Who Talks to Themselves 24/7.....Mothers!

I am sooo afraid this will happen to me. Along with a few other of my Mother's little and or big habits. Maria, my client helper, came into the H1N1 Virus and has been off work a few days so I called Mother to help me out. Watch my back ! Actually Mother can work a few circles around me for some reason I haven't figured out. Personally I believe it to be the fact that she "got to" take the horse mare urine (estrogen) for many many years and I cant. Ya think she did that on purpose? She looks my age instead of the 79 or 80 that she will be on Monday. She developed the big breast C word from taking said horse mare urine for too long and too high of a dose. That being said, I get none! So I am the wrinkled mess someone could make a purse out of and she runs across the yard while I borrow her cane. S H U T U P! Back to my point of story. We greet four clients in two days.... I show Mother around and then tell her the duties at hand....she goes about her work like a little elf EXCEPT.....she talks to herself 24/7 and I left my headphones in the car! She talked to the toilets, the towels, the tubs, the floors, the mirrors, herself about herself, the walls, the vacuum, the rags, the sponges, the cleaners, the people that lived there that couldn't hear her, (telling them why did they do this or that and how it should have been done!) And one that was home... thank God that client giggled with me in regards to the distant chattering from the Mother of all chattering genes! No shiet! I swear I became closer to God the past few days due to my constant praying to that God for patience. And for him to break any and all genes and cells that might ever have come my way from that side of the generational gene pool..... I will say, "at least she has someone to talk to." And I am sure its all my Dad's fault if you ever ask her. I will end by saying she did an excellent job to the point of clients emailing me saying so. And might I add telling me how lucky I am to have such a wonderful Mother etc and so on.... Hey, she was on her best behavior for two days... there's more to her as each and every one of us know about our Mother's..... but for now, it was a good experience. Ever heard of "write that down, it might not happen again!" That is exactly what this is all about here right now. My mentor Fred would freak at me writing those words...(you know "it might not happen again") too negative she would say.... Me...I am just happy to write it down cause it did happen. Happy Happy Day....
www.marciabackstromdolls.com/gallery2.html p.s. the photo is NOT of my Mum! ha

I Know it's Too Early......But

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!! Christmas is happiness for me. Christmas is creativity and nativity and activity and pover-ity city for most. Maybe I am basically glitzy and Christmas gives me an opportunity to legally be a glitzer...Rhinestones of all colors, dangling gold and silver, fur and feathers and all the majestic colors of the Wise Men. The smells of apples and cinnamon and almond flavored sugar cookies. Pine scent inside our homes be it real or warming in a simmer pot. Decorating windows and railings, fireplaces, stairways, and bathrooms. Lighting candles in the window signaling a wayward family member home for the holidays and forevermore. Tinsel and teddy bears and peppermint candy. Giving. My favorite activity is giving and Christmas is the only time I can do it freely without someone saying I should take care of myself first. Or am I doing it so they like me. Not! Taking Tommye's Toppers (my friend knits beautiful hats and scarves) to the homeless shelter and battered women's shelter. Baking shoe boxes of assorted cookies to be delivered on a chilled snow covered day to the various people on my list. Brownies with caramel and decorated Santa's. Pinwheels, and Cornflake Cherry cookies next to my traditional Pfefferneuse of which I make huge pickle jars full and give as gifts...adorned with gorgeous ribbons I might add. My famous chocolate chip cookies and chocolate pie....Sprinkled bell cookies. And my Angel Sugar Cookie mold from 1995. Oh, Gingerbread men or are they women? Flowing lace packages....rich foil paper.....ready made bags with glorious pictures on their faces. Fireplaces crackling if anyone is lucky to have a real one anymore. God forbid an outage. I love going to the malls to view the individual trees all in different themes... My favorite is Macy's and Boston Store where one could spend $5,000 easy just on ornaments and other Christmas foo foo. I think I get this from my MoMo. (Maternal Grandmother) She was a

clutterer of knick knacks and paddy Wacs, whatever they were she had 'em... All very neat of course. It was just that every nook and corner was filled. I have to be careful of my nooks and corners or I will fill them!! This is why Christmas allows me so many of my deep passions and pleasures. Creativity, spontaneity, Glitz-city, and major activity. As the children have moved away there is much less activity. The Grands don't visit here much...they go to the funny farm...there is more room and they have motorized cars and chickens and the pony to feed. A golf cart to drive all over the farm....and many toys to play with. A small apartment doesn't offer much to small children. So to the mall I go to window shop, always coming up with ideas for things to make, just never doing it, or to blogging and writing. There is Gracie Allen and Lucy that need attention and my work. And the most important is the MENTALITY of CHRISTMAS!!!

