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paris countdown... interrupted....

ahem, so, mayor madrid is not the only la mesean in trouble these days. today, our white van was the subject of foul play..... (which is by the way, for sale now only $4,500 cash)...

anyway, it needed new registration stickers back in july. my husband goes online and pays for them.
but, they didn't come.
my husband called - enduring all phone frustration, and finally got the answer - DMV didn't mail the tags because DMV needed to be shown proof of our insurance. fine.
(mind you we have had the same insurance we have since we bought this car new in 1987- but still). OK he sends in the proof of insurance. no tags come.
he calls, they are paid for and now the insurance is proven, everything is OK, says DMV.
but the tags do not come. for months- actually forever.

another call. DMV says OK everything is clear - same as before- everything is still proven and paid.

no tags come.

because we have no tags, we fear driving it - it sits in our driveway. gastone had gently nudged me to go get the tags from DMV. as in, me personally go there - but i never found the time ---- my BIG mistake.
meanwhile, occasionally, gastone takes the van out to keep the engine and battery working, while waiting for the tags to arrive- or you might say, while waiting for me to get the *&^#$%^ tags. like i finally did this morning.

but first, OHBOY, he got stopped, i get "the call" from him. "i'm standing on the corner of el cajon blvd. and baltimore. i was stopped by a cop on a motorcycle and he towed the van to an impound because there are no tags on the car. i would have shoved his head up his smokepipe except he had a gun.......".


"wait a minute - why didn't he just give you a fix-it ticket?"

"he did.......
AND, he had the van towed."
"but, how could he have the van towed for a fix-it ticket?"
"i couldn't stop him, he had a gun, whaddya want me to do?" like a good wife, i understood immediately the need to kill a cop. oh not just any cop, except any cop from la mesa who rides motorcyles and has van impounded without looking up and finding out whether or not, "said van" is legally registered.......asshole. i thank my husband for not killing him as i could not defend him by myself. he assured me that he would have probably died anyway from several gunshot wounds.
allrightythen.
this conversation was unlike our usual morning civil exchanges. i was proud of how i could act on my feet and reassure him during a crisis like this...so far, he didn't see that any of this was my fault.

so, i collect him, take him to work -(he was so steamed - i hadn't seen him even remotely this steamed since he had an italian style fight with an asshole on a vespa in florence, italy)

i went to DMV and waited a lifetime, got the tags, paid nothing - why? because they were already paid online back in july 2007, i proved nothing, it was already proven back in july 2007 also. humpf.
so i asked the DMV person," well, why didn't you just send the tags to us then...you know, when you had our money and proof of our insurance?" she said, "...because you have to initiate the whole process again after you prove you have insurance."

what the hell is that suppose to mean? GD it. INITIATE my ass!!!!! does that sound crazy to you????? initiate getting the tags from DMV after you pay everything and jump through al hoops, you need to "request" to get your tags again.........? (which we had done, so that was bullshit).

anyway, i need to find out where the van is impounded since gastone didnt find out during his rage with "said cop" and it didn't say on the ticket and DMV was clueless.....so...i ask a friendly (other than LM) cop who happened to be loitering about DMV - he tells me i need to go to the la mesa police station and ask them. i call first. LM police tells me to call the tow company and give me a number for one in ten-buck-two. (a tow company they have a contract with).
i call 10 buck 2 - they have never heard of our van - maybe i should try the impound in el cajon - i get a new phone number. i call. yes, finally they locate the van there. gawd it had only been there 3 hours and they forgot the car????

BUT, the impound warns me, first i need to get a "release" form signed at the la mesa police department at the station so that they (impound) may see a proof that i have the tags. (this is info that is suppose to be automatically in their computer directly from DMV....but i agree to do this).
so i do it, i go to LM police with the tags.. LM police charges me $78.00 in cash only, no checks.....%&$@$&*( why? cuz its a huge racket). once they have this money they write me a release - which looks very much like something a jr. high office clerk would write out if you wanted out of class.
i explain that the registration had been paid the whole time - not delinquent - the liney faced mean police lady behind the thick window softened slightly and said she was sorry but i should go tell it to DMV, it wasn't the fault of LM police. i say "wait a minute... don't you have a computer linked to DMV ?"-
yes, we do, says sour puss.
then why didn't you know and why do i pay you $78.00???
she said, she didn't know why DMV made a mistake, i just need to pay it and to go complain to DMV.
grrrr.
i went to impound. i went to the one i called not the one LM police lady told me to go to....which was out in spring valley (10 buck2) somewhere (BTW, kathy drove me around for this, it was costing her time and trouble as well - just think if i worked somewhere and took time off for this nonsense. THANK YOU KATHY).
i go to the impound and tell them that it was all a mistake; that we had paid all along for the tags - they just weren't delivered. he sucks in his teeth and considers this for a moment. "geezzz, you will probably never see our money again from DMV. thats really screwed up." i heartily agree with him and for a moment i think we are soulfriends. we both nod our heads in agreement.
" well, i venture, "may i have the van now?"
"sure", he says pleasantly, "do ya have the release for the police station?"

yes. i provided everything..the release, the receipt for the $78.00, the tags and my notes on the directions to the place.
"OK " he says warmly,"that will be $245."

