Velvety

Here you can see some of why Fay loves Amagansett. The lawn is so velvety soft and green and pleasant on her feet and there are plenty of cars to chase from the safety of the securely fenced yard. She loves to have a job.

Another velvety thing: my new haircut.

These aren't especially velvety but I made them:

Ebelskivers! 

These are cornmeal filled with strawberry preserves. Okay, they look sad because they fell in the oven. Also because this is all that was left after Mom and I had our share. They were really delicious and I'll definitely make them again. I got the recipe from "Ebelskivers: Filled Pancakes & Other Mouthwatering Minniatures."

It's Just My Nature

My secret weapon for today

I am a rebel. My hair is large and in charge. I'm wearing a black bra. Everyone else here (at the reservoir) is exercising - I am eating an eclair. I can tell they're all jealous. Also, I recycle - TO THE EXTREME!!!!!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Week - Some People Would Just Stay Home

Pete and I went to Florida to visit his parents.

It was windy.  It was also warm enough that I didn't care that my flab was sticking out from under my shirt.

We found some hair on the beach.  Don't worry - it was just extensions or something.  The hair was all sewn together at one end in a long strip.

Pete's dad and I battled for dessert.

One night I tried Mofongo: plantains mashed together with pork and garlic.  It's something like mashed potatoes.  I gotta say it's better fresh than reheated the next day.  The kind I got had shrimp in garlic butter over it.  Hefty! I'd try it again with a different accompaniment.  

Another day Pete and I went to the beach club for lunch.  We got salads for lunch, then we went to the ice cream store.  I got rum raisin with these beautiful multi-color Sno-caps:

Pete got a sundae.

Later that night Pete and I got salmonella.  We think it was the salads.  It couldn't have been the ice cream - right?

We spent our last day doing salmonella stuff and an extra day at Pete's parents' house recovering.  Who wants to fly sitting next to someone with salmonella?  Not that we could have made it to the airport without passing out. Three days later and we still can't eat solid food.

Poor Jill who was watching Fay agreed to stay an extra day (HALLEFRIGGINGLUJAH - THANK YOU!!!!!)

So today we were making our way up to Vermont.  We had the car all loaded up and Pete was pulling out of the parking space in the garage.  He said "is there something wrong with your steering?"  I said, "I don't think so."  Then I got out of the car to find that we had a flat tire.

Hmmmm.

So I carry Fay back up to the apartment while Pete checks at the tire place across the street. (Nice to have one across the street)

You need a key to get from the garage into our apartment's hallway.  Mine got stuck in the lock.  I had to put Fay down (so she's running loose in the hallway which the Trustees don't like) and get my key ring off the key in the door so I could put Herself into the apartment.  Then I spent ten minutes jiggling the key around trying to get it out of the lock.

Pete came back and suggested I call the management company (no, I wouldn't have thought of that.  I'm a dim bulb) while he took the car to be sorted.

So now the key is out - took the handyman about five minutes to get here and one to get the key out - and the tire is fixed (YAY - we don't have to buy four new tires for our all-wheel-drive car!) and we can go to Vermont.  For two days then come back.  Fine!  

Wild Women

Pete, Marc and I went to see Neko Case on Thursday night.  She was excellent.

There was something about the crowd that surprised me though: it was packed with prim looking women and their suit-clad dates.  The women had perfect hair and tasteful cardigans and silk scarves knotted daintily at their throats.  This was not what I was expecting at all.

Maybe I was envious of their perfection but they made me want to be more messy and unruly. 

Neko Case is kind of a barely-contained force of nature.  She has thoughts and emotions she needs to GET OUT.  When she sings these thoughts and emotions are ejected right out of her body.  It's powerful and beautiful to see.

Watching her also made me want to be more messy and unruly. 

Overall the whole experience made me want to be worse.  By worse I mean I want to feel good about dropping balls, doing things wrong, not doing what I'm supposed to do, going out with bed head, basically exploiting my flaws.

I don't want to go overboard and start wearing a hipster homeless-Bjorn-Borg costume or anything.  I'm not going to invent new flaws for myself.  It's just that being comfortable inhabiting your entire self including the ways you fuck up has to be really powerful.

