Sister, You Keep Me....Ode to Michael Ann

Monday morning, sitting up in bed, drinking coffee, computer on lap, dogs at the bottom of the bed looking out the great window where we can see red tile roofs and mountains;   love the view and obviously, so do my dogs.  Indeed, life is good.

So, I was looking through all of my blog posts and they  seem sooooo intense!  Okay, so maybe I'm a little intense too.  But hey! I can have a great time just like the rest of them.  My baby sis visited me this weekend from the great, crazy, smoggy, wild, L.A.  (Of course she's an artist!)

 How I love this sister of mine. When she's here, most of the time we laugh, some of the time we talk about dead people still hanging around (Think Teresa Caputo.), of course we shop,  and then we dance!   (I forgot to mention that we also have a few.)\

She is one of the lights of my life to be sure.  One has to have a person in their life like her,a person who accepts them just as they are, can laugh when other people look at you with a puzzled look, not knowing whether to pity you or sign you up for major therapy.

I have to tell you about the time I  pretty much hit rock bottom.

There I was, crying hysterically, sitting in the back of a hotel parking lot in my car(No, I was not booked in that hotel nor did I visit anyone staying there.) feeling like a lost child all alone in the world.  I called her and, thank God, she answered.  As I sobbed profusely, she sort of talked me down.  When I spilled my gut  and words started flowing with agonizing emotion, her reaction was awesome; calm, understanding, reasonable and yet she didn't reply as if I were some lame brain, out of control, mental wreck.  I really think anyone else would have been a bit freaked out, and I wouldn't have blamed them.

Okay, well here's the part I love:  when I told her the worst bit of my whole story, she of course, asked questions to make sure I was okay, then she sort of chuckled and made a joke about it.  NO ONE ELSE IS ABLE TO DO THAT WITH HER MAGNIFICENT EXPERTISE! Her reaction changed my whole mood, my whole way of thinking, and believe it or not, I chuckled too(....well....sort of, considering).  I will always love and value how she saved me from delving even deeper into my dark, futile pit and how she caused me to feel at least, still sane.

I love my baby sis.

 I have two other sisters and love each one in different ways.  They too, are part of my heart and soul.  Whether connected by blood and/or spirit, every woman needs that soul sister in her life.  I am much more than fortunate to have these gifted women help me along this journey of life.  So, if it were a Friday night, I'd lift a glass of red to my sister, Michael Ann, and  also to Monday mornings on summer break!!.(but it's a Monday morning so I'll lift my coffee cup!) Here's to you sweet, beautiful girl!

Sister (by Dave Matthews)

Passing time with you in mind
It’s another quiet night
Feel the ground against my back
Counting stars against the black

Thinkin' about another day
Wishing I was far away
Wherever I dreamed I was
You were there with me

Sister, I hear you laugh
My heart fills full up
Keep me please
Sister, when you cry
I feel your tears
Running down my face
Sister, sister, keep me

I hope you always know it’s true
I would never make it through
You could make the sun go dark 
Just by walking away

Playing like we used to play
Like it would never go away
I feel you beating in my chest
I’d be dead without....

............Sister, I hear you laugh
My heart fills full up
Keep me please
Sister, when you cry
I feel your tears
Running down my face
Sister, sister, you keep me


I hope you always know it’s true
I would never make it through
You could make the heavens fall
Just by walking away

sister, sister....keep me!

A True "Confessions of a Shopaholic"

I admit it:  I am a shopoholic!  I've gotten much better though! Or have I really?  And what's worse, I go to thrift shops which makes my buyting so much easier and more justifiable. .  Rarely will I visit a shop that sells only the new; maybe you could say I'm an avid recycler ! 

So, today I went shopping with my little sister who was here visiting from L.A. .  We went to my favorite thrift shop and there, we spent probably two hours, wandering, trying on, discussing, and deciding what to buy.  How could I refuse the sexy BCBG stilettos with the magnificant little platform.  (That little platform make stilettos so much more bearable, maybe even comfortable??) 

Beautiful aren't they"


People tell me I wear too much black sooooo there was this classy ivory linen shirt,  very Jackie O, made by some great designer.  It was just so incredibly inexpensive that I couldn't NOT get it! Right???

In any case, I'm on a strict budget and I have to be more disciplined...ha!...the story of my life.  It's just that when you love "stuff" as much as I do, well hey, it's my weakness. I just want to get one thing straight though, I am not a hoarder.  I will not be a hoarder.  Hoarding is just downright ugly! 

