SuzenJuel.com is up

I would love you to visit my first Official Website!

Creative Niche

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This Old Thing!

WHAT THE HELL, EH? It's as if the whole world Disappeared! So here I am in March with my Unfinished guitar, yeah it's some old piece of chit a friend gave me. there are photos up it on my flickr site, if you look in my links, you might find that site....
So I've been working on ideas with painting this guitar, as you can see it's a bit 'odd' looking right now.....but it's progressing.
I said I'd Photographically keep updates on the progress of this 'art of painting an old otherwise usless guitar"
I asked for old guitars to use as art projects.
A complete stranger/now friend has given me two!
Today I haven't painted, yet.....but while the weekend unfolds you won't be seeing me much, because that is what I"ll be doing, painting, thinking, contemplating....etc....

Meanwhile
sponging up inspiration like a thirsty dog.
p.s. if you click the TITLE of this, you can join my fan page on facebook!
Peace!
-Suzen!

Those ODD Moments!

Do you EVER tell people the WHOLE Truth? The things you 'think' you would Never say to anyone, but find that you do, and you're either going to get the "WTF" look from the person you are talking to, or.... the "OMG I DO THAT TOO" comment.
(Describing SL to a stranger is like that..*cough*) anyway....do ya ever get the URGE to do something that makes NO sense, for NO reason, not necessarily for any particular reason, more like you 'momentarily' feel compelled to do something...this doesn't mean it's a GOOD or FUNNY thing, this could be a crazy LOCK YOU UP kinda thing....
so we don't....do it...do we?
One of my friends once told me that she ran naked through her house in front of her boyfriend (who she is now married too) with a long branch from a tree in between her butt cheeks...LMAO
that's what I mean...things like that! Well that is ONE side of it, eh?
There is also the other side, of "You are not doing it to be silly" like my friend did....you might be doing it because you feel it's appropriate.
Have you ever run through your home, with all your 'housemates' around and just run through the house Screaming "THEY"RE COMING" in a strange LoUd, but shakey voice, with that look of Pure Panic on your face, not to be funny
but because maybe...MAYBE for a moment...just a moment
you almost felt like THEY were coming.
Now who are THEY? i don't know.....how would I know that? It was just a Moment where I had felt compelled to do this, I didn't.....I DID twitter it, yep...cuz it made me laugh when I thought about Writing about it....one of those thoughts that you think, for a moment COULD happen and it would really be ALL kinds of Wrong, wouldn't it?
WAY off...yeah you might get locked up.
But....IF i did....I know there would be the look of 'WTF' on my husbands face, and a "WHO" from my 15 yr old Crazy stepchild, and then they would both laugh their asses off......if I acted like it was all a joke.
I could be serious eh?
Pretend I have no clue what they are talking about.
Make think I've totally lost it......
NOW THAT
would be great.....but I'de never live it down.
SO
that is my Odd Thought.
I'm done now. I'm going to go finish making this KICK ASS chicken soup, and then I'm going to make Brownies...:) Yep, you got it!

mmMMmmMm



P.S.
I have an Official Fan Site Now :)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suzen-JueL/45430674299

RADIO PARADISE

I couldn't be more thrilled to discover my song "Flowers Against My Dress" off my "Certain Kind of Mad" CD has been accepted on one of my favorite Internet Radio Stations.
For once a radio station NOT associated with Second Life (tm) and that has never heard of me prior, has been playing my song.
It's in their rotation and you can click the title of this blog to go directly to their site.
You can request the song (which would be a huge compliment to me) and even comment on the song.
I have two more songs under review with them, and hopefully they'll be added as well.
If you want to request them as well they are
"Don't Let It Die" also off my Certain Kind of Mad cd
and "Teapot" which is off my "Without My Wings" Cd.
You can stream this onto your land in SL if you wish, or just listen.
There are usually about 4000-5000 Listeners at any given time on this station and their audience is constantly growing...
once you listen
you'll understand why they are so popular and growing, their 'handmixed' songs
are total Audio Bliss to my ears, not to mention it's SO inspirational to hear the artists I love, all day.
Jason Miraz. Ray Lamontange (did i spell that right?), Mary Gauthier. Lucinda Williams.
Pink Floyd. Led Zepplin. Rush. Iron and Wine and the list goes on and on.
So I've had some 'great friends' tell me they have heard me on it...and after checking their playlist, I saw that they have played my song a number of times.
WOOOOOT!
So spread the word and keep it up, cuz it's working in a great way
and I have so many of you to thank
for the Love!
-Suzen JueL
http://www.radioparadise.com/index.php

