Corners of our home

I found the perfect spot for my little orchid collection.
They seem to be very happy here :)
"Stockholm" oil painting is by Chilean artist Luis Tejada.

Little curiosities that we love on the shelves.
Daniel is VERY thankful for all of your kind words of encouragement.
You really made his day!
"Albino Jay" photo by the super talented Diana Brennan.
Nest & Egg by Rae Dunn

The boy who drew birds

There's a new print in my shop and I didn't paint it!
My 12 year old son Daniel made these amazing watercolor birdies
over the weekend & asked me if I could sell prints of them in my shop
to save up some money to buy his own art supplies so of course I said yes :)

Pastels

Lots of fun this morning playing around with a new box of pastels.
I'm going to experiment painting on Kraft paper later today.



Thank you so very much for helping me win
the People's Choice Award at Poppytalk in the Affordable Art catergory!!!
I couldn't have done it without you :)

This is what I won:
1. A one month's free participation at Poppytalk Handmade
2. A "The Poppies (People's Choice)" banner/button for your site or blog!
3. A one year's text link from the Poppytalk blog's main page
under "The Poppies" category.

Cookbooks

The few that I own & love are:
Off the Shelf by Donna Hay
New Food Fast by Donna Hay
Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless
Whole Grain Breads by Peter Reinhart
Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life by Jamie Oliver
The Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver
Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberger & Zoe Francois
How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair

Thank you so much for participating in my little survey :)
I'm so relieved to know I haven't bored you with my birdies yet!

A fun little poll!

This is why I love them.

My friend Gustavo Aimar just sent me this amazing video
and I just had to share it with you. Enjoy!

Coming & Going

It's not only a sight to behold, the sound they make is equally enthralling.
Like a gentle breeze.

Our future abode...

Manolo's sketches above and the computer drawn blueprints below.

If all goes according to plan we'll be moving in the beginning of June!

Jared Treasures

A little exercise in observation.
On the right, a watercolor version of my little jar of treasures.
A little branch piece covered in yellow lichen from Sweden, pebbles, seeds and tiny shells from Argentina, feathers & some sprigs from Canada,
and a couple of pretty red beans from yesterday's morning walk with Turbo.
Don't know why but I just *love* little things displayed in glass jars.

On TV

My "Lovebirds" wall art sold by Urban Outfitters is being used as set decor
in the TV series "The New Adventures of Old Christine" :)

I was contacted last year by Warner Bros. TV to give them permission to use it on set,
but I hadn't seen it since I don't watch much TV, but my friend and stamp carver extraordinaire Noelle let me know she had spotted them!

Here are a couple of screen shots from the TV show.

I know you can hardly see them, but I was so excited :)

Thank you so much for voting for me over at Poppytalk.
We are looking good!
The winners will be announced on the 5th of February.

And for those of you who wanted to know the identity of the birdies I spotted on my walk the other day:
1) American Kestrel - Cernícalo Americano
2) Lesser Goldfinch - Jilguero Dominico
3) Chipping Sparrow - Gorrión Ceja Blanca
4) Curve-billed Thrasher - Cuitlacoche Pico Curvo
5) Loggerhead Shrike - Alcaudón Verdugo
6) House Finch - Gorrion (o Pinzón) Mexicano
7) Vermillion Flycatcher - Mosquero Cardenal o Capiturrín
8) Inca Dove - Tórtola Cola Larga

Vote for me please!

I have been nominated for The Poppies over at Poppytalk in the
"Favorite Affordable Art" category. Vote here if you like.
Thank you! I really appreciate your support :)

Drying basil for yummy pesto on my favorite kitchen towel from Bookhou.

Great mail day!

I received a little box full of treasures from my super talented friend Gustavo today!
I painted the birdie above on one of the vintage papers he sent me.

Here are some of the contents of the little box o'wonders from Argentina.

Mil, mil gracias Gustavo!
And many thanks to all of you who helped me figure out
what birdies I found on my walk the other day!

Birds I saw today

Would you help me identify them?

Spotted!

My birdies are on the loose! ;)
We spotted them Sunday night when we went took Turbo for a stroll downtown.
That beautiful street is called Calle Libertad (Freedom St.).
It reminded me a little of Van Gogh's Café Terrace at Arles, France.

Hundreds of Thousands

We have the privilege of living right under the daily path of hundreds of thousands of birds (still haven't figured out what kind they are). They fly above us bound east at dusk and back home to the west at dawn. I finally got to film them yesterday afternoon.
Music: "Arietta" by Jan Garbarek
This one's for you Margie...