Have a Merry Samhain



Happy Halloween my little witches.  Always practice safe hex.

Warty pumpkin with big green spider.

Jolly Roger

This is my first Halloween out in the desert.  So I decorated my porch.  People drive so fast on the dirt road and look neither to the right or left, so I think I'm the only one enjoying my decorations, so I thought I'd share them with you.

Full moon rising over the hills.



Witch's broom silouetted against the blue sky.

Knitting and Felt Ornaments

Getting used to my new home is challenging. Today was a reminder of how much I hate laundromats. But while the clothes were in the dryer I got to knit on my 'buttered popcorn' scarf. I also worked on it some at an archery event yesterday. It was way too hot to shoot arrows, so I stayed in the shade and worked on knitting and beadwork. My friends Aimee and Sal dropped by and she brought her beadwork as well. She's making Christmas ornaments of felt and sequins in the shapes of hearts, moons, birds, and other things. We swapped some beads as well.

When I was coming out of the grocery store the other day, there was a woman in a van and on her dashboard were all kinds of things made on a Knifty Knitter.  So I stopped a bit and talked to her about it. Crafts are a universal language.

Ring of Obsidian

We've been collecting obsidian chunks to use for knapping. Up until now we've been carting them around in strong plastic bags. But today when I put the dish garden I saved from my other house into the yard, it looked lonely.  So I surrounded it with a ring of obsidian and hosed off all the dust. Obsidian is volcanic glass, and it looks amazing when it is wet. We have some mohagany obsidian in with the mix as well.  Sooner or later the obsidian will be turned into arrowheads, spearpoints or knives, but for now I can enjoy it in it's natural form. I'd like to get some snowflake obsidian. That's my favorite. I've always been a rock hound. I'm not very good at knapping yet so I've been practicing on john stone (old toilet tanks). It's free and has conical fractures just like obsidian.

I can't wait to explore this area for fossils, petroglyphs and native flora and fauna. We already found a devil's claw (weed) growing in the yard.

This morning I saw a cottontail in my backyard through my bathroom window.

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Too Many Paintings Oh My

While unpacking I found many of the paintings I had done squirreled away in my garage or in closets or behind furniture. Some I had forgotten even doing. I wish some had sold. I just don't have enough room to keep them all. That makes me so sad. I wish they could be displayed and bought by people that would love and cherish them. My boyfriend was just going to leave them out in the yard at the new place because we have no storage space.  As you might guess, that caused some friction. I didn't save them all these years just to have them ruined by the first freak rainstorm or foggy night.

I'm busy putting together my bedroom, hoping for something a bit more artistic than a place for everything and everything in it's place. I can't wait to sew the new curtains and figure out which art to put up.

I got more of my Halloween stuff put on the shelf. I found 2 more Halloween boxes today but it's dark already and I'm tired. I better hurry though or Halloween will be gone already.

Crossing my fingers that this posts. Having a terrible time with this new dial-up Internet connection.

Home Sweet Home (Sort of)

Being here in Lucerne Valley is like stepping back in time 35 years. The only station I can get clearly is playing songs from the 70's. And I am suffering with a dial-up connection that took five minutes to open an e-mail, keeps crashing if I try to load any of the games on Facebook, and takes forever to open a site like Blogger. I am dismayed.  My income is primarily Internet based.  How am I going to load tutorials to Youtube for example?

Then again, it could just be the exhaustion talking.  It took us from noon on Wed. to 7 AM on Thurs. to load moving van number 4. And we even had a helper from noon until midnight. Then we were too tired to spend the next 2 1/2 hours driving to Lucerne. So we spent 3 hours sleeping at Motel 6, and hit the road again. Once we got here I went straight to bed again, got up long enough to eat dinner, try out the new Internet connection, and now I think I need more sleep.

Hope you are all well.  See you tomorrow.

One More Time

Hello my doves,
We've just finished filling our 4th moving van. I am beyond tired but I still have to drive 2 1/2 hours to our new home. So I'm relaxing for a few minutes to let my feet and back rest. The dryer went to a nice lady who just got back from the hospital visiting a new grandson.  I'm glad it went to someone that really needs it.

We gave a nice propane bbq to our neighbors. His son helped us move. To the workers go the spoils.

The garage is empty. The backyard is cleared of the things we wanted to keep and a whole dumpster of things we didn't want to keep. Now we are doing the last bit of the house.  Even for a tiny kitchen, we sure had a lot in it. Soon we will unplug the computer and hope it works at the new house. We'll only have dial up there, which I'm not happy about. I hope I can still access my favorite sites.

