Kat Lorimor

Howdy Dear Readers!

The Mighty Deb and I just returned from our 9 day Arkansas road trip!  The goal was to get to Ron Coleman’s mine for quartz crystal picking.  We left on Sunday right after noon, and got caught immediately in highway repair traffic on the I17 that took an extra 90 minutes.  It started to cloud up by the top of the rim, and graduated to snow in Flagstaff.  It snowed off and on til Albuquerque.  We went through the skinny top of Texas, the width of Oklahoma, and then spent some time in Fayettville, AR.  The old part of down town is a wonderful amalgam of old and new architecture, sprinkled with art.  Deb and I stayed at fancier motels at her direction.  I am just fine with mom and pop’s or Motel 6, but the princess got her way with Best Westerns and the like.  We wound our way from the north west corner of Arkansas to Jessieville and the mine by 3:30 in the afternoon, Wed.  We were both greatly relieved because we had just gotten into a big, fat fight in that last hour or so.  She told me I swore to much, in no uncertain terms.  I just couldn’t fucking believe it!  Anyway, we hit the pit and split up like we were shot from a gun.  The crystals and crystal material were all over.  The miners dig up new material with big earth moving equipment, the company takes the hugest crystals, then brings the piles into the more public part of the mine.  There are newer piles of dirt and rock, and older material spread all over many acres.  Newer does not necessarily mean better–sometimes they are just cleaning up the active area.  Every time is rains new crystals and plates of crystals are exposed.  Some of them are clear like water, some are white, and many are mixed.  I found plenty to be satisfied with, though I’ve found bigger crystals and plates in the past.  Deb hauled up huge rocks with crystals tucked in here and there.  She Always goes for the Large size!  She brought home loose crystals as well.  I’ll tell you more of our journey, later.  Thanks for checking in!

Hello readers,

This new year is passing by in high gear.  Some of the highlights; two trips to the Tucson Rock and Gem show in Jan/February.   The labradorite and rhodochrosite (pictured above)  were so colorful and beautiful this year.  I bought lots of necklaces and earrings of those materials, as well as others.   Super Secret Back Up Support Agent (SSBUSA) kept egging me on to stock up on the great values I was finding, albeit by phone (she has been incredibly busy and overwhelmed this year).   She doesn’t just encourage me, she gives me grants to make my dreams come true!  Hence, her nick name!  I have been in the process of getting these treasures  photographed, priced,  packaged and onto ArtFire, for weeks.    I think you’ll be impressed with the quality of this year’s expeditional finds!

My best Friend Mertz came for a week’s visit from Portland, OR.  She is one of those deeper thinkers in life that I really appreciate.  We  have fun together,  and I always look forward to her visits.   This year, she and I, along with S.S.B.U.S.A. went to see the movie Avatar in 3D.  It seemed like an interesting combination of melodrama and newage thought.  I really liked how it snuck in such  countercultural thoughts as; we are all connected, maybe might is NOT right, and maybe we really can turn around the desecration of the earth.  It felt like it hit hard on subconsious levels,  I was moved while watching it.  When it came time for all the movie awards, I was glad that James  Cameron, (the director of Avatar) didn’t get the top award.  His ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow took the best director award for her movie, The Hurt Locker.  He’s a big time director and has gotten plenty of awards, it’s good to share the bounty.  She was the first female director to receive that award.   My longshot movie Precious received honors, too.  Mo’Nique won an Oscar for the best supporting actor–she earned it!

One of the other quarterly activities;  I am through with my taxes!  What a relief!  I am a good documentor, but it just takes me so much time to get all the receipts organized and totaled.  Thank God that’s done!

