Well, a good part about taking The Daughter to her Housekeeping Job in Chandler Tomorrow is that one of my favorite Events is this Weekend too and it's nearby, so I'll get to go while waiting on her to finish the Job. Looked at the Sneak Peeks on the FB Page of each Event either happening now or coming up this Week. Some didn't have much coverage, I wonder why? Others had good coverage and I cribbed some of the Imagery and then Edited some of it to look like I wanted it to in order to Share it here. Like the above Altered Art Top with John Lennon Graphics and some Exotic Fabrics Sleeves. I'd like to see it on, the price is high and I don't usually wear long sleeves tho'. And I can't find that T-Shirt's Graphics on a T-Shirt anywhere Online, so it may be Custom Printed from some Art of it I did find.
You might notice I'm keeping Archived Posts up longer, I used to purge them and do a dump of all but about 20 most recent ones. But, Readership of Archived Posts is way up and so I thought, might as well leave them up 'til that drops off to where they're irrelevant to have Stored to Read. I know sometimes I delve into Bloggers Archives if I haven't visited for a while, to catch up and find out what I've missed while I've been away. I'm a prolific Writer, but not a prolific Reader, and my Attention Span with Adult ADHD is still Shit, Age hasn't been beneficial to expand it. *Le Sigh and Smiles* I do Read fast, the whole Evelyn Wood Speed Reading peeps would be Proud of me and give me a Diploma or something. *Winks* I just get antsy and quite restless when Reading or trying to watch TV, my Mind strays and spins too fast.
I also picked up some more Roach Spray for the Outside Road Massacre the Guys are doing for that Red Roach exterior infestation. That Old Stump had really attracted them but there's no getting it out of the ground without great expense coz it was a 60+ Year Old Pine Tree we already paid $800 to have cut down when it got the Bark Beetle Blight that has hit Arizona. The only reason it didn't cost more than three times as much to cut it down is the Young Hispanic Male Crew saw Princess T looking Hawt as Hell and I had her out there with me on Purpose batting her False Eyelashes and Smiling demurely at them all. *Winks* So, they Negotiated it WAYYYY down for me and were Showing Off for her, as Young Men are inclined to do, so had that enormous Tree, which was over 60 Feet Tall, felled in like 20 Minutes, I kid you not!!!
It was impressive and our Neighbors were wishing they'd Hired the same Crew for their Job. They had a Crew at the same time cutting down their much smaller Blighted Mulberry Tree within Sight of our Crew taking our Tree 3x bigger down, and it took their Crew Two Days! Twenty Minutes after our Crew arrived and Princess T was watching them Work, our Tree was Down and the Wood piled nicely for Firewood in 20 Minutes Flat... and it cost me 1/3 of what it should have cost! *Winks* Of coarse, our Neighbor's Guys were some Middle Aged White Boy Crew tho'. So I told TJ & Rob, you know better, Christ, you're Half Mexican, and we'd of let you borrow Princess T to flirt with a Younger Hispanic Crew of Guys to do the Job right and not Milk it and pretend it takes Two fucking Days to justify what Premium Price they charged you! *LMAOROTF* Rob Laughed and said, well, I should have had me my OG Gypsy Neighbor Woman doing my Negotiating too! *Bwahahahaha*
While I was doing Environmental Cleanup the Park had some of those Wild Lovebirds, there is a healthy flock of them in our area and they often come into the Mini Farms Community too. Anywhere that has Mature Trees, abundant Food and Nesting sites. It's always a Joy to see them even tho' they're not a Native Species, they've done no harm to Native Species and are thriving in the Desert. I've included some of the Cribbed Imagery of the Event that I may be able to Attend Today if The Daughter shows up in time to do her Job in Chandler. She was doing some Work at Jason's and he's had troubles with his Truck, so I don't know if she got a Ride Home or not last Night? I haven't seen her this Morning and her Phone isn't Working, I dunno way, it's another New one the State Provides the Indigent, but those break down easily coz they're Free Phones and limited Service. Where Jason lives you can't always get a Signal out with a good Provider, let alone with a Free Service Phone.
