I've read all of Ruth Reichl's books as well. Yay, Chestnut! You should follow her on Twitter. She's sublime.

I can send you the art file if you'd like. ;) I think you've got a great idea there!

Ah, yes. Chapstick. Once it goes through the entire cycle and is discovered during folding, there's nothing left but an empty container. Eww.

Thanks, Liz. The guy who does the flower arrangements at my church always does such a fabulous job that it made the photography part easy for me. These were on the altar a few weeks ago and I couldn't pass them up.

Glad you like my pics. This place was just begging to be shot in black and white. (I used Hipstamatic with a Jane lens, no flash, and BlacKeys B&W film. I have so much fun with Hipstamatic. I don't do any editing later in Photoshop either. I usually like it as is.) Ah, Portlandia. Love it. To me, Armisten and Brownstein are presenting a very well aimed caricature of the city. Not everyone thinks so but, in my opinion, it's only because they are essentially nailing it and sometimes that stings a little. *smiles* Sometimes I even wince while watching it. :-)

Met Matthew Holm at Portland's Wordstock in October last year. Such a fun guy. He has to illustrate for his sister so it adds a level of intrigue to his process. Really can't say enough about him and his work. Very genuine. Plus, my younger daughter loved these books when they first came out. L-O-V-E-D. Can't go wrong with the whole Babymouse series.

Liz: You've got your hands full already. Don't add a dog! *winks* Lisa: He IS a treasure. I'll pet him for you right now. He's under my desk as I type.

The trick is to combine the snow with the "steaming mug of something" for the best possible results. To be truthful we really didn't feel super excited to go (cold!) but once we got there, well, Easy Street. It never, never, never ceases to amaze me at how big everything in Oregon is. I only hope the photos show the sense of scale we deal with here on a daily basis.

Funny that you should mention Wes Anderson. He would be at the TOP of my list on one of those, "Who would you like to have dinner with on a deserted island?" questions. Love his rendition of Dahl's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox." LOVE. IT. Good to know about Futura if I ever do get the chance to meet him. ;-) HotBox!