I didn't mean for this to be a Two-Fer but I messed up and Published it on the wrong day. Some of my International Blog Friends Posts about Countries we used to live in all around Europe are making me miss spending some Time there, perhaps on a much protracted European Vacation. It won't happen, The Man isn't well enuf to Travel and I'd not Vacay Abroad alone or without him. But, it's so reminiscent and takes me Back in Time, becoz in Europe, things stay the same a lot, History is preserved and appreciated, even revered. Even when I Google Earth someplace Abroad I once lived, way back in the early 1970's or before, it pretty much looks the same. Here in Metro Phoenix, if you don't travel the same Route for a couple Weeks, it's usually all Changed when you pass thru again. I like some permanence and a sense of Yesteryear to remain, for Old Times Sake at the very least, for Future Generations to get to see, and some revisiting of Nostalgic Places over Time.
VINTAGE VIXEN is one of my Fav British Bloggers and Blogs {See Above and Below}, I swoon over her Flashback Fashions since her Wardrobe and Accessorizing is beyond compare. It's the Industry she's in as a Resaler "Kinky Melon's Retro Boutique" offers it at Shows/Events and her Online Store. I wanna BE her when I Grow Up. *Winks* Her Historic Home is Retro Bohemian Lovely and Colorful, she and Boyfriend Jon go on some Killer Vacations {Holidays to the British vernacular}, all over the World... and she takes you along. Her Cuisine makes me wanna try Vegan Fare more than I already do, especially if I could keep as Svelte as Vix has over the Years. She couples it with commitment to Wii-Fit, so it's not all Diet, but a Lifestyle commitment that I honestly can't say I have developed to the degree that I should if I want my Girlish Figure ever back. *Bwahahahahaha*
Anyway, pop on over to her Blog if you want some real Eye Candy in every single Post. I want to Raid her Closet every time I Visit, or go over for Lunch!!! *LOL* It's Uplifting, and her Posts are always Uplifting, and Lord knows I Need that sometimes these days. I do miss the Socializing of Europe and sense of Community. The Daughter says she misses the Socializing and sense of Community of Mexico too, for exactly the same Reasons... America doesn't put as much emphasis on doing it like the rest of the World does. There is a Joy of Life missing in the fast paced anonymity of most of American Living IMO, especially in Urban Areas where there's many People, and they're not interacting much, if at all, with one another. You could be Lonely in a Crowd in most American Cities and so many folks have said they feel almost Invisible. And even Small Town or Rural America is very 'exclusive' rather than 'inclusive' of any Newcomers and not always Welcoming nor Inviting.
I've told The Man before, if we were to become Ex-Pats and move practically anywhere else in the World, Guarantee, we'd know more People on an intimate level in mere Weeks, than Years of living anywhere here in America. We've both Traveled extensively so he too has a Point of Reference, and we Love America and it's our 'Home', so we were always glad to return, but, we both Agree, that Overseas, we actually did more, Socialized much easier and effortlessly, and there was a Joy of Life quite absent from most American Life. I surmise it's why a lot of America is overweight, feel disconnected and depressed... and I could be Right? Plus, Europeans always go on "Holiday". My European Cousins and Friends go on at least One Vacay or more Annually and always have. And it's not coz they have more disposable Income than Americans either. Most Americans earn more actually. My European Cousins and Friends have no Bucket List to cross off, they've Done it all already.
I've done a lot and seen a lot of the World and the United States too, so I can't complain, I've been well Traveled. I just would like to Travel more again and cross some destinations off the Old' Bucket List. Which is looking more and more unlikely. As unlikely now as Buying another Historic Property... which was always the Retirement Plan, to not only Retire in a Historic Property and Restore it, but to have it Paid Off too. Ah, well, did once... didn't complete the Restoration, but did have Paid Off Properties that should have been our Retirement Homes... yes, Plural... but, Life happens, Shit happens... whaddya gonna do but Roll with it and adapt, improvise and keep it Moving. I was revisiting some Old Photo Archives from when my Camera put the Dates on Pixs. I didn't like that, but it is handy to recall when it was taken exactly, to the Day. And look back at what Life and Home looked like back then.
