Spice Girls Mini Cooper.

Victoria Beckham may have owned this baby.  Or maybe another one of the Spice Girls.  Whoever, whichever, there is a classic Mini Cooper driving around to car shows, all decked out with the signatures of iconic Spice Girls .... or, so says the guy in Wayzata, Minnesota where we saw these sweet wheels last summer.

Vaya con Dios, Estimada "Casita."

Chalk up another one for the little engine that could .... and did ... and then ran out of steam.

Wickenburg's iconic "Casita" coffee shop slides its window closed for good on 1/28/11.  Owner Denise, and barista Brittany, shown in the picture above, are going out of business. And what a loss that is: for them, for the town, and certainly for fans of yummy lattes like old Poppy.

"Casita" fought the good fight. Denise almost made it against daunting odds. A small business start-up, by the new gal in town, with substantial capital requirements, in a climate of increased sales taxes, signage issues, and the worst recession in anyone's memory -- despite all this she almost pulled it off.

Thank you, Denise, and Ron, and Brittany. Gracias "Casita," y vaya con Dios.  Ya vive el Sueno Americano.

Gluten-Free Goodness.

We were back East and in the company of several family members who have a nasty allergy to gluten -- the key ingredient in wheat and other grains.  That means, no regular store-bought bread for them -- so you have to cook up the loaves at home, using a myriad of gluten-free (GF) ingredients, just like you see in the picture above.

We had a bake-off in the family kitchen, just like they do at the Betty Crocker events. Only in our little gluten-free world, the end result was easy to digest, so good for you, and the best tasting loaves ever to come out of 450-degree oven!

Jay Leno's Mechanic Owns Flxible.

My new pals at the Roundup in Wickenburg, AZ were quick to boast that the owner of this elegant, classic Flxible "Starliner" was chief mechanic for the Leno Collection of import and domestic cars.

I think you'd agree, after seeing this mid-'60's beauty, that Mr. Mechanic has done himself proud.

The Allison Diesel cranks out over 600 hp, and the bus "is only getting warmed up" as the needle on the speedo breaks 100 mph.

Hanging Texas Proud.

This afternoon in Wickenburg, AZ, in the parking lot of the Civic Center, I hung out with some owners of classic Flxible motor coaches.

These fascinating and intrepid road warriors had assembled for the annual Flxible Roundup and were celebrating an open house for curiosity seekers like me.

Flxible Folks are passionate about their wheels, as well as their home states, personal accessories, clothes, hats, jewelry, the whole deal. One very cool lady seemed to personify a possible conflict between the allure of the open road and he desire to remain loyal and connected to their ancestral homes. The Lone Star earrings let her accomplish both goals.

Lucha Libre? Mascara. Verdad.

Tio Pepe Hoyt sent Old Poppy this friggin' authentic Lucha Libre mask from the wrestling rings of Mexico. Just what I had on my list for Santa -- who could have known?

I asked Pina to snap a foto for the Blog -- just had to strut my Feliz Navidad stuff. I'm thinking I'm going to start a new career, just as soon as I start pumping iron, eating right, running some miles, and thinking up a proper Nom de Ring.