"WHAT THE*&&^$^&??!!!???! i stomped up and down with a red face...i think i even spit a little.
"but its not our fault, it was DMV - a "non delivery"...." there was a form i filled out at DMV that asked the reason for the visit and printed on the form was "failure of delivery of tags" gawd, it happens so much you only have to check a box for the grievance.

didn't matter, all of this had fallen on deaf ears with mr. impound.
i started to write a check ---
i was stopped.."no, check allowed". WHAT?!?! i am feeling dizzy now.
luckily, i had a credit card they accepted.
"why so much?"
"well", started the worn rehearsed line," we have contract with the la mesa police to charge $200 for towing and $45 is for storage of your vehicle...."
BUT YOU HAVE ONLY HAD THE VAN FOR 3 HOURS!!!!
"I'm sorry. he smiles and i notice tobacco in his teeth. "but good luck suing DMV for their mistake - i bet you could get your money back."

we looked at each other through the thick reinforced glass with the very small hole used only for passing through credit cards. my eyes squeezed down to slits and my mouth was in a perfect screw.
he then said, "you probably won't win though".

DAMNIT, i knew it. he is not a soulfriend at all - he has casted me an evil eye.
godfrickin'damnit.
this is all that damn mayor madrid's fault for causing a drunken scandal and now la mesa is going nuts scrambling to get more funds to defend him......
old drunken fool.

just be careful out there in la mesa - the cops on motorbikes and otherwise are very up for catching whatever they can. the bastards. and be careful doing online business with DMV. impound guys can be nice, at first, but impound is more expensive by the hour than a room at the marriott. er, so i have heard.

stitchy chix table of contents

in somerset studio magazine on the stands now----same with "weddings",
stampington's cateloge also features my work on their cover.


OK now back to paris countdown...

more cover work in Gallery Magazine

this is an older one i forgot to brag about........how could i forget?




did i hear you say "Alzheimer's"?

stitchy chix

my art and article in the most recent somerset studio magazine.......yeah, you know the drill.

cover girl again!!!!!

my art made the cover again - this makes 4 times now!!!
what? oh, sure i'll autograph yours....

paris countdown continues.....

check list of important things to get done before leaving....:
1. say good-bye to dr. hot - remind him of my need for lots of vicodin and extra dosage and other medicines. decide whether i really need to take the snowboot contraptions for sleeping - gawd, do i need to wear them on the flight too? oo-la-la


2. get in contact with the house, dog and cat sitter, i.e. brooke and carlos, but mostly carlos since broke now lives in LA. carlos will need to be briefed on the extensive and sensitive way t treat our doberman who is afraid of everything including but not limited to, dust bunnies.

3. carlos will have to be briefed on the personality of our little kitty named princess fifi, she is actually a tigress ad brings in lizards, etc. she thinks the doberman is her personal pet. she sleeps with him every night. she hates other cats.

4. say goodbye to my children, except rosie who is going with us. i must remember to tell them my PIN numbers to everything, where my will and trust are located, insurance company info, keys to lock box and keys to everything else including storage units. must tell them that i have no secret hiding places in the house for anything, including but not limited to, money, so that they don't tear the house up while I'm gone.

5. hmmmmm, get the luggage out of the storage unit.

wonder what i am forgetting........

6. get rosie's homework projects for being out of school for over 6 days.

7. say goodbye to my friends........

8. oh yeah, finish all work due to my publishers......

9. check my check list.

and 10. ____________________________?
i know there is something else.

more on paris countdown......

my partner in crime for the paris trip, little miss french speaking renee richetts, has give us her itinerary for paris as follows:


what to do when we get there....

Tuesday/arrival day
I'll be settling in to the apartment, taking a nap and a shower. Once up from snooze-time (let's figure at 4p.m.), and weather permitting, I plan to walk over to the Pompidou Center to take in the street scene there which is lively. Weather, and my energy, permitting yet again, I'll either walk to Notre Dame, or take a metro if the weather stinks. I have a tradition of visiting N.D. on the day of my arrival, and usually more than once each trip. Note that going to Notre Dame includes seeing the Seine, going over historic bridges, walking around the 2 beautiful islands in the middle of the river, etc....and there are too many etcs to list.

