New cozy mystery!

I have a new cozy mystery now available on Audible.  This is the first in a new series, The Realtor Mystery Series, from Kathleen Walls and is called The Tenant from Hell.  This was a lot of fun to narrate.

"It's usually just routine for Casey Clark, property manager at Peller Realty. When a tenant refuses to pay rent, just evict and move on. Not so with the tenant from Hell. He draws Casey into murder, drug rings, ghosts, Indians, and a hectic trip to Hell in Georgia.

Her worst problem of having to deal with her psychic cat Dixie not getting along with Casey's pirate boyfriend's parrot changes into scrambling to stay alive. 

Excerpt:

You might think a property manager at a large real estate firm might have a dull job. Let me tell you, it's not. Tenants can be some weird characters and owners not much better. I had a feeling today would not be like any other. I had just gotten off the phone with a slightly hysterical lady who wanted Peller to manage her property.

"Right now," she insisted. "You need to get over here quick before Mike kills him." 

The “kills him” part warned me I should not touch this one. The business side screamed, “Go get it before she calls Sunny Side Realty or one of your other rivals.” 

Naturally, I wanted that 20 percent commission. Actually I only get half of it; my broker, Lisa Lee Loren, claims the other half between her and the company owner, J. M. Peller. 

Among us agents, we thought the J. M. stood for “Jesus” and “Mary” as he played the religious card to the hilt. He was a deacon in his church in Jacksonville, and wanted to give the impression he would never do anything evil. 

He didn’t. He had a hatchet man, Dwight Kickum, who did the dirty work."

To listen to the sample and/or purchase the book, head to Audible here. 

 

Frida at the Dali in the 'Burg!

Duane, Linda, and I had been looking forward to the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Dali Museum in St. Pete as soon as we heard it was coming.  We finally made it over there and we weren't disappointed.  Besides the beautiful print above advertising the event, there was a flower wall that we absolutely loved.  It just seemed so 'Frida' since she was so often seen with flowers adorning her hair.

Full view of flower wall.

We noticed a number of people having their photos taken in front of the flower wall (above).  I'm not big on silk flowers but this was beautiful.  There was a short documentary film you could watch -- it ran about 5 minutes -- that showed black and white footage of Frida walking about and with her husband, Diego Rivera.  There was quite a bit of information about the dreadful accident that nearly took Frida's life.  I'm truly amazed that she survived it.  Here's a pencil sketch she drew while laid up after one of her many surgeries.  This was a recreation of what happened to her.   

Frida's sketch of the accident.

Here's a photograph of Frida with her parents and siblings.  I actually thought that Frida was in the front right.  Duane knew immediately that Frida was on the left wearing the men's suit.  I would never have guessed.

Frida (far left in suit) with her family.

 I thought this particular piece of art by Frida was very 'Dali-esque' and not her usual style.  I really liked it.

Frida's 'Dali-type' work.

Out of all of her works on display, I found myself drawn to this particular self-portrait.  I don't know why since it doesn't illustrate her usual bold colors but I think it was my favorite.

One of Frida's self-portraits. My favorite.

Close-up of a section of the flower wall.

After we finished viewing the exhibit we spent a little time in the Dali gift shop.  Always a nice place to browse and drop a few dollars.  All three of us bought a few things.  I settled for a cool 3-D Frida bookmark.  

Then we headed down Central Avenue to the old downtown section of St. Pete.  We had a terrific and relaxing lunch at the Community Cafe.  We've eaten there before so we knew we already loved the food.  They were preparing for another art exhibit by local artists.  This time the theme is Flower Power.  The cafe is a busy place and they do a lot to showcase area talent.  

Another great day in the 'Burg! 

FIVE BY FIVE Art Event at the Tampa Museum of Art

Last night, George, Linda, Duane, and I attended an art event to benefit the Arts Council of Hillsborough County’s individual artist programs.  This is the fourth year the event has been held but the first time any of us had attended.  George and Duane both donated art.  George sent two of his photographs and Duane donated a painting.  The rules for this event are basically that the art must by 5" x 5" in size and if it's three dimensional, the depth can't be over 5 inches.  There is no entry fee for the artists who donate and each artist may donate up to two pieces.  Each piece of art is priced at $25 and the artist is not known to the buyer until after it's been purchased.  Admittance is free to contributing artists and is $10 per person for everyone else. 

Duane and George -- our two artistes.

