The Vintage Watermelon

Fujifilm FinePix F550 EXR Review

2011-05-18T07:38:00.000-04:00

Awakening

2010-09-06T01:39:00.004-04:00

Awakening
I finally get it! Despite the insanity that surrounds me, and the mess I am, a voice from somewhere inside my head is yelling at me…STOP!

STOP struggling and compromising...be superluminal
bathe in a cosmic shower

Give YOURSELF permission to be unreasonable

Dream your dream and find the courage to live it!

Dare to open your mind and let the caged birds fly!

Today is the rare and precious tomorrow

you searched for yesterday.

In it lies your untold story.

It is reasonable for you to do the unreasonable.
Laugh as much as you have cried.
Live your unreasonably reasonable life
In your particularly unreasonable style.
After all, progress depends on the unreasonable.

It is in the subconscious, in the realm of dreams,
where reality disperses into the most beautiful colors.

You are ENOUGH, You do ENOUGH, You have ENOUGH!

by Marilia (Mo) Garcia

Playing with my muses.

2010-08-07T18:07:00.002-04:00

Doodling is one of my favorite ways to find my muse, once found, then I like to allow myself to be led to create whatever evolves as I work. Usually, I doodle in my art journal, but this time I decided to doodle on my sketch pad. This is where my muse led me...

This turned into a rather complex piece, influenced by a book I am reading by Fred Alan Wolf, titled Mind into Matter. Dr. Wolf attempts to simplify Quantum Physics and presents an explanation of matter at it's smallest components...how it behaves....how our minds process information, and specifically addresses the question of whether there is such a thing as a soul....very interesting read! All that stuff spilled out of my head and onto my sketch pad. ... BL (bottom line:-) According to Dr. Wolf, yes there is a soul, and when it falls into Matter, it gains a Self. A very appropriate title for this piece.

On a lighter note, previously I created this piece:

I used modge podge on the hair, eyes, and lips, and I ghosted the background. I really like the results.

I uploaded and digitally altered to add text and a frame:

Enjoy and Soar

Mo

Art Journal July 2010

2010-07-29T01:33:00.002-04:00

As summer begins to wind down I prepare to return to classes this fall. To keep my right brain creativity wired, and continue being inspired, I am committing to work on my art journal daily and to complete a new project every week. Keeping to that promise, I am posting a few projects I've just finished as a way of documenting my art journaling process.

This is my first mixed media attempt in this journal. It was an interesting learning experience. I quickly learned I should prep my page before I draw my image unless I am going for a ghosting affect. Also, having a plan for the over all theme helps. I started this project without a clue where I was going with it, which usually works for me, but it didn't this time. I neglected to prep the page first, and when I applied the white gesso to the doodles it covered up too much giving the piece a very thick ghosting effect, thereby, losing a lot of detail from the original doodle that I would have preferred to keep. The message is "Who is dreaming the dream....observing the observer." Other text in the piece reads " don't be afraid of death; be afraid of an unlived life. You don't have to live forever, you just have to live." Here is the salvaged piece:

This next piece is another attempt at creating a Mixed Media project. Here I took my original sharpie sketch of a jester, and prepped the background with white gesso, acrylic, and ink. I added words cut from a couple of cards that were sent to me, and I further embellished the piece with digitally altered photos of my daughter and granddaughters. The message is "This Business of preparing little humans for life is mind boggling." These words are a direct quote from the card I cut it from and I apologize I don't have the artist's name to credit her for it. I added a feather just for fun. I was actually pleased with the over all outcome. Here it is:

Moving on from here, I was yearning to do a pen and ink drawing. I sketched out the image using pen and ink for her facial features, body outline, dress details, and the tattoo on her chest and neck. I applied an ink wash for her skin tones and another wash for her dress. The background is a mixture of white gesso and blue ink. Here is the completed original ink drawing:

Inspired by the out come of this whimsical woman, I decided to have fun creating a digitally altered collage piece. I compiled 9 images along with a photograph of my original sketch that I digitally altered to give the overall effect of a vintage edge. The message of the finished piece is: "Sitting on the edge of possibility, basking in the adulation of probability". Here it is:

Remember anything you lose, comes around again in another form...Rumi

Enjoy and Soar!

