Peter Max & Bob Mackie... Losing Creative Genius Icons

 Well, on September 14th we Lost a couple of Creative Geniuses of our Time, both Peter Max {Age 88} and Bob Mackie {Age 87}.  I can't forget Peter's Iconic Posters from my Youth nor Bob's Creations for Cher that blew me away how Stylishly different he was at bold Sexy Fashion Design.  Losing Creative Icons who, Yes, have had long runs and become Legends in their own Time, but, gave us so much Creative Iconic Talent and Genius Creations that are so Memorable, so Unforgettable... so, it's a profound Loss all the same.  Well at least we still have Cher {80}.  And now back to our regular scheduled Postings about Local Events with this Season's Holiday Theme and Halloween Visuals. 

 

Princess T is taking some Vacation Days around her Birthday, which will be on the 22nd of September in Real Time.  So, Tomorrow, the 18th, she doesn't have to Work.  She couldn't get her actual Birthday Off, so decided to take Friday and Saturday before it Off, since, she never works on Sunday and Mondays.  That way she has Four Days Off and only has to take and use up Two Vacation Days.  It's her 21st Birthday so it's a Milestone one and a Big Deal, she'll be a full fledged Adult with all Adult Rights now.  I'm sure she and Rusty have things planned, his Birthday isn't far off either and neither is the 3 Year Anniversary of them being a Couple, so they usually combine it all.   They Buy extravagant Gifts for each other, he's a very Generous Soul and so is she.   

Since she has the Day Off I could Sleep In, but I don't know if The Son needs a Ride to Work and I may wanna go back to "Sweet Salvage" Halloween Event since I wouldn't have to Rush Home to pick anyone up for Work now.  That means I could have a more indulgent "Me Day" and so I might just take it.  The Man has been doing alright being here with just whatever Kiddos are here to keep an Eye on him.  He really isn't as mobile yet to drag around to Events and such and I don't know that he even wants to try or be interested in it anyway.  He knows it spoils it for me if I have to be in Full On Caregiver Mode to go do something I enjoy if he's in tow and I have to consider all of his limitations or that he's no longer enjoying himself at all and wants/needs to be taken Home.  It's just better he stay Home if he's not really up to any of it.  Yes, I'd like to be able to take him places, but sometimes it's no longer practical to... or even enjoyable for either of us if he can't be up to it.

 

I wanted to Read some of my Andrew Yang Book Tonight but my Eyes are acting up, with Diabetes it sometimes happens and especially when I'm Tired, which, I am.  I can Read easily what I'm Typing here, but the Font in most Books can be difficult when my Eyes aren't focusing correctly.  It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I just have to wait 'til it's not a problem.  My Eye Tests always have gone very well, so the Diabetes isn't causing permanent damage that the Disease can often cause.  I do have that beginning of a Cataract they didn't even tell me about at the Optometrist when they did my Annual Exam, coz I guess it was so early stage as to not be concerning enuf to mention?  My HUMANA Home Nurse visit did mention it tho' from their results received from the Exam, and what a Surprise that was to me, having not been told after my Eye Exam.  What about your Cataract she said, WHAT Cataract says I, they never said anything about one!  Fine way to find out completely by accident.  *Eye Roll*

Above is a portion of that French Designer's Space that I told you I just fell in Lust with how she'd Decorated it.  Especially since she'd apparently never Decorated for Halloween before and didn't know much about how it should even be done, given what she Sells that isn't typically of a Theme that lends itself to an American Holiday.  She's a Francophile and has French Antiquities directly from France mostly... so her Vibe and Aesthetic is very European and very French Country in a Charming Timeless way that I just Love and you don't see many Vendors or Designers in America even having.   I Loved the Festoon of Tattered Old Lampshades grouped one above another, the Old Leather Club Chair, the Old Fireplace Mantle and that Wonderful Old Wallpaper that does remind me of what you see in Europe.   I have an Antique Fireplace Mantle similar to this one and would like to find similar Wallpaper to hang behind it in The RV Garage Mahal where it is.  I have some Yard Longs too, and could replicate something like this with what I already have on hand.  It's Simple and yet I Love the Visual and Vibe of it.

