I left hot and muggy Sherman, TX, early this morning for clear and cool Berkeley. I'm staying with Lynn, my editor, and her husband for the next few days. It's very nice of them to put up with me.

I had the afternoon free so I walked a mile or so to downtown Berkeley. Found a few stocking stuffers (it's not too early to shop). This book should be a present but I have to say that it's going to be hard to give it away:

I took pictures of the flowers on either side of Lynn's driveway. I might be able to grow these in Sherman, but they wouldn't be as pretty:

Cropping a photo like this presents interesting options. In the shot above you can see more of the flowers – and those sweet peas are definitely pretty. But I think the photo below tells the story better.

And then there are these guys. They look like a kind of thistle, or poppy? 

The texture and color of the stucco behind the plant makes it all the more interesting.

They remind me of figures and I'm not sure why. But I like this image a lot.

Tomorrow is the first day of a 3-day photo shoot at the C&T studio. Linda and I have turned in the manuscript for the 4th edition of the New Applique Sampler and these are the photos that will go into it. The new edition should be out in a year, give or take. I'll do my best to get some photos to show you what it's like at a photo shoot. It's not nearly as glamorous as it sounds!