Today's Tangle

2010-07-22T00:32:00.001-04:00

Just unwinding after work, needed a ZEN moment which led me to this doodle...

Enjoy and Soar!

Tangled Doodles

2010-07-19T01:09:00.009-04:00

I enjoy pen and ink drawings and ink washes. I usually sketch out ideas in my art journal with sharpies. During one of these brainstorming sessions I really got into doodling and when I stopped to look at where I was going...it was too late...I had filled an entire page with the most unique strings of patterns. There was no apparent rhyme or reason for the patterns, but in a very quantum way it worked beautifully. Ever since then I haven't been able to stop tangling my doodles. I started searching for others with this same obsession and was pleased to find an entire community of people out there on the web sharing similar artistic experiences. Very Cool!

So, Tangling Doodles (thats what I call this technique) are very popular. Mostly because they not only produce unique and lovely art, but they have a side effect of being very centering.

Anyone can do these. Even if you can't draw you can do this by drawing simple strokes and repeating the patterns until you have a string. Here are my Tangled Doodles!

I have become tangled in my doodles....and I love it.

When I am tangled in my doodle, I find that every deliberate stroke of my pen is not dissimilar to how every action I take in my daily life, no matter how apparently insignificant, contributes to the big picture that will eventually emerge. My tangles, like events in my life, evolve as I go along. How very Zen.

Focus on each shape, then replicate it and develop a string, then move on to another string, and so on. The deliberateness of the strokes seem to calm the mind and open it to possibility...imagine that!

Creativity begins to flow without anxiety...it is very spiritual to experience.

It is a trusting in what you can not yet see,
a being alright with not knowing,
knowing it will be what it is

supposed to be.

You start out without any idea of what your image will look like. It can be very simple, or very intricate.
By not planning ahead for a fixed and expected outcome it takes brainstorming to a new level. WOW!

A Tangled Doodle is a Quantum simulator because there is no incorrect answer, only choices that lead to many unknown possibilities.

I couldn't resist photographing and then digitally altering my Rambling Queen Tangle shown below. I wound up with two very different but likable altered versions. Here is the original, and an aged version, the blue version appears at the beginning of this post and it is my favorite.

(the original sketch)

I really like the effects I end up with when I incorporate my Tangled Doodling into my sketches.

You always create when you tangle your doodles.

At least while doodling, you can not fail...

your strokes will take form and shape, and will develop into a final picture.

The Zen I get from my tangles, is to perhaps focus as intently on my little daily acts as I do on my doodles. Tangled Doodles are an experience of never-ending, yet, ever-changing solutions.

There is no up or down, and it does not begin as a picture of something. It begins with an action, a trusting of the process and ends as a picture of something.

I apply the tangle to impromptu sketches and find it takes an ordinary doodle to an entirely new level.

Enjoy and Soar!

Mo

For more information on Zentangles click on the link below

http://zentangle.com/about-what-is--1.php

Shared Photo

2010-07-09T00:17:00.000-04:00

Shared Photo

2010-07-03T19:48:00.001-04:00

I should be staying on task and begin the redesign of my living space to include my new art studio. Instead, I am playing on my blog. I love my blog! It's like a little escape...a blogcation. I've successfully organized the multitude of digital images, personal photos, and most of my photo art creations beginning back in 2006. That is when I first started teaching myself how to alter digital images and create photo art. I am still learning and now I want to incorporate my beloved photo art projects with other mediums like altered art and mixed media pieces. I think my art is has grown beyond a hobby to a passion and it deserves a creative space of it's own. I am going to redesign my spare room and establish it as my official art studio. As I was working on organizing all my digital images, I came across a few of my early creations that I hadn't seen in years. I really like each one of them. I see my passion for this art in each piece I create. I thought I would share them here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

This is a collaged, altered, photo-art that I created from parts of 8 different photos. These are baby pictures of me, my daughter, and my two grand daughters. I created this using Corel Paint Shop Pro XI. The background image, butterfly and book are free stock images from the web.

This is another version using the same photos, a different background and applying interesting edge effects.

This is one of my favorite projects. It is one of my earlier pieces which I created as I was learning how to use the different tools in Corel Paintshop Pro XI.

This piece is comprised of 7 different images which I customized, altered and then added text.

This is my grand daughter Mallory. It was one of my very first photo art projects.

