Bodhisartva ..... Art/Spirit/Life

Send help - or Not

Actually....please DON'T!

Saturday morning, everyone in my Yahoo Address Book received this message from "me" -

"Hello,

I'm sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent but it's due to the situation of things right now.

I'm stuck in London, England last night, came down here for a short vacation then I was robbed, worse of it is that bags, cash and cards and my cell phone were stolen at gun point, it's such a crazy experience for me,I need help flying back home, the authorities are not being 100% supportive but the good thing is I still have our passports and return tickets but currently having troubles paying off the hotel bills and also getting a cab to take me to the airport.

Please i need you to loan me some money, will refund you as soon as i'm back home,I promise please let me know if you can help...

Thank You"

There are so many things wrong with this message that I hardly know where to start, including the fact that it's a scam that has been circulating for years.

Of course, since I've been to London several times in the past year and was actually stranded there recently, my poor friends and family must have thought it could be true at first.

I love the "grammar" and errors.  You know I am a stickler for grammar and this made me cringe, I tell ya.  Hmmm...first I am stuck in London and then I have "our passports and return tickets"; wonder with whom I am traveling.  This could be a surprise to my husband.

It gets better.  My smart brother actually responded to them (he likes to dabble in detective work) and received this reply:

"Glad to hear back from you. It has really been embarrassing for me $1250 will cover all my expenses but i will appreciate whatsoever you can afford to wire right now, I promise to refund it to you as soon as I arrive home.

I still have my passport so I can use it as identification,You can wire it to my name from a western union outlet around.I'm so sorry for not informing anyone before going on this trip only want to make it a private trip that's why i didn't inform anyone.Here are the details you need to get it to me;

Judi Delgado and western union location close to the hotel :  2-24 Kensington High St - London W8 4PT."

Honey, NOTHING is private in my family - they must have laughed to read it was a "private trip".  Yeah, like I wouldn't tell them I was flying out of the country.  My favorite may be the "whatsoever"; I don't believe I have ever uttered that word in my entire life on this planet. 

When my brother got THAT email, he was so clever - asked for the name of his daughter as confirmation that it was me.  Course...he doesn't HAVE a daughter, so that was really smart.  Gosh, gee, they didn't respond back.

I traced this back and I caught it about an hour after they hijacked my account.  I could actually see the time and that the computer is in Nigeria. Why does that not surprise me?

And by the way, you can actually send me money any time if you want.  Just send it to me at home or through PayPal.  I think that's a great idea.  Waiting here for your response....

Brooklyn Flea!

Fun, food, family - what could be better?  This market is smaller than the California events, but still plenty to go around.  And such fun to visit with my daughter, my sisty-ugler Chris and her husband Larry.

I wish I could have taken home the whole pile of these -

But, I settled for some smaller items and scored some great finds!

The little baskets are so cool and were only $5. I'll have to post some better pictures later; my battery died. The tins are for Gina.  I thought they looked like the ones she collects, so I figured the time difference, took a picture and emailed it to her.  She wanted them, I bought them and I'll carry them home in my onboard luggage. Fun.  Transcontinental flea marketing; gotta love it!

Aren't these wonderful?  I'm leaving the stars with Katie, since she is one, and taking home the other for myself.  Found this great pin also, but it had Chris' name on it, so she goes home with it.

 Oh, and you have to see this postcard she got for a dollar.

After the Flea, Katie and I walked around Fort Greene, looking for these -

I don't know why they sound better than "garage sale" or "yard sale", but they do.  Did not find anything to purchase, but had a great time looking.  Went to a Farmer's Market and ditto.  Walked our feet off....and another day of the same tomorrow.  Good thing, too - have to walk off all this great food!

Prospect Park in Brooklyn

Which way do we go, Papa?  Actually, I think they both figured it out.

Of course, it helped when the park worker told us to..."follow the duck feet".
 

We were heading to the pond...and the Boathouse....and the...

Hmmm....are those geese about to attack?  Maybe find a place to hide....

So much calm and majestic beauty here in the middle of a city.

Joy and Tears

 

They often go together, don't they?  Two sides of the same coin; a whole bundle of emotions swirling around the same event.  My beautiful Katie graduated today, with honors, from The New School in New York City. 

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago, we moved her into the dorm, walked away, and I fell apart.  Today, we celebrated her success...and I fell apart again.  But, it's all good and more than good.  I am so proud of her, not only for her academic achievement but for something even more important and more special to a mother.  We try to guide and lift our children through the years, knowing that they will go out and live their own lives, their own way.  Katie is completely herself.  She owns herself.  She knows herself.  Strong woman; strong beliefs - but considerate and loving and kind while holding her own truth.  I could not wish for more and am so blessed that all three of my daughters are such amazing women. 

Katie met a few other amazing women in college; one does not need many friends when the friends are this special.  I'm grateful that Katie has your love.

  

Long Beach Flea Market

Long Beach is a bit of a drive and it costs to get in, but I must admit these two factors are no longer important to me.  Such a satisfying day!

Adding to my collections, obviously - the little hand is actually a bud vase - cute!  Got a bit of french ivory, a little pencil box, a folding ruler and another Mother plaque - this one in German. The little red case holds 5 dice - someone was serious - Nathan Detroit?  Don't you love the little shelf behind it all?  And, the tray is an old cash drawer; six of the compartments are concave - perfect for holding beads and findings while I am making jewelry.  Some little bakelite letter dice.

 

A tiny book/locket for a necklace. 

I don't usually buy rubber stamps, but how could I pass up these delights?

Perfect for journaling and collage.

LB is so large that I usually don't see it all, but today I hung in there, fueled by nothing but a cinnamon roll, until almost 2 p.m.  My persistence paid off, because on the way out I found this -

Can you believe this?  It is four sided; each side full of drawers that swing out....and it swivels!!!  It will be hard to decide how to use it, but I imagine I will find a way.

Because there is a fifth Sunday in the month of May, the Long Beach Flea will also take place on May 30th!  Join me?

New Journal for Class

Finally working on my journal for L.K. Ludwig's class.  I painted pages of watercolor paper and sewed them into a coverless book, sewing over tapes.  It's easier than coptic and still lies flat. What can I say?  I was in a hurry to get to the lesson!

I did try to make some pages that were not in my signature orange/red/yellow and did succeed somewhat.  But I still like the fiery pages best!

 

It's so soothing and easy to make a book.  The hard part is putting something into it.

Happy Mother's Day to Me

The reasons for my motherness.  Thank you, my loves.  You are the best daughters a woman could have.

 

Miss You, Mom

if there are any heavens my mother will(all by herself)have
one. It will not be a pansy heaven nor
a fragile heaven of lilies-of-the-valley but
it will be a heaven of blackred roses

my father will be(deep like a rose
tall like a rose)  

standing near my

(swaying over her silent)
with eyes which are really petals and see

nothing with the face of a poet really which
is a flower and not a face with
hands
which whisper This is my beloved my

           (suddenly in sunlight

he will bow,
& the whole garden will bow)

ee cummings

Adventures in London - Day 5 - Stranded by Volcano

Well, the good news is that British Airways is still paying for my hotel and feeding me.  The bad news is that they don't think they can get me out until Sunday.

I continue to make lemonade. Found this great bookbinding store.

 
The upstairs is beautiful papers and well worth the trip.  But the real prize is found when you descend the narrow, steep stairway to the basement.  I almost wept with joy.  Gorgeous bookbinding tools and supplies - leather you would not believe and way out of my price range; book cloth of every color; buckram; cords and thread. 

But the best were things I couldn't take home in any case.  Old book presses, handmade sewing cradles - and a fun staff who were not only helpful, but obviously loved their jobs.  I did get some of that buckram and also two stacks of Fabriano paper that will be perfect in my books. Also decided that now I must buy an extra suitcase to get home.

I took the tube back to Hyde Park to find an art store without luck.  However, I did enjoy Kensington Gardens and paid a visit to Harrods - with my new suitcase.

Oh, lord!  Nothing can prepare you for that store; it was fabulous.  Tea, food, chocolate, tea, tea, tea.  It was everything I had been told and more.  Very over the top.

Speaking of over the top,  I must say here how very, very much I love my husband and treasure our life together.  However, when he passes from this earthy coil, I will NOT be doing anything like this for him -

Ah, Victoria.  Ah, Albert.  What a saga.  Judi and Steve will live on in art and music and children and that's enough for me.

London Adventure - Day 4 - A stroll on the Thames

After dropping off my vintage fair finds at the hotel, I decided to follow this sign.

I had no idea I was so close to the Thames River.  It was a Sunday, so scores of people were gathered along the promenade or standing outside the pubs, having a pint and a great time.  Nearby was a beautiful park with tiny smoking hibachis and soccer games played by all ages.  I strolled through this path of flowering trees...

But the loveliest moment was further on, as I walked back to the hotel through mundane and gray streets.  There was a slight breeze and as I looked down, thousands of tiny petals swirled and danced at my feet. 

Perhaps a lucky sign?  Perhaps I would be going home soon?  My flight was originally scheduled for the next day.  Would the volcano cooperate?  Would I see my family soon?  As the sun set slowly in the West, our intrepid stranded traveler wondered..