New Bird On The Block No. 28 chirps farewell to 2010

Seven Thirty. Collage on paper, 4″ x 4″, 06.10.10, by Randel Plowman

I have long coveted many pieces by Randel Plowman of A Collage A Day. Sadly they are usually scooped up by the time I click over to his site from an email or Google Reader. So I made haste when he announced his sale on orphaned collages (sale priced? with matting? and free shipping? sign me up!). I was shocked to see a few bird ones among the orphans. Of course my favorite was already sold by the time I clicked on it, but after a little digging I found the beauty above and made him mine. He arrived on Wednesday and is sitting in a place of honor on the curio cabinet, awaiting a frame.

With so many blogs and sites to read on the interwebz I am constantly thrilled and humbled that you are here. As we bid adieu to 2010 I wish you a New Year filled with all good things, and when you count your blessings and your friends, may you find you are “the richest man in town”.

Merry Merry and Happy New Year!

‘Tis the Seventh Day of Christmas, and my true love gave to me 12.1 megapixels and 4x optical zoom, which is not as melodic as seven swans a’swimming, but will mean much better pictures on this ol’ blog o’ mine. So everybody wins!

Wishing a healthy, happy 2010 to all my dear bloggy friends, and you lurkers, and you Google Readers, and people who find me by googling “Sara Richardson’s baby Robin” and “Rockin’ Robin” and “handsex game” (and no I don’t know nor do I want to know what that is. Or how it relates to my blog). Also, given my web stats, a LOT (and I mean a LOT, like in the hundreds) of people got White Trash Ghetto Toffee for Christmas this year, so Happy New Year to them, as well. Thank you all for stopping by my little corner of the interwebz and being a part of my life.

I sign off for the year with this serendipitous photo smackdown:

My 2009 Christmas card* vs Yours Truly, circa 1968:

No wonder I was so attracted to the card in the store!

*That is NOT me, that is a photo from 1935. My parents weren’t even born yet!

Fall Swap Booty!

Wednesday was a tough day (actually the last 4 weeks have been tough, tons of work prepping for three big conferences coming in the next 5 weeks, lots of travel, ignoring everything and everyone except working and sleeping, blah blah blah (sorry BF, family, dear friends, cats, your blog, for being so neglectful)). A long 12-hour day at work, lots of big and little fires getting put out, no time for lunch, and then at the end of the day we find out Kelly the Fab Assistant (who recently got promoted so she is Assistant no more, yay!) had her car broken into in our parking lot, for the second time in two months. It was just a poopie day all around.

But then I got home and there was a big box waiting for me…

And inside were all kinds of amazing goodies from the lovely and talented Raina… my swap-ee in The Claw’s Fall Swap Party…

Many of them with a birdy theme – magnets, soap, napkins, makeup case… Hmmm, however did she know I like birdies?…  ;-)

And BTW Raina did you know two things I am mildly obsessed with are fancy soaps and cocktail napkins? Seriously, I have an entire drawer in the buffet solely for cocktail napkins. Thankfully I actually have people over for cocktails or it would seem like one of those weird hoarding things.

{Zoe approves of the pillow. Don’t let that “Village of The Damned” look fool you, she’s a real pussycat.}

Thank you, thank you, my lovely bloggy friend, for all the beautiful goodies!

My Swap recipient was Le Claw Sherri herself, and I sent her a box o’ Connecticut goodies, possibly committing a felony in the process.

When you wish upon a bone

{Silver Wishbone Necklace from MissAshleyLu's Etsy Shop}

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be filled with good food, good company and good fortune. Don't fight over the white meat and leave room for dessert, because someone slaved over that pie crust and you don't want to disappoint them. Skip the football game and go for a walk; your heart (and waist) will thank you. Make some little kid's day by cleaning off the wishbone and breaking it with them.

This year I am thankful for my family; my BF; my BFF; friends who get up at the crack of dark to go walking with me (and are willing accomplices in so much else); that I have a job that pays well (even though I am ready to jump out the window these days), a nice apartment, a good car, a warm coat, etc.; all of you who keep stopping by even though my crazy life has meant sporadic posting lately; and that the cats did not have a hairball on the white duvet cover today. Yet.

I'm wishing for my government to stop bailing out big businesses with my tax dollars, for an end to the war in Iraq and a swift conclusion to the escalating activity in Afghanistan, for there to be less hunger in the world, less suffering, more hope. Oh, and that the exiled African diplomat who keeps emailing me will finally come through with my millions.

What are you thankful for this year? What are you wishing for on your wishbone?

I'm feeling creative and brilliant today, just don't check the spelling

Two of my favorite bloggers are handing out blog awards (they ran out of Halloween candy) and I am a lucky recipient from both. Pseudonymous High School Teacher, who blogs about teaching HS and living in Hawaii, dished out the Kreativ Blogger award. Only A Movie, also a teacher, and living a world away from Hawaii (and a little closer to me) in Northern New England, handed out Brillante Weblog Premio awards. Cute spelling on the first one; I'm guessing by the spelling on that last one that it did not originate on these shores, further evidence of the borderless nature of the interwebs.