Damn Winter BlueZ

I can't help but sing the blues from time to time, considering we all experience little moments of it, we can all relate. Feeling blue, is only the first course of a multi course meal of emotions that surround many of us this time of year, especially if the whole S.A.D. is part of your life, which it is mine, and it sure can hit like a freight train going down the tracks a bit too fast. Seems to come out of nowhere.
IT IS COLD.
Freezing rain.
Granted, during January it can be a hell of a sunny month, but it's also one of the coldest months of the year here in Minnesota. It's when the roads become sheets of ice and the sun is shining brilliant, teasing me in the sky with it's fire and warmth, while I sit millions of miles below it, never being able to feel it.
I keep getting this funny picture of the person who is trapped in an ice vault, full of windows, and right outside the door is a warm and blazing fire, but the person in the ice vault Just can't reach it.
It's RIGHT THERE, but always out of reach.
Kind of depressing, but such is life.
In a few more month, I'll celebrate yet another year around the sun, and that's when the ice melts and the whole world becomes all fresh n fuzzy.
You can bet I'll be outside with my camera, snapping pictures of every fresh little blade of grass, and the multi coloured dragon flies that fill the hills and forests around my world.
Things get a little stale this time of year. I'm not the WINTER SPORTS kind of person. I don't like being cold. I don't like being hot either. Spring and Fall blaze me up with everything, and the summer bogs me down with intense heats. Winters are my least favorite. While they're beautiful, yes....but to step outside and take that little sniff of scentless air, making your nostrils pinch together...making your back shiver like a terrified puppy....OOO i hate that!
I hate cold car seats (mine has a nice lil seat warmer in it, and thankfully stays parked and happy in my garage) but Shopping is a different story. Super Markets don't have heated underground parking...
Add to this, the dreaded PTSD I experience while driving.
2 horrible accidents that weren't my fault, getting bashed at 70mph by someone who just wasn't paying attention, makes the experience unbearable in the winter ice/snow/slush. I prefer to stay put, walk that treadmill, arrange my life....and when it warms up again, I'll be more than eager to feel the grass under my bare feet, the warm wind on my face, and start the Awesome Garden we plant every year.
Meanwhile
the heat is on, my favorite sweatshirt is getting softer and more worn from all the washing and the wear, things pile up around me because I'm just not 'in the spirit' to do much with it. Spring Fever.....OoooOOO I love it, when that first day comes where we can open our window, even for one night, and walk to the mailbox in a t-shirt and jeans. When the snow melts and that brilliant first green pops out....
I'll just keep thinking of that....
They say happiness is something to look forward to, so I'm going to cast my line to March, and keep reeling in the days closer and closer, til I have it in my hands again, and I can sit out on the front steps in a brilliant sun and watch the world Grow again.
But for now, it's just too bad we can't hibernate for 5-6 months and dream the winter off.

Things I will Bring into the New year

No more painted faces, no more sugar coated words. I hate sugar.
I like raw.
No more indirect comments.
I'm bold.
I like this.
No more ignoring my mistakes.
I like my mistakes. They're mine. I own them. They are powerful!
No more bullshit covered phone calls. I prefer just not to answer.

More laughter.
Why hold back?
More hugs.
They're worth ever squeeze.
More seeds to plant.
I like flowers, and I get great satisfaction watching them grow in my world.
More photos, less worrying about the light. Just DO IT!

Today isn't the first day of a new beginning.
Every day is the first day of the beginning.
You can't end something you never started.
Observation will get you everywhere,.
More doing, less talking. More action, less thinking.
Procrastination means not doing.

Last Minnesota Blizzard of 2008

If you haven't experienced the Blizzards, the one inch or more of white fluffy stuff per hour, then you probably haven't been to MinneSNOWta!
I know when the west coast gets this, they shut down. Drivers are restricted, warnings go out like red lights NOT to drive.
Here we go...this is Winter here in Minnesota! Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Alaska, Iowa....we're kind of used to this...
I won't drive in it. Don't be calling me if you drive into the ditch! You want to take that chance, you better have blankets and water, food and BOOTS packed with you, because you might have a long walk home! That is, IF you can walk home!
Can't tell you how many stories we hear on the news where someone 'thought' they could walk home, only to be blown off the highway by another driver who dared drive in it...or even worse, you die in your own back yard trying to find the front door during a white out....those are horrible!

2009 we're gonna bring it on with another 4-6 inches of snow today, and hopefully then...we are done.

The best thing though, is the Winter Thunderstorms. They're rare and they are beautious to see the sky light up behind big fat white fluffy flakes, to hear the th under and no rain falling...just the quiet silence of the flakey stuff falling from our Minnesota sky!

Peace to all and the BEST To you in 2009.
Bring in your Best Learned Lessons of 2008, into the New Year with you. And if you don't think you've made any mistakes, I bet your friends will tell you otherwise! (you can always learn from theirs too, because you know damn well when you make a mistake they are all saying "THANK GOD THAT WASN'T ME!"
More to come
peace
-Suzen

Happiness is Something To Look Forward To!

I'm not big on Christmas. I think it was more fun as a kid when I believed in Santa Clause, the Tooth faery, the Easter Bunny and all that other stuff.
Most of it is Media Hype to me, a bunch of blah blah.....I guess I see the whole "Holiday" thing, the same way I would see any other day. Go out of your way to make someone smile.
Always be thankful. Always be Grateful even when you convince yourself there is nothing to be grateful for...there is...there always is.
I once heard...
"Happiness is something to look forward to."
Reading that was like swallowing the universal secret...and Never have I forgotten that.
Every day I wake up, and the first thing my mind automatically does is grab onto what makes me happy. Could be the beautiful man next to me in the morning, could be a new song I'm working on, a new experiment artsy photograph thingie, or a new recipe I want to try out -like pickle recipes--droooooool----
And the Holidays
are hard for many people, difficult...especially when the Economy is dumping all over like it is.
But once ya quit stressin about all the media hype, it's a bout one thing "Love"...and seriously,
we should be thinking about that every day
not on Christmas.
Whether you believe the Jewish Holiday, the Christian, or just simply believe....or if you are just celebrating life and love....That's all that matters...
and this is something we should do every day...Wake up and do one thing....be happy.
So no matter what you believe
or not believe
it's Certainly Not my place to judge, and I really wouldn't care to anyway....Just have a wonderful Life...and bring in the new year the way you'll bring in every day for the rest of your life
....Just looking forward to anything....
Peace!!!

LastFm.com

Feeling Gratitude

I think life moves in funny directions sometimes. It's quirky, it jumps and quivers unexpectedly, at unexpected moments...keeps ya on your toes.
As I paint, or play guitar...it's like other peoples "Bathroom moments" where you claim to have so much time to think and be alone, undisturbed. This is what happens when I am 'in the moment' while doing something that soothes me in every way. My mind drifted to those moments everyone has ..when you KNOW something. Some people when asked "When did you realize you wanted to be a teacher?"
and the person always jumps in with something like "Well, when I was 3 I would Line up allllll my stuffed animals and dolls and have a 'school' session'. Or the Musician who knew when they started strumming on grandpas guitar at age 6, and on and on.
I've been fortunate in the sense, that my family tree is the one that looks like it's covered in melted crayons of every color, lots of artists, musicians, writers...creative souls in my family tree. So I guess it only makes sense that I 'swing in many directions'...for lack of better phrasing, haaa.
When I was very young I wrote little books. Stapled them together, put my name on the cover and of course had to write "ABOUT THE AUTHOR" sections. I would paste a photo of me, usually from my 'school photo', and make a little frame around it, and write something about myself... like
.......I started writing when I was 7, and I'm about to turn 12. I have had some experiences with..Blah blah blah!
So I guess there is one part of me that can say...OH I"VE ALWAYS KNOWN I"M A WRITER etc....

Like most kids, I drew...don't we all? But I took it a step further and as I began nearing Graduation, I got dEEp into my art, entered contests, did incredible detailed drawings, faces, details, shadows...things I can hardly imagine today, that I did then...I would like to get back into that!

Painting is new to me. I was always drawing in pencil or ink. On napkins, backs of envelopes, folders, walls, oh absolutely ANYWHERE I found a blank space.
Somehow there is a need to create in me.
It starts out kinda slow and heavy, it has a voice, it has a color and shape and it just breeds itself...multiplying over time, a few hours, a few days, a year....and then...something comes out.
A song. A painting. A story....and I've always done this. I never thought about, NEVER thought about exposing these things. These things I kept to myself. For one reason, they healed ME.
I wasn't the type to approach anyone with a drawing. I didn't show anyone my songs. I sang them for myself, I didn't want an audience.
Mostly I wrote though. I filled empty book upon empty book with poetry, lyrics, little stories, doodles and sketches. This is why i LOVE making the Blank Hand Painted Sketch Journals, because when I was a kid, had I seen an empty book with lots of white pages, and a cover that I could 'connect with' OOOO I would have bought that in a heartbeat.

When I was hanging out in Second Life (TM) with Cylindrian...she commented on a lampshade texture I had used. 'OMG Where Did You Get This Texture?" I told her it was from a drawing I did, took a photo of it and used it as a texture for a lampshade in SL. So I showed her the whole drawing, and she pretty much told me how much she liked it and why am I not 'showing' anyone my art?
Answer was simple to me then.
I never defined myself as an artist, or a musician, or a writer, until someone else saw it.
It's kinda like....Do you exist if no one EVER sees you? Well, yes you do, but not really....no one has ever seen you, heard of you, contacted you, possible never new you....
If you do a painting and no one ever sees it....it heals only you.
And that is what the whole purpose was behind everything I did...to heal my self, to calm myself, to paint, to draw, to write, to perform, takes me to my own place, a place I can feel, let go, heal....
But Sharing it...well who would think? haaaa
and it is the greatest Pleasure EVER, to be able to express something, to others. To have a 'relationship' with those that listen....and to your own spirit.
Because if No one listened.
If no one looked.
If no one read.
I will...and it will heal me.
But since people do listen, read, and look...and Feel...it's the blessing of it all, the biggest gift of all. It's that simple.
And I keep saying it to people...That Thing That YOU WAN T TO Do, you need to do it. The 'gift' you were born with, the sense that you have to paint something, have to create something, have to step out of the box and take a risk and start your own business, let people Hear your voice, let people Read What you write.

There are two ways to die....
Never doing what you thought you could have, never trying to write that childrens story, never opening up that cafe, never crossing the sea to see a different country,staying where we don't belong and not going where we do belong......that is one way.
Or...you succeed, because you Did it, or died Trying :)

Behind the Scenes....

Noooooo, not going to let this Blog go to the wayside and Rot. I promised myself I would commit to writing in it 'about' once a week, and WOW I think I have slacked off a bit.
The hands of life has twisted its fingers all through my hair, and yanked me into some other cosmic realm in the Universe, been there?
Another Twitter Artist, WilddogStudio gave me a link once to view this amazing "Steampunk Style Ring' and I fell in love with it. The site was amazing Etsy.com. About a week later my Soul Sistah Cylindrian Rutabaga aka Grace, told me about this site that I should ABSOLUTELY put my art on...."ETSY.COM"...well that got my seed growing, so I did...for the next week I messed around with the site, got a little familiar with it,
and planted several paintings, sketch book covers that I layered in Canvas and textured with various paints and colors....and LO n BEHOLD
I made some sales.
Surprised myself....I had no doubt that some might like what I do, and many would not.
But I never "expected' anything.
So far I'vemade 4 sales on that website and 4 others off the website.

I also released my CD This week "CERTAIN KIND OF MAD" and had a small pre release party at my LIVING ROOM #13 in SL, and an official 'launch' today at TRAX, thanks to Bones Writer for hooking me up with the CD Vendor etc!

Before that it was the CRAZY thanksgiving Holiday. My WHOLE Family came, including two gorgeous nephews who I absolutely ADORE, one who is in deep awe of my Washburn 6 String, he is 4 and he watches every m ove I make on that guitar
then imitates it...and he is absolutely 100% rockin into it!

I'm exhausted. I have hardly slept in the past few days. I take what Sleep I can get, but I think I have pushed myself a bit far, and now I really need to just kinda climb into my cacoon of NOTHINGNESS. However I am being tugged at the hair again
and I can again..feel myself heading towards another streak of madness.
I have no idea what will become of this one, perhaps nothing.
Right now, I can feel the weather of the soul, changing,
the creativity rising and falling.
Everytime I close my eyes I'm seeing vivid and brilliant colors and shapes dancing behind them.
It's a hell of a trip, but in the end
it's usually worth it.

BIG THING HERE...is all of you who have supported me, bought the CD, sent me encouraging messages, called me just to say hi and see how the world is spinning. All of you who are such Awesome Supporters of my music, my art, my many attempts at something..somewhat SANE, haaa!

Family is family....IS family.
Thanks :)

Meanwhile, back to letting the energy out of me, and into the Universe, because keeping it inside.....well it can make one sick...better to let it out!

The New Writing/Sketch Books

Something I've always found some peace of mind in, is art...and challenging myself to do things that are different, risking the 'ruin of a painting' in order to discover something Newer on the surface.
This book started out quite different, with the outline of a face, looking from behind rusted lines.
I had sprayed some protective spray on the surface of what I had done, and wanted to touch up one more thing, so I placed the small canvas I use to create some texture, onto the book...
forgetting for a moment that there was a light spray still drying.
So the small canvas stuck like it was attached to Super Glue...when it finally released itself from the cover, there were small tears and little rips, and to tell you the truth, I LIKED how it looked....
I let the book sit a few days before attempting anything else, then finally I ripped up some canvas into strips and squares and planted them square on the book,
molding them together to give the whole front cover of the book, a more rugged style look.
When I finish any painting, I look at it and ask myself
IF I WERE in some small cafe, or a book store and saw this...would I buy it?
If the answer is no, the book gets either revamped or tossed aside. If I say yes, well...then you see this!
I have a shop on ETSY.COM under the name Suzen JueL...Title of this Blog will have a link to it..
I put a lot of my spare time into creating...
or more like it finds me and takes hold of me to do something....
and whatever comes out, is the gift....and like I just mentioned....sometimes I like it, sometimes I do not, sometimes I would buy it (and don't even want to sell it) and sometimes I think..DEAR GAWD WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!
I hope you enjoy the different flavors, textures and tones of this work, as I do.
Much Peace!
Now go check out the site, and peek around at all the other artists on it as well!

Universal Filters

I am convinced everything we say and do, somehow gets picked up, kind of like a filter online, that picks up just certain words and filters them through the right channels. For example:
I am in a cafe, reading a magazine, and notice a picture of a beautiful reddish gold sunset with two people drinking a specific brand of beer. For some reason the colors fit the Brand Name perfectly and it stoond out to me.
I close the magazine, leave the coffee shop thinking nothing of the magazine picture I saw, thinking nothing of even remembering it. I saw it, I liked it, I forgot about it.
Within a few hours, I am in a liqueur store, to pick up a six pack of Blueberry Lager, my favorite beer, and there is a coupon on the floor, that either fell from someones pocket, or from the bottle itself, of the beer I had seen in the magazine.

Last night, I was looking through a box of books my mom had brought over, books she's borrowed over the years, or ones she thinks I'll enjoy.
Herbal Books, my mom and I share all sorts of great herbal remedies (it's that Indian in our blood *Native American*) so we exchange those books, and various other books...But way on the bottom, I see "LEARN FRENCH" it is my 2nd year french book from High School. I couldn't believe she even had this book, this was .. well, MANY years ago.
Today, I click on a link of someone who is following me in 'Twitter"...the link brings me directly to a website geared towards something I was 'noticing'..."Learn French"... Now things like this happen A LOT, not just once in a blue moon. Something that I take notice to, or pay particular attention to, something I might talk about that I display a passing interest in, will appear again shortly after the initial thought, presenting itself again to me, as if to say "Hey....-ahem-...over here...LOOK!..i heard you were talking about french in your MIND!" it's as if there is a giant FILTER in the Universe, that filters out specific Observations and Words, Pictures and things you 'take notice too' even if you never give them a 2nd thought...the "Filter" catches it and presents you soon after, with opportunity.
I'm not going to pay to learn french again, but I will be studying it again. I won't be writing a book anytime soon, but I'm being presented with little opportunities to 'go in that direction'. It's that saying You think it, it will start to happen.
For the past few years, I've been heavily practicing the "Groove and Vibration" that what I begin to do, will begin to happen, and what I "vibe out'' into the Universe, will Attract to me, what I'm looking for.
I'm sure many of you have heard of the "Law of Attraction"...seems a fairly new concept, considering it's been around since time began.
Seems quite Logical, at least to me.
How the hell would most people get what they want in life, if the "Law of Attraction" wasn't true. You want a job, part time, in town.....eventually you find one, part time, in town...and it's not always EXACTLY what you asked for, but it's almost Unbelievable how Close it is to what you asked for, if not perfect!" Opportunities ALWAYS present themselves.
They don't always happen Exactly like you expect, sometimes there are Big Lessons buried in that awesome thing you wanted. But you always get it...in some form.
Perhaps you ask for a particular car, a certain model, a certain color, year etc......and maybe 3 months later, you get this car, a year older than you wanted, a slightly diff color, but you get it....it's not just that you got a CAR, it's that you got soo Close if not Right on, what you asked for.
It happens with friends, it happens with the lovers that pass through our lives, the friendships that come and go, the people we simply run into for a 1 min passing conversation, someone we see in a Social Networking group, a phrase someone writes, a painting we are attracted to, a song we relate too......it happens Every day, every second.

There are no accidents in life.
Everything has it's purpose, no matter how short lived, it was all for a reason. And I still believe somehow our thoughts, get 'filtered' and put through this 'web' in life, trickling down and sideways all over the Web Like Universe...and comes back to present itself somehow...letting you know, the Universe is listening to you...and that, well...it's pretty powerful, isn't it!

LaugH

the above photo .. I've always called her my niece, since she is about the age of most my nephews and nieces, but this is um.....
well, my Grandaughter and she is amazing! I guess it's worth it to kiss kids with colds!

OoOo Here it comes, the Holiday season has come upon all of us, in one way or another. For me it's Cleaning, and I truly Hate cleaning, and as I got on my hands and knees to spread that Murpheys Oil on the hardwood, BOY COULD I TELL I HATE CLEANING, it's been awhile.
I do the regular sweeup up the stuff, maybe spot clean a few spills from time to time, it LOOKS clean, but it's not....cuz underneath the stove, yeah....don't wanna go there, but did.
I washed all the hardwood, steam cleaned WHITE carpet...now this was a bad idea in the first place...I have 4 stepson, and when we moved into this house we were given the choice of All hardwood, All carpet or a mix...so we chose to have Hardwood in Living Room, Dining Room and Kitchen, but the steps and hallway among the other rooms upstairs have carpet, white carpet...with 7 years of footsteps on them from 4 boys (3 have since moved out)...a dog, 3 ferrets and then of course, Other Peoples little two legged Nightmares.
So the Point was to get as MUCH clean as possible, PLUS finish the art projects, get the new ones Started, try to finish the last 'tweeking' of the CD, and then....the next 3 days, it's Bright Smiling Chaos when my whole family comes here for the holidays, this includes my 2 Nephews who are still in the single digits and are the most curious, mind boggling, polite kids I've ever encountered.
It's always a sweeet deal to see my lil guys, and even better, the WHOLE family will be here, and You can not imagine how excited I am to see them, as there is a bond that just gets warmer and stronger each time we are together. Kids make me clean.
Kids are full of germs and it never fails that when I kiss my lil nieces and nephews or my lil grandaughter (no i'm not old enough, but the Universe gave me a beautiful one..how could i refuse?) I get the 24 hour cold, or worse, the one that lasts 7-10 days, and I HATE colds MORE than I hate cleaning.
I have been through the house several times with those great Clorox Disinfectants wiping the light switches, handles of the doors, the railing's for the stairs, every keyboard, mouse and desk, all handles on cupboards, the toilet handle, faucet handles....Oo yeah, I make sure no germs have a moments chance, because being sick means my voice goes to the Monkeys, and since that's my 'career' for the most part, I can't let that happen if at all possible...
Plus I'm a big baby when I get sick, yep, I'm one of those "I want my Mama here to make me chicken soup, and my daddy to buy me 'teen magazines and ice cream"...yeah when I was a kid, that made being sick...tolerable...So now I'm always wanting magazines (Psychology today is my fav...kinda outgrew the teen ones decades ago, haaa)
and 'treats'.
Ok so back to the Origin of this all.....
Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and my house is impossible to make spotless,
But I finished with the help of my awesome 15 yr old and his dad, the amazing dude I married....Now Today, I can almost relax...almost....I look around and see Painted Boxes all over my Living Room Coffee Table, and canvas's painted in various colors piled up against the window...I am an artist, my house shows it... And since all the colors I have used, it all actually Looks Pretty Good in the Living Room...
But I'll have to move them, into the Studio, which is like a small cluttered art gallery/ recording studio...
Various songbooks I've filled up over the decades, CASSETTE TAPES from way way back, Feathers from birds, dead sunflowers, bottles of various roots, oils and balls of hemp string fill up every space.
My art experiments fill the wall, hanging at diff angles, some on canvas, some on paper....This is where i STORE things haaaaa! And this is also where I work...my music, the 'set up' for broadcasting...it's a small space, but a very ambient and warm space and my lil nephews Love to come in here and talk in the mic or bang on the 'OTHER guitar' since I don't let them bang on the blue one too much,
Unless I"m holding onto them AND the guitar, haaa.
Am I ready? nope.
Am I in desperate need to see my family? yes.
Will they judge me on how clean my house is? nope.
Will they come here and have unforgettable memories? absolutely, no doubt, Yes! I guess the one thing important in all this.....Messy is fine, dirty is not.
(unless you're a dirty pirate W!)
Another Important thing...aren't we stressed enough in our lives, than to worry more about a spotless house then how wonderful it will be to be surrounded by what we love, or who we love.
It's all about R E L A X I N G! So do me one BIG favor?
Take 2 Deep Breathes, close your eyes, and no matter what.....relax.
For those spending the Holiday alone, be sure to enjoy every single thing you do for yourself.
For those Traveling, be safe, and use a hands free device, only idiots talk on their cell without one...The majority of all accidents happen because someone is distracted and thinks the same idiotic thing every time...."Ooo I'm ok, I can drive and talk at the same time on my cell'.... All I can say is Fool.
If you can afford a cell and a car, you can get a handsfree device, so do it.
And HERE IS THE BIG BIG BIG ONE L A U G H. . .
it relaxes us it destresses us it raises our spirits it heals :)

Painted Gift Boxes-Part 1 finis!

CLick the Title of this to see individual gift boxes-pricing

I have been quite busy lately to get these done Before the Holidays, and WOO I did it! Each of these boxes *Gift Boxes* is hand painted in deep, rich colors. Some of the boxes are painted on the inside as well and/or bottoms. Not all are painted inside. You can contact me for details. Clicking on the TITLE of this Will bring you to the site where you can see each box individually.
Colors may vary slightly.
7 x 7 x 3 inches, each box. Now that the holidays are here, you can use them to give your gifts, put your cookies in for the holidays, CD's, Teas, small coffee mugs fit in here, or little bags of coffee beans. Pretty Much anything, your dead hamster, small handguns, or make up! (gotta add my sense of humor, heh). I wish you all a Great Holiday, and I do hope to be mailing these out soon! Just give me your 'bid Price' and remember, there is only One of Each!
THANK YOU
-Suzen JueL

OooO the THINGS i Write about But Never Post....

...

Horton Hears a Who-One Laptop Holds a World

Virtual Cafe at FoxyFlwr's place, one of the Great Pioneer Musicians of Second Life...has taken a bit of a 'vacation' while exploring her world...was hanging out with her at her "Cafe"...I was momentarily fixated on the coffee cup on the table, near the laptop, just because it made me 'feel' that same feeling I would experience had I been at the Local Wi-Fi Cafe here where I live, those little details are what really make the Virtual Experience something that from time to time, I can lose myself in.
Most of us have had the experience of being in a cafe, with people at various tables, laptops propped up, their favorite hot beverage near them, pondering...thinking. Thing is...I used to walk in Cafe's in Minneapolis, or any other city, and see people engaged in chess games, poetry, long conversations about politics, or music, poetry or the local town gossip. Now I look around and see people quietly sitting, engaged in deep thoughts as they look lovingly at their laptops.
However in Second Life (tm) it's a rare site, to see anyone engaged heavily with a virtual laptop, in a virtual cafe, although it's happned, it's rare and it's usually for the Visual of the 3D Experience they are immersing themselves in.
In Second life, we are already Immersed in our laptops/pc/mac...and experience the virtual world thru our 'device of choice'...why would we need to go back into a Virtual Laptop....it would be like standing in the mirror, with another mirror facing that mirror and seeing the Long hallway of endless identical images.
Fun as an experiment, leading no w here.
We ARE immersed in Second Life, engaged in Conversations via Voice Chat, or of course the good old fashioned Text Chats and group chats.
We are surrouned with Virtual Avatars, each one respresenting someone, somewhere else in the world. Long distance, real time conversations with friends from the UK, from Australia, from South of my Mid Western town, to North...Global.
Each avatar representing a different perception on the experience, new shared information on culture, engaging conversations about Politics, while we grab our virtual latte's and carry on lengthy conversations about topics of interest, share ideas, and for us Artists and Indie Musicians we are collaborating on a Global Scale of ideas, and even performing together, from opposite ends of the world.
yeah...the Real Life Cafe's seem to have the lonely feel of quietness, a dozen people in one room, all engaged to a Laptop...but, perhaps they are engaged in a whole world, immersing themselves in multiple conversations with people in places they'll never go, reaching out, networking.
remember the movie by Dr Suess? Horton hears a who?
one little flower at the end of the Elephants trunk
encasing an entire universe.
one little laptop
holds the world.

Burns

B U R N S
11 8 2008

It's sickness like a rock, sinking painted black
it turns like molten lava
it thickens as it turns
expanding into more sickness...
and they wonder what it's about
and they don't understand what that feels like
shove it all down
swallow it with something sweet
the cold ale of darkened crimson
the kind one would find beneath bare feet in the forest
where something bled
and something died.

It's sickness that burns
and the lining of my instinct
and the edges of my intuition saturate themselves in it
and I can 't get rid of it
it blurs the lines of what is and what was and what comes
it's perception with a cracked lens
it's depth where there is no bottom.
Because of it
the walls are closer than I had thought
doors are further than my hand reaches
windows are higher up above my eyes
and I can't get out into the world
because my eyes won't reach the wooden pane of the glass.
Without it, I might be free.

Quote from Michael on myspace.com/7juel in comments

"Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them.
But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things.
They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. "