Above is Peaches, one of our Feral Fur Babies who we Domesticated and Socialized just enuf that sometimes she'd come inside and visit me in The Art Studio Cottage at our Historic Home and hang out while I made my Fabric Art and Hippie Carpetbags. She always had Mookie Eyes and wouldn't allow you to tidy her up tho', she lived to be quite Old and sadly only succumbed to a Dog Attack when a pack of aggressive Stray Dogs jumped our High Wall at the Historic Property and savagely Murdered Three of our Working Cats, just for Fun/Sport to Kill for no reason. The Dog Catcher eventually caught them all before they ended up Mauling or Killing a Child, coz once Canines have Killed and gotten a Taste for Blood Sport, it's difficult to have them around any other Animals or Humans safely. I'm Guessing those Dogs had to be Put Down at the Pound coz complaints had come in about their Murderous rampages around the whole Neighborhood, our Animals weren't the only Victims of the needless Massacre. So some Memories are traumatic.
Princess T used to like to bury herself in my piles of Vintage and Antique Pillows and Fabrics there in the Art Studio Cottage at the Historic Property. In fact, The G-Kid Force and those Feral & Stray Cats that Adopted us and we Spayed and Neutered, then let live out their Lives on that Historic Homestead to be our Working Cats, used to coast into the Art Studio Cottage from time to time when I was Creating and left a Door Open for an Invitation. You couldn't close a Door behind a Feral or Stray or they'd Lose their everlovin' Minds and go Postal, tearing up the place, but they'd come inside and hang out with ya so long as you left that Escape Route open and visible to them. At one time I think we had up to 7-9 of them, all 'Fixed' so they then wouldn't keep Breeding. Some stayed for Years or Forever, some, just for a Time and then got the Wanderlust again and we never saw again.
This one Princess T has on her Lap was called Gypsy. She, like the Nomad she was meant to be and thus got her Name, didn't stay a very long time before she Moved On and hit the Road. But she was a very well Socialized Cat and gentle with Children, so I think she may have once belonged to someone? In Da Old Barrio you often had Stray Cats and Stray Kids at your House more than they were at their Houses, joining the Family as if they Lived with you! *LOL* I remember The Caseworkers for The G-Kid Force's Custodial Placement with us, often thought most of the Kids at our Home were Relatives! Coz they were there so often, Eating with us or Playing whenever they'd do their required Visits, often spending the Night at Sleepovers with The Force. I always had a gaggle of Cats and Kids at Original Bohemian Valhalla. I've actually never NOT had a house full of People!!! *Smiles*
And, I did often have to relinquish my Art Studio Cottage to either an Adult Child or some of their Adult Friends to Live in whenever they couldn't find affordable Rent, even way back then. And like now and here, they split expenses and did a lot of Work on the Property which came in Handy whenever The Man was deployed to War Zones back then... and especially once he became 100% Disabled and I needed some Muscle and Younger Adult Generation Minions on the Property to Help me Maintain it all and Help with the Grandkid's Care. Now it's worse of coarse, nobody can afford the Rents of Arizona now... too many transplants from Cali and Back East have driven our Cost of Living up as high as the States they made an Exodus from now. So, they've ruined it for the Locals and those who don't and won't Migrate becoz of lack of Options or Affluence to.
