I am very sad to report that it is far too early in the season for me to be missing green, but here I am. There is a little bit of it in the background in the form of a yucca, at least.
These poor burst flower pods are doing their darndest beige fabulous, too. What great texture!
My cousin moved into a new place quite a while back, and our schedules finally aligned for a visit! I failed to bring my camera upstairs, and she is not fond of having her picture taken, so just know we were happy, ate quite well, including a cake my mom made, and had a beautiful drive home!
More fabulous beige…
In those moments when the green escapse me, and my heart wanders on the sad side about it, all I need to do is gaze upon a view like this one. Utterly glorious and heart lifting! I truly love you, Colorado.
Hello to fall, my fellow beautiful humans! I have long ago memory of reading, and chuckling in bewilderment, about being able to gauge the age of a human by their inclination to discuss local weather and bird sightings. No longer bewildered, off I go to prove a point. The weather, of late, has been utterly superb, a true Indian Summer of sixty and seventy degrees warm, of shorts and cardigans on sunny morning walks, of juncos returning for the cold months ahead, and most of all, the incredible leaves on display.
For the first time in memory, we didn’t have a frost in September, nor an early snow, so the full ripening of fall color has truly been a wonder, and most especially in our back garden. Aside from the photo above, this is our yard, at this very moment. Behold the beloved rainbow of acid yellows, pumpkin oranges, rich reds, and even a hint or two of purple.
Oh, and one sleepy-eyed pup taking it all in. Happy Monday!
Hey all! Will you take a look at this mahvelously organized laundry room?! After having “a mad as hell (*not technically) and I’m not going to take it anymore” moment at the sheer mess of it, Greg and I spent four hours the other weekend, taking everything off of every shelf, wiping the dust and debris, purging necessary items, and then putting it all back together.
I am also including what it looks like with actual laundry. Because, let’s get real, there’s nearly always something hanging up. We are definitely not the go-getters who take everything down and fold it neatly the moment it dries. More often, it is an I’m out of something, so I better get to it occasion.
Also, if you would like to have the crazy-awesome hanging racks (at left) that also can be placed flat against the wall when not in use, you are out of luck. IKEA discontinued them, much to the chagrin of many a shopper. As a result, whenever the magic moment arrives for us to move to Taos, we are taking them with us. Indeed.
Joy at having a tidy laundry room in my super, extra-puffy coat.
Fur is faux.
Glasses help prevent migraines from crazy-bright light.
It is full winter: ice and frost and snow. The most beautiful time of the season. The birds and animals flit cheerily about before being chased of by the clap of our hands – a dog interaction is imminent! Save yourselves! Then Juniper joyfully romps and gathers every scent she can muster into her sniffer catalog. A fine howdy-do!
We’ve been treated to many frosty Pike’s Peak days, as beautiful as ever.
This little hawk, fluffed against the cold, was none too pleased with me disturbing his or her breakfast lookabout. Humans…
Greg took a few days off for Christmas and New Year’s, making each a gloriously long weekend. This was New Year’s lunch, with a decidedly happy hubster getting one of his most favorite treats: DUCK! It was wonderful and delicious and I got to use Grandpa’s jazzy metal dishes for serving, which always makes my heart happy.
In between our holidays, my cousin Stephanie came for a wee visit, which was lots of fun. We ate at one of our favorite downtown places and puzzled, too – a very difficult painting of very cool cars. No photo of her, as she hates having it taken, or the puzzle. It’s all good.
I made pizza for Christmas, but the picture is on Greg’s phone, and I am too lazy to get it at the moment. Fear not! Imagine a most symmetrical pizza, kind of like a kaleidoscope of mushrooms dancing about in a circle, and you’ve got it! It was also delicious.
Perfectly balanced.
Of course, there was puzzling, this one a dandy from Galison, and jewelry from New Mexico, which pleased me so.
Oatmeal scone and a nearly scalding latte. I decided I don’t care about latte art because I can’t make my coffee hot enough with it. So, boring tan foam it is.
