Road Trip 2007 - Intro

We have returned from Road Trip 2007 and it was a very long road! I can't believe how much we did and saw in 8 days. We logged 1,875 miles from beginning to end.

Its kind of a strange thing that I love Road Trips, but I hate to ride in cars. I always like to sit in the back seat and do things to take my mind off the traveling - listen to my ipod, do cross-stitch, read a book, play my PSP, etc. But I love the planning and I love the thought of seeing the country!

I've been on a lot of road trips - the first major one I can recall was my Mom and Dad taking me and my younger sister to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Huntsville, AL. My Dad was driving our new (used) 1966 gold chevy with the black vinyl top.



We weren't too far out of Chicago when the a/c conked out. The real crime about that happening was that this was our very FIRST car that had a/c. So it was a huge excitement to have this cool and comfortable ride to look forward to. But it just wasn't to be.

Anyway, the road trip that year (1970, I believe) took us through Carbondale, IL to visit our brother at SIU, then on through the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee where we visited Lookout Mountain and Rock City.


I recall being so very impressed with Rock City, that I brought my kids back there many years later.

We did make it to Huntsville and had a nice visit with the relatives before the long trek back home.

Many of my other Road Trips have run together in my head -- I know I took a wonderful Road Trip to the East Coast once upon a time in the early 80's. Traveling through Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island...maybe more - I just can't remember!

Then there was the Road Trip with the destination of Virginia Beach in 1987. We visited Williamsburg and Chincoteague, where we saw the stuffed "Misty" - those who are book readers will know what I'm talking about. And then on the way home visited those same relatives of the 1970 Road Trip, only this time in Kentucky.

I loved the Road Trip of 2002. It was kind of a cheating Road Trip because we flew part of the way, but really....driving to California was not an option. We started in San Francisco, drove over to Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevadas, down through the Garlic Capital of the world - Gilroy -, to the Hearst Castle in San Simeon (wait a minute -- not sure if we did that on this particular trip or not!), but I know we did visit the Winchester House in San Jose; Monterey, Carmel, then on to Los Angeles before flying home. And yes, we traveled the great Highway 1 along Big Sur.

The reason this one is not totally clear is because its kind of like the Road Trip of 1998 (with my sisters and Mom) in that we flew to California and drove from there. I know we did many of the same things as the Road Trip of 2002, but in an all-girl kind of way instead of a family type thing. Just a different experience.

And back in 1992, like I was talking about above -- took our little kids (they were 5, 4 and 6 months old) to the same relatives' anniversary party in Kentucky and from there went down to Rock City and Lookout Mountain.

I know I did several Road Trips to Florida, both married and single. With kids, without. On one of the Florida Road Trips, the kids counted every Waffle House restaurant along the way and I wish I recalled the count. Its kind of funny that our brown Astro van's air conditioning broke down shortly out of Chicago on that trip..... It was fun anyway, and in addition to Disney we drove over to the coast and spent some days on the beach at Indialantic. Of course, on the way down we stopped at Rock City and Lookout Mountain because we had one more child by then who had never been there!

I kind of doubt that I have mentioned all the Road Trips I've taken. There have been many many short ones, that's for sure. But I'm not sure that weekend trips would count as Road Trips, no - not really.

So, this is the intro to the Road Trip Saga. I'll start posting photos and the story, day to day, of our great Road Trip 2007 in the upcoming days or weeks, depending on my enthusiasm!

Now I'm A Parrothead

I took a short hop to the islands on Saturday night. From the minute I sat down to a cheeseburger (in paradise) and a cool Corona at my sister and her husband's pre-Buffett party - I was on my way to the tropics.

It took awhile to get there (First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre) only because there were people coming from not only the Chicago area but many surrounding states and the traffic was being re-routed all over the place - but upon entering the parking lot a whole new world opened up.

Parrotheads to the left, Parrotheads to the right.

The most enormous tailgate party I have ever encountered. Cars decorated with shark fins, entire tiki bar set-ups, guys in grass skirts with coconut bras, and all kinds of parrots! What a crowd!

The concert was absolutely amazing -- we had lawn seats which I think were much nicer than sitting under the canopy in chairs. Thankfully, the weather was very cooperative, but I have a feeling it probably wouldn't have mattered much to most of the soused crowd if a blizzard had been going on.



