Winter Sepia Creek

Mabel Lou In Action

I know this pic is blurry but I just love the look on Mabel Lou's face and her strong body in action.

The Not-so Smooth Criminal

I'm an honest person. I'm the type that counts my change and if I've received too much, I give the excess back to the clerk. But today, I became a thief.

It started innocently enough. My plans for the day were to ship some orders, torch and take Mabel to the middle arroyos for a long hike. After torching, I got ready for the muddy walk. I hesitated in the kitchen...."Am I hungry?" I had had a large, late breakfast as well has a handful of nuts while torching... "No...just go."

We jumped in the jeep and just as we got off the freeway, I felt it...annoying hunger pains! The only fast food places between me and the arroyo were two yogurt shops and McDonalds. I turned into the parking lot and should have been suspicious that there was no parking on the east side of the building. I couldn't access the west side because of the twenty or so cars in the drive through.

I pulled a U turn, exited the east lot and went in the wrong way to get the the West side... still no caution bells going off. I went inside and suddenly realized that school had just let out. McDonald's is the first thing between FOUR schools and the little town.

The cacophony of screaming kids in the packed lobby was unbelievable. They were screaming across the the lines to each other...asking for money, why didn't you walk with me, where have you been...

You know, when I grew up... back in the dark ages, kids went home. We didn't head to the nearest fast food joint. No wonder we have such an obesity problem in this country. I have no doubt this McDonalds took in around $4,000 just after school!

I was so unnerved with all the screaming and running kids. It was so loud in there, I had to scream my order across the counter to be heard. When the clerk asked a question about my order, she had to scream to make me hear her.

Everyone would step aside and wait for their order but the restaurant was really hopping. There were fries coming out of the fryer constantly. I had barely waited a minute when a clerk approached and said, "Six piece?"

I said yes, grabbed the bag and ran out of all that noise. Backing up in the crowded parking lot, I found something extra in my bag: a large order of delectable, piping hot fries. I sat there...did I pay for these? No... do I pull back in and take them the fries? A teenager honked at me for blocking traffic and so I did it... I made off with those fries!

I decided they were my bonus for putting up with all those screaming kids! Of course now, I feel guilty on more than one level.

And, I still need to hide the evidence.

Puppy Love

Finally! A photo of Mabel with her boyfriend Maxi:

You Would Think...

You would think I may have gotten tons of stuff done since my return to my real life on Christmas night. You would think that:

• I would have looked for a job...but you would be wrong...No one is in and my resume would be at the bottom of a huge pile when the HR types return to work.
• I would have finally made some headway in switching my art studio over to a jewelry studio - or at least cleaned it enough to walk in there...but you would be wrong. It's still utter chaos. Which means my family room where I store my jewelry supplies is also still in chaos.
  
• I would have spent days on end with my torch...but you would be wrong. While I have sketched and planned, my torch is covered in cobwebs.
• I would have seen many films...but you would be wrong...I like movie theaters when there aren't too many people there. LA during the holidays = crowded theaters.
  
• I would have spent many of our cool nights by the fire...but you would be wrong. I freaked when I realized that our crappy government has the authority to give me an expensive ticket for heating my own house as I see fit IF I do it on a poor air quality day. And unlike Northern California, our local government doesn't tell you exactly when a poor air day is.
  

So what have I done for the last nine blissful days? I have:

• Slept
• Hiked with the pup
• Napped with the pup
• Had on 99 Cent store shopping spree with the BFF
• Cleaned out my fridge (only to investigate a hideous smell that HAD to go! (A FOUR year old brie had fallen behind my drawers and even though the fridge had been cleaned many times in the last four years, I never found that!)

That's it. It's funny how I always want time to ...do whatever I want. I always think that means time to organize or torch. But apparently, it means doing nothing and doing that with Mabel.