Tucson

I practically ran out of town on Thursday the 4th. The trip to Tucson was a little bumpy, but not bad and we arrived in Mesa where Annette's father met us. While not a whole lot warmer, it was dry and smelled dry and that was nice. Heading out from Mesa, Annette drove her father's van, which we borrowed for the weekend. She took the back road from Phoenix to Tucson so we could go across the desert. I could just barely see the outline of the Superstition Mountains as we headed into the night. Out the windows on either side the ghostly shapes of the saguaro loomed in the darkness. We stopped once to get out and look up into the night sky littered with stars. I love that communities in Arizona limit the use of streetlights because of the sky views. I have a limited knowledge of the night sky but I found Orion straight off and from there located the Seven Sisters. I was unsure about the Big Dipper. Can you see it from down there? As the weekend wore on it was obvious that a sense of direction is not one of my strong points.

We arrived in Tucson at Christy's little house and I was tired so I went almost straight to bed. A long day. Christy was up early to get ready for work. She made us each a latte on her espresso machine and after she headed off, Annette and I mapped our course for the Gem and Mineral Show. We had 2 shows in mind for Friday, the To Bead True Blue/Tucson Bead Show at the Doubletree Inn, and the larger J.O.G.S. at the Tucson Expo Center. We got to both though the second show was a little illusive. Our return from the J.O.G.S show required quite a bit of driving by the incredibly patient Annette. Luckily she has a better sense of direction than I do and after a few calls to Christy, we found our way home and saw some exciting sites too! I recall that I used to be able to read a map quite well, but the inability to tell north from south from east or west makes it really really hard. The map ended up on the floor of the back seat. Christy greeted us with margaritas and we walked to dinner.

If we had tried to pack any more into Saturday I think my head would have exploded. But of course, it isn't necessary to detail every hour. I think a quick list of highlights...
The Nacimiento at the Museum, installed in the oldest mud adobe house in Tucson. It goes up well before Christmas and stays into March or so. It is not to be missed. Done by an old woman, now assisted by family and friends, it is a nativity on steroids. Oblivious to scale, it meanders up and up with scenes from domestic Mexican life peppered with traditional nativity figures, donkeys, elephants, hidden devils, goats, pigs, chickens, wise men, angels, temples, tents and humble adobes. Mud adobes with thick walls, squat with smooth rounded corners, pots of cactus out front, hidden glimpses of courtyards hung with plants all painted in Easter egg colors, ochre, lime, turquoise, fuschia, red, gold. Arroyos, dry depressions running through neighborhoods and across highways with signs warning not to go through them when there is water. They duck under the flat desert with precarious overpasses perched on crossing highways. Barrel cactus, agave, yucca, the amazing saguaro and prickly pear which comes in many colors. I didn't know that! Strange trees and shrubs with mean spiny stems that rip and tear your flesh. Different birds, grapefruit trees, orange trees, lime trees, pomegranates and front yards that are nothing but rocks that people rake and plant with all the amazing desert flora. Really wide flat streets, the Santa Catalina's one one side and two other mountain ranges on two other sides. Sweet green corn tamales. Huevos rancheros at the Cup Cafe in the Hotel Congress. The Hotel Congress with newspaper clippings along the wall to the bathrooms that extol the legend of John Dillinger, the Congress's claim to fame. The old Rialto Theater across the street with its western sort of New Orleans architecture. The barrio, where mud adobes are not an anomaly and probably don't cost $500,000.

And the gem show. Well, since its the largest one in the WORLD, it is quite impossible to see all the venues. We touched on a small part of it but it was quite, hmmm, stimulating? I walked my butt off! Since I am a retailer, I didn't find any real deals, but I did see a lot of things in one place that I don't usually get to see. Silver sold by the gram and it was all over the map. I did find some fine old pieces, but I couldn't afford them. Parts of the venues reminded me of being in Asia, except the prices weren't as good. Some of the dealers were fussy and snotty, lots were friendly and fun. My big discovery was Sally Bass...if you don't know her work, you should. Its big, colorful, clever, fun and exciting. If I could I would carry it in my store. I also saw lots of ammonites, trilobites, crystals, geodes and an assortment of "troglodytes." In short, it was a great getaway. I'm glad I went, grateful to both Annette and Christy for helping me enjoy a short respite in the grind. Hope I get to go again. I am inspired and excited and ready to move into yet another phase of my life.

Shopping in Tucson

I can't deny that the local weather makes me feel like its spring, but I know in my heart of hearts that freezing temps could descend at any moment. All that aside, I am mourning the lack of travel this year. Mr. Muzzy is in a play and the best I can do is 4 days in Tucson for the Gem and Mineral extravaganza that I have long heard about but never visited. I have my ticket and a place to stay, so there will be at least 4 days of warm weather and different vegetation, not to mention aisles and aisles of goodies to look over. Mr. Muzzy will be performing that weekend, so it is a "girl's time". I like it. And on the horizon is a trip to Mexico, Oaxaca to be exact, later this year. THEN....I am going back to Laos and Thailand next winter come hell or high water...don't know about the rest of you, but that is where I will be. And as for poor dear Bijoux, its been a rough sea these last 5 years, especially the last 2, but I feel a change coming. I'm hot on the trail of the "fish waffle" pan I saw in Chiang Mai in 2007, and having lost some weight I'll be dusting off my phasins, moving the hooks over, and trying to figure out how to sell kanom krok and fish waffles at the Farmer's Market. I have joined a writing group and have begun to realize just how awful my poor Haight Ashbury memoir really is, but it gives me something to do late at night and early in the morning when mortality and time weigh heavily on my soul. And re-inventing is right up my alley...does the world seem crazier to you all too or is it just me? Politics in the US are just right out of my realm now. I think I have given up and will concentrate on my karmic future.

