It's A Hot Hot Summer

The Ductwork folks never showed up, The Man stayed Home to either take a Call or receive them, they were a No Show.  They don't work for the Air Condition Service Company, so, not sure I really wanted them here and telling us to consider hiring them to clean Air Ducts anyway.  The Dental Appointment went well for Princess T, she won't need to go back 'til October now for a Fluoride Treatment.   Her Stomach is doing better too. We hit the Goodwills since they're already putting out the Halloween Merch!  Yay!

You can never roll out Halloween too early for Yours Truly.  *Smiles*  I got this Hangman Talking Skeleton for Eight Bucks and a Cute Halloween Coffee Mug for Three Bucks.  Most of their Halloween Merch was New Old Stock Donated by Big Box Stores like Marshalls and Target from last Season's unsold Line.  So, they had it priced pretty steep and I passed, just enjoying the Visuals, but only Buying these Two Used items of Seasonal Merch priced Cheaply. 

 I did spend a lot tho' coz Princess T and I found so much Good Stuff that wasn't Seasonal.   I got several of the City Series of Starbucks Coffee Mugs to resell, some Specialty Tees to resell, a fabulous large Stone Mortar and Pestle to Keep, Books to Keep, Rubber Art Stamps to resell and to Keep, some Demitasse Vintage Diner Restaurant Ware Cups with matching Dessert Plates to Keep, Collectible Toys to resell.   Clothes for Princess T.  The Tommy Bahama 2002 Kimono Lady Tiki Vase, Below, to Keep.

I took her out for Pho at our Fav Vietnamese Restaurant in the Old Neighborhood where the Historic Home is.   We also cruise by the Old House to see what Mr. Avila has done in the way of Restoration and the Renting of it.  He's poured Cement Driveways and Cement Patio Slabs now.  He's got Three Renters so far.  He subdivided the Main House into Three Apartments, since, it does have Three Kitchens and Three Bathrooms.  Two of which are Rented.  He's Renting out the Old Carriage House converted to a Cottage, which was where I had my Beloved Art Studio.

Hard to see and tell if he's Rented out or even done Restoration yet on the other Two Back Cottages on the Acreage?   He did tear down at least one of the larger Shed Outbuildings too.  He's being Thoughtful about what he does with it and is keeping it Historically significant, just updating what he should to be able to turn it into Rentals with Modern Conveniences that a Century Plus Old Property wouldn't otherwise have if it were all Original to Period.  His Renters all seem to be Immigrant Families from Africa and Mexico.

The Daughter and I worked on Crating up Inventory for relocation to the She Shed once she got Home from Work.  She'd Worked late tho' and didn't get Home for 12 Hours.   With her help we get a lot done quickly as a Team tho'.   The Son briefly stopped by to pick up more things for his Stay at Gypsy James.  His Car is repaired, Carlos gave him a First Cousin Deal on the Work and will take Payments, doing it all for less than half the price any Garages wanted to charge.   He's still House and Animal Sitting for a Week, Gypsy James won't be Home for a few more Days. 

I got a lot of Work done inside the House too, sorting out stuff I'm Keeping and doing some much needed Housekeeping to remove Clutter that had built up some everywhere.   With all the sorting we're doing, and the House being Climate Controlled, and it being 114 and Humid Outside... well, we've dragged things Inside to work on it all.  It's going to be 118 all the rest of the Week, and Monsoon muggy, since the Storms are rolling in daily now too.  So, it's a necessary Evil to have to bring stuff into Main Living Areas right now if I want to work on it full time.  And I need to.

Plus, I WANT to, it's getting it all done and I don't wanna wait 'til Fall to work on it.  The Holidays and Cooler Weather I will want to enjoy too when it gets here.  I don't wanna be all Work and no Play during October thru December, you know?   So much I can do then and so many Special Activities, so, I'd rather get the Work done now as much as I can knock out during Summer.  Everything ceases or slows way down during the brutal Summer Heat, so, you sequester Indoors anyway... might as well Work on stuff then.   I'm binge watching "The Connors" on NetFlix as I Work on it all.

I'd like to Collect the whole Tommy Bahamas Tumbler Vase Set from the early 2000's, there's Six total.   But, they are spendy Online... the one I Scored at a Chazza was only Two Bucks coz it had a small Chip which I just filled in at Home with Colored Pencil, since, I'm Keeping it.   I'd particularly Love to find the one Below called Paradise Beach {2006}.  The Paradise Nostalgia {Two Pixs Above 2003}, I did order on a Buy It Now Feature and came with it's original Box.  But, I'd like to have Bikini Bongo {directly Above 2007} as well.

