All Hail the Nehru Jacket

Aren't we the hipsters! Standing next to the surfboard is my friend Kathy Reschke, my boyfriend Albert Ridley, me in the gold Nehru suit, Tina Ivey and I can't remember the other two guys' names. I thought that outfit was the coolest. It's said that Sammy Davis, Jr. owned over 200 Nehru suits. That's crazy, man.

Honey Don't You Want a Man Like Me?

We went to a silent auction for charity at the Stephen Cohen Gallery here in Los Angeles last Saturday night. I bid on this extremely cool photo of Frank Zappa by photographer Ted Kirk and walked away with it in the end.

I'm gonna have to tell you about the best part of the evening when there was a bidding war over my husband Larry Armstrong's powerful photo taken in Belfast, Northern Ireland during "The Troubles". I've got to ask his permission to post that photo on this blog - maybe he'll let me use it for St. Patrick's Day. Do ya think?

Kangaroo Paws

[Photo taken with my iPhone using Hipstamatic App]

Sons of the Pioneers 1969

The little girl in the yellow is my young sister Debra, surrounded by The Sons of the Pioneers. That good lookin' fella in the center with his hands on Debra's shoulders is "Trail Boss" Dale Warren. Dale and his wife Margie lived next door to us in Simi Valley, CA. Margie was in show business too, known as "Fiddlin' Kate". They were nice people, nice neighbors. They had a daughter slightly older than me named Gayle who often gave me a ride to school in her Rambler station wagon that was converted from an automatic transmission to a four-on-the-floor.

Did you know that The Sons of the Pioneers were designated as a National Treasure by the Smithsonian? How about that, we lived next door to a National Treasure - and there's Debra, surrounded by a National Treasure. That's cool, cool like "Cool Water", cool like "Tumbling Tumbleweeds".

Mardi Gras - Farmers Market Los Angeles

[Photo taken with my iPhone using Hipstamatic App]

You'll never guess who I ran into today...

I would say that he looks pretty good for all he's been through these last 145 years!

Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally. Abraham Lincoln

[Photo taken with my iPhone using Hipstamatic App]

A New Outfit for my iPhone

From my Valentine.

Arizona Desert 1965 - What Was I Thinking?

Against a monumental Arizona landscape, there's my little sister Debra on the left playing with a stick or something and on the right is my mother, cigarette gripped firmly in her right hand - and in the middle, me. I have no idea why I thought it appropriate to wear white leather go-go boots and a Beatles inspired pantsuit in the middle of the desert. I'm completely mystified as to how I was able to climb way up there in that get-up. And why on Earth would I think a white blouse with a Peter Pan collar was appropriate under that jacket? Strange days indeed.

Debra's Birthday 1968

The little girl in the blue gingham dress is my younger sister Debra. That's me in the yellow dress with my pettipants showing. I used to iron my hair then. I'm looking at Debra's gifts and I see "Silly Sand", some sort of canister with Bat Man on it, and a doll that has the word "Pucci" on the packaging. I also see a strand of gum balls or jaw breakers hanging down from the fireplace mantel. She had a nice birthday party with some of her friends there at our house in Simi Valley, CA.

The month before Debra's birthday, my parents' divorce was finalized and my father was already involved with someone else. Only a year and three months before that, we had been uprooted from our home and friends and family in Illinois to come to California for my dad's job. We had a lot of adjusting ahead of us.

Debra's most recent birthday was last Saturday, I crocheted her a beautiful shawl and she loved it. Happy Birthday, Debra - it's been a long haul!

Orchids

On a gray sort of day here in Los Angeles, these orchids are a welcome sight in our dining room. Don't they look like smiling faces? They don't have any eyes, though - hmm - macabre. Now that I'm really staring at them they look somewhat sinister, like insane clowns. These flowers need to go RIGHT NOW!

[Photo taken with my iPhone]