Hard Core and Grimm

  This summer I read a few good books.

 I came from a family of book lovers so books were a most cherished gift throughout childhood. Im always saddened when people say they dont read for pleasure- to me its like having never seen the ocean or a full moon.

  On my 8th birthday my Great Aunt Edithe presented me with a two volume set of GRIMMS fairy tales.
No not the sanitized Disney version but the real blood + guts, never enter the woods alone version!

  Do you know the real ending to Cinderella and what happened to her step-family? Lets say mutilation   played a part in that ending. And what young mind doesnt need a story where the father chops off the hands of his daughter so the Devil will give him back his soul in THE GIRL WITHOUT HANDS. Of course Hansel + Gretel never left home again!

  In spite of the gruesomeness these stories always had a moral. Good was rewarded and evil punished. They taught the virtue of patient suffering and endurance when wronged. The pitiful protagonist was rewarded with restoration and abundance and the bad guy got what he deserved.

  Since this was some of my foundational reading in the 3rd grade WINNIE THE POOH didnt make the list. I did enjoy its charm when I read it to my own children years later but my reading list went straight to more mature and dramatic adventures of classical literature for kids and young adults. Tragedies and dilemmas, victories and defeats, life and death for characters across the globe + the centuries, painting my imagination and giving me dreams beyond the walls of my small bedroom.

As bookstores close around the country and kids are shocked to learn that the Lord of the Rings was a book before it was a movie I wonder who will carry the tried and true literature home to a special reading nook for an afternoon of pleasure.

 What your favorite or the strangest book youve ever read?



   

My Nest is on the Edge or the Summer of Extreme living

This is my season of extreme living. 

No Im not taking up cliff diving or anything that exciting.

Im just traveling back and forth between dwelling places every few weeks.

My Warrior is training for a SOCIAL experiment that will eventually take him back to Afghanistan  (more on that later). His man cave is located in Kansas City, Mo so I'll be making the 5 1/2 hour journey-(4 if I drive)  every few weeks.

Its extreme living not because KC is wild and uninhabitable. Quite the contrary! Its a very fun place.

But its extreme in my level of activities. When Im home in OKC I have to act like a responsible adult-  pay bills, weed garden, fix minor problems.  Of course,the best part is all my grandmonkeys, kids + friends to catch up with. Then back to Jazz City for laying by the pool, shopping , sight-seeing and general vacation fun. I have one 21 year old friend to run around with. Her husband is in the same training as Warrior so that helps with the loneliness of missing family. Mike is always up for fun when he gets home so its dinner, movie etc. 

Don't misunderstand I'm not complaining!!! Just commenting that my Gypsy nature is being tested as I live a half-n-half life fully. Its not often that you get a stress free summer or re-experience the first year of marriage before kids, endless laundry,constant meal planning and the activities of busy family life.  Its nice to have an "empty" nest with a little more money, a little more understanding of what is important in caring for one another + the knowing that all moments are important and should be lived with joy.

The Barbie Wars

  My sister Karen loved to play with Barbies.
She adored everything about them and the make believe world she put them in.

  I, on the other hand, enjoyed organizing Barbie and her disorderly clothes and fickle love life with Ken.
Each week my sister would spend 20 minutes begging me to play with her. I would finally give in and the "setting up" would begin.

 First- I got the Barbie of my choice. I am the oldest!

Then the division of clothing. Piles of gowns, mini-skirts, boots, purses etc had to be fairly shared and traded back and forth. Once we were both satisfied the lesser dolls became the maids or little sisters.

Now on to arranging their cases into homes fit for the Queens that they were. The maids scurried to make the kleenex covered bed and help them dress for their big night out on the town with who else but KEN. Skipper always answered the door when he pulled up in the red convertible even though we still hadnt decided who would get the "date" with him.

Of course this was settled in true girl fashion when it comes to men- Cat Fight.
Yes our Barbies would battle toe to toe or really head to head. The winner of date night with Ken was the one who survived with her head still on her body!