This was Peaches with a much Younger Female named Missy Foo-Foo, no relation to each other, just both Calicos, Strays that came as Kittens, Born Wild, and never left. We were such Suckers I swear People dropped off unwanted Pets on our Property on Purpose?! Both ended up Murdered by those Pack of Dogs. But we had them a lot of Years and if they'd been Younger, perhaps they could have been fast enuf to seek Shelter and Survive an attack, but, mebbe not. We had very high Rock and Adobe Walls around that whole Property, so never expected Dogs to jump that high over them and start Killing anything out there that was Alive! It was quite traumatic and terrifying coz it was The Grandkids, who were quite Young at the time, who went out to Play and found the Carnage, which Traumatized the Hell out of them! It traumatized me and broke my Heart!!!
Thankfully the Dogs didn't go for the Kids, or I'd of had my own Massacre, of neutralizing the Dogs myself, the Threat those vicious Dogs had become was too dangerous not to take Seriously if the City didn't or wouldn't. The Man did go get his Gun, and the Dogs jumped the Walls and took off. Took the Dog Catcher Days to locate them based on the Trails of Carnage and descriptions given by those Victimized. Above was Bear, and Yes, his Ears were deformed like that and he had a Docked Tail, and may have been Born Tail-less I highly suspect. Nobody messed with Bear tho', he could take on a Dog, but was gentle as a Lamb with Humans and other Cats, and especially Children. So a Family we knew with Four Kids eventually Adopted him, and therefore we didn't have to have him Adopt us for very long. *Smiles* I've since run into a couple of those Kids now they're Middle Aged Adults, all these Years later. Turns out their Gramma became a Vendor at our Antique Mall, Years after they Moved out of the Old Barrio, it's a Small World!!!
This was Halloween Night back in 2009 and I think I took around a Dozen of the Neighborhood Kids Trick-Or-Treating with us that Year while The Man handed out Candy at Home. To the very few who'd be Brave enuf to come to our "Legit Haunted Historic House" after Dark. It was indeed Haunted for Reals, and had a Rep as such, so most Locals, when the Sun went down, wouldn't even walk on the same side of the Street as that Property, it was hilarious. Most of the Neighborhood Kids couldn't afford Costumes so were very Creative in whatever they could Dream Up, plus, many were from Immigrant Families not Familiar with Celebrating Halloween at all. So, you'd often just get Kids showing up with a Pillowcase and no Costume, Bless their Hearts, coz the Kids learn fast, Free Candy on this Date, we're Down for that American Holiday!!! And they'd come while it was still Light, coz they weren't Afraid of our Home before Dark... thus, why it's Light in the Pix still, on Halloween Night, Photographing The Children before they scattered at Dusk. *LOL*
Me and my Dear Mom. Mom and Dad LOVED Kids too, and Kids Loved them back, so they always had a passel of 'em at their Homes too from their respective Neighborhoods. Mom lived in Section 8 Housing in her Old Age so she often was Feeding half the stray Kids in her Neighborhood too, and Tutoring them so they'd do better in School. Most of the Parents were either Illiterate or didn't Speak or Understand English, regardless of which Countries they hailed from and Immigrated to the U.S. from. And my Mom remembered being an Immigrant who didn't have a good grasp yet on her English and found it almost impossible to help us with our American Homework in School. And our Dad only had a Grade School Education from the Native American Indian Boarding Schools, so we often were in the same predicament as those Kids were.
It's a wonder really I was such a good Student and got excellent Grades regardless. But my Younger Brother really struggled Academically, yet became an accomplished Pro Hollywood Photographer, so it turned out Well for him anyway. And I became a Corporate Executive Banker and an AVP by the time I was 23 in my 1st Corporate Life, Retired and then did well at the DA's Office in my 2nd Corporate Life, so I did Okay for myself being Self-Taught too. Often your Gifts will make Room for you, despite obstacles and challenges. My Dad became a Master Chef and my Mom was one of the most Intelligent and Educated Women I know, she was fluent in many Languages and could do Math quicker than any Calculator. But, English was not her 1st Language and most Americans never could understand her thick Welsh Accent when she spoke English, so I'd have to Translate for her all my Life. *LOL* Above, The Young Prince with his Dad.
