Bail Bond Girl

My day as a Bond girl was interesting. I went to a trade show with my business colleague L.  Neither of us could quite remember how to get there so I told my trusty phone to guide us to The Norris Center. She starts giving us directions that we are sure are wrong. As we pull within 500 feet of the location she informs us that our destination North Center is on the right. No….No you silly phone that is not our destination; L inputs Norris Convention Center into her phone and we again drive on.

 We reach our destination and after getting our rolley box out of the car head inside. She is looking for polo shirt samples and ideas for the Archdiocese and I thinking of an upcoming golf tournament and Gala swag for the 2013 Gala. We find a shirt that will fit the requirements. The only problem is L has a meet with them tomorrow and no way can they get a sample to her from Missouri by then. The rep apologizes but that is his personal shirt and he needs it for a show in Austin the next day. L continues to ask questions about the shirt and reiterates her need for it to be strong enough for the embroidery patch and the price point. Tony is obviously hooked on us and as I smile at him and look at L suggesting this would be an excellent shirt for the golf tournament in late June, he explains that he has another shirt just like it he can wear at the Austin show but he really needs it back by Friday for the Dallas show will she mail it to him after her meet. Why yes she will. He gives us the shirt and hanger and asks us to mail it to the address on the business card. We thank him, take our pirated prize and wander off to the next vendor.

  Lunch is next and our lovely waitress Carol asks us if we want to buy a raffle ticket for the upcoming San Antonio Stock show and Rodeo. Well of course! I hand her a dollar. I then read the list of prizes I might become the proud new owner of. A truck, a trailer, a welder, Stetson his and hers hats, boots, a vacation and a few others, while I am sure a welder is a fabulous prize I am leaning toward the idea that I would much prefer to win the 1 carat diamond earrings.

Off we go to the printers to pick up business cards. We had to wait and a steady stream of men came and went. None of them were of interest to me but it was a showcase atmosphere. Who knew?

We picked up signs and finally reached our destination. The Civic Center where we were going to set up for a Business and Restaurant Showcase we were exhibiting at later in the evening.  All was going well and we set up and were ready for the “over 3000” people to arrive. (I waited for hours for that.....hahahah)  I found a restaurant that was serving margaritas for the night and promptly asked for two. L was thrilled with my skill at procuring cocktails. 

We were having a marvelous time when B arrived and I was introduced as Tomorrow Paris. He looked skeptical so I explained about the German pronunciation of my name and how it sounded like a Bond girl and he laughed and said yep I can see you as a Bond girl a Bail Bonds girl. Well at least he did not imply I looked like I needed a Bail Bond.

The evening went very well and we all lived happily ever after.

Hahahah….hahaaa….ha…..

Now you really do not believe that do you? 

My night actually was clouded with lies, deceit, attempts to discredit my reputation and that of a friend. It was wrought with strife and hatefulness.  Weak attempts by two of the employees of the event sponsor.  Prominent business people were questioning me about my activity as part of the event committee and why this or that was not happening. 

Now I have a photo shoot tonight and I intend to be relaxed, calm and stress free. The two ladies in question will have to wait until Friday for me to deal with…

Tomorrow Paris

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is one of my favorite movies. 

I loved it the first time I saw it as a child. The car, the colors, the Grandpa, the dad, Edison the dog and most of all the joy filled life of loosely structured adventure.  My granddaughter E and I watched it Sunday afternoon and as the credits scrolled by during the early car racing scenes I saw it was written by Ian Fleming. I had a twinkling of a memory that I knew this; so I have investigated further. 

The movie is loosely based on a novel Ian wrote titled Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , The Magical Car.  Yes, the same Ian Fleming of James Bond fame.  He wrote it as a bed time story for his son Caspar. If you think about the lead female characters name Truly Scrumptious

 it has an Ian Fleming Bond girl ring to it. Think Honey Ryder, 

Pussy Galore,

 and Mary Goodnight, etc…

I guess my name could be a Bond girl name if you use the German pronunciation. Say Tamara like Tuh-maw-ruh Pearis as in Tomorrow Paris. I like that…. I have a Bond Girl name…. Can I copy write it? Maybe I should legally change it. I love it!!!!

