Welcome To My Nightmare

Just ask Alice and Alice, my nightmare would be having blonde hair! I was going for Gwen Stefani but somehow in this picture with my jacket on it looks like I am Dolly Parton but Shawn looks awesome as Axl! I will post more pix from the Cripps party as well as some from the festivities in West Hollywood. Can't wait to see all that madness! Happy Halloween People!

We did the Rockstar Mash

It was great to see Axl Rose, Meg and Jack White. Even Janis Joplin, Elvis and Buddy Holly (love the plane parts) rose to the occasion! Rock on!

Me with short hair is scary!!

My scary costume for Stitch and Witch last night was a hit!
Who knew that an old wig from a previous halloween costume and a once worn (in real cold) sweater from Denmark, a coffee cup of wine, some red lipstick and 4 stuffed cats would bag the prize for most creative! I won a great bag o' stuff! A cute denim bag with a flower felted design, a sachet of lavender (yum) and some more great yarn to knit stuff!! I wonder if I have to split the prize with Crazy Aunt Purl for going dressed as her blog's masthead character? Hey, she wasn't even present so that means I get to keep the goods! Yeah! Thanks for the fun y'all, hic...
Now for the Cripps annual Halloween party on Saturday, I will be even scarrier in a blonde wig!
AAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Happy Halloween weekend

A Pair of Queens!

Faith was the winner of the scariest costume. I still get the creeps from the evil Queen in Snow White.

Ellen was the winner of the best use of yarn for her Queen of Hearts costume. Love it!

Raggedy Ann

Crystal in her cute Raggedy Ann costume and a witch in the background. Hey, that is the first time I ever called anyone a witch and didn't mean witch or rather did mean witch.......

Pink Punk Poodle

How cute is Natalie in her punk poodle outfit?! She even had the pink poof tail! Poodles hate to scoop kitty litter but this is the yummy cake and Tootsie Roll kind of litter box tray, my favorite.
Props to Natalie for planning the Stitch and Witch shin dig, a frightfully fun night was had by all.

Scary Treats!

How much do I love baked goods especially when they come in the shapes of skulls and witches fingers! I woke up this morning with sugar hangover!

TENT SALE

Last night I got some more use out of the tent before taking it down so the sublet tenant (4th year anesthesiology student for a 1 month rotation at Cedar Sinai Hospital) will not think I have lost my mind! Hey man, I'm just a camper making due until the spring.
Anywho, Michele and Lori were coming over for a little knitting but it ended up that there was no knitting going on, just some eating and chatting. Michele was going to have everyone go to decorate pumpkins but instead Tim and Mark came over to tentlandia and had a couple beers and snacks. It looks like I found my next roommate for the December 1 move in, yep, Tim loves the apartment and it sound’s like we are on the same page when it comes to co-habitating so he is moving in when the sublet dude leaves. Perfect, cuz I was dreading having to put an ad on Craigslist to get someone I know nothing about so now I can relax. See how a tent brings people closer together.

I have been waiting for the pictures from CLUB last Saturday night but Anna, whose stripper name is Thumper Greenwood AKA “Star” has not sent them so here is the recap. I actually cleaned my (entire) apartment, okay I missed some dusting but that is why I only have gatherings in the evening and mostly candle lit! ;-) “Star” came down the hill Friday night and we went to Mishima for dinner and had a great fried edamamme appetizer. Got up early and headed down to the flower market and Trader Joes. Star ran some errands and I erected a tent in the empty room for the festivities, equip with cushions and candles for an intimate evening of chatting and snacking with the girls. Star made a giant batch of sangria and we got snacks ready for the girls. It had been 7 months since last CLUB so we caught up with each other’s lives and thought of many more CLUBs to have in the future, like CLUB Sedona, CLUB Big Bear, and CLUB Amsterdam! It was great to see Nibbles Cottonwood, Syd Gale, Suzi Stoddard, Reggie Kiowa, and Nic who’s stripper name we didn’t get as she left early but I’m sure they mistake her for some of the talent at her neighborhood Jumbo’s Clown Room all the time! We missed those that couldn’t make it but hope all the girls will make the next CLUB and bring lots of Barbies!! OX, Your host Freckles Count Wutzke (yes, Count Wutzke is a real street name in Vegas)

You Looking at Me?!