 

Since they're Hand Painted some are done better than others, I'll keep looking for them Online now.  The Thrill of the Hunt even Online to fill a Collection is a Rush.  I use Vases a lot so don't mind Investing in those I really have an affinity to.  This Collection I just fell in Lust with after Scoring my first one and finding out they had a whole Line put out in the early 2000's.   Since I got my 1st one so inexpensively at a Chazza, I stood Taller to get a Rarer one of the Series from an Online Source.  One Seller had the entire Set, being Sold separately, but had Sold Out by the time I saw the Auction.   A Canadian Seller had one I wanted, but Postage from Canada was too steep... plus Customs.

The above one is Just Duet {2005}, I like it too.   My least fav is Vacation Vixen {2004} with the Polynesian Gal sitting on the Sand under a Palm Tree {5 Pixs Above}... I just didn't like how her Face was Painted.  But, perhaps another Artist might have done a better Hand Painting Job of it so I'll keep looking for all of them.   Eventually I'm sure to Score them all if I'm patient and persistent.  Anything worth having is always worth Waiting for.   And I'm tenaciously relentless once I want to Collect something. *Smiles*  Can you only tell I'm feelin' very Tropical and yearning for Bora-Bora?!   If I can't get to my No. 1 Destination on the ole Bucket List, dammit, I'm bringing Bora-Bora to me!  *LOL*

When I visit Studio 108 Collective's Event this Month I may just have to pick up my Haberdashery Cabinet I bought from Shelly, since, I haven't heard from her yet that she can deliver it for me.   Monsoon Season has begun and I don't wanna risk transporting it in a Storm and having Weather Damage to it.  Plus, The Daughter and I cleared out a Space for it to be set up in The RV Garage Mahal now.  But, I've struck out finding a small Rustic Table to set it up on.  I thought it would be easier to Source one secondhand at a Chazza cheaply.  I have a Rustic chippy White Painted Farmhouse Table Outside that The Man made me Decades ago, so, I might use that, it's got the right Patina and Weathering.

I wanted something I could put some of my Big Baskets under that hold my Antique Fabrics, for easy access to the Fabric Stashes.  Since, the Haberdashery Cabinet will do that too with the Fabrics, and Display the prettier ones.  Organizing those full Baskets in a Visually Pleasing way underneath the Table will clear out even more usable Space.  The Daughter is an Organizational Jedi. 

 I like how her Mind Works when it comes to Organizing, she can Compartmentalize things/objects easily, I can't, I suck at it in fact.  I'm very Chaotic and Scattered, I have more of an Organized Chaos going on.  *LOL*  I know where things are, but it doesn't have Order or a semblance of it to anyone but me.  The Daughter categorizes things in rigid Order that anyone can then make Sense of. 

The Young Prince is like his Mama that way and perhaps it's something to do with the Schizophrenic Brain, I dunno?  They have a very similar Diagnosis to their Mental Health Disorders, and both are so alike in their Strengths too, so, I Wonder if that's just coincidence, or, the Positive aspects of having what they have?   Compartmentalization is a defense mechanism after all to mentally separate conflicting thoughts, emotions, or experiences to avoid discomfort of contradiction. 

 It's an unconscious strategy, so they don't even seem all that aware they do it in just about everything they do also, which, can turn out to be beneficial and handy.  They protect themselves from anxious thoughts and feelings, whereas for me, I confront those types of things unconsciously instead.   So my thoughts and feelings then become like Cats trying to be herded.  Scattering all over the fucking place and it shows in my surroundings. *LOL*   I can disengage from Emotion and not feel anything if too much high pressure or high stress going on at once tho', in order to maintain optimum function.

Anyway, I was glad for The Young Prince's help when he was here and now his Mom has taken over helping me in a similar way.  So, a lot is getting done and I'm feeling more confident we'll finish up this Year, perhaps, and attain my Vision/Goal?   At the very least we're much further along than I'd be by myself and now I have Inventory Storage all in one Space separate from the rest.   The She Shed is making it so I can see how much Stock I have, very helpful in my Resale and Downsizing endeavors.  When it was scattered I couldn't tell what I had and what I didn't to Sell Off.  Sales instantly increased once I could.

There's so much Creativity I've had to stifle whilst working on Downsizing, Moving, Packing & Unpacking, Decorating each new Property.   So, I can't wait to get Forever Boheme' where and how I want it to look and then get back to Creating Art.   What I make Sells easily too, so I can then incorporate it into our Showroom Merch and meld both Passions, Collecting and Creating.   I still wanna learn to Solder so I can Create Art Bottles.   We've Collected Old Bottles a long time but I'd like to make Art Bottles out of those and the other Collections I could put on top of them as Stoppers.  Naturalist Objects, Relics, Old Religious Icons, broken Rosaries and Religious Medals, Crystals, etcetera.

