It's a Tomato

The Huntington's not the only garden in town. People around here love to plant all sorts of exotic things. Back yards overflow with the beauty of nature. Folks share their secrets and the fruits of their labors. And oh, how they brag.

Well, move over.

Zen Monday: #54

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 Monday photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (if I know what it is).

Free to Believe in Green

I have always had the freedom to think what I please and say what I think. Sure, we have conventions. If I'm rude I may be chastised or lose a few friends. But the law protects my freedom of speech.

For those like me who love to share opinions and feelings, the internet is a boon. The City Daily Photo blog community is all about worldwide understanding and friendship; through it I've made friends all across the planet.

I can't imagine not having the freedom to speak to them. I can't imagine being afraid that if I shared my opinions of my culture, my spiritual beliefs or my country's politics I might pay for it with my life.

A City Daily Photo blogger is missing in Iran. For him, and for all the bloggers, journalists and Iranian citizens jailed either by their rulers or just by the rules, today is a special blog day to raise awareness. I don't know if the Iranian people would elect a leader I like, but it doesn't matter. I defend their right to elect whomever they choose, and to speak openly about their choices.

Click here to view thumbnails for all today's participants, and you'll see our worldwide family united in this effort. To sign the Avaaz petition to the Organization of Islamic Conference, the Non-Aligned Movement and all UN member states, click here. (Thanks to Hilda of My Manila for the Avaaz link.)

UPDATE, 2:30 PM: AMIR IS HOME SAFE! Reports are confirmed, according to JM at Oeiras and Environs Daily Photo. Thank you!

Crisis Control

This has been a week of crises worldwide and on the home front. The latter culminated with a trip to the Animal Emergency Clinic last night, where Kumba the cat is in charge.

I won't go into detail. I'll just tell you that our beloved Boz is currently in his bed, licking his underbeneath parts as if nothing ever happened. He's fine.

Speaking of worldwide crises, please join us Sunday as bloggers worldwide express their support for freedom in Iran.

I was already wrung out before the clinic episode so I'll keep this short. To deal with my end-of-crisis-week stress, since I don't have Boz's talents, I'm going to take it easy on myself this weekend.

Green Balloon Friday for Iran

The Iranian protests touch me through blogging. That is, I've become friends with Iranian bloggers who have been threatened and whose blogs have been censored in recent days. This tells me how easily an issue becomes personal if I can only put a face on it--if I meet a person who is part of it.

Pasadena Daily Photo is part of a larger community called the City Daily Photo community. One of our fellow bloggers is missing in Tehran.

Here's a blog that's still going strong. He blogs in both Farsi and English. Yesterday he said:

GREEN BALLOON FRIDAY for IRAN

WE WILL PAINT THE SKY, GREEN. IN IRAN, AND AROUND THE WORLD.
-----------------------------------------------------
Are you mad about what has been happening inside Iran these days? Well then take a deep breath... blow it all into a Green Balloon... and wait until Friday afternoon to send it up to the sky, wherever you are on this planet. Millions of Iranians inside Iran are planning to paint the sky green on Friday exactly at 1pm Tehran time. The non-violent green movement is being cracked down on the ground, so lets take it to the sky.
People are called to send "green" balloons to the sky on Friday in Iran and any where else in the world. Sky is ours if they ban us express ourselves on the ground. They may shoot our balloons but at least we can be happy that no one dies.

Tehran is 10 hours ahead of us, so just go ahead and send 'em up! Here are some places to buy balloons in Pasadena.

I've chosen to use an old photo today, from my 12th day of blogging. I retouched it for the occasion. My balloons are green at heart.

Spread the Word

I haven't seen the White Hut open lately, have you?

Brigham Yen has his finger on the pulse what's going to happen on the southeast corner of Colorado and Madison. I like Brigham's blog. I suspect a lot of people will have mixed feelings about what's planned for that corner, though.

Another subject: are you a blogger? If you're so inclined, join bloggers worldwide this Sunday, June 28th as we post in support of the people of Iran in their struggle for self-determination. Post a video from YouTube or a photo you've found particularly inspiring or even disturbing. Or just post the color green in solidarity with the protesters. Say what you feel about self-determination or free speech. Let me know if you'd like more suggestions and I'll post them here.
The world is watching. Spread the word.

A Fine Castle

I haven't posted much about Castle Green. I thought this was mostly because Castle Green is a famous Pasadena landmark and it's easy to find pictures of it.

But when I stood at the southwest corner of Fair Oaks and Dayton I took this photo because I couldn't resist. So maybe the real reason I haven't posted about Castle Green is I haven't been around there much. Otherwise, how could I not?

Castle Green was once a hotel and is now apartments. Parts of the building are used as filming locations, or you can hold events there in the larger rooms. They give tours from time to time, during which you can see individual apartments.

About eight years ago I forced John to go on the holiday tour. I loved it. Some of the apartments were fab, some not, but that's just my personal taste in decor. The building is a Victorian lady still dressed in her finery, even if some of her petticoats are a tad shabby.

Bikes and the City

When I saw one of these bike racks at City Hall without a bike in it, I didn't know what it was. Then I turned a corner and saw this and my mental CFL went on. Somebody's commuting to work the environmentally correct way.

