The Last Rose of the Year

A new year is unfolding--like a blossom with petals curled tightly concealing the beauty within.
--Anonymous

Lights, Pretty

How festive are these Christmas lights? They were at the Mesa LDS Temple (close to where my mom lives) and free to the public, LDS and non-LDS alike (like us!). Pretty...

Nolo Me Tangere

Pigeons apparently have a one-pigeon-space rule, no more, no less. I need about a five-person-space rule--I don't think I could be a pigeon.

Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet? Are We There Yet?

Polly Jean (on left) has already eaten all of the M&Ms in her little travel goody box and is hoping against hope that Otis (on right) will knock over his RC Cola so that she can nab his candy while he's not looking. Travel Bingo, anyone? Or 500 rounds of "I Spy with My Little Eye"?

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae is coming to town. Oh, and Santa Claus, too! Merry Christmas, o blogosphere and all my bloggy friends! Happy happy to everyone who doesn't celebrate the day, too!

You Know Who Is Coming to Town: Thursday

I'm telling you why...

You Know Who Is Coming to Town: Wednesday

You'd better not pout...

You Know Who Is Coming to Town: Tuesday

You'd better not cry...

You Know Who Is Coming to Town: Monday

You'd better watch out...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah's head and Buddha's hand...
Wha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-t?

Tick Tock

OMG. How can it be that Christmas is but a week away?!! Can't we stop the clock for a few minutes? Or weeks?

Birds {Comma} Perching

Y'all know I lurves me some birds...from top to bottom: my friends/foes the crows; a parrot (look closely!); a black phoebe; and a gorgeous hawk. Tweet (the old-fashioned kind, not the electronic ones)...

Beam Me Up, Stanley

Check out Ensign Stanley--see him down at the bottom, in his red collar--a crew member of the Dogship Enterprise...he's just coming back from checking out reports of a planet where there are hundreds of miniature clones of Tallulah Mae (Aye-aye, Captain, I'd call that heaven!). What did you find, Stanley?

Glitter, Glue, Goods

Over the last couple of weeks I've been madly gluing and glittering in preparation for a neighborhood arts and crafts show. How did I do? Let's just say that I now have a huge supply of cards and tags for my own personal use now and into the future!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

This is called, "Oh-hi-I-love-you-so-much-I'm-on-your-chair-how-cute-am-I-please-feed-me-right-now." Starring Tallulah Mae.

Miss Mae asks you to overlook the incredibly messy office seen in the background. It never {cough, cough} looks like that...

Cue the Choir

Don't these clouds look like something from a Renaissance painting? {Harp strings plucked...}

Somebody Got a Really Good Deal...

... on ginormous yard art!!!! This is out in front of somebody's house. Kinda great, no?

Sepia

I love how these zinnias dried...they were a vibrant pink but they turned into this sepia-toned goodness.

How Bunny

How cute is this? Last week on our walk Tallulah and I encountered Mr. Bunnykins here sitting out in his front yard...love that he has his snacks all ready over there to the left. I love bunnies, especially lops!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Hello!

Camouflage

Check out Mr. McHummerson here: He's all, "No one here but us lemons, nosiree...{whistles nonchalantly}" That lemon has a very pointy beak, methinks.

An Unbelievable Botanical Specimen

Isn't this just...beautiful? It's a banana plant, of some sort (check out all of the unripe green fruit above). As trite as this may be, I am in awe of nature every single day, whether it be a tiny bee, a jaw-dropping sunset, a flock of pigeons wheeling off of a lightpost in perfect unison...or this. (This photo wasn't taken in a botanical garden--this wonder is growing right here in my very own 'hood, around the block from my house!)

BTW: this is my 700th blog post. Wow! It continues to be a pleasure to pick out some little something from my life and share it here, and it's been wonderful to make a bunch of bloggy friends--you know who you are! Hey, y'all--thanks ever so much for stopping by!

Sometimes Your Orange Juice Is Telling You Something

...that the world is full of love?

Thing One and Thing Two

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae's helpful post-Thanksgiving advice. "Friends, did you over-imbibe yesterday? Too much choco-pumpkin pie with whipped cream and sprinkles? One too many helpings of yam/marshmallow casserole? Green beans coming out your ears? Corn pudding overload? Just do what I do: nap. A lot. Trust me, you'll feel better after a nice five-hour snooze. That is all."

Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!

This has not been the best year for my family--far from it--but I am grateful today for so very much (more than I could ever put into words, certainly). While I miss those who are not with us today, I do cherish the happy memories I have of other days spent together. Here are two quotes from Henry David Thoreau...I think they're both quite lovely.

Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable. No day will have been wholly misspent if one sincere, thoughtful page has been written. Let the daily tide leave some deposit on these pages, as it leaves sand and shells on the shore. So much increase of terra firma. This may be a calendar of the ebbs and flows of the soul; and on these sheets as a beach, the waves may cast up pearls and seaweed.

=======================================

I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite—only a sense of existence. My breath is sweet to me. O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession, but enjoyment. If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs—is more elastic, starry, and immortal—that is your success.

Fruit-Picking Road Trip Part Three

After we picked fruit, we stopped for some delicious Mexican food at El Rey (fabulous salsa).
Then we stopped, serendipitously, at San Antonio de Pala, on the Pala Indian Reservation. This mission was an asistencia, or submission, the only one still in existence in the California mission system. It is still an active church with regular services. The rough floor in the chapel is original to 1816, and the paintings were done by Native Americans. The campanile is free standing, which is unique in the mission system. Very pretty and atmospheric.





Across the street is the Pala store, with this great old crusty sign.
And here are some more photos in the persimmon orchard. Just a lovely, lovely autumn road trip...