Thursday, April 30, 2009

Felt-o-Rama


Don't you just love anything with "o-Rama" in its name? I most certainly do...
Hence my affection for this little treasure; it's a vintage (1960s? 1970s?) sample book of felt from the Continental Felt Company (also great...I'm seeing and hearing Christopher Walken in my head? "Oh, wow. Have some chompagna!")
Where else might you find "Fuchsia Fatalle" cheek by jowl with "Atomic Red"?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Skwerly Yours


This McSkwerlerson looks a bit like a door knocker here, doesn't he? Something had him/her very upset--it was barking up a storm (we were on the other side of the street, so I don't think it was the presence of Miss Tallulah Mae that was causing it). SKWERL!!!!


Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Look, it's my very own Rothko!!!

Just kidding: this is actually a window blind in our living room with the sun shining through it; the smudgy bits in the middle are where the painters did a really bad job on the trim.

Monday, April 27, 2009

A Stellar Jay

...no, actually, it's a Western scrub jay (not a Steller's jay--little bird joke there!). How gorgeous is that blue?

Friday, April 24, 2009

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Here Tallulah Mae shows us her talent for balancing things on her head...{clap clap clap}.

Actually, this is a classic photography mistake: taking a photo without noticing what's behind your subject. (It's also amusing that the gazing ball appears to be floating up above the greenery.) Ha!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Instruments of Beauty


Aren't these calligraphy brushes just lovely? I was told they were Japanese--not Chinese--when I bought them at an estate sale, but I'm really not sure ... I just love them as objects. And then, of course, there's the gloriousness that is this piece of washi...ahh...I heart Japanese paper!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What's that Saying about "A Clean Desk"?

Sometimes I crack myself up...this is a totally unstaged shot of my desk right now. Let's see: dead bee? Check. Handmade gift tags? Check. Half of an embroidery hoop and "vintage" seeds in red Pyrex dish? Check. Quizzical stuffed bunny? Check. Ah, well, perhaps this sums me up nicely!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Pit Stop Jackpot

Sometimes, when you're on the road and you need to pee, you simply find a gas station that looks like it might not be too terrible, you hold your nose, do your business, buy a Diet Coke, and leave. But other times...look what you might find: a veritable cornucopia of fabulosity!
Oh, yes!

Monday, April 20, 2009

Striking Contrast

I love the constrast between these colors...BTW, that pod was not growing on the tea tree shrub; it actually fell from the liquidambar tree above.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

This also counts as "Some Odd Things I've Acquired Recently: No. 6"; it's a little piece of wood on wheels, I guess to move a plant around on. Price: $1.00. Tallulah Mae's expression here? Priceless. I tried to get her to put her little pointy foot on it, as if it were a skateboard, but she was having none of it...

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Some Odd Things I've Acquired Recently: No. 5

Well, maybe not SO odd...a twine dispenser! I do love things on spools, so this is perfect for me. Price: also bought with an armload o' stuff, so not clear.


I just used it when I was making these tags: they're pressed flowers on Japanese paper, with--wait for it--twine! They will be sold at my garden club's annual Garden Walk on May 9.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Some Odd Things I've Acquired Recently: No. 4

A book of wallpaper samples...I think they're from the seventies? (My dream is to find one from the thirties or forties or fifties...but this will do! Many of these actually have a sort of William Morris vibe to them.) Price: hard to know--bought with a whole armload of stuff at an estate sale--including these buttons--for $5.00.

Some Odd Things I've Acquired Recently: No. 3

A glass, back-painted sign that was once in a phone booth. Price: $10.00.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Some Odd Things I've Acquired Recently: No. 2

A rusty stool (to put a pot on in the garden; also, remember, dear readers, I like rust). Price: $1.00.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Some Odd Things I've Acquired Recently: No. 1

A trug/tool carrier...it has traces of red paint and cool chevrons painted on all four sides. Price: $1.00.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Hoppy Easter

Tallulah Mae and the Easter Bunny hope you have a lovely and relaxing Easter.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae likes to stop and smell the roses, er, wisteria...

Thursday, April 9, 2009

What a Difference a Month Makes


Way back on March 10, I spotted my first sweet pea...since then I've been cutting them daily; I have vases full of them by my bed, on my desk, and on the dining room table. Look at them now! Just so, so lovely...

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Get Out Your Tiny Bee-Sized Clipboards

...and help count the bees in your yard! (BTW, there is a bee up there on that arugula flower if you make the photo larger; that arugula stand is about 5 feet tall. I let it go to seed for my bird and bee friends). The Great Sunflower Project aims to enlist the help of the public to check on the bee population in urban areas--here's an interesting short article about it in American Scientist. You sign up with the project and they'll mail you a packet of sunflower seeds. After your sunflowers bloom, you count the number of bees who visit a flower in a specific time period, and the scientific types will extrapolate from there.



I'm always up for a good nature count: remember this? And then there's BioBlitz, where you count species (plants, animals, insects) in a specific area, such as a park--locally, the San Diego Natural History Museum is conducting one at Mission Trails Regional Park on May 2...hmm...I may have to take my bee-sized clipboard and head on over! (I'm such a geek, aren't I?!)You can tell it's spring and everything is blooming--this lovely lady above has pollen sacs that are bursting with bright yellow pollen; I saw another one on this plant who was carrying around screaming orange pollen. I love them so...I could watch my bee girls for hours.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Nice Try, Buster

I give this weed props for finding an ingenious place to grow--around our gas meter. Needless to say, this intrepid little guy has gone bye-bye now...

Monday, April 6, 2009

Button Love

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a...um...how shall we say...button...fetish? Obsession? Fascination? Let's just say that I have a LOT of buttons. But does that stop me from buying more? Um, no--look what we found at a sale this weekend: a big ol' tin of them! Yay! Big ones, small ones; mother-of-pearl ones, plastic ones; tiny ones, large ones. I haven't sorted the buttons yet, but I did go through and remove all the non-button items:
Screws, snaps, hooks/eyes, a keychain, an old screwdriver...
There were also these goodies: a Kennedy campaign button; religious medals (plastic and metal)--the one at top left by Kennedy is for the Sacred Heart Automobile Association, who knew!--a Safeway grocery store 5-year pin; fake pearls; and (possibly) bakelite belt buckles. A good time was most definitely had by all, er, ME!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Ta-da! Presenting: Tallulah Mae...or at least, the parts of her that are all over the house right now.

LOL, says Miss Mae. Not.

Five Senses Friday

Sight
This little ladybug was very busy in my weed basket...up, down, upside-down, acrobatically moving from one leaf to the next. It's nice to have company when you're weeding!

Sound

Me, playing (rather badly, alas) Bach's Suite No. 1 in G-Major on my cello...

Taste
A blurry--but I actually kind of LIKE it blurry--photo of my artichoke, cooked up and ready to be dunked in melted butter. It was tres delicious, too...and there are currently four MORE artichokes on the plant. Yay! Smell
Roses...not mine, yet--I didn't prune them until the first part of February (late), but they're loaded with blooms that haven't yet unfurled. (This is a neighbor's rose...)

Touch
This unbelievably soft and down mound of fur extracted from Miss Tallulah Mae with the Furminator. It's her undercoat, and it feels just ike angora...and it's all over everything, despite my best efforts (sigh). It's OK, she's worth it!