Happy Birthday to ME!


I'm so good, I uploaded my pictures on here backwards. But you know what? It's my birthday and I can do that!
I like to not have plans on my birthday and that's exactly what happened. I had an awesome day.
I have wanted to pierce my nose since the first time I saw one when I was in 4th grade. So, needless to say, I've given it plenty of thought. Lately I've been into doing things that were important to me at that age.
But this seemed like the perfect thing to do for my birthday ritual this year.
I parked near RR tracks and I love the way the rails light up in the setting sun.
But back to the birthday ritual; here is a closeup right after I got it.
Shoo, it made my eyes water! Not a glamorous picture but here I am.
Here's my view from the chair...
And here's my friend Kerrie who stabbed me in my nostril for my birthday. When we met, she was 6 and I was 19. I never would have guessed that little girl would be piercing my nose 15 years later. She just got this job a week & a half ago and I'm the first nose she's done. I laughed so hard when she asked her boss right before she started "Do I use these?" or something to that effect! I said "Kerrie, at least act like you've done this before!"
I was really happy that it worked out this way though. It really was a birthday ritual for me and I'm glad she was part of it.
Later on I went to Dee's house around the corner and ate pizza with her & her youngest Timi. Timi is only a year younger than Kerrie was when I met her...
I'm wearing a gorgeous skeleton cameo by LuLu Kellog that she gave to my niece and I'm borrowing it from her. Timi was impressed with it and said "My Mom has one like it but hers is live", what an observation!
I have had such a great birthday full of a weird range of activities and happy birthday wishes from so many people I'm lucky to count as friends.
I look back on birthdays past, and I have to say things only get better.
I read a quote today that said "How good can you let it get?"
On my 34th birthday I think I can confidently answer "Pretty damn good."

I am just enjoying the h-e-double hokey sticks out'a my mini nature/Catholic-y terrarium.
That is all. Just wanted an excuse to post this picture again.
I'm not sure if this one was in the previous post, but just look at all that texture!
Mmhmm that there's a good damn nature sculpture.
I went to Asheville on the 8th to see Social Distortion! It was an awesome time.

This is their little shrine they set up at every show. That's all I know about it.
I really fully enjoyed the luxurious, decadent experience that is live music. This band's punk rock style with a rockabilly twist always makes for a really fun, high energy show. It feels like they really love the "dookie-balls" out'a playin' their music for a bunch of knuckle heads, me included.
I went alone but ran into someone from the Charlotte-cool-people-scene.
It was good to see Sharon!
I've been more socially active as of late which has been great and I'm always glad when I make myself do it, but don't think I'm such a rock star I don't take time to enjoy the little things.
Life's simple pleasures should always be noted.
One of my favorite things is random little surprises like this.
I also repainted my living room recently and in doing so I moved a large armoire away from the wall and found these lovely mummies amongst the dust bunnies and stuff that you always find colonizing under furniture; you know, a ball point pen, half of a Net Flix envelope, lid off some used up plastic bottle.
They are two finches that I believe Mixie brought inside last summer. I say that because I remember one day there were tiny feathers on the floor...I never found a bird though and I never smelled that tell-tale stinky stank of dead critter, so I just swept the feathers up and forgot about it. I guess she pawed the birds under the armoire and they mummified there without a single smell.
One of them is missing its head though...kind of gross huh? Still pretty cute I think.
You've got to stop and smell the roses!

Big Good-Damn Sisters Trip!

I went on a much needed, soul reviving, nature enjoying, ass-laughing-off, sister trip to GA with Brandi last weekend!
It was not unlike this blog post, chock full o stuff.

We got in the Chatooga river. The freezing water was absolutely delicious. The river is crystal clear rushing mountain water running through boulders and rock outcroppings and lined on the bottom with mica sand. It looks like glitter in the river! I just had to take off this bat necklace I made and photograph it in the mica sand...with our legs too.
Here I am next to some super gorgeous rock wall covered in the most yummy layers of varied lichen; that patina is the stuff dreams are made of.
We hopped all over the rocks on Friday and Sunday. I could never get enough of that.
When we drove in Friday afternoon, we walked down to the river and played by a class four or five rapids called Bull's Sleuce.
It was an easy decision to skinny dip up to our waists in the freezing water. It was a hard decision to not go all the way in. I made several very grown-up decisions regarding safety; I'm both proud of and disappointed in me for that.
We both used the time in such sacred ground wisely, recharging our souls with the abundant energy of the Great Spirit that surrounded us. It was truly Heavenly.
I prefer bushwhacking (shwacking) through the park over trail hiking. At times we could hardly make any "progress" through the mountain forest for all the photography stops along our way.
I love lichen and moss. Bran coined a new phrase for these species: Air Barnacles! I really do need to get to work on the Brandi Dictionary.
Saturday night we went out in search of a mountain cave. We went straight up through a gorge to an old logging trail but didn't find it...yet.
Here is a little vignette of totems collected on our trip. The crucifixes are from the antique market we went to on Saturday, more on that later.
You know I had to stop at this mountainside cemetery for pictures. I'm so lucky to have a perfect travel companion in my sister! We love all the same things.
We had many many many sister psychic connections, one of which is the thought that we want to live in a "people terrarium" with this stuff all over the floor. Can I have forest floor in my bedroom instead of carpet? I'd never have to vacuum or mop!
This made me decide to get a macro lens for my sweet, sweet Nikon. Isn't this crevasse beautiful?
We took so many pictures; as Brandi said "I'm my own paparazzi"!

Okay, here she is sort of asking my permission to climb right down next to the a fore mentioned deadly rapids to play. Once again, I was shockingly an adult buzz kill; "No Bran, if you slip and fall in there I'm too gimpy to carry you out of here & you'll die!"
Can't you just ear her saying "Don't you think we could just go right down there and get closer to that water?"
We took pictures of each other taking pictures of each other.
I sat still with my camera for about 10 minutes waiting fort this anole to come get his closeup. See his big damn money bag? He is tryin' to scare up a lady friend. I loved watching them do this around my Mimi's house in Mississippi as a child.
Fallen logs made for beautiful little landscapes.
This is a hole in a fallen log. It looks like the view from inside a cave!


There was just so much all around for us to take in. We were beside ourselves with delight the entire time!
Gorgeous, everywhere, all around.
It was a sad thing to leave, but knowing we'll be back soon makes it bearable.
I have so much to do, and so much more to tell. I hardly even know were to begin! And I'm still coming down from all that "Vitamin B" (another Brandi-ism). I feel like a total spaz, but I love it!
I will be collaborating with Bran through December 11, when we go back to sell our trumeaus and other pieces at Scott's Antique Market in ATL. I'm fixin' to find myself as busy as Santa's elves right now. Stuff to build, masterpieces to create, plans for world domination to be layed out! I will be a bit scarce, but not as much as these past several rather SLACK weeks on my part.
Wish me luck!