Today I made a side trip to M&L fabric to pick up some turquoise fabric for my bedroom curtains. The house is already carpeted in dark blue, so I'm kinda stuck with blue.  But I'm going to do turquoise and rust and orange and desert themed colors, like I grew up with in N. Mexico. And not much of the blue rug is visable with my bed and furniture taking up most of my room.

I also found some cool pumpkin fabric for Halloween that I couldn't resist at only $2.49. a yard.

Okay the grumpy people are telling me to get back to work so I gotta go. Take care, see you when I get back on the net.

Winter Sewing

Hi Kittens,
The gods have smiled on us and we get another cool weather day to finish loading the moving van. Please let these be the last day here. I was looking forward to sleeping at my new home yesterday and we didn't get to leave Anaheim. We are so encumbered with stuff that the packing is staggering. We haven't even started the garage yet!  Thank goodness it's only a single car garage. Then comes the backyard.

Someone gifted us with a cat carrier so at least our cat can ride in comfort to his new home. We left the door open to it so he can play in there and get used to it so it will be less traumatic. I hope he will forgive us someday for putting him through this. First he lost his brother and now this. Poor guy.

For years I've made warm hats, scraves, and mittens which I never had reason to wear because the climate is so moderate in Anaheim. Now I'm going somewhere that may even have snow so I'm all happy that my knitting and sewing will be put to use. I can't wait to make a new coat and vests. I love vests so much and got out of the habit of wearing them. I particularly like reversible vests.

Oh well, this stuff isn't going to move itself. I'm going to make breakfast, then start packing again. Please let this be the last day. I want to get on with my life.

Tomorrow is a New Day

Hello my roses,
I am so inspired right now.  After digging through my closet, a lot of boxes, shelves and bookcases, I unearthed all kinds of patterns, art supplies, drawing tools, clothing and shoes!  My cup runneth over! I can't wait to get done moving so I can get back to art.

I have a 2'x2' mirror I got from the dumpster a while back. Once I get it to my studio, I'm going to break it and use it in a mosiac on the metal patio table we got from a relative. I'm thinking maybe a mermaid. I wasn't even going to take the table with us because it's so heavy but my boyfriend insisted.

And I'm on a boho kick right now and set aside 3 patterns of boho outfits I can't wait to sew. Do you sew?  It's fantastic to be able to make what you want when you want it.

I do regret that I didn't get to make any new Halloween tutorials. I do hope to decorate for Halloween and at least make a vlog post once I get to the new house. I have a big front porch with the proverbial white picket fence out front. The handyman was painting the trim last time we were there, so it should be dry and ready to go the next time I go home. I was supposed to be there tonight but we didn't finish clearing out the apt. Tomorrow is a new day.

Fabric Stash

I just boxed up a ton of fabric for the moving van tomorrow. It is inspiring me to make all kinds of belly dancing costumes and bohemian fashions. I guess I've been subconciously hanging on to it all in the hopes that some day I'd reach my ideal weight and look good in the costume I was spending all that time on. It's no fun to put something on and have it look nothing like you expected on your body type. Some girls look good wearing a burlap sack and a smile but I'm not one of them. I never want to move this much fabric again.  I want to use it for garments I can wear or gifts for friends or things to sell in my online shops. I don't want it just sitting around in boxes year after year.  The purple back-drop in this photo is a bolt of fabric. Maybe I can make a beledi dress out of it.  We'll see once I get to my new house. We'll have to have an unpacking marathon.

Retro Coat 1952

I finally got enough boxes out of the way to open my closet.  It's full of fabric, yarn, and costumes but now they all have to go into the moving van to be re-sorted on the other side. My closet there is much smaller but we got a container placed in the yard to handle the over flow. I just hope one container will be enough because we also had hoped to have our workshops inside it as well. We may have to get a second container. I know he doesn't want to but I hope we can get two to maximize our work space.

Butterick B4928 Retro '52

The first thing I want to make is a coat with the Butterick Pattern in the photo. I was born in 1958 so my mother would have worn a coat like this perhaps.

Etsy on Facebook

Tonight I started beading a new arrow felt pin. Or it could be used as an applique.  It's the first time I've tried this design. So far it is green felt with green and yellow beads.

I also tried putting my Etsy shop on my Facebook page. I tried 2 different apps but neither one worked. Other friends I know have beautiful pages on Facebook and sell things from their Etsy shops and I feel like I'm missing out.