I made this little skier fellow about twenty years ago out of salt dough, then baked him and painted him...whalla....I have a few others that have weathered time. I keep them in the infamous jewel box with the old report cards and such. What's with the blue dot for an eye? I have evolved since then thank God! Now I put a dot in the center of the blue dot. No, I don't make these anymore...just a joking.

Microwave Masacre

When I refer to "my clients," I am referring to a small group of families of whom I nurture their homes. My children grew up, foster children moved away, ended my volunteering at Hospice Care, Auntie Berdie (96) moved to a new nurse home too far away to visit her daily, so I now nurture homes! Which can be quite satisfying, quite hilarious, quite nasty, and so on....just like children and elders. I have a helper name of Maria... she alone is hilarious! She is hard of hearing and my eyesight isn't what it used to be... She calls us the "deaf and dumb crew," of which I don't laugh... Maria has a dark side! (To say the least) I often think I should find a new helper, but then....I don't. Maria has nicknames for our clients. Granted Nicknames they deserve, but yet still....jeez...I am not one to put any negs on my clients. They pay my rent for crying out loud which is what happens when ya cant pay your rent. There is Goldfish lady, Candyman, ToyTrixie, (don't ask), PsychoLady, SpiderWoman, MoldyMom, and a few I cant mention... The clients Maria likes she has no knicknames for and will go into their homes before I arrive....otherwise she sits in her BIG CHEVY TAHOE with blackened windows and HUGE chrome rims (no they don't spin thank God) and waits for MaMa! We have a new client as of Friday... We call her MicrowaveMasacre which really doesn't need much explanation. You have to understand we see it all! We know who takes what medications, who washes their hands and who doesn't, whose electric toothbrushes have yellow and brown gunk all around their bases, who cleans between the two weeks before we return...and who doesn't!! We don't even have to take our shoes off at some homes for fear our feet will get dirtier than our shoes were to begin with. We have to touch things no one but family should! Gloves work well. I cant say we could be on the dirtiest cleaning jobs reality show, but we do our part for sure. Maria will come walking out of a bathroom holding "something" by its tip with her face all distorted mumbling cleshay's, (sp) (I got it, cliche' which was spelled so badly Google even missed it) all the way as she turns after giving MaMa the facial and otherwise drama!
I have to laugh at her! We unscrewed a faucet to soak it in vinegar and toothbrush it because we found orange and brown GUNK from months of "something!" Can you imagine? Maria says, "Ooohh, could I have a glass of water mmmmm?" And cobwebs that have taken over the house along with what lives in cobwebs. We are handed a little dirt devil to do this master job....that'll work don't cha know it? Seems now a days women have a baby and sit on their buns for months and do nothing but bounce a baby and feed it. I have professors, Doctors, and business owners, and lest I forget "analists, ) who clean before we arrive. I say its easier to clean a dirty house than a spotless anal one. Basically I am saying I have a very good group of clients that I don't understand. It cant be my age because Maria is half my age and she totally doesn't get it either. We have gays, and one lesbian family who wont let us touch or make their bed, or touch their dishes...humm. Our fav's is our gay guys...we have three Gay Clients and I would take twenty more. They are kind, (except one), loving, (don't get me wrong), respectful, courteous, and authentic! Only gripe we have it that there is enough hair laying around to make wigs. Wont tell you what Maria says about that! It's just hair, not what's in their hearts!

p.s. If any of my honorable, wonderful, respected clients even read this, rest assured I make all of it up! Y e s ..... I ..... d o!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/httpwwwflickrcomphotosangie/27015357/ drawing by Wilfred Hathaway

Green Bay Packer Pumpkin

I found the other Pumpkins I painted last year, or maybe it was the year before. No matter, I am rather proud of my little fellows..... Soon as I find some fake ones I will make them again...to last forever. Or at least a long time.

October Holiday Faces...by Diane Ogden

These are just a few of my Pumpkin faces. Liza Minnelli is center bottom... I have a Green Bay Packer but I cant find that picture...o well. I found some similar to these on line a couple years back so I copied them, then took off and made my own.. I love creating them. I didn't make any this year but I will next year. I wish to find some ceramic or other material that lasts a lifetime vs the reality pumpkin that dies and withers away like an ice sculpture or a sand castle. Not my idea of "letting go." I rather keep my creations for generations. Probably I should let go of "things" more easily. But they why? I am what I am...a keeper.

Halloween Fun....by Diane Ogden

I made this 'Happy Ghost" for a freind of mine and his wife a few years ago... He has since passed away, but I am certainly glad to have brougth this joy to their home for a few years ...they also purchased the "witch in front of the moon" on the last blog post... I must find a place to do my work again... I do miss it!

Happy Halloweenie....by Diane Ogden

One of my many talents...seriously! I cut these little cuties out of huge 4' x 8 ' sheets of plywood. Then paint BOTH sides to become these creative creatures... Only problem is the witches broom broke off...but you get the idea.... These are allot of fun to create and offer many others joy of the season.