It's a Ruff life.

It's Over.

Today Wonder of the World closed. I was the assistant stage manager and wardrobe mistress, and let me just tell you, I am so happy it's done! Phew! Not that there weren't fun parts, because there were, but I just do not want to be an assistant stage manager EVER AGAIN. Forget about it. Anyway, gaze upon the clown.

Big Sewing.

The Hubbard Street Dance Company hired me to make a backdrop. It was so huge that we laid it out in one of the dance studios.
Thats Carol stading behind it, she's a crazy person.
Here's some poor sewing machine drowning in fire proof fabric.

Chicago.

So this is where I live now.
On the back lot of MGM! Haha, no. I lived with Lucy and John for awhile, and we adopted a beautiful kitty.
But then I moved out! This is my little sewing area in my new place.

Its messy in this picture because I was making some bellhop vests. More about that later!

In which I am perhaps a little sarcastic about serious things. Like religion.

Time passes so quickly, doesn't it? It's been a couple of months, I've traveled to the Holy Land, completely lost my religion, came home and moved to a new city. Phew!

So I suppose I will start with Israel. I could write a book, or perhaps a stand up routine about my birthright trip, but who has the time? Obviously not me or I would have been more diligent on this here blog.

Ah! The arid lands of my forefathers! This particular vista reminded me rather of Chalton Heston. You know that scene, in "The Ten Commandments"? Where he's cursing god and wandering in the desert? You know, and then he gets high and watches a bush burn for way too long? Good times.

So that tower up there? Thats the tower where Jesus will come down at the end of the world. And all those little white things on the hill top, those are graves. The people burried there will be the first resurrected by Jesus and will thus serve as his zombie army and slay all non believers. Then they will all pass through the Damascus gate (where I was standing when I took this picture) and have some wine.   That's exactly what it says in the scripture.  

This is one of the soldiers who traveled with our group.  She's a very religious orthodox jew.  She thought I was a hoot.  In this picture she's praying she won't end up like Charlton Heston.  At Masada.  Which was another excellent movie featuring men wearing really short skirts.

Here are some jews.   In Jerusalem.  Yup.

There was some beauty.

And there was also some love. But there really is no place like home. Thank you, America. This is my country.

Israel

Baruch atah Hashem Elokenu melech haolam, shelo asani goy, shelo asani aved, shelo asani isha.

This is an old jewish prayer that says "Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who did not make me a Gentile, who did not make me a slave, who did not make me a woman." As I am about to travel to Israel, I feel the obvious need to make up a new prayer.

Thank you, God, for my peaceful life and loving family, and please keep my mind and heart open and help everyone in this world find peace.

Hanukkah

I'm really feeling the hanukkah spirit this year! Holidays seem much more fun when there's a depression. Not so much pressure to find the perfect item, which is a great relief, for I'm a terrible shopper. Also, making gifts is much more accetable during times of economic strife! I made cut paper cards for my family. Here's the one I made for my mom.
And this is the one I made for my sister!
I made one for my dad too, but he's already squirrled it away in some secret place. He thinks I am conspiring to keep art from him.  You will have to imagine it- it had mountains on it.  He likes mountains.  I was stumped on a present to get for my mother, because, as I have previously stated I'm a terrible shopper and Mom is the woman who has everything. And if she doesn't have it, she probably wants to pick it out herself. So I had nothing, and no ideas, and then, all of a sudden, I had a moment of inspiration. I made her a case for her knitting needles! We suffer from knitting needle black hole proliferation at our house.
I used all my favourite fabrics. My sister brought us the most fabulous textile from Mexico.

Is'nt it beautiful?
For Nora, I made a pillow based on the quilt code she and I made up last year.

It means that she is a gold star lesbian who wants a nice trannie or perhaps a drag king to take her out for dinner. And possibly oral sex. Dirty quilting!

The back is the most beautiful rainbow step ladder! With vintage buttons I found in Santa Fe.