This is one of my favorite pieces of altered art, and one of my very first creations.

Well thats it for today....

Enjoy and Soar all my Marilia Creations!

Marilia (aka) Mo

The Secret Lies in the Space Between

2010-06-29T00:02:00.001-04:00

I've been playing again with photo art. I am obsessed with it. I have another photo art creation to share with you. It is a combination of 5 different layers of images. The black and white background and the body of the women are images I acquired from the late Suzee Que collections on flickr. What an incredibly generous person Ms. Que was. I will dedicate this creation to her; I hope she has found rest in the space between.

I created this photo art with Corel Paint Shop Pro XI, and my imagination. I snapped a picture of myself which I uploaded to my computer and I blended it into the original image. I converted the new photo into a black and white image and changed the eye color by applying a blue hue, then I added red lipstick. I used the checker board image as a background and flattened all the layers, next I colorized the new image with a red tint. I love this! Lastly, I applied an art deco style frame to the photo layer and added the text. I Love it, Love it, Love it!

I found another great link to share with you. This a really creative group for women only:-) Love it! My membership is still pending approval...but they have awesome video's posted on you tube on how to create all kinds of Altered Art. Enjoy and Soar!

http://www.milliande.com/Creativity-Help-Guides-Online.html

Altered Art

2010-06-26T10:01:00.005-04:00

The grand babes are gone and to fill the void they've left behind--while simultaneously planning for our next visit--I turn to my art. Journeying through the enchanted blog-o-sphere reignited my interest in old vintage Parisian postcards, the Art Deco period, and collage techniques. A few really outstanding blogs inspired me to try combining these into a digitally Altered Art piece. Oooo La La... I am enjoying this.... and the possibilities are endless. This is my first altered art postcard piece which I completed last night.

Take Trips Girls! Take Chances, and once in a while take a quiet walk on the beach and remember all the good times...I love you!

2010-06-19T08:24:00.008-04:00

Ahhhh, today is a bitter sweet day. Sweet to wake up and see my baby girls crashed out in their bed still too tired from all the fun they had at camp.

Yesterday was their "Horse Show" and I got to see them ride! While waiting for the Horse Show I got to hangout and Ella showed me the moves she's learned in the pool.

Ella swims to her teacher, then to the wall...

HIGH FIVE!

Did you get that Nana?

I'm a mermaid...see my tail?

Yea! I am so proud of myself! Now it's free play in the water with my friends.

We are going to ride our horse now!

Truffles is already there!

There is Montana, she's ready for us...

Waiting our turn at the stables...

I'm so excited!

Mounting...

Grabbing the reins...

I'm ready!

Making my turns without tipping the barrel...

trying to toss the ring over the cone....

keeping my stride....

Good job Ella!

I did it Nana!

Dismount...

So happy I just got to dance!

I'm feeling so brave now I'm going to try to bump heads with the goat...

Bring it on Truffles...

Hee Hee!

Yea...I'm a big girl...yea!!

Hanging with my friends...

Mallory's Turn to Ride...

Here comes Mallory's class...

Putting on the riding hat...

Here comes Montana... ... mounting....

...grabbing the reins...

Off she goes....

Getting the ring on the cone...

keeping a stride...

Making the first turn without tipping the barrel

regaining your stride...

...here comes the second turn...

control the reins ... make the turn...

Good job Mallory!

Giving Montana some love...

Hold Montana for the pose...

Profile Pose...

more love for Montana...

I did it!

Line her up .... and .....

Dismount

Yea! We did it!

NIGHT TIME PICNIC AT THE BEACH

After dinner, later in the evening we drove to Clearwater Beach!

We got to the beach at about 7 p.m. and went swimming till the sun went down and it got dark (9 p.m.)

Mallory in her itsy bitsy bikini that Nana will only let her wear for the beach at night ... she remembered my conversation about Louisa Capetillo being the 1st women to wear pants in public and how women like Capetillo made it possible for girls to wear pants. When it came time to go to the beach Mallory grabbed this suit and asked "Nana, can I wear this one because I haven't been able to wear it yet?" I said no, I don't think so, but she argued that she should be able to wear this bathing suit, because (in her words referring to Capetillo) "like that lady said, Nana, Girls can wear anything they want!"

