Psycho Patrol for Baby Chain Gang

Several weeks ago I was trying to find parking near SFMOMA for a job interview and I saw a Baby Chain-Gang. Seriously.

Identical High Security Orange Oversized T-shirts on a squad of 9 five year olds.

It took four adults with prison guard face smeared across their features and a handcuff-like rope contraption to keep these tiny persons in a tight line for crossing the busy San Francisco Street.

Each little kid (boys nearly indistinguishable from girls) had a hand or two thrust into the looped rope cuff, attached to the main tow line at one foot intervals.

The only individuality of the gang was their attitudes toward the rope: One brown haired boy had one wrist in his loop, and the other hand, arm, shoulder were thrust backward as if he was being dragged against a strong wind. A little blond girl was obviously riding a horse: She had both hands on her loop, and was cracking the reigns, while she cloppity-clopped on the pavement. A third baby had the loop in his palm, a forward bend in his back, and the rope across his shoulder, as if he was Gulliver, dragging in the Lilliputian ships. A couple of children on opposing sides of the rope were obviously using it lumberjack style to chop down an enormous tree.

They all made it across the street - not so much because the light stayed green, but mostly because the drivers waiting were laughing so hard they couldn't reach their gas pedals...

As I was driving home tonight, I saw another thing that make me laugh out loud. Especially after the recent horrific shootings on college campuses and in malls; Friends, and the I-80 interchange having bad car wrecks, and various happy couples splitting up, getting back together and resulting in nasty custody battles...I am so glad that this is out on the road: Psycho Patrol

We need a lot more....

Feathers, Feathers, Everywhere...

Last set of pictures for today: FEATHERS! My friend has offered me an opportunity to sell off parts of my wonderful feather "collection" by turning them into jewelry components.

First, I wanted to sort and clean the feathers. Uh. Yeah. I never got any further.

Here are some pictures of sorting the feathers. They have to be sorted by right and left in order to make components that are symmetrical. Birds do not lose all of their feathers at once. That would make flying HARD.

Instead, each molt they lose a feather from either the right or left. During the next seasonal change, they lose an opposing feather. This keeps the birds from ever having too few feathers to fly, or from having to just fly in a circle all the time.

These feathers are primarily from Jeremy and Cookie (My mom's bird). There are a few extras from Macaws I have known, and from some pheasants that had the unfortunate luck to meet up with CB during hunting season.

I also have some before and after photos of Experiment #1: Wash in Woolite, in a bag, on gentle cycle. Back to the drawing board...

Turns out the best way to clean feathers is with steam. Experiment #2 coming up!

Beautiful Wine Bags

2007 is the year of "Move it Out!"

I want to move out all the extra fabrics, beads, wire, mask making supplies, hats in progress, bath salt making herbs,
and feathers. Here is my first attempt at starting the process: Wine bags for my friend W.

He does wine tastings and needed nice bags for covering up bottles for blind taste tests. I bought this incredible fabric over five years ago to make Bellydance costume pieces (which never came to fruition). The SuperHubby and I, with lots of help from my friend R., spent much of a day deciding the best way to go about making the bags, getting them stable, putting in drawstrings, and picking the standard sizes.

Now that we have a pattern ready to go, I am going to start selling them through friends who do Art & Wine Festivals. If you'd like to buy one to keep dust off your wine, give as a gift, or use at a historical event to "hide" your anachronistic bottle of water...drop me a line!

Winter Wonderland Pictures

I'm still trying to figure out this whole "insert a photo" thing. I'm working out how to intersperse within text, instead of them all going to the top, automatically. Argh.

Here is a group of fun, winter-related pictures, starting with, Me, very cold, worshipping at the altar of the outdoor heaters.







Next, a couple of pics of Jeremy the Bird, making California snow.

Monday Aspirations

This is *supposed* to be my Aspiration Machine, but lately I have not had it plugged in. The creative energy it takes to power the stories and make the machine go have been...well...let's just say I've been DOING too much to talk about Doing.

I can't be blamed, but it ain't gonna make me inta dat writa I wannabe, neither.


I wanted to post this though, since my friend D. is always putting new awesome stuff up on her page, and I feel challenged to emulate her prolific deliverables. I designed two new necklace/earring sets on Monday, and my Jewelry Artist, Beadzilla (www.beadzilla.com) whipped them out for me. Yummy, huh?

In the case of the (not pictured) amber and green necklace, I did much of the bead stringing myself. It was an excellent way to confirm that I do not like green eggs and ham...I mean, the beading process. As long as Beadzilla is happy making stuff the way *I* want it, I'm happy comissioning her to play with the wires, crimps, cutters and findings. Nuff Said. Enjoy!

Rock in the River of Time

I wrote to a friend:

It turns out that my relationship with time is utterly fluid.
The poetry and devotion of youth is effortlessly summoned for me.
The past, the present and the future all mingle, and commune with the joy of running into a lover from whom you parted on excellent -potentially renewable- terms.

He wrote back:

Sorry I didn't make it to Dargans -- I took a nap that just kept on going. It was great to see you, and I really enjoyed our conversation at the coffee cat. You are one of the most real people that I know, and I feel very lucky to have you in my life. no matter the months or the miles, you are always just "there" -- a rock in the river of time.