foziewisp

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2012-01-27T16:22:00.000-08:00

Latte, a Love Story. First, the sad puppy dog eyes as I finish my delicious milky coffee drink.
First few licks, nose fully inside...
Note how she's taking it away from me now...
...for some full-on get-to-the-bottom-of-the cup-action.
All gone?
How sad...she's waiting for the magical Starbucks fairy to come and refill the cup. Me too!

Whinny, No Poo

2012-01-26T18:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the pun...I couldn't resist! Found this little guy on the sidewalk...

Modern Times

2012-01-25T17:52:00.000-08:00

No muted stained glass for this church: it's neon, baby! (I'm not judging anybody here, by the way...to each his/her own, say I!)

Sweet Tweeter

2012-01-24T20:52:00.000-08:00

Isn't she sweet? I'm not sure what she is--still investigating--but I love her patches of yellow. She hopped around the yard for a good half-hour yesterday, snacking away.
I think this is her mate, observing from atop the telephone wire.

Majestic Monarch

2012-01-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

How beautiful is this creature? From the stained glass wings to the polka-dotted body...
In this shot you can see just how battered they become as they fly such long distances--the left wing is tattered along the edges.
A tiny creature casting a mighty big shadow...oh, my butterflies, how I love you!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2012-01-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

"My precioussss..."

Tallulah Mae LOVES to grab canvas grocery bags out of your hand and run away with them...here she is guarding one. My precious (and silly) girl!

Why?

2012-01-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

Why NOT have giant inflatable polar bears atop your restaurant?

Stop SOPA

2012-01-18T18:16:00.000-08:00

Dark night, dark Internet? Find out about SOPA and PIPA, and if you're so inclined, sign the petition here.

Good Day, Sunshine

2012-01-17T18:07:00.000-08:00

It's hard not to smile when you see a sunflower, am I right?

Easter Jack o'Lantern?

2012-01-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

So I planted a pumpkin plant way back in July, I think...it grew... and grew...and grew...and made flowers that fell off. And grew really long. And made a tiny pumpkin that rotted.

Finally, when I'm about to rip it out, I see this. A pumpkin. Perhaps I can carve a jack o'lantern for the Easter table? Sigh.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2012-01-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

Hello!

The First...

2012-01-12T18:59:00.001-08:00

...insect of 2012! Congrats, Mr. Grasshopper. I had to shoo him off, though...as I was taking his photo, I saw little bits of rose petal falling out of his mouth. No no, Mr. Grasshopper: we do not gnaw on our roses!

File Under "It Takes All Kinds..."

2012-01-11T19:17:00.000-08:00

Today I drove by this house...it's got some really cool stuff mixed in with some, um, junk.
I loves me some quirky house decor, and I'm filing this one under "eccentric."
This person--and I saw her in the flesh--I think has moved beyond quirky/eccentric into the realm of mental problems. I do admire the hard work that went into sticking all of those individual letters, ransom note style, onto her vehicle. None of it really makes much sense, but there seems to be some concern for children, including Michael Jackson's kids and Britney Spears's children.

The driver's sartorial choices were interesting too: a green metallic skirt worn on her head like a turban (shades of Little Edie Beale in Grey Gardens [if you haven't seen the original, you really must find it and watch it]); sheer lacy sleeves over a bra; black tight workout pants pushed up to the knee; bright pink socks worn with sandals; lots of jewelry. She seemed happy...

Bibliocat

2012-01-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

I ask you: What could be better than a used bookstore...
...with a friendly cat who curls up in your lap? (I might say "a used bookstore with a friendly puppy who curled up in your lap"--super-duper dog fanatic here--but this sweet girl was mighty fine indeed!)

File Under "Whaaaaa"?

2012-01-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

I've seen people out and about with a variety of animals in my day: dogs, cats on leashes, parrots and cockatiels pooping down their owners' backs (ewww), snakes draped over shoulders, even a mini horse once. I have never seen this, however: a guinea pig walking along behind its owners. I thought it was the world's smallest dog from a distance, but then I realized, no, that is a guinea pig. Okaaaaay...

TCB, EAP!

