Well, Folks, another decade has gone by as time creeps and edges toward who knows where.  I guess you can mark this time as an opportunity for new beginnings or cleaning the nest and its surroundings.  This year I really wish to get the Chapel of Jimmy Ray up and running.  That is my goal out here at Casa de Las Ranas…so here we go…so many ideas are in the mix…I guess I really have to focus and get organized…that would be a new beginning.  So this week we will break ground for the compost toilet down near the Chapel Site…I will keep you posted and hope to have it finished by March…so cross my heart and hope to Live…it is going to happen…I am curious of the outcome but I know it will be groovy….

…it is that time of year again.  The Holidays.  All my life I have greeted this time with a mixed bag of emotions.  I have so many memories both good and bad, but I am blessed to have these memories.  This is a time to celebrate and celebrate we will.  Richard and I are so fortunate to have this life together.  Our Family of critters along with the friends world wide is absolutely delicious in all forms…Joni Mitchell once sang, "I can drink a case of you", well we are certainly swilling gallons of life….I thank Creation for the Magic of the Mystery…May we all live Mythically and in Depth…May our Freak Flags Fly…May we all be free of Suffering…May we all be at Peace…May we all know our True Nature!

…but am I younger than that now?  This is a photo taken of me in Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam in early June of 1968.  I believe that I had just turned 21.  The photo was taken between assasinations:  MLK and RFK…Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy.  I was one of maybe two people who were drafted into the Navy during the Vietnam era…did I make that up?  I had absolutely no political consciousness at that time in early 1967 but I knew that I did not want to die or kill another.  By the time I got to Vietnam (just a 3 week stay), my soul had been psychedelicized and I was "On the Road" as they used to say back then.  My sister Joanie, sent me this photo yesterday…I was absolutely blown away when I saw this.  We are all so fortunate to be blessed with  this life and all of it's adventures.  This photo chronicles one of my adventures…far long ago a boy went to Vietnam and he got to come home…many were not that lucky….I count my blessings!

…we had a good sale this past weekend.  Made some money….met lots of people…had our picture taken a lot..and was absolutely tired when it was over…today has been a strange day full of bad communication on  both my part and the part of others…we checked to see if Mercury was in Retrograde…but no…so I guess it is time to take a step inside…breath in the good air and just let go and be grateful for what is…just this…a thousand times:  This

…well today is the big day!  The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe…Madre de Los Indios.  Hello, this is Anado McLauchlin reporting from Fireworks Central where scores of indigenous youth are setting the sky ablaze with the sound of celebration and mayhem.  And that pretty much describes Mexico in a nutshell…Celebration and Mayhem!!!!!!!!!  I love it here…it is one glorious mess that continues to amaze me and oftentimes frustrates the shit out of me…excuse me if the image is too scatological…but hey!  It is 6:23am and I feel like I am in a war zone…or at least it sounds like one…Anyhow…gonna put on my britches and go down to our Guadalupe shrine and herald the day…Gracias a La Vida…Gracias a Guadalupe….This is her day!

…we are hard at work getting ready for the 6th Annual Art and Whimsy Holiday Sale which wil be held out here at the house on the 12th and 13th.  I still have lots to do but at the same time we have created lots of stuff…so if anyone is listening…tell the money gods and goddesses to lead the masses out here for our holiday bazaar.  I am heading back downstairs to get more work done…but I did not want all 1.5 readers to miss out on the latest information coming out of our home and studio…the holidays are upon us…remember to breath!