art at the art shop, Stella's lunch, and a spooky yard

Morning dew on the deck and a stray cat that has been coming around lately. She is skittish and anti social, thin and hungry. Glad she likes raccoon kibbles, I would love to make her a pet but that is not going to be possible. She is a wild thing. Good thing, too. Coyote , having eaten Lil Stumpy, is sure to be a threat. 

I went into town to day to buy some art product for Annie of the island. Stella and i are going over to Friday Harbor early Monday morning, spending the night and be back late Tuesday. While at the art store  I wen to the exhibit in their gallery. I know these artists and though they have similar styles , joyful, they are quite different. I prefer one over the others but love each one tremendously. 

 

A little over a yard long shelf, wooden figures cut into the wood by Fishboy, R.Clark. I would have that in my house if not for the price. 

Another that I love is the crow in a wooden board- by Frank Frazee. His use of found bits intrigues me. He is in my old studio, the big one with no windows. I so miss the group of artists up there in the building that smelled of gull poos. I miss not having a place to go to be alone and to fool around with stuff. 

The other artist has long been one of my faves, mostly because she is one of my favorite people. Her art is whimsy , with a touch of "dark". She is a skilled puppet master and doll maker, Christian Anne Smith .

Fishboy held my attention throughout the exhibit. His work makes me feel that there may be more to this life than  the usual expectation.

"Pipe dreams"- looks like the art that I loved so much in "The House Of Dreams" , East Dulwich, my last rip to London. 

Blue apples and Big Leg Larry- part of the "'shelf"  Big Leg Larry stole my heart. 

Dennis went to his 69th High School Reunion  last week.  It is getting whittled down to a modest and  mostly unwell 15 people. Dennis, the fittest of the lot. Genetic longevity and clean living- he will outlive us all, I have stated this before.

On my way out I bought a card that is so BELLINGHAM! You probably have to be familiar with the town to appreciated the colors and what they represent.    Clever.

There was so much more to my day- after the art I went to Stella's , had a glorious lunch -  from scratch lasagna  and tea. We played with her papers and made a few collages to take to Annie's on the island for printing on, am not sure what that will involve . I have  five  more to make today, as well as packing for the trip. C-pap has to go with me, hassle!  Other things must accompany the machine- distilled water in a bottle and surgical tape to tape my mouth shut, a clip to gather hair out of the way and maybe my pillow which has adapted to the hose. At least it is not an iron lung . So, for only two days and one night leaving home is more complex than just throwing on a pair of levis , a jacket with a toothbrush in the pocket and enough money to buy lunch. 

On my way to Stella's I stopped at  Underpants Jesus House, where they are setting up for the season. 

I will take you there another time .Theresa with  recycled creation( her yard is full)- she uses a lot of insulation foam and free bits from industrial  salvage area. We chatted for about 30minutes, heard life story and general philosophy of this woman whom  I have been curious about for YEARS!~ simpatico-  great fun.  

See y'all when I return from our adventure! The best sort with Stella!

Got a ferry to catch!Got a few collages to complete- what will become of this mess - I have no idea. Annie will surprise us!

 

strings that bind, Mount Fugi and the girl

This appears to be two 4"X4" balsa wood squares together to form an octagon - woven together with sewing thread in a  non formulaic pattern.  The back side is more chaotic.

The patience this must have taken is admirable. The sweet tiny photo in the center is  surely a beloved person.

 Found At the thrift shop for a dollar.

This mohair bear with suede paws  found in the dolly bin. Do I need another bear? Yes, Yes I do.

I bought a cigar box with "Olivia" on it to give to Olivia with something inside for Christmas. I bought a tiny shopping cart for Flora and Emmett , filled it with groceries and took it to their house. The house was quiet so I tip- toed in as I thought  they were napping. Turns out they had only gone to pick Flora up from the school bus. I missed out!

Had blip biopsied,  it is a cancer thing that must be  dealt with, I guess.  Driving my truck in the harsh Wyoming sunshine and wind with my left arm resting on the open window for days and years - bound to cause damage. So far that is the only blip to be removed. Sally has had several- she is the winner so far. 

Keeka sent some photos- She bloody well climbed all the way to the summit to watch the sunrise. Nine to eleven hour ascent , five to six back down.  Elevation sickness does occur frequently as well and utter exhaustion. I do not look at this mount and say " MUST CLIMB, must die" .

