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pretty old things in alameda

today i passed alameda's oldest house, designed (in gothic revival style) in new york and shipped here to be assembled in 1854. it contains california redwood planks. (there was a plaque explaining.)

 

♥

valentine red kayak

happy valentine's day ♥ glad alla hjärtans dag

 

from the rainy weekend

with lucius standing in the middle of wall-to-wall audience, a sweet and quieter end to an all-out smokin' show

condensation chickens
condensation kitchen

^ ^

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when i can't find him, i look behind the curtain, and usually there i spy his round orange back. he sits (hunched these days, really) on the windowsill taking in the sun; maybe he watches the many squirrels in and out of the oak tree outside, the occasional stray cat, the dogs out for a jaunt.

math

 
one pear cider (drunk from a diana fayt-made little chartreuse lined cup) + one second-hand wild patterned dress (traded for books at rocket reuse) = one zippered pouch, one tote, two curtain ties and scraps for quilting.

briones

 
so many huge, fantastic parks in the bay area
 
 

just another

 
floppy alameda kitty. nice white spot on his cheek.

on alameda point

 
a gorgeous day at the alameda antique faire, where one can find junk, treasures, and everything in between. one can also find one's friends there, as i did, and as i heard others doing (some via instagram). i bought these champagne glasses, with bases green, purplish and orange-brownish. (påminnar mig om tant brun, tant grön o tant gredelin!) not what i was seeking, but so it goes.

annamaria potamiti

received this beauty by annamaria potamiti for christmas—my third painting of annamaria's. the second one. the first one. 

this was one of the first paintings of hers that i saw (and still love) in 2009 on flickr.

lately she's been painting in acrylic and oil. i love the light in this one.

NYE/NYD

(the gold shoes lasted 1/2 block outside of my house; i realized that a broken ankle would not be an auspicious start to the new year and changed to black and flat.)


 

a new year

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this may be my last pinky leon holiday card, given the state of PL's health. i just looked through my old PL holiday cards and got choked up thinking about the years we've spent together. this has been happening a lot lately! 

i have been enduring all sorts of uncomfortable sleeping positions—or, more accurately not sleeping positions—as pinky has become very snuggly and particular about where he wants to sleep—under the covers and resting his head on my arm, or sharing my pillow and spooning my head—and i want to accommodate/spoil/appreciate him these days. little old kitty.

anyhow, i hope you have a happy 2014! 

december in laguna

 
is summery, but with clear air and winter light. the beach looked like a tropical one. i don't remember it looking quite this way growing up. 

also, the tree outside my parents' front door was a fiery yellow it hasn't turned before. apparently my dad did not prune it as he has done in the past, and this was the result. the tree is beautiful in spring too, with bunches of light pink pods and green leaves. 

listening to go slow (reminds me of fleetwood mac) and let me go

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near where i live, a big rose, a blue-purple pointy house. 
pinky leon and i winter sunbathe. 

glad to see hannah konnola is doing her advent calendar again this year.

will ferrell on swedish holiday traditions. not bad. he is married to a swede.

god jul! 

 



 

next up

i'm very excited to read these two books. 

the bottom three photos are of pages from swimming studies by leanne shapton.
 

festive

this is the earliest i have ever decorated for christmas. i don't know what came over me, but my tree is up and smelling delicious. found some swedish holiday music on spotify too. not the best choices there, but they sufficed. 

smattering of good stuff:

elisabeth's cat (rut) instagram video 
surf shacks
seed: the untold story
gleason ranch: risking everything (funded!)
autumn dewilde, photographer
 

my turkey

have had a cold all thanksgiving + weekend, so i've seen a lot of pinky leon.
also watched all of orange is the new black. 

november so far

cookies, cat and truck. and fall light.
good books
beautiful art show by lisa s
dancing
and finally rain

also these links:
rachel kaye
johann kauth
kim eichler-messmer

and listening to lucius, new neko, and carolina wallin pérez singing kent songs (swedish)

fort collins farmers market

some of the many chairs at the great kirkland museum of fine and decorative art in denver. one could go many many times and not see everything.

colorado mountains. the landscapes are so spacious. even downtown fort collins is spacious.

sadly, i didn't have my phone/camera for the beautiful steamboat springs and surrounding aspens. glad i caught this moose though just before my battery died! two more bulls are behind him—the dark shapes in the trees.

halloween bird

 
in the work bathroom.   

being a blackbird meant having the beatles singing in my head all night. could be worse.  

sad i didn't get a photo with elissa, who was also a bird. 

legs masked

not a very advanced costume, but it was fun to get back in the spirit of halloween after several years of lacking the spirit.



    

petal packed

 top by lauren mcintosh

fall picnic

 
from our gourmet book club. not pictured: the eaters, delicious pumpkin bread, cheese and crackers, roasted tomatoes, mimosas with fresh squeezed OJ, espresso.  

greenery

storm colors

just more feet

enjoying mazzy star's does someone have your baby now. couldn't find to link. live version

fall arrived

with its bright smile, after a downpour.

(painting by mati rose)

saturday morning: pastel houses in the fog 

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saturday afternoon: j. and i biked the alameda "urban farm" tour. it spanned much of the island. 

on the old naval base end of the island, just as the fog was burning off, we arrived at the alameda point collaborative's csa. this farm 2 market project trains formerly homeless people (who live in alameda point's supportive housing community). all the residents of the supportive community get a 50% discount on the pesticide-free food produced at the farm. (we tried a passion fruit there. wow! so good.) 

over on the east end, at the hottest point in the day, and right when we were getting hungry, we found the tomato tasting spot, which was set up in someone's back yard. yum. all of the tomatoes being sampled were grown in alameda, and there was quite a range of flavors! 

 

concrete facts

colors

 
such good grey-blue-pink-coral-lavenders and jaw-dropping skies lately.

hopefully this skirt will turn an interesting shade of blue-lavender-grey too. i just tried the 3191 black bean dye technique, sans mordant.

boots

 
boots is winning hearts and minds. 

he lies in the middle of the sidewalk, moving for no one and offering up his sturdy plumpness for pets. all carefree and lazy-like. his tail is kind of short, and he has a black chin. try to not love him. impossible.

in b/w and in deep blue-purple

from the never-ending supply of nostalgia in alameda

1713 in berkeley

kitties

 
mine/not mine