Weds
I'll be up and out to the local street market by 8 am to get fresh baked goods and any groceries needed. I do this every morning, except the day I go to the flea market. It's my idea of "living" in Paris and I LOVE to share it with others.
After b'fast I will either be taking the "bus #69 tour" all over, or I will be "riding the metro" all over to visit the system under Paris that is a world unto itself. I usually avoid the BIG metro stations, but for this experience, I purposely seek them out.
After lunch I want to visit the Cartier Foundation of Contemporary Art in the 14th, metro Raspail.
That afternoon, how about a walk on the Champs Elysee, where people are rich and prices are high but it's oh, so much fun to see. Then I'd like to go to the St. Michel Square, possibly for dinner in that area where the "other half" hangs and prices are more down to earth. This and the streets around it such as Rue de la Harpe and Rue de la Huchette, comprise another very lively scene and I enjoy having a beer or glass of wine at one of the cafes in that area. The whole time, I'll be looking for stuff to use in our workshop.

Thurs.
Before lunch, Cluny museum of the Middle Ages to see the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries. After lunch, happy to go with you wherever you'd like: Eiffel Tower? Trocadero? Tuileries?
I will plan to be at the apartment by late afternoon/early evening to get it together for the workshop.

Fri
Workshop day 1 0930-4pm we're making metal/mixed media artist books. After 4pm, if folks would like, I'll take us on a walking tour of the Marais heading away from Pompidou. Or anyplace you'd like to go.

Sat
Workshop day 2 0930-4pm we're learning the "paint on" techinique.
I'd like to go to mass at Notre Dame that evening, but will wait to check the schedule until we get there to see what time it is. We might also consider doing an evening boat tour on the Seine. Let's talk.

Sun
Paris flea market. If you wish to come, please be at the apartment by 7 am. Yep, that's EARLY for you night-lifers, but if we want any bargains at all, we need to be there when the gates open at 8am. And we'll be done by noon.
I have to be at the left bank apartment at 2 pm to pay the landlady for our second week in Paris and to inspect the place. Should take an hour, tops, then I'll head back to the workshop apartment.
Knowing my usual jet-lag recovery pattern, I'll be ready for a quiet evening at "home" Sunday. However, if I didn't get to mass on Saturday, I'll go Sunday late afternoon.

Mon
PARTY!!!!!

apparently there is a small article in the union tribune north county section about our paris trip......check it out and then send COPY to me........

paris countdown

things to do before i leave for paris:



1. buy "paris for dummies" - study on plane
2. buy translator book - study on plane
3. buy better raincoat than the one i limped around in today. - take on plane
4. buy small notebook to use to draw and entertain myself with - take on plane
5. take pencil to draw with - take on plane
6. find luggage and fit photocopier into it for workshop class. bring extra ink and french converter plug. add paint tubes, brushes, canvases, paper elements, scissors, tape, glue, ribbons, rulers, triangles, t-squares, flowers, pencils, watercolors, files, stickers, images, sharpie markers, plastic table cloth and hammers- don't take on plane -send it through to baggage hold.
6. buy alcohol - drink in airport terminal, then- take on plane.

long weekend

this weekend was devoted to my baby child rosamaria (13 yrs old) who swam the junior olympics. making it to the junior olympics is no small feat. swimmers must reach qualifying times to enter. rosie swims 5 days a week, 2 hours a day. she gets her homework done at school or after practice. she is a very high achiever. she works hard. everyday.
we are proud of her.
but today she had a bad day...too bad for her it was the day she was to swim most her events. it rained and rained today- we all got soaked. there was little shelter. although she swam her best times, they were not fast enough to carry her into the finals. she was very sad. and emotional..........so i was sad and emotional. then i began to wonder why i am so emotional, i'm not swimming. i always hate it when i see other parents projecting themselves on their children. and there i was; a big fatty, limping around with a sore knee in a gigantic red raincoat, thinking i am having a bad swim day. i was even about to blame my period and then i remembered i haven't had one for over 5 years!
it was a horrible rainy day - but not for everyone - oh sure it rained on everyone - but many people did very very well. even rosie turned herself around a bit finally, although not as well as she had thought she had trained to do. it was her mile swim that changed her mood; the very ast event of the prelims.
when we got home, i took my vicodin and we had a late lunch and napped. well, gastone and i did, not rosie, of course, she watched tv and went on the computer...... i was wrung out. i needed to decompress.

thats it. im not imagining i'm swimming in races ever again. i'm really too old. i hate to say it, but, i'm very glad the weekend is over.

