Welcome to Chaos !!

Yesterday I attended a Swedish Midsommar celebration here in Portland. (Midsommar = midsummer). Actually this year in Sweden Midsommar falls on June 25 but for some reason it was celebrated earlier here, probably some sort of a timing issue. Anyhow....the celebration took place at Nordia House, a Scandinavian cultural center here in Portland that I have been to several times.
I had to do the traditional thing and make a flower wreath to wear on my head. All the flowers were donated. There was food so I had some potatoes, red cabbage and very delicious pannkakor (pancakes) with raspberry jam and whipped cream.



Midsommarstången got raised with a communal effort.





For those who might not know.....Sweden is one of the five countries that make up Scandinavia. Located in Northern Europe between Norway to the West and Finland to the East. Yes it snows in Sweden but not year round. We also have an absolutely beautiful summer (if the weather allows). And growing up I heard stories about princesses with long golden hair, trolls living deep in the forests, animals that talked, faeries and Näcken and part of me still believe that all of that truly exist.



Lingonberries is something that I like to eat with potatoes and brown sauce (not with pancakes IHOP style). I like to enjoy my pancakes (and they should be thin) with either raspberry or strawberry jam. Blueberries are delicious in a warm pie. And I remember eating handfuls of gooseberries (krusbär) as a kid cause we had them growing in the yard.



Glad Midsommar!

My friend Richard passed away a few days ago. I have not been around a lot of death so I am still processing that I will not see his sparkly kind happy blue eyes again, not see his smile, hear his voice, have interesting conversations or joke around with him. No more. ? He was a wonderful man and his passing was sudden and unfair.
I met Richard at work. We became good friends. I looked forward to seeing him walk through the door because he was fun to be around. He had lived an interesting life, quite known around Portland because he accomplished a lot. He was ALWAYS nice, a true gentleman.
The first time back to work after his passing was difficult. Just knowing that he was not sitting in his usual spot with a smile on his face was not an easy thing to accept. There were tears. Many of my coworkers are saddened by his passing.
Yesterday I went to The Grotto here in Portland and lit two candles. One of those candles was for Richard.
Walking through The Grotto I asked God and in case you wonder, I consider myself spiritual not religious....I asked God to please keep me if I get to go to a place after my life here on Earth is done. I do not want to come back here because there is too much suffering and misery on Earth and it makes me sad. I just want to be with Chhaya after I die. And all my other pets that I have loved. Family and true friends would be nice too. I just don't want to come back to Earth.



Today I lit a candle for my friend Richard here at work. The locomotives represent his passion in life. You are truly missed my friend. ❤️



And the unfair thing about this whole thing.....and this is my personal belief AND other peoples as well. Richard was healthy until he got the J&J vaccine. After that, things went downhill fast and he got several blood clots that in turn led to other complications. It makes me feel so sad, angry and helpless that a person with so much more life to live and so many things to look forward to had to live out his last days in mental agony and probably physical pain too, knowing that had he not taken that vaccine most likely he would had been here today. He thought he was doing the "right" thing....you know the "do your part thing" that we get bombarded with, pressured into.....yeah well it didn't work out so great for my friend did it?
The vaccine, the ones who got it and the ones who have not is a big controversy right now. There are several reports linking the J&J vaccine to blood clots. I guess these things don't really matter until somebody you personally know passes from complications. Do not be so harsh towards the ones that have not take the vaccine. I have not. I am not anti vaccine. But I am holding off. I am not judging the ones who got the vaccine. I get it. People want to do the right thing.

