July 30, 2010 - Day 141

We really love how these curtains make the dining room look, though I'd recommend saving the task of ironing curtains for the winter - not the most fun summer activity.

July 29, 2010 - Day 140

I knew the heavy equipment didn't bode well for that old house! New vocabulary for the day - did you know how many names there are for a "loader"? Bucket loader, front loader, front end loader, payloader, scoop loader, shovel, skip loader, and/or wheel loader (according to Wikipedia).

July 28, 2010 - Day 139

Happy birthday to Michael - chocolate flan! (Yes, I know. Sometimes food is the most interesting and photogenic part of the day!)

July 27, 2010 - Day 138

Someday I'd love to have a big wild flower bed full of these - there's just something hopeful about purple coneflowers!

July 26, 2010 - Day 137

I admit that I was thinking some help shelling peas would be nice, but Beryl inside the paper bag was not what I had in mind!

July 25, 2010 - Day 136

Anyone having unfinished business with this house had better hurry...

July 24, 2010 - Day 135

Tonight, on a mission to try a restaurant we hadn't been to before, we ate at the Bronx Cafe. This is less than half of the delicious dessert we had: cranberry-pear carrot cake. What a yummy twist on a classic recipe! One of the photo challenges this week from a photography forum I'm following is "what's in your fridge?" This isn't - we ate the whole thing!

July 23, 2010 - Day 134

One of my favorite images of the kitties from when they were small and cuddly with each other, taken in November 1999 when they were about 4 months old. Beryl, on the left, had a dark patch of hair on her head that eventually grew out. At the time I was working from home and they're curled up under my desk.

July 22, 2010 - Day 133

I love the endless variety of clouds. 

July 21, 2010 - Day 132

Light, while so beautiful to the naked eye, can be very challenging to capture in a photo. Perhaps one day I'll figure out how to create an image that does this anything resembling justice. At certain times of the day the glass blocks window throws white light and rainbows on the bathroom wall.

July 20, 2010 - Day 131

Gone to bask happily in the big sun patch in the sky. Thank you for gracing our lives. Rest in peace.

July 19, 2010 - Day 130

We found out recently that Hattie may be very sick, and this weekend we had a close call. She's home now and we're definitely enjoying having her here. Remember to hug your pets!

July 18, 2010 - Day 129

I always feel that the food at Cosmic Cafe is really grounding, and we needed that. On the weekends they have live music - Saturday was a trio with a violin, sitar and percussion. It was awesome music that's helpful for unwinding the mind.

July 17, 2010 - Day 128

We went to pick up breakfast at a funky local place nearby that serves breakfast 24 hours a day. Usually we eat there but this time we ordered to go. As we sat at the bar waiting for our food I was pleasantly surprised at how pretty the tile is!

July 16, 2010 - Day 127

I had noticed that these big-leaved things were poking up through the front hedges, but only today noticed that they have flowers.

July 15, 2010 - Day 126

It's been a busy week, so I'm tapping into the archives and playing with editing. This is an orchid in the ground floor elevator lobby at work a while back. The shape and arrangement of the leaves and flowers made me think of a bird, and the vase looks like the bottom of a rocket. So, it's a bird that's about to blast off...

July 14, 2010 - Day 125

Meet Mamacita, an airplane plant I've had in some form or another for 17 years. Nursing her through the year when she was less than half a dozen leaves at any one time has definitely paid off, and she's created many offspring.

July 13, 2010 - Day 124

On the fence between our place and the house next door there's an area that looks like someone cut out a window and then decided better of it - you can see the horizontal lines here. I always wonder what the story is on that...

July 12, 2010 - Day 123

I've never seen the seed pods on trumpet vine. They look like jumbo green beans!

July 11, 2010 - Day 122

I saw a giant bee this afternoon - with legs like a linebacker! Luckily he stayed in the plants and didn't notice me.

July 10, 2010 - Day 121

Took a walk down memory lane via the camera this afternoon - remembering the roses this spring. This shot's a bit out of focus and a little overexposed, but I still think it's lovely.

July 9, 2010 - Day 120

Finally we know...the crape myrtle in our yard is pink. And, yes, it's still raining. That made the leaves in this photo look like they're glazed in sugar.

July 8, 2010 - Day 119

Although it's been cloudy and rainy the last few days, we've gotten enough sun for this hibiscus to bloom. I picked plants with no flowers on purpose so it would be a surprise.

July 7, 2010 - Day 118

This market makes very yummy sandwiches. I also like the whimsical look of multi-colored roof tiles. Too bad there aren't more rows of tiles.

July 6, 2010 - Day 117

The park around this walking trail makes it look like being outside on a summer evening actually might not be such a bad idea.

July 5, 2010 - Day 116

Someone's begun working to clean up the shopping center a few blocks from here. They've removed the roof and some of the back walls. A large yellow digging machine appears to be inside the building, which is really just the front and side walls. See May 31 and June 1.

July 4, 2010 - Day 115

Happy Independence Day to everyone! We ended a quiet day with dinner, including red, white and blue margarita.

July 3, 2010 - Day 114

It rained a lot last week, including Friday night. This is the Bank of America building downtown, with low clouds surrounding the top floors and drizzle in the area.

July 2, 1010 -Day 113

Today at work there was a drawing, which I entered, thinking to myself, "I never win these." So, guess what - I won a pair of tickets to arena football. The Dallas Vigilantes weren't dealing out too much "Texas Justice" tonight: when we left during the third quarter the score was 45 to 28 in the Iowa Barnstormers' favor. Check out the crazy spooky logo behind the players.

July 1, 2010 - Day 112

Usually I applaud someone going the extra mile on a project. In this case, though, I think the packaging is pretty clear about the product benefits. Seeing a headless, limbless mannequin in its underwear in a drug store is just a bit creepy.