"N" is for Nose and Nasal Congestion

"N" is for Nose and nasal congestion. I absolutely love spring. I can never wait for it to get here after going through a long cold winter. Somehow over the winter months I develop amnesia because I forget that spring is also allergy season. I will go out on the first beautiful sunny day and walk across the grass and smell the new blossoms and flowers completely happy and in awe of nature's beauty. Then all of a sudden my eyes begin to water and itch, my nose begins to run and I begin an explosive series of sneezes that make me look and sound like I'm having some kind of a fit. People who don't understand allergies want to put me in some kind of quarantine as if I'm contagious and they don't want to catch my "germs". I have to make the same explanations every year that allergies are not contagious, it's just a reaction to the pollen, mold, dust and animal dander that get stirred up when the weather gets warmer. My next mission is to find out which of the dozens of allergy medicines on the shelf are going to work this year. My system gets used to the one from the year before and I have to change medications every year. The other criterion for me is that I have to find one that doesn't knock me out. I am very susceptible to "can cause drowsiness". What causes drowsiness for most will make me sleep for hours. So, it is my annual sneezing, itchy eyes, stuffy nose, run to the drug store season. Love spring, hate my allergies. "N" is for nose and nasal congestion.

"M" is for the moon

"M" is for the moon. I have always loved watching the moon and it has been the subject of a lot of my art pieces in both fabric and watercolor. I'd like to share with you a few pieces of my artwork featuring the moon.

The moon is peaceful and constant and is almost always there. The moon becomes a gathering place where some seek answers to the mysteries in their lives.

The moon effects great bodies of water and pulls at the ocean tides.

The moon gives comfort to those who are not able to find it elsewhere.

The moon becomes mother earth's sister and there is power in a woman's hands.

The moon, the only thing greater than yourself?

The moon listens when no one else will...

...and we wait for the moon's answer...

...to guide us through the storm.

"M" is for the moon.

"L" is for love

"L" is for love. At first I thought it would be a cop out to use love as my "L" word. I'm sure it has been used so many times today. But I wanted to use it because it is part of my favorite quote by Jimi Hendrix. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace."

I love this quote. It was so timely in the sixties when I was growing up. We protested the Vietnam War and wanted to bring our soldiers home. Today, over 40 years later, we are still praying for our troops overseas to bring them home. We are committed to defending peace, freedom and justice for people who are victims of someone's love of power.

So the word love as it is used here is not about romantic love but about the danger of the love of power, the need to be in control of other people, places and things. The love of power has been the downfall of many civilizations. It causes us to be at war, it causes domestic violence, it causes gang warfare, it breeds bullies and abusers.

Maybe if we could just start loving each other we could find the value in each other and not feel the need to be in control and in possession of power over each other.

"K" is for Kiyo

Last week I finished my Japanese doll Kiyo. I thought since her name begins with "K" I would save her for "K" day.

I planned the design and started working on her before the terrible disaster that hit Japan last month. I have her on display with Maixiu in my booth at The Market Place. When she is adopted I will send part of the proceeds to the Red Cross to help with Japan's disaster relief.

I really loved working on Kiyo. My goal was to create her costume and hair in a slightly different style than most Japanese dolls. I did some research to find an image that was what I wanted. I found this beautiful photo of a warrior princess with her long hair in a pony tail and down on the sides. This was a different image from the usual "geisha" type dolls that have their hair up in an elaborate style.

Happy to share Kiyo here with you.

"J" is for journey

"J" is for journey. I think of my life now as more a journey than anything else. A few years ago my carefully constructed, very predictable, safe little world fell completely apart. Like so many other people at that time, I became a victim of the recession and lost my job. For the first time in my life I was unemployed with no options or prospects for where the next job was coming from or what I was going to do next. The field I had been working in had bottomed out. I fought so hard to get another job as soon as possible. I reached out to all of the people who I thought could help but jobs were being cut everywhere.

On top of everything else my apartment complex decided to raise my rent by $300. I tried to fight that too by going to court against the management company but they could afford lawyers and I couldn't. As much as I tried to gain control of all of the things that were spinning out of control the more out of control they became. My oldest son called me and told me to come and stay with his family and start over again. At my age, starting over again is not something I wanted to do. I had been making long term plans on how to begin slowing down not starting over. It meant leaving everything I owned, everything I knew, all of my friends and all of the things I was so actively involved in.

