It is that time of year again, the calendar displays are popping up and by next month they will all be on sale for $5.  This year I am in search of two calendars, one for the kitchen and our general household use and one for my soon to be studio basement. Yup, you heard that right, Studio Basement! , we are moving this weekend into our first (rented) house and there is a small basement that is going to be all mine! I promise there will be lots of pictures once everything is organized.

The calendar I have chosen to get for the studio is the wonderful new calendar from Nikki McClure. The theme of this years calendar gives homage to crafts and the rhythms of  the seasons, I knew when I saw it that needed a home with me somewhere.

The calendar for the kitchen is a little more tricky; we want it to feel good in the kitchen somewhere, we need space to write reminders and it has to be something both Will and I are happy to look at all year. So far these are my contenders:

I want chickens rather badly, but I think that asking to have them might be a bit much right off the bat with our new landlord so I think this calendar might hold me over for now.

Dear Frida, do you know how much I love you? Frida has always been one of my favorite painters, the way she used color, the way she is so heartbreaking in her frankness. She lived out load and in acceptance of her inner-self, if only we all could do that.

The new house was built in the 1920s in the craftsman style and Mucha very much complements the feel of the house, plus his work is just pretty. There are a couple other Art Nouveau calendars that almost made the list.

The house has got a big yard, part of which I am turning into a veggie garden asap, I already ordered seeds for winter greens that I plan to put in the ground in the next couple weeks before it is to late. I like the idea of a calendar that will help me with my plantings.

So what will be on your wall next year?

This weekend we went out to the Berkeley Kite Festival, it was quite a site! I took lots of photos that you can check out on my flickr.

My relaxing Sunday was not so relaxing. Thank goodness for insurance.

Lots of things to blog about but right now all my mojo has been going into healing up the holes in my head. Almost human again but not quite.

This weekend I went on a fun trip to the Oakland Zoo with Will and my old college roomie Carrie. We had a blast. The zoo is small, at least compared to the zoo’s of my childhood LA and San Diego, but it is actually really nice because it is small. I have never felt such a great sense of community at a zoo and because it is Earth Day on Tuesday there where all kinds of fun stuff for kids and even for the animals. We easily got to see all the animals in one day and for the most part didn’t have to push though crowds to have any chance of seeing the animals. It is also only 10 minutes away, can’t beat that! We will be back soon. Here are some of the locals:

Sorry not much has been going on here at the blog, my folks came to visit as well as old friends so things have been a little crazy and all my down time has been spent re-coping in between invasions. But there is good news, we are getting internet at home again so posting will no longer have to be squeezed into my lunch on breaks at work so there should be more posting soon!

The photos above are from a trip to the Point Reyes Lighthouse that my folks and I made while they where here. My Dad and I made the 302 stair climb down to the lighthouse and back ending up mostly in one piece. It was a beautiful day and is very much worth the visit if you are in the area.

Click for Full Bike Photo

Click for Model Specs

It is coming to the bike shop at the end of the week, I can’t wait!

I give up, it has been too long my dear friends and it is all because of my silly laptop. It has decided to show me scary blue screens indicating that the hard drive may dye any moment so all the photos I have to get off the camera are having to just sit there until I can back up the laptop and either fix it or get a new one (hahaha, that is funny!)

I have been working on a few new projects, a few that are still works in progress, some dying, some spinning and I have some little news about a certain photo that was published in a certain magazine.

So, don’t disspare, as soon as I can get my photos off the camera there will be much to share.

This weeks topic for the Hot Tea Blog-a-long is your favorite cup of tea. This is a hard question because, well I don’t really have just one. I will therefore give you my general favorites.

My everyday favorite cuppa is a good strong brew of  an English Breakfast tea such as Yorkshire Gold with a splash of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. This should be drunk with a warm yummy scone or if no scones are around then toast with jam (apricot or Boysenberry are my favs).

My favorite green tea is Jasmine green tea. I love it  warm with a molasses ginger cookie from Mishka’s Cafe in Davis, I really must visit there again soon. I fell in love with it when I would go to the cafe to study or on my breaks when working at the yarn shop. Since I am no longer in Davis I make my own molasses ginger cookies at home but with Will around they don’t last long.

My favorite Herbal tea(tisane) is peppermint tea with a bit of honey. I like to drink this in the evening after dinner under a warm blanket with a good book.

These are teas that I come back to again and again, not matter how many I try (which is a lot). How do you take your tea?

Help! I need soft food ideas, quick! I am 95% sure my wisdom tooth is impacted and they are going to pull it out tomorrow. Any ideas besides yogurt, juice, and soup? Any great widsom teeth stories? The last time I had a tooth out I was about 9-10 years old and all I remember was ice cream dribbling down my numb face (thankfully there are no pictures). Maybe I should just live at Jamba Juice.