this one goes out to a sweet little fishy, swimmin' the seas of love, out in big ole texas.

So I says to Pop-pops, "Okay, let's put your shoes back on."

And he goes....shooooomp!

That's our running away noise we make, then pose like the FTD guy. Try it next time you feel like running away. (but you gotta say the word real fast and pose all at the same time) Just a little

Something fun & silly to do. And I am nothing if not fun & silly. Happy Toesday!( even though it's Thursday)

Happy Tuesday Packs A Punch

This lucky little Latina is on her way to Acapulco! A cancellation...a doting babydaddy, a notarized publicly stamped letter allowing her to leave the country, her good old passport w/her current high school picture i.d... and she is bound for Adventure. The open seas for my Happy. I hear she is going to get to swim with some dolphins and everything. You better believe she is taking a memory card full of pictures so the rest of us schlubs can catch a glimpse of paradise.

Don't worry though, she'll be back by next Happy Tuesday. With a whole lot to tell her mama, I'm sure.

Gettin' Down to the Heart of the Matter

My plate-cup-table is full/runneth over

This is where my craftiness has led me....heh, heh, heh.

Oh it's fine to be a genius of course, but keep that old horse before the cart. First you gotta have heart.

de la corazon: a pre-St. Valentine day lesson

For my big son, I tie-dyed a thermal and for my petite chiquitita, a small white zip-up hoodie....with plans to add some heart via iron-on. These are clinical looking hearts, I've cut out or painted them or put them on home-made paper. Included in the (to be ironed on later)mix is a mask of Kali, of the West Bengal persuasion. All this ironing on must first be printed out & I got me a sweet printer that occasionally goes on the fritz...you know, just like the average printer only it's been eating the thinner, tastier printer paper here lately. So I choose up my hearts, put in the iron-on transfer paper, clicked okay print and walked away for a little while. Udon noodles were on the stove and a slurpy little boy was awaitin'. When I went back to the printer I was expecting to see my hearts all manifested before me on that little clear plastic arm/catcher thingie....only IT Wasn't There! Oh No, I ran thru all the bad things about this in my mind. I couldn't even see any part of the paper so I was sure it scrunched up the whole thing. No little piece sticking out like usual that I can pry out with the tweezers, dammit. I started wondering if they would take it back because it malfunctioned...I thought, Uh-oh, no more printer because it's a year old and even though I still have the box....the store probably won't take it back. I was starting to feel pretty bummed about the whole thing. Already missing all the fun artsy fartsing I do with my poor old printer. I pressed cancel/resume three times. I turned it off & on and listened to the paper feeder make a pathetic little whirring sound. No heart for the cool tie-dye thermal for G. and no cute little Hoodie for Happy. Sad. Then I looked down and realized I was standing on the paper that had printed my current heart's desire. The printer had printed it beautifully! And spit it out onto the floor. Disaster averted.
The moral of the story being: Don't go thinking the worst right out the gate because you'll end up stepping all over your heart for no good reason. And/or It's important to Look Around.

An Expensive Up-do and Happy wasn't exactly Happy

It was the Winter Formal and she had her very particular outfit all prepared. The white pumps, the decision to wear no jewelery, the
straps of the dress altered so as not to slide off and big black ribbon sewed onto the side to act as a bow in the back. Every little
detail accounted for. Alas, in the execution, it got a little fuckered up. The hair stylist was rushed, the time alloted for pictures cut in half and then rushed, the little boyfriends parents being a little too pushy as usual. There just wasn't enough time. We forgot lipstick! How could we forget that? But that's just the small stuff. I think she looked Fabulous. She hates all the pictures. Even after I went thru the trouble(it was really no trouble, just fun) of making a photo-op/ black backdrop w/snowflakes. Oh well, Pop-pops and I got our use out of it anyway. AND we have another bitchen dress for Happy Tuesday. Which just happens to be TOday. So Lookout for a more beautiful and relaxed Happy in her Winter Formalness because this time, I'm running the show. Plus Happy learned a thing or two about doin' an up-do. And beside, duh, it's Happy Tuesday.

Lickety Split Ex-Husbandry

I've never been married but I really like that as a title. Happy's dad is the best artist I know. He did the Cleaning Woman on my banner and this one too. My Happy inherited his love of the doodle and is quite the little artiste herself. I really am a lucky dog. He wraps his monthly
support to his daughter in blank copy paper with a nice message written very small and neatly at the bottom. Or sometimes he draws me something. I'm one of those freaks of nature that gets along beautifully and lovingly w/my ex. That's a nice thing to come clean about.

I Love My BabyDaddy

I love child support, of any kind. I love a check wrapped (see pic) in my BabyDaddy's art & heart. I love to fart. I love the almost full moon this morning down on the west side. I love leftovers ( especially spaghetti). I love red wine. I love comments of any kind. I love my family but they bug ( it happens most in winter) I love my mom but she really bugs (again seasonal). I love footsie pajamas and babies that run in them & laugh. I love Happy when she's grouchy as hell. I love G. when he's telling a band geek story about finishing Haydn's 1st movement of que sabe que. I love Pop-pops when he wakes up in the middle of the night and gets up on his knees, bows his head and says, "hi!" (I think he dreams in Japanese, yes?) I love my Zoe girl puppy when she looks at me adoringly for just putting my hand on top of her head without even petting her. I love power tools. I love singing (w/G. in the car waiting for the late zero period band teacher who he loves) "I love you whenever, we're together. I love you when we're apart." I love the White Album. I love Billie Holiday. I love coffee. I love writing this post. The End (for now because i have a feeling i will add on) Oh, see, Already: I love the obscure. How about you?

