WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

After a two year (+) hiatus I am back on-line as The Real Folk Diva: Billie Dove . . . The photo above is our most loved Roger Dodger . . . RIP

I am now residing in New York City! Here's how I got there:

In December of 2005 we took the plunge - sold our house and left Seattle - a big step for me - I had never lived anywhere else . . . I was both exhilarated and terrified. Good Bye Seattle. Place of my birth!

My beloved PK and I had an adrenalin fueled trip driving cross country with our ultra small motor home [Roger!] pulling the tiniest of trailers filled with all our belongings . . .

Oregon and California were beautiful [I realize now I took all that natural beauty for granted] and familiar as old friends. The vibe around Joshua Tree was spooky at night [remember Gram Parsons] . . . So long West Coast.

Arizona was cruel - scorching during the day and horribly cold at night. It was literally freezing cold with ice forming inside the vehicle overnight while we slept. I had a very unhappy - and cold - Boo Boo Dog after that.

New Mexico was quaint and pretty with very nice folks who tried to help us with the propane heater in Roger. I had the feeling they thought us very simple people because we did not know how to work anythng but the stove . . . We ended up buying two portable propane heaters from K-Mart and that was that - problem solved.

The sky and stars were so pretty every night driving across this great land.

Texas appears to be an almost [I say almost because Austin does have some redeeming qualities] thoroughly hateful and depressing state. The "Picnic Areas" which substitute for normal Rest Areas have no bathrooms or any kind of running water just some cement tables and trash cans in the dry harsh weeds. Dallas has a real Rest Area which is huge and actually very nice - it even has free wi-fi but that was it for the whole state of Tex-Ass. A friend had given my a pamphlet called: Your Rights And The Police and told me to read before drivng through . . . Texas made me nervous and I was glad to leave it behind.

Oklahoma and Arkansas seemed pretty poor but nice in a way too. I actually saw some honest to goodness Roadhouses there and a whole lot of Road Kill.

I liked Tennessee. It was exciting to drive through Memphis and we thought of possibly settling there. I never did get to Dollywood or Graceland though . . . I thought I might go for my 40th Birthday.

Then we reached our goal: The Appalachian Mountains! Our final destination was Hickory North Carolina but we ended up in a small artsy & hippie type town called Black Mountain. Black Mountain is a little outside Asheville [which is called The Paris of the South] and very picturesque. They have a great cafe called The Greenlight and I wanted to eat there all the time - also the Dripolator was very good for coffee.

We would walk the dogs at River Walk Park and you could see the trains go by - the engineer would always wave. One day I saw the Ringling Bros. Circus Train go by! For me that was a real higlihgt of living in Black Mountain . . . There is a lot of wildlife there . . . birds & butterflies of all kinds and the most beautiful night skys - you can see so many stars . . . one night a Bear came onto our porch to see what he could find.

We stayed there for six months in our little shack which we dubbed Hillbilly Haven. It was fun while it lasted and we did alot of traveling around North Carolina [we loved Wilmington] and the rest of the South but unfortunately Roger started to die and no one seemed able to fix him. It was sad but it was time to say Good Bye Roger - I cried.

Next Stop: New York City. We've been here in Spanish Harlem for about two years now and plan on staying for as long as NYC will tolerate us [by some kind of miracle we found a sort-of affordable apartment and we've dubbed the new pad Bohemian Heaven] . . . Darling PK is performing every day and making his way with his music - look for him on the 96th or 51st Subway Platform and at the benches near Levin Playground in Central Park once the weather warms . . . In my New York Life as Mrs D I am working among the fashionistas celebrities and artists of Soho at Gourmet Garage.