Quick trip to Stamp Your Heart Out, Claremont

Just returned from a very quick trip to Claremont this morning. Met my friend Beverly at Stamp Your Heart Out (she'd never been before), bought some much-needed stamp pads and not-so-much-needed other items. Joan had a wonderful selection of Valentine papers, stamps, etc. and the store was well-stocked as usual with the latest stamp images, products, magazines and books. It is well worth the drive. I left Placentia at about 9:20 and was there in less than half an hour. We hit a few other shops and had lunch but Beverly had to cut our trip short to make a meeting at school at 1:30. For dessert we bought cookies "for the road" at Some Crust Bakery on Yale. Chose "chocolate decadence" and couldn't wait until I got home to eat it so I broke off a piece in the car -- it was like a gooey brownie. Scrumptious! Made it home in time for thunder, lightning and a downpour and found my new stamp plate waiting for me. I'm pressing rubber as I write this; new Edgar Allen Poe and Dali faces, did the skeleton shrine in a smaller size due to popular demand, have some new owls and new New Mexico big letter postcards for the show in 2 weeks. Will scan and post the plate on the blog in the next few days. Shop at small stores! Claremont is a charming university town with loads of great gift shops, places to eat, and of course, Stamp Your Heart Out...not too many stamp stores left, and few as great as this one, so try to make a trip to Claremont in the near future.

Pee Wee Herman Show Report

We had a wonderful evening at the Pee Wee Herman Show last week. Lots of guys, couples and Judith and me...It wasn't full but it WAS a Tuesday. We went to Club Nokia but the bigger crowd (and a slightly different crowd) was attending the Kings hockey game at Staples center. The seats of the intimate "club" were sold out almost to the edges of the balcony but the crowd was little more subdued than I thought they would be (it IS L.A. after all). Only one guy dressed up like Pee Wee and there were a few Pee Wee dolls but the audience did participate by screaming when the word of the day (fun) was uttered. Great set, fun cartoon and 50's era newsclips, and an hour and a half of pure Pee Wee. Pee Wee is as trim as ever in his tight, little suit and Miss Yvonne was a vision in tulle and velour (two outfits). A few double entendres and gay marriage references, but Pee Wee was really on his best behavior and the crowd responded with a standing ovation. Since I made Pee Wee buttons for the occasion I did not buy a t-shirt but they did have some cool merchandise and I'm sure you could find it online. Two snaps for the show...

Ta Ta Chronicle Number 4, February 9, 2010

It's time for eyebrow lessons.

Since I received my grandmother's abundant eyebrows as part of my family "hair" legacy, I never dreamed the day would come where I would need to draw in or even highlight my eyebrows. I can cover my stubbly head with hats and no one's the wiser, but your eyebrows frame your eyes and without brows AND eyelashes, my face is looking pretty pale...I did buy an eyebrow pencil and am doing my best with that, and I'm faithfully lining my eyes and using mascara on the remaining eyelashes (few enough to count), but I broke down yesterday and bought "bangs" at the beauty supply store to tuck under my hats and cover my receding brow line. I have two friends who are consummate eyebrow artists; Terry DiMarco and Jennifer DeLacy. I've always marvelled at their precision and now wish I had taken lessons...my efforts at eyebrow artistry fall far short of their prowess.

At my last appointment with the doctor I asked about the "return of the hair" and she indicated that three weeks after my last chemo session the hair, brows and eyelashes (and God knows what else) should begin to reappear. Apparently no one knows what to expect with the hair; since I had fine, salt and pepperish curly hair, I'm hanging in there for thick, blond, straight hair, but the doctor seems to think it will be white or gray...whatever...the hats are fine for winter but I'm looking forward to tossing my mane in the late spring and summer. I'm not really that hung up on the hair -- but I'm tired of looking like a newt even though I get lots of compliments on my hats during chemo.

Having my sixth BIG chemo session this Thursday, only two more of those to go, but am also having weekly "small" chemo sessions with one drug that I'll have until October. Different side effects, more fatigue, leg cramps (bought some Gatorade), but no nausea (yay) and now I know what to expect from the new drugs and have a new routine and meds to combat the effects. All in all, I've been very lucky. Still working one day a week, back in school for one class this semester, going to Albuquerque for the rubber stamp show the end of this month, so life is as normal as it can be...

When radiation treatments start in late April life will be a little different. Have those every day (5 days a week) for 7 weeks so my activities will be curtailed somewhat for daily appointments. No side effects expected other than more fatigue, but the "rules" are relaxed during radiation. I can have an occasional glass of wine, eat sushi and have my nails done -- woo hoo -- things I cannot do during chemo.

Many thanks to all for keeping me in your thoughts and prayers and just keeping in touch. I love you all.

Old friends at CHA

Attended the Winter CHA show on Monday. Tagged along with Mary Jo while she shopped for her stores in Idaho and we looked for product to demo at Stampaway in August. Saw lots of old friends; Connie Williams, Beckah Krahula, Mary O'Neil, Sue Gilman, Tim Holtz, Mario, Karen, Rob and Judi, Ted and Michelle, Harry and Colleen, and many more. The show was smaller than usual but vendors still had lots of new products and ideas. Traditional crafts seem to be holding strong; quilting, knitting, etc. but there were not as many ribbon, button or scrapbook paper suppliers as previous years. By noontime the crowd was respectable and people were placing their orders after "shopping" on Sunday. Hope the vendors did well and that they enjoyed a few days of California sunshine after the week of torrential rain we had last week.

Support Your Local Stamp Store -- The Red Mat

Placentia's only rubber stamp store is having a HUGE sale. The Red Mat is offering 25% off all stamping supplies plus larger discounts on other items; magazines, paper products, etc. through Jan. 30th. Store hours are Tuesday - Friday 10 - 6, Sat. 10 - 5, closed Sunday and Monday. This is one of the ONLY well-stocked stamp stores left in Orange County. The Red Mat is located at 1828 N. Placentia Ave (at the corner of Placentia Ave. and Bastanchury). This shopping center also has a JoAnn's fabric store, Tuesday Morning, used book store, and a funky discount store, Ultimate Discount. It's worth a trip to check them out...also check out the Red Mat's web site: www.redmat.biz for classes, free demos and "specials." Tell them "Carmen" sent you.

Pee Wee Update

We scored tickets to see the Pee Wee Playhouse "review" on Feb. 2 and I promise to take lots of photos. I found my Pee Wee Fun Club membership certificate and copied some of the little illustrations of Pee Wee so I'm going to make a few buttons to wear and give away. I guess Lawrence Fishburn won't be reprising his role as the sheriff -- now where did I put those Pee Wee Colorforms?

The Pee Wee Herman Show at Club Nokia

Some of us have never recovered from Pee Wee's Playhouse being taken off the air. I'm still a member of the Pee Wee Herman fan club and have my membership card and certificate to prove it. For anyone else who can't let him go, there's a limited run at Club Nokia in L.A. of the "Pee Wee Herman Show" January 12 - Feb 7. At the very least, visit the web site, the graphics are fabulous, it's peewee.com. One year I was Pee Wee Herman for Halloween...where did I put that costume? I'll have to look for the photos, I know there's one around here somewhere...and who can ever forget Pee Wee doing the 'big shoe' dance in the biker bar...check out my You Tube link to watch it.