of broken rules & red-clad wizards

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my rule has long been, no holiday goings-on until the first of december. yes, i am one of those people who constantly occasionally rants voices displeasure at the barrage of christmas items & decor appearing long before the season has even begun. but come on! ornaments on sale alongside hallowe'en costumes?

well, it would seem that all it takes to break me is a tiny elfling sweetly asking if we could go see santa today please. & so we did.

being a great old man of 14, thehobbit did not wish to be seen on film. i did attempt a few photographs, but he managed to ruin them all by scowling at me. except for the above. don't his shoes look happy? (yes, i did cut elfling's beautiful long hair off. i am still in mourning, so do not wish to discuss it.)

the grove is my favorite place to go each year. it is such a beautiful center, & they decorate it stunningly. if you are in los angeles, go earlier in the season, & never on a weekend, or it will be too crowded to enjoy.

faced with the man himself, elfling could not even brave going inside the cottage. instead, we stared at him through the front door, then later through the windows.

he did wonder how it was that santa was up in the sleigh at the same time he was in his cottage. manlyman replied with ooh look at the tree!

i could not get the entire tree in my shot. it. is. huge.

trolley was dressed fancy for the season. elfling refused to ride, even though he loves trolley.

this is how he prefers to visit trolley. with bars keeping them safely apart. toddlers are so odd.

the fountain is a favorite of the entire belfry clan. it dances to music, & there are koi in there!

on our way home we had to pop into a mall for something, & you'll never believe who we ran into. santa! how ever did he manage to get there so quickly? santa is clearly the greatest of wizards.

~peace.

what the?

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is this hell? by hell i mean did my windy little hill get moved into the very bowels of hell? they are saying that yesterday was a record high for los angeles: triple digits in the first week of autumn! there aren't words to describe how hot it was. today is, so far, vastly cooler, but to that i say, whatever. once the mercury rises above 75 85 i am just a puddle of sweaty misery, whimpering in the corner.

today we are playing hooky. i know you shall think me a wimp (& perhaps you're right), but i just cannot function in weather such as this. we are skipping classes, putting off errands, doing no chores. today we sit still, & try not to snap at one another. much. um. as much as we did yesterday.

so, what is with the unrelated photo of feet? nothing. i know how you are about photoless posts, so i took one of my newly painted toes. you're welcome!

i am off to wipe sweat from various places.

~peace.

note :: this is the first polish i've worn in 7 years! it's a less toxic brand, color: brandon burgandy.