On to Tokyo after crashing on the table  due to the strenuous climb, boyfriend traveling with her - to go separate ways after Indonesia- Keeka to Australia and boyfriend back to Seattle. 

Mount Fugi looks as mysterious as Brigadoon. appearing out of no where and a bit surreal.  Like the island in lake Williston, northern BC. Can't be traced and shifts all of the time. fishermen spotted it- as large as a Canadian football field maybe larger. Went back out in the afternoon to take photos and it was gone. 

Explanations are hit and miss but they reckon it is a collection  of debris and drift wood  supporting a forest that bobs, moves and behaves  like a land mass. It was spotted on google earth - then it wasn't. 

 

Lil Stumpy has not returned. Dennis saw coyote poos in the yard. 

The end. 

 

 
 
 

 

Joe's flowers, Sally comes for tea, death sucks

 

My basket full of flowers and plums.

Joe's is abundant with produce right now. Plants and flowers all on sale half off. Good time to gather.

From there I went to the Import  shop to get biscuits from England and Belgium - chocolates . Sally coming over for tea... I bought Yorkshire Gold which is a bit better  than builder's tea.

Sunflowers from Joe's-

Flowers from the deck

Delicious plums from Joe's as our old lady tree is beyond fruit bearing. Sally brought dolmades and nuts, I bought ham and cheese croissants from the bakery with cucumber from the garden. All in all it was a fine tea. Sally stayed for six hours, we covered a lot of ground! 

Tales of Burning man and the LOOOONNNNGGGG drive down and back. Sally said that she thought she was the oldest person there at 74- but she is really , in spirit and body only 12. She had a pretty great time though the flashing bright neon lights and music (noise) was uncomfortable, to be polite...it was horrendous. So that is ticked off the bucket list.

 She left our pal there , with good wishes, among all of the others including beloved pets that had died. The temple this year was astonishing, she said...a beautiful structure and then on suday- ashes to ashes. 

We went through some of her photos from long ago. The girls and my Cathy. We formed quite a gang in my early twenties. The girls in Wyoming when they were wee, Sally is the youngest, Cathy is the is oldest.

They  grew  to be brilliant of course, and Wyoming hearty. No obstacle high enough or deep enough to keep any of them from pursuing lives of adventure and action, erudition and success in this world. 

Cathy died last year- dementia. I still have not reckoned . I don't believe that she is gone . Loved her deeply , ever so  grateful for our time- enriched  existence on this planet. 

Dang! Death sucks.

This morning I am off to get a blip removed , could be significant, not sure, and this afternoon - an eye jab. I will fit senior day in between just for positivity in the middle of the day.  My drug of choice, as they say. 

Keeka is hiking Japan and chasing baby monkeys. On her way to Indonesia , ultimately  Australia , where she will be working , traveling, hiking and climbing and pursuing  art /design/illustration career.  Yeah, I know- it's a lot!   

She found the rain.

Son and DIL actually have purchased a home in Portugal . No more renting. It is magnificent! Biking, country, beach and pool. The biggest plus is that they are out of this godforsaken country and that they are young enough to begin new lives where the sun shines. they got in just under the wire , before Portugal closed the gate. 

On we all go...if not for eye jabs .

This is our one sad little sunflower on the deck at sunset. no worries, Joe has MANY for a couple of dollars. They are autumnal essentials!
 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

WARNING! A scam, A search and unsuccessful sunflowers.

Good day , single Sunflower! There are a couple of very small orange sunflowers in a near by pot.This summer has not had enough sun for them to flourish. 

Last week I answered the phone because on the ID  was my health insurance company. Kaiser calling to make a wellness report , please make an appointment- how about Friday at 5:30 pm. 

They phoned three more times to validate and to make sure that  my phone was  hooked up with  microphone and picture . I asked why they were calling ME for health reasons. They ignore answering and just said it was policy to have a nurse at the appointment to find out how I am and if there is anything they could help with. 

Friday rolled around. I talked with Dennis about insurance calling me for information. and how wrong that is- he agreed. He looked up all of the numbers that they phoned from- all. bogus but sophisticated in their method. Very "official". I called kaiser insurance to report them but let the  scammer call go through with the "nurse". Her questions began with " we need to know who your primary care giver is"... 

The conversation went no further. I told her that she was bogus and it was not nice of them to call  old people - phishing, scamming whatever, and to get a real job. 

