Looking To Be Adopted

After eliminating most of the negative people in my life, I am looking to being adopted by a loving family. I say that tongue in cheek, of course. I have delightful children but they have their own lives and interests. None of those include me. 

I stay very busy during the week with dance fitness, and acting classes. Had to share this image, a sweet stranger took the photo for me. When I was waiting for my Uber ride home, a male passerby said I looked "gangster."😂 Cutting up in front of the theater. 

I know the odds of being a single older woman and meeting a partner are slim to none. At least the type of man I hope to meet. One with all working parts, like hearing, and the ability to walk. Just the little items. A full set of teeth is a bonus. Seriously, I am not kidding. Mr. Wonderful kept losing his teeth and did not replace the missing ones. 

Here is a little tidbit that gets me every time. Women post that they have been dating Mr. X. Mr. X turns out to be married. There is this little search engine called Google. Lo and behold, you can search public records. What a concept!!!???? Maybe check there before things happen. 

I've got my adoption papers ready. Good health, good teeth, a little bit vision challenged. A proven sense of humor. One Tami Ready to Go.💝

Fashion Focus and Reel Creation

Love fashion and all of its iterations. While athleisure clothing continues its popularity, the baseball cap guerls have taken over. The out-and-about uniform for most women seems to be the cap, t-shirt, pajama/yoga pant, backpack/fanny pack, and tennis shoes. No old lady purses being toted around, they have cutesy backpacks with plush backpack clips. I have added an Emotional Support Stuffie to my gear. 

I can appreciate how much time it takes to create an Instagram reel. First, I lay out the costuming and other items I might use. Throwing a stuffie during the reel might become one of my signature moves. 

I apply semi-permanent leg makeup (the skirts are so short), and get the wig brushed and set right on my head. The hard part is next, getting the right dance moves to go with the music. Editing the reel is still a challenge. I keep dancing out of frame, so I will have to change the perspective for the first October reel. 

Other news - the 2027 spring college term. While I do have a talent for drawing and painting, it is a solitary pursuit. I am just not in to being alone. Rather than continue taking classes for studio art, I am swiveling to courses in theater arts. Yes, that means taking an acting class. There are no prerequisites for that. Now, whether the scheduling lands on days I am not baby watching, will be the determining factor on which class I can take. 

Got in on the dress rehearsal for the Evil Dead production at the sold out show held at the Sutter Street Theater in Folsom, California. What a hoot! Part of the show meant being doused with red Kool-Aid if you sat in the front 4 rows of the theater. 

Just a Girl at Play

The view of my patio from the outside looking in. Decorated for fall, I will be putting up Christmas at the beginning of November. 

With the onset of shorter daylight, I booked my first Uber to and from an event. I thought it safer being a woman alone, to just book that ride rather than walk back to my parked car in the dark. That was my main concern, taking the evening improv class at night. Now I can relax, have a drink, knowing I won't have to navigate in the dark. Maybe even engage in drunken shopping.😛You will have to check out my Instagram account @Tamaschen for stories on that. 

Did my first karaoke, my first song was Choosing Texas by Ella Langley. It went south quick because the soundtrack didn't match the words. My second choice, Close to You by the Carpenters, went a little better. I am considered a contralto, with the lowest singing voice for a female, so the upper register tunes I can't master. 

Setting up my next IG dance video. I found a disco ball and a strobe light in my storage. I will incorporate both. I also want to have some humorus aspect rather than straight up dance. I am finding such fun costuming. I have at least 10 different wigs from my thrift shop forays. Some I have had for years, others found recently. 

Ending with Karen Carpenter's version of Close to You. She was such an amazing talent, lost way too early to this world. 

 

Plunging into the Performing Arts

I have waited a long, long time to perform any kind of routine in public. While Instagram dances are not necessarily in person, they are out there for the world to see. Instagram @ Tamaschen. There is so much to learn to creating a reel. Took me awhile to figure out how to print screen from it. 

