Thursday Portrait

This one's for you, Luke!

(No, I don't normally hang out in my bedroom with eggs, but wierder things have happened.)

Please watch this touching tribute to Paul Newman from last weeks Letterman show. Rufus alert. Can I help it if all the cool guys wanna hang out together?

**Update**Oh yeah, some of you are at work and cannot watch a 9 minute video. Anyway, if you don't have time to watch, here is something important that you may not have known about Paul Newman. He raised over $250 million dollars in his lifetime for charity, and with that and his generous heart, touched the lives of many. In the words of David Letterman, "...here is a guy who knew how to live his life because he took care of other people."

OK Get back to work now. ;)

Nobody Can Eat 50 Eggs

A hard boiled egg day.

49........!

Rest well, ya done good, sir.

Arghh!!!!!!!!!!

September 26, 2008
Joan as Police Woman Cues the Beauty
Oh the smoky soul…That was my initial musing as Brooklyn outfit, Joan As Police Woman kicked off a mesmerizing performance on a wet, wet night within Delancey’s favorite setting for sounds, Bowery Ballroom.There was only warmth in the room though, as Joan Wasser – clad in a black rippled jumpsuit, golden space boots and sporting a fro the size of a small planet – led her band through the many moods that her songs so richly capture. Sampling the pieces from her breakout album, Real Life and June’s release, To Survive, Joan and co. showcased a spectrum of her classic soul experimentations, incorporating swollen baselines, deep grooves and often enough a sadness illuminating every note.Behind her sequin-skirted keyboard, Wasser performed a particularly captivating version of ‘To Be Lonely’, with the chords and her ethereal voice combining for a tender, heartfelt offering – summoning it seemed the melancholy of a rainy night. ‘Start of My Heart’ provided similar emotional depth, with Wasser’s lyrics exploring gratitude, grace and hard-won new beginnings. She didn’t get too caught up in the introspection of it all though, joking all night with audience members about her love of Whitney Houston and New York. She also seemed touched when one spirited audience member shouted: “ ‘To Be Loved’ is my wedding song. My gay wedding song!” Joan was honored. The building got happier. And when Wasser picked up her various guitars throughout the set, soul-diva transformed into a sort of Lady-Hendrix, impossible to look away from. Particularly memorable was when she delivered an alternately scowling and whispered version of the Hendrix opus ‘Fire’. She joked that other audiences in the country had loved her “new song”, quick to explain the tune’s real origin for any resident dimbits. In what was the last show of the group’s US tour, there was a lot of love in the room yet it erupted when ever cheeky, ever blasé songwriting genius Rufus Wainwright joined Joan for a passionate, celebratory rendition of ‘To America’. Quite a moment. Two mystical voices combined for an ode to hope: Rufus emphasizing his Obama button and Joan reaching greater heights with every word.**** The girl next to me was in tears by the end. Divine times people, divine times…

****Ok kill me now for living on the west coast. It's just no fair people, I tell you! Joan Wasser and Rufus both live in New York. Whats a California gal to do?

Move to New York!? Hmnnnnn...

Thursday Portrait

Hello, and welcome to Hampi! I am squinting my right eye because my hair is not covering it! You know how I am. Since my life is pretty boring right now what with sewing and ....sewing...and more sewing, I thought I'd dig into some archives this week. In case you can't tell, I am hot, and starved half to death in this picture after the train ride I am about to show you part of. I think I look half cute when I'm suffering!

Gary took this video in the middle of the night on the train to Hampi. Check out the snoring on that ji!

You all know what this is by now!

Some of the cutest school kids! Imagine attending school in this centuries old city among the ruins of Vijayanagar!

A quick colorful glance!

Where I find out suddenly that Rameshji is married!



My little friend Varsha reading Green Eggs and Ham while I chew my cud apparently!

Gary and Abdul played drums for hours.

I hope that was more exciting than sewing.
Have a lovely day!

Surrender Dorothy!

I guess it's time for an update! Joan! Joan! Joan! Ok, that's all I got.

No really, it is. Sewing, selling, and Joan, who I got to meet in real life (haha). She's so cool. When I asked her why she chose leopards for the cover of her new release, she said, "Well, I just love big kitties, don't you?" Yes Joan, I do.

But here's the coolest thing about Joan Wasser, who performed one of the nights in a huge afro wig and black polyester retro dress with huge gold chain around her neck: She is into her fans. She is into people. And, she was so cute, she had a little bag with lots of permanent markers so that she could autograph cds, tshirts, arms, shoes, arms, or whatever! After the band played, she pranced right over and got behind the tshirt counter to chat with her fans. No snobby salespeople, just Joan and one other lucky volunteer who got in free that night for helping out.

And of course, humorous and entertaining banter with her audience between songs. That wasn't a sentence. Whatever. If you have the opportunity to check out Joan As Police Woman before she starts playing at the fabulous forum or something, you will be in for a huge treat. If you live on the west coast, you are too late this time around, and besides, I didn't see you in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle OR Vancouver.

