the 8pm Ghost walk tonight- it happens yearly on this weekend; the Story of Jennie Bauer and her murder.
  • Karen then shows to the town's best shops and introduces me to a ton of people; The Kaleidoscope store, Nellie Bly (http://nellieblyscopes.com/home.html) is having a weekend of workshops with visiting artists - I sign up for a 9am course on Oct 24
  • Next we meet a Belgian woman, Katrin, who runs the Connor Hotel in town with a cool shop on the main floor- She shares how she got to Jerome 16 years ago from Michigan, which is also where Karen is from originally . I love listening to everyone's stories h0w they ended up choosing to live here. Karen says her story is "fireside & glass of wine" kinda story!
  • Next stop; Post Office, Karen shows me the Bulletin Board covered with notices about Happening scene in Jerome and area- lots!!
  • A lot of the shops are closed, we are early but I get the low-down and snoop in the windows
  • Final stop; we drop by the Visitor Center managed by a cool woman named Joanne; who used to be model, now a gorgeous, feisty, warm 60-something woman married to a woman married to a biker, who has a cool shop in town; Motorcycles are plenty around here! She is hosting this Sunday's brunch...and she tells us about the upcoming surprise birthday morning "Ride" for Katie Lee- this town is cool!!
  • Home for taking care of things; I make a late breakfast for myself and have a nap- work on the blog for the pm and take care of some gardening- heat the soup up and prepare my first dinner with salad and cheese out on the patio; I invited Karen and Larry to pop by before we head up for the Ghost walk - they bring wine, apples and asiago cheese.
  • 8 PM: a very well organized Ghost walk; all local volunteers who stage a historical and comical, and a tease of a show about: "Unscrupulous Madame Belgian Jennie,” a lady of questionable repute who amassed a fortune that made her the wealthiest woman in the Arizona Territory. Belgian Jennie, who was our guide, told the fascinating tale of her life and death in Jerome. The drama unfolded throughout the town of Jerome as the actors most of them, Jennie's girls escorted us around town locations significant to the story.
  • We ended the evening at a local pub - I trying my 3rd Margarita that week..and the cheapest at $5...( the Mile High Inn wins the award for the best-this week!) and I heard Mary & Lance's story about how they got to Jerome; they used to live in Boulder CO! so we shared about that cool place. Mary is still working for the software co she and others created, from here in Jerome! Lance is an engineer designing automated machines in Clarkdale, also below the mountain. for a whole variety interesting tasks needed "out there".
  • Home with a Margarita 'zip' , GORGEOUS stars out!! I do the dishes and hit the pillow!

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I love exploring Creativity and what it makes possible. My business, Flourish Arts, is a natural expression of this. I have a Bachelor of Fine Art Degree from Queen's University.I'm a Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Artist, and Certified Yoga Teacher. Creativity has always been part of everything I have taken on. My journey as a full time Artist is now possible and I am passionate in sharing my art with others and having people - adults & children ~ find their own creative self-expression!