Oh this is going to be quite a day!!! I am inspired, Tomorrow Paris, beautiful yet slightly tragic, vaguely villainous and whimsical.

Ciao`

Sign of Bain

I was wandering through a store last evening just to get some activity and to seek out treasure. I noticed very odd phenomena, pictures, plaques, and knick knacks that I can only assume were for the bathroom because they say bathroom on them or the very popular phrase salle de bain or even just bain.

 I do not know about you, but I usually assume that if it has a toilet, shower, sink, bathtub or bidet in it, it is more than likely falling into the category of bathroom, powder-room, or salle de bain. Do we really need a painted washboard, faded pink sign or bathtub with birds on it telling us what it is? 

Are there people out there in the English or French speaking world that are clueless about what it might be? I have never walked into one and wondered…hmmmm what could this darling room with a toilet and bathtub possibly be called; nor have I ever had anyone ask me the same question. Do you the owner of the bathroom possibly not know what it is called?

This led me to also notice all of the cutesy little plaques and signs telling me that I was also looking at or in a laundry room. Really.... so that is why there is a washing machine in here. I am not saying that wall art depicting vintage washtubs hung with faded shabby blue ribbon and dried flowers is not ok to hang in a laundry room; but does it really need to say laundry or washtub? Do we not know where we are? I feel the same way about the rugs that say “Laundry”. My feet cannot read and again I am standing in front of the dryer.

Lady Tamara must now get busy with writing a weekly blog for the Artz Council. We are going with Red this week. It will be up on the facebook page later this morning.

Jane Lee 

The Little Red Painting 

Oh, yes, I will be collecting items for the Silent Auction at the RMCC Business and Restaurant Showcase today through tomorrow morning. If you have an item or service you wish to donate please let me know. They are expecting about 3 thousand people. If you do attend please come by and see me at Today’s Weddings. Moola will be there also. 

In case you did not know, today is National Kazoo Day. In 1840 in Macon Georgia a man named Alabama Vest thought up the idea of the musical device and commissioned a German clock master, Thaddeus Von Clegg to create it. In 1912 commercial production was started by Emil Sorg in Western New York after teaming up with Michael McIntyre a tool and die maker in Buffalo. 

They moved the factory to Eden New York and that has been the home of the plant ever since.

 

Pirate Shots

G has asked to shoot some photos of me; the dread Pirate me, Captain Scarlet Selkie.

 She, is the me that is bold and lends a depth of “devil may care” to my adventures. She is headstrong and now she has dashed into an accord the rest of me is beginning to not want to do. A photo shoot is intimate. It gives another human access to you in a most candid way. He will be able to see the shy, vulnerable, wretched wreck that lies barely hidden under the veil. 

He will see what others do not. He will see what I refuse to look at. Not just the physical me, but me. Scary!

But on the other hand he sent me a list of rules. Some of you know how I feel about rules. Can you hear me? “Rules!!!”…..”Bwahahahha”….. “You think you are telling me what to do or not?”…… “I do what I want!!!”…… “I, Captain Selkie and everyone else who is me deserve nice things!” Ah! There she is!!!

I wish this opportunity had availed itself in Cali I know of a couple of girlfriends who would have been great in shots with me. I can think of a couple of man warriors too. Ships in the night….

How do I relax?......Arrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

I am reading a novel, The Unexpected Guest, and in it for the past several chapters Clare, my lead character, is preparing an intimate embassy dinner at the last minute. She talks of flowers, china, the food, pace cards. It is in Paris. I have had floods of memories. Living in Paris, the elaborate dinners my mother would hostess, the dinners my grandmother would host. Both women would fuss over the flowers, the china, the seating arrangements, place cards, the food, and dessert, when to allow us children to sit at the adult table.

