My days off from the restaurant always go by too fast! But I have 24 hours before I go back tomorrow, so I will live in the moment and enjoy every minute of this day! It is still smokey around here. It's been that way for over two weeks now. Mother Nature doesn't seem to be done cleaning house, so all we can do is wait it out. Chico's motels are full of fire fighters from all over California and surrounding states. In a creepy way, they are getting a boost during this economic slow down. Chico is definitely not a tourist destination, so the only time the motels get full around here is graduation time and when parents help their kids settle in to college life. Anyway back to the fire fighters...they are staying in Chico to rest up for 24 hours and then back to work, but for some reason...maybe adrenaline...they have enough energy to walk around downtown. I work downtown, in a restaurant with a huge window, big enough to watch these guys walking around. I have yet to see an average looking fire fighter! Maybe it's their image...fearless, strong, hunky! Whatever it is, I am certainly enjoying these fabulous men!

Have I told you about the flickr site and how it is a terrific place to see artist's photographs? Well, I seem to spend alot of time there, not only getting inspiration from other artists, but I also read their blogs, and sometimes email them.

I want to tell you about one woman ( pictured above ) I met via flickr who I think is very talented. Her name is Jamie and she is a jewelry artist. She loves old jewelry, especially rhinestones, and she takes that jewelry and creates something new. Some of her newest creations are made from millenary flowers, adorning them with rhinestones to make the finished product a unique lapel pin. Jamie is self taught and gets her inspiration from everything around her, especially vintage. She likes to mix rough metal with old sparkle to create a one-of-a-kind look. If it's got sparkle and has a history it has a good chance of becoming a part of her art.

She loves her family and has lots of pictures of them on her blog. Jamie has a green thumb too! The pictures of her garden are quite inviting, even a garden snake decided to make itself at home for a bit. Jamie is a member of Indiepublic and has a shop on esty.com. I invite you to visit her shop at http://www.simplymeart.etsy.com/. and of course check out what's new on her blog
http://simplymeart.blogspot.com/.

I'm back home. I really do enjoy driving long distances...I should have been a trucker. I get a kick out of seeing the countryside. There was a motorcycle club on highway 5 called the Iron Hoggz. Their motorcycles were so colorful! and two of the riders were women which really got my attention. I googled them and found them on MySpace. They are based out of Bakersfield (not a place I am interested in living...it's way too hot for me and smoggy and dusty...)but check out these bikers, they are an interesting group of people!

I always have a good time when I visit James. He took me to a dance club where the average age was 45 years old...which I thought was terrific! Older people having fun and dancing! It seemed that most of these people were single and looking...There was even one women who we guessed was about 70 years old! Wow! Anna was a little creeped out though. There was some people on the dance floor who were "making out" and that was a bit much for her.

Then we went to a Kareoke club. That crowd was completely different. There was a mix of single women and men, men dressed as women and this entertaining couple who was fighting! Luckily we sat next to them...I always enjoy a good fight between couples. It was obvious by the look on the woman's face that her date was pissing her off. Finally she dumped her beer on him and got up to leave...but this guy just couldn't keep his mouth shut...so she came back and punched him right in the nose! I was thrilled! Who needs to watch reality shows when all I have to do is go to Kareoke bars. That seems to be where the action is!

Saturday, we went to Huntington Beach. Surfers, odd balls Jesus freaks, bikinis, the ocean... so much eye candy! Very nice! I am excited about moving here and I know John will love it!

LA Road Trippin!!!

I decided to get away from all the smoke in Northern California and drive down to LA and breath some good old fashioned smog! Iam staying with my son James and his girlfriend Anna. I also discovered photobucket and I am playing around with it. These pictures were taken when I was here last April, but I am taking more pictures and will post those later.

The weather is great! I can actually see the sun! I am really excited about moving here...there are lots of things to do and I know John has missed the ocean. When we lived in San Francisco he went almost daily to watch the sun set. James lives only 20 minutes away from Huntington Beach. We went there today and it was nice to sit in the sun and watch the surfers. The homes there are fantastic! If only I had the money...

Hey! How are you all this lovely (smoke filled air in my neck of the woods, but not complaining) Wednesday. I have two things I want to give a quick "plug" to. First up... We formed a new etsy team! It seems there are about twelve of us etsians in the area and we have formed the chicoteam. If you want to find handmade items in the Northern California area just type in chicoteam under tags and hit search. I don't know if it is listed in google search yet (I haven't checked). but it is on the etsy website. We plan a face to face meeting after the 4th of July and I will keep you posted with any updates...

2nd item...anysoldier.com...check out the website. Soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan request MUCH NEEDED items at this site. They need things from toiletries to snacks. Most of these soldiers live in tents with no microwave or PX or store nearby. I always thought the military supplied these things to the soldiers and I was shocked they do not!!! Thes men and women literally depend on the kindness of strangers and believe me they are soooo grateful. I "adopted a squad of 5 men" in Iraq and have been sending them snacks, magazines, etc. The USPS has a great deal going to help them and us...get a large flat rate box, costs $10.95 and pack it full. They ship it to the address you list from anysoldier.com. I don't know how you feel about this war but helping someone over there and believe me they are soooo excited to get any mail from the states! it is a good feeling to help them. By the way I think Bush and his gangsters suck and I hope they get everything they deserve (karma wise). If you have questions about this website you can email me.

I gotta go to work now...

Summer is Here!!!!

And it is sizzling! I had to cover some of my plants in the court yard because the afternoon sun was frying them! I really enjoy the heat...my bones and joints feel better, but I must confess the heat gets to me when I have to drive somewhere. It's the initial part of getting in the car before the air conditioner kicks in that is the worst! Little Olive really hates the heat...anything over 80 degrees and she is panting. Poor baby!! She will brave the heat though. She loves going out with her mom!

John and I went to the farmers market and found delicious strawberries and local honey, but not one tomato. I was so disappointed! Now is the time to buy the best tomatoes. This salmonella scare really sucks! I really don't see why there is such a panic! Only 415 cases out of how many millions of people in the US???? Spare me please!

Oh, before I forget Snoop Dog came to the Senator Theater in Chico, right across the street of the restaurant where I work. Vanessa made up a sign to hopefully get his attention and maybe get him to come in the restaurant. Well, Snoop didn't make it but his bandmates did and got a kick out of the sign. It seems that Snoop isn't as young and fresh as he used to be and needed a nap before his performance. Oh well! I was hoping to get a picture of me and him!

I got two awesome books in the mail today from Amazon! One is Collage Lost and Found by Giuseppina "Josie"Cirincione, and French Country Living by Caroline Clifton-Mogg. I can't wait to devour each one! Oh! and I found the current issue of Romantic Country Magazine... at Safeway of all places!

Enjoy your Friday night! I have some reading to do...

Happy Father's Day!!!

John and I spent time around the house this weekend. Our furbabies always enjoy it when we are home with them. The Humboldt fire is almost out and things are calming down quite a bit. I didn't make it to the antique shop but rescheduled for this coming Saturday. I plan to take pictures of the area when I go up. I was going to take pictures today but I decided to stay away and let the people who were directly affected a chance to contemplate what happened without me poking around with my camera. I have to admit though I wanted to snoop around. I should have been a reporter when I had my chance 20 years ago when I was a communications major in college. Now I 'm just a Mrs. Kravetz!

I did find things to entertain myself though. I pulled out Cooper's old Halloween costume and added a bottle of rum. He really enjoys hamming it up for the camera!

I also decided that once a month I will interview a successful female entrepanuer for my blog. There are soooo many terrific artists that I have found on flickr. Many have their own blogs, online shops, and brick and mortar shop, so I thought why not ask them how they do it.

If you know of someone you would like featured leave me a note in the comment section or email me.

Well, to end this nice weekend I splurged and took John to Baskin Robbins for not one but two scoops of ice cream! What a lucky guy he is! (I'm pretty lucky myself)...

I hope you all had a lovely weekend too and got to spend some quality time with your special someone!

I was going to do some craft projects today, but I got distracted by the big fire about 8 miles away. It's the Humbolt Road fire and is about 9,000 acres big right now. The winds are strong which is making things worse. I drove up to Skyway Road which is one of two roads leading up to Paradise, a city nestled in the Redwood trees, to see if the road was reopened. The road was blocked with police keeping people out. I took pictures of the scene but the pictures really did not show how the bad the fire really is.

The picture that has parked cars in it was taken at Lowe's. I went there to buy paint. I couldn't help thinking how odd I felt, shopping along with other people, while a huge fire raged less than 8 miles away. I thought of that old Sonny and Cher song, " And the beat goes on..."

I really admire and I am thankful to the fire fighters who are willing to put themselves on the line to save others. The winds are supposed to calm down tonight. I hope they are right.

You can now purchase any of my mixed media and collage creations directly from my blog! Just send me an email , and let me know which item you are interested in purchasing . Go to junkstylediva@gmail.com and I will get right back to you. Ok, maybe not right away but it will definitely be within 24 hours. At the moment I am accepting personal checks.

I have a winner for the June 1st giveaway! Chambers from etsy won the shabby inspirational sign. Thanks to everyone who entered. I really enjoyed reading the kind comments left by everyone and I plan to do another giveaway soon. Be sure to check out chambers etsy shop at http://www.chambers.etsy.com/. She sells delicious snacks for your favorite four legged honey!

While I'm on the subject of etsy you must check out another favorite etsy artist of mine, http://www.jenniferperezdesigns.etsy.com/. I bought an adorable bird pendant (pictured above) from her and I really like it! She creates lots of fun, whimsical jewelry, so please check out her shop before you go.

This weekend has been terrific! Great weather and I got to spend time in my garden. John even got to spend time doing his favorite past time, watching Baseball (The Giants) and getting in a few winks! Hope you got to do fun things this weekend too!