Tag: muses

Fourteen Patterns

Since the other day, when I posted those Barbie dresses I’d sewn, I’ve been wondering what pattern I used. The first seasons I did Runway Monday on this blog, I didn’t have patterns. Then I realized I wasn’t competing with anyone and no one cared, and I started buying patterns to make things easier on myself.

I thought you might like seeing how pattern makers tried to refresh Barbie’s look through the years. Judge them, mock them, or admire them, however the mood strikes you. Note the original cost of the patterns.

#5673, Simplicity, 1964, original cost 50 cents

I believe I used this pattern for Look 3 and just the dress on Look 1.

#9099, McCall’s, 1967, original cost 50 cents

I’ve used at least parts of five of these looks. I royally screwed up Look F recently.

#3429, McCall’s, 1972, original cost $1

I’ve used four of these looks. I particularly like the bodysuit B and the dress G. The year I took a bunch of Model Muses to Saints and Sinners and forced everyone to pose with them, I created many looks using these patterns.

#8333, Simplicity, 1987, original cost $4.50

I made my own pattern for my first cape, so it was great to get this one. I’ve made the cape and dress 4 for sure.

#7362, Simplicity, 1990, original cost $6.95

Nothing seems familiar unless it’s some piece of Ken’s formalwear. These dresses seem very TV “Dynasty” to me.

#7601, Simplicity, 1991. original cost $6.95

I created my own swing coat, but it sure was nice to get a pattern for one, and I definitely used this coat. Again, the dresses seem very 1980s. Of all the decades of fashion I’m familiar with, the Eighties would be my least favorite.

#5738, McCall’s, 1992, original cost $7.25

Pieces from seven of these looks were used.

#6317, McCall’s, 1993, original cost $8.50

I’ve used several of these. I think I may have bought this pattern when it came out, because I have a pair of overalls for a male doll. They are so well made that I’m wondering if Lynne sewed them for me back then. I can’t coerce her into making doll clothes now. That woman can sew, but nobody wants to deal with tiny seams, etc. It’s crazy that I do it. Sewing is definitely a case where I don’t enjoy the process. I enjoy the finished results. =)

#9838, Simplicity, 1996, original cost $8.95

Used I, H, and F, and I think F may be what I used for the dresses shown in Thursday’s post.

#9894, Vogue, 1998, original cost $11.95

Probably used E for Ken’s jacket and pants but had to modify them for the larger male dolls.

#5785, Simplicity, 2002, from the 1960s Simplicity pattern archives, cost of repro $13.95

Definitely have used four of these as favorites.

#4754, Simplicity, 2004, original cost $14.95

NEVER AGAIN those lab coats. NEVER.

#4702, Simplicity, 2004, original cost $14.95

Lots of fun stuff here. I know I’ve done dress D, and all the pants are great, so I’ve probably done some of them.

#1955, Simplicity, 2011, original cost $16.95

I’ve never used this pattern. I believe the fashions can be made to fit the much smaller, slimmer Monster High dolls, which is probably why I bought it. Those dolls are TINY.

Button Sunday

In a conversation with a longtime friend who hasn’t worked with tarot cards in many years, she wondered if I was doing so on the regular as my blog seemed to indicate. Not at all. I’d gone years without doing readings for anyone, even longer since I did them for myself.

I think one reason I recently pulled out any decks at all is because in my next saga (if this one ever comes to a close and right now its title seems to be 1974 Lasted a Century), there’s a character who has always intrigued me because she’s a young woman of contradictions. I’d been thinking of her (the second series is connected to this first one) and trying to recall things about her. And I remembered that she’s artistic and had once created her own tarot deck and there was a little story activity around that.

Then: I’ve occasionally featured some of my boxes on here, and that’s where most of the decks live, in wooden boxes. Then in September, I did the Idol Challenge with Dennis Wilson as my subject, and a couple of times I’ve shown the Dennis box I made, and it holds tarot cards.