 These have all been pleasant memories. I remember place cards that were used at Christmas they were porcelain and had a green tree on them with snow on the boughs and the part that where the name goes was a snow bank. They would be written on with a china pen; sometimes in gold and sometimes in black. I remember I could barely wait for each dinner to see if my name was ever written on one which would signify I got to sit with the adults.

Lady Tamara has many things going on this morning so I must be off.

Enjoy your day!

Red Shoes

Last night was dinner with Mom. I called her and we went over what was on the menu for dinner. Guess what after she ran through the salad and soup choices and the entrée and the side dishes she finally came to desserts and Cherry pie was an option.

 I went for the pie. Great choice! It was wonderful. Cherry craving somewhat abated but I still want bourbon. I see an adventure in my future.

I am doing a series about red dresses (clothing) in art this week for the Artz Council and yesterday was a painting of Pope Clement XIII wearing red. While researching that I came across the Pope and the tradition of him wearing red shoes.The Virgin Mary has also been depicted wearing red shoes and I was curious. Here are some of the folk myths surrounding this.

Red shoes were customarily and exclusively worn by Byzantine Princesses and so Mary was painted wearing red shoes as a child entering the Temple.

Emperors or would be emperors in Constantinople and even Caliphs would wear red boots as a rebel signal they were bidding for the throne.

Red was a very expensive dye and only the wealthy and powerful could afford it.

Popes are former Cardinals and Cardinals dress in red which is symbolic “.....to be witness to the Gospel to the point of sacrificing their own life: this is the meaning of the red color in their clothes”, said the Pope.

Don’t you just love knowing why things are like they are?

Maybe they all just liked a bit of whimsy to accompany a very serious office job. I remember my niece wore red socks for an entire school year no matter what else she wore. I do not know why.  Remember the red cowboy boot phase? It started shortly after Footloose first came out.

I have wanted to change my style…. . Thinking red cowboy boots and Dale Evans style fringy skirts and shirts… yeeeehaww

Or not.

Cherry-O

 I stood in a short line yesterday waiting to check out. In front of me as I approached I could hear a little girl “you will buy this for me!” “I want this and you are buying it!” I thought it was a joke or a child and her mom being silly like my daughters and I would be but, there was no playing going on. This little voice was loud, very loud and demanding and rude. I was shocked. The woman in front of her was twitching. I am not sure if she wanted to flee the line, smack the mom for putting up with that rude child or do a beat down on the child. Her mother just kept examining a belt she held in her hand. I would have tried it out on her obnoxious arse if I was her mom. Her mother told her no she could not have a broken toy.

 The child screamed she wanted it the lip gloss was not broken. Her mother explained no she would not buy her a cheap toy lip gloss that may cause a rash. The child screamed that her friends did not get rashes and they had lip gloss. Still a “no” came from mom. The child put it back and picked up something else and screamed she wanted it. Her mother asked what it was and here is where I about lost it. “I don’t know but you are buying it for me because I want it!” The little brat had no idea what was in the plastic pink thing. “You never buy me anything!” came the scream. 

Her mother ignored her and kept studying the belt.  The child looked up at me and I glared down at her and took a step toward her. She ducked behind her mom so she could not see me and screamed “You will buy this!” Her mother calmly said no. Then she screamed “if you do not buy me this I will hit you!” I looked at the people around me and nervous lady almost fled the scene the teenage girl behind me looked angry. I waited for the mom to grab a handful of child and tell her to shut up. The brat again said, buy it or I will hit you. She made a fist and hit her mom.  I looked at angry teenager and she whispered ‘Oh Hell NO!!”

It was a little hard to evaluate this scene. I am not sure it was what it appeared to be. Single mom? Abused wife? Dad kowtows to children while he has them and therefore they can bully mom too when they go home?  It was painful to watch.  I felt for the mom, I felt for the angry child.