So warning y'all, if your health insurance phones you wanting to make a date to gather info. Just say "Get a real job!"  It worked , they have been reported but they do carry on with their highly sophisticated shenanigans. A more trusting person would buy it. This end of the phone trusts no one and nothing- we have learned !
 

Ring ring....Allo, my name is ( something I can not pronounce) I am your nurse calling to verify a few  of your health concerns...  Is this leena hufangle.

No, it is not- "what do you want , really?"

"we are your health insurance and we want answers to a few questions." Who is your primary health provider?' 

"no you're not", says I.  

"you do not have to answer if you do not want to", said the name I can not pronounce. 

Ok, says I, You are bogus and blah blah blah -and you need to rethink your choices and make better ones. Be a better person. -Bye. 

Then I went out to find origami paper for Euleta, my (sister) living in Loveland so that she can use it to make a self portrait in collage. Clever Girl, She has always been an amazing artist, since she was old enough to hold a  crayon. 

 I went to five shops including the Japanese shop- and came away with NOTHING . Wasn't it just two years ago that origami paper of all sorts was available everywhere? I went through my stash which isn't the best and then  ordered some from  Evil Bezos to see if it will do . 

I even popped in to Goodwill to search , a place I rarely go because their stuff is broken and dirty.  Found two fruit box labels for .99 cents and a bag full of wierdo stuff- glass bottle stoppers and little frames.

 

as well as a rooster pitcher, elephant bottle and something I- don't- know- what , in the lot. Grab bags can be fun- like a treasure hunt-  most of it is trash- cheap thrills, you understand.  

But no origami paper....

 

Today is Saturday and blogger is still being lazy- not updating posts, so you probably will not be seeing this one. 

 

 
 

 

 

window sill , dental trays, vintage glass and my little family of fur

Good day , from the window sill,  egg shells from breakfast- saved on the sill because of their pretty color. 

We are free from storage units! Dennis has had many for over 40 years. Easy to not have to think about stuff, just toss it in a storage unit- storage unit full? Get another, it's called addition and multiplicaton. Dennis is a mathematician!  All sorts of rubbish except for two things that were mine- a cedar chest and a 1950's table . The  hand tied rugs  were given up because of moth damage. So, Dennis finally emptied all of his units, took loads to habitat and goodwill and the dump. He did find vintage dental milk glass trays for holding instruments as well as a couple of cool glass objects used in his practice.  he brought those home knowing that I would love them.

 

The thing that looks like a very large ring on my finger was used to steady tiny cotton balls, the other glass tray was used for mixing .

I stuck someone's  card in the ring,  some plastic birds out of the top  top and VOILA! A new thing to make you wonder "what is she thinking?"  Well, the card is unusual in that the lady has a mouse on her neck batting her ear ring and she is fine with that. Also it is a great little vessel  to house wedding cake plastic doves on sticks. What else is one to do with them? 

The fence dilemma is solved everyone  involved is happy. It's purpose is to discourage the raccoons as they have made a toilet out of the side of the road.  Fence will be built. Party is over, sorry little family. The fine for purposely feeding wildlife in this town is $175.00 . (worth it ,actually ,for the pleasure of watching/loving  them) This morning, last video of mother and child eating kibbles on our deck.  The humans are cross, the family will have to stay in the forest from now on. 

( I am probably lying.) 

Blogger has been glitching lately as you have noticed. If Blogger gunny bags I will surely lose main interaction with the world of the best sort of  lovely humans. Also  storage of personal records of this and that in my small life would be lost.  I frequently check my old posts to see what I may have been up to a few years ago or even  just yesterday. Short attention span.

Having grown  up in isolation- I am not a fan . Solitude is a choice - isolation is circumstantial - not the best state to be in.  If blogger crashes and burns , as things are wont to do these days, I may have to take up scrap booking or something to keep my oars in the water.  I still have cigar boxes to dink with and loads of art supplies. I may survive.

anyway- 

Time for a cup of tea- join me , won't you?  No biscuits on hand but I do have a bag of kibble, and crumpets with honey. Your choice. 

Cheers have a beautiful sunny end of summer day! LOVE 

PS- the eye guy said that I could only be gone for about a week so my fantastic trip across the Atlantic will never be reality. Farewell England, Goodbye London. Thou shalt not see me again.