I said, okay only because it's night time and no one will see you. LOL!

Ella swimming in the sand...making sand angels....

Posing with a turtle...

After our swim we joined the festivities on the pier and park where we saw strange people

... climbed the highest peaks...

Finally, after encounters with a face painter

... a Great Dane,

a blonde Iquana and a Green Parrot,

and a pirate (Yes, all at the Beach!)

Ella wasn't too sure about this pirate...so Mallory went first...

...finally Ella joined her sister...but she wouldn't get too close...LOL

Then, we took a walk on the pier to see the artists

and pose for pictures...

Finally, we stopped at the concession stand for an after dinner snack of popcorn, cotton candy and coke (Horrors!) We set our towels down on the grassy circle just off the playground and settle down for a late night picnic at the beach and to watch the Sunset Cinema....no really...a huge giant movie screen had been setup and the featured film was one of the classic 1980's Indiana Jones flicks (not the first one). It was so much fun and reminded me of the Drive-In theaters from my youth.

We got home @ about 11:30 P.M. The girls had to be enticed to shower, but a cup of hot chocolate, Mimi and white blankie, and I don't think it took 2 seconds before they were out. Goallllll!!! I finally tired them out.

Bitter...because later this evening the girls will leave with their Momo and Papa and head to South Carolina, where they will meetup with Daddy, and then they will head to New Jersey before returning home to Albuquerque.

Take chances my girls, rush into water spouts,
jump waves in the ocean, swim in the sand,
dance underwater, go skating on rainbows,
climb the highest peaks and
never forget to try new things...
take chances my girls...
life is an adventure...and
yes,girls can wear whatever they want!
when mom and dad let you that is:-)
Be unreasonable!
Change the rules!
Use whatever colors you want to paint your pictures,
It's your story, it's your painting...
whatever you do...
make sure you never stop having fun,
because whoever has the most fun wins:-)
Nana!

WE HAD AN AWESOME VACATION IN FLORIDA

WITH OUR NANA!!!

More Summer Camp Pictures

2010-06-18T00:17:00.003-04:00

I can't begin to express in words just how precious grand children are. My two grand daughters are an absolute delight for me. They engage me in conversations that are hysterically funny, and they amuse me with tales of their perceptions of the people around them and the world they live in. Their enthusiasm and energy are infectious. Children are amazing!

Here are a few more pictures of their Summer Camp Experience

Ready for Camp!

Mallory's Classroom...

Mallory and I usually drop Ella off at her class, then Mallory hangs her bag at the hitching posts before we walk to meet her class on the playgrounds.

On the way, Mallory usually tells me all about the things they do at camp. Here she is explaining how it takes 3 people to haul the hay to the stables to feed the horses.

On my way back to my car I usually run into Ella's class on their way to the pool. That's Ella in the striped bathing suit, blue towel and pig tails. LOL! She usually gives me a quick bye Nana and is off to swim.

Mallory is a quick study and in no time found the canteen. She very swiftly got me to set her up with an account so she good join her friends for snacks, then at pickup she negotiated adding her sister to the account so Ella's teacher could take her shopping at the canteen. Needless to say, when I picked the girls up today, they had Hershey's candy bars and candy diamond ring suckers LOL! The things we get away with as grand parents!

Ella's playground, near the horses

Ella's ride time is 10 A.M., and Mallory's is 10:30 A.M.

The girls con me every night and somehow one, or both wind up sleeping in my bed...tonight it's Mallor. Last night while I was trying to explain to Ella that she needed to sleep in her own bedroom with her sister, she sighed, stretched her arms over her head and said "Nana, actually, this is my rule, I love you, I sleep with you! Obviously I lost that negotiation. LOL!

Nite Nite, we have a horse show tomorrow. Check out Mal's shirt, I couldn't resist getting it for her. It says conserve water, drink Chocolate Milk. LOL!

Summer Camp

2010-06-14T17:43:00.001-04:00

First Day of Summer Camp! The girls are soooo excited about camp.

Circle C Academy

Ella's Classroom. Ms. Daffney is her teacher.

Mallory's class gathers with the big kids in the morning!

Time to go home...oh no, Mallory wanted to stay longer...

I wasn't sure how Ella would do,

but she did GREAT!

