Being an Artist

Today I worked on my dream of being an artist by listing new things in my Etsy shop. I love stitching things by hand. I love coming up with a new idea, drawing it out on paper and then seeing it come to life in whatever medium I'm using at the time, in this case felt and embroidery thread.

Yes I'm Still Hanging On

It has been just over a year since I posted here. Much like an elastic band stretched too far, when the mess my life was in finally snapped I got launched.  I moved out of Anaheim and into the Mojave Desert. I'm so far out of my comfort zone, I don't even know what planet I am on. And I still don't have a vehicle!

But I'm still working on making my dreams happen. I do art every day and try to keep my Etsy shop running.  I'm trying to figure out how to make my dreams work when I'm out in the middle of nowhere. At first I didn't even have decent Internet access.  At least I've fixed that temporarily. A friend helped me to get Broadband. I'm not sure how long he'll keep paying for it, so I hope I can get more income so I don't have to go back to 'slower than a turtle on tranquilizers' dial-up. I hate being dependent on the whims of others.

I also have a new granddaughter born in Feb. I haven't even gotten to see her yet because I don't have a way to drive 7 hours. So I'm crossing my fingers that the universe provides a way soon, because I don't want to miss her babyhood. She's already almost a month old!

Here are some photos of my new home.

Taken from my backyard.

Joshua tree in my yard.

Tonight's sunset.

Not One of My Better Days

Some days I feel like the universe plots against me. Today started out okay but quickly went downhill and never recovered. So I buried myself in a good book (Crown of Stars) and also took a long afternoon nap. I am feeling the frustration of not having my own vehicle right now. On days where I just want to hop in and drive far far away I can't. So I feel like I'm climbing the walls. I know a lot of blogs are all about sunshine and sugar but this isn't one of them. It would be fake to say I always felt that way. Emotionally I feel like I'm slogging through the mud. It seems like everything stands between me and my goals. Lack of money, lack of encouragement, lack of opportunity and a body that keeps reminding me that I'm 54, not 24. Sometimes forcing myself to do things just doesn't work, so today I just let the to-do list go and just did my best to get through this negative spiral.

Dreams and Goals

I have a few dreams and goals that just refuse to die despite my weight and my age. That's probably a good thing. Never say die. Unless you are dead of course.

Photo A Day and Impacts

I was looking for my self-portrait blog and found this one. I'm really in a slump right now.  I want to keep my dreams alive and lord knows I've tried, but life keeps slinging mud at me.  People that say they love me sure don't act like it some times. Yesterday at the archery range I got so depressed that I didn't take a single photo.  Then I read this account about a man that took a daily Polaroid for 17 or 18 years until he died of cancer.  Now that's commitment. http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/26f8Ia/www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/15131 You can read the story for yourself.

Ukelele

My friend Robert just figured out how to post to Youtube. Here he is with his new ukelele.

That Moose Group

I've been sick for two weeks which has given me lots of times to think about my dreams, and how out of reach so many of them are. One of my goals was to read 100 books this year and here it is December and I've read about 20. I don't regret the books I read or having the goal, but I do regret that I didn't do better at it. There is a saying that man plans and God laughs. I believe it.

Musically I've been inspired by a duet my boyfriend shared with me on Youtube. I'll go find an example and post it here. I have a lot of instruments and would love to do something like this, but I don't know how to do the electronics. I don't know how to lay down sound tracks and harmonize with my own voice and so on. I can never remember the band's name, only that it has the word Moose in it.