While I really really like you I have to do this....

I stayed home today and didn't go to any parties...the shop is closed and I'm alone with my dog.
I made 2 necklaces and worked on other things too.
I really like to go to parties and I like to go out to eat and drink and I love spending time with my family a lot !
But none of those things get work done....and making stuff is what I do.....
here's what I did today...(well some of it !) and then 2 pics from the camping trip to Ft.Flagler....
the park ranger who checked us in was K. Shurely.
you betcha!

The first necklace is of random pretty charms....mostly hearts...this is from my vast collection of stuff...and they are both on etsy now.

The second one is a big apple..thing...I combined it with a piece that looks kinda like an eye.....apple of my eye......
it was inspired by a woman I saw in Seattle a few weeks ago.......she had long shiny hair, a black tshirt tucked in her faded jeans. Simple leather sandals and a stunning statement piece of jewelry...a long necklace with a large metal pendant....similar to this, but not this....She looked cool, collected and perfectly put together.




*************************
The first pic is going across the Hood Canal bridge and then the view from campspot 7...it took us an hour to remember how to put up our tent (it's huge!)
but finally we did it then we walked on the beach......it was 2 days of Heaven, and I am more sure than ever of the next place I want to live...not in Tacoma.
...It feels great to be able to actually create something ...to have skills...and recycle and save something from the great mountains of crap...
Of course these are skills that the US culture doesn't appreciate....yet!

USA and groovy movies and Happy Birthday Aleks !!!

I love the movies ! and I love this link to rotten tomatoes that gives you 50 movies about the 50 states that make up America...and since this is the US of A's birthday...

(and my oldest granddaughter!)...here it is.

Each movie features a sweet or daring or scary and exciting vignette about a state...what creates the culture.....Because though we are all Americans by birth or design, we are not interchangeable....
Diversity !

Singles (click the full cast and crew for some funny surprises!)
was chosen to represent Washington...well fine. Everyone is looking for love and we're still talking about good public transportation......in 1992 the Mayor of Singles/Seattle TOM SKERRIT ! dismissed the Great Train with Coffee Idea....ha ha .....now for 120 billion trillion dollars...I guess we get it now......

yeah, 1992...let's do some math....17 years ago. Seattle and the Northwest .you are slow. That's your culture. But not slow in the good way. Sorry.

Here's a cover of Lucinda Williams' Metal Firecracker by Bright Eyes ..Conor Oberst...



Blow something up and be safe!

Random Notes: Vodka, Portland, Tacoma....

1. Vodka. always OK with me. I wonder if SevenOhWonder down below will trade vintage for vodka...the 3 dollar Martini.....Marketing Genius! We've dined there 2 times because Derek/X133 gave a recommendation......and he was right. Super excellent food, swell waitress...with just the right amount of sass (Liesel)...and besides...the view...and oh, 3 Dollar Martinis....

2. Went to Portland last week...stayed at the Mark Spencer...they love Dogs !!(word up Tacoma, you suck in the pet/hotel department)...So we got settled in and walked around the Pearl and the fringe of the Pearl...yes, the Pearl is sometimes too polished for my taste, but never fear, Portland hardly ever screws it up so bad, that it alienates the very people that make Portland so beloved....
ergo: Within blocks of our hotel, is Ace Hotel, and The Joyce Hotel, and The Kent Hotel...Ace is space deluxe, but downbeat on the decor...spare,indie and a bit too polished.

The Joyce, and the Kent.......oh yes. A hotel from my childhood. Shabby, decrepit and the place for the poor, the adventurous, and the traveling youth to stay. All great cities have these flophouses because not everyone at every time wants/needs/can afford a deluxe stay/place.
oh, and I get a big kick outta Joyce/Kent...my big brother's name is Kent...his wife is named Joyce!!!


2a. Here is Mark, Tigger and our new friend, Alexander, sitting in front of the Half and Half...drinking coffee on the fuckin' sidewalk (Tacoma, take notes!). Alexander was all about vintage photography and vintage bikes.

He is gonna ride in the 42Ride, a cross-country bike ride to promote bike-riding (duh) and 42Below Vodka. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. a street view. vibrant,eh? yup. Bicycle Film Festival website...