So I think I'm going to start taking it easy on my rougher edges.  Maybe I can talk myself into seeing my failures as successes.

Goofier Is Better

Here's another piece I've been cranking on this week.  I figured out last night that I wouldn't be able to finish it before Friday's show.  No biggie - I have another new piece I haven't photographed.  That makes two new pieces plus everything I showed last time.  I'm satisfied.  I have another show coming up in April (I think - or is it June?  I wrote it down somewhere)  I can finish this by then.

The canvas that supports this thing has been at least two other things before this.  I've been working on this version for at least a year - I don't really remember how long.  By "working" I mean doing stuff to it and then leaving it alone for months.

There have definitely been times when I didn't know what to do to it next.  This week I figured out that I was being too precious about it.  You just have to pick something to do and do it.  It doesn't really matter what you do, just decide and that's what it's going to be.  I think I was trying to do the perfect thing.  How stupid is that?  After all, it's a painting of cartoon strawberries getting struck by lightening.  What is at risk here?

I used to know better than that.  I've got to stop being so dramatic.  I know - I'll be goofier!

Sassy!

This is a new piece I'll be showing this Friday

I make an excellent hermit.  I've been hiding out from people all week (maybe longer) and it's done me a world of good.

Here's a MIRACLE: I'm happily working away in my studio.  It's been months and months since I've been able to really work there and even longer since I was happy about it.  I'd force myself to chip away at things when I could and that was the best I could do.

I know, it's sad.  You're supposed to love what you do and making art is supposed to be fun and what's so hard about making dumb junk anyway?  

Many of you know the feelings to which I refer.  To the rest of you I say: even making poor quality art can be really difficult and demoralizing.  Maybe I mean to say that the thought that you might be making poor quality art can be especially difficult and demoralizing.

Now don't get the wrong idea.  I'm not saying I make poor quality art - though I highly doubt anything I've made will be setting fire to Art Basel Miami (South by Southwest for the visual arts crowd only with A LOT more money) anytime in the next decade or so. 

It's just that most of the time when you're making art you have NO IDEA AT ALL what you're doing or if it will be worth anything when you're done (whenever that is, if ever)  When I say "worth anything" I mean the effort before I mean worth money.

Taking the long view, making the effort is worth making the effort.  It's hard to maintain the long view day to day.  But here I am at the end of my recent forced-making rainbow and I actually do have something to show for all that work I made myself do.

I guess some people have more faith in themselves and are able to be content enjoying their processes and their efforts.  Maybe if I continue to meditate I can develop a better attitude.

It probably wouldn't hurt if Life could take it a little easier on me for a little while too.  Hi Life! XOXOXO! (Blows a kiss and waves frantically)

Here's something else from my studio: what I like to call companion planting.

While Pete, Fay and I were away for Thanksgiving the studio mice made Thanksgiving with my cyclamen.  They crawled into the pot and chewed every succulent stem, every leaf, every tender little growing sprout they could reach.  There was one survivor: a large leaf that had been suspended over its cactus neighbors.

So I rounded up the cacti and surrounded the cyclamen pot with them.  Then I took some conveniently available baby cacti and put them in pot as well (as you can see)  Then I crossed my fingers and hoped that that one surviving leaf could photosynthesize enough to carry the poor cyclamen along for a while.

So far so good - we have new growth.  I'll keep my fingers crossed though.  That one little leaf peeking out over the rim makes me a little nervous.  Mice can be very resourceful when they're hungry.

Finally, here is another wig my mom gave me for my birthday.  Thanks Mom!

Please don't yell at me for saying this because it's true: the years are really becoming apparent.  I am no longer twenty-eight.  Seriously.  Even though I think I am.

I did get carded at the grocery store yesterday.  I should mark that on my calendar - it may never happen again.  I think there was something wrong with that guy.  Or maybe he was trying to butter me up.

Credit Where It's Due

I can't believe that I didn't link to the store where you can get these (and many other) cool wigs.  Miss Violet Lace can now be found on ebay.