I was kinda now looking forward to taking her so I could stop by "Highland Yard Vintage" and "Merchant Square Antique Mall" while she was Working. It's only Blocks away from where she's Working and it's a nice way to bide my time while she's doing her Work way over there. With Gas Prices I wanna make the Trip across the whole Valley well worth it to both of us. *Smiles* I had 30 Cents a Gallon Credit at the Gas Station owned by "Fry's Food Stores", you build Credit off your Gas when you Buy your Groceries and have a certain period of Time to use it. "Safeway Food Stores" do the same, so I alternate building Gas Credits between the Two since I Shop at them all the time anyway for most of our Groceries. It still cost me over $70 to fill up since even with the Credit it was $4.49 a Gallon... $4.79 a Gallon without the Discount Credit I'd built up. You can get up to $200 worth at a time Discounted with the built up Credit, before it Expires if unused. I use ever bit of ours.
Arizona Gas is way higher than most States that are bitching about their much lower than ours prices. And my Brother said in L.A. it's up past NINE DOLLARS a Gallon now! So, I'm not complaining so much about being slightly under Five, it clearly could be worse coz we use Cali Refineries for Arizona Gas. Of coarse Cali's Cost of Living is ridiculous and Why they have almost 200,000 Homeless in their State. The Rich and Elite of Cali are doing very well, everyone else is paying more than they can afford for everything. When my Brother and his Lady both worked in Hollywood they made Bank and had Celebrity and other Famous and Wealthy Clients. But, he got Terminally Ill and she eventually had to Retire, so, now they struggle too.
I remember Silly Putty and so this Nostalgic Meme that showed up brought back fond Memories of my Brother and I doing this with our Silly Putty with the Sunday Comics and we thought it was Da Bomb and Magical too! *LOL* I still have my Mattel Thingmaker and Molds of various kinds from the early 1960's, it still Works. When I think about it, quite a dangerous Toy, yet, we never got hurt with our Dangerous Toys, coz Kids of our Era weren't so Stupid about handling Dangerous shit I guess, or, just Lucky... I dunno? I threw Lawn Darts at my Brother, who stood far away and let me see how close I could get to him... so, I take that back, we were sometimes risk taking Stupid and just Lucky. He knew how Crazy I was and yet he still had that much Trust in me not to WANT to Dart him!!! *Bwahahahaha*
Okay, so, True Story, my Brother and I have been Close our whole Lives and Best of Friends. But, me being the Oldest, I was always put In Charge when ever our Parents weren't Home, and I was Bossy, always... my Nickname was Bossy Boots, after a British Cartoon Character. *Winks* He and his Friends always Feared me tho', coz I could go Mental on the Turn of a Dime and be like Handling Dynamite, even tho' I'm Small, 5'2" and probably then weighed about 92 Lbs. soaking wet. *Winks* So, anyway, by the time my Brother hit his Teen Years, he was 6'4", powerfully big built like all the Men in my Mom's side of the Family, and Towered over me, yet he's a docile Soul to his Core. But, one day I was left In Charge, and he had a bunch of his Teen Guy Friends over and they were all acting the Fool and messing up the House doing stupid shit Teen Boys are inclined to do that would have my Mom go Mental when she got Home and everyone knew how Crazy Mom could get!!! *Winks*
So, I started Lording it over all these Teen Guys and his Friends are egging my Brother on to not let ME kick them all out or take no mess from me. After all, they were many, what was little ME gonna DO to make them all leave if they didn't want to? So, my Dear Brother, who wouldn't hurt a Fly to this Day, just wanted to push me back coz I was all up in his Face by then coz his Friends had fucking Triggered a Bipolar Episode so he misjudged The Moment... and misjudged his own Strength too. Coz when he pushed me, I went flying, hit the Brick Wall of our House, slid down it and got Road Rash from the Bricks, which Bled!