Lickety Split Rainbow Service

There was a bright-ass rainbow so I cropped the shit out of it!

Just because I liked the way it looked and I have the technology. I may be a little e-tarded but I can manuever may way around [ala
Dr. Heimliechkkk]. Notice my hesitance to switch to the new blogger. I'm like an old codger who likes things the way they are. Nothin' new fangled around here, dagnabbit. Although last night on 60 minutes this guy from the Geek Squad said the internet revolution hasn't even begun. Yikes. What am I gonna do? I don't even know what HTML is and why mine was still open w/an exclamation point, even! Makin' me all unable to post!! Time to learn to like and even know what tags and labels are for....and to be able to put things in different colors so that when you click on 'em you uhhhh...go there. Who thought of that?!? How exciting! Learning new shit is always good, right?
So the house in the picture that looks kinda painted but also all digitized, belongs to the neighbor, Susie. She grows (and shares) persimmons, pomegranites, loquats, walnuts, and lemons. Pretty, exotic and organic, if you ask me. She also has a buncha poodles in sweaters. She's super nice and sometimes wears her blue hair rollers to check her mail. This town is pretty podunk, and I like it just fine.

Happy Tuesday: Pop-Pops Style

Pop-pops for Peace!

I must come clean and admit that I am a Stephen King fan, (the heart + the peace symbol is from Hearts in Altlantis). I must come clean and admit that my brother is the town drunk. I must come clean and admit that I need to clean house. I must come clean about my hatred of the telephone (unless it's my kids calling). I must come clean and admit I am too poor to put G. thru college. I gotta come clean and tell you I have a secret (not no more) desire to busk. I must come clean about my fear of Zoe (the dog's) death. Wsphew!
There, that's what my heart needed from Lickety Split Cleaning Service for today.
Got anything you wanna come clean about?

Come on Baby, light my fire!

Lickety Split Wood Service.
Peppertree wood, soaked in
rainwater and ready to burn.
I thought this looked like a real
fire in a fireplace but I've been
seeing things, lately.

And Then There Were Two

My mom used to hold up her hand and sing this nursery rhyme to me.
5 little sea-shells, by the sea shore
Swish! went the wave and then there
were four (she'd tuck in her thumb)
4 little sea-shells, pretty as can be
Swish!went the wave and then there
were three(then her pinky)
3 little sea-shells both fairly new
Swish!went the wave and then there
were two(she'd put down her ring finger)
2 little sea-shells sitting in the sun
Swish! went the wave and then there
was one. (down w/birdie finger)
1 little sea-shell sitting All Alone whispered
(she'd put her pointer finger to her lips)
Ssssssssssssssh... as I took him home.

I loved it when she did that one. She was so dramatic in a quiet and mesmerizing way. And it always had the same ending where we got to take the last lonely little sea-shell home....sometimes she would make her other hand be the wave and Swish it over the sea-shell counting hand and reveal the new number of shell fingers left....(I can remember helping her put the right finger down)....Of course, as is only fitting, I taught this nursery ryhme to my kids....Pop-pops is next! Swish! went the wave....
My bigger kids grew so Fast! G. and I have some hilarious exchanges. He was in fine form yesterday. Grumpy so there was quite an edge. G. says says he is going to get his own blog so he can refute what I say....And that he is not cruel.

I say procession, G. says light refraction

And that I need to stop seeing miracles in everything . The final insult: he calls her "Tortilla Mary". Teenagers can be cruel.

I went to Catholic School, St Mary's of the Assumption, so I know about shit like this

There I was, minding my own business. Taking pictures of some funky ladders that I make. I really like making these ladders since punily enuf: My Art Therapy sessions have escalated. So I'm standing in the same spot where I first encountered her....Our Lady, and Lo and Behold(the second picture with the eerie lookin' sock in the left corner)...I think it's a procession! I'm nuts, I tell ya but I think it's a group of these chicks! Can you see them? Is it a trick of light? Why do I feel so good when I'm standing there? I go to "the spot" (my favourite part of my Whole Backyard now, thank you very much) every morning and it's dependably cool there and I feel so happy, just standing. All smiles and deep cleansing breaths. I can feel her presence. Holy Mary! Full of Grace. Blessed is the fruit and all that jazz.... And to have some sort of colorful photographic proof!
I am over the moon.

Icicle Apparition, Puro Cali Down, Aye

I don't know what the fuck happened to the weather around here but it has been freeeeeezing! For reals. I went to check on some of my double dipped purple toed tie-dye and whattaya know.... the wading pool that I let Pop-pops dip his toesies in just the other day, then used for the rinse cycle-overnight soaker of my tie dye... Frozen! Isn't that great?? The ice was clinging in sheets to the socks....So I dangled them from a tree to take a picture for this here blog and OMG! in a Dream Come True....The Patron Saint of Tie-dye, the Virgin of the Sacred Hearted Socks appeared!! Fantastic!
I was hoping something like this would happen! And it did. Check her out in that First groovy picture. To the right of the tied up frozen tube socks. There she is in all of her multicolored cloaked glory. Can you make her out?? I am so excited and happy about this that even if you can't see her, I can. That's enuf for me. But I sure hope you can. She's beautiful! I thought she might appear in one of the socks...I already know how weird I am, so it's okay that I'm reminding you. Isn't it? I think it's kind of like a miracle. I really do.

Oh Sacred Heart of Happy Tuesday

Socks of
My Heart

Hippy Happy



See what happens when we add some G.

The first Happy Tuesday of the year was beautiful and filled with color and laughter and love. Happy Tuesday everyone! Happy Tuesday.

(even though it's thursday.)