Since this was our first year of involvement in this event, we discovered the hard way that you need to get there early -- well before the 8pm opening -- and stand in line for the doors to open.  Because the art was available to view online, I'm sure many people had their hearts set on certain pieces.  I know I did but the place was literally packed by the time we got there -- at almost 9pm.  Duane's son had been there before it opened and he said the line was very long and you could barely get up close to see the art due to a crush of people craning their necks to see what they wanted to purchase.   Because I'm short and a bit claustrophobic in crowds, I'm not sure how I would handle that.  It was still very crowded when we went in despite many of the pieces having been sold.  Have to wait and see next year.

Happily, both of George's photos and Duane's painting sold.  Here are their entries:

UT by George Howlett

   

Wig by George Howlett

 

Gulls over choppy water by Duane K. Reigel

You can't tell from these pics but Duane's painting was a bit three dimensional.  It consisted of drywall with drywall mud, acrylic paint, and seagulls made of blank card catalog card stock.  (She just knew those cards would come in handy someday...)

Duane and I each purchased art, too.  I bought two photographs.  Here they are:

The Old Window by Neil Sperling

Optical Theatre by Stephanie Schulte

Duane's purchase was fairly thick and was described as 'felted eco print.'   Here are two pics to give you an idea of the size and texture:

Flirt of Fall by Barbara Kazanis

Duane holding Flirt of Fall -- a thick piece

We're really looking forward to next year's show.  It's such a great cause and a wonderful opportunity to purchase art at a very low price while benefiting working artists.  I don't know who purchased George's UT pic but I did speak with the woman who bought the Wig picture.  She's a gallery owner in Tampa so we know it's going to a nice place.  I should also mention that entries were welcome from all over the world, not just locally.  I think my favorite part was not knowing who the artist was and just selecting a piece because I liked it.  I tend to purchase art that way, anyway, and we found out after our purchases were made.  There was an alphabetical list of the artists and their locations on the FIVE BY FIVE homepage.  Also, all of the artists in attendance wore special stickers like Duane and George are wearing in the picture above. 

'Til next year!

A Friday Estate Sale and a Womans Club Flea Market

Wedgwood jasper ware.

Linda's mom, Jessie, is visiting from Michigan.  We're always  pleased to see Jessie and she accompanied Linda, Duane, and me on our estate sale excursion yesterday.   We began at an estate sale in the neighboring little town of Lutz.  It was in a retirement community of condos.  Lots of beautiful Wedgwood and some antique furniture along with nice women's clothing and accessories. I own several pieces of Wedgwood blue jasper ware, that I acquired over the years, along with a complete set of the white/cream flowers on blue version of the Queensware china.

More items.

The prices were very fair and I would have been tempted if I didn't already have quite a bit of it.  Jessie purchased a really pretty dish with the queen's initials "ER" made by Wedgwood.  Linda and I had both looked at the same dish so I'm glad that it went home with one of us!  Linda and Jessie were also both lucky in the ladies wear dept.  Jessie bought a shirt and Linda bought a new pair of red leather flats/loafers that were still in the original box and looked like they had never been worn.

Old Lutz School.

After this sale, we headed to the Lutz Womans Club Annual Flea Market held at the historic old Lutz school.  The school house is listed on the register of historic sites and was built in 1927.  It's always fun to attend the Womans Club's flea market -- held inside and on the grounds of the old school.  The flea market began at 8am and we didn't get there until around 11am so we missed a lot but there were still plenty of treasures to be found.  The ladies had the rooms inside the school divided into ladies fashion, housewares and (my favorite room) trinkets & treasures.

 

The trinkets and treasures room.

None of us left this sale empty-handed.  I found a beautiful matte white ceramic bird.  No markings of any kind but I just fell in love with it.  It reminds me of some of the expensive birds available from Design Within Reach (one of my favorite sites!).  I also found several books.  Jessie purchased a beautiful enamel box and a couple of pairs of earrings.  Duane lucked out in her quest for more Delft ware and found an adorable spoon rack.  She may use it to hang some of her necklaces.  She hasn't decided yet.  She also bought some books.  Linda found books and some VHS movies.

After the flea market, we were all ready for a treat so we headed to Panera's and had drinks and goodies and a really nice gabfest.  We'll miss Jessie when she heads back to Michigan on Monday but we're glad she's not going back empty-handed! 

Our finds.

