Crimes against fashion

Ladies, I know at the age of 58, I am probably not the most fashionable, beautiful, or elegant person in the world.

I am happily married to a wonderful man who, at his age, is similarly flawed.

I have had to accept, in him, a widening ass, a protruding tummy, greying hair and the embarrassing disappearance of hair on the top of his head.

He has had to accept, in me, a widening ass, a protruding tummy, greying hair, and the embarrassing emergence of hair on my upper lip.

We have also had to accept one another's choice to prefer comfort over sexiness in our apparel. We may have been too eager to embrace frumpiness in our search for ease.

Click to "embiggen" if you can bear it.

But as for me, I have to draw the line at some choices. We were standing in line for a sandwich at Philippe's in downtown Los Angeles, and the gentleman in front of us was wearing these shoes. He was with his wife, and while I appreciate how true love could see beyond the sagging pants, the love handles at his waist, the untrimmed hair on the back of his neck, I do not understand how she could have allowed him to leave the house wearing these things.

If [The Man I Love] ever chooses to wear shoes like these, I am filing for divorce.

Parrot love

Click to "embiggen"

We were walking in Red Rock Canyon Park, which is part of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

Along the trail, we noticed a flock of green parrots in a group of trees. Feral parrots are common here in Southern California, where the climate is mild and the living is easy for pet-shop escapees.

They were as bright and colorful as Christmas ornaments in this California native sycamore. It was hard to get a good photo of them, but here is a pair of them, noodling one another on a branch.

Parrot love!

Rice is nice

The tiny little store Sunny Blue is on Santa Monica's Main Street - a hippy, trendy yet still a little funky stretch of stores just blocks from the beach.

Like many small - even micro - businesses, Sunny Blue has figured out how to concentrate on doing something simple and doing it well. Sunny Blue has two products for sale. Frozen yogurt, and Omusubi, Japanese rice balls.

Treasures of the Lagoon - a teaser

I'm honored to have been asked to post a few words and photos about our trip to Venice at Skinny Girls & Mayonnaise, a delicious blog authored by our friend and neighbor Sean.

This photo is just a teaser for what you can find there. We explore Venice's Pescheria, or fish market.

And "delicious" is the right word - Sean is a cook and host extraordinaire. His blog will make you hungry! Go HERE to read my post - and after you read my post, explore the rest of Sean's blog.

Gnarly, dude

Perched on top of the cashier's office/convenience store at the Chevron station at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Sunset Boulevard is an animatronic pelican that talks.

"Whoa, dude!" you hear a voice say as you're pumping gas. "Great set of wheels! Cool car!" It has the voice of the quintessential California surf-stoner, Jeff Spicoli.

The thing's beak opens and shuts, and the wings give a quiver. Then the whole thing swivels left, then right. Then it stops and goes silent. A minute later, it starts up again.

"Welcome to the station, dude!"

OK, this is both gnarly AND creepy. I don't want to have a stoned robot pelican talk to me while I'm pumping gas.

It looks demented, truly.

What about you, dude?

Payoff!

Payoff for a lot of hard work, that is! 

I'd like to congratulate my friend Heather for her good fortune, which was announced here:

EXCLUSIVE: Lifetime has put in development Mrs. G’s Bigger Love, an original movie project executive produced by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Written by Julie Golden, the film is based on an entry in Heather Gatticio’s blog Derfwad Manor.

I've been reading Mrs. G since I started blogging - indeed, she's one of the writers who inspires me. I attended a gathering of Southern California women bloggers drawn together by East Coast blogger Bossy, and followed the reports of Bossy's next visit to Seattle.

Mrs. G. wrote a hilarious post about the event, relating how she'd prepared for the gathering by purchasing a pair of Spanx, Empowered by the presence of so many talented women, she ends up in the ladies' room,  cutting the offending garment off her body with a pair of nail scissors.

Now, her wry, tender, thought-provoking and always funny musings on modern life, family, and customer service at Michael's craft stores will find a larger audience - and reap her a financial reward for all her hard work.

I love success stories!

Inspired once again, let's all go out and each make one of our own!

Thematic Photographic - Mellow yellow

Carmi at the blog Written, Inc. posts a weekly photo challenge. This week, the theme is "Mellow Yellow."

Shoot a yellow-themed photograph. And share it. Here

These pretty yellow peppers at the Santa Monica Wednesday Farmers' Market are certainly mellow. Not only their soft, subtle color, but also their flavor. These are sweet peppers, not hot.

North of the border

Oh, Canada!

 In 1991, a Canadian reporter asked both parties' candidates for prime minister what their thoughts were on poutine. They both avoided the question and walked away. Clearly, breaching the subject of poutine was a shocking violation of protocol.

Like many comfort foods, this Quebecois fast-food dish is considered a bit declasse. But what can you expect of french fries doused in gravy and topped with cheese curds?

C-ch-changes

On to a new adventure....!

A co-worker is retiring, and cleaning out her office. Since our department is being dissolved, with no foreseen future, suddenly almost thirty years of paperwork, documentation, reports and records she's kept is obsolete. She's having quite the time throwing everything away!

It's liberating yet sad. Everything changes.

I've experienced this kind of feeling only once, when we sold my Mother's house. We took what we wanted, contracted an estate sale person, and walked away. It was a weird, yet oddly satisfying feeling.

How about you, have you ever walked away without a care from something that was once part of your life?