Here are a few pictures of the camp. The girls wanted to show me the camp.

Just outside Ella's classroom door

Here is where we ride the horses Nana.

This is the horse we rode. Her name is Hannah!

This is the stables where Hannah and her friends sleep.

These are Happy Campers!

Here is the big school girl. She can do anything now that she's almost four!

This is the best big sister anyone ever had, and a pretty great tour guide!

This is the pool they get swimming lessons in everyday.

It's a large property with a lot of trees; a great place to run around on.

Posers!

This is Truffles the goat.

Ella's first preschool art project. LOL!

The End!

Park Crawl 2010 - Tampa River Walk Park

2010-06-13T23:44:00.000-04:00

Great Park, awesome playground, the best water spouts!!!! We could have spent all day here. The only improvement would be a canopy over the playground. The playground equipment gets very hot in this Florida Sun. Dahhh! The architectural team that designed this park needed a mom, or dad with preschool age children. So far my suggestions for improvements on the parks we've visited would be, water spouts are needed at Macfarlane Park. Canopies are needed at the Tampa River Walk Park, and canopies and water spouts are needed at Horizon. Otherwise...we're in paradise:-)

River Walk Park

One Word, SPLASH!

Skating on Rainbows:

...me too...

RIVER DANCE - LOL!

Sisters

WE LOVE FLORIDA!

2010-06-13T00:31:00.004-04:00

Saturday, June 12, 2010

The girls went to Myyaka State Park:

Ella wants her hair long enough so she can wear braids. She was

very pleased with the braids Nana was able to do for her.

She is just delighted with her braids!

If you haven't been there,
well here is a little information about the park:

Myakka River State Park is one of Florida's oldest and

largest state parks. The "Florida Wild and Scenic Myakka River"

flows through 57 square miles of wetlands, prairies and

woodlands. Myakka is popular for hiking, fishing, camping,

and wildlife observation. For reservations, call Reserve America

at (800) 326-3521. Entrance fees are $6.00 per vehicle for

2 to 8 persons. The park is open everyday, 8:00 A.M. to Sundown.

Water Play at Kate Jackson Park

2010-06-12T14:40:00.007-04:00

Before my granddaughters go off to visit their Momo, Papa, and Daddy in South Carolina and New Jersey, I had the opportunity to take a jaunt over to Albuquerque and bring them back with me to Tampa. We've made it a "Nana" thing to visit the local theme parks, however, this year the money isn't flowing like it had been, so we had to do Summer Vacation on a budget. No fancy hotels, no corpratized theme parks, no eating out!

Do they look like they missed the theme parks?

Nana got her creative juices flowing and came up with a game plan. We would do a Park Crawl. That is visit as many local parks as possible. We are so lucky in Tampa to have so many great neighborhood parks. Kudo's to the Parks and Recreation Departments of Hillsborough and surrounding counties! So far we have visited five local parks and have at least 5 more to go. Friday we were very motivated and hit three parks in one day. The girls loved it! They took their roller skates and played, ran, jumped, climbed,and swung from swings and monkey bars, then they slide down hills, poles, and slides, before skating and hiking on all sorts of paved and unpaved trails. We had a great time...it was memorable. We might have started a new tradition. We stopped for lunch and snacked while in route from one park to the next! What fun! The picture above was taken at the Kate Jackson Water Spouts, were we ended our day on Friday:-)

Water Play at Kate Jackson

We started at Macfarlane Park...here the girls are enjoying the crazy swings...

Then Nana taught them a little Spanish History!

I told the girls about Louisa Capetillo (the woman wearing the hat in this mural.) Capetillo was the subject

of a narrative I had to write for my English Composition II course in college. I was delighted to see her included in this mural. Capetillo was a Puerto Rican Journalist, labor organizer, author, playwrite, and women's rights advocate in the early 1900's. She was, and continues to be controversial because of her anarchist philosophy and liberated lifestyle. Until recently little was known about Capetillo's efforts to improve the rights of workers, especially women workers. Although I don't agree with everything she wrote in her manifesto, yet I feel she is an important historic figure who helped bring attention to the plight of women and workers, not only in the Caribbean, but right here in Tampa Bay's early tobacco factories. I feel it is important that my granddaughters stay connected to their Spanish heritage and understand the journey others took before them, so that they can enjoy the rights they have today. Not that I want them to hold a grudge about any past injustices! I merely want them to know there is nothing they can't do in this GREAT COUNTRY of ours by first becoming educated, and then be willing to work hard! I never want my girls to make excuses for being helpless! There are NO EXCUSES and there is nothing they can't do... but they MUST do the hard work to earn it:-)

Louisa Capetillo is best known as

the 1st woman to wear pants in public

in Cuba and Puerto Rico in the early 1900's.

