Thursday, January 28, 2010

Speechless...

This is another Nora post.



That's the 'aww you're embarrassing me' face.

I really don't have too many words for this new 'trick' that my dog can do.  Just know these few things:

1. We did not teach her any part of this.

2. We don't really know why she does it.

3. The pole is a standard porch support pole- 7 or 8 feet tall.

4. And yes, we're concerned that she will take her 'new skill' and apply it to escaping our back yard.

Here you go:















See!  There's really nothing to say about this!  Just imagine me walking out to my backyard to examine my camellias and observing Nora do this:



















I think a video may be in order...

-CtF

New Creation

Here's another new plush thing I've been working on:




This one was a gift for Mr. Incredible's mom- fashioned after her goofy lab, Cody.

Cody has a tail like this- but its always moving:



I think I could start a new "lab line" for Christmas Tree Face Creations on etsy.... hmmmm.....




-CtF

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Gilly!

Fifteen years ago, before the Christmas Tree Face name was bestowed upon me, my parents bought my brother and I birds.  Cockatiels to be exact.  They're little Australian parrot type birds that are pretty kid friendly, can be very affectionate, and generally put up with everything from excited dogs, tormenting kid brothers, and occasionally being forgotten after dark in their outside cage (they really don't like the dark!).

They were great pets- my brother's bird was a yellow male that whistled for the dog and generally only bit men.  My bird, named after my favorite book (at that point in my life) "The Great Gilly Hopkins," was a speckled grey color and very hen-like and sweet.  Gilly loved having her head scratched and being stuffed into my Barbie Dream House.  

We loved our little birds... for many years.  Many, many years.  Apparently, cockatiels can live for 30+ years... kind of a long commitment.

A few years ago, my brother's big flew the coop... literally.  Somehow the cage was left open and he flew away and never came back.  Gilly was content to sit inside the open cage waiting for him.  We searched high and low- calling and whistling for the bird but he never came back.  My brother was frankly not too devastated by the loss of his pet.  And surprisingly, neither was Gilly, my brother's bird's lifelong mate.

Gilly enjoyed her life of singlehood for the next few years.  She happily clucked and squacked and ate her millet without competing with another bird.

A few weeks ago, I came over to my parent's house to discover Gilly's cage open and empty (yes, she was my bird, but Gilly stayed with my parent's... much to their chagrin).  Again, we called and whistled well into the night but never heard her familiar squack.  It was a very cold night for Southern California and we finally stopped searching and reconciled the fact that we were now birdless.

Long story short, two days later my mom was speaking to the neighbors about our fly-away bird when she heard a cockatiel squack nearby.  After following her ears, she found Gilly!  In a pepper tree across the street!  She hadn't flown the coop!

So Gilly is back.

Something I didn't mention is that Gilly lays eggs.  Little white, unfertilized cockatiel eggs.  Like one or two every 2 years.  She starts clucking (really) and eating the grout in my parent's tile floor (calcium) and then she likes to sit inside of a box.  One day, we'll hear a mighty SQUWAK! from her cage and there will be an egg.  We let her sit on it for a few days but eventually my mom puts in a little glass bowl she has in the living room and Gilly's stint at motherhood comes to an end.  For a couple years.

Gilly is back to her box now. (Yes, of course she's still with us- she's only about half way through her lifespan!)  She's a curious little creature... as you can see for yourselves:



Gilly in the box... notice her 'home remodeling skills' at enlarging the opening....



Now she's yelling at my camera lens...



But she's over the lens now and is investigating things...




"Who YOU lookin' at?"







"Ahh... snack time!"





Then its back to the box... a bit of a squeeze...



And a little privacy please?  I mean really...


-CtF

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

and then there was COLOR...

Today is very dark, dreary, and grey.  I'm not complaining-just commenting.  Its true- its been raining for the last few days and the sky is just bursting with unrained rain (that sounds so literary-right?) and the dogs are going crazy being cooped up in the house, and being from Southern California I don't even own a rain jacket (I do have a hooded sweatshirt that is not waterproof- not at all).

Ok, that kind of sounds like complaining.  But I actually do like the rain.  And I'm really not trying to complain (who wants to read a complaining blog?).  This rambling is just the preamble to what I'm about to assault you with...

...and that's COLOR!  But not recently photographed color.  Just some photos from 2009 that I've taken run through the Photoshop machine...

Normally I adhere to the 'process photos as you would film- get as close to real life as possible' law/  These photos are in violation of my own law.

You've been warned.  Mark E- you especially have been warned (since I know how much you LOVE HDR photos) and Super GonBozo- you too have been warned (since I know how much you LOVE HDR).

Sorry- no more inside jokes... just some very processed photos that I kind of like...


Like this old fashioned chapel up in Cambria, CA-



Or an old paper lantern...




This fat cat... and I even am breaking my 'no cats on this blog' rule (wow, I'm breaking a lot of rules today... I wonder if I should be concerned?)



Cemetery Shots:






Romanian buildings:






And foliage...

...what a weird word....foliage...







This photoshop action courtesy of vacuumslayer.  Photos, willingly and knowingly photoshopped in an extreme way property of Christmas Tree Face... all rights reserved and all that!

-CtF

Friday, January 15, 2010

Give them a chance!

Who likes Brussels Sprouts?

Anyone?

[cue crickets here]



See, I was unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on your opinion of brussels sprouts) to have never experienced these strange little veggies growing up.  I, like many young, impressionable souls, repeated the gross noises and sick faces whenever these things were mentioned... but without any real reason to do so.

After a very scientific poll, I discovered that Mr. Incredible had this same experience growing up- claiming to hate them but never actually having tried brussels sprouts.  We blame our parents.  They must have had bad brussels sprouts experiences.

So in the name of science, I decided to make some the other night...

And I kind of like them!  Here's what I did:





First I cut off the stems... or bottoms... I'm not real sure on my brussels sprouts anatomy...



Then drizzled olive oil into a baking pan and tossed the little guys in...



Then things get interesting... like cayenne pepper interesting!



Add a little sea salt...



And some garlic!



But dice it up first...



And toss it on the brussels...




Roast for about 17 minutes in a hot oven (like 425 degrees!)...


And enjoy the buttery, yummy insides and roasted, peppery outsides...with a little parmesan cheese... but try to remember to take picture before you eat of these babies!



I really do not understand why brussels sprouts get such a bad name... anyone out have any input?

-CtF

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

and now for something less sappy...

...like dogs running on the beach...













...and dogs jumping on the beach....













...and dogs running and jumping on the beach at sunset...
















Doesn't it make you want to run and jump on the beach?

-CtF