Behind me is a peek at the oil on canvas abstract I am currently working on. 

Tap dancing is one of my first loves. I take classes twice a week from two different teachers in two different cities. 

Country line dancing is offered twice a month and is so. much. fun. Not nearly as demanding in technique as tap dancing. 

I've committed to an adult improv class every Friday night at a small local theatre from now until the year's end. 

A little more about my Tami the Terror character. I have made-up names for the children in my family; My son - Ethan, My daughter - Lauren, my former husband - Bob, and my grandbaby Georgette. All so I can sing this song from 1967 .... Georgy Girl!

Saw my former partner Mr. Wonderful made a Instagram account. He never was interested in that platform before. He and his adult daughter were immediately blocked. 

Ending with a funny tidbit about the improv class. Seems the bulk of the participants are introverts. I showed up Tami, the extrovert to the extreme, and am changing the course of history.

The Instagram Experiment

Now is the time to find wigs at thrift. I dig through the tubs of costumes to find them. This one will be next up for a dance video. Never worn, still with protective hair net in package. 

I also discovered I look better in the longer hair wigs, maybe because I wore my hair long so many years I feel comfortable that way. 

As I suspected, my first dance video received many more views than anything else I have done so far posting on Instagram. I like to dance (all the time) and I like to watch other people's dance videos. 

As a kid, I loved to watch the Carol Burnett show which ran on TV from 1967 to 1978. I pattern my physical comedy after her. Here she talks about one of her famous scenes from the show. 

An extremely happy find were these tattoo sleeves, also from tub digging. I am going to use those rather than go the long manicured nails route. 

The adult improv class went and I am signed up for another session. It is good training for me to be in an ensemble setting. 

I am a busy, busy girl. Anyone who is bored in retirement needs to quit hiding their talents under a bush. 

Dance Away Dance

A surprising find popped up in my continued culling of items in the storage shed from my mother's estate. I was six years old with this hand impression. 

I continue to write comedy material for the Tami the Terror routine. Surprisingly, some of the funniest stuff come from other people's comments. As an example, there was a post making fun of the fact that some men don't help with bringing in groceries or helping with "man" chores. One woman posted, my best boyfriend has been DeWalt. For those not in the know, DeWalt is a tool brand in the U.S. 

My first dance video as my character has been posted on Instagram @Tamaschen. It was about my sixth try and I still didn't get my feet in the video. Costuming or cosplay takes so. much. time. Next up, I want to learn the Wednesday dance for an October video. 

Adult improv class is tonight and I will share how that goes. Finally, all moved in to my new place. 

A Return to Oil on Canvas paintings

It has been over 20 years since I have worked with oil on canvas. During the painting hiatus, fabric was my medium. I produced a couple of art quilts, a number of bed quilts, and scads of small table runners and doll quilts. 

Also, in between that time, I have completed a number of online art classes, one of my favorites being Introduction to Modern Art. 

A side story and sort of a sad note, when I first got with Mr. Wonderful (my former partner), he had a habit of getting angry when he deemed something to be "clutter." My artwork fell under that category. In an artist's fit, I burned nearly all of my artwork. Most of it had been photographed because of entries into California State Fair competitions. So I do have some evidence of my early work. 

I am posting snippets of my newest projects on Instagram @ Tamaschen. But here is where I describe in depth what I am doing and my process. 

$78 worth of new Winton oil paints for this painting. A sneak peek at the reference image. A 1955 abstract by Lancelot Ney, image from 1957 Dictionary of Abstract Painting, printed in France. 

This free-standing easel is located in the art studio where I live. Lots of natural light seeping in the area. I've placed a wet paint note under the canvas. I had just enough white paint left to get that canvas started. 

I knew I had this traveling easel but completely forgot I had more oil paints contained inside. Atop is my favorite painting knife I will use for this current abstract. 

I've got a Zoom meeting with a college counselor scheduled for October 1. Soon after the schedule for spring classes will post. Finally, able to attend art classes in person!