Ok, so maybe you are thinking, that Susie, she's such a teenybopper! Whatevah! I love my music, and it does keep me young.

I hope you are all well out there in blogland!

Have a lovely day!

Thursday Portrait

Hey everybody. Hope all is well in blogland. Here I am doing a jig because Joan Wasser has arrived on the Left Coast. Do you think perhaps Rufus came along just to sing To America? Also, you know what? Yesterday I made that skirt I am wearing in this picture, and today I sold it on Etsy!! Gotta love it! See you next week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Organic mini watermelon. How perfect!

Golden Delicious

I first saw you pickin' oranges in Orlando,
all day you kept your ladder close to mine... Apple Surfing
You really oughta try it sometime! Incredibly wobbly! (Ok, I know what you're thinking! That is NOT my tummy, it's air! If it was my tummy, I sure as heck wouldn't be posting it!)
Do you like my Jaipuri salwar, Monaji? Lying on a bed of apples feels a little bit...weird!

Photo by Little Rita

Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Thursday Portrait

For this weeks portrait, may I present a video that Gary took while in Goa last year. Just a little blast of Salcete for you all.

In case you are all wondering, I am not going to India until February this time, so I still have 5 months to wait. I can barely stand it! And now that Gary has tasted India, he is particularly envious this year. (All is going well with my plan to have my family's brains infiltrated with India so that by the time Little Rita graduates from high school, she will be ready for some college in Delhi!)

In other news, I am happy to report that my online store is doing fabulously, my market store is also doing well, and I am just so stoked about that! I once heard someone say that success is one part talent, one part luck, and one part hard work. Honestly, I had to concentrate on the hard work part for a couple years, and it has paid off.

I guess with every good thing there is a price to be paid. For me it has been my online time. When I am online now, I need to be working my online store. I apologize for being lame about commenting.....but you know what? I noticed that a lot of people now have that thing where they can see what you've posted from their own blog, so they don't actually have to come over at all. That's sorta like cheatin' if you ask me. It doesn't do a very good job of showing the visuals. I am all about the visuals.

Yes, it is 9/11....have your moment.
Have a lovely day!

Neener, Neener!

Sometimes it pays to pester Crayola.com! My three faithful readers will remember that I went on hot pursuit after the Electric Lime crayon when I discovered that it was not included in my 96 pack. If you want the Electric Lime, you're gonna have to splurge a little! It's in the 120 and 150 pack! Ta da!!!!! Fancy spiraling up carousel container! Now, what did those Crayola people do after that inquiry? They sent me a coupon for $8. off any Crayola purchase! Not, 50 cents, not a dollar, eight big ones, people! I thought that was pretty cool. Yes, of course Little Rita put them in color order!

So now we have no less than 246 brand new sharp crayons, what could be better than that?

Going to the Crayola factory of course! I can dream, can't I?

Have a lovely day!

JAPW Alert!

OMG, Joan Wasser is coming to the left coast! I have spent the morning snatching up tickets for her shows. She never comes to this side o the country and now...ack now she is, and I am soooo there!

So here is a little bit of live Joan for you. I might have posted this before, but what the heck.

So, if you're in LA, SF, Portland, Seattle or Vancouver, lookout, Joan is on the way!

And if you are curious about Joan Wasser, you can find her playing with Rufus Wainwright, Antony and the Johnsons, and lots of live stuff over on Youtube.

Of course if you wanna know more about Joan.



Have a lovely weekend!

Pssstt! Do you think Rufus will come to these shows? :P Heeeee heee, one can hope!

Thursday Portrait

Todays portrait is all about the mom jeans.

Why yes, actually, I do think about jeans a lot! I found these abandoned in my fabric stash so I thought I'd put em on. Take a look at those lovely details that Carol Merrill is now showing us. I am not allowed to discuss the length of the zipper while wearing the jeans. Mr Ratburn said so.

You might be thinking, "Susie, those jeans fitcha just fine, ma'am", and thank you, but let me tell you, my waist feels like it's in prison! A little...restrictive. A little like those opera length latex gloves that I wear when I, erm, do dishes.

Back view, they practically are up to my neck here! Any higher and I wouldn't need a bra.

Set me free! Set me free!

Plenty of legroom

I just don't need all this legroom. This isn't an airline you know!

Now, that term "thunder thighs"? They created that name after me, and still I have many extra inches left in the thighs of these mom jeans. Why yes, those are my Abs of Steel Videos, right below my Willmaker 7 software there on the shelf. Thank goodness I at least thought to take the plastic wrap offa them exercise vids so you will all think I use em.

Hee, hee I have plans for you, mom jeans!

7 inches, wow!

Thats some zipper! (I can talk about it now, I am not wearing them anymore.) Yeah, I cut off the legs. I needed some patches for my muffin tops! Does anyone out there want a pair of size 10 mom shorts?

Have a Lovely day!

What all the cool kids are playingwasting time with: http://games.yahoo.com/free-games/hedgehog-launch
I'm all over that flinging animals thing:
http://games.yahoo.com/free-games/solarsaurs

Have fun! I know you wanna try em.