Loved everything about her entire Space, so took probably more Pixs of it than any other Vignettes.  And spent a lot of time in it.  It just appealed to me, and all the other Friends there, whether Designers or Customers, immediately told me which Area made them think of me when they saw it, and it was hers!  They all know me so well!  *LOL*  They took one look at this Area and thought, that's SO DAWN!!!  And, truly it is.   I Hope this Vendor stays and does well, coz I do dig her Merchandise and her Aesthetic, and her Presentation of it Showcases it all so Beautifully and Skillfully.   It's not so easy to make something seem this Simple, Editorial and Effortless.  Anyway, it was a Joy to behold and I was only bummed that I could only Buy just the One thing from her.  There's was more I liked a LOT, but I was sticking to Budget and to Price Point per item.  Since most of hers is European and the Real Deal, it's not inexpensive, but it is Fair and harder to Source here in America.  Now with Tariff's, Imports are hammered in Cost... the Extortion of this Cabal of Vulgarians and Idiot Prez of our best Trading Partners and Allies, is Obscene and Criminal... it's all Illegal.

Anyway, I was Happy with my Modest Haul and it didn't bust the Budget but it did come right up to what I could afford to Spend.  I knew it likely would coz it was the Halloween Merch Month and Season of Retail Therapy I wait for all Year long.   And would be most Tempted by.  The rest of the Year and Seasons, not so much.  And frankly, if you don't Score most of it in September, or even before when they trot it out early in some Shops, by October, you can't even Hope to get any of the best of it.  Most places will Sell Out or the best Merch will be long gone and you missed your brief Window of Opportunity to Score the Primo Merch for Autumn and Halloween Decorating or Collecting.   I do plan to hit all of the other Antique Malls this Month to see what Seasonal Offerings and Displays they have up.  Some of the "Spirit Halloween" Stores aren't even Open yet, which is Late for them.  Online they tell you where they should be and yet they're still "Temporarily Closed".  The only One I've found Open yet is small and didn't have hardly anything like previous Year's Inventory, nor the Epic Displays... so, it was underwhelming and disappointing, I didn't Photograph hardly anything, or Buy a thing!

 

Five of their Listed Locations, most near us, have never Opened yet!  They have 15 Listed that are allegedly Open, but most of them aren't close by so I don't wanna drive all the way to those further away and find out, Nope, not actually Open... or, have a Sad underwhelming disappointing Location too?    There is One that is relatively close by so I may drive by it to see if it's actually operational?   Their Online Photos for each site are from previous Years, so you can't gauge what this Year will be like at all.  I noticed even the Big Box Stores that usually have a good array of Seasonal Merch, like TARGET, MICHAELS, WAL-MART... are leaner this Year, likely due to Tariffs and inflated Costs and Supply Chain and Import Issues, coz most mass produced Merch is Manufactured Abroad, not Made in America.   We haven't really been Producers in America for damned near as long as I've been Alive.  We're Consumers in this Country, Manufacturing is mostly done elsewhere, and even what might be Produced here gets their Supplies to make it from other Countries.  It's not like we're Manufacturing the Parts/Supplies either.  Which now begs for some Political Satire:

And I found out why The Daughter's good Friend Sergio in Mexico had his FB and Instagram Profiles taken down, I called him, coz I did have his Number after all.  Well, he said something Political they did not like so they both Banned him!   So, he's in FB and Instagram "Jail" so to speak, we Laughed about it, but he said it was very discriminatory and stupid, coz he didn't Post anything Extreme or Inappropriate at all.  Now, he's not a strongly Controversial Person, and anything I've seen him Posting is Truth to Power or Political Satire based on Factual Data.  Not made up Bullshit or Conspiracy Theory Low Information and Lies spawned by those in Power. He's lived in the U.S. for many Years and now lives in Mexico permanently in a Mansion on the Beach, he's a very Successful Mexican National, speaks perfect English, and Shares Political stuff similar to what I'd Share, nothing inappropriate whatsoever.  They are infringing on his Free Speech, which, he has every Right to express on Social Media, any more than anyone else does.

