SISTERHOOD.

Women treasure their friendships and plant deep roots with each other. Lizz Emerson is one of the strongest women I know. Out of a job? No problem, I’ll have one tomorrow. From a non-opportunistic background, with no education, she raised her children, on her own, since they were little. One daughter has been a city supervisor and is now running for congress. Another has her own catering business in Sacramento. Both success oriented like mom.  Lizz, called me and said, I couldn’t make your birthday party, so its belated birthday party time. I’ll bring the food, what do you like? I told her I like vegetarian food and, voila. Let it be done.

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Hor’s de ouevres.

A Mexican casserole with fresh corn, and olives rolled in lasagna noodles.

A Greek spinach and cheese casserole. She brought the food cooked, and placed cheese on top before we put it in the oven to warm-up.

She brought all the condiments, a Greek salad and dessert, too. I didn’t get pictures of everything. Plus, her instructions were that she wanted every guest to go home with food.

First to arrive was Jan Stewart, who also couldn’t attend my 75th. I like to describe Jan as an expert at pushing all the negatives away, forgetting them and making haste to see sunshine in everything and everyone. She practices esoteric healing and she practices love. Love thy neighbor, love thy neighbor’s dog, love all children, help everyone you can. I’m grateful to be in her sphere and have felt her love and helpfulness.

Karen Phillips is my housemate. She’s been with me for 10 years. Loyal, conscientious, she literally keeps the home fires burning.  I could not have chosen a rambling lifestyle without her. Gathering my mail, watering my plants, keeping my place looked after and occupied. You name it, she does it. An excellent cook, she feeds me when I’m busy. This picture was taken in 2010.

Margo and Pam were the last to arrive. Pam Quyle, raised a son on her own with no support.  Pam is a potter and drives a big truck delivering clay all over the Bay Area, besides making pots. She has one day a week off and arrived straight from work. Harried and tired and said, POUR THE WINE.

Margo Osborn has a son, a grandchild, divorced and in her late 60’s and continues to work. I love talking to Margo because she has such a diverse background and speaks with ease on any subject. Both she and Pam are associated with the wine industry. Margo’s winery was sold and she is the only employee retained from the former staff. Lucky for them, she is the most popular wine advocate in the county, as in “everybody knows Margo.” She speaks several languages and has a magic way with people. She was in Italy during my birthday party.

We managed to discuss all subjects important to women with no men around, as in breasts, bras, sex, men, food, life, shoes, healing our wounded souls and bodies as we age. Not necessarily in that order.

Pam took a picture of all of us.

And, someone took a picture of she and I. We share so many experiences. Lizz making me go out on New Years the year my husband died. Pam’s 25 year old son taking his first steps on my deck. Karen and I learning together how to deal with her adversarial boss. Jan performing reiki and meditative healing when my spirits were low. From Margo flows hiking club, zumba, health, sharing and “yes, let’s do it.” Our roots are deep. Girlfriends. Sisters all. Happy Valentines day.

WE ARE OF OUR TIME.

I love museums and enjoy looking back at how people once lived, the tools they used, the buildings they built the things they cherished. As we move around the countryside, we take pictures of what surrounds us that tells it’s own tale of how we live, for we are of our time.  An old rye harvester was in yesterday’s blog, but look at this modern jack hammer. The job of breaking up cement was once handled by a man wresting with a machine that shook his muscles and bones to extremes.

The fine china of yesterday’s blog put me in mind of this toilet from the Nugget Hotel in Reno.

It is as ostentatious and beautiful as the Burnie china.

People lived in mansions, shanty boats, falling down shacks and plain houses. Now, it isn’t unusual to find someone living in their car and trailer as this full-time friend of ours does. Full time RVers living on the road, Address Unknown,  are estimated to be a million.  The homeless live in tents, shacks, or as squatters all over the U.S. and we’ve met some of them, too, especially through Randy Vinings Blog, a former preacher who seeks them out to tell their stories.
http://mobilecodgers.blogspot.com/

Remember those black leather button up shoes of yesteryear?  Obviously more practical then this extreme example of our time. They had extremes in their own way. Extremely restrictive and repressive, especially of women.