I have been craving bourbon. I have been craving cherry. Maybe what I want is a Manhattan or just a cherry coke. I bought a bottle of wine that tasting notes assured me was ripe and rich with cherry. It was a very nice wine but I still want good bourbon and I still want a cherry.  Weird!

King Henry VIII introduced cherries to England. He had tasted them in Flanders.  Cherries were brought to Rome from Turkey. Cherry gets its name from Giresun in Turkey which the Romans called Cerasus and the Latin Cerasum which in Spanish is cereza and into French cerise.

Turkey produces the most cherries followed by the US and then Iran. They can be yellow in color to a deep blackish red. They contain melatonin a hormone that lowers body temperature making you sleepy. They are a good source of fiber and vitamin C. They also reduce the pain of arthritis caused by uric acid building up in the body by eliminating the acid.  They contain antioxidants which help with cardiovascular issues like plaque around the heart.

Cherry-O

Have a Cheeryful day!

Hug Me

Today being a Holiday I was not going to write a letter, but my cats decided they did not care and were causing mischief all over the house to get my attention. So ….. Here we go.

What Holiday is it you may be wondering well I shall enlighten you. National Hugging Day.  NATIONAL HUGGING DAYTM

 According to my sources this day did not require an act from Congress so it really is not National Hugging Day but it lends a bit of seriousness to this obscure day.

What a great excuse to give hugs to everyone and to receive hugs. This Holiday was created in 1986 by Rev. Kevin Zaborney from Caro, Michigan and is copyrighted.  There are 5 common hugging styles.

The Cheek Hug; used to show affection or comfort while still allowing you to keep some distance. You have all seen girlfriends do this at the café right before they all sit down to order salads. It is often used for elderly people whom you cannot always hug tightly.

The Side to Side Hug; used to give a quick squeeze to someone without invading their space. Couples, best friends, family members use this as a greeting or just to walk comfortably side by side down a sidewalk. It is comforting without being intimate.

The Bear Hug; strongest form of a hug and often is accompanied by being lifted off the ground.  This is usually a front to front hug and includes a gentle squeeze that lets your hugging partner know you feel some affection or you are offering reassurance for them.  Sometimes these hugs are given in times of extreme excitement or displays of affection. Remember they are gentle squeezes not an act of suffocation.

I have saved The Heart to Heart Hug for last as it is best. These are enjoyed as a slow purposeful hug. When you want to let your hugging partner know you feel acceptance, affection and that you are open to them. It is intimate and the perfect way to show you care, you are there, you hear them.

Dear Reader start your hugging!

Listen to Darjeeling

Since I have delved into tea world most of the week let us finish this.

Darjeeling tea is next.

 It is a black tea from the Darjeeling region of India in the state of Bengal. Muscatel is the flavor word used to describe this tea as it has a distinct grape taste. The champagne of tea, perfect as a delicate afternoon tea if harvested in early spring or summer with late harvest being a bit more robust and best suited for breakfast.  Darjeeling tea is grown in tea gardens or plantations in the misty foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. 

L-theanine is an amino acid found in Darjeeling tea. It promotes a feeling of well-being causing you to relax and reduce feelings of mental or physical stress. A cup of coffee contains the same amount of caffeine as a cup of Darjeeling but do to the L-theanine it is more evenly released in the tea causing the energized feeling to be more euphoric.

I am collecting items for the Randolph Metrocom Chamber of Commerce Business and Restaurant Showcase silent auction. So if you have a product or trade you would like to donate to this event I will be ever so grateful. I would like to get at least two a day before the event which is January 29. That will give me about 20 items. I already have 4 and have been at it two days. Who will step up for Friday? Hahah…. in my head that sounded like a carny at the baseball throwing booth in a carnival.

Moola went on a field trip yesterday to Anything Goes With Glass. Keep your eyes on her facebook page for photos.

I got a late start this morning so I must get moving to find my two items for today.  See you on Monday.