But I shop! I shop ebay, OneKingsLane, Craigslist, thrift shops, and the list goes on.  The online shopping usually is just window shopping, comparing prices and seeing what's hot  and what's not.  Also, ebay is a good way to find out what you have or want to have that could be valuable.  You might be surprised.  That's why when I saw this twig magazine rack that is probably from the '20s for sale for only $30, (Rich Girls Rummage, Phoenix) well, how could I say no...I mean really.  This stuff goes for over a hundred on ebay.  And it looks great in my little corner next to my black leather chair with the 'new' kilim pillow.  Yep, these pillow covers go for over $50.  Mine?  It was $5 on half price day at my local Goodwill.  





Speaking of the Goodwill, this fantastic blue, tufted leather office chair with a solid cherry wood bottom was $40...that's right, $40!  It's vintage and it's amazing.  Should I even tell you how much you would pay for something like this even from a vintage shop?  over $100 for sure.  And it looks mahhhvolous in our office.









Now, another shopping addiction is shown below.  I don't know why, but this is an oil painting that I fell in love with.  Sort of folk artsy, but it's not a print, someone painted this. I love the colors, love the subject.  Yep, had to buy it.  It was below $10.



Yes, I love to shop, don't judge me though, I don't always buy for me alone.  My sweet daughter who has two rambunctious, beautiful boys and one, active, loves to dance and do head stands, daughter.  Needless to say her furniture takes a beating.  I gave her our old, very beautiful leather couch which we bought from someone who was leaving the country.This was more than 25 years ago.  So this "beautiful" couch had seen much, much better days.  It was in her family room and every time I would visit, it sort of bothered me.  She wasn't really concerned even though her home is decorated with meticulous certaintity, and stunning taste. So, I'm at my favorite thrift shop and there,as I walked towards the back of the store, I looked and saw a great, comfy, amazingly clean and well kept couch.  It was ultra suede and a sort of off white, and yes, unusually clean.  Even the sales girl mentioned how new it looked.   I bought it for her for only $34 and her family room looks fresh, young and comfy.  It truly looks wonderful in her family room and is surprisingly easy to clean.


So, the pictures that follow are all photos of a few prized possessions that were found at funky thrift shops.

Take for instance this amazing wine rack.  I saw it, spent a few minutes pondering, and decided to refrain.  Then, a week or so later, my husband and I were clothes shopping  (For him, he has lost 50 lbs.) and he noticed the rack and loved it.  It was his idea to buy this time.  I couldn't have been more thrilled. It's obviously a hand made piece and  I love it!!! It looks absolutely at home in our kitchen next to our china cabinet.


The pic below is of yours truly, moi!  The whole outfit I'm wearing was a thrift shop find..  The belt is a particular favortie of mine.  It was a fantastic discovery from an L.A. thrift shop.  It's heavy mesh metal on black leather and has a sterling silver buckle.




Check out my chadlier!  Yep, thrift shop find...and sure looks better than the horrible 80's brass one. (Which I admit, will someday be considered vintage, but I'm still glad it's gone!)  Did you notice my pretty blonde lady sticking out from the wall?  Rich Girls Rummage...in Phoenix.  My husband and I did some research on her and found one online exactly like her, over double the price.







Even my appliaces were found on Craigslist...ooops..not the stove. That was my husband's boss's stove.  The enamal bread bin is an original that I found back in the early 80's at an English Flea Market in Leeds, England.



So, to keep from being a hoarder...I sell when I'm tired of what I have or when I want to change my look.  Below are two chairs I recovered in authentic suzani fabric, and sold for $30 each.







Maybe I'm writing this because I need to curb my enthusiasim for shopping...no, not maybe, I really need to. But for now, I'm taking one step at a time and making the best of it.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday.

The Power of Words

Facebook is an amazing link to the past.  It connects me with old friends, old loves and sometimes, old rivals. I read a sort of memoir of an old friend and it brought tears to my eyes.  It was so long ago, a dream away.....but still clear in my mind's eye.




 We were so close knit and life was young for all of us.  Our faith bound us together.  This person's tribute was basically to God, to faith, and to young years.



 There were people in his/our lives who have left a lasting impression on us; more than people who have touched us at other times of our lives.



Of course people could comment.  One comment said something like "I wonder where they all are now."  I sort of take that as not just their physical beings, but their faith, where their lives have taken them. I can only answer that one for me...all the others?  I can see their pictures, their quotes, their lives on facebook (again..it's amazing!)

I was a hippy with an idealistic view of how life should be...



