September 2020 – TailGateArt- Tears and Laughter-Othon.com

It’s beautiful day in Caballo

We are getting some great weather,. but it has so hot that my garden has been a total failure, see my tiny carrots growing in a cup! Sitting on my world map painted table

Last night was perfect for a walk, then sitting down outside with my guitar and a glass of wine. I love tuning my little guitar and then strumming a while for my own enjoyment if not for others……..so far no complaints.

Our 106 temperatures has come down nicely so my flowers, those which have survived have another chance to flower and make my world beautiful. I’ve strung mini solar light in my tree so the evening is very pleasant. I have the smallest RV in the park but the best patio because I have the smallest RV and smallest car, there are some huge beauties parked here now, some come and go and others like me don’t want to leave.

But I do want to leave. A short trip to see my gente.

I want to see my people, when is the best time to travel now? I’m even feeling cautious driving the RV where as before I was happy driving across country. Charley hates it, he doesn’t like going in the car either. I was thinking maybe I’d go for Christmas but that might not be the best drive, might have snow and that would not be good, I need perfect conditions for the long drive. Covid 19 is also a concern for everyone but when will end!! I’m thinking maybe October is the best time to go, before elections.

Went shopping yesterday with two friends.

I hate shopping!

But the is a new store in Truth or Consequences. Morning Star Outfitters. It’s a bit up scale for T or C so I hope it has better luck than so many small businesses. There are so many empty shops here, but that was like that before Covid. It’s really a cool small town, it’s like a mini Santa Fe with at least 6 galleries in town, lots of small shops and colorful street art. We went shopping in the morning and everything was closed, until much later in the day when they would open for a couple hours but most places had notices in their window inviting clients to make appointments for private viewing. The town was just dead, no place to eat in town. On the way out of town we stopped for lunch at a great Mexican food out on the patio.

You know that New Mexico has been a good place to be during Covid, our numbers are good and everyone wears a mask everywhere.

I find socializing to be very emotionally tiring, isn’t that silly, what with so few opportunities to socialize here I just like to be left alone. I know what they say about oldsters living alone and being lonely but I am not lonely and am able to go back to the group when I’m ready to see more than one person at a time. Might be too that I am a little short of hearing and when there are several conversations going at a time in groups I say goodnight because it is frustrating to only hear bits and pieces. Or say What? I may be a little bit judgmental too. Impatient. So much time spent in idle conversation, I’m just not good at it..I guess that if no one wanted to talk with me I would not like that either, confusing times.

I was just told “burgers at 6pm” through my window from a friend. you see, it’s very informal neighborly good people here, I had a ladies night Pizza birthday party for another friend a few nights ago. You can participate or not no one judges you or thinks you are unfriendly.

How does an old woman keep herself so busy she doesn’t have time to write her stories?.

It is said that I am the busiest person in the park and that is true.
I always have a project or two to work on..to reorganize..or clean…or paint on

I am working on tiles again using alcohol inks. I’ve made a dozen 6×6 tiles but I messed up adding the resin. A huge mess. I made too much resin for the work I planned to make so I was rushing to do more and didn’t have space to let them sit for me to torch, because my counter isn’t level, one fell on the floor (face down of course) For some reason I didn’t have my gloves on, so I was a sticky mess. And the torch was sticky and hard to light. Of course they all need to be done over again after sanding the ruined resin. I have about 12 or 15 4×4 tiles that look good and I’ll take them to the gallery this week.
Hmm having to do things twice may be how I’m able to keep busy!

My Garden is a huge disappointment for me. It has been so continuously hot with temps in the 100’s that even getting enough water for them doesn’t help them, they are scorched.I’ve gotten three small tomatoes, 3 squash, two round small cucumbers and four small potatoes. Even the hardy morning glories haven’t hardly flowered and the sun flowers get burned before they can open. I planted so many seeds that never got a chance to grow. Next year I ‘ll buy plants instead of seeds and some sort of a shade instead of my umbrellas.

I bought some cool solar lights for outside, they are very small and I’ve put them up in my tree. They look very nice in the evening, I’d like to get some more. Maybe I will.

Yesterday I climbed up my ladder to organize the loft in my studio. I had saved boxes of items I ‘d bought but wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have to return and finally trashed them and found I have lots of storage up there. It took me all day to do it and reorganize my stuff, I have a lot of stuff because I have so many interests, but I have too much stuff, but I need it all, or might need it someday.