  So, I don't like that they're harshly Censoring those of us who are Moderates or Left Leaning, while allowing Extremist on the Far Right to Post any damned thing that is often very damaging, dangerous, incites violence, is false, Racist, Xenophobic, Homophobic, Misogynistic, Hateful, aligned with a known Hate Group, or Sexually Explicit in Nature and not Ban them at all.  It's very Selective Censorship trying to Silence the Voice of the Majority and let the Minority of Extreme Leaning MAGA Maniacs spew all the venom and vitriol that they want to with impunity, including this vile President and all of his Minions and Sycophants, his Cult Members and those he's showing Political Favor towards while not Representing the Majority of Americans at all.  Nor does he want to.  Anyway, I told Sergio I was relieved he's Fine and that it was just that, it was all so sudden it did cause concern until we could get hold of him some other way.  I'd just had an Instant Messenger FB Exchange with him at length just the Night before they took all his Social Media down and erased it all.  Very concerning that they can and will do that on their whims... and for no good reasons at all.

The Man went to Bed early, by 8:00 p.m., and The Niece wanted to come in and Hang Out here, but it's our Room, he's Retired for the Evening and I'm Blogging in here, so I said we would prefer to be left Alone right now.   Too Late for Hanging Out, and in our Family, most of us go to our Private Areas to Unwind at the End of each Day and don't really bother one another, she'll have to get used to that.   She was at Work all Day, so I'd thought she'd want to Wind Down too and just have some Private Time to herself as well?  I haven't yet figured out what her Normal Routine would be if she was somewhere else?   I do know she either spent all of Last Night, and definitely this Morning before she went to Work, in her Car again!!!  Rather than in the 5th Wheel, so, I don't think she realizes that Hanging Out in the Main House isn't something most of the Family even does in our Normal Routines.  Sometimes we'll watch a Movie or Socialize, but it's not all the time or every Day, that would be intrusive and exhausting to all of us. 

 The Daughter is probably the most inclined to wanna Socialize more than those of us who don't do a lot of Peopling.   She has a lot of Friends, but becoz she does, she doesn't like any One of them monopolizing her Time, she likes to spread out her interactions among various people and not feel smothered by contact with any One Person who demands so much of your Time they become Higher Maintenance than you're comfortable with.  That was one of the biggest Issues with Mando and her, and with her Friend Amber sometimes too.  She Cared about both of them, but they could be very monopolizing of her Time and get jealous of Time spent with many other people she knew and wanted to spend Time with.   But The G-Kid Force, The Man, The Son, and I, we're not wanting to spend inordinate amounts of time Peopling or Socializing.  We don't have a lot of people WE know over much, just every so often is Fine.  We enjoy them a few times a Month, but if it became a Daily occurrence, we'd have to set Boundaries.  Or you'd be wearing us out beyond our Comfort Level of "Togetherness".  *LOL*

I like to Blog, that's how I Relax when I'm not Caregiving or taking care of my Business of Maintaining our Household or Working Outside of the Home, or doing whatever it is I'm doing elsewhere.  So, when I come Home, and I've done everything I am Obligated to do for everyone, I like to have my Quiet Time not interrupted.  We have Shared Space, but everyone has their Private Spaces they can and do retreat to so that they aren't bothered and nobody is bothering them either.  That's what Works for us as a Collective, the Right Balance of Togetherness and Apartness.  Someone New might not yet get into the hang of it, so it will be a Transition for her and that could take her some Time to settle into comfortably too.  She's Lived Alone mostly and I imagine that could become Lonesome and now she's got all these Cohabitants that she wants to spend Quality Time with, so I do "Get It", only, there has to be a Balance to that.  Some Family are very Solitary and prefer their Apartness Time more than their Togetherness Time, even with Loved Ones, let alone anyone else.  *LOL*  It's not Personal, it's Preferences for how we Like and Prefer to spend our Time is all.

I remember when my Friend Lived with us for Six Months at The McManse, she wanted to spend a lot of Time Together coz she had always Lived Alone.  She didn't understand that we weren't all Together all of the time, I guess if she had Loved Ones Living Together, that would be her Expectation or perhaps their Lifestyle and Habits, it just was not ours.  We all Love one another but that doesn't mean we wanna spend every Waking Hour Together and have little to no Apartness Balancing out all that Togetherness.   Personally, we unanimously told her, that would feel Suffocating to us and we would not Like it.  We feel it would even cause eventual Conflict and Irritation.   You can spend too much Time with a person and then you don't necessarily have Quality Time anymore, just a Quantity of it that might not be so great or Wanted.

  I'd feel like I'd need to Escape if someone demanded that much of my Time and Energy, it would be fucking draining to me Emotionally, Mentally and Physically.  So, I'd say, hey, we can't be Friends anymore.  You just have higher expectations of the Relationship than I can accommodate or even tolerate.  *LOL*  For me, a little bit of most People can go a long way.   And that doesn't mean there's anything Wrong with them, it's just that small doses of People is enuf for me, even my Inner Circle.  They know I Like my Space, that I Love them all and would do anything for any of them, but, don't be up my Ass all the time or it Creeps me the Fuck Out!  That's why it was so hard to Raise a 2nd Generation way past the Prime of Raising smaller Kiddos coz they are very clingy and needy.  Princess T was like a Conjoined Twin to me and now she's Grown and comfortable with separation from me, it's Nice.  

We have Fun when we do anything Together, but she enjoys her Time Alone and her Privacy now as much as I do.  I'm Married to a Man who could be an actual Recluse, and that Works for us as a Couple.  He uses up all his Conversation by Morning usually.  *LOL*  He Likes my Presence, but we don't Need to be up each other's Asses all the time within the Home.  In fact, he likes being Left Alone as much as I do and so when we are Together it's more Quality Time than Quantity Time, which, is both of our Preferences.  *Smiles*  I can be a Talker when I am being Social, but, I can go Days without saying anything to anyone and be just Fine too.  I'm not always Chatty even at Work or around Friends.  Sometimes I am, sometimes I just Listen to what everyone else is Talking about. 

 I can get into Deep and Meaningful Discussions, or talk about frivolities, but, overall, I'd say Quiet Time is as Special to me as good Conversation is.  And, Heaven Forbid if someone becomes Boring to me, or becomes very Negative, Whiney or Complaining incessantly... the ADHD Kicks in and I Zone the Fuck Out and my Eyes Glaze Over!  They Lost me.  And, mostly, I don't Care. *LOL*  That's why Gossip never Appealed to me and I often overhear folks who just Smack Talk the entire Conversation they're having with each other, about everyone else they know!  And I'm thinking to myself, don't you have anything Positive to say or Nice to say?  And, if someone they know is the topic of so much unlovely Gossip, I don't know that I'd Trust those People not to Talk shit about everyone and anyone else, including me if I wasn't Present and they knew me.

  Everyone does Need to Vent about stuff, folks they know or Work with or are Related to, but if the WHOLE Conversation is just that... well... that's more than Enough and Too Much IMO.  Focus on some other stuff and you're letting those Live Rent Free in your Head perhaps too much if it's all you can Talk about most of the time.  Probably not Healthy.  When I was having my Crepes for Breakfast while waiting for the Event to Open, Two Women in the Booth in front of me were quite loud, so you couldn't help but overhear their entire Gossipy Conversation.  Apparently they'd Booked a Cruise, which, sounds like a Positive Thing to be looking forward to, Right?   Wrong!   They were going but there was apparently a 3rd "Friend" coming with them and they Trash Talked about this Woman for the entire Meal!   And I'm Thinking to myself, Why is she on the Cruise with you then?  Does she know your Sentiments, have you Talked about any of this with HER and not just with each other behind her Back?  I know if I say anything about anyone, I've usually Talked with them about it First.  It's only Right to.  You could hurt Feelings or Offend someone otherwise and sow Distrust.

Anyway, I didn't even know these Women but I felt Sorry for the 3rd Friend coz she's gonna be on a Cruise of a Lifetime with these Bitches and they talked so much shit about her, that if I were her, it would be better spent going on a Solo Cruise I think!  Yikes!   And Cruises aren't inexpensive, so... perhaps the Personalities don't Jive, but then, why would you Book a Vacation Together knowing this if you are Friends and should know each other's Habits and Personalities by now?  I have Friends I Adore, but I know there's certain things we'd NOT do Together, probably ever, and that's Okay, it wouldn't Work no matter how long we've been Friends or how Close we are.   Anyway, The Young Prince and Sayde just left to go out somewhere Together.  They both looked so Adorable I should have taken a Pix of them and didn't coz they were running Late to get to where ever it was Downtown.  Looked like a Club Scene coz they were both Dressed Up.  

 Plus, sometimes even when they look Fabulous and Fierce, perhaps they don't want Gramma Pathologically Picture Taking.  *Winks*  They appreciated I said they looked Adorable, and they did.  Each of them has a Unique Sense of Style that is quite similar and very Different, but they pull it off.   And they both like being authentic to themselves and having the confidence to do so unapologetically.  I'm sure they have their Tribe out there and have found the Niche places they can meet up with Kindred Spirits Downtown.  The one major Positive about living in a big Urban Metropolis is, everything goes and there's massive diversity and more tolerance than in smaller Communities that tend not to have as much diversity or much tolerance for anything or anyone not exactly like they happen to be.  Cheryl, who I was talking to and met in Line happened to mention that too.  

She and Hubby bought Property to Vacation at in Christopher Creek, which is a very lovely Scenic Area North of the State with lots of Pine Trees and higher Elevation for a different Climate.  They have a Cabin there and Love the Area, but not the People so much.  Becoz, also it's very Homogenously SMALL Town America and she said it's very "Conservative" in the Not-So-Good-Or-Welcoming way, that can be downright unsettling and feel unsafe, so she even quit going up there coz you have to be so Guarded.   She said her Husband sometimes is too Open and forthright about his personal Views that don't align with the Locals, and she Warns him, these People are really Different Honey, you have to be more Careful!!!   She said you can't be even mildly Liberal or Moderate of they think you're The Devil and an Enemy Of The State!!!   Okay, so we did Laugh, she didn't have to say it out Loud what we both knew she was Talking about and the general Politics of the Community and Area there in Rural Arizona, we know only too well.

She said had they Known the Demographic of the Community, they might not have Invested in Real Estate there to Vacation at.  But the Natural Beauty appealed to them for a Getaway from Urban Life a few Weeks out of the Year.  They Love the City, as we do, but on Vacays you might want more Natural Reclusive Scenic Serenity... sans any of the Weirdos and complication of the Bullshit that might Live there Full Time and be problematic tho'.  I understand, when we were House Shopping, we looked at Idyllic Areas we Loved the Topography of and the Real Estate of, but we didn't want another Situation like the vile Community the Villa McManse was in, couldn't Escape that Fresh Hell fast enuf even if the Home was Fabulous.  It becomes like a Gilded Cage to have a nice piece of Property and everyone around it is Hostile, Extreme or Unpleasant in their ways.

*******

Happy Autumn and Halloween from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian