I AM ALIVE!!!

There was the Pima County Fair...>see the photos above of our space for demos there< my gosh, that was over a month ago!!! Then there was a huge multi family yard sale where I got terribly burnt from sun that I never even felt thanks to COOL temperatures and blustery winds...peeled like an orange for weeks. Really was not an attractive addition to an already prune-y physique, believe me!

May is NOT a favorite month of mine to be so far removed from my daughter...first there was yet another Mother's Day apart...sob! Then there was her 37th birthday on May 20th...I was too broke to even send her the bracelets that I made her...they are still sitting waiting to be shipped...then there was the eternal WAIT to sell this house!!!!! I AM SOOOOOO DONE WITH THE HOUSING ECONOMY, FOLKS!

Basically I have been super duper in the dumps!

We had yet another OPEN HOUSE last Sunday...Memorial Day weekend and all. It yielded THE PERSON I want to see get this house...he is a wonderful young man raising his three children by himself...he is from TOGO, Africa originally and is bringing his mother up from there to live with him and her grandchildren...now we wait and see what he can qualify for...I DO SOOOOO see them in this huge home and I know he would be very pleased with the surroundings here. SO many of the potential buyers are so critical of what is here or NOT here...needs this, doesn't have that, would have to do this...this fellow LOVED the place "as is" and had no negative remarks at all. All my friends have been saying all along is that the RIGHT person will come along. This is that right person I just FEEL it!!!! So I have been praying my heart out that he qualifies high enough that I can afford to let him have this place. I even have prayer requests on it posted to the internet. The family deserves a good home like this one!

I have been half-heartedly doing my beading as well...but just too bummed to photo, write up and post my new creations on ETSY...shame on my apathy!! I am pushing myself to be motivated...it's coming up on 9 years since I moved down here from NC to care for my mother...so past time to be MOVING BACK!! Plus I have been living in this way too large space for a year and a half since mom passed...too long to be away from family!!!

So that's the news from the great southwestern desert for this first day of June. The true BLESSING has been our weather...milder than I ever remember for so late into Spring...saving tremendously on electric and gas bills...watering the plants has gone up due to the dryness though.

Let's see if I can maintain a more active BLOG in days to come...always speak the truth and you'll never get caught in a lie... always admit when you're wrong and apologize and you can walk with your head held high... let go of your worries and do what you can, at the end of the day, you'll rest easy... if somebody does you wrong, don't spend your energy hating them, wish them well and walk away... living well is always the best revenge..

Happy Trails Ya'll...till we meet again!

PIMA COUNTY FAIR, Tucson, AZ

The Pima County Fair comes every Spring to the Southwestern Desert. It is an event I wouldn't miss and haven't since 1976.
I have demonstrated "some" craft I was involved with every year since my return from Alaska in 1975. In Alaska my daughter, April, then a bitty baby, took the prize for the "smallest feet" at the County Fair in Fairbanks. I used to enter the Fairs too, but I simply cannot store ANYMORE ribbons, anywhere....and I am not saying that to brag.

The 2010 PC Fair was the 99th year! I couldn't believe that one. So the first county fair here in Pima County took place in 1911...a year before Arizona became a state. AMAZING!!

My own experience with the FAIR began as a tot since I was born in Tucson in 1949. I remember a few little rides and a couple bigger ones and the stinky animal barns when they occupied what is now the Rodeo Grounds in Southern Tucson.

The FAIR and fair grounds are no longer the possessions of PIMA COUNTY. They are privately owned and are for profit now. I have seen a whole lotta changes in the years. Adult entries in Home & Fine Arts have fallen off significantly even though the county has grown tremendously in population...SAD, but true.

The photo above is my display case at this year's FAIR.

The FAIR has added a whole variety of demonstrations of arts, hobbies & crafts in Old Pueblo Hall where I demonstrate beadwork every year now since 1993. More than one fair visitor commented to me on how much they LOVE to come just to watch the working artists.

The participation by schools of children's artworks has also grown immensely and I for one, think that is inspirational. What the youth of today need is artistic outlets to raise their self-esteem, instill discipline and release the creative muses within them.

Senior citizens need this also...I know, I am one!! Above photo of a hand carved wooden saddle is a prime example of the undiscovered talent in our seniors. William Milligan, who is the artist of that piece, told me he never tried carving wood until he retired 16 years ago. His specialty is birds that appear so real, people get angry with him for stealing feathers...but he doesn't. He carves each feather so intricately that they feel real, even to the touch.

The example above is a GOURD carved & painted to appear as an owl in a tree. Old Pueblo Gourd Patch puts on a wonderful entry exhibit as well as presents many fabulous local gourd artists to demonstrate each year. Their membership is spectacular and if you are in the least bit interested in gourds contact oldpueblogourdpatch@mail.com or me & I will tell you their particulars.

I always love the day the spinners and weavers come to demo at the FAIR. The lady pictured above, Jill Holbrook, has been a friend of mine for a very long time. She makes it look sooooo easy. Trust me, I have a wheel, tried to learn to spin and discovered I was the most spastic person on the planet. Doubt i could chew gum and walk at the same time.

This being an primary election year we had our share of politicians in the build. None surprised all of us like the former presidential candidate who stopped by. Senator McCain dropped in and it was not the adversary turmoil or chaos you see on the news. He was totally approachable, cordial, human and behaved just like an average fair attendee. He mingled with his constituents so casually one might have missed him. Thanks for coming by, John.

I have about a gazillion photos of the FAIR to share, but only 5 are allowed per post. So I recommend you go to my flickr page, picassa page or my facebook page to catch a glimpse of them all....you will be happy you did!

Picture Perfect/Desert Bloom

This is the FIRST finished piece of what I hope will be a long and fruitful relationship between my shop and
www.sarahsetsy.etsy.com
whose artwork is showcased in the sumptuous cactus flower pendant on my intricately crocheted rope in the photos here. Please be sure to visit Sarah's shop to see her magnificent photography!
And now....THE REST OF THE STORY:

Early into my Etsy experience I discovered that we can check out who is local on etsy. In other words, shops who are in the same city or state as we are. This I thought was very KEWL!
I spotted this shop with really spectacular photography AND the artist made some of her prints into art pendants.....WELL

I sent a convo (message) to this gal, Sarah Whitney, that I loved her photography, but especially her handmade pendants with cactus blossoms, jack rabbits, southwestern skies, etc. My only problem was if the bails would slide on my crochet ropes. I expessed my desire to showcase her work in this manner. Sarah started brainstorming where to find larger bails. She is just the sweetest gal.

Shortly thereafter I was a beadwork demonstrator at the Pima County Fair just outside of Tucson. While chatting with different people, I learned of a shop not too far from my home that carried the larger bails we were looking for in sterling silver.
Sarah was more than anxious to acquire the right sized bails to start custom pendants for me to buy and use in my work. She lives miles and miles from the glass shoppe location, but she put her youngest son in her vehicle and met me at the shop.
It was so special for me to actually meet another artist on Etsy and sorta collaborate on some pieces together IN PERSON. And her son and daughter,who I met when she was kind enough to deliver her finished pieces directly to my door, are just precious.
The personal touch of meeting and associating with local artisans would normally have me all jazzed to form some sort of local Etsy group cooperative for support and networking.
That was the old me...jump in with both feet and mingle with the masses.

My situation is now changed and I am lucky to leave the house once a week to buy groceries or pick up prescriptions. Occasionally, terrific encounters such as mine with Sarah, remind me of long long ago. Seven years have taken their toll on my psyche but I guess somewhere my true personality lurks deep in my soul.