sooo tired

i have a lot to say but i am bone tired.
rosie has a weekend full of junior olympic swim races - prelims and finals. very long weekend ahead. she swam tonight on a relay and did outstanding....but i nearly fell asleep driving home. in the rain with two swimmers in my car, a 45 minute drive.......not good. i shouldn't be driving anyway on vicodin. i won't this weekend.
anyway, the relay did very well, everyone in it improved their speed by multiple seconds. they each swam 200 yards.
i wish i coul stay awake to write about more.

oh i got my MRI results, i have chewed up meniscus; pulled ligament; scraping between my kneecap and joint; and a bakers cyst. well, hells bells, no wonder i'm in pain. so i am waiting for surgery that will make me worthless for over a month or two. but meanwhile, i hurt.

don't let this happen to you. that's all i have to say........ sorry, not that entertaining tonight.
time to go to sleep.....

what was that on the news tonight? our mayor madrid drunk ? HAHAAHA suddenly i feel better. i only wish i could stay awake for this story.....zzzzzzzz

.

the telephone pole

the telephone pole has been intriguing me lately as an interesting element to include in my paintings. the telephone pole says a several things at once. its nostalgic, even though they are still around, aren't they? 
are there many of the three tiered type around anymore?
they also represent to me, pre cell phones. an era almost totally forgotten. they were always consider a blight on the landscape, but they were everywhere, one in front of almost everyone's house.
remember green acres? oliver had to go up the telephone pole to make a phone call to his old employers back in new york? even lisa went up there once in awhile. silly.  course her conversations never made sense.  that was the best part.
there was this one telephone pole on my street that i past every morning on my way to school. it fascinated me.  it sweated tar that hardened like resin. we used to hang around it and pick off the bubbles. of course it had a whole history of romances carved into it too, and many libelous postings. mostly ugly stuff about other kids in school - regular name calling.
there was on nasty deep cut in the pole - i think it was a bike rider who crashed into it. i doubt someone actually took a hatchet to it.  a car crash would have brought the thing down.
we would use the pole as a meeting place after school as an identifiable place to just hang around and talk. "where are you going?' my dad would want to know...."oh, i'm just going to meet annie by the telephone pole and talk..." which translated to .....annie and i would really meet at the telephone pole and talk - yeah, we weren't ones to smoke or meet boys much.   we were always being limited on our phone use at home because someone important might be trying to call.  so we met outside, near the school and pondered the world. occasionally someone we knew would cycle by and hang out too.    we never knew who might come by.  we always hoped for a cute boy, but we never chased them. sometimes a neighbor would ride by on a horse.  we envied the horse owners. 

i think my friend janis and i actually tried to eat the bubbles of tar.  er, maybe that was only me. i think janis only like to poke them with a stick.

my husband grew up in new york city. there were no telephone poles where he grew up - everything was underground. this realization has made me feel sad for him. he doesn't know the true smell of a telephone pole. it is kinda like the smell of the piers at the ferry landing.  remember those ferry rides to coronado island? that's a memorable smell.  it combined nicely with the smell of salt water.  i miss that too.  no more ferry rides - just a fast couple of lanes over the bridge.  hardly the same.  i remember the ferry cashier would sometimes save the end rolls from his cash register tape and give them to me if i asked.  i would draw long pictures on them all day long.  all my friends would ask me where i got the long paper like that.  i said the ferryman.

anyway, rosie actually wanted me to post a photo of herself that she photoshoped, but i can't find it in the filing cabinet.....i will tell her in the morning about the telephone pole pic and she will roll her eyes at me for writing about something so boring.. .

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a little of rosie

just for a small break from my medical woes, i thought i would refresh the blog with a couple of snaps of rosie. who took these pix? well, she did of course and i found them in the computer. she is going to kill me in the morning -- then she will go to a shrink for the entire decade of her twenties. yeah, just like her mom did. and her brother and sister -- and her uncle danny --- who is still doing shrink time.

OK so today i went to the orthopedic doctor for my hands (remember carpel tunnel syndrome that came about suddenly?) after two hours of waiting for the doctor (they said they had called my name but i was unavailable - yeah, i was getting the xrays they sent me in to get. in their xray room.)

anyway. it was determined that i have severe arthritis at the basal joints of my thumbs (worse on my left hand) - unusual for my age. (bloody hell, can't i be usual with anything medical?) which will require surgery eventually, with a recoup of 6 months. ( ok not doing that. instead, i will wear the frickin' strap-on in public, i don't care)...(er, strap-on thumb holder, that is...............still sounds weird, doesn't it?)

but after i get back from paris i will have surgery on my right hand for carpal tunnel (separate issue from the arthritis), which is a much faster recovery. i should be OK for artfest.

