Back after a long time...

I've been really busy lately. Working at my full time job. Working on my business. Working on being a Mom. But, in reality, life is a journey - embrace it! I'm going to try and update my blogs and websites and try to be on the ball. Once I let things go they never get done.

More later...I promise!

Tick Tock...I love clocks!

I love clocks. I guess it's because we are, quite frankly, on borrowed time. Time is precious. Time is valuable. So I have a lot of clocks through my home.

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This is one of my favorite clocks. A Waterford Crystal Clock that I recieved as a wedding present so many years ago.

This is another really cool clock that I have. It's on the landing on my staircase upstairs. It's double sided.

Yes, even if I'm nutty for Alice in Wonderland...I have a tin clock with Humpty Dumpty on it with the Tenniel drawings all over it. I found this clock in Covent Garden in London, England back in 1995.

This clock I found at one of my favorite stores, Kirkland's. It's kind of "gothic."

Another Kirkland Clock...This one is in my upstairs bathroom.

I love Roosters, and I have a collection going in my kitchen. So, naturally, I have a few rooster clocks.

My Living Room...

How could I not have hour glasses?!

Love this hanging clock!!!

Back to the Blog...

After taken a break from this blog...I'm back...new and improved!!! I'm starting a business that will be fully operational by the first of the New Year!!! So look for that!!! I'm working on my website, which will have a different URL after the first of the year...right now I'm playing around with it...seeing what works and what doesn't. I'm also getting involved with the community here in Des Moines and volunteering my services for next years' 80/35 Music Fest. I'm also taking advantage of free business development courses taught by ISU. Lots of things I can do between now and the new year!!! Excited!!!!

So things are looking up for me and hopefully, my business will grow!

On a personal note...I'm spending more time with my daughter. She is just a special kid!!!! She makes my gray skies turn blue. Heck, she's such a little love bug!!! I really don't like to talk about other aspects of my personal life as well, since this is a public forum...unless I'm close to the person, I won't volunteer that information. So I keep that part off limits. People wonder why I don't talk about some things and quite frankly, it's none of their business. Why should I sugar coat things?!

Folk Art...Dolls

I have a thing for Folk Art...rustic, interesting stuff. My mom bought me a pair of rag dolls with no faces on them for Christmas one year...as the Amish. I've always wanted these kinds of dolls. They are just so unique and interesting. I guess the reason why I like them so much is that you can let your imagination create whatever kind of face you would like your doll to be. It is said that the reason for the faceless dolls was because of religious reason...the Bible says that you are not supposed to make anything that is in the image or likeness of a human...or another explanation is, the dolls are not being made as graven images (the making of which was strictly forbidden according to the Book of Deuteronomy). I found another lady that shares the same love I have for these dolls. You can read her blog: Tips from the Blogging Queen and why she just loves these types of dolls here.

These dolls are on top of my cupboards in the kichen...since it's done up in a kind of folk-country style. I also collect roosters, so I have many chicken inspired stuff around.

My Amish girl doll.

My Amish boy doll.

A few years ago at the Des Moines Farmer's Market I came across a booth filled with beautiful and exquisite folk dolls. I got to talking to the lady that made them. June Wildash is such an artist with her dolls. I have two in my collection and they are high up so my three year old daughter can't play with them. I just love them to pieces! Here are some pictures of Sally and Lacie.

Lacie on the left and Sally on the right sit on top of books in my bedroom, high on a bookshelf so little hands cannot get to them.

Little Lacie is a sweetheart of a doll. She has a little angel brooch on her dress.

Sally...the bigger doll and Lacie's big sister. Just as lovely as Lacie.

June Wildash has a website devoted to her dolls and you can order them here.

They are well made and very lovely to look at in person.