Then: For fun, I did readings for a fictional character or two (not the one I’m speaking of above) and realized random cards could actually offer fiction writing prompts for my characters if I feel stuck.

Then: I had some writing challenges last year, so since I’ve been looking at the decks, I decided to see if pulling a few cards would help me better organize my thoughts on writing and not let other people make me doubt myself.

Then: I am always thinking about muses and I love the corvids, so the Muse and Crow decks jumped out at me. I always figure there’s a reason (beyond just, I AM IN A DAMN PANDEMIC AND ISOLATING AT HOME I MISS MY FRIENDS LET ME SPEND A LITTLE MONEY ON MORE STUFF SO I CAN DIVERT MYSELF–apparently my inner voice is an uppercase one, maybe even cursive, who knows) so I go with it, figuring it’ll be clear at a later point.

In other words, several things converged, and when Mark asked me how many decks I have, I figured why not do a regular Thursday post with tarot cards as the subject, because they both start with “T,” and though this blog has many random subjects, which is how I like it, that randomness may be a foolish idea because without focusing on anything, I’m not reaching a readership that wants that one thing, whatever that one thing is. Then again, you know what else I’m not reaching? Trolls who wander through people’s social media accounts to say hateful things to them or their readers/commenters. So…all good.

The blog’s just a gander at whatever pings my brain at any given time, and designating certain days (Button Sundays, Mood Mondays, Tiny Tuesdays, Tarot Thursdays, Photo Fridays) keeps me from having to think too hard of a subject. That was most helpful when I was employed and working 16-hour days, and now it’s helpful when I try to manage my creative time better. Fiction writing comes first, and by imposing a little structure on my blog, I don’t have to use a lot of energy trying to figure out what to post about and can spend my blog time actually writing text and finding photos.

If that all makes sense.

If there’s anything at all that I ponder or reflect on or wonder about, especially whether my muse or my higher self or my subconscious is trying to get through to me, it’s the random music–from a vast repertoire of music I own or remember or love or connect to people, places, and times of my life–that pops into my head.

But I have to confess, I have NO DAMN IDEA why “My Wild Love” is in my brain right now. I haven’t been listening to The Doors or thinking of The Doors or thinking of Jim Morrison. It’s my ear worm for no apparent reason. Which is how I came to choose today’s buttons from my own personal collection, and I may or may not have used them here before.

So yeah, sure, hi Jim Morrison, hi Doors, hi the friend who’s part of my personal zeitgeist that includes The Doors. Happy to have you visit my brain.

Tarot Etc. Thursday No. 5


This beautiful new box I picked up sometime after Christmas at a Tuesday Morning store now holds five different decks. The deck I’m choosing to feature today is The Akashic Tarot, a 2017 set created by Sharon Anne Klingler and Sandra Anne Taylor.


The box it came in reads: The Akashic Tarot is an astoundingly accurate tool for predicting the future, unveiling hidden insights, and unleashing new powers. That description would likely not have made me buy this deck last year, because the only part that grabs me is the “hidden insights.” Your mileage may vary if you work with Tarot cards in a different way from me.

Many, many years ago I had a fascinating dream which I won’t share because it involves someone I knew personally and loved (still love) very much. She died in 1978, and I had this dream in the 1990s, and in the dream, I said to myself, “I’m in the Hall of Akashic Records, and it is nothing like I was led to believe.” Had I heard the term before? Possibly from Princess Patti. But my mind on the subject was a blank slate, and the sentence was so sure and so specific that I never forgot it. From that day, I’ve questioned people who have a lot of experience with and interest in metaphysics about the concept.

As simply as I can state it, theory has it that the Hall of Records is actually three physical places located on the planet where stored records explain the history of the origin of humans and how we arrived on Earth. Accessing the contents of these records helps predict where humans are going.

The Hall of Akashic Records, on the other hand, is an ever-changing and shifting energy dimension that contains all the experiences of every living being across time and throughout the Universe. Someone who accesses these records can see the past, present, and future, and every individual can see her/his own records for past, present, and future if s/he accesses the subconscious.