Artisans like Greyfreth and Cross Bottle Guy always made the most sublime Altered Art Bottles and you just don't see those types of Creations For Sale much anymore.   I bought during the time they were available, now, they're conspicuous by their absence in the Retail Market.  So, when you can't Buy what you Like, you have to make what you Like instead.   I don't know I'll reach the level of Skill of the great Artisans of these Products, but, it would be Fun to play with learning how to do it and practice getting good at it.   I have Crystals and Naturalist or Religious Icons galore to utilize... and Bottles, loads and loads of those.  And Pinterest Boards give endless Visual Inspiration to draw from.

I know what I'd do differently and what I could examine and Learn from in the way it all was constructed.  Very few Classes are being Taught anymore about doing these things either, so, that's how you'd have to go about just DIYing your way thru Teaching yourself just via Old Pixs you Saved on your Pinterest Boards over the Years of Admiring the Work and the Creations you couldn't Buy.  The ones I did Buy I can examine even closer to see how they were constructed and then Imagine my own Creations as I saw fit to make them.  Altered Art is my favorite Art Form, it's just Quirky enuf to hold my Interest and Fascination.

Amy Hanna is a Jewelry Artist that I've admired the Work of for a lot of Years, she has an Etsy Shop and her Creations are exceptional and so Unique.   A trio of her Work are the Images directly Below and you'll see what I mean.   I often admire her Work even if I can't afford to Buy any of it, just beholding Beautiful Wearable Art can sometimes be enough and I'm glad she Photographs it so that even if you can't own and wear a piece, you get to enjoy looking at it.   Preserving Art via Photography is Important since not everyone can Own it.   Clearly she's a Skilled and Talented Photographer too.

I  like Artists who layer their Work, layers upon layers of Beauty just Appeals to me personally.   Also, those Artists that hide the Beauty even where it's unexpected and can't easily be seen.  Just for the sake of making Beauty everywhere, whether seen or unseen.   I think the Creator is Masterful at that, Beauty for the sake of Beauty whether Eyes ever are laid upon it or not.   We can saturate our World with Beauty, so, why not do it?   Each in our own small way, add to the Beauty of the World around us.   I think it could be an Important Legacy to leave behind.

  

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The Man and I went out for Senior Discount Day to hit some Chazzas and make Donations there too.  I had filled some Boxes from Home and needed to drop them off.   I found a Vintage Fleetwood Mac/Grateful Dead Concert Poster with great Graphics, that had a lovely thick Plexiglass covering protecting it... I only Paid 99 Cents for it, Booyah!!!  I also got a Steppenwolf Live LP for a Dollar Fifty, both will be easy Resale items in the Showroom.   I got a Hand Crocheted Frida Kahlo Doll for a Buck Fifty too, with the Tags from the Artist still on her, a lot of Hand Work... I may just Keep her and not Sell her.

The Laws Of Attraction never cease to Amaze me tho', before leaving the House I voiced to The Man that we needed a New Hose for the Front Yard coz the Old one was dry rotted with the Heat/Elements.  Well, the first Goodwill we go into, there is a Brand New Hose, exactly what I needed, in original packaging and for only Five Bucks!!!   Booyah!!!  So, that Saved me about Twenty-Five Bucks right there from Buying one and paying full Retail for the exact same thing.  When you Voice a Need Out Loud, well, so often it just Shows Up Miraculously.   The Man is so used to that happening now when I Voice a Need, that he no longer feels it's mere coincidence, but, the Universe responding somehow.  I'm very Specific and so when it Shows Up with that exact Specificity, he is always in Awe.  *LOL*

Look at these Adorable Butterflies made of Strawberries... so Creative.  I've seen Dolphins made from Bananas too {Below}.   Now, I'm not that Crafty Mom/Hostess that will probably ever take the Time to do that... but, I still think it's Madly Creative and Visually Stunning or Whimsical when Crafty Folks do.  *LOL*   My Dad was prone to Creating Food Art and Serving you Food almost too Pretty to Eat.  *Smiles*   The Daughter gets Creative when she makes Deviled Eggs, she just made some this Morning, some with Hungarian Paprika garnish and some with Fresh Dill garnish.

The Son is still having Car trouble, but, it's limping along, the 118 Weather is making it overheat now, even with the newly installed Radiator.  But, the Vehicle is almost 20 Years Old, so... until he can afford something better, it is what it just is.   We met him at his Work in the far Northeast Valley to make sure he could drive it to Gypsy James' House okay without breaking down and getting stranded in the heat.  It made it and Carlos will look at it again and see if there's anything more they can do?   That bum AC on the House is still limping along too, 78 is the Coolest it can get in the hottest part of the day, but, we've had so many Service Calls now with no improved results, so... it is what it just is too if the Manufacturer won't replace it.

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It's a Hot, Hot Summer my Friends... Dawn... The Bohemian