Roamin' to Ramona

Last Friday Miss Robin and I set out for Ramona, specifically, the Ramona Fairgrounds. Our destination? A craft and collectible fair.

Ramona is pleasantly rural. On the way there, we saw goats (I lurve goats!!). And rusty horse trailers. And a lineup of mailboxes.

Main Street Ramona has a mix of little shops, the Guy B. Woodward Museum, and the Turkey Inn (from the outside, it seems to be a thoroughly authentic place to have a beer and a cigarette before 10 AM, as evidenced by the woman we saw out front when we drove by). Ramona apparently used to be known as the Turkey Capital of the World (!), hence the name of the joint.

The craft/collectible fair was fun, a mix of things (jewelry, plants, and yes, some geese wearing bows around their necks). I took a few photos but was then told photography was not allowed.

They were selling lovely plants, and this so-called hummingbird moth was having a wonderful time sampling them all. (He was very hard to photograph because as their name suggests, they move like hummingbirds--absolutely fascinating.)


At the fair we sampled utterly delish breads baked at Belen Bakery in Escondido, up the road, which is owned by a young couple. Everything we sampled was so good that we decided to go to the bakery itself for lunch, so we did. In Escondido we also found Peterson's Donut Corner, where the yummy donuts were all arrayed on metal racks. Did we have one? No. Do I fervently wish that we had? Yes!

We hit a few thrift stores and then headed home. A fun day was had by all!!

Woo! Hoo!

This little bag o' seemingly junky jewelry was marked down from $3.00 to $1.00 (I got it at a craft/antiques fair I went to with Miss Various and Sunday--more on that tomorrow). In fact, it wasn't so junky after all--there was a cute white beaded bracelet, an odd but cute metal bead necklace, a really fabulously cheese-tastic "gold" heart necklace . . . and, as I could see within the mass of plastic bags, a green bracelet.

A green BAKELITE bracelet. A green HINGED bakelite bracelet. Yay. And, um, yay.

Cue the Cole Porter: It's Too Darn Hot!

It has been unbearably hot here for the past three days . . . so to cool off, I post this lovely photo of waves breaking on Coronado's beach. This dates from last November, so I didn't actually enjoy any cool water, but just looking at it gives me a moment of "ahhh." My brain is not functioning at full capacity, so this is all I gots today . . .

Also, Happy Birthday to the Divine Miss D. --virtual pear-a-tinis for everyone (except B., who needs to have a gin substitution for the foofytini).

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Portrait of Dog, Lamp, and Door.

This Is Why People Sometimes Look at Me Funny

OK, well, in fact there may be other reasons, but this is one example: people walk by and stare as I point my camera at what appears to them to be just another ugly/ordinary/rusty pole. I've had acquaintances come up to me and ask, "Did I see you taking a picture of a lightpost on Washington Street yesterday?" Um, why yes ... To me, these textures and colors are simply beautiful.

My, What a Lovely Proboscis You Have

This butterfly--I think it's some sort of skipper (insert Gilligan's Island joke here)--is enjoying the nectar in this scabiosa in my garden. Slurp slurp slurp ...

Global Love

Tallulah Mae would like to wish you a very happy Earth Day.

{For some reason, I keep imagining her wearing nerdy horn-rimmed eyeglasses in this photo!}

Rosy Corner

I've developed rose fever . . . we're making some changes in the backyard, and roses figure in the new plan. Some might argue that it's not water wise to plant roses, but I've always found that plants take a lot less water than many people think. In fact, I've never had a plant die from lack of water--too much water, yes, but not too little. I think the roses will thrive nicely once they're established.

Here the roses share space with a rosy little chair and a rose-patterned pillow (thanks, Robin!).

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Let's check in with Tallulah Mae, our doggie yogini, shall we? Here Lotus Flower Stinky Teeth illustrates a textbook Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana). We've already seen her version of the crow pose...

Like many yoga practitioners, Tallulah always enjoys a good final relaxation in Savasana.

Namaste!

Rooby Roo Purse

This lovely, ladylike purse was purchased at an estate sale--the price was very good (though not "I'm dancing away clutching it to my chest" good). The handle and clasp are a faux tortoiseshell plastic (lucite?). What I love about it is that it looks totally appropriate next to this lovely Staffordshire china teacup (one from my mom's collection, which she has sweetly passed on to me) . . .
. . . and next to my cellphone. Timeless! Actually, it very much resembles this purse, by Kate Spade (which is currently on sale, marked down from $395 to $296). I also found this purse, by the same manufacturer--cute purse, but $295?

It's a "Shaggee of California"--all I can think of is this guy, of course, hence the title of this post ... Zoinks!

