post Beatles

thenewno2 = George Harrison's son Dhani!!! (looks just like him :)


This trippy band reminds me of the Beatles + early Pink Floyd:

"...he doesn't like it lookin' like he looks back..."

here's what Todd Rundgren did with it:

now they're doing Cream

Whoa, loving this. The 19-yr old in me is smitten with this band.

"Don't be defeatist, Dear - it's very middle class."

Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham
on Downton Abbey (Season 2, Episode 8)

my morning commute

Kisses - "Johnny & Mary" (Robert Palmer cover)

this is a good cover, but even better I like watching the footage shot in Brazil -

St. Vincent + David Byrne = perfect combo

5 random things that made me happy last week

1. our jungley-bungly veg garden! Despite this year of crazy weather, we've had our most successful veg garden ever (not sure what to make of that...)! Green peppers taste like I remember eating in childhood (from my parents' garden) - store bought peppers taste bland & watery now. This inspires me to try even harder next year -

2. We finally got our own wood splitter - so we can process firewood more efficiently (and get all that wood clutter away from my beloved little catalpa tree)


3. Chitty chitty bang bangs...I cut myself. Every few years I get the urge to change my hair, but this is about as extreme as I go: to have bangs, or not to have bangs
(this was another cell phone picture I tried taking of that amazing inlay work)


4. recognizing places I've been in my favorite "fashion tomes"! Vogue's September issue has a spread set at Edith Wharton's home in Lenox, Mass. (visited a few years back); the latest J.Crew catalog (kids edition) was shot in Brooklyn Botanic Garden! (a lovely hidden spot in NYC - I spent a peaceful day there by myself this summer - motivates me to go through the rest of the photos from the NYC trip with my mom & sister...)

5. attending a wine & cheese tasting with my mom, hosted by Lively Run Goat Farm - neat to discover so many yummy goat cheeses, locally made! ...one of those activities I didn't realize would be that fun til I tried it - Thanks, mom ;)

It's a bird! It's a bee! It's...hummingbird moths!

Sparky & I were outside enjoying the last bits of color from wild phlox (which are soooo fragrant) during their final days...

...when suddenly these little winged creatures appeared!

They sort of looked like moths, but watching them dart around and hover I started to wonder if they were baby hummingbirds - their movements and silhouettes looked just like tiny hummingbirds.

There were 2 of them - I heard a distinctive buzzing sound when one flew right past my ears



Poking around online later, I discovered they were Clearwing Hummingbird Moths - I've never seen them before, what a treat!

Sonnenberg Gardens

light fixture inside Sonnenberg Mansion:

at the Arts at the Gardens show (on the lawn in front of the mansion), my favorite works were by Hudson River Inlay - incredibly detailed marquetry pieces with multiple wood species and shell inlays, very inspiring
my phone camera's pics do not do it justice:

(extra endearing to me: every piece had a little ladybug on it somewhere!)

Fairy & Elf House Rentals

in a safe, established neighborhood; enquire about detached walnut husk car ports:






For years I've tried to grow Black-Eyed Susans along our barn, thinking they'd look especially nice against the dark brown siding... This is the first year a few have popped up on their own - Hope I can persuade them to propagate next year!

Why did the cowboy adopt a dachshund?

To get a long little doggie.

Fiesta!

the official opening tradition:


Photoshop trickery!

scavenger hunt...


Hombres:

protect the innocent! :)

and this is about the time when the Kimichanga Margarita-cam kicked in...



(sorry for all the blurry pics)












suddenly pyromania in every direction!







(Harry's bicycle that he rode from Victor)