Flickering Out

As 2008 flickers out, we light the lantern of 2009. May it bring you all that your heart desires...

I Heart Equines

While we were in Texas we had the great pleasure of visiting the small ranch owned by B.'s brother and his wife. There, we met six of the most sweet members of the equus family--all of them were friendly and let us pet them, except for one. Above are Toby and Butterscotch, miniature horse siblings. TOO darling, yes? That's Gloria on the left (she was a bit standoffish) and Desi on the right--they're mother and daughter donkeys. This is Ty, a gorgeous paint...and he's the boss of this horsey group. And this is Skip, the senior in the group at 20 years old (apologies here to my sister-in-law, who was mortified that the animals had been rolling in the mud and thus, the state of their manes. To me, it just means they'd been having a rollicking good time!). Now, close your eyes and imagine that you're stroking those velvety nostrils and inhaling that incredibly sweet horse smell. Ahhh...

Texas, Y'all

Happy post-Christmas! Hope yours was peaceful and filled with coziness and love. We traveled to Texas to visit B.'s relatives, and while we were there we had the chance to explore a few small towns. This is Denton, which has a lovely courthouse and town square... There are two movie theatres, neither of which still shows films, sadly (one is apparently a church and one seems to be used for live events). Sweet...I have a real fondness for small towns--not that I'd necessarily want to live in one (guess I'm a big city gal now!), but they have authenticity, a quality sorely lacking these days...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae thinks: "Dude, that's a mighty funny-looking sleigh..."

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town

Merry merry, happy happy, joyeux joyeux, to all of you (and woof woof, too!).

Gonna Find Out Who's Naughty or Nice

Checking It Twice

Making a List

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Inquiring minds want to know: Have you been naughty, or have you been nice? Hmmm...?

Song Sung Blue

On mornings when I go to yoga class, I have a soy banana smoothie, with whatever berries are available in the refrigerator thrown in--most often it's strawberries (it's California, after all!), but sometimes it's that super-food, blueberries. Look how pretty--it turns my smoothie a lovely blue/lavender. I love the contrast between the muted blue/purple and the bright yellow/orange (fresh squeezed, of course--it's California, after all!).

Raindrops...and Drops and Drops

We've gotten 1.63 inches of rain over the past 24 hours, added to almost the same amount that fell on Monday. The rainfall total for the previous year (July to June) was only about 7-plus inches... (not complaining, by the way, just commenting! I feel for all of those who have experienced hardships due to snow, ice storms, etc., in other parts of the country!).

Green Light

Cool plant, yes? I know not what it is, unfortunately...

Euphorbia Pulcherrima

Behold, the poinsettia, grown outside and in its natural state. I think I posted about this last year, but it is such a SoCal thing to see these tall old plants in front of people's houses (check out this cool postcard with just such an image). They bloom--get their red bracts and tiny yellow flowers--as soon as there are about 13-14 hours of darkness. So pretty...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Wait, what's that bit of black and white I see here?

And whose tail is this?

Hmm...I wonder...Why look, it's Tallulah Mae, lounging on the banquette and wondering where her BLT with avocado is...she thinks the service in this place is execrable: the staff is very friendly, but they never seem to get her order right.

Eggplant Babies

Lovely little eggplants...I didn't know they turned yellow if left on the plant. But, as you can see above, they do!

Painted Sky

How CAN certain sunsets be so spectacularly beautiful? (I know, I know, atmospheric conditions, cloud cover {fingers in ears, la la la}). Just...ahhhh.

Me and Etsy

For better or worse, richer or poorer, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donder, on Blitzen...oh, sorry. I've been inputting stuff into Etsy for a few hours and may be delirious.

{Clears throat} Ladies and gentlemen: I'm happy to announce that Betty and Dot, my humble Etsy shop, is open for business. I'll be adding a lot more merch tomorrow, so... check it out and let me know what you think! It's here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6445008.

Fruity Bounty

As promised, here are some shots of the fruit I picked during a fun fall excursion. Persimmons...

And pomegranates. Fruit Inspector Tallulah Mae on the job...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Up Close: Fifth. Tallulah Mae.