Throwing in the Towel

This abstract was the first I completed with the art collective here in Folsom, California. I was going to give it away to thrift when my daughter noticed it and said she liked it. It was a warm-up to the other paintings queuing up for completion. 

I have two more canvases that reside in my bedroom closet. Both will be done in acrylic because oil takes so darned long to dry, especially in the wet winter. 

Acting and dancing activities are trending down for the holiday break into the New Year. 

As an aside, I saw a woman on a Sunday morning around 11:00 am with her male partner at In and Out Burger. She was dressed to the hilt. Not Sunday-morning-going-to-church clothes, I was trying to figure out where she was headed or where she had been. Picture this - black tight midlength dress and black open back stilletos. I was wearing my usual guerl uniform of yoga pants, t-shirt, tennis shoes, baseball cap, and backpack. If I had to wear her getup on a Sunday morning to attract a man - I'm Out. 

In fact, I am all done when it comes to man hunting. Yep, throwing in the towel. I am not in a position to allow anyone else in to my life. From damage done from the last one, to fear of further abuse from a new one. Best to let the chips fall where they have come to rest. 

I knew my Happy Hour activities would trend down. Now, I feel comfortable enough to have my beer at home and watch a movie or two. 

Another aside, the 55+ community where I live posted a Singles Meet and Greet. This from a facility where it is 90% women. Not surprising, the meet and greet was canceled for lack of interest. No one wants to get together with any of the male species here. 

Dating was a wonderful concept when I was younger. Now, a distant memory. 

Rebranded and Reworked

Rebranded with a new Instagram account @TamitheTerror. Removed the drunken story-telling posts. The former IG account was cluttered with random sewing/quilting, thrift shop item images.

Focusing on dance reels with me in character costume. Reworked a couple of reels. One showed up with the original song. I am getting it now. How to tape snippets and combine them in an Edits app. 

Since I am still working on comedy routine material, I don't think I can call myself a comedian. I removed that reference. While I may try out as a character in a play, I don't know if I will ever perform at an Open Mike. 

Swiveling to my Day of the Dead altar. These Dia de Los Muertos decorations have been up since the end of September. Pink skull is filled with See's Candies. 

Monster High doll Skelita Calaveras. My mother and father. Two of the five kitty cats.

My mom at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee Festival and the hat she wore there. Her favorite candy honeycomb chocolate from Snooks in Folsom, California. 

All the items came from Home Goods in the image below with the exception of the $2 thrift store picture. 

Back side of the pub table shows off the flower arrangement and the Home Goods tablecloth.

This decor will be up for a couple more weeks, then Christmas takes over! 

Major Pullback

Deactivated my Instagram account. I know anything posted on the internet is open to ridicule. Not that any had come my way. Some still may, since there are reels of me doing silly stuff. I may re-brand with another name or do nothing at all. 

Continuing with the acting classes through the theater. Still debating whether I should continue with studio art or theater in college. It will be one or the other come spring. Grandbaby sitting takes up one day in the week. 

The image is one of my Little Kiddle dolls from childhood, K-Pop Demon Hunter socks, and a Dia de Los Muertos kitty figurine. 

See that little doll's expression, guerl limiting your happy hours. Sticking to Fridays only when there is an Uber ride home.👺   

Not a Single Life Advocate

There seems to be a lot of men bashing online. Women posting how delightful and wonderful it is to be single. Here are 5 reasons for married life (since I have experienced both):

1.    You don't have to face the world alone. There are tricksters, fraudsters, truly bad people to avoid at all costs. Having a partner deters some of that awful. 

2.    There are memories you share together. As a single person, it is your memory alone. 

3.    You have extended family. From someone whose family is very small, both my parents have passed, and I have one brother in another state who doesn't travel. 

4.    You can build wealth together faster than you can as a single person. Costs are shared, cutting down on expenses. 

5.    You know you are loved and you can safely love in return. 

Not a lot of reasons but there doesn't have to be because those listed above are BIG ones. 

If women keep ending up with the wrong type of man, maybe their man-picker is broken. Time to turn inward and question the attraction to substandard men. That gorgeous preener at the end of the bar has had a lifetime of having his way. 

I miss the mornings with a partner. Having coffee, just the small noises a person makes moving about the house. Having meals together, being able to cook for someone. Laughing together about something humorous that happened. 

No. I am not a single life advocate. I don't think people are meant to live alone. But I have fallen in to that percentage of people of women over 60 - over 50% of us are single. The odds of even being asked out on a date are just not in our favor. 