He was mortified coz he hadn't meant to hurt me at all, but seeing my own Blood, I Snapped and went Mental immediately, that's when I spied and got his Baseball Bat that was leaning up against the Wall near where I'd been pushed!!! Ruh Roh, you never saw a bunch of Big Teen Guys scatter so fucking fast in all your Life! *Bwahahahaha* Needless to say, I never got Challenged again, ever. But that Bat would have been The Great Equalizer and they knew it! *Winks* And Teenagers are prone to thinking they're finally Bad Ass enuf to make Challenges that are unwise. My own Kiddos tried it with me as Teens, The Son only Once, The Daughter Twice coz she's just that Mental. *LOL* Let us just say they remembered how Badly it went for them. *Winks* The G-Kid Force had heard the Legendary Stories from their Mom and Uncle before they became Teens, so never Challenged me. *Smiles*
Anyway, I got loads of Pixs of the Event taken with my Old School Camera and my Cellphone Camera too. I also took Pixs of the Big 250th Anniversary of America Sale at the Antique Mall. Both the Mall and the Event had the 250th American Birthday Theme so everything was quite Patriotic and loads of good Quality Americana Antiques. That Antique Mall and the Event in the Warehouse behind it which is held Monthly always has actual Antiques, Vintage Items and Quality Collectibles. Mingled with newer Merch too of coarse, but always Styled and Showcased well. I ended up with Three items from the Event. A 1950's Early Mannequin that they Sold with a Patriotic Hoodie for only $65 coz she's seen better days and is pretty Busted looking. I don't mind that tho' and she's almost full sized, Head to about Thighs, no Arms, typical early 1950's Bob Molded Hairstyle tho', she's a Blonde. I can do some minor repairs on her, that was a Killer Price/Bargain for her. The Daughter wants the Hoodie, which is a nice one. *LOL*
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They also had some 1952 Canvas Local Bank Bags and 1952 Cashier's Checks with each Bag from the Bank I was a Corporate Executive of in the 1970's thru 1980's!!! I didn't Photograph the one I got, it had a better Patina on the Canvas Bag than the one I Photographed with my Phone {Below}, but it did have the better Cashier's Check than mine, but I opted for the Bag with a better Sepia Tea Stained Patina on the Canvas. Coz I intend to make a Tote Bag out of mine and use an Old Cowboy Leather Belt for the Strap Handle. Being an AVP I used to Sign many a Cashier's Check for that Bank, and the Savings and Loans that I also Worked for in my 1st Corporate Life. Back in the 1970's I was responsible for about a 14 Million Dollar Plus Portfolio of Loans at any given time, of Real Property, mostly Residential, which, back then was a lot of Money to protect the Bank's Interest of... on defaulted Loans.
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In the 1970's the average Cost of a Home in Metro Phoenix was around $23,000 or less. We did have Loans in 11 other States I was responsible for tho' too, including California, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington State, Utah, New Mexico... I can't recall all the States now. But every State's Laws are completely different, so it was a lot to have to know when you were handling Collections, Foreclosures, handling the Bankruptcies, or Evictions. Some States still had the Old Mortgage Notes which took Forever to finalize a Foreclosure of, others had the Trust Deeds which could be Foreclosed in about 91 Days on average unless I worked some Forbearance out with the Borrowers. I have lotsa Memories of both Corporate Lives so something like this is Nostalgic for me and part of my Career History that fed and Supported my Family.
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Of coarse my initial Purchase and Fav Score was that Top I had seen in the Sneak Peek. Turns out it was made by a Designer Friend of mine there and she gave me a Deep Discount on it so it was affordable! Yay, Color me Happy!!! And it also wasn't Long Sleeve and looked much better in Person than it even does in Photos and is actually Sleeveless like a long loose fitting Vest! I just Adore it. She'd also asked my Opinion on some New Styles she had come up with that are similar to a Favorite Designer we both Adore and gave her some Inspiration of, with her own Artistic/Designer Twist on it of coarse. She Loved the Top I was wearing and Photographed it for more Inspiration, she would have liked to have Bought it off me if it had been For Sale. *Ha ha ha*
She's always trying to Buy the Clothes off my Back and my Bags I bring with me, it's now a running Joke, tho' she is Serious about it. *LOL* She asks my Opinion about Designs she's considering and we brainstorm how to make them better. She's so Talented she really doesn't Need my Help IMO, but she Values my Opinion and Advice. And I've bought quite a lot of her Statement Pieces and always get compliments when wearing it. I plan to wear that John Lennon Top to "Sweet Salvage's" Event later this Week to the Grand Opening of this Month's Themed Show. I keep forgetting to get her Business Card so I can Link up with any Online site she might have, gotta remember to do that next time I see her.