3. Tacoma. BEST Monkey Party ever. Who was in the Bell Tower? Who was on the roof and flipping you off? That's for me to know....and you to find out......

Now with Witty Commentary...

Miles and Cole and Tacoma...

One of the best pleasures of having a big space in Tacoma is tossing out a free venue for kids to play in....remember...the yutes of today are the Social Security payers of tomorrow.....so get busy!!

I took this picture of Apache Chief just minutes after pulling in from the 4 1/2 hour drive from Portland!!

Some 'rents...

The kids are alright...

Hey Look it's Kelly !

The bitchin' Phoenix....

2 of my fave shots...Sugar Beats in the greenery...and a moody pic of Hippo Critt...

The Yutes of Today are the ...

MUSIC at funkoma here in T Town on Friday Night !!

short sweet....

here's the fo...


Gonna be at six. The bands playing are Apache Chief, Hippo Critt and Sugar Beats. Apache Chief, we're pretty much garage punk. Hippo Critt is indie rock with poppish tendencies and Sugar Beats are a psychedelic two piece influenced by 13th Floor Elevators and the Velvet Underground. All of the bands are made up of the youth of Tacoma. Uh. I dunno what else besides that.


See you there:

Roses, Night Gardening and your love....

roses...roses...sultry nights in the garden
#2 in Tressie's Garden post series...
This one was first published in June 1996...in the Senior Scene...cause back then...only aging flower children...and old folks gardened...maybe some religious folks, but it was a bit of a strange avocation..
After the hippie back-to-the-earth movement of the 60s and 70s, gardening, canning, and making stuff went out of fashion...people wanted to trade stocks and snort cocaine and vote Republican...see where that got 'cha!
At Last a Decent Plot

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may...
June is for roses. Roses speak of love and kisses. They require some special care, but they are so worth the time. Gather ye rosebuds and petals while ye may, and use them for potpourri.
Planting
June is still a good month for planting four-inch and bigger size plants. Water well, daily at first, until the plant settles in, then mulch to hold in moisture during the hot summer months. Large-size containers are available all summer but be sure to check nursery stock for good health. You don't want a plant that's been under-watered and chewed up an put under stress. It won't stand the heat and bloom well.

Use annual marigold, alyssum, petunia, marguerites, zinnia and portulaca for sunny spots. Hardy summer perennials for sun that are drought-resistant include helenthemem (sunrose, yarrow, black-eye Susan, hollyhock, lavender, baby's breath, and sedum Autumn Joy.

Many herbs take little water once established. Try thymes, sages catmint, and rosemary. All these plants look great together and take the same care. Accent your plantings with gray-leafed plants. these tend to like drier soil too. Gray leaves soften bright orange, red and yellow, or add punctuation to soft pink, white and lilac.

Several artemesias with their finely cut leaves and fragrance are good for drying. Look for Sweet Annie, mugwort, wormwood or the many varieties of fern leaf artemesias.

Bought some roses in pots? Dig a hole twice the width of the container slightly deeper. Remove part of the soil (put it in the compost along with the peat pot) and work in some well-rotted manure. Soak the rose thoroughly, remove it from the pot, and plant it at the same level as it was. Toss in your prepared soil and water.
Form a watering basin slightly wider than the rose and mulch. When you cut flowers for bouquets, cut the stem cleanly just above an outward-facing leaf with five or seven leaflets. Later, keep the old petals and toss the rest on the compost.
Fertilize monthly until August, then stop and allow the growth to harden for winter.
In late fall, remove all leaves to stop wintering pests and diseases. Consult a garden book for more help.

Fragrant Gardens
Plan now for sultry summer nights outside. Plant your garden beds near entryways, window boxes beneath open bedroom windows, and deck and patio pots with fragrant flowers and foliage.
Nicotiana, alyssum, stock, lavender, roses, petunias, honeysuckle, evening primors and heliotrpe are easty to find. Use boxwood shrubs and mix flowers with pineapple sage and mints from the herb garden. Surround steps and walks with creeping thyme. All these release fragrance when you brush past them.