2012-01-08T20:58:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday, Elvis Aron...hard to imagine you as 77 years old! Check out my cool Elvis napkins, hand made for me by my very own mom...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2012-01-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

Tallulah Mae on her magic flying carpet...

Nature...

2012-01-05T17:58:00.000-08:00

...'tis wondrous indeed!
Tallulah Mae thinks so too!

Simple Pleasures

2012-01-04T20:50:00.000-08:00

On a lovely sunny day, what could be better than to sit on the back step with my knitting, some tasty clementines, and my sweet dog?

Come on Down to Creepytown

2012-01-03T18:46:00.001-08:00

"La la la la la, driving down the road..." Wait. What did I see out of the corner of my eye? See up top there? U-turn...
Um.
Er.
Eek.
Creepytown! The photos are not any better than this because we were across the road. Many "No Trespassing" signs, and given these guard mannequins, we took it seriously!

What Did You Do on New Year's Eve?

2012-01-02T20:09:00.001-08:00

First course...me: salad of butter lettuce, fresh herbs, goat cheese, and pecans; he: foie gras.
Second course...me: roasted beets and homemade ricotta (OMG yum); he: the same salad as above.
Third course...me: stuffed pepper and veggies (not terribly sucessful, alas; not bad, just not divine); he: pork belly.
Of course! Dessert course...me: chocolate tort; he: spiced pear bread pudding (his was better!). Dinner was at Urban Solace, one of our very fave places.
Home by 9 p.m. and in jammies to play Boggle (I won, amazingly), eat good chocolate, drink champagne, and wait for the ball to drop. Perfection!

How 'bout YOU?

Happy 2012

2012-01-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

Morning Poem

Every morning

the world

is created.

Under the orange

sticks of the sun

the heaped

ashes of the night

turn into leaves again

and fasten themselves to the high branches ---

and the ponds appear

like black cloth

on which are painted islands

of summer lilies.

If it is your nature

to be happy

you will swim away along the soft trails

for hours, your imagination

alighting everywhere.

And if your spirit

carries within it

the thorn

that is heavier than lead ---

if it's all you can do

to keep on trudging ---

there is still

somewhere deep within you

a beast shouting that the earth

is exactly what it wanted ---

each pond with its blazing lilies

is a prayer heard and answered

lavishly,

every morning,

whether or not

you have ever dared to be happy,

whether or not

you have ever dared to pray.

from Dream Work (1986) by Mary Oliver

© Mary Oliver

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-12-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

It's been a long year of Tallulah-Palooza Fridays, and Tallulah Mae needs her rest.
(You can tell we're at the end of the holiday season...if you look closely, there is green glitter up there on her sweet pink muzzle. It's OK, Miss Mae--I think by this time we all have a little glitter tucked up somewhere it's not supposed to be!)

Tree of Shapes

2011-12-29T19:29:00.000-08:00

Tree of Rubies

2011-12-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

Tree of Lines

2011-12-27T19:16:00.000-08:00

Tree of Light

2011-12-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy Merry Merry

2011-12-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, every one! May all your wishes come true, today and always...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-12-23T17:00:00.000-08:00

OK, Santa--we know you know when we are sleeping and you know when we're awake...but getting in our bed with us MIGHT be a tad too close for comfort.
Right, Tallulah Mae?

Decorate Day

2011-12-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

More Christmas collections (remember the crazy Santas? The reindeer?). Here are just a handful of Hallmark Merry Miniatures (B. puts them on my gifts, so over 27 years there are a LOT of them!)
Santa boots and a pair of Christmas salt and pepper chakers that belonged to my grandma Dorothy.
And some trolls...it's just not Christmas without a troll confab, right?

Wrapping Day

2011-12-21T19:23:00.001-08:00

Santa presents: chocolate-dipped ginger!
My love of wrapping presents will never abate! Above, tags made of vintage holiday postcards...initials are stamped on the back so we know who they're for.
And another gift assortment. Love to give presents and LOVE to wrap them up all purty!

Festive Day

2011-12-20T20:53:00.001-08:00

It's fun to decorate areas that don't normally get the festive touch: here's the potting shed with some evergreen fanciness.
And in the kitchen, a garland of teeny little kitchen implements...oh how I love these!
Check out that little pastry cutter...so cute!

