Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Totally Tabbular Tuesday

Okay, so it could become a tradition, kinda like Tallulah-Palooza Friday! Here little Miss Kate inspects James' tee-shirts. "All seems to be in order, now get me down!" she thinks, with ears all askew from being under the shelf.

Monday, May 26, 2008

. . . Garden Roses in Italian Pottery

Hope no one tires of seeing my roses in various containers. I just set up a bookshelf with all of my pottery on it (pictures soon), and I'm having lots o' fun using the different pots. Having a rose bush to cut from is so nice -- they're so beautiful and fragrant.



This is a new batch, btw. I nabbed this ceramic pot for just 3 dollars at a thrift store frequented by Miss S. of Foziewisp fame. She calls the shop "The Ladies" -- it's run by women who volunteer there. I just luuurve the colors, and it's Italian! Molto bello!

Someone's Sleepy


Beethoven As I Knew Him

Mom and Dad passed along their Old Globe tickets so we could see Beethoven As I Knew Him on Saturday night. I enjoyed it, though it was a bit sad. Beethoven's life was no cake walk: deaf to his own artistry at an early age, the son of a domineering father, and dead at 35. But such outstanding music. Dun, dun, dun, dun. Yep, B-Man wrote that. Hershey Felder was quite something himself: very captivating and wonderful at the piano. The background film was the wildest, if not slightly disturbing -- these Rorschach-ish images in ghostly black and white faded in and out on a huge open book which was the backdrop of the stage. The entire theatre was dark and the stage was barely lit. Ok, so I had a quick 15 min. nap at the beginning. Ha! It was so dark! But once I woke up (no one the wiser as I napped with chin on hand on armrest), and snarked a couple of my almond M&Ms which I snuck in and chewed very quietly, I was back in business, and the rest was fantastic! There was a woman behind me pretty much sobbing though, poor girl. Ok, so I shed a tear or two myself.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Wispiness

Wisp (wsp)
1. A small bunch or bundle, as of straw, hair, or grass.
2. One that is thin, frail, or slight.
3. A thin or faint streak or fragment, as of smoke or clouds.
4. A fleeting trace or indication; a hint: a wisp of a smile.
5. A flock of birds, especially snipe. (The bird that inspired the word sniper.)

Take Me to Your Leader

Katie cat has a new sleeping spot. While we watch TV (we really don't watch that much, but lately it sure sounds that way!), she honkers down into a round, squirrelly cat loaf on a quilt I made which sits on the tray on the ottoman. Here, I have disturbed her from her snooze.















And now she is up. This is her "take me to your leader" pose.





Mitsuwa in San Diego

Sometimes for lunch we take a drive to Mitsuwa -- this Japanese department store in Kearny Mesa. They have a cafe, bookstore, home accessories shop, pharmacy, and other various "stalls" all in one store. One is devoted entirely to rice. It's really cute. In the cafe they have Sumo wrestling on two TV screens for your viewing pleasure. Kaboom! The latest change is that they added another food place in the same cafe, so now there are two. The new one is called Santouka. The woman behind the counter will call out the orders by saying, "Santouka #24," followed by this little grin. Very funny. The first time we had lunch there with the new Santouka cafe it seemed like everyone was ordering from Santouka. We opted to stay with our regular spot. Santouka's dishes are for the slightly more adventurous. Eeek!

So, while there, I browsed around the grocery store and snapped a few pictures, but before I got too far one of the store managers asked me to stop. Oh well, at least I had a little blogging fun.

Every kind of hot pepper and wasabe-esque concoction in a bottle that you can imagine:
















Mushrooms galore!
















Little containers of seaweed, fish, shrimp, urchin, and other stuff!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Garden Roses . . . Again

I love this blue pitcher which was my grandmother's. I love the way the red roses really *pop* against the blue. So, in weather - it's another scorcher here in San Diego today, and I have tons of work to do. Best stay inside and stay cool. But I'm dilly-dallying just a bit here in Blogville. I hope everyone's day is wonderful. How's that for a jumpy little paragraph? Oh, and for you conspiracy theorists, there's this: www.thisjune5th.com Apparently we are encouraged to withdraw all our money on June 5th. Probably not such a bad idea when you examine our shaky economy. Bye for now!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Sunday's Open House at 3437 Jackdaw

I visited James at his open house today. He's showing this great mid-century home in Spruce Canyon. What a neat space -- for $1.6 million. The house was renovated to add 1,100 square feet - it is an original design by architect Homer Delawie.





Wherever you are in the house you can hear the waterfall that is just outside the living room.

















Groovy sunken living room:
















Nice, big master bedroom:
















Even though the house is ~3,500 square feet, it has a very intimate feel. Outside this room is the waterfall which you can see through this window. It even has a full studio just beside the carport as you drive under.



Header Image Quest

Over the next few days I will be toying with a new header image. I just love so many of the beautiful ones I visit each week. Comments welcome, of course. I think this is a tad borrrrrrr-ing - almost looks like an oriental carpet. It's a snippet of this vintage tin. The hunt will continue until I find something I love. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Friday, May 16, 2008

The Remains of the Day

I absolutely luuuhhhhrve Bread & Cie. Their Chai Tea Lattes are vunderbah, and they always have a delectable soup on the menu. Here are the last bits of my Chipotle Corn soup and Jalapeno Cheese roll. Yum! The devouring process is in full swing in this picture, with phone at the ready. It obviously didn't hit me to take a pic until I was waaaaaaay into eating everything up. Ha! Then it was like, oh!, the picture!

Garden Roses

The roses I planted over a month ago - can't remember now exactly when? - are a'bloomin'. They were doing a weird dry bud thing which the nursery folks solved for me - too much water! Ironic that dry buds = too much H2O. We are now giving them a good soak just every 7 days or so and the blooms are starting to come around. Yay!

And, here is a beautimous bouquet of marigolds and sunflowers that Mary had perfectly arranged on the table the other day. I love these.

Watching 'The Office' with Kate

Kate is a big fan of The Office. Last night was the season finale. But I think our little girl may need glasses. She starts out watching from the ottoman (where our feet are resting), then has to get right up close and personal under the screen for closer viewing. We watched a show on whales the other night and she was mesmerized by all the blue. Sometimes she even paws at the screen, at which time she is asked to please stop. It's all very cute.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Not in Cranford!

What a town, that Cranford! I just watched the episode one last night, on-line, and just love it already. There are two more episodes coming up - Sunday nights on PBS!

A few of my favorites:
Miss Pole! Such the town gossip! And quick to arrive with the story, too! She'll RUN if she has to. She loves to describe the horrific details in full Technicolor. Very funny. The scene with the lace and the cat was hilarious!













Then, sweet, smart Sophy Hutton. Love her. I just know she and the young doctor will get together.












Last but not least, Lady Ludlow. Oh lord! Could anyone be more conservative? Yikes! She's something else! Very entertaining. Throws a good party.

Who Said Anything about Being Feral?

What a face! She has this "please don't kill me!" look. What a darling kitty. Her fight/flight instinct is still in full working mode. Strange noises, or anyone new, and she makes tracks to another room. When I think of her start in life, it really is heart-breaking. I am so glad we were able to catch and help her and her siblings. And, um, pardon the laundry bag right there!