A large chunk of Europeans watch the yearly music event called the Eurovision Song Contest when one or several representatives from each European country competes with their song.
I would watch this when I lived in Sweden. It was a stay at home all evening event accompanied with chips and cheese puffs. Of course Sweden's most talked about and best win was ABBA's 1974 contribution with Waterloo. And who doesn't love ABBA?
I certainly do. Their music is still amazing. The Eurovision Song Contest has been around since 1956.
Anyhow.....since I left Sweden my interest in watching the Eurovision has dwindled until I saw something about an alleged cocaine issue and this years winning band - Måneskin. Like what? Well, I could not care less whether the singer of Måneskin, Damiano David did in fact do coke or not and I believe him when he denied the accusations and said he would not be so dumb to do coke during a live taping of the show. Duh!
What I do care about is that.....WOW this band is AMAZING! I love the song, "Zitti E Buoni" and the band's live performance. The right song definitely won this year! Since I found out about them I have watched several of their music videos and performances and downloaded their songs to my Spotify list. They are really good. And Damiano David is super hot. Like HOT. With a great voice. And more charisma than I have seen in a long time.
I am glad that a band won the contest cause learning how to play an instrument and perform live is way higher on the skill ladder than stumbling around on stage lip syncing with tits and ass hanging out (like much of the latest US "talent" lately). Yeay Italia!
Good job. Rock'n Roll never dies.....
I used to listen to Eros Ramazzotti a lot back in the day and Italian is a beautiful language.
In fact my ABSOLUTE favorite song is "Caruso" performed by Pavarotti. I hope this band, Måneskin blows up. I am now a fan. Should I bombard Damiano David with love letters or what?

After visiting Crystal Crane I continued South and went to the Alvord Desert.
Not my first time there. Me and Chhaya visited and spent the night in 2017.....if you put in "Alvord" in the search bar of the blog you can see my previous Alvord Desert entries. But I had not been to Alvord Hot Springs until exactly one week ago.
The Alvord Desert is a dry lake playa much like the Black Rock Desert playa where Burning Man takes place. In fact the Alvord Desert and Black Rock Desert are not too far from each other, only about 90 miles.
So being on the Alvord Desert playa feels just like being at Burning Man. I miss Burning Man!
This is the entrance to the Alvord Desert.



A short walk to the hot springs.



The hot spring is divided into two pools. One completely outside with gorgeous views and one enclosed so you can have shade.







You can somewhat regulate the water flow and temperature.



I stayed the night and slept in my car. There is a camp host and it cost me $20 to spend the night with access to the hot springs. I would like to visit this place again, plus driving around on the Alvord Desert playa is a lot of fun and the scenery is amazing.

I took a road trip this past weekend. My first stop was Crystal Crane Hot Springs, a place I have driven by a few times but not had the time to stop at. Crystal Crane is a bit South East of Burns Oregon.



Crystal Crane is a very nice developed hot spring resort, there is lodging.....even teepees and you can have a private soaking tub, there are showers, changing rooms, a place where you can cook your food, coffee in the morning and a small store. The hot spring is open 24/7 so you can soak under a sky full of stars. I was marveling at the beautiful night sky. I forget about that sometimes, to really look around and appreciate the splendid beauty of nature.







Of course some pictures of me and the pool. Hair up.



Hair down.



It's about the water!



I really liked Crystal Crane and I want to go back and stay for at least two days and nights next time.
I want a place with my own private hot spring, where I can live. And an RV to travel around in. That would be something!

Well I am back at work after one week of not working due to COVID closures. It is nice to get some time off but I don't mind working either.
There are several clubs in Portland, plus some other places that fall into the category "lingerie modeling" that are open 24/. Although I doubt it is the same kind of lingerie modeling that the Victoria's Secret catalogue offers or lingerie modeling as when I worked a full day in Vegas showing off the latest bras and panties from JC Penney in a room full of ladies making orders for various stores.
I work in a fun club where all of us get along, many people that come in are regular visitors. It's very comfortable.
We don't have a DJ so I pick my own songs that I have in a Spotify library. I only dance to Barry Manilow.



Still the most frequent questions I get besides where I am from and marriage proposals are - how tall are you (I am a viking warrior princess so I am statuesque), how long have you been growing your hair and is it real (since birth of course and yes it is real, well I am lying now....I color my grey areas with demi-permanent color) and are those real (yes I am 100% natural). I don't know HOW people can mistake my boobs for not real, they are not even big but whatever.
Now you know.
As far as marriage proposals go.....since Bill Gates is available now I am putting everybody else on pause. I am all about making the world a better place.....altruism is my thing. Especially helping animals in need. And Bill Gates supposedly donates part of his vast wealth to different causes.





So yes I'm still standing (like Elton John sings) in more ways than one. No crutches needed yet, I will let you know when I start using those.
EDIT (Sunday May 9).
I need to add this picture to this post.....
You KNOW you work in a great club when one of the dancers (a very HOT woman) sells crystals and rocks there too. No not the kind of crystals and rocks some people smoke.....these kinds of crystals and rocks. We are an enlightened bunch of dancers at "my" club.