some 2014 resolutions for you

illustration by Mel Kadel

I made these for myself, but I think they apply to everyone:

1. travel somewhere you've never been
2. be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle -Plato
3. consume less and downsize - get rid of stuff
4. save your money
5. drink and eat less
6. explore/discover some new music
7. quit being so hard on yourself

winter farm

whose woods these are I think I know

-Robert Frost

snow sign

berry white

icicles on the rose trellis

Christmas present awesome

Big rubber rabbit head from Raquel

snow goats

Jack Frost nipping at Max and Cozy's noses

Weihnachtspyramide

my German Christmas pyramid

Merry Christmas everyone!

hand knit by Mom

not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

they're delicious

If you're reading this, I probably sent you a fruitcake

Taleggio 3.0

My 3 month Taleggio - stinky delicious

good morning

out the window above my bed

Little Bohemia

the TCFD holiday party was held at Lil' Bo's

make it rain

see you at schnapps nite

no beans about it

oh Herb

My very favorite Christmas record

they're all perfect

The awesome cat room at Missaukee Humane Society.  This is where I adopted Max, Cozy, Rudy & Mabel.  Please adopt homeless animals.

orange thick

cheese traded for jumbo carrot

cloud cakes. pecan spinwheels. cosmic brownies.

bon appetit

Santa's helper

Look who I found in the ornament box

Boss Cheesecake

A coworker asked me to make them some fresh cream cheese, and the recipe made so much, I had enough leftover to make a cheesecake.  Oreo crust.

the fruit of my labor

Peeling pomegranates.  Little red juice dots on everything.

Christmas flora

Max helped pick out a perfect tree and tie it to the roof of the truck

Every year I light up a tree way, way out in the West pasture.  In years past the Christmas lights strung on a live tree always killed the tree, so this year I am using a pre-lit, fake tree.  

 

there's a white tiger in the basement

Sweet old Mabel STILL won't come out of the basement, but she has discovered my picnic basket down there.  I put a towel in it to make it a comfy hidey-place, and now she is in  there all the time.  I check on her several times per day and always tell her, "Mabel: come live in the world."

Exodus 20

Honor your Father and your Mother.  

(By tattooing their names onto your wrists)

pump it up

Adjusting the pump on the second well

That well provides water to the cheese room, garden, and big barn, and the pump is way too large for those relatively small purposes, so the well guys installed a kind of tamper to stop a hammering noise that was happening in the pump when the well would run.  The well was installed for landscape irrigation, so much larger than what it is used for now.

toadstool riot

A friend of mine sent me these mushroom shots - the Earth is magic

my new tenant

A coworker is storing his 1968 Triumph in the big barn for the winter.  It's hood will serve as the barn cat lounge area, and I will be using it as the Boss Mouse staff vehicle (if I can defrost the completely frozen barn doors to get it out)

sugary honey

My neighbor Jerry gave me a quart of crystalized honey, too thick to eat - I am going to try to make some mead with it - Rudy approves

Vinsetta design

Had an amazing lunch at Vinsetta Garage - they've done such a great job - there couldn't be a better ending to the story

I love this drag race babe wall mural

My sister's name carved into a wall

sticker cabinet

penny mosaic on the bathroom floors

treasure hunt

Raquel and I spent hours at the "everything $1" Salvation Army on Michigan Avenue in Detroit

Dig deep, and you'd strike gold - Raquel excavates the textile mountains

My haul:  vintage Christmas tablecloth, chenille bedspread, ruffle edge wool blanket, big red and blue tablecloth, embroidered dish towel, three real feather pillows, lambie rug with stars, 70's graphic needlepoint throw pillows, yellow bandanna, Hooters t-shirt.  Total:  $13

better dresses

Walls of dresses at Lost & Found Vintage in Royal Oak

lovely shop assistant Amanda

petticoat junction

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