Another wonderful happening this year?!?  I discovered a new comic that I really enjoy–Maria Bamford.  She’s odd and her humor has overtaken me.  I have three of her albums and have watched all her “Maria Bamford Show”s on YouTube.   One of my favorite skits is while living with her parents, she leaves messages for her religious mother on the answering machine from “The Baby Jesus”.  It makes me laugh til I cry, every time I hear it!  Check her out and tell if it’s just me, or if she makes you laugh, too!  Kat 

Super Secret Back Up Support Agent and I went to see Precious at the movies, Sunday.  This is a movie based upon the book ‘Push’ by Sapphire, published in the mid ’90′s.  I remember hearing her interview with Terry Gross, the details that she used to describe the experiences in the book were chilling.  It is the story of a young, black teenage girl who is obese, illiterate and about to give birth to her father’s second child.  She lives alone with her mother who is physically and sexually abusive.  This movie was directed by Lee Daniels who was involved with Monster’s Ball, Shadowboxer and the Woodsmen (I’ve seen all three, the first and last are on my favorite’s list).   SSBUSA, who is also know as “Researcher Extraordinaire”, looked into the details when we got home.  Sapphire said that she chose Daniels to put her movie together because she knew he wouldn’t back down from the sharp edges of the story.  This is not a movie to see when you are emotionally vulnerable.  All the rolls were well acted, the experiences and emotions rang true.  The most helacious parts of the movie were handled with a deft touch, you saw enough to know what was happening, and to feel it.    The sex and violence portrayed didn’t seem like they were used to shock viewers, they were necessary for one to enter into the horrific world that Precious was trying to survive in.   Mo’Nique plays the mother in a grittingly, raw performance.  Mo’Nique’s character was frightening with her paroxysms of spontaneous, over-the-top, bouts of  physical violence, over unpredictable triggers.      Mariah Carey plays a social worker—you probably wouldn’t even recognize her unless you were looking for her.  She is a worn out public servant trying to do what she can for people who are mandated to see her,  in order to keep the welfare money coming.  I was really moved by her acting–maybe better described as her being, in the movie.   Gabourey Sidibe was a stand out as Precious.  She came across as stoic, tenacious and courageous, to me.  Observing the journey that Precious makes from being trapped within herself, to connecting with others, and being able to find her voice was really inspiring.  The movie portrayed some of the coping mechanisms that enabled her to live through such harrowing experiences.  It also showed the trickle down effect of violence, as we witnessed Precious unexpectedly smack a little girl in her apartment building just like her mother would do to her.  It’s hard sometimes not to pass on negative things that you’ve been subjected to.  I like that the character of Precious was full and nuanced, things aren’t black and white, all good or all evil, and neither are people.  I am glad that we live in a time when we can discuss issues such as power enequities, the need for dominance and overinflated senses of entitlement.  These are some of the causes of child abuse, as well as all the other flavors of abuse that continue to plague our world.   Both SSBUSA and I felt physically ill after watching this movie, AND we think it should be mandatory viewing by most people over age 15, or so.  Here’s the Wikipedia back drop on the movie.  The poster for this movie just hits me in the belly like a baseball bat.   If you go to see this movie, you may want to skip the popcorn.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precious_(film)

Super Secret Back Up Support Agent and I went on another one of our future home finding adventures last month.   We meandered through New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.  One of the highlights of the trip was our brief pass through Colorado City/Hilldale.  This is the polygamist town that straddles the Utah/ Arizona state line.   The Arizona part is called Colorado City, while Hilldale  is technically in Utah.  There was no difference between the two that I could see, it just looked like a small town to me.   SSBUSA and I were a bit on edge as we toured the town, everyone knows everyone, and we were not of them.  It was unnerving too, because it was Saturday morning around 11ish, and there were fast, hard driving cars EVERYWHERE.  It was really odd, the place felt like a bee hive or ant hill.  There were people working on their houses, a few children out playing, but mostly there were people driving quickly in this very small town.  We wanted to take pictures but not be too intrusive.  It was like being in a foreign country that had had Way too many visitors, and not always with a kind or respectful attitude.  Maybe gawking and being respectful is an oxymoron?  Well, we did our best to do both.  Many of the homes are huge and rather non-descript.  Some of them look more like apartment buildings than homes.  The vehicles that were the most plentiful were suburbans and trucks.  The economy of size was the most striking detail, to me.  We didn’t take many pictures of people in order to tamp down the rudeness factor, but the few that we got are interesting.  One of Super Secret’s best people photos is blurry, but it is still very colorful so we put it up for you to see, anyway.  There are many more pictures in the gallery set:  Arizona and Surrounds.   

