Happy Leap Year Day!

Good morning!

Happy February 29th....it only comes around every four years, 

do something out of the ordinary today!

First day in the garden.

store-bought tulips

I took a vacation day yesterday. I knew the house would be quiet and I just needed a day at home by myself, but then my daughter was home sick. It forced me out into the garden for some peace and quiet. It was freezing, but with a crystal clear blue sky so I bundled up and worked, pulled weeds and mowed for the first time this season. It was just what I needed. The tulips, daffodils, and poppies are just starting to grow and it reminded me that spring is just around the corner. Won't mention that we're expecting snow tomorrow...nah.

My picks.

The poster from the year I was born.

Here are my picks for Oscars tonight...mind you, these are who I WANT to win, not who I think WILL win.

Best Picture:  Moneyball

Best Director:  Martin Scorsese

Best Actor: Brad Pitt (this should be Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar)

Best Actress:  Michelle Williams

Best Supporting Actor:  Christopher Plummer (Ryan Gosling really should have been nominated here for his performance in Ides of March)

Best Supporting Actress:  Octavia Spencer

Here's a printable ballot from moviefone. Enjoy the show!

Junk mail!

Sandhi Schimmel creates these beautiful collages from junk mail. Incredible! Saw it here first and here is her website.

My friend Pam!

There she is in the new Flea Market Style magazine. Well, actually it's her Plucky Maidens Junk Fest! Have a look, and a closer look on her blog.

Mid-century movie set.

I loved the house in the movie "Beginners."  Great article about Mike Mills and using this house as the set posted in the LATimes yesterday....read it here.  P. S. I have one of those gorgeous Bentwood rockers.

Crafting at work.

Lucky me! I get to be a little creative at work. I'm making invitations to an afternoon tea and using our logo as the tag for the teabag.  As we all know, it's not as fun when you have to do 70 of them, but I did them a few at a time inbetween other work stuff.

Ballard Designs.

This catalog is like one of my favorite magazines when it arrives. Here are a few images from the Early Spring 2012 edition. I must add that I have ordered from them before and everything has been of the highest quality!

Messy Valentines.

My cookies didn't quite turn out as I had planned, but they are delicious!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 

L O V E * L O V E * L O V E * L O V E * L O V E

Happy Monday!

Love these colors together!

Another favorite...

This one by Mina Lee.

Life has been throwing me lots of lemons lately. 

Vintage Far Side.

One of my favorites....from 1982. Gary Larson at his best!

NW Flower & Garden Show

I love going to this Seattle show, but not sure if I'll be able to this year. Might be able to leave work a little early today (because I've worked too many hours already this week). I'd love to be one of these ladies picking out my dahlia tubers. The deer don't like dahlias so I have this dream of planting about 100 of them!

Photo is by Ken Lambert of The Seattle Times.  Garden show website here.

Ready for springtime!

They're ready. I'm ready. We had such a tease of spring-like weather earlier this week...makes it so hard to go back to rainy days.

Diamond Jubilee (yesterday)

Sixty years for Queen Elizabeth II! Time to celebrate!

 Cecil Beaton's photo from 1952.

Tea and biscuits in commemorative tins from Patty!

Edible!

My dear friend Michelle over at EverydayMe is super talented. Talk about turning the everyday into something extraordinary. Here are a few samples of the school lunches she makes for her daughter.

"Heart Worm"

"Monster Mash"

"Black Widow"

and "Monkey" lunch!

And there's lots more on her blog. I'm proud to say she's been my friend for over 40 years and I have been the recipient of some of her amazing creations over the years, starting back in high school like this one.

Winter in the PNW.

I had a crazy week. There wasn't much time for blogging, but it was a beautiful week and I did snap these pictures....

Sunrise while waiting for the morning bus.

Sunrise from my office (museum construction in foreground).

Landing at the Bainbridge ferry terminal yesterday.

Sunrise this morning.  It's going to be another nice day!

Happy February!

I made huge progress on all of my TAX/FAFSA/CSS paperwork and I'm very happy to turn the calendar to February!  The days are obviously getting a little longer here in the Pacific Northwest, not so much the mornings yet, but the next few days are suppose to be up in the balmy 50's and sunny.  I can't wait!