The Tree - Living Room

We couldn't make up our minds so...one for the living room and one for the kitchen. 

Decades ago Michelle's fury over the cultural perversity that drove women to modify their appearance extended to its impact on animals. Poodles were the most obvious examples.  To siphon off the angst we had a show at the gallery called Poodlemania. To augment the art we collected a bunch of poodle chotchkas including several ornaments. Who knew they were a popular subject?

Catering (or is it CAT ering?) to Michelle's

proclivity for cats

The Tree

Note pumpkin awaiting next year

A 1970s acquisition

There was a time when my

totem animal was the badger

Note splendid lace collar

A survivor from the earliest

of earlies

Hoopa Tribe & 11th Hour Project

The11th Hour Project helped make possible the writing of Kochland by Christopher Leonard.

Now, in this article, they're credited with helping the Hoopa Tribe of Northern California purchase over 10 thousand acres of their pre-incursion lands. 

https://11thhourproject.org/hoopa-valley-tribe-regains-major-tract-of-ancestral-land/

The 11th Hour Project is one of several founded by the Schmidt Family Foundation. Created by Wendy and Eric Schmidt. Wendy was a Silicon Valley interior designer & Eric was CEO of Google & Alphabet. 

Today, 15.Dec.24, delving further into the 11th hour Project I found this video about their support of California farmers and ranchers. The video is about 8 minutes long but is on Vimeo so cannot be embedded in Blogger, but the link below will take you to it. 

 https://vimeo.com/856542540

Here's The Foundation's description of the program:

To commemorate ten years of co-evolution and connection, Kitchen Table Advisors (KTA) created a film, “A Decade of Growing Community” celebrating the beautiful stories of three farmer and rancher clients. The film visits Ge Moua of Moua Farm, Javier Cruz of Cruz Martinez Farm, and Dede Boies of Root Down Farm to showcase the ways KTA has grown alongside them.

Over the past ten years, Kitchen Table Advisors – their purpose, vision, and work – has been guided by the voices and visions of small sustainable farmers and ranchers. Their work focuses on both directly supporting farmers and ranchers through practical business advising and relationship building, as well as creating a friendlier marketplace that centers their agricultural practices and lived experiences.

According to the USDA, 50% of small farms don’t survive beyond their first five years and, out of the survivors, only 25% make it to 15 years. The industrialized food system depletes land without providing adequate nourishment, all while disempowering farmers and ranchers who seek to create environmental and social change. This leads to higher failure rates for the producers who nourish us — especially women, BIPOC and immigrants.

From 15 farmer and rancher clients in 2013 to 172 clients now served in 2023, Kitchen Table Advisors supports farmers and ranchers who use regenerative agricultural practices, and are leaders for social and environmental change within the food system. KTA’s work is driven by its vision of a vibrant food system based in community, justice, and ecological responsibility, where all farmers and ranchers can thrive.

Scrub Daddy

That's the name of the wire encased sponge supporting the sliver of Kirk's Castile.

ThE wire could go on for decades but the sponge wastes away in less than a year. 

Here's its predecessor.

I do enjoy a bawwtth.