HAVE YOUR CAKES, AND EAT THEM TOO!

They say it's your birthday...

I hope you get LOTS of cake (these were at the Bellagio a few weeks back) - enough to make you sick if you want - at 81 years old, you deserve as much cake as you can stand, and then some!  I'll be there in four, and we'll eat some more!

For all the goofy things I've ever made you do (like going into a strange building in the middle of hippie central to find an amazing carousel, or dragging up and down ALL those stairs at Red Rocks to fill in for Mom) - why, even those things 60 miles away...

Like Acoma - I love you more than you will ever know (just like I love this picture of you two)!

Happy Birthday, Dad - I wanted this post to be on here earlier, but spent the day wrestling (figuratively) with this stupid computer.  See, it's not just you who has issues with electronics!

And MORE cake, because I missed a Mother's Day, Post...to a Mom a lot of girls WISH they had.  I know your day was wonderful.  We might just have a belated cake for that TOO, when I get home. For right now though, these are "empty" calories so enjoy!

Quite a pair - the two of 'em have been at it almost 59 years this year...wife, MOTHER, friend.  I love you to the moon and back - and this would be the best parting shot I could leave you with, Mom - sorry it is so late, but the thought was there...

Love you both - see you soon!  XOXO

DUCHESS WRAP - My "Nighttime, Take a Break, Sit-on the Couch, and Rest Your Back" Medicine...

I hate when I go silent on here for too long.  I've had a good excuse in that I've been painting and re-doing a room, but I owe my Mom a Mother's Day post, in the very least.  Freshly painted walls make a great backdrop for the project I finished up last night - my evening "therapy sessions" where I rest my back in preparation for more painting shenanigans.  This is the Duchess Wrap from the new "Dress-to-Impress Knitted Scarves" book.

I won't bore the non-knitters with the details - for those who want to know, comment here or email me direct.  I did do change-ups (actually they are simple, and only encompass the first three rows) on the pattern at the beginning to rectify buttonhole and needle size/gauge issues I had with the pattern - I'm more than happy to share what I did.  I used ten 3/4" antique buttons - five of them are Victorian age "twinkle buttons", with mirrors behind the pierced metal.  My "go-to source" for all of these is a sweet local friend who deals in antique/vintage buttons, as well as antiques, period. Want her contact information?  I'll gladly provide that, as well!

Cooler weather can't come soon enough now - especially for those of us in the desert that are heading into soaring Summer temps already.  There's a winter coat in a closet back home in CO that this is going to look fabulous on...

In the meantime, it's seems to feel "right" on my old (not really - it's vintage Chico's) long, paisley Janis Joplinesque coat, with the faux fur collar and cuffs.  The mannequin never looked so groovy!  Happy Thursday - looking forward to being done with the paintbrush for awhile!

A FINAL STROLL THROUGH THE GARDEN...

Parting shots from the Ethel M Cactus Garden, as our Spring winds down and we head into Summer - always a good sign, honeybees!

Various paddle cactus - I can tell you the one on the right is a Cow's Tongue Cactus.

For loved ones in CO, something you'll rarely see - a lizard crossing Rabbit Ears Pass.  Bottom left is a Fire Stick Cactus.

Ocotillo in full bloom on the left.  The cactus on the right was "in the pink" and bare, all within a week's time.

This grand old sentinel of the garden seems to be saluting the end of the desert bloom.  Here's hoping your May is already bringing the blooms promised by those April showers (and snowstorms), and that your own colorful display is starting as ours is ending.