Like A Fish Out Of Water

 Goodness gracious! I just got back home after house-sitting for my dad and bonus mom for a bit over a week. They live a half block off of Solano Avenue in Albany, CA. Solano Avenue is a well known neighborhood shopping street, lined with a kaleidesope of small stores: clothing boutiques, consignment shops, jewelry stores, delis, restaurants, cafes, bakeries, camera shops, stationers, lamp stores, specialty chocolate shops and on and on. I love housesitting there because it's only 40 minutes from our place (so my leg isn't shot from the drive) and i can walk to so many interesting spots (thus my leg doesn't get irritated from driving any place). The residential neighborhoods burst with fantastic little cottages, from victorian to craftsman, moderne, bungalow and storybook styles. Wonderful!

Their house is full of plants of every variety, with especial emphasis on orchids and carnivorous species. And there's the water lilies, water hyacinths and etc. in the large fishpond out back. Now, the urban areas around San Francisco Bay host a large number of nocturnal creatures, including skunks, opossums and raccoons. One of these critters (i seriously suspect a raccoon) managed to creep under the (mildly) electrified wire surrounding the fishpond and wrassle with the intake pump for the filter system. After experiencing this insulting treatment, the intake mechanism refused to stay down in the water. It kept popping above the waterline where it did no good and made strange noises.

After a couple of days i did manage to get enough water in the pond so that i could get the pump working again (the same or another critter had kicked the outtake gate open and caused a small leak, undetected for around a day). But i had to treat all the water before adding it to the pond, so as not to poison the fishies.

This took ... a while. I did get my 'system' streamlined to the point where i could read some Daniel Pinkwater whilst treating five gallons at a time (The Neddiad, appropriately enough). But no time for blogging! It's true, dear readers, i put those fat, glittery piggies first. I judge you competent to amuse yourselves, whilst your average ornamental goldfish is up a creek without enough water in their pond.

I loved this outfit, and received many compliments on it as well. The best part is that the only item less than a year old is the socks. The oldest is the hat, obtained at a Ren Faire around eight or nine years ago. To me, this is so satisfying. Of course stepping out in your snazzy new duds thrills the fashionista in all of us. But to find inspiration and joy in well-worn pieces? It's like opening a love letter sent to you years ago, and sent by yourself no less. It's where the 'personal' in 'personal style' comes to the fore.

I also learned a few useful things about creating sleeker travel capsules for myself. I'll share these with you in my next post. Be sure to check out the other participants in Patti's Visible Monday. This look definitely qualifies for 'visible' - any hat makes the wearer stand out. Add a velvet bow and black veil during daytime and you may as well sport a neon palm tree on your head! Today's VM is especially thrilling for me, as Patti sports a neutral look. Well done Ms. Not Dead Yet!