Fun Day

2011-12-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

How fun to spend the morning in the kitchen with your honey making gifts together? We made organic applesauce...
Chocolate-dipped ginger...
And dog biscuits (yes, those are in the shape of mustaches, with a Scottie dog thrown in for good measure!).

A lovely and relaxing day--we need to be sure we have those more often in the new year!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-12-16T20:02:00.001-08:00

Tallulah Mae and one of Santa's elves are exchanging secrets...
She may be giving him her Christmas list (barrels of smoked fish, buckets of Starbucks lattes, and a tanning bed), or she may be reporting who has been naughty and who's been nice around here. They both stopped talking when I entered the room, so...

Santa Is Stalking Me!

2011-12-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

WHAT?!??!!!
EXCUSE ME?!?
BACK OFF, SANTA!!!! No, I'm NOT done with my Christmas shopping yet!

'Tis the Season...

2011-12-14T19:53:00.000-08:00

...to finally get around to making some Christmas presents!
A felt needle case with pre-threaded needles so you can sew a button on in a hurry...
...a felt cat toy...
...and chocolate-dipped ginger.
Voilà (pronounced "wa-la," right, Miss D?)! Fun...I love to make things and frankly don't do enough of it...New Year's resolution, perhaps?

Loveliness in the Mail

2011-12-13T19:56:00.000-08:00

What's in this brown envelope sealed with wax?
A ton of loveliness from Small Meadow Press, that's what! These are bits and pieces from a most talented artist (here's her blog).
Love the chickens!
And I adore these two greeting cards with quotes about books/reading. This packet was a little holiday gift to myself...

(Sorry for the bad photos...cold and rainy and GRAY here for the past two days. Break out the woolies!)

Red Beauty

2011-12-12T22:23:00.000-08:00

I just never get tired of seeing these mature poinsettias in people's gardens...so pretty, and they've been there for some time. I have a feeling today's plants have been bred/hybridized/messed with to the point that they probably won't thrive like these hardier specimens. So cool!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-12-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

Enigma.
Sun-dappled.
Nostril cam.

One Reason I Love Etsy...

2011-12-08T21:45:00.000-08:00

It allows me to wrap presents...which I LOVE to do; if it were feasible, I'd love to have a little business where I could wrap things all day with vintage paper, ribbons, package toppers, etc. FUN! This little guy--it's a planter with a little bear on the front--is winging his way to Japan--where he probably came from in the 1950s. He's going home.

I Can't Help It...

2011-12-07T21:38:00.000-08:00

I simply MUST take photos of the sunsets...they take my breath away.

Veggie Love

2011-12-06T21:31:00.000-08:00

Breakfast has never been my favorite meal--really, often I'd just rather not--but my new love for the morning repast is roasted veggies over some sort of starch (quinoa, couscous, etc.). Add a few walnuts and some shredded seaweed...yum yum YUM! (No, really...you should try it!)

To the Moon, Alice (on a Blimp)

2011-12-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

How is this for a travel story? I rode a blimp to the moon. The end.

Not! I really did go to Asia, and I really did take lots of cool photos, I promise! Someone keeps stealing hours out of my day when I'm not looking...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-12-02T19:20:00.000-08:00

"You bore me, people..."
"I vant to be alone...," said Tallulah "Garbo" Mae.

2011-12-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

This almost doesn't look real...it looks like a painting, yes? (Not sure what kind of tree it is, either--very few leaves turn this color in SoCal; the usual suspect is liquidambar [also known as sweetgum), which this is not]). Lovely.

Pthhh...

2011-11-30T21:17:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-29T21:18:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-25T21:13:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-24T11:16:00.000-08:00

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...

2011-11-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

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...

2011-11-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

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...

2011-11-21T21:18:00.001-08:00

Living in a place where roses bloom in November.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-11-18T18:41:00.001-08:00

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

Whaaaaaat?

2011-11-17T22:02:00.001-08:00

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...

2011-11-16T16:54:00.001-08:00

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

Guess Where I Was Last Month?

2011-11-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

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

Sign Seen

2011-11-14T20:15:00.001-08:00

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

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-11-11T18:42:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-09T21:20:00.001-08:00

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

2011-11-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

Hearts--they really are everywhere...

