tree hugging and just hugging...

so....on the Big Party Night.....I saw someone in a Flamingo costume....and another lady with cheek dots tossing toast, and ladies with their dresses over their heads..........and me ... checking out my neighborhood with my growling dog in my arms....
can one be in trouble for walking while drinking? With her dog in her arms? Naaah.

So thanks to all you lovely people for giving me another sparkle-full evening on Planet Earth, Tacoma WA. First Night was first rate.
Thanks for not making me drink anything besides water, soda pop, and vodka. The food was yummy, the conversations were silly and Tacoma partied just swell ...all was wet and chummy....and no one danced naked in public (that I saw...) and only the dog puked.

So the men and a woman or 2 have arrived on my street with trucks and pipes and many big orange signs. I'll be taking at least a few pics a week to document the progress of Progress.

First they moved the big concrete planters........and then they cut down all the trees on our stretch of Broadway....boy are people who are closed on Monday gonna be surprised on Tuesday !!

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I sell small furniture and tho Eames isn't my style, I do love a good thing .... and I love the love story of the married couple who brought a European modern style to the US and did it West Coast style........
here's a little vid....

Why Is MY Street Closed at 7am Today????

I think The City doesn't like or respect antique row because we ain't controllable corporate types....we're odd, weird, feisty, and we say inscrutable things.
OK, First Night is fine. (I'm gonna assume the street must be closed NOW for First Night)
And I'm not stupid....I know things must be set up...But really now...2 whole days and 1 night is needed on Broadway from 7th to 9th? NO PARKING??
Tully's, the restaurant, the dentist, the ashdon, the 35 businesses, the gay bar, the mortgage companies, screw Riley, and Dennis Flannigan....and so on........Oh wait, maybe they pay for parking...some of us Have To Drive To Work With A CAR...some of us carry more than dog hair and a water bottle to work. Just saying.
I am not a happy driver.
I'm gonna be surprised to go to work today and find the signs gone...Just a Wish...a girl can wish, right?

When I opened Steilacoom Forge Deli in uh, Steilacoom, I was in direct competition with Bair Drug. Guess who had their electricity, water, and other utilities turned off for "construction" at least once a month for a day or 2??? Guess who had their street corner torn up for "construction" at least once a month for a day or two??? Guess who had the street blocked off for a day or two, at random times over the course of the year and a half I was (trying) to be in business??? Me.

I'm a little sensitive.
I just love how THE ARTS are the latest Buzz Concept to Revitalize Tacoma This Decade (tm)
and then when the arts get too um, arty.....all hell breaks loose.
Rather, things must be muzzled.

Antique Row has been a consistent generator of fun, skewed perspective and general nose-thumbing at normal society....and we like it like that!
Used furniture??? gross. Old smelly books? ikkk. Used clothes? barf.
But those non-mainstream items/concepts/practices are what Fuel creativity.
Even tattoos are mainstream now. Chew on that Chew on Dat. (obscure Roald Dahl reference)

Eating oatmeal everyday is boring. Have chocolate cake for breakfast and see how you stack up!
The last neat thing the city did was to install Cable Internet all over town!!!!
I would not be here to annoy you all but for That!! (wait I used to write for newspapers...you know what they are, right?)
(I can't get cable downtown unless I pay big big bucks for construction and installation which is an interesting dilemma....my theory is that everyone is waiting for sidewalk and street mayhem, followed by prettiness....uh, you did remember to run cable to every address on the new construction you did down there, didn't you??? or did you forget, which means the new construction will need to be torn up to cable-up downtown??)

And while I'm blogging about Things Tacoma Is Doing To Annoy Me (tm)...
At least when PP Ray was running things around here, the streets did NOT have holes in them the size of Guatemala !!
Why in the hell do we have massive condo projects that look so modern and upscale, yet the citizens have to drive on 3rd world rutted goat trails to get to them and to the new Nordstrom at the mall?
Did you think I wouldn't notice?
Yeah, fab. My new Missoni dress is in my new Lexus, as I dodge 46 pot holes between Nordy's and my Downtown Condo...............
WTH ??
(I don't live in a condo downtown, I was just giving you an example of the disparate dichotomy that now exists in Tacoma...)
I blame The Man From DesMoines....and I don't mean the waterfront burg up north...

So have fun on First Night but don't get naked what ever you do. And don't do anything Rick Warren would wag his finger at.....



Bair Drug is closed now. Looks permanent.
Karma is a Bitch.

The Lonely Blogger - Folksingers in Hell

so you blog, eh? Wish you had your own Tacoma-Centric theme song?
David Fewster has answered your call of anguish.....we know you labor in the dark....clickity everyday.....and BONUS.....he homages our beloved Exit133.......It does not get any cooler..any more Tacoma than that......
Clicky the YouTube linky and listen to David sing.....and his daughter Hannah blog.....with whiteout.....it's all very chiaroscuro.......