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I only got 3 items at the Antique Mall too... Two Old Canning Jars with Zinc/Milk Glass Lids filled with Antique Marbles... and a 1950's Seafood Restaurant Graphics Tablecloth, the Graphics of which are terrific... which I Scored so Cheap my Heart was skipping a Beat, only Six Bucks!!! My Canning Jars are laying on it so you can't really see the Graphics, only one of the Claws of a Crab and the Woodgrain Graphics in the Middle, the whole Border Graphics are Seafood and various Foods, mostly Veggies. *Smiles* It's a really large one and I haven't even opened it out fully yet to see all the Graphics, for that low Price I didn't even Need to or Care. It's getting so hard to ever Score Vintage Tablecloths at all anymore, so I was lamenting that recently and The Laws of Attraction then Activated and I've Scored Two in One Week now!!! Booyah!!! The other one I got at SAVERS that the Grandchild Works at for only $4 and was 1960's Retro Hippie Mod Flowers Graphics in Bold Bright Colors like Yellow, Orange, Green.
Anyway, I shall Save a lot of the numerous Images taken for other Posts, giving me loads of Fresh Blog Fodder Imagery at this Event. It was a really good one, better than expected and lots of New Designers and Vendors at it. A lot of the Old Vendors and Designers from there both at the Event and the Antique Mall know me and have for Years. But, it's nice to be introduced to the Newbies and get to know them too. They do an exceptional Job and it just seems to keep getting better lately, which is a Relief, coz a couple of Shows it was slipping and I was concerned. I didn't eat there this day at "The American Way Smokehouse Restaurant", but, I did get a couple of their Peach and Mixed Berry Scones. I ate instead at "The Tipsy Egg" a Fav Brunch/Breakfast spot in Old Historic Chandler. It's in a Historic Building that used to be an Old Levi Strauss Supplier and you can still see that faded Signage Painted on the Side of the Historic Brick Building.
The Brunch I had was excellent but I had to send the Caramel Iced Coffee back, it was watery, lukewarm and not at all tasty, coz it was so diluted it was like Coffee flavored Water, yuk! She swapped it out at my request for a Diet Soda instead. The Bennie Meal I had is exceptional tho', it's a Jalapeno Cornbread with Pork Chorizo, Hollandaise Sauce, Smashed Avocado, Paprika and Fresh Chives. I chose a side of Fruit with it and then got an extra $4 Side of their Breakfast Potatoes, which are really good too. I could only eat the One Bennie and Saved the other one and 2/3 of the Potatoes for later, as a late Lunch. It was a lot of Food for me. I ate it on their Outside Patio Alfresco coz it was such a balmy Nice Cooler Day with quite a lovely Breeze, got real Windy later on tho'. The Daughter ended up eating my Leftovers, so... forget about having it for a Late Lunch, she was Hungry when she got off Working and scarfed it all down on the Drive Home. *LOL*
We didn't end up stopping by Gypsy James' in South Phoenix to get the Bunny, coz he wasn't answering his Phone all day so we weren't sure he hadn't forgotten. The Son just then Texted him that I'd pick it up another time when we'd be sure he'd be Home... not going out of my way to drive there and he's not even there. I hadn't told The Young Prince his Bunny was coming, Thankfully, so, his Hopes won't be dashed. I know how James is so I'll wait 'til I for sure have a Bunny in my possession. *Winks* Gypsy James is like another Son to me but he can be flaky about keeping his Word or Appointments he sets up to meet for stuff, he's always been like that tho'. He always has the Best of Intentions and will Help anyone out... but he's one to Overpromise and Under-Deliver, never Learning it's better to Under-Promise and Over-Deliver instead.
