Adventures of Madge the Mannequin

Madge the Beauty School Mannequin

I am Gypsy Piper Girl. I travel around making and selling porcupine quill jewelry and I play the bagpipe. So I play with loud and sharp things!. Recently I traveled to Montana from Northern Illinois.  After having just read Highway by CJ Banks and scaring the poop out of myself (serial killer targeting women drivers in Montana and Wyoming) I decided the heck with driving solo….per se. So I recruited Madge the mannequin to travel with me. My usual travel partner, Granola Barbie, wasn’t available. What you can’t see in this picture is that Madge has only a head and neck. Granola Barbie (Christyn) teaches Fijian Massage. I wouldn’t want to hurt Madge’s feelings but a bodyless mannequin really doesn’t compare to a pal that can massage you into a coma. Se la vie.

Before we left I had a quick gig with the band at Alpacapalooza.

Yep that’s me wearing my ex-boyfriends band t-shirt – both from the 80’s.

“What? Your band t-shirt? Nope haven’t seen it.”

On Saturday we traveled to Rochester Minnesota from Northern Illinois and crashed for the night. In the morning we got a few giggles from at the McDonalds drive thru while getting my coffee for the road.

Madge Blatantly Ignoring the Magnificent Scenery

From Rochester we headed to the Badlands of South Dakota. We camped in my new pop up tent.

Yes that is an electric burner. I was not roughing it. Look, I have dragged a backpack over four coastal mountains in Alaska and lost five toenails in the process so you bad asses can just stuff it. I was traveling frugally not masochistically.

After setting up I made some quill jewelry while watching the Lakota Indians do dance demonstrations right next to my campsite. How cool was that?

After a while you can forget that you are sitting next to a bodyless dummy. I have traveled with worse companions. In the morning I stopped in Interior South Dakota to get fuel. A policeman was administering a sobriety test to another motorist. Normally I would have passed that drama by but there were not a lot of options. So I parked and went inside the gas station to pay. I got some mighty odd looks. Someone asked me “How ya doin’?”  I said I was better than some people. That got a chuckle. I pumped my gas and started to leave. Mr. Policeman gave me a really hard look. And then I remembered Madge. The policeman had a for sure thing with the DUI but he looked mighty torn about letting me drive off.   And maybe that explains the quizzical looks from the locals inside the gas station.

From the Badlands we headed northwest. We stopped in Medicine Rocks State Park in Montana for a leg stretch and to create a few more porcupine quill earrings.

Dragonfly Porcupine Quill Earrings Created in Medicine Rocks State Park

Here’s our selfie!

From Medicine Rocks we traveled onto our next camp site in Miles City Montana. Big Sky Campground. Madge was a bit grumpy. The state highway was not real smooth. I stopped rather abruptly. She complained of a headache after she rolled off of the cooler she sits on and hit her head on the dashboard. Hmmm duck tape or a bungee cord….

We had a feline visitor as I set up. Luckily he did not leave any presents for me to clean up.

This Tent Sets Up In 10 Seconds –  Good Luck Getting It Back In Its Case

We arrived in Livingston Montana on Tuesday and what’s the first thing I did? I rode a camel! But don’t bring it up around Madge. She is still a little upset about having to watch from the car.

A Camel Named Doug

And on Wednesday I sold jewelry at the Western Sustainability Market. Fun!

Check out the Absaroka Mountain range in the background!

On Thursday my friend Jeanine and I kayaked eleven miles of the Yellowstone River. Madge can’t swim so she stayed home. The smoke from the forest fires is evident in our pictures.

Yellowstone River

On Friday we had to start heading back to Illinois. So we stopped at a Prairie Dog Village. Madge really wanted to see a prairie dog up close but they were having none of that.

Prairie Dog Den At Greycliff Prairie Dog Town

Allen

We wanted to camp at Camel Hump Campground but my Garmin is a lying bitch and not only wanted me to drive thru someone’s ranch in North Dakota but also expected me to pull off some Chitty Chitty Bang Bang maneuver. I’m driving a Honda for craps sake. I turned around once it became apparent that I would have had to take on a bull to do so. Madge thinks we could have taken him. I told her to go ahead. Funny how cocky someone without a body can be.  hmph

My Garmin Is A Lying Bitch

Here’s Madge checking out my mad cooking skills in Minnesota. Ironically not one other camper set up near us. We had spots 1-6 all to ourselves. Weird right?

We swung thru Fargo for kicks and made a few more pieces of jewelry before reaching that campground.

Madge Enjoying A Nice Cold Tecate

We arrived home Sunday night. Kicked back and had a beer. On Tuesday we left for Louisville. Cuz that’s how we roll. Actually Madge rolls kind of awkwardly.

Madge in Louisville

I’m pretty sure I heard Madge muttering something about taking my pop up tent and stuffing it somewhere. I guess she is more of a Best Western Kind of Mannequin.

