My Last Gardenia for the Year...sniff sniff!!

Well our temps have finally hit the official 'boiling point' and all remaining buds have dropped off. This is my last official Gardenia for the year... this was taken in early morning after a light misting... I truly love gardenias. She gave us a beauty show this year...and we are keeping fingers crossed for a late fall bloom...many times we do get two bloom seasons here in the desert.

It is HOT today...about 107 .... but our mornings are lovely with even a slight chill...delicious!! We get our outside chores done before 7:00 am then hole up with the ground starts to sizzle...but this is only the beginning...me thinks it will be a long hot summer...

Off to play dominoes with friends this evening.... lots of laughs, mixed with music and sips of wine...ahhhhh relaxing...

By the by...Bellatrix should be completed by tomorrow....I made her teeny tiny bird skull necklace today...just have to attach and do last minute adjustments...

I LOVE LOVE this one...she has just the right amount of evil to her.......OooOoOooo yummy!

Have a Good Night All

Jodi

Hollywood Finds Havasu!!!

Yes it's true... they are making a movie in our little town of Lake Havasu, Arizona!!! Please ignore the subject matter of Killer Prehistoric Piranha unearthed after a small 'quake' shakes the ground and releases the killer fish who happen to be the size of the average School Bus!!! WOW...my thoughts at this very moment are ...this will be great for our tourist season which is just beginning... the mere thought of killer fish in our lake should make all the boaters jump for joy... I mean...look what happened to the east coast tourist areas...or oceans in general after Jaws!! HOPEFULLY people will understand that this is just a bit of Hollywood at it's best and that there is no such thing as Prehistoric School Bus Sized Killer Fish out there ready to eat small town inhabitants!!!

Actually the whole thing is rather exciting...they will be filming here through June. They have built a 'tank' to hold over a million gallons of water for the 'really scary' parts of the movie...hired dozens of 'teens' and 'twenty something' extras around town to appear in the background...and also to scream and freak out.... I thought for one brief minute could I pull off 'acting young' and strutting around chewing gum and twirling my hair...but alas I saw that they wanted these teens and 20's to wear tight fitting mini skirts and heels... After I laughed myself silly... the casting call was just a distant memory.... wonder if they have a part for the 'colorful town character' the bag lady with a heart, all disheveled and liquored up on Ripple... who is the first to discover the menacing 'fishies' , but before warning anyone 'mysteriously disappears' with a parting shot of her pull cart...upside down ...wet.... one wheel spinning slowly...fade to black!!!!...cut...and that's a wrap!

Actually we have had 2 other movies shot here...all very forgettable ...but this one might actually be pretty cool. They changed the name of our town (to protect the innocent!) and are calling it Lake Victoria. I think the release date is summer next year.

So if I tell you sometime this summer that Richard and I are going out for a little morning paddle on the Lake in our Kayaks.... and I don't 'blog' for a while after that...

You will know that something that was 'lurking' in the depths of Lake Havasu.... awakened.... and HUNGRY!!!!! (insert scream here) ....

Have a Great Weekend Everyone....and watch that water!!!

Jodi

P.S. I should add...I played around with the 'Original' movie poster (yes, this movie is a remake) adding all the silly wording etc... didn't want you to think this was really how they were doing the movie poster...

Bellatrix's Bum!!!...ODD BLOG ALERT!!!

ODD BLOG ALERT ...ODD BLOG ALERT!!!!!

Just felt I should put out that warning to all those that may cringe at the sight of a 'Bum'... and believe me when I say...I seldom if ever, post things that have to do with the backside... having one myself the size of lower Kansas....but I digress. I was just merrily sculpting Bellatrix LaStrange this morning in miniature and I just had to share with you all... OK...so it does not take much to curl my toes but seriously I was jazzed with this outcome. Normally Richard does the bodies when we need full sculpts...but I got to jump on this one and I gotta tell you... this 'butt' 'bum''backside'...whatever you wanna call it I am thrilled with... silly I know , but I do believe that when people are thrilled with something they have done...they need to share it with others...and right away... so I am posting this ...

She is far from being done ... lots of smoothing etc to do... and of course arms (the better to casts spelling with) and legs (the better to run from Harry with) ...

Soon her 'bum' will all be covered by mounds of black clothing...never to be seen again... I just wanted to document that I can indeed sculpt a nice Butt!!!

Enough silliness...back to work for me....

Jodi .... "Sorry to be such a 'Butt-insky'" har har...

Oh Dear...!!!!!

I've been tagged by Pattee at http://odd-dolls.blogspot.com
She does some really cool stuff out in her studio.
These are the rules for the 'Tag'

1)Name and link back to the person who tagged you.

2)List six things 6 (un) important things that make you happy.

3)Tag 6 bloggers and let them know they're it by leaving them a comment on their blog.

So here goes...

1.) Good conversations with Friends (important or non important things)

2.) Watching Tess swim and play in the water (takes my stress away)

3.) Smelling the early morning air...catching whiffs of the ground slowly warming, orange blossoms and hints of the lake..

4.) Waking up to no chores...or projects...just relaxing for as long as I want with my coffee

5.) Realizing that I lost approx. 5 pounds ...and I was not even trying.

6.) Finding a New product in the market ...that ends up being my favorite.

Now...6 Bloggers that I am gonna chase and TAG.......

Marie at

http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/

Chris at

http://designsbyck.blogspot.com/

Lille at

http://checkingoffmycreativetodolist.blogspot.com/

Gufobardo at

http://gufobardo.blogspot.com/

Patty at

http://woopitydooart.blogspot.com/

LD at

http://claymama1.blogspot.com/

Now Go Forth and Tag .... it is so fun to hear about others thoughts...

Jodi

An open letter to my Mom....

I Love my Mom...I really do. She has been a great inspiration to me my whole life...someone I have always looked up to...someone who has always been there when I needed her the most...without asking a single question. She makes me Laugh till I hurt... she taught me about food and cooking, fashion and how to smell really good. She dyed my hair for me when I was 15...bleach blond (hey Southern Calif surfer girl phase...what can I say)...and she never said no or asked questions...just did it right for me. She taught me to sing and have a great love of music and how important it is to remember lyrics. She put up with my sea of boyfriends as was growing up...holding judgement until she found out how I felt about them after my first date. She cut my hair for the very first time when I went to summer camp...and cried for a week. She added excitement to everything I did ...making life an adventure each day.

Thanks Mom for the nights you rolled back the carpet and danced with me all night when I was bummed out, Thanks for making those 'special treats of graham Crackers and left over butter cream icing for after school, thanks for slipping in that extra Twinkie for the school field trips, thanks for calling my teacher to say I was not feeling well so we could have a Mother Daughter Day, Thanks for teaching me to sew, thanks for teaching me to swim, thanks for being such a great mother in law (that's from Richard)...

And mostly Mom...thank you for giving me so much to remember, so many good times and being my best friend for 58 years....

I Love You...

Your Little Black Sausage

The pictures are of my Mom when she worked at Warner Brother Studios in the early 40's ...she worked in the mail room and also was a sometimes bit actress. She sang at the Hollywood Canteen during WWII, and Was a Rosie Riveter (which is the last picture)