The Kreativ award comes with the request to post 6 things that make you happy, and I think that is a good thing to reflect on, so here goes (note - way more than 6 things make me happy):

1 - time spent with family and friends

2 - the election results

3 - the good fortune to make a good living, live in a nice home, with food in the fridge (usually) and a comfortable lifestyle

4 - stumbling across a great old movie on cable on a rainy afternoon while folding laundry

5 - books, books, books

6 - a $10 bottle of wine that tastes like it should have cost $20

Now I'm supposed to pass these on to others, but it seems like all my blogroll-ees have already won one of these... which of course speaks to my excellent taste in blogs. ;-)

Getting my fix from down under

{Image courtesy of Armchair Trader via The House That A-M Built}

My self-admitted, much maligned purse addiction is about to be fed by the lovely A-M of The House That A-M Built. When she's not blogging about the day-to-day of designing/building/decorating a new house from the ground up down in Brisbane, Australia, she is running a wonderful little shop, Armchair Trader, loaded with all the kinds of delicious bits and bobs that make this girl's heart flutter. To celebrate her 100th post she did a little giveaway, and yours truly won the lovely purse above. I love the nautical trim and I hope those are pockets on the outside...

To be honest, its a good thing she selected a particular item from her shop as I would have had a hard time picking one thing.

I have no idea if this would be "my" scent, but I love the packaging.

I love notecards and these are bold, stylish and just the thing to write A-M a little thank you note for the purse.

I need another evening clutch like I need a hole in the head, but that soutache trim is so pretty...

And as if the lovely merchandise wasn't enough, the site is loaded with b&w photos of beautiful actresses: Grace, Audrey, Lana, Rita, Veronica, Marilyn. Tres glam! She does mail to the States, just drop her a line for the postal rates.

All photos from Armchair Trader.

Ah, Summer...

{shelter, originally uploaded by littlelakey}

Summer is dining at an outdoor cafe... the smell of wet dirt from last night's rain as the morning sun heats up... nasturtiums on salad... waiting in line for a coke float at the burger stand... cold white wine and sweet citronella candles on a blanket at a nighttime concert in the park.

Summer is fresh herbs growing in pots on the porch... tomatoes from the garden seasoned only with the warmth of the sun... homemade ice cream... swimming lessons... iced coffee... the squish of bare feet on wet sand at low tide.

Summer is the refreshing cool of air conditioning on a hot humid day... kids running through sprinklers... admiring your new sandals and a fresh pedicure... the sound of the crowd at a little league game... eating popsicles before they melt... playing hooky from work to enjoy a less-crowded beach on a weekday.

Summer is reading "chick lit" in the shade... getting out of the car to watch sailboats pass while the drawbridge is raised... fresh peaches... children's tiny bathing suits drying on the clothesline... driving with the sunroof open, the AC on and the radio loud.

Summer is here, finally.


Julia at Red Otter Shop inspired this post with her query for what defines summer (illustrated with pies not made by human hands). Thanks Julia!

And, as this is my 50th post, I would like to thank you for being here: those who comment, those who link to me, and those who just stop by to read. I'm so glad you all enjoy my random musings enough to keep coming back. When I started this little experiment to see if there was an audience for my ramblings, I never guessed that I would have made so many new friends and been so inspired.

A big thanks to Patricia at PVE Design, who was the first person to ever comment (on my third post). I have no idea how she ever found me but I am grateful for her early encouragement. A special thanks to those bloggers whose own posts are so interesting to others that their readers click through their blogroll and show up here. I get TONS of traffic from Julia at Hooked on Houses, A-M from The House that A-M Built, Rebekah at Little ByRD, Robin at A Little Bird Told Me, Laura at Fifi Flowers and Diana at Please Sir.

Wow, it's like an Oscar speech. Cue the music and cut to commercial.

Peonies, redux

{Prom Dress and Peonies, original painting by Fifi Flowers}

Interweb, behold the fabulousness. Very late Saturday night I posted a photo of some peonies I picked in my mom's garden. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, the lovely and talented Fifi Flowers was the first comment (it wasn't quite as late on the west coast) saying she'd like to paint them. Of course I said yes!

Sunday morning I woke up, put the kettle on, and fire up the laptop, and there in my inbox is a mysterious email from Fifi: If you want to be surprised don't open this until Wednesday Morning... I love surprises but am terribly nosy and nosiness won out. Ta da! It was the painting above. She whipped it up that quickly! Note the drapes which are inspired by my prom dress, and the pillow on the settee, which was New Bird No. 2, from one of my first posts. Here is something uncanny - in my living room I have french doors that open onto a wrought iron balcony. But Fifi does not know that... or won't until she reads this post.

Thank you Fifi for making my day, and for preserving my lovely flowers in paint. The real ones are spent, and have exploded in that way that peonies do when their time is up.