Northwestern Adventure

Hello all, It's been snowing for days now, on and off, I estimate six or so inches at least. It's wonderful...I wish I would have brought along my copy of White Christmas, It's fun to open up the windows and watch the snow, with a space heater blasting at my feet. If you read the previous posts, you know about the deer. Well, last night, while on the computer I saw them again. But this time they brought their mother.... which was a tragic sight. She has a broken front leg, that she keeps curled up to her body. She can barely move. It's ironic, yesterday, in the police blotter, there was a notation that someone called the police bacause there was a deer in their yard, with an obvious broken leg. After hunting season, who knows if it could be the same deer. But I didn't call anyone, because I couldn't stand the thought of them shooting her, and leaving her two fawns alone.

I guess the real enjoyment was that they were litteraly within reaching distance of my window. I sat here for the greater part of an hour watching them eat the bushes right next to my Airstream. It was a magnificent experience. The mother was on guard, every second. Her head popped up with every little sound. Only a few times did she ever hear me. I have crank windows that open up ever so silently. So it was like I was there with them. This time, I opted not to show Reiley that they were there. And, of course I didn't take a photo, even a digital camera makes too much noise. I anxiously await their return.

It's been a downer of a day. I have had so many promising leads for jobs that I really wanted, and they have all fallen through. Money no longer exists, you know the story... but at least I am here, and not in St.Louis.

Speaking of, I thought I would include pictures of what I left behind. more of an expression of my creativity, and some of my ex's too. I had a two family flat (I rented to a wonderful couple upstairs, and I had the first floor.) It was a great place to entertain, as you will see Christmas parties and garden parties were a must. But it's also the object of much pain and turmoil in my life. Refinancing the house so I could afford parties, over and over, all so people would like me. It took getting rid of it all to realize that I don't need things for people to like me. It's really sad what I went through, the people I hurt, and the drama involved all to be 'special'.

I guess you all are going to get a glimpse into a vulnerable part of my life. But we all have those. I can easily turn off all of the mistakes I have made, but moreso, I look to work on my future. And structure it around me, and not what I have. That's why being happy, here in my little Airstream has been such a wonderful experience that has turned my life around for the better.

This is the backyard. I usually had more than thirty hanging baskets, some more than twenty feet off the ground. We liked to call it the "Hanging Gardens of Babylon" and yes, those are damn near the tallest drapes ever found on a deck. The entire neighborhood used to walk by the alley, along side of the yard, just to see what new things we had done. Below is one of my favorite features in the yard, my tree swing.

My bedroom. VERY ORANGE, but actually, a wonderfully comfortable place to be. The light, sheets, and disk are all still in storage, it's a room that I will create again someday.
The dining room. I just don't have a picture that does it justice. Tony made the "Alice in Wonderland on Acid" drapes, and I painted the diamonds on the wall. This picture was obviously taken prior to the orange bedroom. I'm a big fan of tone on tone, and Flat on semi-gloss paint jobs. It's the best way to make a wall really POP!

My bathroom. VERY small, but a fun, bright place to be. I bought the fish pictures in Chicago's Shed's Aquarium. More small things close to my heart that I kept.

More of the dining room prior to a Christmas Party, and the Alice in Wonderland on Crack Draperies.... Yes, the ceiling is Crimson. DON"T BE AFRAID TO USE DARK COLORS ON YOUR CEILING!!!!!!!! No matter what anyone says.

Sorry to the people in this picture, but this seems to be the only digital pic I have of my FAVORITE Drapes, with the $50 or so bucks a yard 6 inch fringe. High drama, I know, Way over the top, but I LOVE THEM... Yes I kept them too... The tree is all Tony. All Glass ornaments, mostly Radko. I could tell you a funny story about when the tree fell over, TWICE in fifteen minutes, but he might read this, and it's only funny if I tell the story in person.... Other than that, it really was a tragedy. But we made a great wreath out of the broken ornaments.... Very Martha Stewart. Thought I had a pic, but aparently I don't.. How unlike me. I photograph everything.

This was the orange room, prior to painting it. I had a bad habit of changing rooms when I was bored.

This is the SIXTY POUND bedspread. That is just a guestimate, but Tony quilted it, then we stuffed each and every square as tight as we could. My bed was on a platform, so it was some, four and a half feet off of the ground. It stole the show at the Christmas party. Or was it Reiley? This was just days after Reiley crawled in the basement window, and 'Moved in'. He was the nicest sweetest cat. Until the party, people came in to see the bed, reached over to pet him, and he growled, hissed and bit his way to a peaceful existance on that bed. He DID NOT like people in his house. But, shortly thereafter, he became a fully friendly lil' guy. He figured out how to open the back door, so he would go visit any neighbors that happened to be out on that particular day.

Thanks for allowing me this trip down memory lane. I hope you enjoyed it.