The Son with his Nanna, my Mom. He was so Bipolar, Autistic and ADHD as a Child that Nanna had to watch him for me while I Worked if The Man couldn't get an Opposite Shift to me. Coz The Son had been kicked out of every Daycare in the whole West Valley by the time he was Three Years Old!!! Funny now, not so funny then, Mom really Took one for The Team to keep Pace with him and I Paid her Handsomely to do it, but then she'd turn around and spend all the Money back on the Kiddos, coz she Spoiled her Grandkids rotten, as us Grandparents like to do. *Winks*
She had a Leash for him that had a Harness on it, and people would sometimes feel some kind of way in Public about it, but they had no Idea how High Maintenance my Child was and that she Needed that Leash and Harness or we'd be putting an Amber Alert out on his Ass all the time!!! *LOL* School Field Trips lost him so many times that I had to always be a Volunteer and go with him and the other High Maintenance Special Needs or Behaviorally Challenged Kiddos, so they could even go on Field Trips. *LOL* Here's Mom on a Field Trip once, Butterflies just LOVED her and would land on her all of the time. Which is why when I see one now I always think of her. They'd stay on her for the longest time.
You KNOW who this Sassy Lil Fashionista Diva is... Princess T as a Toddler. Hard to Believe she'll be turning 21 this Year already!!! So every Year at Halloween we'd try to get her to choose a different kind of Costume, but Nope, she ALWAYS wanted to be an Exotic Dancer... and The Man be like, "Oh Lord, are we gonna hafta have a hard time keeping that Child off a Stripper Pole?!" *Bwahahahahaha* As it turns out, she still likes Dancing but is one of the most Modest Young Women when it comes to her Virtue and having Old Fashioned Values, she was the kinda Kiddo to make up Rules for herself coz she said we didn't have Enough of them! *LOL* And, to be Fair, she made a damn Cute lil Exotic Dancer and had a lot of Harmless Fun with it. Keeping these Costumes long after Halloween and wearing them in the House while she'd Dance to Middle Eastern Music. She had all the Moves 'Down', and this was before Tik Tok or the Internet Tutorials. *Smiles*
But, it was also during the time of JonBenet Ramsey, so I was very Protective of her coz you never knew what Sickos are out in The Wilds of General Public eyeballing innocent Children wrongly, even if they're having Fun 'playing' dress up, so, it's not 'New' to have to be very Guarded to Protect your Children and Grandchildren from Pedos and other Pervs. She had such Fun with this Blue ensemble and the Pink one, that we literally kept them for YEARS until she almost couldn't fit in them anymore properly! She's so Skinny tho', that they fit her way longer than they should have, even when she got much Taller but no bigger around. *Ha ha ha* And I'd bought them for her when she picked them out secondhand for a few Bucks at some Chazza, so we got a lot of Bang for our Buck and Mileage out of those Two Beloved Costume Outfits she Adored wearing and felt so Pretty in.