I told my son no, and that I would try to work something out. But everything I did to try and save my home and my very existence just fell through. It was like running in a race for miles and miles and then finding yourself in the exact same spot. I realized that for once, I had to just let go of what I thought was my life and let what needed to happen happen. It was like being on a journey where I had to arrive at a predetermined destination. No matter how hard I tried to go my own way, the journey would lead me back in the same direction.

I packed everything I owned into a friend's garage and what I needed into my old car and made the 2-hour journey to my son's. My daughter-in-law was very kind to open her home to me. My journey had led me to a family. I had two gorgeous grandchildren, Jaden and Maya who barely knew me. I had missed birthdays and so many holidays because I always had to work.

This journey was absolutely necessary to take me to one of my life's many destinations. It was necessary for me to slow down, to let go of the material things and find a family that I had become estranged from.

"I" is for interesting

My creative energies are not flowing today so, my entry is brief and without pictures. I did think about today's letter "I" and one of the words that came to mind was the word interesting. A few weeks ago I was watching a movie, I can't remember the name and one of the characters was speaking to his adversary and he said "may you live in interesting times". I have heard that quote a number of times before and always thought it meant to live an interesting, unboring life. Later I found out that the quote may have roots in an old curse or warning from China or Egypt or possibly Scotland. The meaning has a twist, it wishes that your life be one of unrest and turmoil and without peace. "Interesting times" definitely applies to life in general right now. There are so many things going on in the world today, we are in turmoil in so many ways and certainly, we are not at peace. I promise I will do a better job of posting tomorrow after a good nights sleep.

"H" is for happiness

I heard someone once say that "happiness is a choice" and that we choose to live either a miserable life filled with sorrow or a joyful life filled with happiness. If you've ever met someone whose life and circumstances made you want to cry for them, yet that same person was the happiest, most generous and loving person you've ever met, then you understand what this means. Even though that person may have had next to nothing as far as personal possessions go, they were willing to give anything to make someone else happy and comfortable.

Sometimes I wake up feeling really grouchy but as the morning goes along I find myself feeling happy for no apparent reason (a good cup of coffee really helps too). I don't think it's so much that I've made a conscious decision to choose happiness but more that there are very few things that I find worth feeling miserable about anymore and the end result is the same. Maybe that's what Bobby McFerrin meant in his song "Don't Worry, Be Happy".

"G" is for grey clouds

I have always loved watching the sky and watching clouds. They always seemed so peaceful and dream like. But this year we have had several severe storm warnings in this area. For the first time in history, Sacramento has had five small but destructive tornadoes in a period of less than two months. I have lived in California my whole life and I am so used to our weather patterns, I know what to expect each year with an occasional, unique occurrence. I have never heard severe storm warnings to take shelter in a solid structure or under ground until this year.

Yesterday there was blue skies and sunshine all morning and then all of a sudden another storm blew in like banshee and everything changed. Fairfield is a city about 40 miles west of Sacramento at sea level and they had snow and another tornado hit our area again.

Now when I go out I watch the clouds but now it is with caution. These grey clouds are what I drove into when I went to pick up my son at work at 6:00. Fortunately, they were moving west toward the mountains. I still love watching clouds but grey clouds like these are more nightmare than dream.

"F" is for "I Feel Fabulous Today!"

I feel fabulous today!

The fog is gone and the sun is out.

The flowers are blooming and the butterflies are fluttering!

I feel fabulous today! I don't have work so I'm free to walk along the river and watch the turtles, frogs and fish splashing at the water's edge and the wild geese flying over head. I feel fabulous today! I'm going to have french toast and coffee for breakfast, watch my favorite daytime TV shows and finish a favorite book.

I feel fabulous today!

"E" is for Erte and Elegance

I am realizing that this A to Z blog is a real commitment. I am so conscious of trying to write something everyday and as soon as I am done my thoughts go to what will I write tomorrow. If my Ex and I had had this kind of commitment, we'd still be married.

Anyway, today's thoughts must include the letter "E". My thoughts immediately went to one of my favorite designers from the past Erte. His design influence was as important to the Art Deco Period as was the industrial and the architectural influences of that time. I have always loved this design period and have been fascinated by Erte's work.

The elegance is obvious and the theatrical elements are wonderful.