By now it had been close to an hour of "setting up" and I would let out a heavy sigh, stand up saying "Im bored" leaving my little sister in disappointed tears and the Barbie mess to clean up.

My sister loved Barbies and this scenario was repeated dozens of times in our childhood.
She never understood that the only part I enjoyed was getting Barbie organized and dressed, her house decorated and a date for the night-
         Then she was on her own!

The Land of Enchantment

Its so easy to lose the wonder of life as we grow older.

Enchanted moments don't come as often as in childhood or youth.

So when they come I try to embrace them.

My trip last week was one of them.

I packed up backpack, camera backpack and smallish suitcase for a Photography Workshop hosted by a talented woman named Jessica Wesolek of cre8it.com.

I blew into Santa Fe on a very small plane holding 50 passengers who were holding on tightly as we landed! I was then handed the keys to a bright GOLD ford focus and began the trip to the Inn Of the Governors in the downtown historic district of the city. Once checked in I could walk to galleries,shops and food in less than a minute so

after my afternoon tea and sherry in the lobby I began my exploration until well after dark.

Friday- Sunday led me to my class outside the city and the journey into the beautiful areas Jessica chose for our adventure. We spent 8-10 hours each day together as a 4 student class taking photos,editing and listening to critique. 

It was hard to leave on Monday but of course Mike was coming home the next day as well as my daughter graduating from Nursing School. Off I flew again getting home in time to drag my bags inside while the tornado sirens wailed.

What was your worst wedding gift?

  Everyone gets at least one weird wedding gift. We may have gotten a few more than that but as a young couple in 1974 we were grateful for anything.
  The congregation of Foothill Baptist in Sylmar Calif was a generous group. With 3 wedding showers and gifts given at the wedding, our home was filled with many lovely and practical things. We had a new sofa, dining table, bed and dishes. We did return 11 of the 12 popcorn poppers we received but kept the case of popcorn.
  But my Mothers gift stood out above them all. In fact, this 1954 Westinghouse refrigerator stood sturdily humming in the garage for 20 years filled with the overflow from the kitchen fridge. Like many things built in days gone by it was a work horse. Nothing had ever broken or fallen off including the paint. There it stood in all its glory- Flamingo Pink- as the trades called it.
  Now what was a modern bride to do when the fashion colors of the day were stomach churning
        Burnt Orange, Avocado green and Harvest yellow. This pink wasn't even on the color wheel ( dont think those colors were either).
  So I drug the old thing into the driveway for a make-over. Wow-  4 cans of white spray paint later it was almost like having a new fridge- except that once we moved it to our kitchen, it moaned instead of hummed, smelled like a dead fish, and had a drip pan for excess condensation. I didn't know it had to be emptied and cleaned weekly leading to stagnant water and mold.

  I dont remember what happened to PINKY when Mike joined the Air Force and we moved to South Dakota, but I sure wouldn't mind having that "retro" fridge humming in my garage. The restored ones start at about $4000.00.
 
      

Do you fear Heliconia Latispatha ?

I wasn't much of a TV watcher growing up.

In the 1960's when most of my friends watched Felix the Cat, The Flintstones or Bugs Bunny I was happily playing some make believe game or reading a book. 

But that all came to a halt for 2 hours on Saturday afternoon when I raced to the den, closed the curtains, shut the door and grabbed a pillow as I scrunched into the sofa to be terrified by CHILLER THEATER. As the name implies it sent chills up my 6 year old spine as more and more of the pillow covered my face.

  Needless to say while most children were afraid of the dark or the Wicked Witch of the West I lived in terror of the Crawling Hand under my bed, the Blob oozing up from the plumbing or the 30 foot eyeball staring at me outside the window. 

    And thats when I developed my fear of Heliconia Latispatha. 

    The producer of the 1956 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS had the wrong alien plant. 

    It was this one!

    This creepy, gnarly, flamed colored flowering plant flanked the walkway to my front door. I always looked over my shoulder while passing. I felt its bird like head watching, waiting for me to let my guard down and blow spores into my face - making me forget I was human.