When Life Hands You Not-So-Fresh Berries...

Then make muffins! These are blackberry muffins, but I've got some less-than-dewy blueberries in the fridge that are calling out for this treatment. Delish. If I do say so myself!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Hmmm. . . I wonder . . . why is there always dog hair in my bed?

And on the couch?
In my chair . . .

And in my cello case, too!

Mystery solved!!! And it's A-OK, Miss Tallulah Mae--you are free to spread your dog hairs wherever you like, my darling girl. True doggy love . . .

Donna Reed Would Have Worn These with Pearls While She Vacuumed

These lovelies are just part of a huge box of vintage aprons that my oh-so-sweet mom gave me for Christmas a few years ago. I love them all.

And don't you just have a soft spot for wooden clothespins?

P.S. Perhaps if I make like Donna Reed and put on one of these aprons and my pearls I'll be more motivated to vacuum on a regular basis!

Flowers, Marimekko Style

This, plus . . .
. . . these . . .

. . . equals . . . this: a bright and pretty mural of Marimekko-esque flowers. It covers a wall that often gets graffiti painted on it, so let's hope those who do such stupid and annoying things (I HATE graffiti) will respect this. It was fun to help paint it--those stems and leaves are mine, baby! (Some other folks also worked on stems and leaves, too, by the way; I can't claim them all!)

On Your Bark . . . Get Set . . . Go!

I can hear your groans from here due to the punny (unfunny punny?) title of this post, and I do apologize (I also apologize to those of you who thought this might be a dog-related missive). It's a Tuesday, people, give me a break! (Brain not much in gear today.) This tree bark IS interesting, yes? Uh-huh? Right?) Nod your heads . . .

How Much Fun Can You Have for a Dollar?

OK, be honest: how many of you out there could have resisted this (admittedly gnarly) box at an estate sale or yard sale? I had to have it, and I spent about an hour digging through it.

Inside: a lot of utter crap, a lot of decorations and gift bags not to my taste, some vintage wrapping paper that I kept (and a lot that I didn't)...and these little plastic gems. What the heck is UP with these elves(?)--why are they posed like that, and what are the black things on them that look rather like big bugs? What do you think their story is? Weird and creepy, but in a good way!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Look, Tallulah Mae, look! Look who's hopped over for a visit!! Why, it's our friend the Easter Bunny. (Tallulah is so excited; she can't wait to get her basket filled with Peeps and jelly beans. Oh, and perhaps some Greenies for that doggy breath problem.)

Tallulah Mae and her new BFF (best friend forever) Mr. Bunny wish you all a very Happy Easter!

P.S. Check out the link above to the Peeps site. It's absolutely hilarious, right down to the goofy little song that plays. Click on the "Crafts and Recipes" link . . . hours of fun! I love the sensibility of the Peeps folks . . .

Wow Times 3

These photos really don't do justice to this jaw-droppingly spectacular sunset that took place a few weeks ago. Um, wow.

And a Merry Vernal Equinox to You

Let me be the first to wish you a Happy Spring Equinox--it happens at 1:48 AM, to be precise. For some reason I feel like I want to be as busy as this carpenter bee (genus Xylocopa): no, I don't want to gather nectar and pollen, sillies! I want to be cleaning, cleaning out, planting, etc. Let's see how long that feeling lasts before natural inertia sets in again . . .

Soda Bread, Soda Bread

We were invited to a rather spontaneous St. Patrick's Day celebration yesterday, so I baked some Irish soda bread to take along--and, if I do say so myself, it was quite delicious. I substituted plain yogurt for the buttermilk, and I don't think anyone could tell the difference. It was a Martha Stewart recipe, mais oui. . .

Bye, Butterfly

I think this little butterfly was on its last legs--it didn't really try to fly away when I approached it. It was covered with ants--ewww, yucky ants--so I moved it up onto another plant so it wouldn't be bothered by them anymore. Aren't butterflies amazing?

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

The Seven Dwarves called: They'd like Grumpy to come back . . .

Colorful Cuisine

This yumalicious dish is Mrs. Chanchal Kapoor's Village-Style Carrots with Potatoes and Peas (Gajar Aloo Matar) from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian cookbook. According to the book: "A dish from the villages of the Punjab in northwestern India, this is cooked up in open courtyards in the morning and then taken to the farmers in the fields at midday, along with breads, pickles, and yogurt or fresh buttermilk." We have several cookbooks by Madhur Jaffrey, and I don't think there is a bad dish in any of them.

Um, yum (this was cooked by B., of course!). Gotta go: I'm really hungry now!

More Proof that Spring Has Sprung

I believe this to be an ornamental plum . . .

Little Puffy Clouds

That is all: simply little puffy clouds.

Road Trippin'

B. and Tallulah Mae and I took a little road trip on Saturday. The original plan was to go here, to see wildflowers, but gas prices being what they are, we decided to go to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. It's a little bit closer to home, and we'd never been there before. A wildflower website said there were blooms to be seen--but we saw nary a one. This is the landscape there--it was severely burned in the 2003 Cedar fire (not sure if it burned last year as well). Many of the trees had green bits sprouting, so perhaps recovery is happening? Strangely beautiful, if also sad to think of the destruction. We had a lovely little picnic in the car, enjoyed the scenery and the fabulous spring weather, watched a hawk hover effortlessly right above us, had a coffee in Julian, and came home. Fun!!!
What? No golden retrievers allowed? How unfair! Oh . . . no DOGS allowed. . .

Tallulah Mae, being a rebel, flaunted the rules. (Not really: we didn't go on any trails since, bogusly, no dogs are allowed.)
Oh, and also? No men with flaming guns allowed either (thank goodness!).

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah waits.

Incoming!

Pop(corn) goes the Tallulah.

P.S. I absolutely love my little camera--I can't believe it captured the popcorn kernel in mid-air. Too cool!

Cercis Occidentalis

Just some shots of our Western redbud tree (it's still really a large shrub, despite having been in the ground for six years or so), which I love. Now its glossy heart-shaped leaves are emerging.

Pretty!

Walking with Miss Robin

Robin and I have decided to go for a long(ish) walk once a week, and we've been pretty darn consistent over the past six weeks or so (pat, pat). Last week we walked from her house down to Little Italy, and here are some of the sights we saw along the way.