We enjoyed visiting the Peddlers Mall in Clarksville Indiana. I found a bagpiper sculpture!  Madge donned my Glengarry in its honor.

By Friday night we were back in Northern Illinois.

For now Madge is helping me with some chickens while their owners are on holiday.

ACK! Do I Have Chicken Dookie On My Neck?

Stay tuned. Next up is a burial at sea for my Aunt Suzi. And some other adventures along the way.

Christkindlmarket Chicago

Since I’m on a house/pet sitting assignment in Chicago I took the opportunity to visit the Christkindlmarket for the first time.

I enjoyed a mug of Glühwein, German mulled wine, in a souvenir mug while watching the pigeons keeping warm. Apparently people are fussing because this year’s mug is not a boot mug. I think I would have preferred the boot mug also but nobody asked me.

A jalapeño stuffed pretzel and the aforementioned souvenir mug. $7 for the mug and wine. No worries about me getting tipsy. Tasty anyway.

Lots of shopping.  Ornaments,  German candies,  food, steins, beer, hats, scarves, food.

I found this cute porcupine.  I make porcupine quill jewelry and will use him as a prop on my vendor booth.

My jewelry – for sale on Etsy click here to see my quill jewelry

Looking up from the market in Daly Plaza and ogling the skyscrapers.

Yep. Had to make some poor teenage girl snap my picture.  And Stacey I borrowed your hat because all I had was my Nanook of the North model. 35° wasn’t cold enough to warrant that sucker.

Scenes from Alaska

Flat Creek Slough

Off they go on their way to Cordova

My friend working at the goose banding station near Cordova

Walking the dog

I saw this on Chena Hot Springs Rd

Porcupine Quill Earrings I made

Pioneer Park in Fairbanks.  My quill jewelry is sold here at Just Originals

The Critic

This is Ilsa. Ilsa hates porcupines.  Really hates them. The last time I house sat for her owners I started making quill jewelry. She charged into the house like she was hunting for a monster back then.  Not gonna lie, had me a bit worried that since I left the door open something WAS in the house.  Nope.  She just scented the quills. And as you can see from this picture she still thinks I’m crazy for using them. Crazy or not they are sold in stores in Maryland,  DC, Illinois,  Alaska,  and even a zoo. And of course Etsy

Sleeping in tents ~ Alaska 2012

The last time I went to Alaska I decided to be really adventurous. I traveled via The Columbia. This is where I slept for three nights. Yeah, it was chilly but what an adventure. You do not have to sleep outside. There are some cabins. I was going for the whole summer so saving money factored into my decision to travel this way.
But check out the scenery!

I spent some time on Douglas Island.

But then I headed to the Interior. I stayed in that tent for three weeks. That’s me waving from the deck. The bush pilot, whos home this is, was doing a flyover and his passenger snapped this pic.

Now it was my turn to be passeneger while he practiced touch and go water landings! Exciting!

They call Alaska The Land of the Midnight Sun. This is taken from my spot on the deck on the summer solstace at midnight. The day the sun does not set.

When the pilot and my buddy Heid, an awesome teacher, went on a trip to Bend to have helicopter repairs I watched over the homestead and the hunting dogs. This is Ilsa. She cracks me up/

I started to make porcupine quill jewelry while house sitting there. I had no idea that Ilsa hated porcupines. I left the door open during the day, as instructed. And the day I aquired quills she ran around the house frantically searching for the porcupine (minion of Satan) that was in her house!!! Of course I did not know what she was looking for and worried a bit. You know, when you grow up in the Midwest with nothing but cows things like bears are a little worriesome. :O
Bear evidence from Douglas Island.

Here is a pair of my quill earrings made with Alaskan quills. I sell at festivals, Etsy, fairs, and a few stores on the East Coast and in the Midwest carry them. Click here to visit my etsy store.

I also got to sleep in a tent in Denali! Another item I can cross off of my bucket list. Road trip to Denali- hiking, camping, awesomeness!!!


I have lots more I can, and will, write about my Alaskan adventures. And will hopefully be there again this summer!

Chickens Are Jerks And Parrots Are A**holes – ps; blowing your bagpipe does not make chickens go into their coop

Chickens Are Jerks And Parrots Are A**holes – ps; blowing your bagpipe does not make chickens go into their coop