i get to take a break from doctor's appointments now for a week.....i promise to write about something different. i want to thank all my friends who have written to me privately about their likewise troubles. many were worrisome, but some of the stories were pretty funny. my favorite one was from a friend of mine who not only wears similar stuff to bed as me, but she also tops her sexy nighttime outfit with a knit cap to keep her head warm since her bed is positioned beneath a window. i'm doing a knitcap tonight, just to be in her league!

an update about my snowboots - last night, somehow and someway, i kicked them off in my sleep - along with the hand braces too. i must be houdini in my sleep because everything was triple velcroed on. OR, it could prove my secret theory ---- in a different lifetime, i was a stripper. named "bubbles".

OK at least i got results of an xray back - for that i was happy.
where did my MRI results go? still waiting and still hurting and still taking vicodin.
my conversation with this doctor was much like the others-----cause of my problems: age, genetics and "bad luck".
grrrr.

oh, and the doctor said that writing in my blog was NOT the cause of my carpal tunnel............ as my husband believes.... HA!
course, it doesn't help.

sneakers and snow boots

i'm so sick of myself.....all i have to write about these days are doctor visits - today the podiatrist - after i told him, look, i have been working out, losing weight, i have worn corrective shoes for 6 months and still my feet hurt and i have an tender achillies tendon, he said,
"well, you have the right mind set, but you have to realize you have age working against you..." my smile resembled a person sucking a lemon.
i mentioned my knee, perhaps it is contributing to my feet trouble, maybe it's not just age.
"yeah, maybe, it sure doesn't help. ......so, looks like a lot is wrong with you right now - boy, you're really having bad luck, aren't you..."
i thought i was going to shoot myself. maybe hang myself from the curtain rod using his stethoscope. i hate that frickin' "bad luck" diagnosis.
he continued, "well, there's not a lot to do at this point, except you need to wear these gigantic knee high snowboots (actually he called them something else) to bed every night."
i had to laugh - i am already wearing two hand braces with metal insides to bed every night for carpal tunnel and i am suppose to wear a mouth piece to keep myself from grinding my teeth every night too (but i don't, i hope my dentist doesn't read this)......

man, my sex kitten days are WAY over.
i don't even know how i am going to manage to get into bed tonight. i will have to find a way to catapult my way in. gangway, i'm coming in like a shot cannonball. only instead of a shot, it will be more like a slow roll in. i might need several tries.
i will probably just take several gimpy, tiny, but speedy steps forward and bounce off the side of the bed. i can't jump - my kneeeeee.
maybe i will just sleep on the floor.
i have already hurt myself many times trying to scratch my head in the night with the metal hand braces. not only will i give myself a black eye - i'm sure gastone will have a few bruises by morning too. if he still sleeps with me......

all this "band-aid fix" shit the doctors put me through are making me worse. i will probably have to wear a mummy suit to bed next -except, i don't know why.
it's not helping my moods. and it gives me nothing cool to write about.
i swam tonight - it was cold, but at least i did it - hurting limbs and all.

claymates

I had a FUN time teaching a polymer clay workshop yesterday at my OLD digs, the stamp addict. i hadn't taught there since 2003.
I used my method of teaching called "lisa bebi's socratic method of workshop teaching". i learned the socratic method from lawschool.
students learn so much quicker with this method. it is basically this: explan in simple terms what the class is about - then, push everything across the table and tell them to do it themselves. My students were awesome. they did beautiful work. in fact, i went home to lunch in the middle of class and came back to find even more beautiful work. their work was so good, i think they ought to publish themselves.
i also had fun autographing various somerset studio magazines that have my articles and work. i like autographing. i like teaching. i love microphones, i didn't have one here, but did at the demo i did last week at foothills art association. i was just thinking if only i had a microphone too.
i should be like my daughter brooke - she carries a microphone with her everywhere. she keeps one in her purse. why? because she reports from everywhere for NPR and CNN.
of course i don't report. i just want to have one. her's has a square box around it with a big NPR or CNN on it. she used to have one with a big KNX on it. I want one with a huge BEBI on it. or a huge LISA. (there are too many lisa's out there, i might get confused with another lisa. BEBI is a surer bet) anyway, wouldn't that be cool. hmmmm, i guess i need a radio station to go with it..............hmmmm food for thought.




oh, by the way. dr. hot is still dr. hot, not dr. not-so-hot as one of my friends called him ("annie"). he is only 33 and still good looking - its just that i think he sees me as a fragile old fat jew woman. damn i think my daughter rosie sees me that way too.

what's that? you do too.....? well, hells bells.