Should you take the plunge and get yourself (or somebody else) a wig from her, just know that when it arrives it will probably smell deliciously of cupcake or cotton candy. If that is something you appreciate then I suggest you go to her Etsy store and get yourself a bottle or two of her hair and wig perfume.

I have to say that walking around with pink, cupcake scented hair is doing wonders for my disposition.

THANK YOU MISS VIOLET LACE!!!!!!

I Declare

Under most conditions wigs are better than winter hats.

Why would I say something like that?  Well, for one thing, wigs are cute. Unless they're fun or DEADLY SERIOUS. They allow you to have any hair you want. You don't have to take them off once you get indoors and reveal your horrific hat-head. They are also plenty warm for most purposes. I probably wouldn't go for a day of downhill skiing wearing a wig rather than a hat. Mostly I wear hats around the house in the winter because we're cheap and refuse to heat our house properly (unless we're in Cambridge where we have a heat pump and it's impossible to heat the place properly) So why not have a little extra fun and wear a wig instead?

Pete and my mom gave me these wigs for my birthday. Thanks you guys!!!

RED!

I don't know why but I'm all about RED these days.  It started before the holidays so it's not just some Christmas thing.  RED RED RED RED RED!!!!!

Michaela sent me this picture of a wig you can get on etsy.com:

so naturally I went to their etsy shop.  Which wig don't I want?  I have something like seven wigs favorited right now.  I kind of feel like wigs are as good as knit hats in the winter time and if you wear a wig and a hat you're extra warm, right?  I always wear a hat indoors this time of year (since it's buttass cold) so these would be practical.

On top of really making me want to buy things, looking at etsy really makes me want to go make things.  Usually I want to go make the things that would distract me from the things it's more important to make though.  Eh, what are you going to do?  Make everything and not worry about it?  How many hours are there in a day?

Uuuhm... No, Really.

I almost don't believe this exists.

It's from the Zoogster storefront page on amazon.com. One hell of a comprehensive costume shop.

Some Things I Miss From Our Vacation

Here's what's sad: I actually miss the stench of Treasure Island.

You know what else I miss? Happy hour at Isla, Treasure Island's tequila bar.

I also miss Sushi Samba at the Palazzo. YUM!

I miss my brother and Sarah (here we are at the truly lurid Peppermill Fireside Lounge)

Here's another photo that Pete took in the Fireside Lounge

I love that place. I first went there with some friends when we were driving cross-country in 1987. It was just as fabulous disco-loungey. Pete and I took his parents there in 2001. We all sat around the fire pit and got into a conversation with a gaggle of drunken UNLV architecture students. One great thing about the Peppermill is that its owners know exactly what they have on their hands. Any renovations they've made have maintained the spirit of the place.

Here I am dumpster diving:

And look who I bumped into at Caesar's Palace:

Trying To Be Cool

I'm trying to be cool about Ted Kennedy's senate seat going to a Republican but I may still have to dye my hair pale minty green or something. (You've heard of non-violent protest? This would be nonsensical protest) We'll see...

Mel On The Beach

Photoshopping by Billy!

I Think This Is Me

There are a lot of very serious things going on in the world right now. As you can see by the photo above I'm not going to touch any of them. They're all too much for my tiny brain to handle.

Instead I will give a shout out to the fine folks a Louis Vuitton (thanks Marc Jacobs et al!) for sending excellent examples of afro pride down their Spring 2010 Ready To Wear runway.

I really think I look rather like this most of the time - except for the perfect arms. Well, okay, mostly just the hair part. This would have completely blown my mind if I'd seen it as a kid.

I probably would have thought they'd lost their minds.

I wonder how much those shoes in the first photo cost?

Some Things I've Learned Recently

Number one, when reading a blogger.com blog DO NOT EVER (unless you're looking for porn) hit the "next blog" button at the top of the page (conveniently located next to the "report abuse" button) Learned that the hard way.

Feel free to hit the "follow" button, especially if you're reading my blog.

Number two, (hee hee, number two! Ugh, sorry.) Maybelline bronzing powder, the cheapest brand I could find, is an excellent product.