David Fewster and song partner Heidi Fosner are the most exciting and gritty...Tacoma doomish-cheerleaders.....if you love Tacoma, you can not call your self, your bad self a real life Tacoman or Tacomawoman.....or Tacomakid until you've listened to Folksingers In Hell.....
Just as you love Teddy and bro Leonard Haggerty, artists and karaoke entrepreneurs....extraordinaire.....who have brought Tacoma to life in scratch paper and song.......these folks are the real deal........
No faux-urban pioneers....you know.......the kind that are more Fit than Grit......
Folksingers In Hell are not Sanitized For Your Protection!
Though mostly child-safe......
And Fewster and Heidi sing of our dysfunctional families, drug rehab blues..sans ciggies...at St. Joes..........
So get busy......
Do you truck up to Frost Park to see/be/do The Big Chalk Off every Friday noonish?
I bet you do....
So don't be a Tacoma poseur....
This is the real thing.....Like Girl Trouble........
You chose Tacoma because it isn't pretentious and the real estate prices are doable....
Folksingers In Hell and Fewster and Spawn are both unpretentious and quite doable!!!
Maybe you saw them at First Night 2008.........
Maybe you saw them at the recent Train Fest.......
So see them now....Leave a comment.... Support the Local Arts..
GO LOCAL....
.....brought to your attention by.......a ......Tacoma blog.....

Pirates Parties and Sales !

Here's what we're doing for 1st Night.... The Pigs !! The Parade !!
the magic guy !! Bamboooozle !!
Movies !! Pirates !!............
And after that I dunno.....I'm letting my mood guide me .....I may have some family traipsing along....and I expect to have fun fun fun.....
while visting as many people places and things as I can ....
The main concern for me is staying warm ! So, my ensemble will likely include Fur...maybe PI, but when have I ever been PC...
Me and some of my spawn were at the first First Night in Tacoma !!

Sale ? Did you say Sale ? All thru January all coats, jackets and sweaters are 20% off !
Yes ! Oh it gets better ...on 3rd Thursdays...50s % off Something Secret......I love sales......I thought I'd share the joy .......

I Have So Much To Say !!!

(let's make a list)
1. Less vintage clothes
2. More childrens clothes and toys
3. More furniture & knick-knacks
4. More DIY...yours, mine & ours
5. Less days open....more time to make stuff....
6. More ART ! More bikes !
7. More sales (check the blog from time to time...)
8. Plants in season
9. More jewelry
10. A Happier Hostess !

And for First Night (I'll be there!) I'm making some custom Pirate coats & Hats.....And some real pretty sparkly party clothes !

Went Art Walking.....last thurs...saw so many people !!!
Bought a family membership at Tacoma Art PlaceSaw the helm, visited the Underground, up to Open Heart Coffee.....
ran into One of Our Favourite Hostessi..Laura...got an invite to see Fulcrum Gallery
Then a quick drinky-poo at The Monsoon........
and chatted with Derek and met more swell folks.
I so enjoy chatting with Derek.....he always makes me smile, laugh and think....
I'd show you some new pics but my floppy drive died, and I'll change it on Sunday
I can't figure out Marks cam, and I still need to learn the ropes with the Canon Ann gave me.....I just may give up my 12 year old Brick Of Pics...my Sony Mavica....

Visted the Top of Tacoma bar, ate hot dogs.......speaking of dogs...
my new Tigger is doing much better...he may have given up nipping.....
yeah!
Ate at Fergies a few times....Visited Red Hot.....the dogs were not that hot.
& since I don't drink beer or wine......well, I'm sure they are tasty. Get better Hot Dogs, please. Oh, I always enjoy sparring with Bender....If you haven't sparred with Bender, you must be new around here !
Remember Tacoma......I'm out and about and I'm watching you !
Added some new links for Tacoma-centric places to go and when time slows a bit
I'll add some great Dates for Exit 133 ..for all you folks who are new to Tacoma...
Mark & I are quite judgmental about where we eat out, and how we entertain ourselves.....we are Snobs! We like dives and old-school, but we do love El Groucho......
it's Old School.....that's why.......I'm sure they cringe when we stumble in.....too bad !!And I heard a word that almost describes us........Freegan.......
ha ! If we buy something, it's probably used. There is so much stuff produced in the past......really people..........Buy Recycled !!
After Xmas, I'll show what I bought/made for gifts for the few folks I gifted........most people...just got my love and wishes for a good life.....I haven't the time to buy/make something for everyone at Xmas......because I like to give all year round !!