Sky Shows

2011-11-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-04T20:07:00.001-07:00

Tallulah Mae, Girl Photographer.

All Grown Up

2011-11-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

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

2011-11-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

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

2011-11-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

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!

Ha'ppy Hallow'een, Y'all

2011-10-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

Tallulah Mae couldn't decide whether to go as a cute lion or a scary lion this year...
A black cat bag made for a friend...
And delicious cupcakes in the spirit of the season.

BOO!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-10-28T18:40:00.001-07:00

"I only have one photo in my hands..."
"...Tallulah Mae, you are still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top (Dog) Model!"
See...there's Tyra in the upper right corner. Tallulah Mae models H to P (head to paw).

Sorry if these references are only relevant to those of you who still watch America's Next Top Model (go Laura or Allison!)--guilty TV pleasure!

Yum Yum Yum Yum

2011-10-27T17:50:00.001-07:00

The perfect lunch: avocado and hard-boiled egg on toast, accompanied by a tomato from my garden.

I think I could eat avos at every meal and never get tired of them. However, they have a very fine tipping point between "yum-o-licious" and "wow-this-tastes-like-rotting-garbage-get-it-out-of-my-mouth-right-now," don't they?

Yum Yum Yum

2011-10-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

This is pastizio (our vegetarian version of a kind of Greek macaroni and cheese). It is delish--and a great way to use up zucchini!

Yum Yum

2011-10-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Homemade pizza...super-thin, almost crackery (whole wheat) crust and whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Mmmmmm...good!

Yum

2011-10-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Pie and coffee for breakfast? Why yes, I'd love some, thank you! (This is grits pie, absolutely fabulous--very similar to chess pie. First time I made it--didn't make the crust this time, too lazey--and I will definitely be making it again.)

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-10-21T17:00:00.000-07:00

Deep Thoughts, by Tallulah Mae

... Food ... Skwerls = Evil ... Treats = Good ... Food ... Rolling on My Back--Must Do More of It ... Food ... Treats ... Dishwasher, Love/Hate Relationship ... Food ... Naps, Close to Perfecting ...

Parentheses

2011-10-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Indecisive Foliage

2011-10-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

This liquidambar tree seems as if it can't decide: to change or not to change? (That IS the question!)

Skellies on Parade

2011-10-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

These are very cool, yes? B. has a nice little collection of skellies, but these are a bit large, I think. Very well done, though (they're made of clay and are about 18 inches high). They are happy-looking calaveras!

Lilliputian

2011-10-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

A wee grasshopper...so cute! In the photo above, it looks as if he's lifting up the dahlia petal to peek outside.
And here he is trying to evade me. Sorry, little dude, you can hop but you can't hide!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-10-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

Cutest. Dog.
Pinkest. Tongue.
Longest. Whiskers.
My. Darling.

Also: please admire her newly cleaned teeth! No more Miss Stinky Teeth...at least for a little while!

An Excellent Autumn Outing

2011-10-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Miss Robin (of Various and Sunday fame) and I took a girls' road trip to Valley Center. We loaded up with supplies (lattes and scones) and drove 45 minutes or so to a marvelous place: Matilda's Mouse. It was my first time, but Robin has been there before. Love it! (This is where I bought my sweet-but-doomed birds' nest.)
Meet Matilda. She's dressed up for Halloween as Dr. Matilda. She is rather old, so she was asleep much of the time (sweet girl!).
Every square inch of the barn/shop was decorated for Halloween--cute, spooky, clever, creepy.
Then we went to another barn/shop, Barntique, run by a very nice mother and daughter team. They had darling dogs...
And horses.
Hello!
We stopped at the feed store--as you do...and I was mighty tempted by these chicks, only $2.50 each! (Please, honey, please?)
And of course, one must stop at a farm stand...

A very fun day was had by all--thanks a bunch, Miss R.!

Things I Took Pictures of Today

2011-10-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

A teeny flower in the middle of a lawn.
A bird with a gorgeous yellow underbelly.
The sunset.
The full moon.