The stage was set up to resemble the Bama Breeze, a beachside bar, with the aqua blue ocean behind it and a tropical sky which changed colors through the show. Jimmy entered the stage on a bicycle, barefoot and in shorts and t-shirt. The whole show was laid back and key wasted - just the best description I can come up with.

Even if you're not a die-hard Buffett fan, you can't help but have a blast at his concert. And if you are a Buffett fan or even if you just love the ocean - as soon as you begin that long trek back to the parking lot, you will be counting the days till Jimmy's next show!




The Daily Southtown has a review of Saturday's show at the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre: "Buffett & Co. deliver again"

A big part of a Buffett concert is always the atmosphere, from the gaudy outfits of the fans to the sound of the steel drums and pedal steel guitar to the comely backup singers to the free-flowing libations. But the bare-footed beach bum and his band of cohorts Saturday once again showed that if you strip away all the accoutrements you still have the music. And Saturday, as always, it was like a good tropical drink: cool and satisfying.

"Haily/Katey"

I wanted to share my latest doll creation. This doll is from a kit by Wendy Dickison called "Haily". The kit comes in five pieces - a head, two arms and two legs - no hair, no paint! It is in vinyl, deep pink in color. I renamed this doll, "Katey" after I had finished.


Below is a photo that shows the hair somewhat. The "hair" that I use is pure mohair which is purchased in locks. I separate the locks into individual strands which are then rooted into the doll's head using a very fine needle which grabs only one or two hairs per insertion. Since you can see that Katey has a lot of hair, you can imagine how long this process took. Not to mention how many needles are broken in the process. But in the end, it actually looks as though this hair is growing right out of the scalp!

My earlier dolls mostly had wigs, but the more recent ones were hand-rooted. Like Katey.


Backing up, I usually do all the painting first. On this doll, the original vinyl color was rather deep pink. I wanted a paler look so after doing a light green wash to neutralize the pinky color, I simply gave the skin mottling by using a combination of very pale pink and white paints. I always add touches of pale blue here and there for shadowing and depth. In real babies you can usually see these blue undertones if you look carefully.

The fingernails and toenails are painted in a rose color and tipped in white before being sealed with a satin varnish. The lips are painted in the same color and also sealed with satin varnish.

Eyebrows are painted, but eyelashes are rooted in a slightly lighter color than the hair on the doll's head.

The head and limbs are then all weighted, the ends are sealed and then attached to the cloth body - which is also weighted and stuffed with a combination of poly beads and fluffy polyester.

And then you have -- a baby! I have already had offers for this doll, but I was very lucky to obtain another kit by the same artist and I will most likely create a twin brother for Katey. At that point I may sell them together...or who knows - maybe these will be the ones that I keep for myself!

A Bunch of Buttercups

I confess - I love babies! From the little toes to the button nose, I find them irresistible. In fact, I think that if babies could stay babies forever -- well, we probably wouldn't get any sleep. But anyway, I thought I'd share some photos of babies that have been at my house:


















These are just a few. The truth is, that there has been over 100 of these babies in my house and the surprise is that I made them all! Amazing!

I have to be honest though, I am not superwoman - these 'babies' are all dolls and my business is Buttercup Babies Nursery. Now, I didn't actually sculpt these dolls or mold the plastic. The dolls are all play dolls - basic vinyl 'dollies'. The process of making a plastic doll like this:


Into a 'baby' that looks like this:


is a long and tedious process, but I find it to be a rewarding and challenging hobby.

For two years, I sold my dolls on Ebay. My first doll sold for $238. My highest doll sold for $1,875. I produced one doll a week during that period of time. And I became one of the best known and 'in demand' reborners on Ebay; 'reborner' being the term for someone who transforms a doll into a work of art.

After a couple of years of this, the demand for these dolls, in general, began to slow down. Just like the Beanie Baby phenomenon, the fad was losing momentum.

But there are still a lot of doll collectors out there who well recall Buttercup Babies. On occasion I will pick up a plastic doll that appeals to me and enjoy bringing it to 'life' as they say in the business. Or someone will send me an email asking me to work on a doll for her, maybe to try to make a doll that resembles one of her children or grandchildren as a baby. And I love to do it!

So, enjoy the photos of my Buttercups. All of these babies have been 'adopted' (again, business talk!). But, there will be more to come.

If you are interested in seeing a photo show of more of my Buttercup Babies, click on this link:

photoshow.comcast.net/grayhenry

and on the right side, click on the Buttercup Babies gallery. Enjoy! Let me know if you like my creations.....