I got my first skin tear the other day, Charley did it. I just looked at the tear and thought about how many old ladies arms I’d taped together. You may think this is not be worthy of mentioning but it was the first real tear not just a scratch and tells me how thin the skin on my arms is.

I guess I was feeling bored while shopping at Walmart because I stopped in the hair department and looked at hair coloring. And I bought purple coloring, took it home put it on and hated it. So back to Walmart to buy oops hair mistake coloring added it and was left with pink hair, back to Walmart and bought a second oops and put it on and the color was interesting but felt like straw. So glad I have a good hair cutter thing, can’t think what it’s called, shaver? Anyway off with most of my multi colored hair, and on with my ball cap. It’s fine, no one here judges me and I am beginning to like it, it’s so honest if not becoming.

Well, my soaking tub is now my clothes washing tub with a plunger. Since Covid I have not taken clothes to the laundrmat and I’ve been washing them by hand. Not hanging them in the tree now because I have a clothes line at the back of my RV. I’d stopped using the soaking tub because of some IC concerns so now I’m going to use it to wash clothes. I have a big plunger and I’m looking forward to trying this. I like to do this even though I could take my clothes to a laundry mat, (whatever) I have the time to do it and I just do a few at a time. When cold weather clothes are needed I may change my mind. By the way, I know a nurse that lives in their rv less than a mile away that I met while doing laundry there, long time ago.. We haven’t really gotten together since, covid, but she reads my blog and knows I worry about my memory. She brought me a set of stones she made into earrings, pendant and braclete that help the wearer of these stones with memory. Worth a try!

I’ve moved stuff around my patio and despite the fact that my plants and garden look sad I like the changes I’ve made, moving my furniture around. I bought a Walmart coffee table and painted it, well I panted it 4 different times, once abstract, then adding flowers, then a world map, and next I think I’ll paint it to match the stripes in the outdoor rugs.

I haven’t painted anything lately but I finally took 2 paintings to the gallery (and noted one of mine in the window) and showed her the tiles I’m making. She liked them so I’ll bring the rest of them that are finished. I doubt that I’ll make more unless they sell.

I have an idea, probably not a great idea but nevertheless I want to try it. I paint on a fabric like canvas, that can be sewn on, I guess any canvas could be sewn on but I’m think of using it to make a purse. Some of my abstract paintings I doubt will sell but they could make a cool purse or bag. I have some plastic stuff that is used to make shopping bags that I bought because it was marked down to $2.00 but I didn’t know how to use it. I could use that for the inside, maybe. Just another idea, it seems that my creativity is restless and comes up with all these ides, some of which are a waste of time, but I have plenty of time. Alcohol inks are my recent fascination and my paint covered fingers are a testament to that.

Another reason I haven’t been writing lately is that I find it hard to find words and spelling, well this has been a problem for a while, I just don’t have the patience to keep thinking. Lazy I know, so I find something else to do that is easier than writing.

My smart car saved me from making an expensive purchase the other day. I was in Walmart (of course) and they had a 32 inch ONN television for $120. I supposed I would need some other items like this outdoor motorized antennas power hub, surge protector, a antenna amplifier all this was in my cart until I realized this wouldn’t fit in my car! I haven’t had a TV for at least 10 years on purpose. But I was tempted. I asked them to put it aside and I would get a friend to help me pick it up.
On the way home I thought about what I had just done, I don’t even have room to put a TV, the RV had a TV which I removed. So saved by the fact it wouldn’t fit in my car. No regrets.

It’s Labor Day and we are having hamburgers and hot dogs and potatoes salad. I have a watermelon that I’ll take over. We don’t have any one here that has been here less than 14 days so we feel pretty safe to have the group together, but we still maintain space between us, usually, at least I do . Covid has changed the way we live and move. I wonder when I’ll be able to travel to see family, seems like this is far from over.

Tomorrow I’ll be taking a friend to the airport in El Paso. Maybe while there I’ll stop at Carmax to check my tires as the indicator light didn’t go off after I checked and filled the air. I guess that happens, especially to old ladies having trouble getting down on the ground and getting up.

I haven’t gone anywhere with GG in a while, the trouble of putting everything away and disconnecting makes me lazy but I will have to start it to make sure I can start it when I want to go somewhere. Charley hates it when I just start the engine.

So, there it is, my life for the past several months that I haven’t written about, Sorry this must be boring reading but I am never bored.