Sometimes I just love people so goddamn much

Submissions to a Where the Wild Things Are fort building contest, at http://www.booooooom.com/ (in collaboration with http://www.weloveyouso.com/). More forts can be found here and here.

Austin Creative Reuse!!!

What the What?!?! Is it possible that my dreams could really become a reality? Those of you that have followed my rantings and ravings may remember me frothing at the mouth about my idea for a business named Mungo. Wow, my God... that was only 8 months ago or so, I now realize. The universe was working fast on my behalf, thanks a bunch, Universe!! So anyways.... I started this blog all fulla reuse ideas also named Mungo.... And then got matched up with a wonderful bunch of people who had a similar idea to me (thanks Bernadette!!!) , to create this wonderful reuse resource center similar to the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse.... and now we've got a groovy logo and a name and are about to invite all of Austin to find out what we are all about! And that means YOU.... if you're out there reading this and this lights your fire in any way, come on down to the AAMP warehouse at 411 W. Monroe on Thursday November 5th at 7 pm to find out all about it. More here at www.austincreativereuse.org

Dollhouses...

Here is my dollhouse that I've been working on on Tuesday nights with my friend Kiera. I'm doing a kind of bare bones, modern style, because it's the best my feeble carpentry skills can muster. If anyone wants to come build a dollhouse with us, the club is an open one! Kiera is doing a total remodel on a huge dollhouse she found at Blue Hanger. I think I'm going to do mine all with reused objects.... kind of set myself a challenge, and then it will fit in with this project, and then I can kind of justify to myself the time spent futzing around on this fun little project that, well, when you think about it, really should take a back seat to some other, more pressing tasks. But I'm staving off that logical brain, trying to just allow myself a little play time. I need it, I need it, indeed I really do.....

Turkey Creek

We are in paradise... the drought really really did end after all this rain... and it coincided perfectly with some crystalline, warm fall days, still warm enough to splash around and swim IN THESE CREEKS THAT HAVE BEEN DRY FOR TWO YEARS NOW!!!! This is so miraculous. I thought even if we got enough rain we might have to wait until spring. But praise be. And get thee down to the Greenbelt or Turkey Creek or Bull Creek or choose one from this fine assortment of creeks that Austin has to offer.... Truly Glorious.

"Flores! Flores! Flores por los muertos!"

I'm sorry, I can never get that line from Streetcar Named Desire out of my head. Chilling.

OH we had so much fun at our little party and then the parada on E. 6th street was fantastic as usual. Matt was correct in stating that kids seemed a little more intent on actually eating the sugar skulls this year (for some strange reason it was completely a non-issue, last year) and we also filmed a very short and incoherent zombie movie and we actually did a tad more actual talking about the dead who we are actually supposedly honoring so that was cool. For the record the top photo shows a picture of me and Auggie Doggie... our dearly beloved dachschund who is hands down most beloved pet of mine of all time so it is very fun to be inspired to tell the boys Auggie stories, which they love, of course.
I also called my mom yesterday and asked her for a little inspiration about how to represent my grandma and grandpa on the altar. She reminded me about how my Grandma lived in Wichita Falls, TX during the depression, a hot dry land that she hated. She read the book, The Girl of the Limberlost, over and over, and when she moved to Oregon she was in paradise. That was very fun to remember and imagine. I remember that she loved that book... I read it at some point in my childhood, too. And I remember her talking about how blisteringly hot Texas was. She said in the summer they'd just start getting up earlier and earlier each morning... trying to catch a breath before the sun came up. I also remember her always saying that How Green Was My Valley was her favorite film. I've never seen it...

My Grandpa was actually super cool. I'm sad to say I had no idea how cool until recently. Now I realize I must have inherited my tinkering proclivity from this man... who built a homemade roller coaster in my Mom and Aunt's backyard when they were little, along with a playhouse and a miniature golf course. These are just my Mom's parents of course... I'll have to get to my Dad's parents next year. Can't overload the little ones, who only have so much patience for hearing tales about their ancestors before they start gnawing on sugar skulls and going into sugar shock. Though I did hear one fascinating little tidbit from my mom yesterday... My Grandpa Bill on my Dad's side was badly narcoleptic, which is really interesting because my Dad is like that too... in the evening or at movies, and once in high school I even heard him snoring out in the audience of Bye Bye Birdie, in which I had a starring role... but my Mom said, "No, he was way worse than your Dad... when we went over there for dinner he would always fall asleep at the table after supper.... just sitting there and smoking his cigar... and everyone was so used to it they wouldn't even say anything... and he had all these holes in his shirt where he'd dropped his cigar whilst nodding off." So keep an eye on me folks... am I really listening to you with rapt attention, or have I just inherited my grandfather's condition but one-upped him by learning to snooze with my eyes wide open...

Anyway, all that bla bla bla just to say, I really love this holiday, and I love honoring all these dear good people who have passed on to the other side, sharing stories and believing that they're watching over us... all these grinning, dancing, jolly skeletons... really makes you feel safe and cozy. It really does!

Ergh

Oof I'm just feeling awful today. They say depression is always the result of an unexpressed emotion but what's unexpressed? I'm telling you right now that I feel wretched. Just one of those days, or few-day-long stretches, where my main feeling is I. Just do not want. To be here. Right now. I just need to check in to the MaMa Spa for some sort of two day extravaganza of movie watching, mud baths, and people telling me they find me fascinating and brilliant and did I mention good looking, all day long. Oh well. I know. It doesn't exist. It can only exist within me, I gots to go deep inside and find all that love and care and approval inside me, or the fix will never stick.... gosh darn it all to heck.
So right now I think I'm being smart.... just doing my work and hanging in. It's interesting.... yes a lot of the time you'll hit on that one perfect thing that just jolts you out of your bad mood in a really spectacular splashy way. But sometimes it's just like you're in a valley, and the only way to get up to the peaks again is to keep moving. I'm doing my gratitudes, that always helps. Meditating. Breathing in fresh, sunshiny air. Keeping things flowing.... responding to emails, setting things in motion... that's always good. I have been writing a screenplay and I have a commitment to write three pages a day (shh, don't tell anyone... it's kind of a secret) so I'm plugging away at that. Anyway, all that good stuff and I'm still grumpy. If I stumble on something that really works for abolishing sour moods I'll let you know (and will maybe make myself a million dollars) but until then, forward, march!

Such fine friendly beautiful ladies

First meeting of the second phase of our fabulous women's group, led by myself and my friend Laurie Kemp. It went so swimmingly.... further reinforcing our theory that only good can come of women getting together (and if it's in the name of positivity, change, and sharing on a deeper level, then all the better!).

So super fun, inspiring and rejuvenating as always, and WHAT fun and cool women.... time could not be better spent.