Honored Elders Day - 2007

Early in the morning just after setting up

'Big Head' Dancers performing for the elders of the Indian community

The Women dancers

Hurrah! It's all over; made it through another year to Honored Elder's Day at the California State Indian Museum. It was fun, but geeze, it was hot out. Due to a couple of LARGE and showy ads in the local papers, 'everyone and their Mama' (as I heard one of the kids say) showed up to enjoy the dance groups and the essential two effs - food and fun.

I showed up early this morning to help with passes for the cars of those who brought the elders to the event and so I could help get onto the tables the centerpieces I've be whining about all week. I'd been frantic, thinking the feathers would look like crap but actually, once I got the poofy feather stuff around the base of the feathers, they actually looked all right.


Tah Dah!

All in all I was satified.

Must mention, I standing in the back yard of the museum earlier today, after setting up and THUMP! I was hit on the head hard. I rubbed the sore spot on my head while frantically looked around to see who thought thumping me was a good idea. Then I looked up. I was under the huge oak tree and realized an acorn had landed my noggin. It seems Earth Mother was sending me a message, which I think was for me to get over myself.

I mean, yes, I made the feather thingie and the placemats. But someone else donated the giant abalone shells and someone else donated bundles of white sage, and Ranger Connie brought in a big jar of acorns and I guess in the end it wasn't all about me.

Yes Earth Mother, your message was loud and clear. Thank you; I needed that.

One Honored Elder's Day Coming Right Up!

I am back from Minnesota.

I should be liberally deluging this site with photos and tales. but nope. Instead I am frantically getting centerpieces ready for this year's Honored Elder's Day at the State Indian Museum.

Yes, I was equally frantic pre-vacation and did not get the centerpieces completed before I left. Well, heck, I only had a six month warning, and me being the Queen Mother of Procrastination...
At first I planned adorable little paper mache grinding rocks & stones, sprayed with faux stone paint, surrounded by beautiful silk oak leaves, genuine acorns and even some ground acorn meal in the bowl of each grinding stone. Lovely thought, right?

It dawned on me eventually it would take me longer than a day or two to construct 20 paper mache grinding rocks and my later idea of spray painting store bought styrofoam', was equally down the loo. Have you any more idea than I had how much crafts stores charge for the stuff we routinely toss away whenever we buy appliances?

Honestly, from now on I'm going to think of styrofoam as poofy-gold. And the bit about silken faux oak leaves? HELLO! Stores do not carry faux oak leaves just because I thought of the idea.

GAK! New idea necessary, ASAP.

So I thought, how's about a 3-D representation of the State Indian Museum's emblem: three eagle feathers? How simple! How elegant! how creative! How simple is that?

I raced to a craft store. Discovery; faux eagle feathers were priced like - you guessed it - avian gold. Resorted to purchasing snowy white turkey feathers which I figured I could paint with black tips. So, here I am, in possession of a b'jillion black tipped turkey feathers that... leave black dye on your fingertips. DUGH!

Woe is me.

Lovely vacation photos will damned well just have to wait until after Saturday. If I don't take up a hand full of feathers and try giving myself a flying lesson off the roof.

Feathers!

They Come in Threes

Afterwork last night I saw the final performance of Oklahoma! at the high school, which featured 18 year old Diego's last performance before graduating. He'll be going to San Francisco University in the fall. Diego knocked everyone's socks off with his surly, slightly mental portrayal of the loner, love struck field hand, Jud. Diego's Aunt Julie is a professional actress in Monterey so perhaps that is where this font of acting talent comes from, or more likely the kid just has 'it'. I am sure the next time I see him on stage the cost will be more than $6 and I'll have to travel farther than to a local Sacramento high school.

Now speaking of plays, I totally freaked today. My friend Cornetta and I hold season tickets to the Davis Musical Theater Company. The first two plays we saw & had a ball. When the third play, Oliver, came around, Cornetta did not attend because of the untimely death of a very dear friend of hers. The following play was Camelot, and then it was my turn lose a friend when Irmgard passed away.

So tonight is the next to the next-to-the-last play of the Davis series, Annie Get Your Gun. This afternoon I got a phone call because tonight's performance of Annie Get Your Gun and tomorrow night's performance are canceled. Why? The lead actress of Annie Oakley herself is unavailable; her mother died.

Yikes!

I'm always saying how deaths come in threes and though my science loving, intelligent design rejecting, heathen heart loves to say there ARE no patterns to death, only coincidences, this 3-in-a-row thing really freaks me out.