The other day, the sun came out for a glorious teaser of Spring. I had so much fun working with good old regular light, I had almost forgotten the joy! Birds were singing their hearts out and I felt like dancing a jig. Thank goodness the day was preserved in pictures, since as I write this our little hollow is enshrouded in the frozen mists of Mordor and we are cursing our house and calling it a "drafty barn"-- oh what a difference 30 degrees makes...
They tell us that officially, California has a long way to go before we can declare an end the the current drought- but you'd never know it by all the water that has been coming from the sky! Thursday night we got hit by a snowstorm which seemed to be directly centered over our road, since people in Nevada City (ten minutes below us) were reporting only rain while at our house the snowflakes kept falling... and falling!
Our backyard
We ended up taking a snow day and watching lots of movies, including Stranger Than Fiction, which I loved. Today I had to take some pictures for the shop, and I just couldn't hack the logistics of doing photos in the snow/slush, so I headed down the hill to my in-laws, who are about 2,000 feet lower in elevation. I managed to get some pictures, but the rain started in after lunch and that was it for the day- a terrible weekend for my workaholism, but a very good weekend for drinking chai tea!
I thought you would enjoy not just the vintage clothing, but some of the flora and fauna that I found down the hill, including the real hallmark of a wet winter-- mushrooms. I know they gross some people out, but I think they're beautiful. Once me and a friend went to a weekend-long Mycological Society conference, where we discovered a strange tribe of grey-haired, latin-speaking, uber-competitive mushroom experts. Honestly, we were just there because we heard the food was amazing (it was in Sonoma County, home of the best wine and cheese in California)! While we had a great time as voyeurs/gourmandes, we didn't really learn much practical knowledge beyond "you can never be too careful when Id-ing a mushroom!" I think this is what made these mycologists so fiercely competitive, the edge of danger to the whole business.
But now, the local horse and pony show:
Signs of Spring in January:
(This coat is by "Fjord Fashion"! Love it!)
(This totally looks like a dragon's eye to me...)
A close up of the embroidery:
This is when the rain started REALLY coming down-- you can even see it in the picture! I had to call it a day; a damp, cold, January day... but great for fungi.
I am the first one to kvetch when retailers start preparing for holidays too early. Christmas decorations before Halloween? Insulting. I even put up a stink EVERY YEAR when people take down their Christmas decorations before the 6th of January, the TRUE end of Christmas (it's when the Wise Men showed up with their gifts- duh!). But when Christmas is said and done, officially, I actually don't mind thinking about Valentine's Day. For god's sakes, it's cold and grey outside, don't take all the red and the fun away from us! This year I am right in step with the aisle displays at the drug store. I picked my most "sweetheart"-y dresses and pinned a felt heart to my head, and I for one was Feeling It. hope my Valentine themed photo shoot brings you some mid-winter cheer!
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