Elflog updates

Here is what the shelf looked like with the addition of items I placed on the pole. They're from Found-Art, who nicely sent me a packet full of goodies. I put the postcard in plastic because precipitation of some kind was predicted, and actually happened. The postcard was taken. Yesterday, I posted the next item and it was gone today. Hopefully, whoever took them will make a note on the Found-Art site. Meanwile, the beaded piece remains, ditto the curly ribbon, but the shelf remains empty. Hmmm, what to do, what to do?

Eflog and found items

A couple of days ago, we saw these gloves laid out in a parking lot. Hopefully the person who lost them will come back to this spot and retrieve them. As I look at the photo now, I wish I'd turned them so the thumbs were touching!

I snapped the image of the shelf with my mobile last night. EMPTY!! The weather has been bad, rainy and cold, so maybe someone wanted to provide the items left there with a warm haven. Today, I'll leave something on the shelf...maybe another item from Found-Art.

Memory and daily reminder.

Some of you might remember me posting images of our entry way as it was being installed. We love the way it looks and appreciated all of the research and physical labor that went into creating this for us. We learned this morning that the woman who accomplished this has passed away. We have lovely memories of her and each day we have a reminder of her in our lives.

Elflog

Yesterday I posted one of the items I received from Andrea of Found-Art. It's her weather gram 28. I hope someone finds it and makes an entry for it. The shelf had on it only the two little stones I'd placed there the other day and a postcard on the pole. As I was walking away, I saw a neighbor and we started talking about the shelf history. She thinks she might have a photo of it that she took before my first post (29 March 2007.) It turns out that she's been caring for the shelf, too, and photographing it. She placed the post card, one of several she's posted, from the Tate Museum in London. We both agreed that this shelf was a bright spot in our lives. She was happy to learn that people in other places commented on it, too.

Los Angeles

Here's an assortment of images from my L.A. trip. My sister and I made cupcakes for mom's first party. We were very pleased with the way we decorated them. I even used one as a prop to show off the tiny tree (friends' Maddy and Fil's Christmas card) which I'd had tucked into my card case. Mango, my sister's cat, was enjoying a siesta on my coat. The Victorian building is such an odd site in the San Fernando Valley, every time we go past it, I'm struck by the strangeness of it. I took this image of the palm trees as I waited to board the Flyaway bus from Van Nuys to LAX for my flight home. I enjoyed the warm weather (80 F - 28 C) and visiting with family, and seeing Mom be so happy with the attention she received on her birthday.

Los Angeles

I went to Los Angeles last week to help celebrate my mother's 95th birthday. What a trip!! (in many ways) Mom had three fetes, one evening after another, with different groups of family members. She loved it. On the first day I was there, we took mom to some health related appointments. After one, we stopped at a bakery for coffee, drawn to it by the wonderful aroma. They had a recession special: $2.50 for a big cup of coffee and any pastry. Here's what my sister and I chose. Mom ate her's so fast I didn't get a picture of it. The shop reminded me of patisseries in Paris. No kidding! Here are some of what they sold. The cookies were fun, especially the ones like Jackson Pollack paintings. If you're ever near Northridge, California, USA, check out Delicious Bakery.

Some images...

Mr. Honey Bear (designed by Nathan Lerner as we found out in Paris in November) had a bit of a transformation. If you heat up your honey in the bear in your micro-wave, he gets jowls and tips over. The guy on the right had a longer trip in the m-w than the guy on the left. Cute, huh?

I put Mr. Cork on the shelf (can you see the face?) with a shell for a hat and the posted the tag, which Juli had sent to me awhile back. The shelf was pretty bare but the pole still had the festive pink ribbon wrapped around it. Can you see my shadow? The sun was so strong today that I had to let my shadow cover the shelf to get the photo.

Since I'm jetting off to the west coast tomorrow, my guy took me to lunch today. We went to 3 Monkeys and I had this nice salad.
The restaurant was quiet and warm, which was nice on this very cold day.

I'm heading from really chilly to really warm, what a shock to the system, and more time changes. I'm just getting over the jet lag from the last trip...oh what's a jet-setter to do. Ha ha ha.

I've made a HUGE decision. I've decided to leave my laptop home. This is very BIG. I won't be able to blog, or upload to Flickr or check on FB. I just feel like not having to do so much to get through security at the airport, so here goes....out of touch except for my mobile. Enjoy the bears, the shelf and the salad while I'm away. See you next week!

Elflog plus

The shelf has had some changes made, with someone clearing away some of the New Year's decorations. It's been simplified a bit. I like the fake red berries with the real pine cone and shells.
After suffering with PF of my left foot while in Paris, I'm now doing better (after that really painful shot a week ago) and have some new shoes. I saw a friend wearing these in patent leather and she recommended them highly. They look pretty crazy and I think I need some new socks to go with them, but they are really comfortable. Yay, Dansko!

These additional images were taken of holiday decorations. People seem to want the season to linger so lights are still up. It's nice to see them at night when I'm walking the dog (with only the cell phone to capture the glow.)

Elflog #1, 2009

We are adjusting to being home, and after 5 days, can it be only that? are settling into the time zone. I'm developed a cold, of course, and had a cortisone shot in my left foot to get some relief from the fasciitis that I've had since 10 Nov 2008! The shot was REALLY painful! However, I'm hopeful that with that plus following the docs, and everyone else's advice, I'll be walking pain free in days. Meanwhile, I have been walking my dog and have seen the shelf. It lives!! It's a party right now. Someone made it festive for the new year. One of the photos was taken on Saturday and one yesterday. Little change between the two, but now that I'm back, I'll start to put some small art work on it and who knows what changes will occur because of that. Happy 2009 to all of you!

Really, c'est vrai, the last of Paris....for now.

We spent our last two nights in Paris at a small hotel with the grand name of Grand Hotel du Loiret. It's a few streets away from the Cite. Our friend from Brussels was in Paris so we had dinner at La Perla one night, a spinach, corn, pineapple filled burito with goat cheese, yes it was very yummy. And we had breakfast each morning at Brioche Doree. See what we got for 2,75 euros! Our last night in Paris, we had ice cream for dessert. Big creations with Berthillon ice cream and whipped cream. We didn't bring our cameras!! What were we thinking? They were quite large, beautiful to look at and even better to eat.
Our hotel room was small, with a flat screen tv on the wall, a tiny modern bathroom, and a view. Those are my toes and my Moleskin journal with the decorative skulls pattern on it. (you can have one, too, here)
Getting to the airport was easy as we arranged a Parishuttle pickup. The 2E terminal was quiet and we got through security, passport control and customs quickly. The ceiling of the terminal had a lot of wood, not as metalic looking as some of the other terminals. Very Scandinavian, we were thinking. The flight to Detroit (or Dee-twa as they said) was uneventful, yay, and took only 8 hours and some minutes. I watched 2 movies and read half of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Passport control, customs and security there flowed nicely, no hassles, like in Philadelphia last year. We had a 4 hour layover and spent most of it in the gate area, which was a "meat locker." It was freezing in that part of the terminal. We got back to RIC early, touched down at 10:35 p.m. and were home by 11:15, so were able to toast in the New Year with family in our own kitchen. Our house seemed HUGE after seven weeks away in 600 square feet of living and working space. We've sorted out most of what we brought back, or at least put it in places where we can go through it, the brochures, the postcards, the notices, and such. We opened all our mail, sorted the junk mail, paid the bills, and we've only been home two days. We're on Paris time, still, so get up early. I just changed the time to our present time zone, which will help me adjust, I hope. Well, back to life in Richmond, VA, USofA.