aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............

- i'm back on the mountain, breathing an  exhalation of relaxation... what a week! graduation congratulations to james page jr, soon off to college in colorado! so many things happened while i was gone, hard to keep em straight. i don't know when i've ever seen so many cool places on such a short trip w/such a mind full of crap! oh well; long as we're not pushing up daisies, we always can revisit those places, & long as we get to be highly creative & talented & intelligent ( yeah, that might sound stuck-up, but it's TRUE!! - maybe of you, too, eh? :D ), i guess the flipside is mood swings, which i'm learning to deal w/better, thanks to garnering new & improved tools & my husband's help (i believe i help him, too)... tho they still hit, blast it!!... we visited el cariso village near lake elsinore, then one of my favorite spots in one of my favorite towns, the desert hot springs spa hotel, plus DHS's gypsyland & cabot pueblo museum (which was closed, dang it!). under a full moon, we motored up to westerny pioneertown, ca to catch phil & dave alvin's big bill broonzy show at the rustic & happening nightspot pappy & harriet's, & i couldn't believe it: as we drove in, people were streaming out. we'd just missed the whole show!! argh!! anyways, we got to say hi to phil, then walk the cool grounds under beautiful night sky  before hitting the road back to DHS; it was important that we'd shown up, since phil'd been nice enough to put james+1 on the list, & we did, so that's just how it all went down... next day james took us to a terrific spot i'd never been called tio's tacos in riverside, ca, w/delicious food & the most eye-popping collection of vernacular art i've ever seen in one place. i told james, through my depressed fog (which i guess will always hit, long as i'm in this life!), i was amazed cause i've spent decades traveling all over the country to see art like that, & there it was all in one spot, even more than at the primitive & folk art museum in DC. "that's why i brought you here," james said plainly... the food was quite good, too, & the vibe at 1st reminded me of austin, but even austin's got no place w/that volume of bizarre, beautiful, grotesque artwork. we have to go back sometime soon when we're both firing on all cylinders... back at the OC apt, i did all the cleaning i could before needing to get back here to prep to leave again for father's day in kern county tomorrow...
- if you're in the LA area, tomorrow will be a benefit for james's blues express drummer, max bangwell, who is ill but in high spirits, still tripping the lights fantastic, always photographed w/a big smile... the venue changed, so check online for details... speaking of big smiles, above's a pic i took of us at P&H's, using my new fancyshmancy bargain-of-a-phone. my arm is getting to be a seasoned photo feature, i'll tell you!
- happy father's day tomorrow to our dear, sweet, smart, strange, wonderful dad as well as to james,  brother-in-law doug, & all/any of you worthy of the title "father"...oh my gosh!!! a beautiful deer just trod gently by, walking on the side of the hill opposite this window, only about 25 feet away!! so grateful for moments like this!! and now, due to new F-S phone, i can show you a facsimile of what i just saw... :D