Do I believe all that? As with all things, I have a healthy sense of skepticism. The way my mind works, there is no way to know, and no one way of thinking disproves or proves another. There are people who do believe in one or both concepts, or who hold entirely different spiritual beliefs, and in that regard, all I’d say about any individual’s or group’s actions is that they are best done with the highest intentions for the good of all concerned, without will to manipulate an outcome or another human, and with a commitment to do no harm. The things I value most highly are compassion, honesty, freedom, justice, and loyalty. What runs afoul of those, I want no part of.

The dream that remains with me is why I bought the deck, and it’s quite beautiful. I shared the “Destiny” card on here back in October because it made me think of past lives, and that had come up in the novel(s) I’m working on. The deck has differences from other Tarot decks in not only the Major Arcana, but in the numbered cards and the people. The authors say their choices are rooted in “Numerology, theories of karma, the Druidic mysteries, Quantum Physics, Natural Law, religious symbolism, Buddhist traditions, and mythologies and beliefs from around the world.” That’s a lot!

The deck’s creators also provide different spreads for how to lay out and read the cards. I haven’t ever done a reading with this deck for myself, another person, or characters. If the time becomes right, I know I will. However, I was very intrigued to find that this is yet another deck with a Muse card. Since the deck’s creators suggest that a reader allow each card to create a mental movie, I offer the Muse if you’d like to see what movie you visualize. (It’s not necessary to share your movie in the comments unless you’d like to.)


Right now, I have a strong desire to pop some corn and watch this movie. I’m almost positive characters will be involved.

Tiny Tuesday!

Last night, I did a new moon intentions ritual using information from Kevin at Body Mind and Soul. He does videos each month during new and full moons on the store’s Instagram account that are always fun and informative. My intentions were mostly about writing, but also making inner peace with a few things.

Pictured are the Star card from the Muse Tarot, the last candle burning from the shelf everything had been on, and stones and crystals including kyanite, moonstone, malachite, turquoise, amethyst, amazonite, tourmaline, and clear quartz.

I like starting February with creative energy and serenity.

Tarot Etc. Thursday No. 4

Today I decided to mix it up a little. I’d chosen what cards to put in the sunflower box I showed on here recently, but it’s not a Tarot deck. It’s a deck called Karma Cards and it was created by Monte Farber, who was part of the husband-and-wife team of the Enchanted Tarot that I featured in an earlier post (that deck has since been moved to a different box, by the way, and I put the Muse Tarot in the “Dennis” box =), which seemed appropriate). This edition of Karma Cards was published in 1991, but it was first published in 1988.

The system used in this deck is a little too complicated to explain in full, but the form of the questions to ask, as suggested by the author, are: “What will be the outcome (of any situation)…” “What should I do (about, because of, with, to) (any situation)…” or “What should I keep in mind when I…” and “What kind of situation/mood/atmosphere can I expect to encounter or prepare for…?”

The answers come by drawing one each from three shuffled piles of cards labeled Planets, Signs, and Houses. As the front cover says, this is a deck that uses astrology as a guide. The concepts of both astrology and karma are always intriguing to me, so I can see why I wanted this deck. I’d have guessed I bought the deck sometime in the late 1990s, but there’s a sheet of paper in the book that has several questions I asked that could only have been in 1994.

To know the outcome of a question, you read the words in a line from card to card in the blue panels. To know what action you should take, you read the words in a line from card to card in the red panels. The top row of either reading is your spiritual guidance; the middle row is your mental guidance; and the bottom row is your physical guidance.

Confused? Here’s my example taken from that sheet of paper of one of the questions I asked among many related to a certain situation.

“What does [name of a specific friend] need from me?”
I turned up Mercury in Sagittarius in the 2nd House. I was looking for guidance on what action I should take, so I read the red panels.

My spiritual answer was “Communicate your highest ideals patiently.”
My mental answer was “Analyze the rules of what you want.”
My physical answer was, “Let your mind tell you how to get it out into the world and get what you need.”