Foziewisp Fail

2011-10-11T22:06:00.001-07:00

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a card-carrying bird geek. I love them, I'm fascinated by them, I can't get enough of them. Same goes for bird's nests. I have one I bought in Tennessee many years ago (goes on the Christmas tree every year) and another I found after a windstorm, attached to a palm frond. And I bought this one on Saturday, at a really cool place to be blogged about tomorrow (an antique/curiosity/barn sale shop). So sweet...rather haphazard, but I'm sure it did the job nicely. Lots of materials utilized: animal hair (horse tail/mane?), twigs, straw, and even a bit of green webbing.
See the green plastic stuff? So amazing and cool.

But here's where the "fail" comes in: I saw a teeny bug on the tissue paper it was wrapped in, so I set it outside to sort of bake in the sun. I just thought, "hmmm, a little bug." I decided to google how to "sterilize" nests--I thought in the oven at low heat, freezing?

And then: I encountered a million gross sites about--wait for it--BIRD MITES!!!!! Gross little mites that infest birds (particularly baby birds) and their nests apparently continue to reside in the nests after the birds have flown the coop. And these mites will infest houses, people, dogs, etc. Absolute horror stories abound about infestations that nothing will cure short of a nuclear blast or an acid bath. Advice was along the lines of "put on a Hazmat suit, pick up your 10-foot-long-tongs, and seal those suckers away in a lead case."

So, sadly, I double-bagged the sweet little nest and put in in the garbage. And then had a hallucinogenic itch attack. The end.

Fun with Soda

2011-10-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

I kinda love this...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-10-07T18:32:00.001-07:00

So we have a t-shirt winner: a kids' t-shirt works best of all. She's wearing this one until Monday, when the stitches come out.
She looks vaguely indignant, doesn't she? Poor girl.
This one makes me laugh because she looks as if she's hiding something under that shirt in the back. A side of bacon? (It's an optical illusion--reflection on car seat.)
She's our Little Turtle!

Dogs, Pink and White and Freckled All Over

2011-10-06T20:37:00.001-07:00

This is Lando; he lives down the street from me. I love how it looks as if he's Juliet on her balcony.
And check out this darling girl, tied up--which I HATE!--in front of the grocery. So darling...folks were skirting around her because she is clearly part pit bull ("pittita bulls" as I like to call them), but she and I had a right good snuggle fest. Sweet puppy...

Snailio Iglesias

2011-10-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

I KNOW how destructive they are, but I can't help but think that snails are just darn cute! They have bunny ears and carry their houses...and that, folks, is just adorable!

Prosit!

2011-10-04T21:02:00.000-07:00

Ja! The German American Societies put on a rockin' Oktoberfest in El Cajon this past weekend...
According to my husband, who knows such things, it was pretty darn authentic (no busty lasses carrying multiple beer steins, but still...).
Lederhosen and dirndls!
Sauerkraut, Bratwurst, Kartoffelsalat, und Bier!
Pastries!
Guys in Tyrolean hats and funny whiskers!

And an authentic German band, all the way from...you guessed it, Germany. Fun!

Tallulah-Palooza Update: YAY!

2011-10-03T16:28:00.000-07:00

The vet called: the mass was a lipoma, NOT the c-word! Yay!!!!!!

I changed her into this long-sleeved t-shirt because she managed to wrangle her leg out of the first one (I suspect rolling was involved). We were calling her Amelie Mae and Marcel-lulah (Marcel Marceau's got nothin' on her!)--all she needed was a little red kerchief, oui? Adorable (said in French accent). Alas, the sleeves wouldn't stay up, even with pins, so she's in yet another shirt (a kids' shirt this time--more pix to follow, of course!).

Thank you all for your kind words and good thoughts--it certainly helped! (And have I mentioned: YAY-o-YAY!) She's on the mend, for sure.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-09-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

Our little invalid: Tallulah Mae had to have surgery on Wednesday to remove a small "mass" from her right front leg. We won't know what it was until we get the biopsy results on Wednesday--everyone please think positive thoughts that it was...nothing.

In the above photo she is still very groggy...she kept nodding off while standing up (poor sweet girl!)
The t-shirt is in place of the dreaded Elizabethan collar--she had one on at the vet and came running out to see me, wagging her tail, kissing the vet tech good-bye (bopping him in the face with the E-collar). The vet advised us to try the t-shirt since it's much less disturbing to the dog than the cone. So far, so good...
Camille, on her couch...
B. donated his 42-year-old University of Maryland-Munich t-shirt to the cause...
Soooo darling (cute or sad? You be the judge!). The incision is healing nicely and she's not messing with it--yet. I have a long-sleeved striped shirt that may be next if she starts to bother the wound. Anything but the cone, say I!

