Studio

To get into my studio, I open the door, take one giant step forward, shuffle slightly to the right, turn sideways and squeeze between two tables piled with books. Two short steps forward, then I go sideways again to fit between the drawing table and the Foosball table (careful not to get stabbed in the gut with handles from the Foosball). My studio is a mess of tables and boxes piled with supplies, artwork, tools, and tons of crap that belongs somewhere else (mostly in the trash). I can't blame the 105 degree weather anymore. I must get in there and make some heavy duty decisions.

Well Dressed

Magnum PI

Max with his hair cut sporting his Tom Selleck mustache.

Public Access Eating, part 2

The bounty of public access eating!

Collected these from a neglected hillside tree.

Peach cobbler for dessert tonight.

self serve

Faster than I could unload and put the groceries away, Boots discovered the cat food and attempted to help put it away or at least that's her "story"- looks like she was treating herself to an all-u-can eat buffet.

 

Passing through

Metro-North Railroad

Marble Hill

Friday afternoon

Costco library

Some shop, some push and grab to get food samples and some take the opportunity to catch up on their reading. Quality family time at Costco.

Box 'o' Trash or Treasure

This box of stuff ended up in our living room. I'm not sure where it came from. I long to throw it out. I want to be rid of it. Wish I'd never seen it.  I've gone through it several times and I just can't decide. Is it trash or treasure? I can't decide.

Mom's Purse

This morning I was reminded of some letters my mom sent to me when I was 18 years old. I went looking for them in a box that I keep under my bed. I didn't find the letters I was looking for. I found her purse with makeup. The last purse she used before she got too sick to go anywhere. I don't know why I kept it. But there's nothing I can do now, except keep it for a while longer - in a box, under my bed.

deadbolt in the basement

Ravens and Mockingbirds

A few days ago I saw a raven fly by with something in its claws. Hot on its tail was a squawking mockingbird trying in vain to save its tiny offspring.

This morning I found this still-wet eggshell under my carob tree. I looked up trying to find a nest. I couldn't see one. I hope the ravens can't find it either.

haircut

Time for a haircut for Max, my poodle.

FroYo Truck

NYC

Flat Iron District

Lunch hour

Who touched it?

Opened the fridge to discover the bottle of wine I had been chilling and saving to enjoy with my husband had been open, partially drank and left open without the cork; I imagine I share the same feelings the Bears did when they came home to find their porridge partially eaten.

That Camping Feeling

When we return from camping, I always have some leftover relaxed, nothing-more-important-to-do-than-sit-in-the-shade-and-read-a-book kind of feeling. I try to hang on to that feeling for as many days as I can.

My washing, cleaning, organizing and storing of camping stuff is almost done. The piles are getting smaller and smaller. It feels good to get all that done, but the sad part is that my leftover camping feeling is diminishing in direct proportion to the size of my piles.

Hawaiian Flag

Ka Hae Hawaiʻi

Camping Stuff

The only not-so-great thing about camping . . . all the stuff that needs to be cleaned, organized and put away when we get home.

Hotel's Hot Peppers

freshly-grown (growing)

hot peppers

in a hotel's courtyard.

cool

(and hot)

Drapery detail

a shockingly bold design--

but it doesn't overpower when it's printed on draperies.

interesting...

Back to Civilization

We've been camping in some of the most beautiful and relaxing parts of the state, but L.A. still feels good when we get back. Even though our neighborhood is not the fanciest (that's an understatement), it still always feels right when we return from a trip. We turn up our street, pass the chain link fences and dried weeds in the empty lots, through the patchwork of a neighborhood that we call home.  It feels just that - home.