photo blog

check out this cool photo blog i found

found: school bus in need of my attention

here, an introduction to my new endeavor. a project, adventure, learning experience all in one.
"the open road, the open sky, the open sea" has been my motto for quite some time now. it has happened on several occasions that just as i'm about to hit that wild blue yonder i change course and jump on another boat heading for different waters. but the desire to aimlessly wander, dogs and cat in tow, still lays within. this year is very important to me for many reasons. this post is about one of the most important of them all. without this element, everything changes.

for months i've been researching all sorts of portable homes from light weight trailers and rvs to yurts. the type of home-on-wheels i fell in love with from the time of conception is a converted school bus. this fancies me for many reasons. one, it's a school bus. two, the process of conversion lends creativity with interior design to suit my needs. three, these babies are made of steel and have proven high safety standards above any old or new rv on the market, including airstreams. four, the rows of windows are glorious!!

i've been searching high and low for the right one...partially converted, completely converted, gutted...and all so far have either been out of my price range, too big, or too far away.
so here is what i came across the other day, thanks to my dear jorge for keeping an eye out, sitting on a hill top at La Linda over looking the Rio, and a mere one hour from where i live.

1989 River Road ISD #40

454 Chevy engine

98K

just look at those big beautiful eyes staring back at me!

7 windows long equates to a mid-size bus. perfect. anything bigger than this and i'll need a captain's license to navigate this boat

on my bus wish list, and only a wish, not a necessity, is a handicap lift. why, you might ask...well, these come in handy for a 1980s-something Honda Passport Scooter.

that's Fred. he's cool. he's showing me the 55 gallon gas tank.

inside: what's appears to be partially removed seats is actually not the case. being a handicap bus, half the bus is equipped with wheel chair clamps and only half the regular seats. less work for me! besides all the junk Fred will probably "give" me.

bird's eye view

i love the bi-fold door and driver's seat crank to open and close it.

she's happy !!!

bye, bye! see you again soon to check out your innards!

caught. dreaming those dreams.

so, in the upcoming week i have to go back with clean gasoline in hand, drain out all the old watery gas, put the new in, start her up and see what happens. so many things point to yes, and the price can't be beat.
i'll be posting news as things progress.

simple. just plain simple.

where is simple these days. if i were to lay on my couch, all day, blurring my vision in the sun light inching it's way across the closed curtains of my door windows, literally, the time passing, and all i do is lay there and watch, dare i be called lazy. unmotivated. pathetic. wasting  the time away. that time which is mine to do as i please.
no.
my day has merely been simplified. narrowed down to some basics. an uncluttering of clusters.
consciously, not thinking about anything in particular. sometimes sleep occurs. the most peaceful of sleeps. the kind that is neither forced nor anticipated. my mind just eases into it. a trick, but a pleasant one.
i notice sounds. cat purrs. pigeons roosting. a bicycle's tire rotations squeaking. the clicking on and off and on and off the hot water heater. on the other side of the door window...the window that is completely covered by a translucent sea foam green curtain...a bug shadow.

dust gets in my nose. tickles.

cold feet. i inch my legs in fetal position, closer to the center of warmth.

time passes, how much i have no idea, but the shadows have moved. the sun is still shining.

has it only been 22 minutes?
the best 22 minutes i've had in a long time.

it is unfortunate that i know, that i expect, chaos in my nearing future.
it is disruptive to anticipate such happenings. but it is inevitable.
it is saddening to realize that in the next 3 months i may not have another 22 minutes like today.
until it's all over.

but it's only 22 minutes! i say to myself.
a well deserved. well honored. well appreciated. well desired, 22 minutes of simple. just plain simple

terlingua ranch

national "don't fuck up and forget the flowers" day

i have beef with today. most people loathe family holidays like christmas and thanksgiving. to me, those are opportunities for amazing food and travel. my family isn't always the greatest to be around either, so i make sure i'm there with reliable transportation. none of that fly-in-and-get-someone-to-pick-you-up-in-their-car-and-hang-out-at-the-homestead-the-whole-time mess. nope. i'm driving. even if it takes 3 days to get there. but today is especially annoying. outside of the whole deal about it being a Hallmark Holiday and Consumer's Paradise day, it truly is ridiculous.

i'm sure my argument isn't ground breaking, but here goes.
if you need an appointed day to remind you that it's time to show some love, then i hate to tell ya, but that ain't love much. pick any other random day of the year...several different days for that matter...and do something special. most people don't mind a surprise on a whim for no reason at all. it's unexpected. appreciated. literally, thoughtful. and what about those people who forget to celebrate v-day. they are chastised. banished from society. in the doghouse. how utterly stupid. there is nothing special about valentine's day. nothing. everyone is doing it, so shouldn't you?