She's getting extra treats: rotisserie chicken! Since I'm a vegetarian, she never gets meat, so it's extra-exciting. Every time I open the fridge, I look down and find my little friend at my feet, willing some delicious chicken to levitate out and into her mouth.

Spider Portrait

2011-09-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

I find spiders just fascinating (I do like them MUCH better when they're outside the house)...this one really looks as if it has a face (or a Lucha Libre mask!). And it almost looks as if it is holding a swaddled baby (even though we know that's not a baby--that's dinner!). I took this photo a couple of weeks ago and this gal is still there...

Sir Stanley

2011-09-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

Like many black English labradors, Stanley enjoys a good "knock, knock" joke:

Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Bow.
Bow who?
Not "bow who," "bow wow!"

Good one, McStanlerson!

Happy Indeed

2011-09-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

This plate of yumminess is the Happy Vegan salad from one of my favorite places to eat, Tender Greens. While I'm not a vegan (vegetarian but not vegan), this does indeed make me VERY happy.

Umm...OK...

2011-09-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

Plastic eyeball + neighborhood sidewalk = ??? Rather macabre kids' or dog's toy? Alien left his eyeball behind? Artificial cyclops eyeball? What???

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-09-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

Miss September.

A Midwestern Odyssey: Part Eight: Dogs Along the Way

2011-09-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

Satchel: he is an amazing/funny/goofy/ bull mastiff.
Star: she is permanently winking at you as she has only one eye.
Satchel and Star: they live together; Star is quite patient (he is still a teenager.)
Hershey: he is a long-distance trucker dog.
Bubba: he is a Chinese Crested with trust issues.

Dogs! Never far from my dog-loving grasp--or my ever-present camera--even when I'm on vacay!

Bonus: a video of Satchel (who is camera shy) and Star. They belong to my sweet friend, Miss J-Lou, and her family.

A Midwestern Odyssey: Part Seven: Odds and Ends

2011-09-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hitchhiker.
Farm stand.
Sign reads: "I don't know how to spell zuchininni, but I do know they are .99 a pound."
Drive-through dairy, sadly now defunct.
Right down the street from where my grandma lived.
John Deere tractor made of salvaged wood--this man had a whole yard of things made of wood, including a train.
Kiddie tractor pull (?).
The horse part of this statue in downtown Lexington traditionally sported, um, testicles painted red when I was growing up there (didn't get close enough to see if the tradition continues! If the painters could paint the man's personal parts red as well, they probably would!)
Spectacular.
CSA monument (wouldn't be a cemetery in the south without one...)

A Midwestern Odyssey: Part Six: The Vistas

2011-09-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

A Midwestern Odyssey: Part Five: Details

2011-09-19T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

2011-09-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

Wink, wink; nudge nudge; say no more say no more. Know what I mean?

A Midwestern Odyssey: Part Four: Fun at the Fair

2011-09-15T22:46:00.001-07:00

There is nothing like a small-town/rural county fair, no?
The classic.
Fun!
Who doesn't love a good tractor?
Gotta love a business called Mr. Plow!
Wow, corn judging--clearly I'm not an expert, because I couldn't differentiate between the red ribbon corn and the blue ribbon corn.
The pretty quilt with the roses up there (cross-stitched roses) was made by my great-aunt, who won a third place ribbon--yay, Aunt Helen!
Lots of pretty quilts...lots and LOTS of quilts.
Love how these were displayed. Not pictured was a whole category of produce called "Freaks of Nature." Fantastic!

I loves me a fair, and this one was really quintessential: guess-the-weight-of-the-frozen-hog-and-win-it contest (the hog was wearing a chef's hat!), square dancing, harness racing, kettle corn, combine displays, the county Republicans on one side of the aisle, the Democrats on the other. I went with my second cousins--who I hadn't seen since I was about 8 years old--and it was just a really fab experience all around. (Thank you: Kyle, Karen, and Bob!)