An especially romantic night garden uses the white flowers of those mentioned above. Mixed with gray leaves, white flowers reflect the stars and moonlight.
A garden should always include comfortable benches and seats. Place tables around to set down a plate of summer barbeque while rubbing a leaf to enjoy its scent.
To encourage long romantic visits in the garden, purchase or make overstuffed cushions. Use duck or canvas in solids or stripes, or heavy printed denim to make a basic rectangle, square and even hearts. Stuff with polyester fiberfill to withstand summer showers. Bring fabric cushions in during a real downpour to extend the life of your cushions.

Stroll through the garden at sunset with candles or kerosene lamps. Many plants release a fragrance only at night. Our summers are so fleeting. Will this season be dry or damp?

Create an oasis under a covered porch and hang a hammock under an arbor. Close your eyes and listen to the birds, and breathe.
Summer afternoon, summer afternoon.

****Rose Recipes ****
Potpourri **
Mix dry wormwood leaves with lavender buds and dry rose petals, your choice of fixative, and a few drops of rose oil. This potpourri sewn into sachets and stored with winter and spring sweaters and woolens helps to protect them from moths. Store garments after dry cleaning or washing because moths are attracted to body soil. The lavender and artemesia seem to confuse the moths so won't damage your clothes.

Rosewater**
Rosewater can be used for many things--cooking, drinks or a hair rinse.It was an essential in great-grandmother's day. Gather four cups of fresh, unsprayed rose petals and bring to a boil with five cups pure spring water or distilled water in a glass or stainless steel pot. Simmer for 10 minutes and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Strain, bottle and refrigerate, and use within a week. This recipe makes about a quart of rosewater.

My anniversary bash...the shop and gardening...

I really didn't wanna go to Neil's new 1022...I liked the Monsoon Room just fine, thank you...
but after having tons of fun at the Tempest, and chatting with George, Bender, and Teddy....and a very drunk Mark (not my Mark, someone else's), it was time to go...and when you are at the Tempest...
you just naturally go around the block (don't trip on the busted sidewalk, please)

(sorry for the lack of pretty pictures, I'm back to my old camera, and I'm feeling lazy right now...)
It was plainer and there's no outside seating which is very very upsetting...I spend 9 months a year inside (what, am I a fetus??)
and also, I am a Californian...
I expect some outside action (so get busy....)

But Cory, tender of the evening's entertainment and Jessica, who works at The Art Place...and wears moccasin type shoes (sorry for being all happy and drooly)
but no one wears moccasins..so I get a little excited...made it all better.
Absinthe is bad, and good. That's all I'm saying about that.
Except, this anniversary will be memorable....

It was a learning experience, too.
I learned that some people think LeMay should team up with HotRodARama...to lend some credibility to it.....
folks who haven't been in Tacoma very long are very impressed with LeMay... well, Mark knows way too much about LeMay and old cars, so LeMay is not impressive at all...
but since humans have now been trained to want a Disneyland-Style experience of the most trivial of pursuits.....LeMay will generate copious amounts of money....

HotRod on the other hand is a 100% different kind of experience. It is LeMay that would benefit from the genuine art, intelligence, and kindness that is HotRod...

HotRod would not benefit, because the object of HotRod is not to generate money, number 1, it is to celebrate creativity and the old ethic of people to people fun and art that swells up inside the chest of us who didn't go to art school and wouldn't apply for an art grant if our life depended on it.....
because for a large bunch of humans....
Simply doing something wonderful and satisfying... is what it is all about.
So,
while I wish the folks who work at LeMay and the folks around the Dome who will make some money (finally)....huzzah.
This difference is absolutely crucial to understanding our culture today....and a lot of otherwise smart people (mostly university graduates...) MISS this crucial difference about what is happening in human history now.
Bigness is losing out....and the small, and the personal, and the local is what is coming back.... Social Media is a Big Thing, not a small thing....and I'm sorry if you don't know that. Blabbing on the internet....is a sorry excuse for real life. Which is why I make the rounds....all the time and drool on your shoes.

Farmer's Market today..I shall be jumping the fence to set in my vegies and seeds...
the shop is going along pretty good with the massive cleaning and rearranging project..it looks like a bomb went off...but soon it will be all pretty.

Then.....OMG! WE ARE GETTING ASPHALT STREETS WITHIN A FEW DAYS !!!!!


The other thing I learned was that my favorite Greener who is older than me....has had some very serious health problems.
Love one another, hug and make merry.
Too soon our mortal coil may unwind....