Swimwear for men is different, and sports are more varied and adventurous.

We live in a time where long hair is less common than days of old when no woman cut her hair. But, this is of our time, we are accepted both ways.

We express very publicly our sorrows, by nailing teddy bears to a pole near where a child was killed by a car; or place crosses and atificial flowers on the roadside where a friend was killed. We express our joy similarly, with yellow ribbons around a tree, or support causes with bumper stickers or ribbons on the windows of our cars.

We miniature everything, not only furnishings in doll houses, but real scientific instruments, like this robotic mosquito that can inject poison or medicine at a directed target.

At one time pets were domesticated for their usefulness; they herded cattle, helped hunt, sounded an alarm. Today they have even more useful functions as police dogs, in medicine and leading the blind. They’ve also become essential companions and much loved members of the family and are dressed and coddled as children are. My neighbor, Kristi, refers to them as “fur children”.

We are environmentalists. We attempt to keep our world clean, our rivers healthy, our air unpolluted, our resources renewable.  Not that we always succeed, everywhere. Years ago, conservation was the by word; it only referred to conserving resources. We of our time have come a long way.

Sculpture was once limited to cement, plaster, bronze or steel. Today, anything goes. A yarn cab represents what creative creatures we are. Inventive, adventurous, creative, joyful, imaginative. We live our lives fully. We are of our time.

AFTER HEAVY RAINS

After heavy rains, I couldn’t mow or have weed eating finished. Had my guys repair fences and remove a huge spread of blackberry bushes around the property. They chipped away at a couple of old stumps I’m always running into. I like things to be ship-shape when I leave, but the maintenance here is heavy.

I caught up on the inevitable paperwork inside, while they worked outside.   Time to play picture roulette and see what comes up in my files.

A big hole in the ground.

My daughter and grandson in a haze of smoke around the campfire.

Not sure why I took a picture of this barn in Monroe, Washington. Maybe because the silo looked like a space ship.  I do like old barns, but, I think I’ll toss this one out of my files.

Sexy shoe?  Now, that’s more like it.

I grabbed this from a story about this famous painting having been recovered after many years of being “disappeared.”

The gate to an animal sanctuary. Just read a horrible story of the abuse elephants suffer. This, after an elephant shocked by an electric fence turned on her new rescuer and killed her. If it were up to me, no animals would be allowed to be used in side shows and circuses for profit. It all too often ends up in horrible misery for the animals. In fact, this recent episode about the abused elephant was that she was being cared for and calmed before being sent to this very sanctuary here in Calaveras County.

A Matt Bors cartoon. Whoops, hadn’t thought of anything political for a whole day. Well, it is pretty funny.

Another shoe picture.  Well, with that, I’d best hot foot it into the kitchen and get my house spruced up before I leave.

BIZZARE FUN

You may NOT wear any revealing or “skimpy” clothes. If deemed too revealing, we will ask that you put your pants back on. This includes thongs, jock straps, a**-less chaps, whitey-tighties that can be seen through etc. Please use common sense. You are responsible for obeying the law.

Those are the stated rules. This is Seattle’s big, bizarre fun day-IT IS  JANUARY 8th. PANTS LESS SUNDAY.

Officially called No Pants Light Rail Ride, it is just a fun, kind of bizarre way to start the new year when the weather chills. A bit like a polar bear swim.

The “No Pants” event  stunt started on New York’s subways about a decade ago, and it has gained popularity in other places. Pictured are people from Seattle’s event.  Word of mouth usually spreads through e-mail lists and Facebook — kind of like the Occupy Wall Street movement.

A week ago, Seattle Post Intelligencer learned that about  90 locals had RSVPed to the ride, with about 60 on-the-fence “maybes.”

“I am shaving and shivering for this event,” one fan wrote. “I am so shopping too for some lovely panties.”

The SPI pictures are from Joshua Trujillo’s blog which shows  guys in pink-flowered shorts and others wearing tights. Crazy socks. Women with net stockings. Fun. The photos are from the 2011 event.

The No Pants Light Rail Ride in Seattle on Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011. (Joshua Trujillo, Seattlepi.com)

Once on board, the pants come off, one leg at a time.

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Shirts and shoes!   No problem.