And I'm always fond of all the Halloween Pixs of the Kiddos, coz they had such Fun with Costumes, and still do actually. It's harmless Fun and some folks get way too worked up and wound up about it IMO. Of coarse, by the time she was a Tween, it was so damned hard to find any Costume she wanted to wear that didn't look Too Sexy!!! *LOL* We'd have her covered up more than an Amish Schoolgirl and she still managed to look too Gorgeous and so The Man and her Brother... sometimes even her Uncle... insisted on accompanying her during those Years, to go Trick-Or-Treating. *LOL*
Okay, so the Boy she liked that Year as a Young Tween, wanted to be a Devil and she wanted to go Trick-Or-Treating with him as a She-Devil and we found a Costume that was down to her Wrists and Ankles and she still looked too Sexy in the damned thing!!! And she just had on some Cherry Lip Gloss and some Mascara and Nude Eyeshadow... but... still... her Grandpa, Uncle and Brother are like, we're ALL going as Chaperones THIS Year. *Bwahahahahaha* And the Boy she liked was a whole Head and Shoulders shorter than her, coz she'd sprung up rather Tall that Year, so he looked much Younger and was a very Nice Kid. So their little Crush was more Platonic and infantile than anything, but you can never be too Careful, according to our Menfolk, so... she had a Gang of Chaperones that Halloween in tow. *Bwahahahahaha*
But, she was a Well-Behaved She-Devil so they needn't have Worried. Tho' The Young Prince was adamant that his Sister was definitely in her Pre-Demonic Phase back then of Hormonal shifts of Blossoming into a Young Woman from a Child. Her Friend Crazy Pamela had even thrown a Bible at her during a Sleepover at Pamela's, and The Grandson just deadpanned, "Well, it was the Right Book..." *Bwahahahaha* She definitely wasn't one to be Trifled with during Puberty, that's for sure, I Pitied the Fool who might. *Smiles* Looks can be deceiving, she looked like Butter wouldn't melt in her Mouth but could become quite Unhinged and vicious on the Turn of a Dime during Puberty! It was like living with Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde as she moved thru Puberty!!! And all the Parents or Grandparents of Tween and Teen Girls said, "Amen!". *Winks*
But, she's been the easiest of all the Kiddos of both Generations that we've Raised and been The Golden Child, so, no Complaints, every Family should have at least One, it's only Fair! *Smiles* And our Family LIVES for Halloween, it's our Favorite Holiday and we Channel our inner Addams Family all Year long so that's not Surprising to anyone. And Autumn is our Favorite Season of all time too. We always enjoy our Halloween Decorating and the handing out of Candy, even tho' now all our Grandkids are Grown, so tho' they get in Costume still, it's more for House Parties or just to hand out Candy here to the Trick-Or-Treaters. This Community isn't as All In as the Villa McManse Property was about Halloween. For how many Fundies lived in that Community, I was actually Surprised how many still Celebrated Halloween and didn't forbid their Kids to partake for "Religious Reasons". Go figure.
Now I know some Fundies who go absolutely Mental about Halloween as if the rest of us are conjuring the Devil himself during it. *LOL* I even have a scant few Fundie Friends who are rather Over-The-Top about it even tho' they're Friends with ME... and so... that's in a Word... rather "Interesting", isn't it. *Ha ha ha ha ha* They know how I am, yet THAT doesn't bother them but Kids dressing up in Silly Costumes does, I don't Get It, but, I'm not a Fundamentalist and I don't belong to any Extreme Religions who interpret things quite differently than most folks who have Faith, but not as Legalistic and Literal in very unusual ways of interpreting Scriptures or whatever they were brought up Believing. To each their own, so long as they Respectfully also leave the rest of us in Peace to Practice our Beliefs without trying to force theirs involuntarily upon any of us. But, they tend to wanna, that's the problem really. Extreme Religion Brands tend to want a Theocracy imposed.
Anyway, I've had such Fun delving into some early 2000's Archives of my Photos and dredging them up for Blog Fodder. Some for the 1st time, others are Favs I've Shared before. Prior to 2009 tho' I didn't Archive Pixs Online or even own a Digital Camera so Imagery prior to then is in Vintage Suitcases of Hard Copies of Photos back when you had to Develop them and Hope for the best Outcome. *LOL* Or, in the case of my Brother, the Professional Photographer, he always had a Darkroom in his Home coz it's what he did for a Living and often Worked from Home... even tho' he did once Work in a Photo Developing Shop at the Mall when he was still a Teenager, coz they'd let him Develop his own Pixs for Free as an Employee Perk. He was well known for his Photography by then anyway and was doing some Work for The Playboy Club back when they had one in Phoenix and Photographing the Bunnies at Car Shows for their Promo. He once Dated a Playmate of the Year.