Looking at this NOW, the most important message comes from the first two answers. This was not about what I wanted or about my will to take action. This was about what this person needed from me. But at that time… I was so desperate to do what *I* thought was best for this person that I depended on the advice and actions of two well-meaning friends to help me get the outcome I needed (the third message). It worked, in the short term. In the long term, I’d have been better off also heeding the wisdom of those first two answers.

I think this is a good (if painful) example of letting one’s will/ego/desire make a person see the answer she wants to see, as I warned about in a different post. Though one positive outcome of what turned out to be an emotionally harrowing experience is that when faced with a similar choice in any number of situations like this one or even unlike it since then, I tend to consider all THREE answers in a healthier way. So while I didn’t remember this reading at all and was surprised to find the piece of paper in the book, I internalized some good lessons from both the reading and my subsequent actions:

  • Don’t pay attention only to the parts that say what you’d hoped to hear.
  • What was best for the person and what was best for me turned out to be the same thing: Leave it alone. Be patient.
  • Figure out what the “rules” are and don’t automatically resist them. How does their wisdom best protect the highest good of all concerned?

Sewing and Stratocasters

Today I’ve begun working on a pivotal chapter, so when I called on muses, I needed heavyweights. These three, to be exact.

I made her a new dress to celebrate two special birthdays. The first is Lindsey’s. Happy birthday, Lindsey! Hope to celebrate with you soon.

Today is also the birthday of the late, great Edward Van Halen. To celebrate his life and honor his memory, this girl’s holding a replica of the custom-designed Fender Stratocaster that King Edward named Frankenstrat.

Were I in England right now…

…I’d go to the free Paul McCartney: The Lyrics exhibition in London at the entrance hall to the British Library on Euston Road. It’ll be there until March 13 and features photographs, archive material including handwritten lyrics, and previously unpublished comments from Sir Paul about the songwriting process. The exhibit spans his career from 1956 to the present.

I am not in England, or London, or the British Library. I am in Houston, as I was on December 4, Dennis Wilson’s birthday, when Tom and I went to Brazos Bookstore for a few gift ideas. It was there I sent him an apologetic look and said, “I don’t know what you’ve gotten me yet, and I know this is pricey, but I think I must have it.” He had already bought some gifts (at least one of which Debby later generously paid for and took from him to give me), and what I wanted was indeed pricey (but certainly nowhere near the amount many, many times it that the autographed copy sold for in their store, so there’s that).

I’ve barely begun to explore it yet, because I’m going to savor it for a long time, delving into it, and feeling grateful that I’ve been alive in the world at the same time as the Beatles and Wings and Paul McCartney. I’ll try not to write too much when I share the following photos, but I’m so grateful for this muse, this artist, this man, this musician, who is a constant source of inspiration and to whom one of my own characters frequently pays homage.

I am not so far away in time, after all, from the little girl who once put a ball under her shirt, embraced the bulge with her hands, and announced to the world she was having Paul McCartney’s baby.


Only yesterday, I wrote a scene in which my musician plays “Maybe I’m Amazed” on piano for the woman he loves. It was so unexpected that this was the song, among so many, that made me start crying when I saw Paul McCartney perform in 2019. It’s just… everything it should be, in his writing, his history, and in the things I imagine.


My first husband (SDG) gave me this little dog, who I named “First,” on the first anniversary of our “going steady” in high school. Often when we’d drive between Tuscaloosa and our hometown when we were in college, First would ride along, and when we listened to the 8-track of Band on the Run in SDG’s little orange Volkswagen, every time “Let Me Roll It” played, I’d pick up First and make him play air guitar. I don’t know if SDG laughed because of First or because I laughed so hard at First when I made him play, but this is a memory that never fails to make me happy. Some things are right for their time, and then we change and go somewhere else in our lives. That doesn’t take a single thing away from what we cherished.

I suppose that’s also one lesson of the Beatles.