Ok, harsh words I know. But I was having a rough week when I sent that text message. The woes of the pet sitter. It’s hard not to think chickens are being jerks when you REALLY need them to get in their coop before dusk and they won’t cooperate. It’s for their own safety. I had a gig with my fellow bagpipers for Oscar Mike and the wounded vets. I needed to leave. The chickens had to go in coop with the sliding door shut so no predators would nibble on them while I was gone. In a kilt fully decked out with sporran, flashes, glengarry but with farmer John boots instead of ghillies I attempted to herd 17 chickens up a ramp and into a chicken coop. I even tried baiting them with sunflower seeds.
Ha. Joke was on me.
I got in their enclose and with arms spread wide I tried shooing them towards the ramp. They bolted to another corner. Do horses giggle? I’m thinking they do. I tried a few more times. No luck. So I marched into the house and came out with my weapon – my untuned bagpipe and I blew it. (Let me add that it was cold outside which does nasty things to the four reeds) The only thing I succeeded in doing was making the chickens bolt FASTER to the other corner. Jerks.
The horses next door meanwhile started rotating their ears, nickering, stomping, and looked like they were considering coming over to stomp on my bagpipe, or me, or both of us. It did sound horrid in the cold and untuned. And reluctantly I add that it was an ineffective tool in putting the egg layers away.
ps. No eggs in the morning either. They were being persnickety anyway.
And the parrot or parrotlet to be accurate hated me. She bit me the first day. And the dog snapped at me too. It was enough to make me consider going back to bed. We are day 8 into this adventure, me the chickens, the dog, the four turtles, the salamanders and the evil parrotlet. Things are much better now.
Happy face

Run Curly! The evil parrotlet is after you!

My previous chicken house/pet sitter job also had its thrills. Before the owners left for vacation they pointed out one chicken in a separate building and said “if this chicken dies…..”. Huh. There was a lot going on. I should have said “time out. Why would that chicken croak”??? But I didn’t. So of course I went out at 6:59 am one morning and fed and watered the egg layers and then fed and watered this huge meat chicken that obviously had the grim reaper stalking it. Everybody was fine. At 11:45 am I did a lap and found, to my horror, the huge meat chicken lifeless in a corner! Aaaaaeeeiiii
I did as instructed and sent a message to the owners reporting its demise. They answered back and said they’d have a beer in its honor. I responded with a picture of my “I had to touch a dead chicken face”.

This is life in the country where people grow their own food and raise their own chickens, cows, and goats. If you are a hardcore vegetarian you are entitled to whatever opinion you like, but I don’t need to hear it. Thanks
On Friday I go from this rural setting to the Logan Square neighborhood in Chicago. I’ll probably suffer from culture shock :p

Meanwhile in the land of Gypsy Piper Girl and porcupine quill jewelry I have five shows
11/15-12/15 Holiday Art &Craft Fair William Reif Gallery Womanspace Rockford IL
11/23 Harvest Craft Fair Dt Johns Lutheran Church 9-4 Beloit WI
11/24 2nd Annual Gifts Galore 10-4 Harlem High School Machesney Park IL
11/30 Stroll on State 4-10pm Downtown Rockford IL Holiday Market in City Hall there is a lot going on in this event. Tree lighting at 6:15 see website Stroll on State
12/1 Holiday Gift Show Venetian Club 12-5 Rockford IL

These are very unique lion fish spine, porcupine quill, fish bone, and Buddha earrings that I made. I was contacted by a man, Phil Karp, who worked on a coral reef restoration project in Belize. Lion fish are an invasive species wreaking havoc. He wanted to know if I could make jewelry with lion fish spines. Ta Da! With the sample I was given I made two pairs. (so fun, thanks!)
Here is a link to his blog click me! Read more about lion fish and the restoration project!
They are for sale on Etsy. And so is the other pair. To see them click here

What Is New In Gypsy Piper Girl’s World?

;
I took a break from 9 house sitting/pet sitting jobs and bolted to Maryland. Here I am in Annapolis wearing my favorite cowboy boots. I aquired them while checking on my land in Nevada. My mouth is moving in the pic cuz I’m telling my 82 year old uncle how to use my smartphone 😛
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And as you can see. I am still making porcupine quill jewelry. I dragged my jewelry to three shows last week. I have another in Dixon Illinois Saturday May 11th. And I am excited to announce that I will be bringing my Alaska Porcupine Quill jewelry AND my bagpipe to the Festival Of Cultures in Billings Montana June 9 2013!!
While in Maryland I explored my roots and found the tombstones for several of my great great grandparents. And in the world of amazing technology I was able to access ancestry.com and instantly upload pics of the gravestones to the website. Amazing

And for those of you near Pecatonica Illinois (Northern illinois) don’t forget The Pec Thing is May 18 & 19. however one can buy an early bird ticket and go in MAy 17 while we set up. And buy all the vintage collectibles I priced wrong. haha Serioulsy, every time I see this Dean guy coming and he picks something up and buys it without haggling I think “Oh sh*t” . The Pec Thing is antiques, vintage, and stuff. Lots of vendors.
I’ll be in the sheep building towards the rear of the flea market. Yes I will have the quill stuff too. Baaaa

My favorite Tavern in the USA

“Middleton Tavern was host to a galaxy of the nation’s most revered leaders during the period following the American Revolution. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were numbered among its prominent patrons.”
History and oyster shooters and a crab cake sandwhich! ahhh
More of its history –
And for the questions I have gotten lately. Am I going back to Alaska this summer? Maybe not. I’ll be a few weeks on the road in Montana – hoping to camp at Glacier NAtl Park too. And I am taking my youngest on a cruise. A real cruise, not a ‘Gypsy sleeping on the deck of a ship in her tent like last year’. ha. Even though that was fun!