But, this Draft Dodging Career Criminal, well, is it Surprising how he views REAL Patriotic Americans? And rewards only other Criminals, protects other Pedophiles, and Pardons Insurrectionists who'd destroy our Democracy and what Generations have valiantly and Sacrificially Fought and Died for? It's a National Disgrace and he's disgracing America before the entire World. He's an abomination and those who still Support him are complicit in everything failing now due to who they installed. Who is internally looting, destroying the Moral fabric of, and bringing down a Nation. One that 250 Years of National Pride and a Vision to make us the Greatest Nation on Earth in the Eyes of the whole World, is ending IMO. Our Allies can't Trust us and he's Selling us Out to our Enemies for his own Gain. And the day he gets what's coming to him, I Hope is soon. Coz it can't come soon enuf IMO!!!
Okay, but tho' I was quite Tempted to End this Post on that Sour and Bitter Note, I won't. *Whew* I do have some Good News. That which had Tanked me Emotionally, did get Resolved Satisfactorily, and that's all I will say about that. It had an Outcome I was able to accept and that was really important in that instance. It's not something I will Blog about tho' and that's Okay. Everyone who Needed to Know, Knew. And often with some Issues of Life, you Need to Keep folks on a Need To Know Basis, and those that Don't Need To Know, will not Know. I was Emotional again in an unexpected way that was one of those things that makes you have quite a Range of Emotion tho'. Yesterday The Niece sent me Imagery of her Mom's Memorial Service, laying in Rest. It was Beautiful, she looked Beautiful, and it will be the last time we all see her, so, it was bittersweet. Her Youngest Daughter made it happen and was the only immediate Family I saw in attendance. I felt some kind of way about that.
I Love all her Kiddos since I've known them practically all of their lives and am Close to some of them, less close to others who've chosen a Path in Adulthood that makes Relationship sustained an impossibility. I'd Hoped they could all attend and don't know why all but the Youngest were conspicuous by their very absence? I couldn't make it to my own Mom's Funeral Service, since The Man wasn't Well enuf to Travel and I couldn't leave him Home Alone or find Coverage for Younger Special Needs G-Kid Force either, at the time. So, I won't Judge either. There may have been legit reasons why The Son and The Daughter I thought could be and should be there, and the Grandson she Raised for Eight Years wasn't there, who is my Godson, I just don't know. I do know that Daughter has come to Arizona for several Friend's Funerals, so missing her own Mom's in another State was Odd, to say the least. Most Employers will give Bereavement Leave for the Death of a Parent.
Perhaps the Youngest Daughter didn't take Photos of everyone there, but I doubt it. And I do know she'd told me she was paying for it all too, which I didn't doubt that and Friends who could contribute did. I'm Proud of her, I know she Honored her Mom in the best way possible with the Choices made for the Funeral. It is absolutely Stunning, my Friend looked Beautiful and my Friend deserved that Sending Off in such Style and with such Sacrificial Unconditional Love. She was one who Loved Sacrificially all the Years I knew her and Gave of herself without thought about herself. She wasn't Perfect or Flawless, none of us are, but her Heart was always in the Right Place and she was a Fierce Advocate for the Underdogs of Society and Loved her Family. We did Ministry Work together for Decades in some of the roughest parts of the City where Angels might Fear to Tread. And the Devil's Work was everywhere around ya in plain sight. As Crazy as she was, and she WAS Cray-Cray, if there was some place she felt she HAD to be and Felt it too Dangerous to try to be The Lone Ranger, I was her Tonto. So, we got some Stories my Friends!!! *Winks and Laughs*
My Dearest Friend, my Wild Sister in Crime, I will Miss you so much, I Miss you already. I Wish I could have been there in Texas to offer some measure of Comfort to you and your Family during your Year Long Battle fought. I'm glad we had the Phone and Social Media to keep in Touch when you had to move away and were too Unwell to Travel too later on. You understood our Situation coz you Helped me with it for Years when you did live in Arizona. You were there during my Mom and my Dad's Battles, treating them like your own Mom and Dad. We've been thru it all with our Kiddos and our Grandkiddos, you are an exemplary Gramma and The G-Kid Force Loved you like another Grandma, their Beloved Aunt Kathie.
And Alex, you forgot your fucking Bag before you took this Pix, Child... and that made me Smile too... and we know Why!!! *LOL*
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A Range of Emotions is something that's hard for Yours Truly to actually "Feel"... Especially with Tears and Outward Expression of vulnerability... Dawn... The Bohemian
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