Riley, I never forget that you left on January 16 in 2008. I thank you again for all the times you played and sang Paul McCartney songs for me on your guitar and piano, even though you reminded me that John was your Beatle and George was mine, and could I just please request them now and then? I didn’t have to. You always knew who I needed to hear from among them, as well as when my spirit required Bob Dylan or any of the other music that lit up my world. I will love you and miss you forever, my friend.

Tarot Etc. Thursday No. 2

The Muse Tarot, published in 2020, is a new-to-me deck. If you read here, you know the concepts of the Muse, and muses, are important to me as a writer and a creative person in general. I won’t belabor this; it’s my own system that works for me around inspiration, imagination, and action. It might have nothing to do with traditional stories of muses or anyone else’s perception of what a Muse or muses are.

Some of the struggles I experienced with writing in 2021 were on my mind when I left the Hall to pick up a box of nag champa incense to replenish my supply. And I knew, I just knew, I needed to go to Body Mind and Soul to do it. When I went inside, my first goal had me picking up their lone box of my brand of incense, which felt fortuitous.

As I walked toward the cash wrap, I spotted a display of kyanite, a favorite stone, and among many, I picked up the one pictured under my incense holder/burner in the photo. I knew it was supposed to come home with me. Kyanite has a high vibration, making it an amplifier of only the positive, and it corresponds to the throat chakra, which has to do with communication and using one’s voice. Writing is my voice, so kyanite is a good helper. Kyanite also helps with sleep and dreams, so at night, it now rests with several other stones on the table next to the bed.

Then I glanced toward the shelves with all the various decks of cards, including their tarot decks, and there it sat: The Muse Tarot. There may have been two there, I don’t remember, but all I had to see was “Muse” to know I was getting the deck. Thank you, Christmas cash and gift card givers. =) Also, the staffer who checked me out was a highpoint of the visit; when he struck the three-toned chime as part of the ritual of clearing the shopping bag with my purchases before handing it to me, his eyes and mine widened with surprised delight at the tones we heard.

The Muse deck is a little different from more standard decks. For one thing, in the suits, there are no Kings. Those have been replaced by Muse cards as the highest card of the suit. Also, in place of Pentacles are Materials, and in the other suits, Wands have become Inspiration, Cups have become Emotions, and Swords are Voices.

The author/artist does not provide the traditional Tarot spreads in the guide, assuming a user will know those or can easily find them. I rarely lay out any of the more detailed spreads; again, I use a system that seems better suited for what I want to contemplate with the cards’ help. I shuffled the deck and pulled three cards face down. Before seeing them, I had a specific question for each card (no need to blare my questions to the Internet).


The Major Arcana card the Magician was there for my first question. Briefly: She’s a reminder to bring one’s desires into form, in a way that creates something healing for others and is rooted in love. The guide also explains some of the other symbolic significance of the art on the card.

For my second question, I pulled the Knight of Materials. The Knight is the third highest in the suite, indicating I may be far along on this particular question. The keywords attributed to the card include productivity and diligence paying off, determination, and planting and tending seeds for the future.

Even without reading about the card, pulling the Muse of Materials for my last question was visually a resounding answer to the either/or question I asked. The Muse sends a message about manifesting and abundance. Please note that for both of these cards for which I drew Materials, I wasn’t asking questions about money or worldly success but about something more intangible. So while keywords include prosperity and wealth, more relevant to my question are the keywords gratitude, health, comfort, and happiness.

I see the Muse Tarot as being a great deck for creative people or for anyone needing guidance about any journey or choice, really, whether related to vocation, spirituality, or relationships.

Wednesday Wisdom

A few days back, when I went to get my book on dreams for Photo Friday, I realized how disorganized that bookcase was. The books range from philosophy to religion, anatomy, various body and energy work modalities, aromatherapy, feng shui and space clearing, animal totems and guides, crystals and stones, astrology, and several Tarot decks and books, as well as other decks like oracle and relaxation cards, and a set of rune stones with their book. It’s eclectic and reflects many of my interests and activities through the decades.

