fairy dust

I received some very sad news from my friend John on Monday. I am still having trouble wrapping my head around it.
John's former spouse, Marilee, passed away suddenly last Saturday.
She had stomach issues and was told by her doctor it was IBS. Apparently she was in pain for a while and it got so bad she went to the emergency room. As the doctors were trying to manage her pain and figure out what was going on her organs started to shut down. She had a massive fast growing tumor and it took over her tiny body.
Even though John and Marilee divorced in the 1990's. I remained good friends with the both of them. They were both super special friends that I had known since 1973 when we all took karate together. In my teens, I would make an appearance with a gang of friends from Somerville on Halloween  showing up at their door all dressed in some crazy costumes. They both happily put up with my shenanigans.
She moved to the Cape in the late 1990's and we still stayed in contact. She was funny,spiritual and creative. She loved flowers, the ocean, fairies, her kitties and a good bad joke. She would always send me news articles about seals and other marine life down her way.
One time I went to visit her and we went antique shopping. We found a shake 'em doll of a fortune telling hillbilly granny sitting in an out-house. When you picked it up and shook it, it told you your fortune by it's glass fanny. She bought it for me so I could send it to my sister. I thought it was hilarious!
The last I heard from her was on my birthday in September. She sent me a nice a card and a home-made book-mark of troll dolls. I sent her Christmas card like I usually do every year but I didn't hear from her which I thought was odd because she always responded right away. Sadly, I now know why. It makes me so sad that she had been suffering.
I'm going to miss you dear friend.

trolling along 2

"Tis the season for "special" holiday decorations make an appearance. Yes, we have troll X-Mas stockings.

I had this "classic" Christmas nativity set but I thought it was kind of boring so I revamped it.

Yes, I made a special troll nativity scene instead. Notice the costumes including the custom beards.

 Ah ah! I found a better photo of the troll tree (my husband took this photo!) (Just in case you were wondering I am the one dressed in blue) Although I could easily be mistaken for a troll...

trolling along

Last weekend we went to see the festival of (holiday)trees at Seaglass in Salisbury.
It is quite an event. Hundreds of different holiday trees with various themes filled the upstairs ballroom.. Local businesses and individuals make, decorate and donate the trees  for people to bid on. The money raised goes to our local hospital. I bought a pile of raffle tixs to bid on two of the trees.
This year, there were two trees that really caught my eye.
One was a purple Prince tree. The tree was covered with purple ornaments, purple crowns and Prince's signature glyph. Another one, was a troll tree (I wished I had taken a better photo of it so you could see it in it's glory) It was completely covered with troll dolls. I gasped at the sight of it. Needless to say, I bought a pack of 25 raffle tixs and stuffed both boxes.
Speaking of trolls, I designed and created a new pair of boots. I had a dull black and grey pair of boots that lingered in the back of my closet. I figured I'd bring new life to them by coloring them lime green, redoing the heels in gold, adding pink fur, adding some bling and painting trolls on them.
How cool are these?!? (see above)
 I can't wait to wear them to my brother's house this Christmas!

cupcakes and rainbows

Yes, I saw the troll movie and it was cute, silly and fun.

halloween party 3 mourning tea

Sunday morning, we had reservations for the Halloween mourning tea. Mind you I booked this event 6 months ago because the year before I tried making reservations two months in advance and it was sold out!
It was at the famous Hawthorne hotel. Everyone was dressed in Victorian mourning clothes. High tea was served (coffee, tea, scones, pastries, sandwiches, cakes and other yummies) We started off crafting memorials for our departed. I brought a photo of my Aunt for the memorial and put funny stickers with drawings on it in her honor. For those who wanted to we then stood up and talked about our departed. It was a bit emotional, sad but in a cathartic kind of way. I stood up and talked about my Aunt. I know she would've loved being the center of attention. This was just one way to keep her spirit alive. I asked her to send healing energy to my cousin(her daughter). I told her that "we are having way too much fun. I need her to stay around".
You just never know ;-)
.Maybe some people would think it was "depressing" or "creepy" but being the saint that I am and having the custodial privilege of  keeping souls alive I felt honored to be a part of this gathering.
At the end, we had a lesson on tea reading. I had an "M" in my cup (my Aunt's name is Marie) and two ladies dancing (I'm guessing that is her and her best friend Kay dancing) plus little sparrows (meaning bits of happiness in life's journey)
I loved the fact that my husband joined me as well. Many guys would make snide remarks or be discouraging but he was very supportive. :-)
All in all, this entire Halloween weekend was insanely fantastic.
I just love this holiday!

Halloween part 2 Salem

We met up with Alex and Robo in Salem via train.
 I warned them "be prepared to be embarrassed!" Ha!
I was planning on just having a blast..and I did!
My husband dressed as the pop singer "Sia" and I, as the late great "Prince". We brought a disco ball speaker along with our music. And yes, I danced. A lot.
Alex and Robo went as "American gothic". It was freakin' hilarious. People would yell, "hey Prince" and I would respond with his famous "AAAOWWW!" with a pose or high kick. The little kids had no clue of who I was but knew who "Sia' was. Sia is really popular with young girls. Some millennials  said that my Prince music was,"'soooo ooh retro music.."
WHAT!?!?!?!
Robo and Alex were hilarious and didn't seem to mind my antics. As we were walking up the main plaza were people congregated a "tree' started to talk to me."Hey Prince..I like purple rain.."
I shit you not.
And of course, I performed my dance and called him "Groot" after the tree creature from the movie "Guardians of the Galaxy". I really didn't want the night to end but we had to catch our train.
I had a freakin' blast!

Halloween 2016 part 1

I gotta say, this year was the best Halloween ever! I have to break it up in three parts because the entire weekend we did different things and wore different costumes!
Friday night, we went to Hammond castle's spooky tour with "my friend John" and his lovely wife Kathleen. My husband, Kathleen and I dressed up for the occasion. And of course, "joined in" as a part of the Halloween merry making tour.We were singing the theme for "ghost busters" on the bus.ha! We wore our day of the dead costumes to this event.
 I've never been inside the Hammond castle so this was a first for me. As a part of the tour, you have to park at stage fort park and a bus picks you up.
It was ungodly windy that night. I mean gale force winds. The wind blew my hat off and it whipped down the street. I tried to catch it but is was so fast and furious .I swore a ghost carried it off. It eventually blew off into the sea.
We enter the castle and a "spirit guide" greeted us and lead us through the castle. There were assorted "ghost' prisoners in there and scary freaks that jumped out at you. A black and white scary clown scared the shit out of me!
This was certainly a fun "warm up" to the weekend's festive events!

St.Francis-blessing of pets

Last weekend at the town church ,the  East Parish Methodist church, had an outdoor blessing of animals service. As we all know I am a St. Francis fan so I had to attend the service-with my pigeon!
Pastor Vin gave the service and went around blessing all the pets in attendance.
One lady brought her horse! It was kind of cool to see a horse at the service.A few people brought their dogs. One couple brought their boogery nose pugs.  One of the dogs sneezed and snots flew everywhere. It was gross but I couldn't help but laugh. My pigeon has been known to do that as well. Some people brought photos of their pets instead of bringing them. The people at the service were very nice and welcoming. Matter-of-fact I received these photos from one of the church volunteers.
Both myself and Craow Dum felt very welcomed. Pigeon and all!

rubbish to runway 2016

On Oct 8th I not only designed my outfit  I also modeled it at the blue Ocean ball room stage in Salisbury. I've got to say, I worked with some seriously talented ladies.
There were a total of  about 30 outfits modeled. Six were picked to be displayed in a local art gallery. Mine wasn't picked but I didn't feel bad about it because most of the dresses were jaw dropping amazing. They deserved to be displayed. I just felt honored to be selected to be a part of this show.
And what a show.
My dress and jacket were made of shedded feathers from all of my birds. This was two years worth of molted feathers from cockatiels, pigeons, doves, princess of wales and a caique. I found a 80's style cocktail dress and totally reconstructed it. The boots I paid $1.00 in Goodwill and completely redid the boots over by painting them, cushioned the inside and reheeled them. The criteria to be in the show was that all the outfits had to be made from discarded/recycled/trash materials.
The proceeds of the show went to "a long way home"-a organization that builds schools in underdeveloped countries out of recycled materials.
My runway song was "when doves cry' by Prince. My dress was mostly made of dove feathers and as you can see my boots are purple with the Prince glyph so the song was a perfect fit.It was pretty exciting to walk out on the runway stage with the purple lights and Prince music. Nerve wracking but exciting.People were cheering. One girl came up to me later and said "Prince would've been proud". That comment really made my day.
It was great fun. Maybe again next year?

Hydroxed

definition -HYDROXED: when you ask for oreos and you get faux oreos such as hydrox or cream-os instead.

I remember my mother tried to pawn that one off on me. She would screech: "it's the saaaame thing!". Ah no, hydrox taste like shit and the store brand knock offs taste even shittier.

That is how I feel about the new troll movie coming out.
Dreamworks got the licensing rights to make the troll movie and about two years ago had some promotional items that featured the troll dolls that I am accustom to (above" the Don trump troll photo)
I had the movie marked on my calendar set for the November 6th release and found out that the whole troll business had been revamped. They look more like colorful smurfs. (see first photo)
I have no idea what happened to why the change in characters.
I felt like I've been hydroxed...
siiiigh....

accidental saints

When I found out my cousin was diagnosed with cancer I painted this icon for her.
"Saint Kim, patron saint of dogs".
Yup, that's her with her two dogs.
I was so happy she liked it.
Painting is what I do to help me focus and deal with things. I am grateful to my Russian icon teacher, Marina, because I feel like I found my spot in the art world.
I will shift the subject slightly now on to a topic that is somewhat connected.
Last week I saw an ad in the local paper about a book discussion group at a local church.
The book in discussion was titled "Accidental Saints-finding God in all the wrong people".
I'm not much for book clubs or really any type of social gathering but this peaked my interest.
Author Nadia Bolz-Weber describes herself as a Pastrix (her version of a female pastor)and 'invites readers with what she calls "a religious but not-so-spiritual life' ".'Tattooed, angry, and profane, this former stand up comic turned pastor stubbornly, sometimes hilariously, resists the God she feels called to serve'.
Hmmm..I found this introduction quite intriguing so I bought the book and went to the discussion.
I found it quite funny (of course I would) sitting with a pastor and group of little old ladies reading out loud passages from this book in a church that had sentences such as this :"I was confronted by my own bullshit"...and "oh fuck".
Funny, yet, as I am reading I am finding so many things that I can relate to.
I told the pastor that I paint icons> Some traditional and some, not so traditional. With that being said, one of the member of the parish took me around in the church to show me icons that were painted by one of their parishioners that they have on display.
They were so beautiful and perfect.
It was so exciting to see them-especially knowing that they were done by a local artist.
The next discussion  group meeting is tomorrow. I am a pretty slow reader but I read half the book already. There is the potential of each and everyone of us becoming a saint, flaws, farts and all.
Who would've thought that somebody else thinks on this wave length.
hmmm...

my birthday at the Big E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uLI6BnVh6w









I just celebrated my (fill in the blank) birthday. We bought tickets to see Elle King at the Big E.
Elle king sings the song "Exs and Ohs". (see above youtube) 
She is one of the few singers both my husband and I like.
Matter-of-fact he bought me her CD for my birthday as well.
Her father is my number one fav comedians Rob Schneider (Deuce Bigelow).!
Seriously!!!!! I was hoping he would be attending her concerts so I could meet him! ha! A double bonus!
Anyways, the Big E is one big massive crowd of people. 
OMG the bathroom lines were at least 15 minutes long. 
We did get a glimpse at the farm animals but again, the crowds were overwhelming.
 I do have to say that the concert (we had reserved seats) was fantastic. 
It was a cool night which was great for singing and dancing.
This was an awesome thing to do for my birthday!

ovations

On September 4th the Greater Newburyport Ovarian Cancer Awareness foundation hosted their sixth annual lantern festival at the Bartlet Mall (frog pond). It is a local group that helps fund OvationsFortheCure.org for their promotion of knowledge of this insidious disease, support for those diagnosed and help finding a cure. The lady who ran this event Deb Green is an ovarian cancer survivor. She owns a stationary store in down town Newburyport.
As you know, my cousin had been recently diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. She is doing remarkably well, she is exercising normally and takes everything with a bit of humor.
As you can see (4 photos above)I had decorated a "special' lantern in her honor.
Complete with Alfred E Neuman's "what me worry?" "go away you stinkin' cancer!"
I only took a photo of the initial launching of lanterns because the other photos at night didn't come out but it was pretty impressive seeing thousand of floating lighted lanterns float along in the pond. Beautiful music and chimes echoed in the background making this a artist eyeful. I would've guessed at close to two thousand people showed up. That goes to show you how many people are affected by this disease in this district alone.
I had neglected to bring a sweater with me that night as it got a bit cold due to hurricane Hermione's wind coming from the east. My cousin had a blanket with her and gave it to me to ward off the chill.
As usual she was watching out for me.
This weekend this same organizer(GNOCA)  is hosting a comedy show with lady comedians at the firehouse theater. Both my husband and I will be attending it.
I was hoping my cousin would be able to attend it as well but unfortunately  she will be going in for round 3 of her chemo treatments.
I am at loss of word right now except for hopefully this round will knock the cancer down so her surgery will be a success.That's the plan.
We gotta keep OUR comedy team going!

back home

As much as I love going away for a vacation it is tough leaving the birds.
I miss them terribly but also they get mad at me for leaving them-especially the pigeons.
It just so happen the time we left all the birds were molting.
And I do mean molting.
The pet sitter does a great job but there is no way she can keep up with their mess. The place looked like there was a giant pillow fight.
OMG feathers everywhere!
I looked at my husband dead-panned and said, 'we're gonna need a bigger vacuum".
Trixstah is a handful too. He bites, has tantrums and refuses to be potty trained. (MY other pigeon is somewhat potty trained because she will only poop in a certain area)
Teddy the dove was so happy we were home. I gave him his bath and he was elated. Both the pigeons jumped in the sink while I was cleaning cages. They love their baths too. The cockatiels were happy to be back to their routine.
As I type it is now 4:00 and the pigeons are sitting on the couch awaiting "Judge Judy" so that means I have to end this blog and turn the TV on for them.
Life with birds!

dive #1000 & the fishnado Aug 20-27 2016

Dive # 991-1008 August 20-27 2016 Bonaire
Less than  three weeks ago I was playing around with the computer checking airfares and WHAM!  First class on United  $857.81  and coach $537.81. The "new' place we like to stay at sand dollar ocean front condo was available. I had no customers that week and my pet sitter was available..... soooooooo....... off to Bonaire AGAIN!
Seriously, the only way to travel in a somewhat dignified manner is first class. It's worth the money. Your luggage are free, the food (although marginal) is free, you are the first one on and first one off. The seats are never comfortable but at least you are not cramped next to a fat guy that farts non-stop or a mother holding a squirming crying baby that kicks you the entire trip. It's a bit more civilized and breathable.
We dive with "dive friends". They are funny, nice and helpful when you need them. (They fixed Soracha's leaking guage. It needed a "o" ring for the swivel) They "save" mini tanks for me for my shore dives.
We pretty much dive the same "easy access" sites over and over again. Yet every time you dive them you find something new.. Front porch, bari reef (right in front of the condo), windsock, salt pier, dive inn and now a 'new" favorite site: airport beach.
We saw octopus, lots of big tarpon, snooks, an octopus, big lionfish, lots of morays, sharp nose eels, lots of turtles, eagle rays, barracudas and lots of pretty fish.
I made my one thousand dive here.
What made this dive trip a little different is we experienced a "fishnado".
The dive masters at Dive friends told us that we might see a bait ball at the airport beach but this was entirely different.
We did our usual dive on the reef at about 35 feet and then all of a suddenly our front path became really dark.
I mean really dark and it got closer.
It was a massive wall of fish in a funnel formation that actually pulled you into it. It was amazing and cool but then you think, "hmmmm...they don't call these little mackerel fish bait fish for nothing". You could see spots of clearing when you were in the eye of the fishnado. I spotted a giant barracuda, turtles, eagle rays and a monster tuna the size of a volkswagen bug.
We witnessed this fishnado on six of our dives at this site. When we talked to other divers nobody had seen it!
We do have some pretty good go-pro film footage we just have to take the time  to edit it.
We did do some "treasure hunting" and found a new snorkel, a few coins and a single diamond earring.
We did do a night dive assuming we would see "Charlie' the tarpon. We shut off the lights and let our eyes adjust to just the moonlight. We saw a lot of flickering and jittery flash lights in clusters. I think Charlie was busy with those "new" tourists because he never came around to greet us at night (only during the day)
All in all it was a very nice trip. We banged out 3 dives a day totalling 18 dives.
But it is also good to be back home to enjoy the remainder of the summer!

AFA convention 2016

Two weekends ago I attended the American Federation of Aviculture annual convention. This year it was held in Connecticut so it was within driving distance and close to my husband's job.
We made a weekend out of it and made our first stop traveling down to our destination at an English tea house for afternoon tea. And yes it is truly a British style tea house with brewed tea in porcelain teapots. (That is the only way to serve tea! I grimace anytime I think of how some "restaurants" serve tea in a Styrofoam cup using a tea bag in luke warm water......grrrrrrrr. Only thing worse is microwaved tea. yuck) Anyways, it was pleasant stop over. Tea, pastries and little sandwiches.
People from all over the country (and world for that matter)attend this  avian convention to hear speakers, meet up with specialty groups, make contacts, socialize, compete in the bird shows, and buy stuff.
I attended a couple of the seminars which were really interesting. One speaker from Canada is in charge of HARI (Hagen avian research institute) I was interested in hearing her talk to see what new types of food is beneficial for birds. She talked about her breeding program and how they reintroduce birds back to wild. What I found very interesting is a product they use called  clay-cal. it is basically clay that is enriched with calcium they give their birds to help them digest and detoxify. Macaws in the wild naturally eat clay from a particular clay lick area in the amazon to keep themselves healthy.
Some of the other speakers had toy making workshops and ideas to keep our birds mentally stimulated and happy. Some speakers talked about free flight training and other things.
There were different birds people brought with them mostly for show. The bird in the above photo is a palm cockatoo. They are very smart but very rare. They cost $15,000.00 and you need a special permit to keep them. They are quite big and yet gentle and relatively quiet for a parrot.
I met some people there I had met from a different parrot convention in Texas a few years ago.
One of the vendors there I recognized her from years ago when I bought a budgie necklace from her.
One of her newer creations were beautiful hand custom bejeweled bracelets. One had caught my eye with a white capped caique on it that reminded me of one of my long time visitor "Ray" so I bought it. Unfortunately a piece broke off so I brought it back to see if could be repaired. It is a stunning bracelet so I should be getting back any day in the mail.
I also bought some toys for the birds and Christmas cards. ha!
All is all it was fun and interesting convention. my husband spent the day swimming in the pool. yeah!

Yankee Home Coming 2016

For last two weeks annually Newburyport has their season Yankee homecoming event. They have concerts, parades, art shows, fireworks, street performers, side walk sales, road races etc.. It's a pretty big deal for the residents of Newburyport as well as a fun event for summer tourists.
I go to it every year.
I really enjoy the art show and the side walk sales. The fancy bridal shop usually has this major clearance sale of all their formal dresses. I find the most gorgeous la de da dresses there for only $15.00! The original tags say $395.00! I happen to wear formal wear when I attend the NHSPCA gala event in November. I generally take my bike to this event since parking is limited. it was quite the challenge to bag up the gown and take it home riding my bike!
My cousins are usually very active participants in the NBPT event. One year Kim was in charge of the pet parade. Her brother  Kenny was the designated as the pooper scooper. He followed along with his wagon filled with ca ca bags. Kim also marched in their parades holding signs for local politicians.
This year, I participated in their fitness demonstrations. My zumba teacher asked her students to participate so I gladly participated in the outdoor zumba class at market square on tuesday and thursday.
* (In the above photo that is yours truly in the grey sweat pants and blue tank top! This photo was on page 11 on the weds August  3rd edition of the Newburyport daily news!)
It was really hot that day but luckily I positioned myself in a shady area. My cousin Kim was there watching and taking videos. Despite feeling sick from her chemo she still came to cheer me on!
Great fun!

July 24 2016 dive # 989 & 990

* photo of taken from internet of Folly Cove

July 24 2016 dive #989
We couldn't have picked a more perfect day. 80F with a breeze. It wasn't that oppressive heat we had the day before. Thank God!
As I look at every day as a gift I cherish my good times with my friends . I am blessed that I have spent over 20 something years (23?) as a crew member aboard Easy Diver. I wish it could last forever.
Captain Fred is having some serious health issues. I hope and pray he will be OK and back to his ol' cantankerous self. One day at a time, as they say. One day at a time.
We did have a wonderful day. Fred and Chris were running the show. Pete was present sporting his new "choppers". (and he was quite proud of himself.)
 Kate, Amy and her newbee student were also onboard as well as our pal  Bill L.
We anchored at Folly Cove, which is my favorite site.
The water was calm with a temp of 65F. It was colder at 20 feet. The viz 25 feet. My ears cleared right away. I think because the water was warm and I practice clearing my ears in the morning. (I know it sounds weird but it works) There were lots of cunners, baby moon snails, a huge horse shoe crab, crabs and good size lobsters.
dive #990
I popped back in the water for a second dive. There is something so therapeutic and soul cleansing when you are underwater. I sort just poked around and then I was looking for BillL since he was snorkeling on the surface. I thought I could be a brat and give him a scare but I didn't see him.
We ended the dive with a royal feast. In a combined effort we had all kinds of fruit, crackers, chicken drumsticks, bean salads etc.. I was happy to see the Captain eating too.All good healthy stuff!
Indeed a most spectacular day....

"style..is no fear of death"-Prince

*Kim took this photo of a rainbow after the sky rumbled and rained a bit after we paddle boarded.
A ray of hope?
A person's character is defined on how they handle adversary.
 I am astounded at how pragmatic, take charge and strong my cousin is handling at what faces her.
The first thing she did was took care of her personal business to make sure her husband knew what was going on. Instead of retreating , she went out with friends.
She urged me to go to for screenings and check ups. I finally made an appointment with the "lady" doctor. I haven't had this kind of check up in a decade. I almost backed out again mostly because getting an appointment was a hurdle. I waited 30 minutes on hold just to make a simple appointment. The first appointment I could get is in the fall but at least I made the appointment.
Meanwhile later that day, I talked to my cousin and she said she was on the phone all fucking day trying to schedule appointment for consultations etc... and getting grief from some of the staff that possibly her insurance may not cover the visits and something about getting referrals, blah blah blah. I thought to myself, "are you fucking kidding me?" It's bad enough you get shitty news but now you have to go through this stupid crap as well?" It is psychological torture. There is nothing worse than being stuck on hold listening to "muskrat love' and "please hold...your call is very important to us". It's like being stuck at the RMV. This "system" is obnoxiously ridiculous.
We went to beach for a few hours just to chat and hang out. She had a long sleeve top on, sun hat with a sun umbrella while I was in a bathing suit  with only sunscreen on my nose. She has always been  the smart sensible one.
She had to use this device to measure her breath by sucking on this tube. (Her doctor was concerned about her lung filling with fluid so she had to monitor it) In our typical style we were joking about it in a very ribald way calling it the "Monica Lewinsky". She could barely work it because we were laughing so much. "Moooonica...Mooonica! Oh that guy over there is w-a-t-c-h-i-n-g yoooou!
Despite our joking around we had a very real frank talk. She is honest and realistic. That is rare quality in a person.
I am hopeful that the doctor she picks at Mass general will have reasonable options for her.
Meanwhile, I am here.

paddleboard

* my cousin Kim took this photo of me clowning around on a paddleboard on Lake Gardner.

One the the reasons I love living up by the seacoast is that my cousin lives nearby.
She is always motivating me to do stuff. Over ten years ago when I first moved up here we attended a woman's" realize your dreams" workshop. And of the course  during the event  I was being my usual smart ass self whispering to my cousin, "oooh do you feel 'empowered' yet?" (The word 'empowered" is a word used quite frequently ad nauseum in women's workshops) The bottom line was that we both ended up starting our own pet care services thanks to her giving me the right push!
She (with great patience) taught me Spanish lessons. I would do 'extra credit' assignments making comic strips using spanish. I thought it was hilarious but I think I tested her patience with my juvenile antics more than once. (No doubt I would've been "frog-marched" to the principle office if I were a middle schooler!) The bottom line is when I recently visited Mexico I could speak and understand a bit of the language thanks to her.
We had done yoga together and just recently, zumba. There are certain songs at zumba class we both like and some songs we make faces at each other. When I am with her I am like a thirteen year old brat!
In the summer on hot days, we would head out to Lake Gardner with her dogs and swim outside the designated swimming areas. The dogs loved it as well as we did. We had our own private beach.
A few weeks ago we tried paddle boarding. As you can see from the photo above I was clowning around. I would lift one foot up and salute. I figured out of our group: Kim, Joey and my husband, I would be the one to fall off the board into the drink. Everyone else was careful on the board.
However, my cousin stumbled and fell backwards in the water. It was unexpected and it rattled her.
In addition to keeping an active lifestyle, she was always very good about promoting healthy eating. She bought me a super "super foods" cookbook which I use quite a bit. She would urge me to get regular check ups and "make sure you get your boobs squished". "Are you taking your vitamin D and calcium?"
Last week, she had a bit of a stomach ache and at the same time she said her lungs felt congested perhaps due to allergies. She went to her doctor figuring it would just be something routine. I get a call from her husband saying that she is in the hospital for a bunch of tests. I figure the doctor are just being super thorough. Kim said she felt OK. The doctor kept her overnight and there were more disconcerting tests.
The results were not what we expected.
When she told me what the doctors told her I felt like a mouse on  a glue-trap.
 Shock and disbelief. I was hoping in her usual Jim Carrey style of humor would say, "HA! jus' jokin'!"
But she didn't.
The big "C"
How can that be possible?
fuck fuck FUCK fuck
It is like the paddleboard. I should have fell off not her.
 NOT HER....

"style..you got it"-Prince

As you know I'm an artist.
I bought a pair of black boots at Goodwill for less than a dollar. Oh boy! A project!
I totally reconstructed them. I fixed the soles and added a new insole, and then I repainted them with purple metallic fabric paint.
Painted the heel and toe end with silver metallic paint and added faux jewels. I placed a dove picture from a bird food package in the center of the glyph.
Pissa, eh?
I'll be wearing these at the fashion show in October.

July 3 2016 dive #988

July 3rd 2016 dive #988
Late start for me this year but here I am!
As much as I hate the winter season the summers here in NE are absolutely the best! This was a picture perfect day to be outside-especially on a boat with pals!
Air temp at around 80F with wind blowing from the north. This was my first boat trip this year on Easy Diver.
Fred and Chris were running the show. Andy at the helm and Bill L came aboard to enjoy the sunshine and the company! :-)
Pete was a no show. This was a bit unnerving. He has had been dealing with ongoing health issues so we were worried. Thankfully, later in the day he called saying he had overslept.
As you might guess on a beautiful 4th of July weekend the Annisqwam river was chock-o-block full of boats. We anchored in Folly cove which surprised me that there were only two boats anchored. Regardless, I was grateful that WE anchored here. It was my first dive of the season. Nice and easy.
It was good to see our pal Bill L. He always has good stories and jokes. He had told me the water temp was 65F. Well, he must of been joking! At 20 ft my guage read 48F! At surface it definitely wasn't that cold but boy, what a thermocline! Brrrrrrrr! My mouth was so cold I couldn't move it. Maybe that was a good thing.
The viz was at a good 20 Ft. I saw only a few fish. A pollack and flounder. A moon snail casing.No matter, I was out diving!
It's always good to catch up with friends. Chris and I spotted some beautiful water fowl. I believe we saw (above) a common golden eye.( I really should bring my bird ID book with me) I try to remember what they look like to ID them.
Gotta love this time of year!

June 7th

* my artistic rendition of "when doves cry"

On June 7th Prince would have been 58 years old.
His autopsy report came back and sadly, he died of a fentanyl (opiod) overdose.
That was the initial rumor.... but I didn't believe it. And now it is confirmed.
It goes to show you how someone so talented, disciplined with all the support sources fell into lies of pain killers. That is what opiods do. They make you lie-especially to yourself. And the pain becomes prolonged.
It is so sad I feel sick.
I have pulled out my decade long archives of Prince music.
I just love his freakin' music. Sure I like the funkadelic stuff the best but he does instrumental, rap, ballads, religious songs and even big band ("it's courtin' time")
His music pulls me back into the hot tub time machine.
And I remember the good times ....and some bad times.

I remember one time in the early 80's, I hopped into my father's truck. He was driving and playing some shit lame music (I think the "Carpenters" or something.) He said nothing and pulls that tape out of the cassette player and chucks it out of the window and says, 'this sucks" and then sticks this "secret" "Purple rain' cassette into the player! I burst out laughing and yelled "That's awesome!" ha!

 I was visiting a work-mate pal of mine down the Cape. Mind you "Betty" was older than my mother but she was pretty cool and a real pissah.We took a ride early evening to one of the beaches. There was some kind of beach ordinance signs posted about "noise"pollution. We pulled into the parking lot and sat on the hood of my truck while I was blasting music from the "Controversy" album AND drinking wine coolers. Some snot-head lady reported us. The cops pulled up and I did a perfect "Eddie Haskell", "yes, officer I was unaware of a noise ordinance I will lower the radio". As the cops pulled away I saw the "lady" who finked on us. Betty and I drove by her very slowly with our middle fingers up in the air , glaring at her,  blasting  "controversy". (I know it wasn't very lady-like thing to do that but every time I think of that day I crack myself up)

 I had a purple motorcycle.

I would spend many a nights working on my artwork blasting some Prince song. My "ex" hated it which made me like it even more.

One of my "bucket list" items is that I want to drive a corvette all dolled up blasting Prince music (not necessarily "little red corvette" because I have so many favorites. I want to drive a corvette!

I will be in a fashion show this fall, for my runway song I insisted on "when doves cry" as my song. (My dress is covered in exfoliated dove feathers)

Madonna recently did a tribute song supposedly in Prince's memory at the billboard's award show but I think it was just a Madonna self indulged publicity stunt capitalizing on him for her own gain. She was not friends with Prince. She once referred to Prince as "that little troll".
humph..maybe that is why I liked him so much....

international pigeon appreciation day!

Here are my "three stooges". They are smart, sweet, loyal and funny.
Be kind to pigeons.
They make great companion pets!

Bonaire & bikinis 2016

* I found this photo  on the internet. I am using it to show how big tarpon fish are.
April 30-May 7th dive # 971-987
We stayed at a new place this time searching on www.vacationrentals.com
I found a very nice ocean front ground level studio condo at Sand dollar right next to the dive shop. This was probably the best place I've stayed in Bonaire so far.
Travelling to Bonaire via first class on Delta made the trip much less painful. It cost less money to fly first class the week I travelled in than flying COACH (Crowded-Odoriferous-Awful-Cramped-Hungry)in February!
You are also the first one on and first one off so you are not standing in the blasting sun waiting to go through customs. I am also the first in line to pick up my rental car. Easy peasy.
Seriously, it is the only tolerable way to go.
Dive Friends dive shop was also easy to deal with. They are friendly enough but they also just leave you alone. No long "lectures' or anything. Yeah!
We only went diving at bari reef (right in front of our condo), windsock (our favorite) Salt pier, dive inn (downtown at dive friends main headquarters) and front porch (tug boat wreck dive) over and over again.
We both like easy dives and not having to stumble over rocks and boulders in which many of shore dives can be problematic.
We saw lots of turtles, squid, octopus, a seahorse, tarpon, morays, lots and lots of lionfish, all kinds of colorful fish, sea stars and a slipper lobster!

It was very windy so we had to adjust our dives due to fairly strong currents.
We had fun using the go-pro camera so once we download the photos I will post the good ones!
One night we did a night dive. It was a bit of disaster starting off because there were no more small tanks available in the tank shed so I was stuck having to use a "Rich Williams" (giant ) tank. I looked like I had a missile strapped to my back.
There also was a current so it made the dive even more awkward. We wanted to film the octopus coming out of his lair.
During the dive, "something" kept bumping into me. It was "Charlie" the tarpon. He made a royal pest of himself and focused his attentions on solely me for some reason. Every time he "bumped me" it made him more ardent and frantic in his endeavours.I seriously think he thought I was a potential "mate" especially after I saw him chase other fish away. It was making me freakin' nervous-especially in the pitch black. Needless to say, I thought to myself-"game over" and I aborted the dive.
The funny thing is that my husband wanted to do another night dive the next day to film "Charlie".
Well that wasn't gonna happen. Nope.
I did see "Charlie" the next day (during the day) while diving the tug boat looking for the giant lionfish at 100 feet. Charlie left me alone. Thank God.
The bird watching at this studio condo was very good. Sam Williams from ECHO Bonaire (parrot rescue and rehab) has done a great job in preserving the parrot population. I saw so many of the brown throated parakeets and yellow shouldered amazons. They would perch themselves on a tree right outside our porch door, squawking and chucking the native fruits down below.
So many people ask me "how is the food?" in Bonaire. The funny part is we don't go to any restaurants  there because I like to cook my own food. I will have to say, Bonaire has the best ice cream (similar to Breyers gelato indulence), yummy pastries (appleflaps) and the best granola cereal.
 I buy their "local' spinach (spinake) which doesn't taste like spinach but more like collard greens. It is basically  weeds but it is green, fresh and inexpensive.Everything taste sooo freakin' delicious no matter what I cook. Diving three dives a day will do that to you. You are so hungry that those weeds are the most delicious things on earth!
 I don't mind cooking so long as my husband does the dishes. That's the deal.
On this trip I packed the least amount of clothes with me this time. Both my husband and I shared one single carry on bag for all our clothes (Our check in bags had the essential dive equipment) It worked out fine although I had wished I packed another bathing suit. I couldn't stand putting on the same soggy nasty bathing suit so I ended up buying a bikini at a local shop.
Yup a bikini.HA!
I bought it because it fit perfectly. (American bikinis do not fit me. They are always too big.This was made in Germany)
I probably wouldn't wear it up north (although I do religiously work out but  I am over 40 years old)
What happens in Bonaire stays in Bonaire. (wink)