well, i see myself and a young, yet fragile (i guess) athletic (although needing to shape up a bit), slender (inside the fat), japanese person. what? i'm not japanese. (see earlier post, "i think i'm turning japanese") damn, i have been hanging around kathy too much. but, i know i'm a JAP (jewish american princess, in case you didn't know).

at least i really think so.

top ten reasons i suspect dr. hot is not God

you remember dr. hot, don't you? (see previous post regarding dr. hot earlier last year). back then, i went to him to get treated for my tired and aching feet. (back then he gave me a referral to go to a podiatrist - my appointment is monday. finally. gawd kaiser is slow).
anyway, dr. hot is actually my primary care doctor and so i see him about other issues or the combination of all issues. also, i went to see him friday because he had changed my dosage of vicodin to less than 4 pills a day although i haven't yet been operated on for my torn menisucus (see other previous entries regarding my knee, ad nauseam).

also i went to see him about putting the dots together of all my ailments - my reasoning is that there should be a common denominator between them all, like, say, another autoimmune disorder.


so here are the ten reasons i suspect d.r. hot is not God:


1. he was late for work because he couldn't get his car to start;
2. i wanted to know what umbrella condition causes a person to have eye sight problems, joint pain, muscle pain, dehydration, high cholesterol, high BUN, kidney problems and occassional UTC within a 6 months period; i asked, "what disease causes all these things to go bad at once"....he asnwered "bad luck".
3. he asked me how to spell that really weird condition i had, that nearly killed me about 5 years ago.
4. he told me he made a mistake about lowering my dosage of vicodin, because he didn't understand that i was actually having pain;
5. i asked him what to do; i am going to Paris in two weeks and i still have trouble walking. he said, "don't sightsee".
6. i asked him what caused my failing health, what was the trigger to my "bad luck" ailment. he said "you hit the wall".
7. i asked what can i do to help myself. he said " workout, lose weight, get lots of rest, get decent shoes, and don't start jackhammering".
8. i said, but i have been working out and losing weight and i got the recommended shoes and i don't jack hammer. he said, "yeah, actually, none of that stuff will really help you. you are kinda like an old worn out car that when you fix one thing another thing goes....."
9......so, what am i to do? "well, you will get your knee looked at and your carpal tunnel worked on and things will at least hurt less, but thats about all there can be done."
10. i complained that i have been taking lovstatin to lower my high cholesterol and it is still high, he said, "yeah, your cholesterol is way out there - it is outrageous, i actually think you are broken in the cholesterol department - its probably a bad gene.
but wait, there are really 11 reasons.......
11. he wears geeky, squeaky shoes.

MRI mission central

i went on a trip inside a whirling machine - a time machine. it was the MRI, but the loud white noise it made, made me go back in time - a time of being 18 years old. a time of when i was just of age and a time that i got to travel around the world by ship - the" World Campus Afloat". The loud groaning and clunking the MRI made sounded just like my stateroom just over the large motor powering at a steady slow speed churning through the blue south pacific on to the indian ocean finishing up in the north atlantic at Florida. the slow steam was not a match to our jet speed youthful growth through curiosity, hormones and dumb guts.
Imagine being 18 and aboard a ship full of kids your own age you don't know, no supervision to speak of and the high energy of fright and excitement mixed together. i know you can't really imagine and i had forgotten what it felt like until tonight during my MRI.

that's right it was tonight, not at 9 am. as i thought, but 9 p.m. i showed up for my otay mesa kaiser MRI appointment 12 hours early. no one told me it was a night appointment. i didn't think to ask - "oh, 9 o'clock, is that morning or night?"
who ever heard of such a thing?
i'll know better next time.
someday when i am not too tired from vicodin and undergoing an MRI at midnight, i will tell you some tales of my trip asea, around the world - how i got chased by african elephants and visited by a lion on safari.....how i got into the middle of an argument between two black men in south africa in a place that whites weren't allowed. how i watched a fire walking ceremony in fiji and went to a college dance in perth, australia - was caught in the middle of a stampede of crazy hindus in madras, india and fought off leeches in candy, sri lanka.......it was all so long ago, maybe even a lifetime ago....but i got to visit it again tonight.

a shot through the MRI tunnel

Finally - tomorrow.









.....and i'll be damned if my knee doesn't feel better!


how does that work?

perched

just sitting there - kinda fat on a branch...i wish i had that. yeah sure i'm fat, but i have no place to sit. my poor knee hurts all the time, and sitting and lying hurt the worst -today, i was denied more vicodin. why???? i don't know -AND kaiser hasn't done anything to fix the torn menisicus...

i get the MRI wednesday - when will i have the results? god only knows.

tomorrow i go back to LA (anaheim convention center) to work at CHA- demoing my art style to the international. its fun except the pain. dang.

ok, ok, i have whined enough. oh one more whine...did i tell you that i am allergic to Aleve?
i'm going to bed now.
love you guys. sorry about the whining.

fast swim to sauna

oh nothing like a nice sauna after exerting yourself to the max. so is what my little fishy daughter rosie did today as she raced the mile swim and made junior olympic (JO) time by 10 seconds (she swam the mile on 20 minutes)........that was incredible....but that was not all, she swam one other event today - the 200 breaststroke and made JO time by 6 seconds. that was too much.
afterwards, it was time for me to take my weary body to the sauna. i was really tired from watching her of course.
well that's not all i did, i was also given the responsibility of counting her laps. whew, i was very nervous.
so, bravo rosie! all your hard work is paying off.


you can come to the sauna with me if you like. let's invite kathy, too, cuz she is japanese.

just hanging in there on friday

it's friday: my art buddy, "meredith" came over today and we worked together a little more quietly than normal --- we were both fighting sinus headaches because neither of us slept well last night. i think i am getting a cold from going to the doctors so much - "meredith" just gets them often.
meredith worked on ATCs - and i worked on my AOC (artist on call) work for stampington. its so much fun to work together even though we aren't doing the same kind of thing. i like watching her form questions of where to put things on her collage-y pieces and how she resolves them. i just ike watching her work....and she too likes to see what i get up to.
today my colors of choice today were: baby blue and deep opaque midnight blue with warm white and a highlights of naples yellow. Stampington sent me a three stamps to play with. one was a scratchy polka dot heart which i love and used as a heart and also i used just a little of it for the texture it leaves behind - i used it with warm white on the blue..reminded me of eyelette lace.
i was also given (as AOC work from stampington) three large clear plastic storage jars to play with. i have been toying with creating a clapboard house out of each of them, then filling the insides with nest-y stuff. maybe thats too predictable......
i will probably end up filling each one with stuff i actually use from my own studio. we will see.
there's three wooden hangers to create with. "meredith" loved them. i also have tiny cubes made of paper, a little plain book to alter and a shadow box. lots of cool toys. fun stuff.

but by the end of the day, i was tired -i have had a strenuous week - moving rooms around to form my new studio spaces.
workshop and demo this week too.
and the painful knee....grrrrr. so i'm ready for bed now - as i slip alseep tonight i will go over all the things "meredith" and i created today...all the things, artists and books we talked about that we like...exchange of family stories and future ideas. she's my great art friend.

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freud art?

i totally enjoyed myself tonight giving a demo for foothills art association tonight.
i hope everyone enjoyed it a much as me. even my sweetiepie brookie came with her boyfriend carlos...brooke suffered a few personal stories i told of her. she stayed awake for most of my demo, even though she was up all night, last night reporting for SCNPR (national public radio). i'm so proud of her. and she is so cute too - tiny little thing.

anyway, now my brain hurts. someone tonight, let's just call her "diane ludwig", mentioned that there is a twice yearly retreat of artists that get together in new mexico who discuss the psychological reason for the work they chose to do......or something similar to that.
i was painting my dad at the time. actually, i was painting my dad's pants at the time ---i broke into a menopausal flush....i hardly knew what she was referring too.
there was nothing weird that went on in my family --- at least in a gross way ---i just turned out a bit nutty, that's all.
thanks diane, for drawing our attention to this.........

see the demo was a riot!

i love being an artist........it's a way to be crazy and share it too.

studio party in planning stage

i am getting very close to opening my new studio.

i swept the garage out really well tonight. tom and i placed the canvas rack where i wanted it, and the shelving is in. i have the lighting about ready and the storage is in place. now all i need are my artist girlfriends to come over. i plan to have a very BIG party.

won't be next week though, cuz, i will be spending much of next week in los angeles at CHA (craft and hobbyists association BIG international show) three days of demoing for Coronado Island Design and Stamps - it is very exciting and fun. I only wish i had better walking knees, but can't have everything.

i feel as though i have almost everything! even today rosie the housecleaner came and worked all day without quitting. she said she would come back again tomorrow -woohoo!!!!
wooo.
hooo.
ahem.
altho, i did hear her muttering while cleaning my upstairs bathroom......aye-yeye-yeye, mucho tra-ba-ho for na-da da-nare-o.

my experience is that when the housecleaners start talking that way, they aren't going to be coming back.

the party may get postponed.