I love dolls. Always have, and always will. I can see that joy on my baby's face when she plays with her own. Her favorite dolls are ones that are made by Pottery Barn Kids. She has Chloe, Sophie and Joy (or Clo Clo, So So and Jo Jo as she calls them) She loves them all, and calls them her "sisters." LOL!!! The Jennerbug has been brushing their yarn hair...and I keep telling her that these dolls are not like Barbie's where her hair can be combed. Bugs the heck out of me...and I think that's why she does this. Anyway...Here is a photo of Jennerbug and her "sisters" (l to r) Joy, Chloe and Sophie, all barefooted!!! Jens is holding on to her Princess rag doll that she got from the Blank Park Zoo a few years back.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Look what my baby made me in Preschool...

A Butterfly Clip

Mother dear, I love you, and I know you love me too.I am very glad to celebrate this holiday with you! I thank you for the things you do, and I just want to say, "I hope you have a super special, happy Mother's Day!"

Musings about Amusement Parks...

Jennerbug and her friend Aurora go cruising on a lady bug...

Today I went to Adventureland, along with my Jennerbug and our friends Melissa and Aurora. We had a blast!!!! It's been a few years since I've been at the Park...and I live only 5 mins away. But, having Jens really didn't allow me to go there until now. And being almost 4, she handled all the rides beautifully!!! I was holding on tight to her on the sky ride. The seats are not the most stable for a little girl like her. She could of fell through and then...yep...don't want to think about that. Anyways, she was having a lot of fun.

We went into the gift shop to look for a little something to remember her first day there and she chose a purse with a dog's head on it and the words had the words Adventureland printed on it. The funny thing is that the cashier didn't know they had that purse in the store. LOL!

Amusement parks are something I'm very familiar with. I was born in a hospital down the street from Disneyland in Anaheim, CA...a hospital that is no longer there. It's an apartment complex. I loved going to Disneyland. It was a treat. And every time we drove pass the park...doing errands or other things...I would always ask if we are going there.

Loved Disneyland...the way the place had this peculiar, musty scent in the Haunted Mansion and Pirates. To the Alice in Wonderland ride...natch! The theming was wonderful!! Rich detail and care with every ride the Imagineers created. Love that place...magical! I just hope that Jens going to Adventureland will feel the same way when she gets to be my age. The wonderment...nistalgia...the fun!!!

And since I'm on a Amusements kick tonight...

This Haunting picture is of a Farris Wheel that was abandoned and overgrown at Chippewa Park in Ohio

I have never been to Chippewa Park in Ohio...but the above photo is really cool! Wikipedia has a whole list of defunct amusement parks you can read about here! Warning that entry...it will engross and fascinate!!!! So many parks that are now closed across the country! Ranging from Opryland to Busch Gardens.

The one that really captured my attention was an amusements called Enchanted Forest. A now-closed theme park in Ellicott City, Maryland. See some of the terrific, haunting photos of Enchanted Forest here! These whimsical buildings that children used to play in and imagine in are sadly, as you can see...going into disrepair. An effort is underway to restore a lot of this precious park. Here is a great website recounting people's fond memories of the Enchanted Forest and times gone by...and how people are trying to restore a lot of the attractions time forgot...

Going back to parks in California...I used to go to Marineland near LA when I was a kid. For one thing, it was much closer to my house than driving down to San Diego and going to Sea World. So when I was a teenager back in the late 1980's they closed that park down. And, much like the Enchanted Forest, it remained a shadow of its former self for many years...with weeds, graffitti...etc, littering the place. Finally a developer came in a leveled the place and now they are getting reading to build luxury homes in that area.

A beautiful shot of the old Marineland near LA over looking the Pacific Ocean.

Another park I had fond memories of was Santa's Village near Lake Arrowhead. I only been there a few times...but I really remember was the giant bees flying overhead that were monorails caring passengers! I had a lot of fun there. The place was just as whimsical as the Enchanted Forest.

A large Bee Monorail takes passengers across Santa's Village in Lake Arrowhead, CA

Movie Monday Featuring...

