Malibu morning picture of the day - Monday, January 26, 2015

Dear Family, Friends, and Gentle Readers,

Hey, I didn't expect to see you here. I said last Friday I was putting the blog on vacation. Thanks for being someone who checks in without the Facebook push!

Haven't left town yet. This WILL be my last Malibu picture set for while ...

Storm coming this afternoon--here's a leading edge. Not an epic Nor'easter like NY is expecting, but we need the rain anyway...

Sorry, my camera does not do
indoor distance at all,
but that IS her.

Natalie Cole performed at my employer's annual big fundraising banquet on Saturday. Sorry to say she just "mailed it in"--she did none of her signature works and worked through a set of jazz standards. The only thing that did not come off as your garden-variety jazz club act was her "Unforgettable" video duet with her late father's recording (so I don't even count that as her own song--talk about drafting off someone else). So ironically, the appearance was to me forgettable. So glad to see that she keeps her hair natural now. Yay.


From the 2014 Xmas That Will Not Die File

Walking around on Saturday, January 24, 2015, spotted were these three "Christmas Keepers":

These neighbors are keeping up with one another, but the one of the right
wins--they have Christmas cards taped up in their front window,
pictures facing the street! Thanks for sharing the beauty of Xmas!

Another big wreath! I like how it draws attention to the fact
that they are improving the property with new windows,
with stucco yet to be applied. We are all works in progress aren't we?

On the subject of Xmas, this is one of the presents I am giving away this year. I bet none of you got anything like this, a likeness of Odin's great steed Sleipner, a swift, powerful, demigod horse with eight legs.

Crude, childlike, folksy, but cutely weird. "Slippy" is made of ceramic, so I hope it survives at least a few Christmases.

Have a great week.

Love,
Pops