Pthhh...

This is me right now: my tongue is stuck out and I am looking sideways because I don't have time to do a proper blog post. Argh. Blegh. Pthhhhhhhhhhh....

Across the Ocean

Those of you who guessed that we were in Japan last month were correct...but before we flew to Tokyo, we were in Taiwan! Taipei, to be exact...more to follow.

Foreign Travels, Eventually Revealed

I've been meaning to reveal where I was last month...but now it's late and I'm too tired (ever have one of THOSE days?) Tomorrow the travelogue will commence.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

And this: I'm SOOOO grateful for this little warm, furry, funny, sweet, nutty canine treasure. Tallulah Mae = love.

She looks as if she's auditioning for a part in the Charlie Brown Christmas pageant, doesn't she?

Happy Thanksgiving, 2011 Edition

That's me up there--guess which one I am!--on a Thanksgiving many years ago...

Two quotes on this 2011 Thanksgiving day from Mary Oliver--a most remarkable and wise poet.

Sometimes I need
only to stand
wherever I am
to be blessed.

and

Every day I see or hear something that more or less kills me with delight, that leaves me like a needle in the haystack of light.


Wishing you a lovely day with your friends and family (or in solitude, if you choose).

P.S. Thanks for the lovely comments on yesterday's post...

I Give Thanks for...

Family: those no longer with us physically but always with us nonetheless; those to whom we speak every day; those who might live far away but always make us smile; those to whom we are connected by the blood of our forefathers; those whose faces look back at us from black-and-white photographs from long ago. They all have shaped us and made us who we are.

Friends: old and new; near and far; real and virtual; human and animal. Some have seen us at our worst while others have been with us when we were at our very lowest. Others always make us laugh, while a few have been our friends since we were very young and will always be in our hearts.

B.: my one and only, my friend and my family, every day and in every way.

I'm Also Thankful for...

My five senses and the ability to touch this velvet ear and fuzzy snout...
...to smell a wall of wisteria in bloom...
...to see one of the wonders of the world with the one I love...
...to taste an ice-cold beer after a long day...
...to hear the sweet song of a bird sitting on a wire.

I'm grateful that all of my five senses--and my four limbs and my one brain--are all in good shape and allow me to experience the world every day.

I'm Thankful for...

Living in a place where roses bloom in November.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

You know, sometimes the best things in life are free...like the cardboard roll out of the tinfoil.

Whaaaaaat?

We interrupt the impending travelogue to bring you this: a person in a SKWERL!!!!!!! suit. Oh yes: a human-sized SKWERL--check out the tail; I think it's inflatable. Thank goodness Tallulah Mae can tell a real SKWERL from a fake one, or quite a scene would have ensued.

This person/SKWERL and friends seemed to be shooting a little film in the park...don't ask me!

Tell Us, Tell Us...

"We really want to know! Where WERE you last month?"

Guess Where I Was Last Month?

A hint: one of my favorite places on earth! More to come...

Sign Seen

Odd and sad and totally lacking in punctuation...I hope Conor went home.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

GAH! That dog lip...it just kills me.

(The whole Tallulah Mae package kills me, actually, but when she yawns and then doesn't quite adjust her mouth, we get that lower dog lip--and kaboom!)

Ornamental Surprise

In the park for my weekly chatfest/dog walk with my friend, and I look up and see this: a decorated tree branch, hung from a tree branch (it's a bit hard to see, sorry--grey and cloudy day here). And hung quite high up, too--like long ladder high, almost hanging over the road. In other words, it was a bit of work to hang this up. Who? When? Why? Who knows...

Perhaps an ambitious SKWERL!!!!!! with a teeny-tiny hot glue gun bedazzled a branch for fun?

Dueling Campers

His and hers? Theirs and ours? Mine and yours? I hope the interiors match the stripes--in that case, I'm definitely calling the one on the left...

I Heart Hearts

Hearts--they really are everywhere...

Sky Shows

They always thrill, yes? Even a subtle one, like this; it hung around for about 20 minutes, amazingly.
This was the sunset that evening, after a rainy stormy day.
And then this...
At the end of every day I say a little thank-you for being allowed to experience another day--whether or not it was frustating/upsetting or exciting/peaceful. Just...thank you.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae, Girl Photographer.

All Grown Up

So, I wonder if this is the same grasshopper from this post (that photo was actually taken on September 20, this one on October 12), all grown up now. He/she is definitely eyeballing me here!

Again, I know they're destructive (though not in my yard, really), but they're so elegant--and such a lovely shade of green!

Feliz Días de los Muertos

Happy Day of the Dead...I personally find it to be a festive and thoughtful celebration, not a morbid or sad one (for the most part). Here are some photos from Old Town San Diego...
There is a cemetery where pioneers are buried, Campo Santo (Sacred Ground)...and out on the busy sidewalk are these buttons indicating a grave beneath the pavement. Wonder who is buried there?
And there are simple umarked graves inside, too...nice to remember them today, yes?

Halloween Love

I love how our local shopping area does it up right for Halloween! In particular, two shops owned by a husband and wife--With Love, a gift shop, and Bel Age, a clothing and accessories shop--are amazingly adorned. They are always really cutely decorated, but on the holidays these shops are a wonder to behold. Love it!