Friday, January 30, 2009

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Title of work: "Funhouse Portrait Number One," 2008.

As evidenced here, she has an amazing ability to wrap those cute and silly ears of hers around to the back of her head, in the process becoming "Tallulah Mae, the Amazing Earless Wonder." She's got skills!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Space Age Berries

These remind me, for some reason, of one of these George Nelson clocks...I actually love all the different colors here.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Part Two: The Kindness of...


...here is my other fabulous blog giveaway prize from December: it's an "eco print" from the very talented artist Alena Hennessey. Yay-o-yay...I truly love it--and it's extra perfect for me since I was born in the Year of the Rabbit.
This giveaway was courtesy of Indie Fixx, a way cool site that showcases all sorts of indie artists and designers...thanks to both of these kind bloggers.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Part One: The Kindness of...

...sweet and generous bloggers! I enter blog giveaways occasionally but rarely win (although I did hit a streak of good luck in December). This first giveaway was part of Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day on December 3; there were about a hundred bloggers participating. The sweet blogger at I Heart Linen had one giveaway, and then because she felt so bad for the more than 600 folks who commented but didn't win, she added another--and looky looky what I won! Some lovely Japanese fabrics, Japanese rick-rack (I loves me some rick-rack!), and a skein of Japanese linen yarn. Thanks so much, Rashida...I'm so thrilled with my goodies. BTW, she has an Etsy shop, too... Official blog giveaway inspector...

Monday, January 26, 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Pop quiz time, class (please take out your No. 2 pencils).
Q: What do you do if you get really really overheated? Acceptable answers include: A) rip your sweater off while proclaiming that you're about to burst into flames; B) fan yourself wildly with anything to hand, even if it's floppy and doesn't generate any air (napkin, post-it, handbag); C) lie back on a couch in your silk slip and talk about always having depended on the kindness of strangers. Or you could just do what Tallulah Mae does...BTW, for this technique to succeed, it's absolutely crucial that your back legs are up the couch and that your tail is tucked.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

California Dreamin', On Such a Winter's Day...

Cue the Mamas and the Papas...

Those are not big rocks you see on the beach above--they're harbor seals at Children's Pool in La Jolla. There is controversy here: some selfish pigs want to "return the beach to the people"--the people who have miles and miles of shoreline to use--and chase away these seals...who breed here and have their babies in the spring. Leave the seals alone!
Blorpety-blorpety-blorp...
This little dude was body surfing and then rolling around in the surf--CUTE!
This one is camera shy: "No paparazzi!!"
The end.P.S. This post is meant to express my gratitude and amazement that I live in such a place; it is NOT meant to rub it in for those folks who live where it's decidedly more winterish. Come visit us and warm up!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Crow Sandwich

This... (which, hilariously, looks as if it has soaked up all the water in the birdbath)... ...belongs to him/her. After I took these photos, he/she proceeded to spend some time removing small pieces of the bread, bit by bit; the bulk of it still lies moldering in the birdbath.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

'Twas a Good Day...

. . . a very good day indeed.

Monday, January 19, 2009

The Car Dogs Might Choose If We Taught Them to Drive

If you saw this, you would just have to smile, right? I mean, the car itself--a BMW Isetta 300--just makes me grin, but look more closely at the passenger... Let's have a closer look, shall we? But wait! Someone else is there...is it the doggy driver, perhaps? Look closely and you can see both of our canine motorists' faces. Cute!

If you're interested in seeing an amazing collection of other microcars, check out this site: The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum. Wow.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Black and white and red all over? No, not a book, silly: Tallulah Mae!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Just Because: A Random Tractor

See? It's...a tractor. It sits outside of the--what else?--Tractor Room, a cool restaurant where we like to go for breakfast. (Their site has music, be warned...)

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Road Trip Potpourri

Aren't these wild? They are called Buddha's hand, and they're a kind of citrus fruit (they smell lovely, by the way).
These pix all came from the trip wayyy back in November where I picked persimmons and pomegranates. These were some other sights along the way... This turtle was at a Mexican restaurant--note the outstretched back leg... The final three photos are from a nursery along the way (I've forgotten the name--eek).

Monday, January 12, 2009

Thursday in the Park with Stan

Tallulah Mae was hoping to camouflage herself in the pine needles so that she could menace the skwerls...it was not successful.

Stanley was hoping for some treats, and that WAS successful--look at that face. Who could resist?
And an anonymous monarch butterfly, whose agenda wasn't clear to me... (isn't it gorgeous!?).

Friday, January 9, 2009

Tallulah-Palooza Friday


It's a one-dog night...brrrrr!

Q: What do my dad and Elvis have in common? In addition to both being Kings, I neglected to note both of their birthdays on the appropriate day! Happy Birthday, Elvis (it was yesterday, by the way).

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Old and the New

I love how this liquidambar tree (also known as the sweet gum tree) still has its "fruit" from last year even as it has new leaf shoots. The old and the new, in harmony...

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Tweety Birds

A confession: I could totally be a bird geek (not that there's anything wrong with that, said in Seinfeld voice). What are these pretty birds, I wonder? They're unusual in my neighborhood. They are a lovely subtle shade of yellow on their chests, and they're rather large (in other words, they're not goldfinches). Tweet!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Breathe Deep


Ahhh...I never tire of the sunset. I stand, take a deep breath, and say thanks for another day.