A handmade Christmas

I thought I'd post a few pictures of the various decorations around our house, many of them are handmade. These come out every year, so they are very "traditional." The two stockings are crazy-quilted, I made them when Jemma and Isaac were born.

Roses in December!

Yes, these beauties are blooming in my front yard right now!

Crocheted Santas at the Alameda Antique market!

I found these two jolly fellas at the Alameda Antique market yesterday, only $5 each!

Cars, Cars, Cars!

We went to the SF Auto Show last weekend, and I sat in a lot of cars! I also test drove a Nissan Leaf, driving two laps rather slowly around a track. Loved the Mustang pool table in the Ford display. The Academy of Art showed off its classic car collection, the cars are magnificent.

Another 1870 Art Center Open House

I have blogged about this place before, it's a wonderful old school building that is filled with artists' studios. The city is trying to raise the rent, so the artists may be moving elsewhere, but so far no decision has been made. So in the meantime, they held another open house last weekend. My DS really enjoyed the wood carving class he took this summer with Ruth Waters (shown standing inside her studio), she is an excellent teacher.

Two new quilting projects

A rainy weekend is the best time to work on long-delayed quilting projects. I sewed together the cat blocks that I embroidered when I was visiting in Atlanta, and I also sewed together the Minnesota squares sent to me by a friend. The tops are now pinned and ready for quilting! These are both destined to be Christmas presents.

Exploring Moss Landing

AS I drove north from Monterey, I veered off the main highway onto the narrow road that leads to Moss Landing a few blocks away. This used to be an antique mecca and there are still a couple of antique shops there, but the main attraction is the quaint old buildings, a nice-looking restaurant called the Haute Enchilada, and the Shakespeare Museum. I spoke to Terry Taylor at the museum, who told me that the group is hoping to create an entire Renaissance-style village, complete with theater, in a nearby vacant middle school.

Museum of Monterey modern art

Yesterday, I revisited the Museum of Modern Art in Monterey to see the "pop art" show. Could not take photos in that exhibit (although other patrons did not seem to notice the many signs prohibiting photography...). But I took pictures of other things in the museum. The large paintings are by John Haley and the map and Campbell Soup cans are by Enrique Chagoya. If you look at the soup can labels closely, they have very funny names!