I laughed to see the disbelief

on my granddaughters faces.

They couldn't understand why someone would

not let girls wear pants. LOL!

Go Capetillo!

Louisa Capetillo also fought for the rights of women to be educated and she wrote several theatrical plays and books, including one right here in Tampa Bay while she was living in Ybor City.

Of course Nana made the girls pose for pictures...

lots of pictures! Here they are CHEESING it up

for the camera under the

palm trees at Macfarlane Park...

I told the girls how I used to roll down the hill at Macfarlane Park when I was their age,

and how their mother did too. Ella decided she would try it!

Mallory chose to run down the hill instead.

Next, we moved on to Horizon Park to climb really cool monkey bars,

Soon, it was time for skates...

...after a long skate around the Horizon park trails it was time to cool off with --what else--- BUG JUICE!

the pond was breath taking...

... so pretty..

and finally it was off for some lunch and to cool off at Kate Jackson park...

The End

Blog of Burgess: Are the works you're using really in the public domain?

2010-06-02T19:51:00.000-04:00

Blog of Burgess: Are the works you're using really in the public domain?

2010-06-02T19:49:00.000-04:00

Blog of Burgess: Are the works you're using really in the public domain?

How do I promote my FeedBurner feed on my Blogger site?

2010-06-02T01:34:00.000-04:00

How do I promote my FeedBurner feed on my Blogger site?

Stressing before my trip

2010-06-01T18:21:00.000-04:00

Walked in the door to my apartment and was overcome by the desire to just crash...but...I have so many things to do before my trip. Ahhhhhhh....breathhhh....ok, making a fresh cup of coffee to get a second wind. I'll get it all done, if not I'll do what I can.

Can't wait to see the sights, explore, spoil my granddaughters, and just get away from it all ... hmmmmm:-)

Airport Parking Discount Coupon for Tampa International Airport TPA. A-1 Express Services, Inc.

2010-06-01T17:28:00.000-04:00

Airport Parking Discount Coupon for Tampa International Airport TPA. A-1 Express Services, Inc.

Rapunzel's Tower

2010-05-31T11:56:00.000-04:00

Located Across the street, from the Sulphur Springs park at Florida avenue there is another popular landmark. The Sulphur Springs Water tower.

My granddaughters insist it's Rapunzel’s tower. It too has been transformed and hosts a small ball park. The river and the parks that have been revitalized along it’s banks provide an escape for the hopeful people that live along it’s less privileged sections, and those of us hardcore optimist that insist the old historical areas are making a comeback...ha ha! Well actually, I'm not the only one who believes there is hope for this old neighborhood..."This Old House Magazine" thinks so too. They picked Seminole Heights to represent Florida as the best neighborhood...hee hee...read about us here :http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20283025_20631490,00.html

2010-05-31T11:45:00.000-04:00

Further north, upstream in the middle of the ghetto, the Hillsborough River mingles with a natural spring (Sulphur Springs). A park has existed there for decades. Most recently it has been revamped and a swimming pool has been added that is now a popular swimming hole for the inner city kids and their families.

The Hillsborough River

2010-05-31T11:37:00.000-04:00

The Hillsborough River is only a few minutes from me and has lovely parks on its banks. My favorite is River Park…which I affectionately call "Mojito Beach", it sits on a section of the river surrounded by some upper scale historical homes complete with a couple of historical bridges. The park has lots of old majestic oak trees full of ancient moss that hang like the unkept beards of men. There is a really cool playground and a nice section of asphalt walking trails and sidewalks.