The outrageous and beautiful costumes that Cher, Tina Turner, Bette Midler and Carol Burnette wore long before Lady Ga Ga and Katy Perry hit the stage were designed by another of my favorites, Bob Mackie. His designs are also very reminiscent of Erte.

As I look at some of Erte's designs here, I can see them modernized a bit and can picture Katy Perry, Rhianna, or Lady Ga Ga wearing these same designs today.

"D" is for Dolls, Display and Deadline

I usually start my Tuesday blog with TGIT, Thank God It's Tuesday! Because I work Friday through Monday, my "weekend" begins on Tuesday and I look forward to spending time on my own interests and hobbies. Today, "D" is of course for me for dolls, my favorite creative expression.

This "weekend" I have also given myself a deadline to finish four new dolls before Saturday. Here in Sacramento we have a Second Saturday Artwalk every month. This month the gallery/crafts and collectibles center that I work for is hosting an event. I already have about 17 dolls on display and the three in the photo above are ready to go. I have about 20 more in various stages of being finished and I would love to add at least four more by Saturday. Send me your good vibes and I know I will complete this task by my deadline. I can't wait to share them here with you. You will have the first preview of my new "Gloria's Girls" dolls.

"C" is for...

"C" is for my clock, beeping at me "get up, get up, get up, get up". It's Monday, time to join the rat race again. Into the shower to wash away yesterday and present a new skin for today. "C" is also for coffee and I can't wait until it's ready. "C" is also for carbs, to keep the low blood sugar away. "C" is also for cranky because my son is always cranky on Monday morning. We both have to be out of the door by 9:00. "C" is also for creative, cordial and cleaver, what I need to be today for my clients and customers.

"B" is for Bodies, Beginnings and Becoming

"B" is for bodies, beginnings and becoming. As a doll maker this is where I begin. A little fabric, lots of polyester stuffing, thread, yarn, some ink, some acrylic paint, a little time and all of the creative expression that I would put into a painting or any other art piece and a doll body is born. They each become a member of my "Gloria's Girls" family.

I find peace, joy and creative expression in designing and making these little 'people'. They can become anything or anyone that I want them to be yet at the same time as they are becoming, they have a mind of their own and they tell me who they are and how they are going to look. Each of my dolls is a unique individual just as we are in life. They are all shapes, sizes, colors and genders. We are also born and we shape our own lives as we grow and learn. We are assigned the bodies that we live in but it is up to us how we begin each day and what we have learned and what we become by the end of the day.

"A" is for April and Almost

"A" is for April as in this is the first day of the April A to Z blog challenge. A is also for almost because I almost forgot to make my first post in this challenge. Because I am sadly unprepared for the first day, I don't have a clever illustration or picture to go along with this post. But I will make up for it over the coming days. Blog you tomorrow.

After The Storm

I am happy to say that my current project now has arms and legs and she is no longer "topless" (not shown in this picture). I was working on her wig on Wednesday and got a lot done. I remembered that I promised myself some outdoor time after getting through last week's storms, wanted to see what the winds had done. I pack a bottle of water and my camera in my purse and put on a pair of comfortable shoes and went out to see what I could see.

One of my favorite parks in Sacramento is "William Land Park". Sad to say we lost a number of our beautiful trees. It's so strange to see something that was 30 or 40 foot tall that has been growing for so many years just lying on the ground with its roots up ended. I wish there was a way to put them back in the ground so that they can keep growing but instead, they will be chopped up into fire wood and mulch.

It almost feels like I've lost family and friends to the storm.

The river is the highest it has been in over a decade. We are at 159% of normal for water this year due to the heavy rains and the snow pack. The governor declared that we are no longer in a drought for the first time in 5 or 6 years. So, good things also came out of the storm.

I got a lot of walking in on Wednesday and realized just how out of shape I am. I was exhausted. I am making a pledged to myself to get out more now that the weather is getting nice again. I will just have to pack up my doll projects and take them on the road. Working on them outside will be healthy for them and me.

Knowing that spring is here gives us all hope that this is again a new beginning. There is a culture, I'm not sure which one, who has their New Year celebration in spring instead of winter. That really makes sense because this is time when there is new growth, the shedding of old skins for new ones, building new structures, and time to get reacquainted with nature.

Yes, I will definitely be spending more time outside working on my dolls. I don't want to waste this beautiful season.