I don't normally use bronzing powder because I'm Palefaced and Proud* (and curly hair proud too - no capitulating to the straight hair standard!) I needed it this week to go as Rachael Ray for Halloween. I was going to use a hint of orange makeup from the costume shop (her T.V. makeup always looks overly orangey to me) but there was no way I was going to pay $8.99 for a pan of orange makeup.

Maybelline to the rescue. I bought a nice, dark color that I thought would instantly look glaringly wrong on me. In fact, I had to really cake it on to make it look overdone.

Of course I was wearing a very dark brunette wig at the time. Maybe it would look wrong with my real coloring? Nope, I just tried it. You can barely tell. Maybe that's why it's cheaper - not enough expensive pigment. Anyway, I thought it was a good way to build up a "natural sun-kissed" look. Not what I wanted it for and not something I'm likely to use again, but there it is.

Number three, "mayhem" is a crime in California. According to Wikipedia, mayhem consists "of the intentional and wanton removal of a body part that would handicap a person's ability to defend himself in battle." Also, "the noun 'mayhem' and the verb 'maim' share the same root, the Old French 'mahaigne'" which I'm guessing means "to harm in some way."

New topic:

You may have noticed I'm posting more regularly. Well it's NaBloPoMo (which I still think should be called INaBloPoMo - International Blog Posting Month) I hope to continue the daily posting habit long after November as well. If I don't then how else will anyone know what I had for lunch or how my latest pair of socks are coming along (which you still don't know) or what I think about shoes?

*Don't feel that I'm anti-tan across the board and I'll hate you if you have more melanin than me and you use it. Tan or fake tan if you want. It's none of my business.

Grey Is A Color

Not much blogging going on these days, at least not on the blogs I follow.  Me neither.  I don't know about anybody else but I've got too much going on in my head to stop and write anything down.  I'm going to write something now though in case others, like me, want some content damn-it!

I grew out my dye job.  I do that every few years because I want to know what my hair is really doing.  I'll have to get Pete to take a picture so you can see it.  I kind of like it and I think I'll leave it a while.  Over the last few weeks I've been catching myself in the mirror and feeling kind of satisfied.  My hair is short with a little grey streak in the front and a little more grey peppered through the sides and back.  The rest of it is chestnutty auburn, I guess.

In my travels I've been seeing friends of mine with similar hair - short and uncolored (they're all guys) - and feeling like I'm in good company.  Finally the other day I realized the real reason I like what my hair looks like now:  I look kind of like Jon Stewart.  I don't have time right now to make a hilarious yet disturbing composite photo.  Maybe later.

The grey doesn't bother me.  I'm so glad to be as old as I am.  The things I have learned over the years are so worth the grey hair and saggy skin.  For example, back in '89 I worked for an animation company.  It was a fun job but stressful.  I liked every single one of my co-workers but some of them could be really moody.  I was 23 years old and I didn't realize that their moodiness had nothing to do with me.  I thought that some days they liked me and some days they didn't.  Probably accurate but that was their fault and not mine.  Sure, some 23 year olds already know better than that but I didn't.  Thank God I do now.

Chances are good that I will dye again.  Spring usually has me feeling dismal so I may need to perk myself up with some color.  We'll see.

Now I'm going to unhitch Fay from her wheelchair and head over to my studio to make a painting based on a Japanese sticker of a cute sandwich with a face.

Okay, it's later:

Two Party Photos

Thanks Jamie for taking these photos of our Holiday party with your cellphone.  I did go to a little bit of trouble to match my wig to our Christmas tree so it's nice that I have at least something to show for it.  Next year maybe I'll light my wig too.  It would show up better in cellphone photos that way.  I'm not putting in ornaments though.  That would be too distracting while serving hors d' oeuvres.

The dude in the photo is our friend Steve.  We were having a very serious conversation about suppressed rage.

Uuuhm...

I can't decide which crazy golf lady photo is best. I don't have the right shirt on either which makes it harder. I need something sleeveless and low-cut and I need a push-up bra, a marabou-trimmed cleavage cooler, a skort and a cocktail. And a photographer.

Here's a start though:





I should probably look into a fake tan too.

Today's Hair

Pretty tall. I didn't do it on purpose.