        

A Day in Dunedin

Yesterday, Duane, Linda, and I decided to take the show on the road and visit one of the small pretty little towns that aren't too far from Tampa.  We picked Dunedin since two of us hadn't been there in years and Linda had made only a quick recent visit.  Our friend, Danny, now lives there but this was such a last minute decision that we didn't let him know we were coming.  (We'll catch you next time, Danny!)



You don't have to be of Scottish descent to enjoy the picturesque downtown of Dunedin.  The name Dunedin comes from the Scottish-Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.  (I visited Edinburgh years ago and loved it!)  My family on my paternal grandfather's side came over from Scotland so I enjoy that connected feeling.  The shops are wonderful and everyone is really friendly.  Also, there are great places to eat. We managed to have a morning snack, lunch, and a late afternoon snack at three different places.  Yum. 

We certainly did our share of shopping.  All three of us found baby gifts for people we know.  Linda and I both found small handmade baskets at a shop that specialized in African art.   Many of the shops feature local artists and artisans, though, which I think is terrific. 

One of the places we shopped.

Funny to see these two places on Main Street across from shops.

There's a cool Celtic store in Dunedin where I bought pins for my nephews with our family seal or crest (can't remember which) as stocking stuffers.  I also bought a matted pic of the history of our name (Henderson) along with some information about some of the better known people who carry the name.  I actually have a kilt made from the Henderson plaid that I had made from a shop in Edinburgh.  It doesn't fit through the waist anymore (bye, bye, 24 inches) but maybe one day one of my three nieces might be interested in having it.

Henderson plaid.

We all found some little things for ourselves.  There was a very nice antique mall with a tiny elderly woman who was very friendly.  I found a couple of vintage glass dessert plates.  Duane bought a metal artist's pallet that is used to hold her glasses on her blouse via a magnet (no holes in her blouses) and Linda, besides finding some gifts and a handcarved bowl also found a cute mat for her two cats to have their bowls placed on.  There were actually a lot of pet gifts in various shops, too.  Cute stuff.  Also many of the items for infants and children were made locally. 

It was a really hot day -- in the 90's, as usual in August -- and we were only a couple of blocks from the Gulf but we just wanted to stay in the air conditioning as much as possible.  Our last stop before heading home was this fantastic ice cream shop called Strachan's Homemade Ice Cream and Desserts.   Everything there is made on the premises and we each got a cold treat.  It was really hard to choose so we took a few minutes to make up our minds.  I bought a small box of Strachan's chocolate fudge to take home to George.

Linda, Duane, and I would all recommend spending a day in Dunedin if you're ever in the area.  It's a neat place and if you go in March you can attend the annual Dunedin Highland Games.  We know that we'll be going back at some point.  We still have quite a few small towns that we'd like to visit for a day so stay tuned...

Our purchases.

The Andy Warhol Exhibit at the Salvador Dali museum

Yesterday, Linda, Duane, and I decided that we needed to get on the stick and get over to St. Petersburg to visit the Andy Warhol exhibit before it leaves the Salvador Dali museum.  It was originally supposed to end on April 27th but we got an extension when the museum announced that it would continue through June 1st.  Boo-ya!

I had been to the 'old' Dali museum which was nice but smaller but not to the new and larger one.  Linda had only been to the new one and Duane hadn't been to either so we were raring to go.  Plus, all three of us like Andy Warhol.  The new Dali sits on the bay and is gorgeous.  I took a few pics of the outside and the areas I could look down on from the second floor.  There is no picture-taking allowed in the actual exhibit halls which is understandable.

The Salvador Dali museum -- view from the parking lot.

The helical staircase -- taken from the second floor.

View of the bay from the second floor.

Look up!

We went through the Dali exhibit first then started our Warhol tour with some selfies with Andy.

Linda with Andy.

Duane with Andy.

Me with Andy.

Then the fun really started.  First of all, some of Andy's films were being projected onto walls along with pieces of his art and photos from his childhood that were on display.  My favorite was an almost all-white with off-white collage of the Mona Lisa.  Second fave had to be an iconic Debbie Harry piece from back-in-the-day.  Of course, since Warhol died in 1987, just about everything was from that era, anyway.  Some nice pencil sketches of Mick Jagger, Princess Diana, and Sid Vicious.  Various pieces from the Jackie Kennedy series -- all in blue tones.  I was glad to see that a few of the 'piss' paintings were included, too.  I remember reading that Andy and one of his assistants used to try out different vitamins and supplements in order to change the color of their urine while working on these paintings.