The Beautiful Wedding

Muz and I took off for LA last Thursday to celebrate the wedding of Muzzy's sister Irene. It was a grand, gala affair in full LA style. Outdoors in the 80 degree October weather, perfect, halcyon, palm trees, pomegranates, lemon trees and houses throughout Alta Dena and Pasadena decked out in full Halloween regalia. The wedding took place in Farnsworth Park, outdoors in the amphitheater with the stage featuring a huge flower filled in with red rose petals outlined in marigolds. The bride was a vision of exotic splendor and the groom suitably handsome in a traditional Indian knee length jacket. The reception took place in the lodge where many of the scenes from Dirty Dancing were filmed. We worked on the decor all day, long tables with black table cloths and black lacquered runners strewn with white flower petals, hand made intricate tapestries that were made by two of Irene's friends hung from the rafters. They were on loan from an exhibition at a local art gallery. The head table was placed in front of the massive fireplace whose mantle had been lined with photos of absent family members. Catering by Wahib was a brilliant idea, great Lebanese food, a fabulous band, and a glittering array of family and friends added to the perfect event.
Staying at my brother and sister-in-law's is always a treat. Safe from the recent fires, the house sits at the foot of the San Gabriel mountains. The air was clear from the recent rains, and my one treat was a visit to The Folk Tree to see their Day of the Dead altars exhibit. it was more than inspiring. While I don't want to live in LA again, the "city hit" just wires my mind and sets my creative juices churning. Check out www.ladayofthedead.com to see what our next year's project may be. Irene has asked me to do this with her next year and we may have to make it a family event. Call it what you will, cross-cultural, multi-cultural, the blending of the hispanic tradition around the Day of the Dead with the LA flair for the dramatic is something to see. Since death is the theme of this time of year (and this time of my life!), I am filled with joy at the ways I have seen it expressed this last long weekend.

Call for Artists

Bijoux is bumbling along through the summer. Thanks to all of our supporters. Downtown Bellingham may make it, no thanks to the city fathers or mothers. I will be doing my yearly offrenda in Bijoux's front window for the Days of the Dead and had hoped to involve the local arts community with a nice exhibit like the one I saw in Mt. Vernon last year. But it is not to be. So, how about a grass roots sort of movement. Does anyone out there do artwork around the Day of the Dead theme? I would be happy to host your art at Bijoux for the month of October, and if it looks like I have too many takers, I'll help you find another spot to exhibit. Just drop by and talk it over with me. We all need to pull together in these "par'lous" times!

Almost as good as traveling!

I just began cataloging and pricing a 40 year collection of amazing artifacts from Panama, Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala, the Phillipines, India, Bali, Laos, Thailand and more. The collection has some pieces that belong in a museum and belongs to a man with an incredibly discerning eye, and a love for all things unique and exotic. I will begin integrating it into Bijoux as soon as I can. I even bought a new cabinet to house the baskets and pottery. This is great stuff that ranges from the mundane to the sublime. If you are in town drop by as I unfold all of these wonderful items into the shop. I even have the stories and dates to go with them! I feel incredibly privledged to be part of helping him divest a lifetime of travels and tales. In the midst of life's trials and tribulations, I am blessed with much.

New musings, new travels. My mind slip back to Laos and Muzzy is itching to take the train to Lhasa. Northern India beckons and travel is on my mind. I need more great "stuff" for my great store, Bijoux, www.bijouxtradingcompany.com. It's movin' slow in this economy. I'm hanging on by a thread and I can almost see a light at the end of the tunnel. My web administrator says I need to push the site everywhere I can, so come out and support me! Visit my site, visit my store if you come to Bellingham.....Bijoux Bijoux Bijoux!!!

Reflections on Guatemala

I am still conflicted about this trip. In retrospect there were many wonders, not the least of which was traveling with my favorite companion, being silly, and seeing the world without telephones, computers, televisions and such. Of all the marvels, I think the birds and beasts of Tikal stand out most for me. I still haven't gotten a bird book so I can read about them and show them to my mother and to Sarah and Don, but I looked some of them up on the net today. Of the mot mot, I have to say, I only got a very shady look at it and after seeing it's amazing tail in a photo, I wish I had seen more. Montezuma's Oropendula was so prolific, it was just commonplace, but always startling and it's voice was lovely. The Violaceous Trogon...a small, colorful bird with a huge name, was a real treat since they don't seem to be very common. And the keel billed Toucan still makes me think of Fruit Loops. I never thought I would see so many wonderful birds outside of a zoo...

As for the rest? Guatemala is an enigma to me. Parts of it were lovely and charming, but it was hard to get next to, hard to travel, and I've had some hard traveling before this. I just prefer Asia. There is something more welcoming, less tense, more like a soft embrace when I wander through those countries. Guatemala was hard in the way rocks in your shoes are hard, or the way a cold hard cement bench is hard. But the textiles dazzled my eyes and the mountains around Todos Santos were a moonscape with the giant agaves blooming indiscriminately on a landscape so bleak and dry. So I'm glad I got to see it all, of course. And I know that travel, any travel, is a privilege. I never take it for granted, and I hope I will get to do it again...maybe not to Guatemala, but somewhere. I'm certainly ready to go any time.