Ahoy, and a Flock of Non-Seagulls

Down by the bay . . . these are the sails and rigging (proper maritime speak?) of the Star of India.

I'm not sure what these guys were doing, but it looks pretty pirate-y, no? Observe the top of the ginormous cruise ship in the background ...

And a flock of pigeons, many of whom can't be seen here because I was avoiding photographing the license plate of this car. There were many, many birds congregating here. And only here--not on the car behind, not on the car in front. I've never seen pigeons roosting on top of a car, actually. I love how they chose a WHITE car to um, decorate (YOU know what I'm talkin' 'bout).

It's a Wrap: Post No. 251!

I can't believe it, but this is the 251st time I've posted. Woo! Hoo! These are pictures of some sweet vintage wrapping paper I found at an estate sale a few weeks ago. I'd almost given up hope of finding anything when I pulled open a filing cabinet drawer in the garage. Bingo!

Chickens on Parade

As you may recall, dear readers, I have a fondness for chickens (both animate and inanimate). All of these darling plastic chickens have been acquired (given to me by my sweet husband, mostly) at different times . . . they're rattles. The white chicken is new to the collection--welcome to the flock, white plastic chicken.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Uh-oh. It looks as if Tallulah Mae is having a bad whisker day--see that one sticking straight up?

Here it is on the ExtremeCloseupWhiskerCam . . .

And here it is in action . . .

Call Me Magpie

These glass beads were sold to me as "Peking glass." I don't know about that, and I don't really do anything in particular with beads. However, like a magpie, I was attracted to them as I pawed through a box o' miscellaneous junk: "Ooh. Bright. Shiny. Caw, caw."

Look What I Got! In the Mail! Yippee!

We get a LOT of packages, envelopes, and parcels delivered to Chez Foziewisp because one of us--and it's not me, by the way--is a collector of many things; I've become very close with the FedEx guy and the UPS gal. Packages come most every day, but they're hardly ever for me. (Picture me: sad-eyed and empty-handed. Sigh.)

So imagine my utter delight when an outwardly innocuous-looking envelope arrived in the mail from my friend Susan. I was thrilled before I even opened it, but I may actually have squealed when I saw this little bundle o' goodness. Check it out: Orange polka dots AND yellow gingham AND ribbon that looks like a measuring tape?! No way! For me?! Thanks EVER so much Miss Susan (and, I think, Miss Erin). You're WAY too sweet . . .

Juxtaposition

I took this photo because I really like the contrast between the gnarly industrial cables and the delicacy of the little birds.

Christmas Cards in April

OK, so when we went to the Antiquarian Book Fair in L.A. back in February, I made a purchase. Surrounded as I was by things priced at $1,000, $5,025, or $10,675.92, imagine how thrilled I was to find these darling cards--complete with little hand-painted wooden angels on them--sitting on a counter. A hand-written sign said: "Tyrolian cards. $7.50 all." Wow--sign me right up.

I bought them, thinking I'd scored a prize, and I told everyone I encountered about getting the bargain of the show. My friend Dawn, who loves the same stuff I do and is in fact a favorite estate sale/flea market companion, of course loved them too. And lo and behold, when she went by the little Dutch man's booth, there they were. Again. Same six little cards, same little sign. Clever fellow--he was pulling them out one set at a time so that each purchaser thought they were really getting a little treasure. Which in fact, we were--but we were all getting the SAME little treasure! I do love them ...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

[Said in best Oliver Twist voice]: "Please, sir, I want some more."

While Miss Mae does not get table scraps--on the extremely rare occasion that she does, they always are put in her own bowl--we do (ahem) let her lick dirty dishes before they go into the dishwasher; I figure that they're being well sanitized in there. While our eco-friendly approach to dish rinsing may gross out some of you--hey, love me, love my dog. And her dog spit. (If you'd rather have paper plates when you come visit, just let me know . . . )

Brekky

How yummy was this? It's bread pudding--truly one of my most favorite dishes ever--made from challah (by B., my charming and handsome chef). With a homemade latte, of course. Wish this were brekky every morning. Alas, no...

Everyone Is Busy in the Garden

This bee was taking a break from nectar gathering . . .

A snail convention (thank god it's not in MY yard!).

And a ladybug doing what we all want her to do: eating aphids. Yum!

I spent the afternoon out in the garden, too, digging in compost, using a sieve to remove weed seeds (oh yes, I really did), and planting a few things. More planting tomorrow . . . my aching back!

Fezzes on Parade

Believe it or not, these are actually real fezzes mounted on a wall--I love how flat it looks, as if it were a painting.

This view is of the same restaurant--JSix--where we had a lovely and fun dinner last week with two dear, sweet friends from L.A. (hi, Don; hi, Andy!). Let's do it again soon . . .