happy super fat tuesday to you

i hope you enjoyed your day voting and/or stringing colored necklaces on people....it was a beautiful day in san diego - very clear albeit cold for us at 48 degrees tonight.
nevertheless, 48 degrees both rosie and i swam for over an hour tonight. outdoors of course.
she swims 2 hours a night five nights a week cuz she is a serious competitive swimmer. i have started to swim at night as well, while she is swimming to try to lose weight and counter this very painful knee. i have really been suffering. i have actually lost weight in these last few weeks--- about 15 lbs.--- because i can't bear the weight on my torn meniscus.
every morning, i tick off another day toward getting my MRI...like a jailer who ticks off days remaining in his jail sentence....... something seems so wrong about that, seems in this country i shouldn't have to suffer like this for nearly a month waiting for an MRI. then what? i don't know.

so i have been bad company, i'm sorry .....if i were in a better humor i wold have liked to tell you more about my workshop, or about how i ran down a clapboard beacon in my road (with my car), how i ran out of gas in the prius on the freeway, how i ended up sending art to my friends during xmas that i had created from a bought photo, only to find out later the photo was actually of the KKK. you know my usual stuff. but all i'm doing is moaning. gawd.

but life goes on......, tom is still hammering away and creating the perfect studio and studio annex. kathy is still organizing me (a lifelong chore)and now i have a housecleaner who has worked for two days straight (a record) --- she hasn't given up yet. the only english she says and says it a lot is "oh, my god" - it has something to do with the amount of stuff there is to clean.
so happy fat tuesday to you. i don't even feel like lifting my shirt up for my husbnd.....and happy voting day -- let's see, hillary, obama, morman dude or mccain --- and a few i think i forgot. which is it? i say willy nelson. i heard someone had written his name in. - kindof a waste, though - like writing in ralph nader.....OOOooooooomy knee. maybe tomorrow my pain killer will work better.....

the souls who share the universe

the souls who share the universe ...that was what it was like at my workshop today. i loved it. i was sharing my art techniques with my soul sisters and we were sharing our universe together. art. indulgence. laughter. stories. and peacefulness. very very cool.
thank you, my friends, my art sisters...for a great day today. thank you, norma, for providing a wonderful play place. thank you deb, for thinking this up and thank you laurie for your beautiful piece of art. the rest of you, thank you for coming and participating.
let's do it again soon.

reminder: i'm giving a free demonstration thursday night, feb. 7 at la mesa city hall (allison street behind the post office), 7:30 - 9 p.m. for foothills art association. come early for free refreshments and bring a friend -- they have comfy seats. there will be a raffle for a piece of my artwork.

workshop minds

i'm excited to teach the paintover technique to my students at the leucadia workshop tomorrow. i have a full house.


i have lots of cool things to show everyone.

i have new tools and images, plus i am being sponsored by Golden Paints - therefore i have lots of new mediums and interference colors to use.

sorry if you couldn't make it. maybe next time.

one happy guy.......!!!!

yep, me and this dude are happy tonight. not sure why he is so happy - probably his new dress, but me...well, remember i went to kaiser tonight and i was worried about an operation, (seems so long ago now...) well, i will probably have the operation one day (when they finally do the MRI, feb. 13th, we will know something), but for now, urgent care gave me a shot in the arm of dilutid or morphine. that is because i have (haaaad) lots of pain due to my torn meniscus, but that's no all.... also i have nothing between my knee cap and my joint - so that it is scrapping away with each movement, plus i still have a bakers cyst and arthritis - all in my left knee --- of course they tried to xray my right knee and i had to fight hard to get them to change their minds on that issue. but good news, nothing is septic, well a least in my knee area - somehing did smell septic in the house but i hired a housecleaner who came today. she was suppose to work all day but suddenly realized after cleaning a couple of bathrooms and the kitchen that she had a meeting to attend or somehing -maybe it was an appointment, she was saying as she dashed out of the house with my money, leaving behind a strewn mop still dripping with dirty water.... busy busy people.
so good news, tonight i got a truck load of vicodin so i will be able to teach the workshop monday to the out-of-towners.... without hauling in a rolling hospital bed aferall. well, unless i want to, just for kicks.

this morphine makes me hyper - the doctor said it should make me sleeply..... well..... hmmmm, another weird thing....

OK goodnight all.

(i think i might change the furniture around in the livingroom tonight, just to see if my husband notices in the morning). hehehehe. morphine makes me a devil too.
just kidding, i promise to rest my knee.
ayway, he would easily notice the tv missing before superbowl sunday, hardly a fun test.

what is kaiser doing to me?

afer ignoring me for 3 weeks, i am going in tonight for an emergency MRI on my torn meniscus that has gone septic on me. i wonder if they will do emergency surgery?...so, don't worry out-of-towners who have come especially for my workshop monday, i will teach from my rolling hospial bed.

gawd, how do you plan a life around medical nonsense?