Now the piece de resistance!  A camera was set up so that visitors could have their own 'screen test' made just as Andy did with so many of his subjects -- living and otherwise.  (Remember the long film of the Empire State building?)  You could choose a white or black background -- all three of us went with white -- and adjust the lighting to your taste.  The filming ran for three minutes but the finished projects run slightly longer.  Part of the process involves slo-mo'ing the filming at different points.  I went first and tried to just stare at the camera the whole time.  Let me assure you, three minutes is a LONG time when you're doing that.  Linda went next and then Duane.  Both of them looked over at the other two of us while being filmed and can be seen laughing a few times.  I should have done that but I was afraid if I looked at the two of them, I'd laugh and not be able to stop.  It's interesting the way that black and white throw shadows on the face.

So, without further ado, here we are in our not quite 15 minutes of fame.

Lee Ann's Screen Test. 

Linda's Screen Test.

Duane's Screen Test.

By the way, I was told by a member of the staff of the Dali museum that Dali got mad and walked off during his screen test.  He lasted about 26 seconds.  How 'Dali' like!

Vintage Scarf Art

I had been wanting to fill in a space on a shelf that's very high in our master bathroom.  I have two large ceramic vases that I painted white and then sponged with a turquoise/aqua color paint on each end.  For years I had a large low and wide silk greenery arrangement in the area between them on the shelf.  However, not only was I tired of the silk plant, I hated the idea of cleaning it.  Whenever I want to do anything with whatever happens to be on this shelf, I have to drag the ladder in from the garage.  Even George has to use the ladder because the vaulted ceiling ends around 16 feet from the floor.  So...  I got rid of the greenery but wanted to add something to that big white space.  I thought about a large map of some kind because I've always been into maps and globes. 

The shelf before -- too empty.

Since the colors in the bath are a mixture of white and cream, my go-to colors are blues usually mixed with greens for the shower curtain in some sort of abstract pattern.  A bit of a mid-century look for a bath that's actually contemporary/modern.  I figured an old map would be 1) big enough to make a statement and 2) would probably feature some blue.  I started searching on eBay under maps and found a few that I bookmarked when I began coming across vintage ladies scarves that featured colorful maps of various states.  Apparently they were very popular for women to wear in the 1950's and '60's.  Of course I've seen fabric pieces framed before but it hadn't occurred to me to go this route.  I narrowed my search to scarves of Florida.  I saw quite a few that I liked but when I got to this one, I just knew.  It dates to the 1960's and is in beautiful condition along with terrific colors.  I love all of the aqua with the white background.  It measures 30" by 30" which seemed like the perfect size for a wall hanging.  I bid and I won!

Then I began looking up various ways that people frame scarves and found quite a bit of info.  Everything from double-sided tape (which I used) to pins and staples depending on the value and condition of the scarf.  I ordered a 30" by 30" poster frame with non-glare acrylic and a white foam core backing.  After giving the scarf a light pressing with an iron, I just carefully taped it to the front of the white foam core.  It held beautifully and I was able to slip it into the frame with the acrylic cover. 

The shelf with the framed vintage Florida scarf.

The hard part came next.  I had thought about just leaning it against the wall on the shelf but discovered that was too low and you missed out on too much of the scarf that way.  So... I ended up hanging it on the white painted wood bead board using 3 very long and thick nails although the scarf pic isn't very heavy.  It took a few trips up the ladder to get it straight but I was finally happy with it.  I'm so glad I went this route!  I wish the pictures were better but the lighting in the bath is weird because all of the lights are located over the double sinks.  However, I managed to do everything from frame the scarf to hang it this afternoon and I'm really happy with the results. 

Close-up of my new 'vintage' art.

By the way, just about anyone who grew up in the 'real' Florida prefers pieces that were produced 'before the mouse' or before Disney World.  I didn't really grow up here but my family visited at least once a year because my grandparents lived here.  This is the Florida I like to remember as a kid.

Weekend Art Show

Linda and I went to the Mainsail Art Festival in St. Petersburg on Saturday and it turned out to be perfect weather for it.  It's already gotten pretty warm here but Saturday was overcast and actually cool so it felt great to be outdoors.  This the 38th year of this art show and it's juried with artists from all over the U.S. and Canada participating.  It's held in Vinoy Park across from the Vinoy Hotel and is right on the Gulf.