Gulliver's Travels

Way back when Walt Disney had the only feature length motion picture cartoon, other animation studios wanted to jump on the bandwagon and come up with their own. Of course, Snow White proved to be quite a hit for Disney. So the Fleischer brothers, namely their studio made Gulliver's Travels, which became second animated feature film ever released, and the first produced by an American studio other than Walt Disney Productions.

Now the story written by Jonathan Swift back in the 18th century and full of political satire would go over children's heads if they were not well versed in the subject. This version was more kid friendly.

The plot has Gulliver washed up on an island and being found by the Town Crier Gabby. For all you trivia buffs...Gabby had his own series of spin off cartoons that Fleischer Studios produced. My daughter has a collection of old cartoons that my mother bought for her a year ago and I was surprised to see a cartoon about Gabby...not knowing how popular the character was after the Gulliver's cartoon came out. According to The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons by Jeff Lenburg, "Stories were shaped around Gabby's inability to do anything right."

The whole plot is centered around two kingdoms and the Kings (Little and Bombo, respectfully) of both of them. Their children, Princess Glory of Lilliput and Prince David of Blefuscu are do to be married. The two Kings cannot agree on which song to play at the ceremony; Little wants to play the song "Faithful" while Bombo wants "Forever." It takes the gentle giant Gulliver to smooth things over for the two kingdoms, and for the couple to become happily ever after...

You can download Gulliver's Travels for free since the copyright to the movie has lapsed and it is now in the public domain: http://www.archive.org/details/gullivers_travels1939

I remember watching this enchanting movie on the Family Film Festival on channel 5 in LA when I was a young one. The follow up, which I'll do for next week's Movie Monday was a flop for Fleischer Studios...but it's just as good and sweet as Gulliver is. Just as Disney before, the Fleischer's used Rotoscoping, an animation technique in which animators trace over live-action film movement, frame by frame to give Gulliver more human characteristics. However it was Max Fleischer who invented this design for Fleischer Studios first cartoon, "Out of the Ink well," and proved to be so successful, that the Disney Studios adopted this technique.

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Show Me Your Form!!!!

OK...finally got all my mini dress forms together and displayed on my wall over my vanity. So enjoy the photos...

This is the form that started it all for me...I found this one at Target years ago and fell in love with dress forms right then and there. So lovely and feminine!!!

This pink number reminds me of the dress that Marilyn Monroe wore in the film "Gentleman Prefer Blonds" when she sang "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" I found it at Gordman's a few weeks ago...

My other "Marilyn" form...or the one I call"va va va voom"...it's stunning in person. I found this one at Hobby Lobby about a month ago and just thought it was the coolest...

I guess you can call these pretties "saloon" dresses or "can can" dresses. Which ever you prefer, they are very feminine and pretty. The one on the right looks almost like a wedding dress.

More of my form collection with a small trinket box in the center with a dress form on top...

More of the collection...with a mirror form and a form hanging from a hanger...

Another view...

It's this photo box just too cute?!

Movie Monday is BACK!!!! Featuring A Date with Judy

Sorry for the long delay...it's been a very busy two weeks since my last Movie Monday entry...so here it goes...

Movie poster: A Date with Judy

I have to admit that I love old Hollywood films...they are some of the most fun to watch...and even some of the most heartbreaking. However, A Date with Judy is one of the more lighthearted ones I've ever watched. I think I caught the movie on either channel 5 or 9, they were independent stations in Los Angeles when I was a kid growing up in the 1980's out there. I was charmed by Jane Powell as Judy and how beautiful Elizabeth Taylor looked as they played high school rivals, with Judy being the girl next door.

A Date with Judy started out as a popular radio show that was aimed at a teenage audience. The studio executives at MGM wanted to bring it to film because of the growing popularity of the radio show, and showcasing the beauty of former child star Elizabeth Taylor in full Technicolor. Jane Powell was chosen to play Judy because of her strong soprano and given that MGM distributed the film is was only natural to put in music, featuring Carmen Miranda and Xavier Cugat during scenes at the high school prom.