The Story of Lily/William

When William was Lily:

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William loves to oversee and is very regal about it.



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William is one brave kitty. Here he is not only enjoying the dogs' bed, but he is claiming all their favorite bones for himself although he doesn't even like bones:


Well, almost there. Only two more pets to write essays about.

William's arrival is really the most complicated and strange story of all of them, however.

He was my Mother's Day gift of 2005. I really wanted a siamese kitten for the longest time. When we lost Henry (ooops, another pet story coming later), I just kept thinking about it even more.

I started out by checking classified ads in the paper, then breeders (ouch big $$$), and finally resorted to calling pet shops. I know -- this is SO politically incorrect. And it will become even more evident as this tale unfolds just why we are all advised to NOT adopt from a pet shop.

Well, I did manage to find a pet shop that had a litter of Siamese kittens and the price was $400 per kitty which really was a bargain. Yes, compared to the prices I had seen.

So I went directly there and told the young employee that I wanted a *female* Siamese kitten. She plucked two of them out of the cage and told me to choose. After some thought, but not much because they really looked identical, I picked one and charged her on my credit card.

According to the 'rules' of the pet shop, in order for the pet to be guaranteed, it had to have an exam by the veterinarian that the pet shop chose, so in a few days I took Lily, my little kitten, for her initial exam. She was pronounced healthy and adorable and all was good.

Until, I took her for her first shots to my own vet. Dr. Roy picked her up and said, "There is a problem." What?! My perfect little kitty had a problem? And he further explained, "Lily is a BOY!"

Oh no! I did NOT want a boy kitty. I've had boy kitties before. Both Reuben and Henry both suffered from FUS (feline urinary syndrome) which causes blockages and all kinds of bad things and is more prevalent in male cats. After losing two male cats to this, I was positive I did not want any more boy kitties. And here I was, already in love with Lily, and Lily had turned into a BOY.

I knew I didn't want to return her/him to the pet shop hell. But now I was pretty angry. So I called the pet shop and spoke to the owner who had the personality of a turnip.

I explained the problem and asked how in the world could his employee have told me that a male kitty was a female? He laughed and said, 'well nobody's perfect' and pretty much said - too bad for you!

Now I was no longer just hissing, but my claws were out also.

I called my credit card company and they asked if the pet shop owner had offered to take the kitty back. WHAT? Obviously, not a pet owner. You don't have an adorable kitten for two weeks who now sleeps on the back of your neck, purrs when you pick it up, and comes running when you say "Lily, Lily!" - and just bring it back to pet shop hell to sleep in a wire cage.

So, I said no he didn't. The pet hater then said I should call him and ask him to take the kitten back and ask for a refund or to exchange him for a female kitten.

I thanked her for the excellent advice, hung up, and called back in the hope of speaking to someone else who actually owned a pet. And I got lucky the second time. The next person was horrified and thought that there was no way that I should tear the purring kitty from my son's grasp and bring her/him back to the wicked pet shop owner. She said she would immediately apply a dispute to the charge and send me a form to fill out.

The rest was simple. I filled out the form, said that I had paid for a female Siamese kitten, took it for its initial exam by the vet that was chosen by the pet shop who did not even diagnose her maleness, and that in the end I was stuck with a male kitten who would, in my mind, end up sickly and dead by age 3.

And the charge was reversed.

Lily became William. He is happy, healthy, feisty, believes he is a dog, and loves to jump on my shoulders from behind. Otherwise, I like him. The rest of the family - well, I'm not sure. He can become violent unexpectedly, especially if you touch the back of his particular chair in the kitchen. That really bothers him.

His favorite game, other than playing wrestling with Teddy the dog, is hide & seek. I will go up the stairs and hide behind a door, or in the bathroom right off the hallway, or sometimes in the bedroom. He will then go running up and look for me. Then I jump out at him and he jumps back. At this point, it is his turn to hide. He usually hides behind the shower curtain, between the tub and the curtain, and neglects to hide his tail. I don't think he realizes that hiding in the same place makes the game less than challenging for me.

In the end, I have to admit that I'm pretty happy I have William. And the price wasn't bad either.

We Miss You, Dixie!

When we were dogless, it was a difficult decision to make that leap. But we sure made the right choice getting our feet wet with Dixie Belle.

I wanted a shetland sheepdog because I've always felt that the breed is just gorgeous. I love collies, too, but they are just so big - I'm a small dog person.