Basically; Love.  But in my  hippy friends I pretty much saw a different story.  As it happened, I had an 'experience' with God and saw Jesus, his son, and gave my life to him. (Remember, I totally believe dead people i.e. Jesus, talk to us.)  I have been in this life with Jesus for a long, long time.  And he has given me all that I need to walk through an imperfect world.



But since those days, the early '70's, I have changed quite a bit and my journey in life has led me in some places I wish I didn't have to go.....but I did.  Where is this hippy, Jesus freak now?  Where is this idealistic little lady now?  I still have that same, simple faith in Jesus Christ....I still know he is with me, and he speaks to me in love and patience.


Reading my friends post brought tears to my eyes...lots of tears, as I remembered those days, those feelings, that faith and how it has changed..  My sister thanked him and said that "sometimes she forgets who she is". I understand! That time did form our identities in a huge way.


I remember going on a missions trip to Mexico. I had signed up, but my faith was waning and I didn't want to go. I honestly didn't feel worthy and my imperfect human-ness had led me down alleys I wasn't wanting to admit.



 I decided that I would just go on this two week (or however long it was) trip and when I got back I would never darken the door of any sort of church again.  This old friend must have seen it in my face, in my countenance, or something because he came back and said some extremely encouraging words that eventually had me rethink my plan of turning away from faith.


.  (He was and is a very strong, wise, and encouraging person.)

Nostalgia:  [noncount] : pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again 

And there ya have it....It's late, and I need to get back to reality, get some sleep because I have to work tomorrow...Night all!

Animal Rights, Animal Sufferings, and Humans

So, I think I overdid it on the animal rights thing on facebook.  What can I say though?  I was on a role.  I found this page where there were these amazing pictures and I pretty much posted a whole slew of them.  


So, let me get to it.  I think I'm really getting more intense about the whole subject in my "latter" years.  Yes, I am a bit of a hypocrite because I have leather furniture (because it's easier to clean having pets) and yes, I wear leather, and yes, I have a cowhide rug in my home.  So I am aware of my own hypocrisies.


Yet, as a Christian, I have some Christian friends who say that God told us to eat animals.  I beg to differ...and I also KNOW that eating animals all came about AFTER sin entered the world.  God didn't want ANY bloodshed, but WE screwed up.  





Okay, so that means let's just slaughter the hell out of creation and go for it...after all, we're redeemed right?    (Redeemed meaning "set free"..."deliverance" )  What about all of creation?  Apparently some don't care...or don't think...I have no idea other than the experience of my own ignorance. 

Someone on Facebook said something to the effect that the guys on Duck Dynasty are so Christian and have Christian values.  I can't really argue with that because I haven't seen the show.  I do know, though, that they take guns, point them and kill innocent animals.  Sometimes just for fun!!! ??? !!!  Killing for fun???  Something is wrong with that picture. 





Am I saying that Christians shouldn't kill or eat things that have been killed for foods??? Wow, that's a really good question.  I'll have to think about that one. 




I know also that some people sort of use their children as an example of how it's natural to eat meat.  However, these children have already been introduced to meat..not the kind in the slaughter house, the neat little non-bloody type in packages at the grocery store, then brought home and doused with seasonings so that it will "taste good".  

Tell a child exactly where the meat comes from and that's a whole different story. Parents don't expose their children to that...with the exception of farmers, but still they don't take their ids to slaughter houses.  Any child, early on, who sees the horrors of killing animals will always remember that, or at least they will try to forget in order to eat what their parents put on the table. 

I myself eat animal products.  I eat fish, cheese, eggs and yogurt.  Still, I have to consciously NOT think about where it comes from.  The eggs, cheese and yogurt, are not too much of a problem if they come from animals who are free to roam, and not the kind that corporations own and take advantage of. As far as the fish, last night my husband made mahi mahi steaks.  At the last bite, I couldn't do it anymore, I couldn't 'stop' thinking about this as a living thing that was once free and now is on my plate, not resembling anything like a real fish.  UG!  My days of being a fish eater are probably over. 




I won't even get into what the Chinese do to dogs and some other pets who have become our domestic friends.They don't see them as a living thing with a soul...with feelings, who suffer pain, both emotional and physical. I can barely write about this let alone post a picture.  So, the cruelty our animal friends endure in by the hands of humans is painful for me think of, to imagine, but it's there.  Do I think God will judge us on how we treat all living things?  Damn right God will!!!!!
So, I'm ranting here because I couldn't say this much on facebook, and why should I?  I'm trying not to be a pain in the ass there...that's not the place for it.  So here I am...people can either read or not...

In the end, the best thing that I can think of to make my point is this picutre: