A Peek into the Pumpkin patch...

I know, I know, I'm jumping the gun here but do you blame me, fellow Halloween fanatics?

Found this awesome interactive site: Crumpkin's Pumpkins. It's chock-full of colorful graphics, spooky music, even a gift shop with all sorts of Samhein swag. In spite of having tons of housework to do, I slacked off by spending the better part of an hour just cruising around the site, moving my cursor around to experience every hidden goody and finding myself getting VERY excited over it! Pumpkin porn it is, I tell you! Drool... Well, needless to say, the fact that it's less than ninety days till Halloween lights a fire under my hiney to get things in order. 

Since July, Mark and I have been going over initial plans on the layout of the yard. We have several acres to fill full of fun and fright for our party in October - no small task for sure. But it's okay, that alone gets my heart pumping and my creativity flowing like mad. There will be many different stations and themes all throughout our property, including a walk through our Haunted Woods. To say we're striving for LEGENDARY status this year is a serious understatement!

Needless to say, in the meantime, we are all absolutely hating the hot, muggy summertime weather, which seemingly drags by at an agonizing pace each day. Ugh, so much sun! The past couple days have brought rain and plenty of thunder and lightning, so a small respite from the heat was temporarily had. Another day closer to The Day... it's all about inching toward the vivid Autumn colors and cooler days and nights, where we get to indulge in revelry with friends and family and enjoy the fruits of the harvest.

But do check out the site below first. Take your time exploring everything, there are surprises around every corner... just like our home!

Click on link below to visit Crumpkin's Pumpkins!

http://www.crumpkinspumpkins.com/#page_top

A Wonderful Autumn, full of Love and Fun!

Mark and I had a blast as usual, filled with fun, songs, friends, food, and more love than I ever could have imagined. Here is a photo of us taken at the Halloween show the Exotic Ones and Secret Commonwealth put on this year in Nashville.

Like our motto says: Growing older is mandatory, but growing up is optional!

Have a happy and meaningful All Hallow's Eve...

Be safe, remember with love and respect the ones who have passed, and most importantly, have a good time making new memories!

I spent Friday, October 29, with dear friends Ethan and Gwen at Mt. Olivet cemetery in Nashville

Halloween tales, pumpkins, friendship, and midnight dancing...

And oh, it was wondrous, indeed!

The Last One Out (the Halloween play our friend, John Davis, wrote and directed) saw a sold-out performance last night at Encore Theater. 

Our freshly carved Jack O'Lanterns and corn stalks await you at theater's entrance

The Secret Commonwealth played live before the show and during intermission. People in the audience laughed, gasped, cried, and laughed again... reliving their own childhoods and coming-of-age in a magical two hours among mutual friends and family. 

John Davis, the maker of magical things

I'm sad that the play's run ends today, but am so proud of John for bringing it to life.

The awesome cast of The Last One Out takes a final bow

Needless to say, Mark gave the show a remarkable and poignant performance as the narrator/grown up version of Jack Daves. Honey, I salute you, and am proud beyond words. Kisses and huggies!

Stopped by two pumpkin patches yesterday on our way out to the show and in the late afternoon autumn sunlight, was bedazzled by the sights and smells and colors that can only be conjured properly during this time of year. The first one was in West Meade, the second, out in the beautiful countryside in Lebanon. Both were delightful! It was a perfect day for reveling amongst the gourds, too, with a dry, cool wind a-blowin' in the bluest of blue skies. 

Blue autumn skies and corn stalks and hay bales and pumpkins...these are a few of my favorite things!

I could live in a pumpkin patch all the time, surrounded by fat gourds, vivid buckets of chrysanthemums, and framed by the striking foliage hues. 

Pumpkins so numerous and colorful, lining up as if they were fat puppies waiting to be adopted.

So many fine, plump gourds! So little time. 

I'll take this one!

There were a few varieties I have not really seen before - namely, the 'Fairy Tale' (aka Cinderella pumpkin) type, which I am completely enamored with. They truly had a supernatural quality to them, and you can easily imagine Cinderella's carriage being transformed from one of them. 

The Fairy Tale pumpkin lives up to its moniker!

It came in several resplendent shapes and colors

Is it possible to fall in love with a pumpkin? Well, maybe not in the traditional sense, of course... but I did. Mark anticipates me bringing home at least a dozen of these exquisite specimens. I'm anxious to grow some of them as well, and will create another new pumpkin patch in our yard early next spring. 

Whimsical hay bales added a cute creative touch

Lest we forget - we carved our own pumpkins yesterday morning. What a joy that is. 

Let the fun begin!

If I could do this once a month (as opposed to just once a year), I'd be a much happier person. Not that I'm sad, mind you, I just derive so much pleasure from it!

Mmm! Guts!

We don't simply toss out the innards - nay! Our kitchen gets mighty busy as we cook plenty of marvelous dishes, from roasting the seeds, to harvest breads and muffins and even a Native American stew with pumpkin, sweet potato, onions and corn. Ahh, the smells emanating from the kitchen are hypnotic: cinnamon and allspice and ginger and nutmeg...

It nourishes both body and soul. 

Lighting the way in our kitchen

John's hearse emanated mystery and magic in anticipation of Halloween

Think good thoughts for my Yeti...

Yeti has an appointment with the veterinarian this morning. She's an old cat - 15 going on 16, but acts like the perennial kitten in so many ways. Lately she's been losing weight and her glossy, snow white fur is shedding rapidly. I know that older cats often develop thyroid problems. I'm hoping she gets a clean bill of health and will be with me for many more years to come. 

Yeti has been an exemplary friend to me over the years. She is more like a dog in so many ways, too - she'll listen to my verbal commands, play fetch, and follow me wherever I go, and back again. Her sense of being in tune with me is uncanny. I am very philosophical about life and death, but when confronted with the fact of her not being here one day, I feel... anxious and sad. Can't even think of it right now.

More later once we return from the vet.

Holee Moleeee...

You'd think I'd fallen off the face of the earth, with this long lag between posts. Honestly, I've been quite busy - a lot has transpired and I'm a very excited girl here! Don't want to tell too much just yet but I will release this tidbit: I'm working with a dear gal friend here on creating something really, really cool, and along with a fellow film maker, the end results (very dark, glamorous and classic) will wow everyone. Ooooh can't wait! (jumps up and down, does backflips, then the 'Snoopy Happy Dance')....

On another note! - 

Got a great part time job working with animals. Yay, me! I've missed doing this and am thrilled to be back in that capacity.

And! -

Have a couple super cool things on my art table. Conjuring up funny characters is my specialty of course! But y'all will have to wait till you get to see them. No whining allowed - it may take a while (as in a few months) but that's the way it's gotta be, kids.

Now, on a side note. If anyone happens to have a spare copy of Somerset Studios Sept/Oct 2009 issue just lying around that they no longer want, I'd greatly appreciate it sent out yonder my way! I'll even pay for postage. I  mean, heck... it seems my copy has just gotten up and left the building, a la a very dead Elvis, no thank-you-very-much. 

I *KNOW* where it went to... on a long, cross-country journey ... and that's ok. If it was that much loved and wanted, then I hope it is given a very good home.

 This is the particular issue I'm needing. Drop me a line or leave a comment if you do have a copy you care to sell. Thanks, gang!


And lastly, I was able to finally post on my other blog (An Illuminated Frog). Hopefully it is nourishing soul food for thought, for one and all web travelers who stop by to visit. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

It was 50 years ago today...

To everyone who made turning 50 years young a special event for me.
You rock!!!

From the surprise party last Saturday night at Kimbro's Pickin' Parlor in Franklin, to the Secret Commonwealth (who really put on the most fantabulous show ever - particularly the specially-written song for my birthday), to everyone who spent time with me - it was awesome!!! The entire weekend has been one huge love-fest, from our dinner & movie Friday with Linda and Gary, to the show on Saturday, up till today, my actual birthday.

Wow. Warm fuzzies to the umpteenth degree. I'm incredibly blessed, and extremely humbled. I keep hearing Sally Field's emotional, post-Oscar winning voice in my head: "You like me... you really like me!"

Thank you to everyone...  dear Linda, Gary, Amanda, Jeffrey, John, Bernadette, Rod, Beth, Carl, Gwen, Michelle, Randy, Troy, Franko, Malin, Ron, Rob, Don..... the list goes on.... you know who you are, and you know how special you all are to me. I have never been happier in my  life, and you all are a part of it.

Most of all, words alone cannot begin to express my thanks to my husband... my Soul Mate, Mark - Mr. Poopy himself - for making this all possible. The specially-made cake (it was scrumpdillyumpcious), the songs, the marvelous outting to buy me all the fun, frivolous girlie stuff I like, the love you constantly show me... I'm gettin' all verklempt here again. You are my best friend, you are my heart. It may be snowing and freezing outside, but YOU are the coals in my fire, baby. I love you.

Hello, 2010. What brings thou here for us?

Wow. What a great intro to a new year indeed. We have our first snowfall of the winter season - about an inch or so of softly-packed powder has blanketed the area. Up here in the hills, we got hit a little harder than the lowlanders down in the city, but that's okay because I have a very warm and happy home to live in and don't need to leave the house for anything right now.

Most of yesterday, as the snow fell in furiously flurrying swirls all around, I spent at the window capturing photos of the birds that came in to gobble up the seeds I put out. From the bright red cardinals to a pack of boisterous blue jays to a red-headed woodpecker, the action never stopped. I even had to bundle up and trudge outside to add more seeds to the feeders to make sure every one of my feathered friends was well-fed. This photo on the right is the same view as the one from my previous post (Shiny, Bright and New) if you want to see the drastic seasonal comparison.

The opportunistic blue jays swooped in abundance to grab all the free food they could. I loved the juxtaposition of birds on a cat here! The cement cat statue was bought at Ronnie Lee Twist's awesome statuary shop in nearby Kingston Springs. If you live in the area or in Nashville in general, go visit him and his beautiful wife Nikki, they are the nicest people ever! The statuary they have for sale is amazing, but their art gallery is exquisite, full of handmade art by local artists. 

Our "StumpHenge" area by the old apple tree was frosted with a pristine coating of sparkly white snow. The lovely ornate cement bench in the center was also bought at Ronnie Lee Twist's statuary.A few of my photos were even used on our local TV channel's website (including the cardinal and house sparrow in the snowstorm here). How cool is that! 

(And another round of thanks to dear Mark Poopy Hubby for the awesome new camera he bought me. You see, babe, I am putting it to very good use!)

So much has already happened... where to start? Well let's see. I succumbed to a rotten chest cold that left me extremely hoarse. Sounding like Harvey Firestein has been a very interesting experience for me, to say the least. "I just wanna be loved. Is that so wrooooong?"
Ha ha. My head and chest were quite congested and the last thing I felt like doing was sitting at my computer, attempting to type an intelligent sentence as I continuously blasted snot into a never ending bunch of Kleenex... thus, my absence from the Internet. 

New Year's Eve was a very special occasion, as Mark and I spent it with a group of great friends over in east Nashville, at our friend Troy's home. It was a potluck dinner with lots of delicious food and drink. I was the designated driver, and let my dear Poopy have his turn to imbibe a few beers. Thank the heavens for these wonderful people! An artistic, eccentric and intelligent bunch of kooks with much kindness abounding.

We've come to love them dearly (thank you, Linda, Ethan, John, Gwen, Troy, Amanda, Carl, and the rest - y'all know who you are!) and are so thankful for all the niceness they've shown us. Isn't that what life is all about? Being good and kind to others is simple and should come easily. Why does drama and bullshit have to happen with some people? My theory is, they're addicted to it and can't function without it. 


I'm glad I don't have any of that in my existence. I've learned to embrace joy instead of clinging to strife, and have long espoused the elements of "the laws of attraction" which have worked marvelously for me over the years. Once you rid yourself of the negative baggage you drag around, magical things happen, and that's a fact.

Have you seen AVATAR yet? Your thoughts?

I truly enjoyed it. We saw the 3-D version and were blown away. Visually, it was stunning, and James Cameron's technical CGI wizardry will likely be rewarded come Academy Awards time. The story itself is basic (greedy humans trying to steal away from a native race who live as one with the land) and, sadly and embarrassingly, holds close to many parallels of the white European settlers coming to the US and taking away the land and lives of the native Americans. 

Okay - a mini rant here. I promise to make it short and as sweet as possible. Why do humans have to be selfish and greedy? Why do they trample over things that are sacred all for the sake of acquisition (often in the name of their particular god)? My Hubby, in his infinite wisdom, calls it "the bug in the human software," meaning, they are flawed and have that horribly misplaced sense of entitlement and just take, take, take. Greed is an awful thing, and when you add unlimited, uncontrolled power in to that, you have a truly poisonous mixture that removes all traces of the good and pure human element. 

But back to AVATAR. My typical morning ritual consists of reading a particular website (Crystalinks.com, a really cool and informative science/metaphysical one I've been reading for over ten years, and have learned a lot from) whilst gulping down my vat of coffee as I aim to get my brain kicked in gear. This morning, I noticed an image on her site from the movie that sparked something in me. The main character, and overall theme of the movie, bore a lot of similarities to a painting I had done way back in 1995 when I was still living in Hollywood. I put the images side by side to compare and was more than a little struck by those similarities. From the background imagery of the high-reaching world tree and connective web, to the character's overall look with ear piercings, dreadlocked hair and bejeweled decor, I venture my humble opinion: Very, very interesting indeed! Cameron must've tapped into the same general well of Universal consciousness as I. 

Heh heh.

I present here for your scrutinization. 

   

This is the painting in its entirety. 

Below is the image from AVATAR alongside a close-up of my painting. You can click on them to enlarge in a new window.

***UPDATE!***


I sent an email in to Ellie Crystal at Crystalinks.com and told her about my painting above. She was impressed enough that she used it on her site! Seems I indeed must have tapped into the same well, aka "The Grid" (what I earlier termed "The Universal Consciousness") as Cameron. Below is a screen capture taken from the pages of today's Crystalinks site (click on it to enlarge in a new window). http://www.crystalinks.com/avatar2010.html/

***UPDATE - 1/11/10***


There was another update there in regard to my painting/In The Grid posting - this one tying in the ancient Egyptian goddess, Hathor.