Lei of love

Last night I had the chance to participate in the wedding

of two of my favorite people

I was gifted with this beautiful lei

made by another one of my favorite people

In Hawai'i, a lei is a symbol of love

Right on

He makana kēia.

A beautifully wrapped gift from Hawaiʻi

in a lauhala box

with fabric and raffia and a wooden honu/turtle

Cool

Christmas Orange

It was my mom's tradition to always put an orange in the bottom of our Christmas stocking. I love the idea of the promise of the return of the sun (son) after the cold winter.

Use it Up

One of my jobs this year is to use up the piles and piles of stuff I've been saving/collecting/hoarding. Today I used scraps of material and ribbon to make reusable gift bags. I sewed about 10 bags and felt very satisfied with my progress. But when I was done, and was putting things away, I noticed that I had not even made the tiniest dent in using up the two tins of ribbon and three bins of fabric.

Back to NYC

A snowy (and very delayed!) departure from Pittsburgh this morning.

Back to the Big Apple.

Yup.

Record Book

I bought this cool record book at a yard sale. It appeared to be empty. Until I saw this on the first page:

Eeee-Yikes!

Evolution Game

How does "The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care!" become "Betty the body builder works out with candy canes?"  Only at Christmas Game Day, the funniest day of the year!

I wish all the holiday treats were as hard to get at as these nuts in their shells. Cookies in the shell . . . that might slow down my Christmas cookie consumption, at least a little.

Bridge & Elevated Tracks

Like a piece of modern art

On newsstands now:

The Good Doctor is on the cover of a magazine

at your newsstand.

(Note: I had the double check the spelling of the word NEWSSTAND.)

Relentless Piles

This is the 5th big bag of trash for the recycling bin. We are sorting through the stacks that have piled up over the years and there are still many more stacks to go. I cannot wait to be done with this. But I know that being done just means that we will begin again the relentless accumulation of piles of stuff.

Closed

The bagel shop I went to (almost daily) for lunch,

back in my "corporate days"

has closed.

Christmas Tree Crossing

Princess Guard

Dropped and long forgotten, this little princess now stands guard over the Christmas tree lot.

heart

after a day of unspeakable horror and tragedy

here in our country

i needed this.

Tools in the shed

Awaiting our hands.

Right on.

Bricks in the Kitchen

There are bricks in my kitchen.
Not sure why.
Tomorrow, maybe I'll move them somewhere else.

Normal

We finished a bit of work in the kitchen. I said to D, "Doesn't it look nice?" and he reluctantly said yes, then added,"but it looks too normal for our house."

Sorry about my recent absence. Life swallowed me whole for a while. But I think it finally is letting me climb out.

for jeanie (12.12.12)

Flag

Seen at a construction site

(thru a mesh safety screen)

Gotham at night

orange chicken

When I first saw this piece of orange chicken, I distinctly saw a "Poodle" however upon inspection of the photo, it just looks like a funky piece of orange chicken; I guess the joke's on me.

Pour Me a Glass

The packaging in our wine shipment.

Yes, please. Pour me a glass.

Or two or three.

It's been one of those weeks.

Trash

Missing

I am here and well but have misplaced and hopefully not lost my camera......I feel a true loss....hope to be back posting soon

Mannequin at Christmas

(Did I mention that this is in our living room?)

Another Mystery Knob

So now we're doing work in the kitchen. Surprise, surprise, another knob sticking out the middle of the wall. It's been covered for years by the computer table.

Here's the mystery knob in the bedroom:

Speedo

See that guy in the green Speedo?
On the left center of the photo? He's talking to the lady in the red blouse?

He's a street performer.

Did I mention that it's December 4th?  In New York City?

Yup.

Rainy Smiles

Even though we fixed our roof and the rain no longer comes in in seven different places, rainy days can still get me down. So I went out looking for something about the rain to make me smile. Some plants and trees looked as sad, heavy, and droopy as I felt. But the succulents looked thrilled to be a part of it, holding the water in huge drops for as long as possible before they rolled down the thick leaves into a waiting pool near the stem.

Most advertising campaigns make me roll my eyes

...but this campaign caught my eye.

Clever.

Right on.

Stencil Chair

This chair is broken.

Every time I go to throw it out, I stop and put it back down. A few weeks later I see it and think, "Wasn't I going to throw that out?" and I start towards the trash again, only to stop and put it back down. It has inched it's way across the yard, closer and closer to the trash cans, but something always stopped me.

Now I know why I can't throw it out - what a great stencil. On what . . . I'm not so sure. But at least it's safe for now.

Baby Pine Cones

Tucked inside the branches of Christmas trees

growing in Bruce's Garden.

Cool.

sun

It was a rainy day but at least this sun was shining