Summer 2010

2010-05-31T00:48:00.000-04:00

Wow, time just goes by so quickly! I am so excited because I am going to visit my daughter and my two little beauties in lovely New Mexico. I was just IMing with Des, and she asked me if I had been thinking about what to do while I am there. I told her I was looking forward to hiking and taking photos in the mountains and in old town. She said we should go to Pecos because it's not too far and it's absolutely lovely. I can't wait! I so need to get away and immerse in a different environment. I will have lot's to blog about and tons of pictures to share when I return. In the meantime, I will continue to search for products to promote on my blog. In the not to distance future I hope to monetize my blog with unique products I find, and a few of my own creations. Until then, you will find a lot of good marketing links on the link bar. Check them out! Also, enjoy the slide shows with all the retro memorabilia. You can control the music by scrolling down to the end of the page. There is a lot to see here, if you like games, click on my games link and have a go at a game of mahjong or solitaire.

Enjoy your visit,

Mo

Timeless Watermelon!

2009-08-20T14:02:00.000-04:00

Staycation @ Mojito Beach

2009-08-10T15:13:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness for the river. It cuts through my town like a welcome visitor breaking up the drudgery of the old landscapes that have seen better days. Slowly winding its way through town, passing without prejudice or judgments, making no comments, simply moving along at the pace of the moment, responding to no one - just being a river ... ahhhhhhh.

Further north, upstream in the middle of the ghetto, the river mingles with a natural spring (Sulphur Springs). A park has existed there for decades. Most recently it has been revamped and a swimming pool has been added that is now a popular swimming hole for the inner city kids and their families. Across the street, there is another popular landmark. The Sulphur Springs Water tower (my granddaughters insist it's Rapunzel’s tower). It too has been transformed and hosts a small ball park. The river and the parks that have been revitalized along it’s banks provide an escape for the hopeful people that live along it’s less privileged sections, and those of us hardcore optimist that insist the old historical areas are making a comeback...ha ha! Well actually, I'm not the only one who believes there is hope for this old neighborhood..."This Old House Magazine" thinks so too. They picked Seminole Heights to represent Florida as the best neighborhood...hee hee...read about us here : http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20283025_20631490,00.html

The parks, towers, ballparks and the river all stand out against the seedy neighborhoods in which they are located. Neighborhoods filled with the usual inner city problems, the working poor, the under-educated, the unemployable, the mentally ill, the prostitutes, drug dealers, alcoholics and addicts of various vices- along with the homeless, the hopeless and the clueless. The inner city experience … ha ha …. Here's the weird thing, it's no longer exclusive to inner cities! The Inner City Experience is common to the “Trendy Upper Scale Neighborhoods” too - heck, the truth is I’ve seen these same inner city problems in the suburbs, in island get- a-ways, uptown, downtown - the inner city experience is everywhere… it’s a multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-social economic class experience now. I remember what someone said at a dinner party I attended over the weekend, “No use in thinking about things you can’t fix!” I guess that's one way to deal with reality. . . I prefer to write a different story...or draw a happier picture...or just listen to the seagulls calling me inviting me to take flight and escape into my world of vintage watermelon dreams....

The occasional sounds of the seagull’s calls as they fly over the river, or the nearby port, are like piercing alarms waking me up from inner city emersion, reminding me that there is beauty and wonder everywhere…you just have to wake up, open your mind...and let yourself be surprised by possibility!

Well, gotta get back to work, till next time…happy daydreaming.

My Vintage Watermelon Dream

2009-08-08T10:20:00.000-04:00

This is what my vintage trailer will look like!

If it’s vintage, shabby chic (Southern or Spanish), feminine – and – most important of all retro, well, ya’ll just know I’m gonna love it! As I was surfing the web today, looking for sweet girly-girl graphics for a princess tea party flyer I am working on, one of my Google hits led me to a blogger’s page about vintage trailers. OMG! I didn’t know such a thing existed!

I was so impressed! I spent hours looking at pages and soon discovered a chunk of history I had never paid any attention to Southern Route 66 which was U.S. 90. Back in the 50s, families would take cross country road trips and stay in small now rare to find motels along the highway. U.S. 90, which was known as the Old Spanish Trail started at St. Augustine, Florida and went through, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, all the way to California Ocean. U.S. 90 and all those quaint motels are all gone now, like Route 66, they are history. I like to remember that time, things where slower then. I organized several postcards and images of other memorabilia from that era and created slideshows. Scroll to the bottom of this page and you'll see them. Enjoy.