There were over 200 artists there with every possible type of painting, photographs, ceramics, glass,  and sculpture.  The sculpture was fabulous.  With metal, concrete, ceramic, glass, wire and wood, just to name a few of the materials used.  Deep pockets would have been nice to have while browsing this event.  Linda and I both did buy 2 small items each and we actually bought the same things.  One of the watercolor artists had bookmarks for sale and one of the sculptors who had items made of the most beautiful woods had made some small toothpick holders.  So we didn't leave empty-handed although both of us would have loved to bring home a number of pieces we saw.

There were also many choices of food and drink set up at the show but we decided to walk back down Beach Blvd. and pick out a place to have a leisurely lunch.  We settled on a deli/bakery type shop where they had great sandwiches.  Then we popped into a bakery a little further down and picked up a few items to take home.  Yum.  Since we took a trolley from where we parked to get to the show, we didn't feel too bad about indulging for lunch since we walked back to our car from the show.  I took a few shots of the sailboats and the area near where the street to The Pier is located.  All in all, a really nice way to spend a day.  We wish Duane could have come with us but she had family commitments.  We missed our third! 

Our small purchases.

An overcast day.

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto

I've gotten hooked on the PBS series Market Warriors which features four antique experts (in various fields) and has them compete each week to see who can bring in the most money at auction for items they purchase at flea markets.  The flea markets have varied from city to city but some are well-known -- The Rose Bowl in California, Brimfield in Massachusetts, etc.  So I've been jones-ing to go to a flea market for some time.  There is one in a town near us called Oldsmar that's been around for years.  I have to confess that I hadn't been there in a very long time.  It's been over 20 years.  Linda had never been to it and Duane hadn't been in several years so they were up for it. 

It isn't that far, distance-wise, but it seemed world's away in some ways.  Lots and lots of pick-up trucks in the parking lot which is a big field next to the market.  They have a nice fresh produce and plant market but we were looking for old and used vintage/antique items.  The first thing I noticed when we entered was that there were lots of signs for guns and I noticed a few Confederate flags (see pic).  We plunged ahead stopping to look at any stalls that offered older items.  Those were mostly clustered in an area referred to as the antique village.  There were some dealers who had very fair prices and others who had their items really overpriced for what they were and where they were selling them.  No doubt some of these people may have shops, too. 

The not-so-good part was all of the new junk items.  There was even a 'dollar store' selling items that you would expect to find in a dollar store although this one billed itself as a 'New York' dollar store.  Hmmm...  I will say that the items and services offered spanned a broad spectrum.  There was a golf shop that sold new sets of clubs, golf carts, etc.  A couple of places where you could receive a psychic 'reading' and plenty of costume and/or silver jewelry vendors.  Oh, and a massage room, too.  There were many people walking through pushing their dogs in doggy 'strollers' and we noticed that there were quite a few booths that sold only dog-related items.  Lots of books to look through along with DVDs for good prices but it was a little too crowded to really search them. 

It was time for lunch when we had decided that sitting down for awhile with some refreshments sounded good.  We found a stall that served pizza slices and decided to eat there.  They had long picnic tables spread through the aisles and this was in a covered area which was nice.  I had forgotten that this flea market has always had some sort of entertainment.  An older man was the entertainment of the day and he played guitar and sang country music songs.  Not our cup of tea but he was a proficient guitar player.  Oldsmar bills itself as the 'mightiest' flea market in the south and uses a cartoon of Mighty Mouse.  Someone really needs to correct the spelling of 'mightiest' on the sign.  Yes, we're the kind of people who notice things like that.

I was the only one who bought something but it was a nice little 'find' for my matte white pottery collection.  I don't care about the maker, etc.  I'm more interested in the shapes and design and prefer fairly plain or slightly abstract patterns.  I picked up the square planter pictured for $4.  Good deal. 

It would have helped to have had a map before we started wandering around but, of course, we never do things the easy way.  Now we each have one in case we ever decide to come back.  Otherwise, there are so many signs hanging everywhere and I do mean everywhere that it's easy to become distracted or completely turned around and not sure where you're going.

Despite my find, this was a disappointing flea market since there were so few stalls with the types of things that we like to peruse/purchase.  We're going to try a few others that are farther away but probably offer more of what we're looking to find.  Oh, I should mention that one of the gun sellers had a cut-out of a woman dressed in an actual cloth camouflage bikini with an American flag sticking out of her bikini bottom.  I really wanted to take a picture of it but I was too chicken to ask if it would be OK.  Oh well.  C'est la vie.