Gourd Dreams

I'm dreading this packing day.  All that's left are the dregs. The stuff that is mismatched, doesn't fit in boxes, or is half good stuff and half trash. And then there is the garage. It's still 3/4 full. And the back patio, with all it's storage bins, gourds, tools, furniture and plants. I just want to be done with all this and out of here but I woke up with the back ache from hell and a charlie horse that went from my left knee to my ankle. Sleeping on an air mattress for what I think is the fourth night in a row hasn't been so much fun. It's like camping with none of the advantages.

Last night I dreamed we moved to New Mexico. I was on a open aired vehicle with P. Allan Smith, the guy from the nursery show. I was telling him all about the Welburn Gourd Farms and how the Hawaiians go there on opening day to pick out special gourds to make Ipu Heckey (however you spell it). The drum is made by joining two gourds together.

I hope gourds grow at our new house, because we will be too far away to get to the gourd farm very often.

That is all.

Lucerne Valley or Bust Part Three

 

Dropping off the 2nd U-haul

Hi,
It was a foggy morning in Anaheim today.  We got back from Lucerne Valley well after dark.  Since everything's been moved except our one working computer, we've been taking turns on it. It's strange not having a TV, a radio, or the usual devices of distraction in the house.  At least the refrigerator is here so we can still have cold drinks. We were supposed to be out Sunday but we still have so much more to pack, sort and clean.  We originally thought we'd have to rent 3 or 4 moving vans, then he was hoping to get by with 2, but they didn't have the big truck available. We settled for a smaller one and everything didn't fit.  At least we got the piano and most of the big items moved.

Someone is here who might buy the kayak. Sadly the gear bag (a big part of the deal) has gone missing.  Did one of our helpers throw it in the moving van, in which case it is now 111 miles from here? Did we accidentally leave it on the porch or roof of the car?  I hope it turns up. Maybe we'll find it when we pack everything else.  It's a big purple gear bag...how hard is that to find?

I took some sunset photos in Lucerne last night. Then we stopped for Chinese food on the way home. That was delicious.

I started to pack and clean today and my hips protested. Everything is sore. I learned 2 things from moving: I'm not as young as I used to be, and I'm seriously out of shape.

Our new backyard.

Sunset in Lucerne Valley California

Sunset

Butterfly van

Hello Russia

I just wanted to say hello to Russia. For some reason, over half my readers are from Russia, even though I live in CA.  I'm curious to know what the attraction is, so if you care to share, please leave a comment below. My experience with Russians is very limited. I rented a ballet studio from a Russian woman once.

Colors Are Fun

I feel kind of twitchy because I haven't gotten to work on crafts in the last few days because of packing. It is my therapy.  And I also like to relax and be creative on my computer, and it's got some sort of 'black screen of death' glitch going on now so I haven't been getting my computer time either. I don't drink or smoke, so I need my other vices of crafts and computer time. Otherwise I start getting surly.

I've tried to ferret all my Halloween decorations into well marked boxes so I can at least decorate for Halloween when I get to the new house. It's so remote no one will see it but me, but it's important to me to do it anyway. Maybe I can show it off on Youtube at least.

I worked on some color scheme palletes when I got to borrow a computer. At least I can share those with you.

Moving Van

We got rained on a bit today.

Any idea what plant this is?

The storm clouds were all bark and no bite.

I can't wait to be done moving.

It's been a long day of packing and sorting and moving. In fact it's 3 AM and I should be getting to bed. So here are some photos from today.

Do You Have Your Creativity In A Choke Hold?

I try to let my creative self have free rein.  If my creative self wants to have 100 different blogs, then so be it.  If it wants to sew today and throw paint on a canvas tomorrow, I let it change horses in midstream. I know in the long run I am happier if I don't keep suppressing myself.  There are of course money and time restraints, but if it's possible, I say yes, go for it. And if I get burned out on one art form, I do my best not to beat myself up. I put it on the back burner and hope my motivation comes back some time soon.

I don't think most people do this. I think that little nagging voice talks them out of being creative. It says things like, 'you don't really need to knit another scarf' or ' your last sewing project was a disaster, it's just not your thing', or 'you don't need to make that fancy cake, you are fat enough already.'  Well, maybe your inner self DOES NEED TO MAKE THAT FANCY CAKE.  Maybe you do need to cut up your jeans and sew them into a tote bag and a hat.   Just maybe you have to let your inner idiot run the asylum once in a while.

Do something novel.

Express yourself on Halloween.