  Most of the town’s assets were put into a collective trust back in 1942.  The state government took over receivership in 2005 during the whole Warren Jeffs debacle, due to mismanagement. I just read that the town has been given control over their schools again, just 2-3 days ago.  Maybe the town is getting back on it’s feet?  I just hope that there are only people who want to be there, living the way that they want to.  Jon Krakauer’s book “Under the Banner of Heaven” is a fascinating chronicle of Mormonism and their disowned kin folk, the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS).  I am glad that they are here, it makes for a more interesting and diverse world.

Hula Girl Waves Bye Bye!

I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a precipice.  This website has been up and running since July of ’08.  I have made my first TWO sales, both in the last week and a half! ( The earrings that my mother bought in the first month don’t count–she is my Mother, after all!)  I sent a pair of turquoise earrings off to the Netherlands, and will be sending the Urasaki doll ( pictured above), back to her homeland of Hawaii, next week.  Things are Finally starting to roll just like Super Secret Back Up Support Agent always said they would!  

 Tracey, the webmaster who put this site together, has handed over the keys this week, as I want to be able to run it myself.  She has empowered me with directions and good advice.  I feel like one of the Wright brothers on their first flight.   As you come across displays of my technical ignorance, hang on, it will get better.   Remember the words of Helen Keller:  Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all! 

PS I had to re-do this entry because I forgot to publish it after I sent it to my closest friends, and it got disappeared!  Ah, the learning has only begun!  What are you tackling?

I just finished up three days of classes with Michael DeMeng, one of my favorite artists.  I don’t know anything about his history, but I imagine it as tortured and tangled.  You could not create work like his having grown up in the Ozzy and Harriet family.  His work is dark, interesting, multi-layered and frequently creepy.  The Mighty Deb, Sister Curse and I took his one day workshop called “The Island of DeMented Toys” on Friday, what a blast!  How could you not have fun while sawing apart toys and reassembling them in new, and sometimes disturbing configurations?  Art Unraveled puts on a week and a half of all different types of workshops every August, here in the Phoenix area.  There is every kind of art media that I could think of, probably some you would love, too.  I took two more days of DeMeng’s class called “Mad Alchemist’s Cabinet” by myself, my pals had to get back to their lives.  I was so inspired after our Friday class that I went out and bought a Dremel.  They seem like such a practical tool–there are attachments that allow you to cut through wood, ceramics, plastic, and even metal.  You can sand, polish, or use a wire brush, amongst many other purposes that I don’t even know of yet.  I have posted photos on flickr of Michael DeMeng and all of our various projects, come see for yourself!  http://www.flickr.com/photos/katsdeelite/  Another highlight of my Art Unraveled trip was rondivouing with my web designer Tracey Kazmir-Cree who lives in Colorado,  and her friend Artsy Fran who resides in Phoenix.  It was fun to hear about the classes that they had taken and to catch up on each other’s lives.  I love Art Unraveled!  A big thank you to Linda Young and her family, who make it all come together.  Go if you have ever wanted to dip your toe into the art world, or even if you teach classes, yourself.  There is always more to learn and friendships to make!

My latest passion has been my Flickr account. http://www.flickr.com/photos/katsdeelite/ I love the interactive nature of this photo collection site.  You can post your pictures (you set privacy levels; everyone or only family/friends), and if  other people are able to see them, they can comment on them’ and/or make notes upon the pictures, themselves.  THAT is my favorite part!  We have ongoing conversations that can be heartfelt, commiserative, or just plain ribald, and snarky.  It reminds me of being in grade school and being totally bored; I’d make up new captions on all the pictures in the textbooks.  The best years were when I got a school book that had escaped the erasers and still had remarks from students gone by.  This only happened only once or twice, but you can see that it made quite an impression upon me!  On Flickr, I get to have ongoing dialogues as often as I’d like.  Who knew that old religious album covers could be such a fount of entertainment?  Or that others share my love of bizarre thriftstore items?  There’s a whole group dedicated to highlighting the unimaginable, called Thriftstore Hell.  I get to put all my Paint by Number works of art in a group with the same name.  And my few, precious black velvet paintings?  Oh yes!  I placed them in the Velveteria group!   My favorite and wittiest contacts are: Donna Lethal, Miss Retro Modern, Pastorfuture and Eliz.Avery.  Come on out and play with us, the water’s fine and amusing!