I will keep you posted. I haven't been on a date in over 20 years. I don't want to become someone's Grandma side piece. You know the one you ride in private, and hide in public.

Wilding Ways Continue

Leading off with the acrylic on canvas I just completed. The art collective really doesn't know what to do with me as I branch off into the abstract and they work on representational art. While I gave away an oil on canvas completed earlier, this one I will keep. 

Plans change yet again and it seems my wilding ways will continue. Tucker, the Corgi, will continue to live with my son. Having a dog would complicate my burgeoning acting career. While I have always had pets, the amount of time I am away from my apartment would be cruel to any animal. 

I was about to throw in the towel on my "bar hagging." A term my folks would use for an older woman who hung around the bars. One bartender has deemed me a regular at a certain bar. There, I was able to talk to a couple of gentlemen around my certain age. No pick up stuff, just regular conversation. So nice for a lonely gal. I have met quite a few younger men but unfortunately they are around my son's age (40). A bit too young for a gal nearing her 70s. 

Had my first evening meal at home in over 2 months. While it was only a heat-em-up Stouffers, it still was hot food in my own environment. As the weather turns cooler and days darker, I will turn toward more stay-at-home stuff. 

This time of year at thrift means major costume gathering. I picked up a couple of pieces of their $2 clearance costumes. 

On a different subject - craphting. I brought all of my fabrics and seed beads with me. I find it hard to image me staying home as I once did to sew and craft items. My coat closet is my quilt closet. I have more than enough quilts, this image doesn't even include the 2 Christmas quilts and holiday table runners (gahhhh). 

Another activity I would start prepping in September was the annual Countdown to Christmas. While I may post a shortened version, I may skip the event entirely. 

As imagined, my move produced major changes in my life. Thought I would continue as an eBay seller, but have removed product for sale, mainly books. While I still have a few items listed, I may pull the plug. 

Starting over again means adding a Christmas tree. A small tabletop one will fit the bill. Holiday decorations start going up next month! 

Final Fantasy Flash #13

When I get frustrated with my inability to kill the Final Fantasy monsters, I like to ride around the different lands listening to the clippity clop sounds the unicorn makes and the stars he throws in his wake. 

I have entered serious gamer territory. I started with my son's used xbox controller, until I dropped it one too many times. Then I bought an off-brand controller, not knowing there was a Microsoft specific one. The off-brand fritzed out but I had bought a warranty. Twice the price of the off-brand, it is the ELITE version. 

Not an ad for Microsoft either, but I would recommend buying the stock. 

Final Fantasy Flash #13. Everyone knows that is an unlucky number. There is a reason why there are no thirteenth floors in buildings. 

On the subject of thirteen and scary movies. I have watched a lot of horror movies. One that stands out is Thir13en Ghosts. Yikes!!!! 👻

Back to the gamer discussion. I am at Level 39 in Final Fantasy XIV. Seems at some point I sprouted white ears. I am up very early around 5:00 a.m. so I tend to be in the game when everyone else is not. I am still a solo player, too timid to ask other players to join me in battles. 

It is a complex game I am still learning to navigate. 

The Wednesday Dance Reel

One would think it easy to create a video for the world to see. Not. If you want to create something unique or interesting, it takes time and preparation. For the Wednesday dance, I had to change the camera's perspective because there were larger-than-life dramatic moves involved. Posted on Instagram @TamitheTerror. 

Most important of all, I had to be in the right frame of mind. I had moved through the euphoric phase of freedom. Now, I am settling in to the new reality of my singleness. 

Back to the preparation phase. The blinking purple lights over the loveseat were found in the shed. In the background is a strobe light, also a squeee, happy find. I will make room for props any day of the week. There also is the little detail of an Eeyore plush dressed in costume on the loveseat. An Easter egg at Halloween. 

The black wig thrifted find was labeled as "premium" and I agree with that. Fun to wear, it will make another appearance in a dance reel. An England-designed Hell Bunny dress also thrifted. I used the tattoo arm sleeves on my legs, yes, I am that gawd damned thin. To change the lyrics of one song - All of this drinkin' and smokin' is hopeless, I hope to be putting on some weight... (sung to Jelly Roll's Save Me.) 

Saw a cute meme - Having a toddler is like having a drunk friend with you 24/7. Emotionally unstable, always wanting snacks, sings randomly, falls a lot, and has no sense of volume control. 

I am considering a dance to GUAP with moves by emetsound. On my bucket list are the dance moves to the Punjabi song Mundian To Bach Ke (Beware of the Boys). The video I want to share is a premium download, so I will have to learn the dance and create a reel of my own.