Witchcrossing. Channel your inner witch. Witches are very creative.

Lucerne Here We Come

Butterfly blouse: Thrifted

Container delivery

End of a long day and the sun is going down.

The new view from my yard.

Yesterday was exciting. I got to drive my boyfriend's truck to Lucerne so he could drive the moving van. I haven't driven since I sold my truck over a year ago.  Oh how I miss driving!  And driving to the desert is so much more fun than driving through the L.A. area. The roads are wide and even though there is traffic, it never seems to back up like the 405 freeway or the 5 or any of the local freeways.

Then once we got there we met up with the container truck guy. The container will be our art studio/garage/storage area. We may get two so we each have one. It's cheaper than our storage unit in Westminster, CA, so once we clean that out, it will give us a more useful space for less than we paid before.

Even though I was very sad at the thought of moving out there, something has transformed me. Like the butterfly on my new blouse, which is the symbol of transformation, I'm realizing how much I hated living in the city and dealing with the overcrowding which comes with apartment living. I'll finally have my own driveway again.  No more sharing a single car driveway with four other apartments. No more having to move our cars every Wed. for street sweeping. No more tickets for parking in the alley while we run inside to carry in groceries. I don't even think we need a business license since it's unincorporated.

Moving Day

We are about to drive our first load in a big ole U-haul to Lucerne CA.  Then the 2 of us have to unload the ENTIRE thing by ourselves before 4 PM so we can return it to a place up there by 5. And we are already dead tired. The fun never ends.

I was sharing with a friend the cool steampunk looking submarine on the side of the van, and he told me, "Oh  yeah, the Henley project.  They all died." Great...what a bad omen. I'm not telling my boyfriend, but I'm more than a little weirded out by that. Plus I'll be driving his truck up there, and he never lets me drive it so I have like almost zero experience driving it. It just doesn't get better than this.

Leaving Behind My Favorite Roses

The moving van is in the drive-way. I was walking by the back door and saw my rosebush had made a good-bye bouquet just for me. I will miss it so much. I hope the new owner keeps it in the yard so future renters can enjoy it. If you want one of these photos to frame, this link is a promo code to my shop Shoebox Ranch.

Moving ASAP

I may be off line for a few days as I shuttle all my stuff to the new house. I have no idea how quickly we can get the computers back on line. I'm bummed that I may be stuck with dial-up.  It's another disappointment after learning our dryer won't work out there, and there is no garbage disposal. It's rustic, that's for sure. I guess I should be grateful that they have Internet access at all.  I'll be living on a dirt road as well. I'm going to have to invest in hiking boots. My sandals just won't cut it. The earth is very rocky with lots of stickers. But I am looking forward to the solitude. And the night sky should be amazing far from the city lights. It's going to be culture shock. They did promise to paint the trim on the house, and that should make it look more cheerful.

Chatwagon

I found a new place to chat with artists and crafters. At least it's new to me. My friend Sergio told me about it.

  

Shoebox Ranch on Society6

I've been busy all morning posting photos to my new Society6 shop called Shoebox Ranch. I've also posted new stuff to my Tumblr. For some reason Tumblr is finicky, so click the link a few times if it doesn't work. There is a great cactus garden by my boyfriend's mom's house.  He was taking a long time getting out of there yesterday so I filled in the time by taking photos of the cactus garden. I hope you like them.

Why not buy one for a gift and set it aside for that special birthday or Christmas? If you see one posted that isn't in my shop yet, let me know and I'll list it. I have literally thousands of photos so they can't all go in the shop. I'd be 300 years old by the time I got finished.

Columnar Cacti

Golden Barrel Cactus

Short cactus

I wish I'd caught this one while it was blooming.

Close up of golden barrel cactus in bloom.

Please leave comments and a link to your blog below.

A New Day

Today dawned bright and shiny and full of new promise. I wasn't thrilled with having to move to the desert. It felt like a punishment for failing at my career. But I've decided to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness. This opens up so many new possibilities for me, both as a photographer and as a painter.

It's too soon to tell, but I'm hoping to open a little shop along the highway where I've seen some other shops set up. Before that happens, though, I still have a million things to sort and pack. We have to shuttle a moving van 3 or 4 times the 111 miles out to the new place and back. And I will have to drive my boyfriend's truck (which I've only driven about 30 minutes in ten years) so he can drive the moving trucks. I'm so not looking forward to the next five days, but I am looking forward to the next year.

Driving back to Anaheim to pack.

The nearest highway.

The view from our new yard.