Also, Katie, are you there? I bought the mug with you from the man whose adobe house you helped build. Dancing about on it are horses and space ships. I still LOVE it!
Our final puzzle of 2023. So very tall and fun from Genuine Fred (temporarily sold out, methinks). We have been to every place on it! Where have you been? Here or there or anywhere? Hopefully on happy journeys with those you love, especially as of late. A very merry new year to you and yours. Thank you for stopping by…
I simply cannot resist the beauty of a perfect burger, grilled by the G-Man, of course. I am grateful he took up the mantle. I bake, broil, braise, and saute with the best of them indoors, but do not enjoy outdoor cooking AT ALL. Number 1,460,000 we are a match made in heaven.
In an effort to use a plethora of petals and keep our high desert skin as dewy as possible, I found a recipe for easy hydrosols and made a batch of rose. It left behind this gorgeous pink rosewater, and, as you well know, I hate waste, so I whipped it into a lemonade. It was delicious, a singular flavor I fail to find the words to exactly describe.
Blueberry Lemonade Cookies, the perfect summer treat, even though we are almost full on Fall, eek! I used the Cloudy Kitchen Funfetti recipe, substituting 3/4 cup dried blueberries for the sprinkles, one tablespoon lemon juice for the vanilla, and the zest of one large lemon. Highly addictive, they are delightfully tart with a crispy edge and soft middle. Even Greg, mister chocolate, loves them.
It is canteloupe season! This year has been especially flavorful.
You know how sometimes you forget the resources you actually own and look for the new? In one such fit for salad recipes, I was scouring the interwebs before remembering a Williams-Sonoma cookbook sitting right on the living room shelf. This is my riff on their Caesar Style with Poblano Chiles (page 23). I didn’t have poblano but a plethora of diced green chiles and Costco shredded rotisserie breast, so here we are. It was most delicious! In true Southwest style, I paired it with a glass of fizzy prickly pear lemonade. Yum-yum.
As somewhat of an organization freak, I enjoy me a well tidied shelf and drawer. I had a hodge-podge of bottles, jars, and zip-top bags here, and it honestly made my head hurt. I found some snazzy jars with bees on them at Sierra (since they were closeouts and could run out at any moment, I am not including the link), bought a boat load, and got to work. I also have a slightly embarrassing number of washi tape rolls and made the most of a cute polka dot pattern. How wonderful to easily find what we are looking for!
Sunflowers, sunflowers, sunflowers!
The horsetail milkweed blossoms are so tiny in comparison to the bees but no less favored for their sweet nectar!
My mom gave me some old seed packets she had lying around, and this zinnia is one of the few that sprouted! It grew into an amazingly large bloom in a fuscia hue.
This plant-filled stock tank hides our unsightly gas meter and is looking its very best. Also, how cute is the volunteer marigold?!
In an effort to save birds from an untimely death by flying into our sliding door when we first moved in, I bought a roll of polka-dotted film that prevented the glass from reflecting. It worked quite well until this summer when it started to flake and peel. I found the rainbow reflecting adhesives (“sticking” with water!), and Greg and I did the not-so-fun job of removing the old and replacing it with the new. How about that beautiful rainbow in the morning light?!
The World War II Aviation Museum here in Colorado Springs flew these planes over the weekend. The first is a North American B-25 Mitchell, and the second is a Grumman TBM Avenger. Pretty cool! I love how they have the ability to keep this history alive.
I think Juniper knows, even in sleep, what the sound of a lens cap being removed means. Mama, are you trying to take my picture???
More garden shots for you. The desert willow has hundreds of blooms and a near constant stream of bees, hummingbirds, and hummingbird moths. I often sit mesmerized at the living room window watching the spectacle.
I can’t believe the robins and squirrels haven’t gobbled all of the choke cherries, but here we are with an intact bunch.
Aspen leaves quaking in the breeze. With an abundance of rain this season, this tree, transplanted from a sprout in the front garden, has grown an astounding three feet this year to make it about 10 feet tall. Fingers crossed it makes it through winter!