Super Secret Back Up Support Agent (SSBUSA) and I, just returned from a working, whirlwind vacation.  My fantabulous partner is referred to as SSBUSA because she is a Who’s Who (in a small pond, she would add), and has to live a semi-closeted life.  The good news is that she is elegible for retirement in a flash of  1 to 1 1/2 years, then she will have more personal freedom.  So, in preparation for that burst of independance, we went on the search for possible retirement burgs.  We thought that it was a good idea to start now, since we have such disparate needs.   I am a lizard of the desert and need it warm, she is a fox of the arctic, needs chilly hiking weather, and as a world traveler, she needs an airport within a reasonable distance, oh boy! 

 We flew to Portland, OR  where we visited and stayed with our respective Ex’s together, (only in Lezzy World does this happen!  One of our mantras is: you haven’t lost a lover, you’ve just gained a new best friend).  It only makes sense when you think about it and have some mature sensibilities to you; why wouldn’t your past lovers make good friends?  Who knows you like they do?  Who has seen you at your best, as well as your worst?  Helped you to limp through harrowing experiences?  The way that ex’s are villified and thrown away in the hetero world is a mystery to me, and seems like a colossal waste.  Talk to them, clean it up, apologize for all the nasty, underhanded shit you did, be willing to accept their apologies and get them back into your camp!  Strengthen your world by having authentic, true-blue people around you.  Ok, I know this is not going to work for everybody—maybe you were in a strange place when you picked that last one?!   Maybe the painful, gut-wrenching lessons that you NEEDED to learn are over.  All I ask is that you look at your waste pile of ex’s and see if there are any there, that are worth rehabilitating from the trashcan of your memory.  Ok, the next problem would be, how would your present partner take to this re-introduction?  Not everyone is as gracious and open minded as Super Secret Back Up Support Agent.  She was the one who suggested that we invite my ex-partner/best friend of 8 years, Mary, to join us on part of our vacation.  It was one of the sweetest experiences I’ve had in many years–two of the women who love me most in the world, traveling together with me on a future home hunt.  M1 and M2, as they are sometimes referred to, have met before and gotten along on their short visits, so a more intense togetherness experience wasn’t totally off the wall.  We stayed at M1′s 1912 house up in SE Portland the first night, we had a grand time.  M2 was expressively marveling at all the treasures and interesting items that M1 had accumulated in her many years of world travel, (and from my thriftstore gifts).  They have loads in common, just like many of your ex’s might upon closer examination.  Why shouldn’t they like each other?  The traits that brought you to the last one are probably similar to the traits of the present one, eh?  I think we all come onto the planet to learn lessons, that’s why you picked your parents, that’s why you have picked the first and second, etc, partner, or let them pick you.     (  (http://www.michaelteachings.com/m-channelings.html  This is a website address for the MICHAEL teachings, a channeled information source that is the most resonant, and interesting information that I’ve been exposed to on reincarnation, and just generally how life REALLY works). 

OK, back to the first night in Portland story:  the whole kit and kaboodle of us got together for dinner –M’s 1 & 2, M2′s ex-partner P, along with her present partner, N.  We had a good time just eating and talking.  The next evening was spent at N and P’s house in NE Portland.  It was sweet to be around people who were/are  important to SSBUSA.  “They are my family!”   She always tells me.  On Sunday (day 3) the M’s and I took off for Ashland, near the southern end of Oregon.  We pulled into Jacksonville, OR right before nightfall.  What a cute town!  There was a small, OLD downtown of about 6 streets.  It was an old gold mining settlement from the turn of the century.  There were a lot of farms and small houses in the countryside around it.  It reminded me of a smaller, flatter Bisbee,  with all it’s charm.  But we concluded that it wouldn’t do, too time in the 20′s and 30′s for me.  We figured out that the ideal temperature range that we could both agree on would be between 35 and 75ish.  We spent the night in Medford, a blue collar, more working class kind of town.  The next day we went into Ashland, what a sweet town that was!  It felt old, but progressive, small, but not too small, VERY expensive.  The shops were really cute and quirky, no cookie cutter shopping centers here!  A stream runs through the middle of town (reminded me of Santa Fe, NM a bit with the foresty feel, river in town and fabulous shops), there were bridges over it here and there, they had a short riverwalk area sort of  like the one in San Antonio, TX.  They have a large beautiful park at the edge of the down town with hiking trails, ponds, tennis courts and even bathrooms!  The town had a lovely laid back feeling.  But again Very expensive and maybe a pinch too cold for me.  Back into the car and off to the coast–stay tuned, loyal readers!