what's more, what about those individual's who are single? there are some who want to be single. enjoy being single. love being single. and those who don't want to be single, valentine's day is a big fat slap in the face. ha ha! you're not getting laid tonight! ha ha! no body loves you!

ridiculous.

to replace all the hoopla of today i recommend two options.
1) make up your own holiday. if i'm in the mood to uphold the love, but on a different level, then i'll jump around shouting "HAPPY TRANSIENT LOVERS DAY", go treat myself to some chocolate of my choice...which also guarantees quality over that grocery store clearance aisle crap...and have a night with myself celebrating freedom, personal liberty, transilience.

2) celebrate a holiday that is an honest to goodness holiday, but somebody thought v-day was better, and so has become overshadowed by the people who want to rule the world. for instance, national ferrish wheel day, which ironically is also February 14th.  i can't imagine a cooler holiday myself. well, i probably could, but it's still pretty cool. think of the possibilities! go on a road trip. find a ferris wheel. ride it. love it. this is also an activity that does not have to be done alone, if company is so desired.

by screemgirl

and this goes for every day of the year!! there are so many holidays that the said calendar does not acknowledge...so disappointing...to name a few:
* January 3, 1964 - 450,000 public school kids strike in NYC to protest segregation and poverty
*January 31 - National Gorilla Suit Day
* February 28, 2010 - full moon
* March 8, 2010 - International Women's Day
* March 14 - Pi Day (watch the movie)
* April 2, 1969 - 21 Black Panthers charged with conspiring to kill cops
* April 29 - International Yak Day...i dedicate this holiday to my homeslice Kristen, who doesn't read my blog
* May 7 (first friday of May) - No Pants Day...i know for a fact that places along the Appalachian Trail celebrate this day...the newspaper's favorite day of the year
* May 22, 1930 - Harvey Milk birth, first openly gay San Francisco supervisor and activist
* June 13, 2003 -  Lusty Lady becomes the first worker-owned cooperative erotic dance club
* July 4, 2009 - my dog Aster Tamarind was born
* August 1, 2010 (first sunday in august) - Friendship Day
* September 19 - International Talk Like a Pirate Day
* October 30 - International Mischief Day/Night
* On any random day of the year...National Dadaism Day...my personal favorite
* December 5 - Ninja Day

have fun celebrating!

finally. a real live outlaw in my lifetime.

Outside magazine recently published an article about an 18 year old outlaw from Washington state who goes by the name Colton Harris-Moore. Many speculate his inevitable life as an outcast to society simply by his name, Colt, which has a thick connection to historical outlaws of the wild west. a kid who simply evades government authority by stealing as a means of survival...maybe a little on the extravagant side when you consider his taste in planes and boats...yet doing no humanly harm besides crushing the egos of police and FBI. none the less, a kid who is living the way a lot of us only (secretly) dream about. what dude doesn't want to be a badass? what chic doesn't want a badass boyfriend? these questions are generalizations and do not apply to me, i am neither and do not want either...although i must admit that the noun "rogue" is quite appealing, and sometimes endearing. like my step-dog Weston, his human daddy is a rogue, which is why Weston is his name...West of the Peocs....future outlaw's doggy sidekick in the making? we'll have to wait and see.

in the mean time, read the article for yourself and decide how punishable his actions are, all laws aside. because, i mean, come on, do you agree with every law?

click on this great cartoon portrait of Colton for the whole article.

time love memory

Interactive Art installation at Burning Man 2009 by stefano corazza
curious about human interactions, engaged by hand written words, love of desert habitats, anonymity...i can't wait to see what BM 2010 will offer. my attendance lingers around possibility, hoping the Universe opens the gate for this path. how wonderful to be just an observer of the biggest intentional (art) community in the world for one solid week. how fortunate to be a participant.

put my slippers on, we're going for a walk

as with anything troubling in my life, when left alone...i mean really alone...i figure it all out. and in usually stop-watch timing. but when consumed by it, day in, day out, it only gets more foggy in the distance. i'm waiting for a pasture to pass by in hopes of there being a gap of thin air, or beam of light that cuts across the mist for a view to be taken. something that screams and jolts me back to what is.

slap me in the face, light, please.
trip me onto my knees, air, i beg you.
heart, you stay out of this, you're no good for rationalizing matters.
head, get out of your heart.

unfortunately, when my sights are foggy it's usually my own fault...how easily my heart sways to the sounds of "let us" and "when we". hopelessly romantic. what comes out of my mouth doesn't always seem so romantic. that's the self preservation talking. lessons learned from experiences past. yellow tape.
when i'm listening, the Universe isn't shouting. it's all clear. when i'm listening is when i'm not letting my sensitivities get in the way. when i'm listening is not when i let other people's expectations of me take over what i know is.