First, I visited the local animal shelter and they had a nice sable sheltie, but unfortunately he was on 'hold' whatever that means. The pound said that if the people who were 'holding' him didn't come back by the next week, I would be next in line. But, fortunately for us, they did come back.

And I say fortunately because if we had adopted that sheltie, we wouldn't have gotten Dixie!

I contacted a Sheltie Rescue organization (http://www.illinoissheltierescue.com/) and filled out their application and passed the interview. The following day, I received a call from one of the directors. She told me that she personally knew a woman who had two shelties that she wanted to give away to good homes. These dogs were not going through the rescue. The woman who was giving them up just wanted to know that they would be going to a good home and for some reason, the director of the rescue thought of me. She asked if I would meet this woman halfway from her home in Peoria and take one of the dogs, sight unseen.

Hmmm......when someone is giving away a dog, there is always that worry -- why would someone give away a perfect pet? In this case, the woman had a baby and felt that it was too much to have two shelties along with the baby. It was either the dogs or the baby and I said no to the baby.

We took a chance and said OK - we would adopt Dixie!

I was nervous driving to meet her. It was about an hour drive and I worried about how the dog would fare in the car for such a long trip. We were getting a travel crate along with Dixie so I knew she could ride in that and her owner assured me that she was good in the car. And she sure was - she rode home in that crate without a peep.

I was a tiny bit disappointed that Dixie turned out to be a tri-color sheltie. I had fallen in love with the sable (brown/white like Lassie) at the pound. But I soon forgot all that because Dixie turned out to be the most laid back, gentle, and obedient dog ever.

She had already gone through obedience training and was close to receiving the "Good Canine Citizen" award. So she didn't jump on people or act like a crazy dog. I want to get her bad points out of the way right off the bat and yes, she did have a couple.

First of all - garbage raiding -- she had dragged the entire contents of the kitchen trash across the entire kitchen on more than one occasion.

Second, she loved to bark bark bark.

Third, she insisted on herding people which would freak them out because she would follow along behind people and snap at their feet. Never biting them, just kind of butting.

Now that we're done with the bad stuff....let me just say that Dixie Belle was a beautiful dog, maybe a bit large for a sheltie, but lovely just the same. She had a gorgeous shiny black coat with brown and white trim and a white blaze on her nose. She loved to walk on a leash and never pulled and tugged. If she got out of the yard accidentally, she would just walk around to the front and sit on the porch.

Dixie was almost four years old when we adopted her and we had her for 7 years. She was just short of her 11th birthday when she died last summer. It was a very sad day for all of us.

We miss Dixie Belle and I don't think I'll ever have another dog as pretty as she.

What is Tuscan and how did we do without it until now?

Before I go off on my rant, let me just say that I really have a problem with trendy stuff. I also hate the term, 'upscale'. Just so you know where I'm coming from.

That being said, yesterday morning I was going to White Hen for coffee. Plastered on the front window was a huge sign advertising their new and wonderful TUSCAN vegetable soup. I was kind of admiring the look of the soup, it did look delicious, but my happy thoughts suffered from whiplash as I did a mental double take and re-read TUSCAN in the description.

WHY does everything have to be Tuscan suddenly? Is it because of that movie? As far as I know, Tuscany is what this Tuscan thing is based on. Tuscany, I learned, is part of Italy. I think its been there for a very very long time. Probably longer than the United States.

But I'd say its just in the past year or so that I've been seeing TUSCAN everything, including White Hen soup.

So, I did a Google search just to see how widespread this buzz word has become. I found that there is now Tuscan home decor, Tuscan cooking, the Best Western Tuscan Inn in California, Tuscan flatbread, Tuscan Hall conference center in Texas, Tuscan whole milk available at Amazon. com, Tuscan Lakes (an 870 acre planned community), AND a Tuscan Siamese cat breedery. How can all of these diverse things be described by one common word: Tuscan?

Why does everyone want Tuscan things, all of a sudden? What is the attraction here? It isn't a particularly lovely word; nor does it roll off the tongue melodically like cochlea or march importantly like Rastafarian. Just why would you need your soup to be Tuscan or your cat either for that matter?

I need to get off this rant immediately before someone gets offended. Most likely, someone somewhere has just named their new baby Tuscan Marie or Tuscan Elliott and you know how irritated people can get if you criticize their kid. Before I quit, though, I'm offering you this lovely Tuscan Rose so you can contemplate its similarity to a gallon of milk.


(yes, it really is called a "Tuscan Rose")