Huntington Cool

It was warm yesterday in Pasadena, but we're expecting cooler days for the rest of the week. In anticipation, here's a shot I took at the Huntington on a cold day. I've taken so many pictures at the Huntington that I like to find excuses to trot them out from time to time.

The structure in the background was the home of Henry and Arabella Huntington, the wealthy and illustrious couple who left us these wonderful gardens, galleries and library. It's a pretty fabulous house. What you see is the east veranda.

I hope they enjoyed it while they lived there. I sure get a lot out of it now.

Zen Monday: #43

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what the photo's about.

As I post each new Zen photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (and if I know what it is).

Update 4/13/09: This was taken in an office building on Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock.

Red Rover

Can anyone identify the little red brushes poking up out of the ground? They show up around this time each year after the rains have dried up. They'll be dried up and gone by the time the summer heat arrives. For now I'm enjoying their miniature charms, but the dogs couldn't care less.

Penny For Your Thoughts

I first posted about Penny For Your Thoughts on June 1st of 2008, when the City Daily Photo bloggers' theme day was favorite local shop. I adore this store; there's no other place like it.

Originally, the shop was run by two sisters. Now one has withdrawn and the other, Millie Wheatley, is the main operator. The store is loaded with eclectic vintage funk and locally-made products: beautiful and trendy hand-made clothes, gorgeous seashell mirrors, and imaginative jewelry by Zoe Kanemitsu, who was running things when I was there yesterday. I was happy to hear from Zoe that PFYT was busy last Christmas, when so many retail stores had their worst season in history. That's got to be due in part to the unusual stock and good prices, as well as the delightful people who run the place. It all makes for good atmosphere.

Making the place more unique than just the stuff, at Penny For Your Thoughts you can take a break from browsing and sit down to have a sandwich, a coffee or a locally-baked cookie, right in the middle of the store. The cookies are baked by Karen Hirsch of Apron Strings. I'm a big Karen fan; she walks her dog Gracie out at Hahamongna and she's fab. She also makes the adorable aprons they sell at PFYT. (Is there anything this woman can't do? Apparently not. She's going to be teaching a bread baking workshop at Penny For Your Thoughts on April 18th from noon to 3:30. You can either get over to the store and sign up now or wait until I post about it, but class size is limited so ya takes yer chances.)

I wasn't shopping yesterday, so I sipped a cup of coffee and sat in a comfy chair while reading my book. The music was quiet and the vibe was calm, oh yeah. Oh! Oh yeah! Hey! Next time I'll set up my laptop and work on a writing project, so I can properly report back as part of the Coffee Shop Quest!

I can already tell you PFYT is going to be the one to beat.

The Eagle Rock

I freely admit that the first time I saw the Eagle Rock I thought it got its name because it's shaped like the head of an eagle.

It doesn't take long to find out that the Eagle Rock is named for the shadow cast by the formation in the upper center of the rock, which looks like an eagle with outspread wings. (I still think the rock looks like an eagle head but that either makes me crazy or makes the name doubly appropriate.)

Eagle Rock is also the name of the Los Angeles neighborhood that shares part of Pasadena's western border. To get there, all we have to do is drive or bike west on Colorado Blvd. for a few minutes. Eagle Rock was once its own municipality, incorporated into LA in 1923. The pre-incorporation City Hall and Library still stand on Colorado Blvd.

It's a funky area, with mostly independent businesses—coffee shops, clothing stores, restaurants, and the president's Alma Mater. I'll head over for a new installment in the Coffee Shop Quest one of these days.

Wikipedia's article about Eagle Rock has a photo taken from almost the same spot where I took this one. Their pic shows a deer in the bushes (it'll give you some scale) and a lot of dirt in the foreground, where now there's a lot of asphalt.

Jeopardy

The answer is: Kids, babies, dads and dog butts.

The question is: What is a neighborhood when moms aren't around?

Ah, but the real question is: Who dressed herself today?

If I had her wardrobe I'd have chosen the same combo. Fortunately for my neighbors, there's no risk of that.

Theme Day: Yellow

The first of the month is theme day for City Daily Photo bloggers (of which there are now a whopping 933). As soon as I heard the theme was "yellow," I began seeing more yellow cars, signs and neon than I'd ever noticed before.

You'd think such a broad theme would be simple, but cars, signs and neon are too easy. But when J. and I visited the Norton Simon Museum on my birthday, I caught a glimpse of this man in his yellow jacket and knew I had my shot. I was an April fool, however. The painting behind him isn't yellow. It's called Buffalo Blue, by Norman Zammitt.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in today's theme.