one man says "i know you, believe me, i do". should i believe, and take that risk? i've heard that string of words before. what wasn't planned for in that whirlwind of sweet nothings was the arrival of reality. reality. it really knows how to make people feel a little more raw. exposed. tested. my mothers says "she's a difficult one. be careful". thanks for the 'blessings'. now lets go our merry way, shall we?

and as it doesn't turn out the way i had planned, i do not regret. or feel mistakes were made. only that i should have stayed more focused. the obstacle with me and romance is standing on firm ground. but then i wonder, if both our grounds were firm and of the same earth, would it have been so hard to stand on it?
dare i answer...no.

i've stayed away from making a mental list of musts in a partner, and relied soley on intuition. admitting to have always listened to my gut would be inaccurate. admitting to always doing what i want would be more truthful. what i want sometimes being an escape route. or a fulfillment. never the less,
all emotions have been on board which ever way the wind blows.
it is time to make a list.

on being alone. i will not apologize for relishing in my time. it is a core element, not to be misunderstood as an anti-social tactic, and should not be taken personally. i cannot explain or give examples as to how this works in a relationship dynamic. i cannot explain how one is supposed to understand it, because there is nothing to understand. it just is. accept it, or not.
what's more, i am intensely creative in my alone time. what comes in this silence is inspiration through wondering, discovering, meditating, day dreaming, night dreaming, romanticizing, singing, dancing, fantasizing, experimenting, exploring. if one denies me of my solitude, then you are denying me of my entire makeup.
lonerism does not mean that i loath company. in fact, it's quite the opposite. i desire companionship very much, actually. one-on-one at the kitchen table, 2am, at it's best. and sometimes, i'm reading a book in the sun beams stretched across the sun room floor, you sitting across the room whittling away at a piece of pine the dog brought in and dropped at your feet. comfortable, compatible, silence.  it is crowds, hoards, noises of masses of people bumping into me, arms brushing against my elbows, smelling too much alcohol based perfume, shouting, cell phones, that makes my eyes bulge, blood boils. likewise, a single person has the ability to have the same effect. suffocation. consumption. go make your own shadow. i already have one. a real shadow that is quiet reliance.

fiercely independent does not mean man hater. it also does not mean that i warrant being treated any less than womanly. it does not mean that i consider you lower on the totem pole. if you knew me, you would know that i don't believe in such things.

sure, it all looks good in writing. very attractive, indeed. but here's how you play the game.

rule number one: take the time to know. mysteries may not be solved. but a picture will be painted for guidance.
rule number two: if there is even a morsel of doubt, ask yourself about it.
rule number three: do not compromise anything about yourself. there is such a thing as equality and i believe in it whole heartedly. meet on mutual grounds, or not at all. do not sacrifice for the wrong reasons.
rule number four: cohabitate ~ balance ~ love ~ spread the seeds

southwest butternut squash soup

a big fan of winter vegetables, butternut squash is one of my favorites. usually i make a soup of it, pureed with stewed granny smith apples, or i roast the squash and eat it right out of the shell with a little butter and a dash of sea salt. other than that i didn't know many other dishes to prepare with such a rich flavor...until i found this recipe. like all recipes i appropriate, my changes make it even better. for other seasonal recipes check out:

- olive oil, or your saute oil of choice, sesame and grapeseed work well.
- 2 cups chopped onion of your choice. i like to mix a variety...a little purple, a little green scallion, a little white...but to keep with the southwest style yellow is fine
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced red peppers, or 8 oz pimientos
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped pablanos. if you want more smokey flavor then roast the peppers first.
- 1 ts dried oregano
- 1 ts chili powder. if you're like me and hate to use already mixed seasonings then make up your own chili powder
~white pepper, paprika, cumin, onion powder, cayenne, garlic powder, celery salt

- 1 or 2 large butternut squash, raw, cubed
- 14 oz vegatable broth (make your own, it's better)
- 15 oz hominy
- juice of 2 limes
- 1/4 fresh, chopped cilantro

pour enough oil is skillet to cover the bottom. add first 8 ingredients. mix around in oil until well coated. add more oil if necessary. saute on low until onions are translucent but do not let the garlic burn. transfer to a big soup pot, add all other ingredients. if not enough brother to cover all ingredients with room for swimming, by all means add more. when served, dollop a little sour cream on top.

the joy of making soup is that measurements are not entirely important. most of it is prepared to taste...left up to the discretion of the souper.