My life has been very full lately, I just turned 50 in May.  In some ways it feels like a big deal, and in other ways,  accch!  Not so much.  That menopause business is  picking up with hotflashes and sleep challenges.  It’s definitely harder to maintain my “girlish” figure.  One benefit of getting older is that I think that I am more likely to be viewed as eccentric, rather than just plain old weird!  I think that’s better?  It feels like the expectations we have of people evolves with their age.  I work with loads of younger people in the hospital, it is their culture that prevails in most instances.  Almost all   of the radios in the operating suites are tuned to 96.9, one of our local pop/alternative stations.  When I try to sneak them over to 95.5 (the jazz/R & B channel), the youngsters give me a hard time; “It’s putting me to sleep!” and “Just throw something if you see me nodding off!”  We actually have a lot of fun together for being in such a high stakes business.  It helps to be flexible and have a macabre sense of humor when you work in the medical world.  Another aspect of the young culture is all the handheld devices;  many of my coworkers have their phones or PDA’s with them at all times.  I see them clicking away in the break room or texting as they walk from one location to another.  Just how much is there to talk about?  I am about as communicative as the next person, and now that I am a 50 year old fogey, I guess I can say it–I just don’t see the need for all this chatting/tweeting/gabbing, and going on.  When I overhear verbal conversation around me, they are usually mundane, do people dig deeper when they use these other forms of communication?  I doubt it.  It must be addictive, though.  I see so  many people texting or talking on the phone while driving.   It makes me think that there is a very strong compulsion that is difficult to overcome.  I must confess to using the cell phone while I drive sometimes, too.  I wonder how all this staying in touch, and being surrounded by electronic devices will affect our lives and bodies?   It will take years to know of the physical ramifications.  Will it be easier to see the social and personal ripples?  Many people seem to use them almost as toys, objects to keep them from being present where they are.  It’s like a way of disappearing, almost.  Speaking of deep content, I feel a little self-conscious even blogging.  It’s not that I think what I have to say is especially IMPORTANT, it’s more like what I have to offer is a view from my little slice of a life.  I guess that’s enough.  K

Hello loyal readers,

the project du jour is beautifying the backyard.  When I bought the house 8 years ago, the backyard was “lawn”.  This lawn was mostly composed of crabgrass, and thank God for that, otherwise it would have just been an even patchier, pock ridden, large expanse of dirt.  I dug up all the weeds/lawn and put up a gazebo.  My brother Walt came to my rescue and helped me to put up the third tier that made up the loftiest of the roofs.  He is a single, eligible, handyman extraordinaire (hint clue to single, straight, nice women).  See his picture in the “Meanwhile, back at the ranch” in the Bad arts, Ugly crafts secti0n of the picture gallery.  Oh yeah, back to the yard….I bought and hauled 16oo red bricks with the aid of Super Secret Back Up Support Agent’s money, as well as her strong, shapely back.   I hired Tad to help,  he did the superb cement work in the yard,  back in the fall.  Sister Curse and Carlos came to help, too.  Together we got all the bricks in, and cleared the yard of my various collections, in preparation for the new yard to be.  Tad came up with a lovely design to integrate the bricks into the new step down from the two porches.  I will post pictures after I get off my next workathon schedule.  It’s exciting to get the yard to a more managable state.  I’m always battling the weeds, and my latest ploy was to cover the yard in the blue synthetic paper/cloth we use to cover the surgical instruments with at work.  That was great for the first 2-3 months, and then the disintegration set in…uhhh, not so pretty.