The Week in Review -- and a Tease

We took a vacation last week to, you guessed it, California.  As usual I took lots of pictures, with both my good camera and my iPhone, which is proving to be more versatile than I ever imagined it to be.  When I share images on Instagram, I tag the pictures with #iphoneography, a tag I've borrowed from my photographer and college friend, Angie Garbot.  (You can see her beautiful photography here.)  I figure it's only fair to identify what I'm taking with that little flat gadget.

Here are some of my favorites from last week's iPhone pictures:

Lovely giant snail on the patio

Colorful rock with a splattering of lichen

The petals fell overnight and I woke in the morning to find my
very own Dutch painter-like still life.

The view on an evening walk

Looking west at sunset

Up close and personal in the middle of a ladybug swarm

And there you have it.  I'm off now to do some museum work -- prep for the next docent training session is ramping up and I have two meetings this week -- and to read through Kathy Loomis' new book, Pattern-Free Quilts, Riffs on the Rail Fence Block.  It's my honor to provide a review of the book, here on my blog.  Here's a sneak peek at the cover.

I've already done a quick perusal and I can tell you now that this book is filled with eye-candy!  Gorgeous, gorgeous quilts.  I'll share more of my personal thoughts later, but don't feel you have to wait; you can buy the book here.  If you'd like to read more of what Kathy has to say, head over to her blog; it's always a good read.  You can find it here.