A Good Day

Today was a bit of a departure for me in a few ways. First of all, I had a lunch date with a friend and former classmate from my graduate school days, someone I haven't seen in quite a while. After making sure my garden was well watered, I showered and dressed to meet her. I chose to wear white, one of my favorite summer colors and one that, in spite of its association with purity, makes me feel very sexy. That's another way today was different...I felt sexy, something I haven't felt for too long a time. I felt it and it showed.

I traveled into Manhattan to meet my friend and we had lunch at a hidden little Spanish restaurant on 14th Street. It was truly a jewel filled with old world ambiance and good food. It felt like stepping into a different world for the time we were in there. As we were leaving, we noticed a sign saying the place had been established in 1868. We were incredulous and curious so we turned around and went back inside to inquire. The owner himself answered our questions but what was remarkable was what came afterwards. After his explanation, he introduced himself to me pointedly to which I responded with my own introduction and shook his hand. He commented on my beautiful name and lovely earrings and held my hand for just a touch longer than was necessary. The old bird was flirting with me!!

I am so out of touch with the whole mating scene that I was taken by surprise. When my girlfriend and I left the restaurant, we were talking about it and she said, "We're getting up there in age. Take your compliments where you find them. Let the old man flirt. It's okay." You know, she's right. Let the man flirt. Even better, let me enjoy that I'm being flirted with. I guess if I'm not too old to feel sexy, I'm not to old to be flirted with or to enjoy it.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around a paper specialty store, looking at the beautiful imported and handmade papers available there. Then I came home to my family, my dog and a dinner that needed cooking. My sexy day was over but the memories still lingered.

On another front, my husband, who had been laid off on Memorial Day weekend, came home with some great news. He had interviewed a week ago with a local employer and today he filled out the necessary paperwork to become its newest employee. I don't have to tell you in this economy how great this news is. I told him we should celebrate.

Hmmm, maybe my sexy day isn't over just yet. :)


Ballo ergo sum,- Gitana, the Creative Diva

The Renovation Continues

Now that the exterior entry steps and foyer have been renovated, attention is focused on the interior stairs. The stairs leading to my basement workshoop and laundry room were squeaky and really ugly due to layers of paint and who-knows-what that had accumulated with previous owners. There were gaps between the treads and risers that allowed dirt to fall through into the room below. All these steps were removed and replaced. Unfortunately my camera was down in the basement and I was trapped on the upper floor unable to retrieve it during the construction process so the only photo I was able to take was after it was all done (aoove right). Next order of business...the main run of stairs leading to the upper bedrooms.

The main stairway was the focus of my attention last year when I set about to stripping them of no less than four layers of paint. My intention was to expose the original wood grain and varnish them. What I discovered was that those multiple layers of paint were not only hiding dangerous cracks but the house had settled so much that the treads no longer fit properly into the risers, allowing them to shift. Essentially all that old paint was holding the stairs together. When I stripped it off, the real deterioration began. One tread had actually cracked completely from end to end and was being held in place by a couple of mending strips and a few screws in an attempt to prevent someone falling right through the stairs. Most of the treads and risers in this run of steps had to be replaced. As with most renovation projects it was noisy and messy but it was finally completed.

It took four days to complete the entire series of stairs, interior and exterior, in my home. I wonder how long its going to take me to clean up and put everything back in place.

Ballo ergo sum,
- Gitana, the Creative Diva

Once an Artist, Always an Artist

In retrospect I realize that I have been an artist my entire life. You might even say it’s what I was born to be. Even as a child I loved all artistic pursuits and would spend many hours coloring, drawing, play acting, sewing and dancing. It was dancing that first ignited my passion and I trained for many years in different forms of dance, eventually becoming a professional belly dancer. Along the way I took traditional art classes and continued my crafting.

I began card making in earnest about three years ago when I was sidelined by single sided deafness (SSD) and no longer able to dance professionally. It became my therapy of sorts, allowing me to express myself on paper as I had once expressed myself on stage. As I become more involved in the various techniques, materials and applications of the craft, I find myself incorporating the more traditional art methods in which I had trained in my youth. Syncretism is a very organic process for me and is something I employed very successfully as a nightclub dancer, marrying my belly dancing moves with my strong jazz and salsa background. I feel grounded when I mix the “old” with the “new”. I feel renewed and more vital.

The newest iteration of my “old” artistic techniques is pictured above and can be seen in my artist blog, The Creative Diva, under the title “Full Circle”. I’d be pleased if you would take a look.


Ballo ergo sum,
- Gitana, the Creative Diva