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Like Mother, like Daughter, Above is Princess T playing Dress Up at a later Halloween, but still before she was School Aged. And Below is The Daughter at about Age 12 when Glamour Shots were a Thing and her Orthopedic Surgeon Paid for her to get some done after she needed to have Braces for a Condition that required about Five Grand worth of correction of her Jaw. Which, even tho' it was a Medical Condition, I couldn't get our Insurance to Pay for, but at the time I was in my Corporate Lives, so just Paid it since the Corrective Surgery insured she wouldn't have her Jawbones growing incorrectly. It was a LOT of Years of painful Dental and Equipment, but by Age 13 she finally was Done with it all and had gorgeous Teeth... until Bad Decisions made on her part ruined all that expense and hard Work put in to give her a Toothpaste Commercial Worthy Smile... dammit. She laments that, hindsight being 20-20.
Like her Daughter, she was a Fashionista and Diva from a very early Age. She'd often wear her Nanna's Lace Curtains like they were Evening Wear and ponce around Mom's house belting out her Favorite Songs by Tina Turner {What's Love Got to Do With It} being her all time Favorite. She'd get a Bathroom Plunger and pretend it was a Microphone! And Sing her little Heart out even tho' she could NOT Sing, Bless her Heart, but she thought she could, totally Tone Deaf. *LOL* Below is a State Fair Photo of her and her Lifelong Friend Amber, who still comes over all the time, this was when they were Tweens tho', by the time they were Teens they'd both had Kids, Too Young to have Kids. And we became Custodial Grandparents then, Too Old to have Kids. *LOL and Le Sigh*
The Son was less likely to step in front of the Lens as a Tween, Teen, or even as an Adult, so I had a lot less Pixs of him Maturing than the Girls. Most of the time I confiscated any School ID's or Old Driver's Licenses he had, so I'd even have a Pix of him that Year. *LOL* He and The Young Prince are slightly more Obliging now, but sometimes I still just need to confiscate ID's of theirs to have a recent Pix. *Smiles* I do miss the Days when they were both Young and would let me take more candid Pixs of them. Below are some of their Old State ID Pixs... in The Young Prince's he was quite Psychotic and had the Shark Eyes going on, but it was still a very nice Candid Photo of him so I still like it. Most folks don't recognize Psychosis in the Eyes anyway, I just do, and know those are the tenuous times and best not to provoke it to escalate a Psychotic Episode.
Anyway, Gone are the Days, yet the Memories remain and so many of them are Fond and worth capturing thru the Eyes of our Lens, or the Lens of others. Since I'm the Keeper of the Past I have a wealth of the Images that have been handed down. And I get a News Feed on my Phone about another Staged Assassination Attempt, every time his Ratings are Bad or the Epstein Files are Front Page News now are we gonna have more of these less than Oscar Worthy Performances as a Distraction, coz the other Distraction from the previous Distraction didn't Work? Isn't it enuf we have started a fucking Distraction War with Iran? Pleeeeease, do they really think the American Public are that gullible?! And the News are treating it as if it passes the Smell Test, which, it doesn't. Video up close Coverage of it had holes in it you could drive a fucking Truck thru. Donnie Two Dolls smirking was a dead giveaway when The Secret Service shows up with the "Note"...
Then they whisk the VP out first... at least no conveniently Staged Photo Ops, resplendent with Fist Pumps and a Grown Back Ear weren't as Over The Top as the 1st Staged Assassination, followed by the 2nd Staged one that really was even more of a stretch to be considered even remotely Believable at all. This time an Agent got shot but his Vest 'Saved' him... but, I dunno... so many Questions... so few Believable Answers to any of them as to all the inconsistencies I see, and I'm not even a Trained Investigator... and I can see just too many. If our National Security and the Secret Service are this actually incompetent and ineffective, well, when a Real and Serious Threat is posed, we're more than vulnerable. But, I'll Believe it isn't Staged when it's actually Successful.
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Yawning at the predictable Theatrical coverage actually... Dawn... The Bohemian
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