A Handful of Fun

Fun with mannequin hands! I like how in the second photo they look as if they're playing a piano. (These were taken in response to an Etsy email--I really wasn't simply playing with them--I'm not THAT weird!)

Sun, Down

Gorgeous sunset--we've been having winter-like weather (well, more or less--don't throw eggs at me, those of you who live where there is REAL winter), so why not a winter-like setting sun? 

P.S. Taken with a new camera! Exciting...it has many bells and whistles yet to be explored (and no black dirt flecks in the sky, yay!)

Petal Power

It's peony time again! These petals fell like this, into a bowl on the table below. Pretty!

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

 On a rainy afternoon, what fun to mess with a) a Peet's coffee cardboard sleeve; b) the cup that the sleeve was around; c) the human's shoe.

 Mid bark...

 She looks rather mean here but this is just catching her right after a [LOUD] bark.

Also? Like me, Tallulah Mae is very upset to see Mad Men go off the air. She is howling to express her sadness...

She is the  SILLIEST girl--how is it possible that she is 12 years old?

Color Combo Coolness

I love this color combo...not sure if this was deliberate or accidental on the part of the seamstress who put these three colors of seam binding together, but it pleases me!

P.S. It has come to my attention that I am crazed...yesterday's blog post was meant for today! Duh...as Willy Wonka said: "... Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you."

Travelogue Thursday: Europe 2015: Florence, Capitolo Due

 The Uffizi Gallery, justly famous as home of a wealth of artistic masterpieces.

 The outside has statues of famous artists/writers/philosophers. Here's Giotto, one of my favorite artists (he worked in the thirteenth century).

 This is one of those guys who pretends to be a statue and then charges you when you take his photo.

 These are several Medicis. I love love love the juxtaposition of these two.

 Look up...

 Look up...

 Look out...

 In Florence, you must always look up...

 Here she is, Botticelli's Venus (from the 1480s). She's beautiful, much more pastel and luminous in real life than she is on pillows/magnets/postcards.

 There's the Duomo, again.

 The view from the roof.

The famous Ponte Vecchio ("old bridge"), which dates to 1345 (although there were earlier bridges here). It has always been home to merchants--now there are jewelry and gold sellers in many little stalls.

 There are seven bridges over the Arno--the Ponte Vecchio is the only one not blown up by the Germans during World War II.

 And again, il Duomo.

 This is the view from the Vasari Corridor, which connects the Uffizi to the Palazzo Pitti (more on that later!). It was built in 1564 and is lined with self-portraits. The view outside is lovely.

When you exit the Vasari Corridor, this huge grotto is above you. The shield is the symbol of the Medicis, and variations of it are all over Florence.

This was all on day one of our visit...so much more to come!

Eléphant avec bouquet de fleurs

Another little elephant, this time with flowers...so fun to make these!