Last week was this little blog's first anniversary.
I can't believe I have been able to keep it up!
Ironically, I have been celebrating it by trying to be away from the computer, getting crafty.
I have been gardening, knitting and chopping my long mane off one inch at a time.
There are no inches left to cut off anymore!
I can confidently tell you that December is, by far, my least favorite month of the year.
If I could dig a hole deep enough, I would spend the month in there, waiting for January to come.
Then, while reviewing my latest photos, I realized that this December brought some serious fun.
Besides parties with good friends and lots of yummy food:
There were magnolia buds,
Cows,
And a parade of lighted tractors.
We discovered a persimmon tree on our back yard,
Played with fire,
Had a beach all to ourselves (and lots of birds),
Saw Elk,
And ate the freshest of crabs.
I suppose I should be reconsidering that "least favorite" label.
I got a happy, unexpected surprise in the mail today.
My dear Mom sent me an envelope full of Día de los Muertos paper banners!
Some are long and some are little, and the designs are different in all of them, but they all are colorful and pretty.
To spread the love I would love to give away a couple of banners to you guys.
Please leave me a comment below, sharing your thoughts on any of my blog posts or my blog in general.
I am hoping I will get some useful feedback, so please be honest.
I will be selecting the winner(s) at random next Friday.
Yes, I know the banners would be arriving late, but does it really matter? I hope not!
Maybe you could use them next year.
As for me, I can tell you this banners will likely still be hanging on my walls in January.
Cannot wait to hear from you!
♥,
R
Update: Some people commented here and others on different posts, so I am happy to declare this giveaway a success. Two lucky winners have received an e-mail from me and should receive their banners soon. This was fun!
Last night J and I watched Almodóvar's new film The skin I live in. Surprisingly, it was the perfect movie to watch to precede this holiday. Suspenseful and full of plot twists. I wish I could say more but can't! It was amazing.
I extremely recommend that you watch it, and if you do please come back and tell me what you thought.
My mind is still spinning about it!
On a different note, I have picked a few things that would complement the feeling in the air today.
I hope you enjoy them.
A poem:
Animated Billy Collins poem "The Dead".
(you might remember I posted a version of it read by the author here)
Lately there has been an increasingly louder buzz around Wine Country about the impending grape harvest.
Apparently the first grapes are already being harvested in Carneros and Healdsburg.
The ones in our back yard look pretty close.
Can you see the little green grapes? That is called "chicks and hens", an uneven growth of the cluster caused by cool and wet weather while the vines bloomed. The uneven ripening is an issue, since they will have to separate and toss away the green grapes so the resulting wine is just right.
On a different note, last night we went out to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The weather was incredible. We ended the night playing Bocce ball and had a great time even though we had no clue of the rules.
