My Last Post of My First Blogging Year

"All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love."
--Leo Tolstoy

I wish everyone a very happy new year, full of love and all other good things.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae went over the river (desert) and through the woods (cactus), to grandmother and grandfather's house . . .

She helped out in the kitchen, enjoyed extra helpings of love, was admired and cooed over (more than usual), and she sat in a giant pink chair . . .
And encountered a gigantic walrus and its calf . . .
Which she thoroughly enjoyed, as you can see.

It's Still Christmas ...

A wider view of the somewhat crazed display of Santas, etc. Does anyone happen to know the derivation of Santa posed on one leg, as you can see above? I have quite a few Santas in that pose, and I've always wondered what THAT is all about.

Day of Rest

Santa finally gets to put his feet up.

Happy Boxing Day!

Peace, Goodwill

The foziewisp tree, hung with shells, feathers, pinecones, etc.

Tallulah Mae, B., and I wish you all a very Foziewisp Christmas.

'Twas the Night Before...

And no one was stirring, except maybe some of these cool vintage Santas ... perhaps they all have a Christmas party when no one is looking ... They invite all the deer and snowmen . . . doesn't that little dude at left look a bit concerned? Maybe he's afraid they'll all get caught?

What's that? Do I hear reindeer? Gotta go ...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

"Oh yes, Santa, I've been a very good girl this year . . . please bring me some food, LOTS of food; a slipper of my own to toss around the room so I won't need to steal other people's; long walks; playtime at the Golden Paw; and beaucoup snuggling. Hey, wait--other than the slipper, I already HAVE all of those things! (More food, though, please.)"

Merry Christmas, one and all . . .

Frosty (the Snowman, Not the Weather)

Since we don't have snow here, behold: Le Snowman Plastique.

Red and Green

This liquidambar (sweet gum) tree has its own little ornaments hanging...

Green, Red

This week we're looking at some of nature's decorations. I think this is toyon . . .

Red, Green

I love to see these big poinsettia plants in people's front yards. When we first moved to L.A., I remember being just thrilled to find these 5- to 6-foot-tall plants growing in front of cute little forties-era bungalow courts--and you can find vintage postcards showing the exact same image. Ah, California . . .

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

A puppy flashback . . . lordy, she was cute! (Still is . . . )

And, Crafted Again

Here's the last batch of goodies . . . if you look closely, you'll see some Tallulah hair on the left stocking! Verisimilitude!

Crafted, Also

Some greeting cards . . .you can't tell from the (rather dark, sorry) photos, but the little animals stand up from the bingo card a bit.

It's so fun to dig through my rather copious amount (ahem) of vintage source material and make these . . . unfortunately, most of that stuff has to live in the garage, so bins and boxes and bags o'stuff come into the house and are piled up. Creative chaos, I guess!

Crafted

Here are some Christmas things . . . non-Christmas cards/tags tomorrow. These are really simple, but kinda cute (if I do say so myself)! I had some notion of starting an Etsy shop--what do y'all think? Would people buy these kinds of cards?

A Winter Walk by the Water

After working working working, I decided to take a late afternoon walk on the beach. Here are some of the sights I saw:

You'll have to fill in the smell of the ocean, the brisk breeze, and the whoosh of the waves yourself...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

This is a face that ALWAYS makes me happy. I love the look on her cutie-pie face in this photo. She looks so much like a hound dog here . . . and yes, your eyes do not deceive you: she is in fact being snuggled on the couch by that biggest of softies, B.

Some Things That Made Me Happy Today: Thursday

Winter sunsets.

The fact that this little guy/girl isn't afraid of me and lets me get so close . . . check out the feet, people!

Other things I liked this week: warm bread pudding; an email with a picture of my friend's new Boston terrier pup, Ike; walking in the park with Wendy and her darling new dog, Stanley; crafting, finally; the Wednesday-night double-header of mindless TV (America's Next Top Model and Project Runway); getting a cute grey-and-yellow Marston's hatbox for $2 at an estate sale; this website (come on: a baby coyote?! Cute overload, indeed).

OK, because I am most certainly NOT a Pollyanna, a list of things I DID not like this week: Christmas shopping (ugh)--this includes one of the rudest shopgirls ever, who seemingly hated me simply for coming in her door; the idiot who ran up behind me on the sidewalk, wearing his iPod, with his dog, when Tallulah and I had our backs to him--SO not cool; a stiff neck; finding the tomato plant that my friend the gopher has decapitated (and the next day he/she pulled the plant down underground).

Some Things That Made Me Happy Today: Wednesday

Milky, sugary tea--and? Digestives, of course (but only two--even though I want more, I can only have two. It's the official Rule of Digestives.).

And this view . . .

Some Things That Made Me Happy Today: Tuesday

The perfection of a sand dollar.

Vintage goodies drying on the line.

Some Things That Made Me Happy Today: Monday

You know that you've been in a questionable mood when you have to apologize to two different people (Hi, Mommy!; Hi, Dawn!) who very innocently called you to chat and you were cranky/testy/short/curt/fill in the blank. So: this week I plan to focus on the small things that make me happy.

Above: the first hot water bottles of the season. Ahhh . . .

A brisk walk in the park . . .

. . . in the company of Miss Tallulah.