Jane Powell sings her heart out as Judy

A teenage Elizabeth Taylor as Carol Pringle and Judy's rival

The plot of the film centers around a prom and former best friends, Judy (Powell) and Carol Pringle (Elizabeth Taylor) and their beaus. Judy's boyfriend Oogie Pringle decides not to take her to the dance and she by chance meets Stephen Andrews (Robert Stack), and who comes between Judy and Oogie.

Spring Cleaning Pulitzers and Musings

Photo: Beautiful Mess...trying to organize my cds!!!!

Sorry that I've been absent of late!!! With work, the Jennerbug and other writing projects this blog has, sadly taken a back seat!!!!! I really prefer blogging via my laptop rather than on my Blackberry...that is when the laptop version downloads properly and I don't have to wait a million years.

Anyways, I closed my storage unit and got a bunch of stuff out, so I've been putting on the tunes, and whistling while I work organizing books, cds and nic nacks.

Doing so has me stressed out. I made a sizable dent on Sunday, but still have to put some things away. I really don't know where yet. I do want to go to Gordman's and see what they have in the way of hanging shelves, although my fave store Target does have hanging shelves, they really didn't catch my eye. Too boring or plain. I thought of displaying my miniature dress forms on the wall above my vanity would look nice. We'll see!!!

Movie Mondays will start up again next Monday...I have one already mapped out, and wanted to work on it last night, but my article for the Examiner was first priority. So I'm going to save "A Date with Judy" next week.

Also, my short story, "The Audition" will hopefully be done in time to be posted on my website Saturday. The character development is a bit flat, and that is something I need to work on. There is only so many hours in the day and it drives me batty that I cannot get things done in a timely fashion.

Congrats to the Des Moines Register for winning the Pulitzer for their photo taken by Mary Chind of waters overtaking a couple who's boat went over a dam and the rescue effort in progress made the Pulitzer committee take notice. This is the paper's 16th Pulitzer, and I know how every journalist and writer strives for this prestigious award! Best Fiction went to Iowa Writer's Workshop alum Paul Harding for his novel "Tinkers."

Movie Monday Featuring: Easter Parade

That little gal with the big voice is back! This time on our Movie Monday she gets a little help with dancing from Fred Astaire and music composed by Irving Berlin. Easter Parade went on to be Judy Garland's highest grossing film of her career, and was the highest grossing musical of 1948.


Love triangles aplenty as Don Hewes (Fred Astaire) and his original dancing partner, and the girl he adores, Nadine Hale (Ann Miller) have a falling out. Nadine decides to strike out on her own, and is quickly replaced by Hannah Brown (Judy Garland) and the new team becomes a hit, after a few mistakes along the way. A man by the name of Jonathan Harrow III (Peter Lawford) throws a wrench in to the mix when he declares his attraction to Hannah and sings "A Fella with an Umbrella," trying to impress her. Hannah later admits to Jonny, that she is in love with Don, and that the mistakes she makes in rehearsals are so she can spend more time with him. In the one of most memorable performances of the film Astaire and Garland come out on stage as a pair of street urchins and sing "A Couple of Swells" to the audience's delight.

The show stopping number, "A Couple of Swells" is one of the most memorable scenes in Easter Parade

Don and Hannah's performances get the attention of Mr. Ziegfeld of the Ziegfeld Follies where they perform "Midnight Choo Choo," and where they meet up with Don's former dance partner, Nadine who is starring in the Follies. Nadine's signature dance performance is "The Girl on the Magazine Cover" featuring an elaborate staging where dancers appear as models on covers of magazines. Don breaks out and old song and dance number he used to do with Nadine, making Hannah jealous in the process. In the end, forgiveness wins out and Don and Hannah end up together, singing one of Berlin's most unforgettable songs, Easter Parade.

Astaire and Garland happily dance together

Sprung Springy or has Spring really Sprung????

My cats seems to think so...

Furgus enjoys some open window time in a upstairs window

As does Purrdy