Welcome to Chaos !!

Happiness is remembering you have a $5 off coupon when you are about to pay.
I got my Mom some hibiscus tea that I will send her together with some other things that I got her. A care package for Mom because she is my Mom. ❤



Happiness is finding a new ginger beer that is quite yummy. Found it at World Market. Oh and the pizza that I ate today, pizza is happiness too.



Happiness is having cuddle time with this baby. She lays down her head on me like this. And I give her kisses and tell her what a good and pretty girl she is, that she is very special and that I love her very very much. Then she got up, ripped an empty ice cream container to pieces and brought me a toy with a wild look in her eyes insisting that we play. She is sleeping now.



And I am going to get in a hot bath now, scrub my body, moisturize, put honey on my face, thick lotion and socks on my feet and curl up in bed.

Look at the sparkle on the playa! No, I did not wear these shoes out there,
I brought them specifically to snap a few pics of them on the playa (Alvord desert). I have a few of these shoe pics throughout the blog.....I should gather them in one spot because some are pretty cool. The shoe pics even have fans!
And as a coincidence a friend sent me a poem he wrote about me (I am very flattered) the other day and he also happened to give me these shoes. I've had them for a few years now but I don't wear them often.....they are too pretty.
So I present to you.....the sparkly shoes and the poem.





I see her shoe still sparkles
And still with lots of sole
She could waltz right into heaven
If that was her desired goal
But she fights for the voiceless
With a deeply caring soul
She walks the walk without the talk
A much more difficult role
Yes she shuns the easy glamour
Of bauble and pin
I see her hold together
The yang and the yin

Well.....today is the day when a shooting "hit home" for me. Las Vegas besides my time in Alaska has been the place that has been my home in the US for a long time, although I am away from Las Vegas right now. Even when I was in AK I would go back to Vegas for extended periods of time.
I found out about the shooting late last night while in Winnemucca outside a McDonald's picking up WiFi.....I was talking to my brother when I saw the first reports trickling in.....11 45 pm my time.
I spent most of my day today driving and only heard what news I could get on the radio, spotty radio because long stretches of the road had zero reception.
Once I arrived at my destination I could start checking off that my friends were OK, I suspected most would be but you never know. So far I haven't heard back from a few people and I know people that know somebody that got shot.
Always feels more "real" when something bad or good happens at home.
Same with Sweden to me.
BUT I feel that every innocent person that dies in the hands of somebody else is a valuable life lost and that person too most likely has family that will mourn their loss. It doesn't matter where in the world something bad happens, bad is bad.
Las Vegas in case you haven't been truly is a shining jewel in the desert, at first glimpse it is almost too much to take in. Las Vegas will keep on shining and being fabulous and according to some friends that I talked to the community has really pulled together in this. Still.....very very unfortunate what happened.

I spent yesterday afternoon at the Alvord Desert, camped out there on the playa and woke up there today. Camped in my car with Chhaya of course. I traveled there because of a photoshoot, that involved this.....



The photographer had an idea/vison for years and finally it came to fruition.
A more "artistic" photoshoot. I have no idea how the images will turn out, I saw a few of the raw images and they looked pretty cool. He brought a drone so we did some arial photos and we did a few "pretty" images but I honestly looked cold, tired and borderline miserable. I got up at 6 am yesterday and that is very early for me, packed up the car, drove for hours, the temperature on the playa was colder than I had expected. Chhaya was not happy whatsoever to be thrust into this adventure. Since years now she does not like longer road trips at all. And she definitely did not like being out on the playa, she was restless and spent a good portion of last night shaking and panting instead of sleeping. So today I decided that I would not stick around for more photography since it was colder today than yesterday, more clouds and less sun to keep me warm. There is only so much I am willing to suffer for an art sometimes and I like photography. I have been uncomfortable plenty of times during shoots - cold, laying on something sharp, holding my body still in unnatural positions for a long time etc, it is just something you put up with to get a good photo. But today I decided that I would not freeze.
I just couldn't. So I said thank you and continued my journey South.
Here are some more pics from the Alvord desert, a very pretty place, a vast and beautiful playa.
It would be nice to come back when it's warmer. There are some hot springs here too I heard, Alvord Hot Springs but I did not visit.









I ate twice at this place, Fields Station. I guess they are famous for their milkshakes, so I tried the "Triple C" and it was very good but the rest of the food including the coffee was bad. Typical roadhouse food, burgers, fries, lots of American cheese (I do not like American cheese). And I am being polite now, there were so many flies in that place that anybody with OCD or a strict requirement for a clean restaurant would probably be horrified. I saw a lady working there swat the flies dead flat on the counters - barf. But it is the only place around for miles since you are kind of in the middle of nowhere, so you eat where you can.



And now I am in the very exciting (not) town of Winnemucca. Chhaya is sleeping like a little piggy, calm and relaxed. I have an errand to do here of all places in the morning and once that is done I am returning to where I came from yesterday......Winnemucca is located in Nevada, now you know that.



I was going to get gas in Denio Junction today but guess what.....just as I arrived they ran out of gas! So I had to drive back to Fields Station and get gas. Seriously.....WTF.

And here are the last pictures of my time at Black Rock City for this time around.
First a bit of interesting Burning Man history.....



A painting I liked at Center Camp called "The Journey" by Mikey.
The white house represents the traditional American path to success - doctor, lawyer or civil career. The girl is a creative person. She is taking a journey into the unknown. The black cat is her intuition. He is her guide.



More Center Camp.



I visited the banya (steam room) where a Russian guy poured water on the rocks, then I sat in the banya and took deep breaths. After a few minutes he (the Russian) came back in and swatted me with the tree branches. When I stepped outside he misted me with some water that had a minty smell. Very refreshing.

















I always collect Playa dust, so I can take a part of Black Rock City with me home. This is what I made this year.....I picked up the friendship bracelets at Burning Man.



And.....that was it. With this entry I am wrapping up my Burning Man 2017 experience. I hope you have enjoyed it.

Here she is! Playa Barbie 2017. This is a highly collectable rare limited edition Barbie, as you all can see. Rare as in exclusive, out of the ordinary and one of a kind.







And I met the creator of the Playa Barbie Box, his name is Mike. What did he tell me.....if I recall it right his wife's name is Barbie.
Some more info on the Playa Barbie Box, "Internationally renowned, Playa Barbie is a Photo Box Art Project which participants pose in at the Worlds Largest Artist Exhibition. Thousands of Burning Man participants have taken thier picture in the Photo Box, providing much love, and individual photos from all over the world. Playabarbie is featured in many videos featuring the Art of/and Burning Man experience. Playabarbie Photo Project is a gift to the citizens of Black Rock City, NV. PlayaBarbie has been displayed for a week during the International Burning Man Festival since 2013. Visit - Playabarbie.com or #Playabarbie."