Age & Grace

I had to rub my eyes at Sunday's market in Rancho Santa Fe. Heels, a turquoise knit dress suit with matching chemise, smart handbag and a pheasant-plumed hat. Had Elizabeth lost weight, ditched the diamonds, and come to the market in her civies? No, she'd be with a pack of Corgis, not a fine apricot poodle:

I asked her for a photo and got her "story." She came to San Diego from Winnipeg in 1964. She is the essence of manners and taste, but she's also got some steel in her: look how she holds the leash even with a handbag draped on her arm; she grooms her beloved Standard Poodle Sandy herself, and he's got a full coat. She walks him twice a day, 4 miles each walk. I wonder if she was an equestrienne in the day, she handles that big dog on his leash with precision, and Sandy knows his Mistress is the boss.

Now that's what I call age & grace; she is fantastic, and so is her Sandy: