Winter 2024 from Tucson

Happy Valentine's Day
Strange as it may seem, and as in love as I am with life and my hubby, I am not a huge fan of the heart theme that plasters everything from cellophane to cereal. So when I want to express my sense of heart-ness I tend to create my own shapes, mostly free hand. I consider them such an important symbol that, for me to produce any, is a rarity. Here are a very few from those creative moments in hopes of filling your upcoming day with True Love.

Should I sell online again?
I've been hearing from a few of you that this long distance relationship isn't working well for you. As you may know, I sell through several retailers in and around Tucson. This has allowed me to focus more on my artistry than marketing. But it feels like the shift is coming back, where people I am coming to know and those who have purchased from me before are feeling left out on accessibility to my creations. If you don't travel to Arizona, there is currently no chance to purchase my works unless you contact me for a commissioned piece. SPECIAL REQUEST- If you are one of those people who misses browsing my site and discovering uniquely designed gifts for yourself and others then please let me know as I'm considering reopening my online shop at Tina's Sedona with items priced suitably for direct purchase from me. If you have not purchased from my business then I would appreciate you visiting my work to make your decision.

Settling in - at last
I cannot believe that it will be 5 years in May since we left Florida and moved to the Great Southwest. Ups and downs, ins and outs, have -at last- led us to a peaceful, non-nomadic life once again. I know that's true because we have begun to paint interior walls -at last- in colors that reflect who we have become during this phase and in this place. And it is beautiful. Terra cotta and greige stone colored walls are a nice fit for living in the Sonoran Desert. Subdued spring green has been slightly sprinkled in our kitchen adjacent to a wall where we breakfast in the shadow of terracotta sandstone. The bedroom is next! I think that lovely spring green is somehow going to filter into that space. I'm picturing purple and mustard accents making an appearance but I don't know just where. (Dark purple doors sound like fun.) Oh, but to finally have a choice of colors in which to live! This all feels so wonderful, just like the Tucson sunsets. And all of the colors are being drawn from this one piece that Nathan bought locally at an estate sale.

Tucson Gem Show Update
Congratulate me! I stayed home. I beat my addiction this time. 'Nuf said.


A Shameless Promotion
Last month I promised you a story on this but I failed to notice that I don't present to our local textile Guild until February 27th so there is a delay in reporting on my "ta-dah moment" in beads. The least I can do is provide you with a small peek... and "yes" that is tiger eye!

(You really should be following me on Instagram.)

My wish for you...
That you are staying warm and dry wherever you are this winter. It has been so cold in Tucson that I bought myself a new pair of slippers!

Tina

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Moving to another planet at 65

I've moved from Maine to Illinois to Florida to New Jersey and back to Florida in my life time. I was thirty-something the last time. At sixty-five, here are my thoughts about moving...

• A large part of my identity is tied up in this house: steward of the land, hostess with the mostest, chef extraordinaire, hearty parties, welcome wagon, etc., and most recently, artist.
• It's almost like dying, leaving "this life".  Having to say goodbye to people you know you won't see again. Giving away precious possessions you hope will retain some meaning for those who receive them. 
• There are memories encased in the "physical stuff" you have carried since you set up housekeeping after high school graduation.
• Yes, I got a little "homesick" but I was so much less attached to the importance of community. I didn't value friendships the way I do today. We think we have "forever"...
• There were no social media or cell phones for any of my interstate moves so it was much harder to stay in touch. You had to pay by the minute to talk to anyone you knew! Can you imagine?
• How do you make friends and develop community when you drop in unannounced? You can't expect people to know you are coming and welcome you.

This time around...

• I have managed to get blessed with the best partner possible to go with me on this new leg of life.
• The artist in me is going to help me transition to other spaces. I have been known to make jewelry on other road trips.  My jewelry also opens doors with people who admire what I wear.
• Friends are excited and authentically happy for us, telling us that we are brave. No one has dared to tell us that we must be crazy! They are just smiling and wishing us the best.  Some are secretly wishing they could come with us...
• 
  We are literally free to go, mobile, root-less, and unencumbered, for the most part.
• Social media and cell phones exist. Amen!
• We have some old and new friends out West that we can visit when we feel an urge to nest with our past and relax in shared history 
• We have new friends we have never met who waiting for us to visit them north of our initial stop.  Thank you, Facebook.
• It's going to be a fulfilling adventure!

Raccupine Farms

A visiting friend recently made me think of a story that I published in another blog of mine called Raccupine Farms back in 2010.  The post was written a little over a year after being "managed out" of my corporate job when I turned fifty-five.  My spirit was broken and I was burned out from six months of unethical practices of abuse-- albeit normal, I've heard from other survivors-- from my managers. Looking back, I had no business being in that particular corporate structure. I am an empath NOT a barracuda. It had been a painful year and I was still recovering from exhaustion and the trauma of rejection.

Our marriage was twelve years old at that time, neither of us had made it that long in other relationships, and I was feeling introspective on the wonderful transition that began for me when Nathan came into my life and into this house. 

Almost ten years have passed and I will let the piece speak for itself. It gives me joy to revisit it and celebrate how we have come through hard times and still managed to heal each other with our love for one another.

https://raccupinefarms.blogspot.com/2010/08/dirt-composting-and-love.html