Lifetime Learner and the Elaine Dance

Looking over the college courses offered for spring of 2027, I realized I can take more than one class if I want. Doh! So silly sometimes. I had always limited myself to one class per semester because I was either working full-time, or did not want to travel to the campus. 

Here is my Dream Dress. Wouldn't that be gorgeous on stage? Seen in the window of a bridal shop in Folsom, California. 

I digress, on my wish list for this semester are:

Painting 1 (in person)
Intro to Theater (online)

Costume Construction (hybrid - in person and online)
Only 15 allowed in this class. No prerequisites. Simply amazing if I could get into THAT class. 

That all fits in with the Instagram antics I have been performing. Costuming up to do a modified version of the Elaine Dance. If you have never seen this clip, you are in for a treat! If I get into that Costume Construction class, I PROMISE to do a reel of the Elaine Dance.

Segueing to a report on my latest painting adventure - bird cage. I began a canvas and was doing ok until I made the main bird LOOK LIKE A SQUIRREL! There are numerous other problems with it. 

I decided to black out the canvas and start over. I was growing to rip it out and throw it away but why waste a 24" x 24" canvas? Maybe a still life on the black background. Light is reflecting off of the wet paint in the image below. 

Being a Queenager

Saw a new term - Queenager. It aptly describes this time in my life. Retired with more time on my hands than I know what to do with. I am liking this Pink Hair Wig!😄

Tap dancing was high on my list of want-to-do things throughout my life. Now, I take tap twice a week. I can finally follow direction on steps with the instructor pointing which direction to dance and calling out the move. I hope one of my tap groups will post on YouTube in 2027.

Art is another area I have wanted to explore. During my school years, I focused on music, so art classes were not an option. I've mainly done self-taught cartooning and a few paintings on canvas. 

Stand-up comedy is still on my bucket list. While I have been taking adult improv classes, I have yet to graduate to an actual audience. Real comedians poo poo adult improv. I would like to try stand-up at least one time. 

Crowd work is another level of stand-up. That is when a comedian calls out to the crowd for information, and then focuses on a person in the audience to query. That person then becomes the focus of the comedian's routine. 

While I may have been acting like an out-of-control teenager, part of my time is spent caregiving family members. My granddaughter, Mila, is 10 months old. She spends Tuesdays with Gramma Tami. I am also driver and part-time chef to other relatives. 

As is evident, I love cosplay and costuming. Working on my Instagram reel in this PINK PINKY PINK wig. 

Happy Hour Observations and Like

Lead-off image was a print offered for sale at thrift (not bought by me). 

And on to the story, this is the fourth time this has happened to me. I will be out and about either at happy hour or thrift shopping, and a gentleman near my age will begin talking to me about his assets. Not his physical assets, his houses or boats, or the like. This must be a thing. 

An example, I like to shop for thrift shop CDs. I was doing my usual thing at hospice thrift when a man mentioned he was looking for CDs for his long drive to Cabo where he was building a house, and where he kept his sailboat. Another gentleman at happy hour said he kept busy in retirement with a cabin in Lake Tahoe, so he was maintaining two residences. My response, "That is a lot of work." 

I don't know quite how to react. I guess I am being hit on? IDK. I haven't flirted back yet with something like, "You need company at that cabin?" or a witty and charming response. I am simply flummoxed. Like a deer in the headlights. 

I can report an amazing couple near my age treated me to happy hour wine and tasty bites. I was so touched. The lady even gave me a hug when they left. I live for those types of interactions. Happy hour visits result in wonderful conversations with others about half of the time. The other half of the time is spent watching the activities at the bar and being alone. 

Finally, a tidbit when opening fortune cookies - add "in bed" at the end of the fortune. I had a fortune read along the lines "good things will happen next year" ..... IN BED! Arrrrggghhh. I have to wait until next year??😒

Aging Oddities

Prepping for the next reel @TamitheTerror on IG meant washing and brushing out the newest thrift shop wig. I have had a hay day with finding wigs and costumes at thrift this past month.

On the college front, there is only one class that works with my schedule - Painting 1. Fingers crossed I will be able to get into that one with registration this month. It would be my first in-person class after living rural and taking classes online for so many years. 

For years, I was with a go nowhere, do nothing partner. The only allowed activity was Fishing. Now, I hope to make up for lost time. 

I may have to give up playing Final Fantasy. My little hands can't take the repetitive use. My son said I am the only one he knows who injured herself playing an online game. I am going to try and reconfigure the xBox controller to shift heavy use to my left thumb. 

The same with craft projects. I may be able to sew from time to time. But quilting? Out. Needlework projects. Out. Another limitation of aging. 

A reason why I focus on my legs in exercise. My mother lost the ability to walk at age 88. I hope my theory of intense exercise will push my ability to walk well into my later years. 

It is the only time in your life where you can wake up injured and not have done anything strenuous the day before. 

Another oddity of aging, you seek out things that are familiar. In my previous life, I shopped at the Safeway in Martel, California. Now, I shop in a neighboring city's Safeway with the same layout as the one in Martel. Familiar places are comforting in a chaotic world. 

A shout-out to new and existing readers. Not sure where you are finding me, but lots of 👀on my little blogosphere! 

Applause Addict

Living for the sound of applause. It has been YEARS since I have heard the sound of applause for one of my performances. I recently sang a couple of karoake songs, and there is was - that sound of Applause. 

I don't want to anyone to steal my energy ever again. I spent too many years conforming to someone else's idea of what I should be. 

One downside to posting reels on Instagram. You never hear the audience reaction, only whether it is liked or not. 

I crave a live audience. I need to follow that path ...

Segueing to another topic: Proof that my mom was an AVON lady. Here is a rarity, the AVON Fragrance Demonstrator, a collection of all of the old fragrances. 

Brocade
Regence
To A Wild Rose
Here's My Heart
Somewhere
Unforgettable
Occur!
Pretty Peach
Topaze

Ending the post with a theater-based comedian. Gianmarco Soresi. Love Him!

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!