Am I competing with the Bagpipe band? Not for Springfield, Milwaukee, or Chicago’s Highland Games. I will consider Waukesha.
I will be marching in the Memorial Day Parade and Fourth of July for Rockford Illinois. And I plan on the concert on the park in Belvedere.
That’s all for now. Send a comment if I missed anything.

Miltary History Fest / Reenactorfest – A slice of my life as a Vendor

General Sherman and his nurse and yours truly. I inadvertently ran him over in my haste to get to the free wine tasting in the sky booth. oops War is Hell and if you are between me and a glass of wine after a long day….look out!

Last weekend in St Charles Illinois was Military History Fest / Reenactorfest #9. And yours truly was a vendor there. You have been to a flea market, or a festival, a Highland Game, or some other event that has tables of merchandise for sale. And maybe you have wondered about the people who cart their merchandise around and hope that you will stop and look or even better stop and look and take it with you. um, after paying of course, five fingered discounts are bad for us 🙂
This was the first time I had done this particular event and I will say that my merchandise was not the typical merchandise found at this event. There were vendors with all kinds of garb, books, weaponry, and historical collectibles for sale. Also there were encampments set up for which prizes were awarded. I am happy to report I sold several pieces of my jewelry!
This was my table –

I don’t have Replica Confederate Uniforms, midevial Swords, or Ancient Roman tunics. I did have some great history books and interesting antique items to bring. My main goal was to sell the porcupine quill jewelry I started making in Alaska but I also brought Blue Amberol Records, shoe clips, an antique hair tonic bottle, a bundt cake pan in the shape of a castle, stereograph cards, an antique horse shoe I found near the road to Chatanika Gold Dredge, and any other interesting odd bauble I could stuff in my packing crates for the show.

Here is an example of an encampment
Set up for us vendors started at 9am Friday. That meant for myself and the couple I was sharing this adventure with leaving at 7am with the van loaded to the roof and then heading east. We arrived in good time and went about setting up. It was 9 degrees outside. Yes farenheit. It was awful.
Luckily I was organized so my set up went quickly. The doors to the public opened at noon. And the fun began. I set about stalking costumed patrons and snapping their pictures!
And this is some of what I saw —




I thought the event was well attended even though it was nasty cold and then snowed. If you are a people watcher then this was a smorgasboard! I wore my Pipe Band uniform as a costume Saturday, cheating I know, but since I am Gypsy Piper Girl I figured it was good for conversation anyway.
There was a Ball Saturday night but I bailed and went to my hotels hot tub instead. ahhh
On Sunday the show only went till 2pm so we vendors could pack up. Here I am ready to reload the van. Oh boy, can’t wait to get back out in the cold.

Being a vendor is work but I only do a few shows a month so I still enjoy hanging out and talking to people and the variety.
So now it’s Monday. My stuff is back at my office space and I am hanging out with a friend and recharging my batteries. And recovering from having German marching tunes blasted at me ALL DAY from the book seller across the aisle.
Betsy said she kept dreaming of invading Poland. bahahaha
Have a great week!

Reenactor Fest / Military History Fest

Reenactorfest
This weekend I will be vending my merchandise here! I have history books, vintage and antique items, and I am bringing my porcupine quill jewelry, of course.
Here is a practice set up of my booth with many of the items I am bringing!

So I am thinking that this will be a primo opportunity for photos. People in costume, tanks, a Pawn Star….. Sorry I haven’t posted much since my adventures in the Everglades. It’s been dull ’round here.

This is one of the pairs of earrings I made while house sitting in the Alaskan Interior.
If you already know the story then you can stop reading. I grew up in the Midwest USA. I am used to being at the top of the food chain, more or less. I house sat for friends on a goose banding mission. I took care of their hunting dogs and during the day left the door open so the dogs could go in and out at will. The day I got the quills and sat at the kitchen table pondering them one of the dogs, Ilsa, came charging into the house sniffing like she was after Satan. I spent a few desperate minutes wondering what was in the house with me!?! I was picturing a grizzly sneaking in while I was in the bathroom. Ok, of course not, but when you are alone on top of a ridge in Alaska you can let your mind get away with you. What was Ilsa after? Turns out she HATES porcupines and could smell the quills. Ahahahaha. Ok, it’s funny ……now.
I soak and clean the quills with alcohol so that customers don’t have their dogs kill earrings made with the quills.