Ha'ppy Hallow'een, Y'all

Tallulah Mae couldn't decide whether to go as a cute lion or a scary lion this year...
A black cat bag made for a friend...
And delicious cupcakes in the spirit of the season.

BOO!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

"I only have one photo in my hands..."
"...Tallulah Mae, you are still in the running towards becoming America's Next Top (Dog) Model!"
See...there's Tyra in the upper right corner. Tallulah Mae models H to P (head to paw).

Sorry if these references are only relevant to those of you who still watch America's Next Top Model (go Laura or Allison!)--guilty TV pleasure!

Yum Yum Yum Yum

The perfect lunch: avocado and hard-boiled egg on toast, accompanied by a tomato from my garden.

I think I could eat avos at every meal and never get tired of them. However, they have a very fine tipping point between "yum-o-licious" and "wow-this-tastes-like-rotting-garbage-get-it-out-of-my-mouth-right-now," don't they?

Yum Yum Yum

This is pastizio (our vegetarian version of a kind of Greek macaroni and cheese). It is delish--and a great way to use up zucchini!

Yum Yum

Homemade pizza...super-thin, almost crackery (whole wheat) crust and whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Mmmmmm...good!

Yum

Pie and coffee for breakfast? Why yes, I'd love some, thank you! (This is grits pie, absolutely fabulous--very similar to chess pie. First time I made it--didn't make the crust this time, too lazy--and I will definitely be making it again.)

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Deep Thoughts, by Tallulah Mae

... Food ... Skwerls = Evil ... Treats = Good ... Food ... Rolling on My Back--Must Do More of It ... Food ... Treats ... Dishwasher, Love/Hate Relationship ... Food ... Naps, Close to Perfecting ...

Parentheses

Indecisive Foliage

This liquidambar tree seems as if it can't decide: to change or not to change? (That IS the question!)

Skellies on Parade

These are very cool, yes? B. has a nice little collection of skellies, but these are a bit large, I think. Very well done, though (they're made of clay and are about 18 inches high). They are happy-looking calaveras!

Lilliputian

A wee grasshopper...so cute! In the photo above, it looks as if he's lifting up the dahlia petal to peek outside.
And here he is trying to evade me. Sorry, little dude, you can hop but you can't hide!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Cutest. Dog.
Pinkest. Tongue.
Longest. Whiskers.
My. Darling.

Also: please admire her newly cleaned teeth! No more Miss Stinky Teeth...at least for a little while!

An Excellent Autumn Outing

Last Saturday Miss Robin (of Various and Sunday fame) and I took a girls' road trip to Valley Center. We loaded up with supplies (lattes and scones) and drove 45 minutes or so to a marvelous place: Matilda's Mouse. It was my first time, but Robin has been there before. Love it! (This is where I bought my sweet-but-doomed birds' nest.)
Meet Matilda. She's dressed up for Halloween as Dr. Matilda. She is rather old, so she was asleep much of the time (sweet girl!).
Every square inch of the barn/shop was decorated for Halloween--cute, spooky, clever, creepy.
Then we went to another barn/shop, Barntique, run by a very nice mother and daughter team. They had darling dogs...
And horses.
Hello!
We stopped at the feed store--as you do...and I was mighty tempted by these chicks, only $2.50 each! (Please, honey, please?)
And of course, one must stop at a farm stand...

A very fun day was had by all--thanks a bunch, Miss R.!

Things I Took Pictures of Today

A teeny flower in the middle of a lawn.
A bird with a gorgeous yellow underbelly.
The sunset.
The full moon.

Foziewisp Fail

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I am a card-carrying bird geek. I love them, I'm fascinated by them, I can't get enough of them. Same goes for bird's nests. I have one I bought in Tennessee many years ago (goes on the Christmas tree every year) and another I found after a windstorm, attached to a palm frond. And I bought this one on Saturday, at a really cool place to be blogged about tomorrow (an antique/curiosity/barn sale shop). So sweet...rather haphazard, but I'm sure it did the job nicely. Lots of materials utilized: animal hair (horse tail/mane?), twigs, straw, and even a bit of green webbing.
See the green plastic stuff? So amazing and cool.

But here's where the "fail" comes in: I saw a teeny bug on the tissue paper it was wrapped in, so I set it outside to sort of bake in the sun. I just thought, "hmmm, a little bug." I decided to google how to "sterilize" nests--I thought in the oven at low heat, freezing?

And then: I encountered a million gross sites about--wait for it--BIRD MITES!!!!! Gross little mites that infest birds (particularly baby birds) and their nests apparently continue to reside in the nests after the birds have flown the coop. And these mites will infest houses, people, dogs, etc. Absolute horror stories abound about infestations that nothing will cure short of a nuclear blast or an acid bath. Advice was along the lines of "put on a Hazmat suit, pick up your 10-foot-long-tongs, and seal those suckers away in a lead case."

So, sadly, I double-bagged the sweet little nest and put in in the garbage. And then had a hallucinogenic itch attack. The end.

Fun with Soda

I kinda love this...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

So we have a t-shirt winner: a kids' t-shirt works best of all. She's wearing this one until Monday, when the stitches come out.
She looks vaguely indignant, doesn't she? Poor girl.
This one makes me laugh because she looks as if she's hiding something under that shirt in the back. A side of bacon? (It's an optical illusion--reflection on car seat.)
She's our Little Turtle!

Dogs, Pink and White and Freckled All Over

This is Lando; he lives down the street from me. I love how it looks as if he's Juliet on her balcony.
And check out this darling girl, tied up--which I HATE!--in front of the grocery. So darling...folks were skirting around her because she is clearly part pit bull ("pittita bulls" as I like to call them), but she and I had a right good snuggle fest. Sweet puppy...

Snailio Iglesias

I KNOW how destructive they are, but I can't help but think that snails are just darn cute! They have bunny ears and carry their houses...and that, folks, is just adorable!

Prosit!

Ja! The German American Societies put on a rockin' Oktoberfest in El Cajon this past weekend...
According to my husband, who knows such things, it was pretty darn authentic (no busty lasses carrying multiple beer steins, but still...).
Lederhosen and dirndls!
Sauerkraut, Bratwurst, Kartoffelsalat, und Bier!
Pastries!
Guys in Tyrolean hats and funny whiskers!

And an authentic German band, all the way from...you guessed it, Germany. Fun!