Science Experiment

Did you know that you cannot just cut dahlias and plop them in a vase? Oh, no, you cannot. They will look nice for about 12 hours, and then they wilt and shrivel--much to our surprise, I might add.

Turns out that, due to their hollow stems, you need to cut them underwater and then submerge them in hot water for a while. And they'll last 5 days or so, just as perky as can be. Science!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

"I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille..." said Tallulah Mae Desmond. (Sweet girl! Kiss kiss kiss!)

Flower Birds

Every day I love to hear the birds in the backyard. Mostly it's little house finches and sparrows chittering away, but the other day I heard a LOT of birds making a different sound (and not the oh-so-sweet little whistles and chirps I associate with tiny little goldfinches). It turned out to be a bunch of these little sweeties, which I believe to be lesser goldfinches.

They LOVE this echinacea (which died down to a nub in the winter and was in danger of being pulled out!); there were two of them (boy and girl, I think) on this plant for about half an hour. It's remarkable to me that they are so lightweight that the stalks don't even bend one bit under them.

Bird geekery!

Sun, Setting

 Gorgeous, yes? (You can see the ferris wheel at the San Diego County Fair in the second photo...)

A Muffler Man and a Tattle Tale

More sights on our mini-road trip...

Up top: a Muffler Man! Love. Them. If you don't know what they are, here's a history of them. And here are a bunch of Google images of them. I especially love the fact that a little bird is sitting on his head!

And I think I just might like to go drinking at the Tattle-Tale Room...according to the sign, it's "exciting." It is described various places as a classic dive bar, which, delightfully, has its own website (karaoke EVERY night!).  Check out the ultra-fab exterior (the light changed and I couldn't get a shot of it.) Love!

Kool Kars

We drove up to L.A. on Friday for a very good reason (Hi, Miss D.!)...along the way, there were cars. A LOT of cars. Including these three cool ones: the top car had vintage skis and a very cool piece of retro plaid luggage strapped to the back.

The second car--a VW Beetle, one of my loves--was one of three similarly lowered VWs traveling in a caravan.

And the last one: sure, why NOT paint your Karmann Ghia lavender?

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

One of Tallulah Mae's hobbies is tearing up paper. It has to be stiff (packing paper is best), and it's only possible to do it if the humans are in the room watching you--an audience makes it extra special. Silly girl!

(I was egging her on! And she never does this when we're not home--it's definitely a thing done for the effect.)

When Life (and Mother Nature)...

...give you overripe plums--actually, they are from our CSA--make a pie! Yum yum. And easy as...well, you know!

Further Proof...

...that I have the sweetest husband ever. Look what he brought me from Toronto: tons of MAC goodness. Yay! (He's the sweetest even when not bearing gifts, BTW!).

Hey look, it's a self-portrait of my wrinkly hands!

It's a Good Thing

A yummy salad chock full of summer veggies...that, to quote Martha, is a VERY good thing!

Heart o'Green

Not sure what kind of tree this is, but its leaves are "LOVE"ly (get it?).

Save the Date: Mercantile Mix: Pop-Up Market

A fun pop-up market is planned for August 16, and we're looking for participants! Check out the details below. Hope to see you there!

Click the image to enlarge the flyer...

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Up close and personal with Tallulah Mae...the better to KISS KISS that pinky nose, my dear!

Smart(ies) Pants

 Hey, what's happened to the "M" on these candies?!

 Are they defective?

Why no, they're Smarties, the British counterpart to the classic M&M. As it turns out, Smarties predate M&Ms by some 50 years.

They actually do taste different. The Smarties coating has a bit of a flavor to it, while the M&M coating is basically just sugar. Here is one person's comparison of the two.

I confess to preferring M&Ms, while B.--who grew up in Europe and has an English mum--prefers Smarties. I guess that childhood nostalgia thing is hard to overcome! Now, let's talk Reese's peanut butter cups vs. Trader Joe's...THAT'S a tough contest!

Baba-Looooo

Check out Mr. Ricky Lizardo here ("Baba-loooo!")...he was under the garbage can and was acting all nonchalant, as if I couldn't see him if he stayed perfectly still.

These dudes/dudettes are soooo cool--love them! (He's pretty big, actually--that tail is about 5 inches long.)

Peonies, Pink

The peonies keep coming! Yay! (This particular bunch has the largest blooms I've ever seen--they're as big as my hand.)

Two posts today, because, well...there was none yesterday! Mistakes were made...this was in draft but never got published. Oops! 

Rummaged

It's church rummage sale season--yay!--and I went to three this weekend. This is but a sampling...

The bottom two photos are from a vintage 1972 needlecraft magazine--I am addicted to them and love everything in them! I may have to knit that sweater with the heart (but I'll skip the short shorts and knee socks...they might cause a riot if worn by me).

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

It almost looks as if she's smiling here...kiss kiss, pinky girl.

Stuffed Dog Stuff

OK, I've made these before, but they are soooo fun to sew! The top one is 3D, with gussets; the second is stuffed, but is flat. Fun! The pattern comes from the Allsorts blog...

Berry Good

These blueberry muffins have a streusel topping..apparently I put too much of it on--but is there ever too much streusel topping? I think not.

Rose Glow

This rose was cut too late--the petals began to fall off immediately--but the afternoon light really lit it up!

Chee Chee

The Chee Chee Club...how great! Apparently it is a hipster dive bar.

As much as anything, I like the photo: fun with shadows!