Red, red, red!

A red door means good luck and good harmony in the house. I wanted a red door, so when our association decided to paint all the buildings a few years ago, I saw my chance. I joined the color committee and after a number of excruciating meetings, we opted to let homeowners choose a door color from a palette of 12. One of the colors was coincidentally - red! And we've had pretty good luck so far....

hellooo?

She looks out the window like someone's out there. No one is there, but her ears perk up and her eyes get bright. We're not sure what goes through her tiny little head, but Madeline knows. That's all that matters.

Where's Bessie?

It's a bucket of cow eyes. Yes, just the eyes. 5th graders at my school learn about the sensory system and cow eye dissection is the frosting on the cake. The kids don white lab coats, plastic gloves and protective goggles and arm themselves with tweezers and scissors. They "ooh" and "ugh" for about five minutes and then get busy finding corneas and retinas. We've never had an actual barfer, but it is always amusing to watch the burliest boys turn pale and the frilliest girls dig right in.

Happy birthday Deb!

Deb's birthday.
Restaurant/bar called the "Strip Club"
Shadow dancer in the bathroom.
That's enough.

Scary? No.

I received this orchid a few years ago as a "cellar dweller" winner/loser of Bunco. We stuck it in the kitchen and Lee is the caretaker. He throws water on it when he remembers and the darn thing flowers almost all the time. My mother in law says orchids just need a little "benign" neglect. Good advice for those afraid of a flower.

Encinitas

Lat day of February, 65 degrees, blue sky...must be southern California. Cute little beach side town, nice restaurants, friendly people...must be Encinitas. I do love living here.

Gilligan? Skipper?

No, we're not lost in space, Austen, or Atlantis. We haven't banded together to find lost keys or golf balls, and no one has lost their cookies. Instead, we are lost in Lost- a convoluted television series showcasing a crashing plane, polar bears and golden labs cruising around a jungle island, monsters, distress calls, a heroin addict, and so many flashbacks that we all needed Mr. Howell to pour us another martini to keep track.