Courtney and Elena

I finally got the meet Elena! She is a dream baby, the kind that smiles for everyone and doesn't fuss, sleeps through the night and eats everything you give to her. This amazing 10 month old looks
just like her daddy but I can already tell she will have her mom's gorgeous thick hair and appetite! (Courtney and I share a long eating history that has crossed continents) I can't wait to eat with the girls again in December! Good Stuff!

DC Not Impressed with last post

I woke up the deaf cat to share
the fuzzy creation and this was
his Yuk, you should've made it
white like me, go away I'm sleeping
response! Clearly I need to find
a new roommate soon. Maybe
one that knits and doesn't shed.

Furry is, well furry.

I love fuzzy yarn cuz you can't see
if I made any mistakes! heh heh
This little number holds an IPOD
and maybe I can shrink it to hold
a NANO? Holds cell phone, money
(assuming I can hang onto it for
more than 5 minutes) and any small
critter. Yeah, like a hamster named
Powderpuff.
What? It's LA! Of course I will have
to make the little outfit to match.
I just know Paris Hilton would want
one for her new rodent pets!

Family + Beach = good stuff

I had half of a great weekend (as Sunday was spent cleaning all day, bleech!) My sister Danette and my Mom came into town Friday night and I met them at Farmers Market for some dinner and then we went to my place to chat and crash out so we could get up and head to the beach since the rain was not supposed to start until Sunday. Saturday morning we headed to Redondo Beach after coffee. I figured they have been to all the other beach hangs, Venice, Santa Monica, Newport, Santa Barbara etc. but never to Redondo. It’s such a nice and clean community and closer than Santa Barbara. We hit a coffee shop first and then walked a block to the beach to see the view and decided to drive to the pier we had passed only after we used up our time on the parking meter, so of course we had to shop (part of my master plan, haha). I knew of a place that had always had good deals on jewelry and let’s just say that it’s a family trait to be a jewelry junkie. I would also have to say that my sister is by far the biggest addict and she didn’t put down the jewelry crack pipe all day! 30 minutes left on meter and Danette managed to buy 2 rings and some earrings. I bought her a belated Birthday gift, what else but another ring and earrings! We almost made it out the door when she spotted another pair of earrings she couldn’t live without and then we were on our way to the Redondo Beach Pier.

When I first moved to LA, I couldn’t get enough of the beach and I still love it. I would be skating every weekend and the best path at the time (before they fixed S.M to Venice) was the Manhattan/Redondo/Hermosa skate/bike path. I have never been to the Pier nor do I have any idea when they built it as I pretty much skate from South Venice to Temescal for years now.
We parked at the pier and the moment we walked up the stairs, Danette had spotted a pearl store, the kind where you pick your oyster and they open it to reveal your prize and then you drop a zillion dollars having it put into a setting. I had no idea how much fun this would be as I didn’t do it in Hawaii either time I went and had no idea they did this on the mainland. Where have I been? At first we stood at the counter watching others waiting to pick their oyster but moved on as there was no action. We stopped at the next as there was a guy who you would think just got a royal flush in Vegas. Waving his hands in the air while voicing a woot! We walked over and he had just picked one with a black pearl with an iridescent green cast to it. Nice. His girlfriend was excited and showed us her new pearl earrings and both pearls had come from one oyster! Next the woot guy asked me to pick another one for him. I gave it a shot and he was satisfied as it was a large white one and he had it made into a necklace for his Mom. Awwww. Hey, this is my kinda gambling! Because anyone who knows me knows that I was born and raised in Vegas and that makes me a big loser on the whole gambling thing. Yep, my luck was completely canceled, like Vegas is a big eel skin wallet and I am a credit card. Luck, gone. But not today. Momma needs a new pair of earrings! Danette, being the generous sister and with a (what is this you speak of) savings account, told Mom and I she wanted to give us each a hit on that old jewelry crack pipe. I got chills but had to focus as I sifted through the oysters eyeing each one for a special quality. Which would yield the best specimen? Would it be the skinny black one or the crusty one or the one with a little pink on it’s shell. I picked all three for us and yes I do think it is my new calling, Professional Oyster Picker or POP as we call it in the industry. The first one I picked was for Danette and it had 2 white twins, the second was for Mom and had a black pearl and mine was a big fat white one, nice. We were all pleased and had them set in different forms of pendants. Lovely, but now I was hooked and I had to try my luck again so I had one more go at it, hoping for that giant black pearl like the one in the shop that was for sale at $7,500 and looked like a marble. I held my breath and picked another large white one. Woot! I had it set in a ring and if you see me today I am wearing my prizes and if you want, we can head back to Redondo and I can be your POP and we can search for that elusive black monster pearl, again and again and again….

Meet Max

I love Thursday afternoons. I got out of the office at 1:00 and had plenty time to go home and clean my apartment before my sister and Mom come into town but why would I do that when it is a gorgeous day outside!! The fuzz bunnies will have to wait, man I have plans. I walked 3 blocks from my place to catch up with Vicki. It is so lame that we live 3 blocks from each other and haven’t seen each other for close to 2 years! I was glad to see her and all the critters along with the newest addition to the family, Max the kitty. So cute and cuddly. I wanted to take him home.
Max Box

Max at play

Shit Howdy!

When I arrived Vicki had just been dealing with all kinds of shit, literally. Not only was Lulu, her 12 year old dog (super sweet pooch) having a bad spell of puking and pooping going on, but the building was having some plumbing issues as well. Apparently the slumlord for her building is too cheap to repair the plumbing so Vicki is left to hold the shitbag every time the pipe backs up and leaches waste right across the walkway on her side of the building. Nasty. The lame-o tells her to deal with the plumber since she knows them. Um, she knows them because they have been out so many times in all the years she has lived there, dumb ass! I thought my landlords were bad, and they are but that is ridiculous. Vicki needed a break so we went to Swingers for lunch before she had to meet her best friend the plumber.

Went To A Garden Party

We spent some time in the garden and Vicki gave me a tour. She really has created a beautiful place. I could hang out for hours smelling all the flowers and just looking at the variety of plants and trees she has nurtured. I told her that if she hears strange sounds in the middle of the night, it is just me waiting for the night blooming Jasmine! Loves It!

SnB

I left Vicki and her glorious garden in time to go to Stitch n Bitch with the girls. It was a large group and we chat about Crystal’s day dealing with second graders (she is a teacher) and their lame parents who never show up for the tudents on parent's day or any other time to see how their kid is doing but only show up to question her teaching when the child pees his pants when she told him to go to the bathroom if he couldn't wait. Here is an idea, let the teachers teach and when the kid is not in school, do the job of a parent. Ween the kids off sugar and processed food, limit the video games and TV time and make learning a priority because it is shocking to hear that the books in a middle school are for a third grade reading level! I know it isn’t easy being a parent and my hat certainly goes off to all who take on such a huge responsibility but when my sister can raise her daughter (who’s deadbeat dad disappeared years ago) while working full time and Mandy started college as a sophomore, it can be done. Now if you are planning on having 16 children, like I read on the internet today about a family in Arkansas, uhh, good luck.

October is Southern California Doesn't Suck

Less than 2 hours drive and Lake Arrowhead is nestled in a magnificent forest of pine, cedar, and dogwood at an altitude of 5100' in an area described as the "Alps of Southern California". Who knew that being spontaneous and joining Mai and Larry for a drive up the mountain to meet with a bunch of bungee jumpers for a weekend of wake boarding and water skiing would be such a great time. Thanks Jeremiah! Yeah, doing nothing but eating and drinking, biking, frisbee, sunning, water sports and relaxing in the spa and steam room in a sweet crib is my kind of weekend.

Something in the Water?!

Some guys go on vacation to get away and play hard.
Larry, however goes away to be one with the forest creatures. I can see why Mai is smitten.

Playtime with the gang never ended. Heather had a bum knee from a motorcycle accident and Mai had a bad knee too but both still managed to bike about, what troupers. The girl's spa night afterwards was worth it!