I took some time to put everything in better order and to shift some of the Tarot decks between the boxes where they’re stored. I decided to take this lovely deck that I’ve had since 1990, The Enchanted Tarot, and put it in my Dennis Box, wrapped in a different fabric.

The Dennis Box is one I painted around 1990, the same year I got the deck. This is why it has that name: the inside of the top of the box. It offers a bit of Muse magic.

Here’s the inside of the box, and the back of the cards, though they are kept wrapped in a piece of black silk, the edges hemmed with gold thread, that was donated to me by Lynne in the early ’90s from a favorite old shirt of hers.

Here’s a partial look at the top of the box with a card I pulled this evening in a one-card reading looking for specific guidance on a specific question I was thinking about.

This was an extremely helpful card for this reading, a major arcana card chosen at random from a full, face-down deck after I shuffled it.

The Enchanted Tarot is described by its creators as a story of hope and faith born of the truth of the human spirit eternally seeking to know itself and its power. It’s meant to help the reader or questioner gain insight into the workings of the world and how to best harmonize with it [one’s] activities of both a spiritual and physical kind.

Each card in the deck has a description in the book broken into The Dream, The Awakening, and The Enchantment. For The Enchantment, I followed very specific instructions at the end of the reading using the following items:

The card, with items representing the four elements: a white candle, a cup of water, a crystal (I chose amethyst), and a knife (a beautiful old knife that belonged to my father) were placed on a red cloth, and I used a stick of incense to complete the enchantment. This has nothing to do with trying to control the future (it is not spell-casting, for example, which I have never done and will never do) or even to predict the future. It’s a means to feel confident in the card’s description and the path forward I want to set.

As a creative person putting a lot of energy into what I’m working on, I can always use more confidence. This was a quiet, reflective time well spent.

Who manages whom?

I’ll be distracted from the blog this month, as I was last October. In 2020, I spent the month working on a short story for a possible anthology. That anthology didn’t materialize, but I’m glad I wrote the story. It was a chance to try out a new genre, which engaged my creative energy, and it was also cathartic. I shed a lot of tears writing it. I may revise it and make it available as a 99-cent e-story at some point. Or maybe I’ll see if there are any calls for submission with guidelines it meets for other collections.

I also had something that brought me great amusement last October, when Tom found me a plastic skeleton. His name is Lord Cuttlebone, and I let him take over my Instagram account once a day that month in various settings and situations at Houndstooth Hall. Since I featured my Muse here on the blog in September, which was an emotional roller coaster, I decided to let Cuttlebone out of the closet, and again feature him in daily Instagram posts this Halloween month to make me (and hopefully others) laugh.

Today I went looking for a photo prop at my favorite antique mall while I was running errands. I didn’t find what I wanted, but I did make one good find: an album to replace this one I lost in Harvey.

Brian Wilson’s self-titled solo album, released in 1988 (11 years after brother Dennis released his)

I’m not a music critic and even if I were, I’d be like many who discuss Brian’s work with unapologetic bias. I remain intrigued by the history of the band and its members; there’s so much story there, and its reality hits every note.

What’s particularly interesting about this album is that I have a press kit put out by Sire Records to promote its release. Because current day is three decades later, and so many things that went down during the Eighties are better-known now, it fascinates me to see how information was spun for the album’s release.

This was the period when Brian’s therapist (Eugene Landy) had been re-hired and was over-managing his life, had insinuated himself into his music, and became executive producer of this album. Many articles and nonfiction books cover all this. Landy was ultimately fired and sued. His license to practice was revoked in California, but he could still practice in other states. A restraining order kept him permanently away from Brian.

A version of this story is shown in the film Love and Mercy, though one never knows, just like with this upbeat, optimistic press packet, how accurate it is.

It’s more gratifying to write outright fiction; however, I think Landy had a lot more control over Brian than I have over my musician. Right now, he’s angry in his chapter and needs me to write him into a happier place.

Skeletons and artists can be very demanding.

Photos from the Brian Wilson press kit for journalists and reviewers to use.