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9:28 p.m. - 2003-07-29
Guest Room
If you come stay at my house, this is what you'll find in the guest room:

Walls painted a grass green, with white trim around the doors and windows.

Windows with really wide sills. On the sills are an assortment of glass objects, some small toys, two large Mexican papier mache skeletons, the Antwoman doll that Donna made me, a small birdhouse painted by an autistic woman, some other small works of art by Donna, some beach rocks, a fossil, and a bunch of ceramic "shaker" instruments by various artists I've known.

Curtains made of dark purple cloth from India. They are so well-lined that guests complain they can't tell when the sun has risen.

A double bed with blue floral flannel sheets and a blue India print bedspread.

A twin spindle bed which started out in my father's family but wound up in my mother's family. It has green striped sheets, except for the pillowcase which is yellow striped. The bedspread is another blue India print one.

The nightstand has a groovy lamp, with an orange wicker shade that casts wild shadows and makes you feel like you are in a jungle hut. It isn't very good for reading, though.

On top of the nightstand is a bowl with an incense burner in it, a small brass dragonfly, a travel clock, and a small bowl with candy. In case my guests wake up at 2 am with a sugar jones. The nightstand is covered with a cloth that started out as an embroidered purse from....one of those places in the north of India.

In the drawer of the nightstand there is an assortment of things a traveler might need: Advil, a new toothbrush, incense and matches, a shower cap, a notepad.

At the base of the nightstand are some books. The larger ones are a couple of books on Indonesian art and a book called "Salvation of Sand Mountain", which is about the snake handling Pentacostals who live around here. I always make our guests read it, to ensure that they have the full grasp of the Alabama experience. The smaller books are miniature artist's books that I've been collecting for a long time now. They are fun to read when staying in hotels,when you don't want to get all wrapped up in some big long volume, so I thought they'd be fun in the guest room, too.

There's also a photo album that has old postcards instead of photos. I love old postcards, and I thought my guest might like to look at them. Something mindless to do if you can't sleep.

There's also a little box of tourist brochures, so visitors can get some idea of the happy options available to them. The annual recreation of Christ on the Cross at Russell Caves, for instance. Or the wonders of Confederama!

There's a papier mache Mexican devil presiding over a bowl of brightly coloured plastic snap-together toys.

At the end of the twin bed is the wild plastic/gimp/bamboo green chair I bought a few months ago. At the end of the double bed is a boom box, because some people need music to lull themselves to sleep.

There is a bureau in the guest room. It belonged to Bruce's great grandmother. One drawer has some of my vintage clothing. The other two drwers have guest room towels and some sachets. So your clothes won't stink.

The top of the bureau has two Mexican ceramic devils and a painted little chest from India. There are also some of my dolls and some votive holders my friend Deborah made. Oh, and there's a little ceramic devil face made by another autistic person. It fits in with the general happy devil theme.

There's a huge book made with Nepalese paper that has all the travel postcards I've been collecting since I was a teenager. Well, not all of them. Just the exciting ones.

One of Donna's chair paintings is on the wall, it looks great with the green walls. And, Donna, I just realised I promised you years ago (literally) that I would get you a photo of that painting! Ai yi yi...well, I will. This year! Really!

There are also some pictures of big bugs and butterflies that I took from an old encyclopedia, and some old calendars from Nepal with the Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist deities on them. And there's a second small painted Indian cabinet that has books in it - things like Yeat's Irish Fairy Tales and the WPA collected oral histories of the French Quarter in New Orleans.

And a huge closet, with padded hangers. Don't ever say your clothes were abused at my house!


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