Pasadena's into bikes. There's a bicycling Master Plan, there was Bike Week in May, people are always biking around the Rose Bowl and there are countless bike trails in the San Gabriel Valley. Yet I hear a lot of talk about accidents and the dangers of biking. I'd love to get a bike and I admire bicyclists, but I'm chicken to ride in the street. What do you think?

Zen Monday: #53

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 Monday photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (if I know what it is).

Dads are King

My father-in-law and I have our own relationship based in a common interest: we're both actors. Before I met him or my husband, I saw Sandy in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida in Chicago. Sandy played Priam, the king of Troy. If you knew Sandy you'd say, "But of course." That's because when you know Sandy, you know this guy's going to play the king. He's even got a regal voice.

Sandy's also a lawyer. He's a man of many parts. He isn't feeling well today. Nothing serious. But we're thinking of him. John took these shots of him in our living room the last time his parents came to visit, so they're within my rule: photos on the blog must be taken in Pasadena or adjacent communities.

I miss my father today. He died too young--for me and for him. My scanner's not hooked up yet or I'd break my rule and show you a picture of him. (I already broke the rule when I posted about him on his birthday last year.) I don't know if he was ever in Pasadena, but if he was, I don't have the photos.

Stylin'

My young neighbor and I share a name: Celeste. She has the stronger claim on it, as it's her first name and my second one, so I let her use it.

Celeste has a new bike. Look at those white tires with the pink sidewalls! I like the little clips on the spokes, too. They make a soft buzzing noise as she speeds down the sidewalk. This is a special edition "Slumber Party" bike, with a zipper bag on the front to carry her treasures.

Celeste has been riding that thing up and down the block every chance she gets. Her brother Cesar got a new scooter. He wouldn't pose, which is his prerogative. But I'm grateful to Celeste for letting me take her picture.

A bit of business:
I'd love it if you'd read my story at the Rose City Sisters Flash Fiction Blog. It's short! Leave a comment even if you don't like the story (writers had better have thick skin). Then read the guidelines and submit your own story to the Rose City Sisters.

Did you miss out on the Eateries Handbook? Here's something I can offer all Pasadena Daily Photo visitors: a discount at Whooga.com. Nice boots, $30 off when you enter the code PASADENADA into the box in the cart. I've checked it out and it's legit. Let me know what you think of offers like these. Good? Smarmy? More? Fewer?

Meet Stanley

Stanley and Livingstone go together, and since we visited the Livingstone Hotel yesterday I thought we'd look at the Stanley Apartments today. The Stanley (below left) is one door south of the Livingstone (below right). As you can see, Stanley looks to be in better shape right now.






















Again, there's a dearth of information on the web about the Stanley. I found one review from 2003. Nice, but not nearly enough when I want to know what it's like to live there NOW! Honestly, the building looks like the lovely old Gold Coast Chicago apartment buildings I used to covet.

More information, however, is available about KC Stylist, the beauty studio downstairs. Click around and find the Hollywood stuff they've done.

Livingstone Living

Yesterday Pasadena's own Miss Havisham paid a visit to Pasadena Daily Photo to send me on an errand. Because we were discussing a favorite red brick wall, she expressed concern for a beloved old brick building, the Livingstone Hotel at 139 S. Los Robles Avenue. The poor old hotel is closed and sagging. Signs posted around it say "No Trespassing/Pasadena Police." It's enough to put our Miss Havisham in a tizzy.

To be specific: Miss Havisham said the Livingstone was "scheduled for demolition."

Then a mysterious commenter known only as "Anonymous" chimed in and said, "Please take a closer look - the Livingstone is not going to be torn down."

I love a mystery, so I took my trusty little camera and went snooping. I found workmen cleaning out the building.
Why would they bother?

There was definitely work going on inside. If they were going to tear it down wouldn't they just smash it and skip the niceties? Unless they wanted the doorknobs.

I love a good Google search, and I turned up this. Of course it proves nothing.

The Japanese restaurant in question, absolutely closed:
(By the way, if you haven't seen the updates to yesterday's post, including historical photos from Pasaden's Public Information Officer, then I suggest you scroll on down.)
-------------------------------
Update: The Livingstone is being renovated. It is a matter of public record, it's just that the records were not easy to find on the internet.

Blogger won't load a .pdf, but the one my contact sent lists the Livingstone as a "mixed-use project, 1700 square feet retail, 34 new residential units, hotel renovation." The Stanley next door has a beauty salon on the ground floor. I'll post some shots tomorrow to show you how that looks.

The city website's Major Projects page hasn't been updated lately, but it's still interesting. Unfortunately the Livingstone project wasn't on it or it might have been easier to find.

I'm grateful to Miss Havisham for bringing this to my attention for an fun and interesting post, and to Anonymous for getting more detailed information to us.

Mountain Fortress

Read the whole post to find out why I sing the praises of Pasadena's Public Information Officer, Ann Erdman. Earlier today, I posted the color photo, with the copy below:
-------------------------
I love this fortress on W. Mountain St. near the 210 Freeway. It houses the City Yards portion of Pasadena's Department of Public Works.

But something else was there before Public Works moved in. The security guard I spoke to said nothing remains of the old place but the wall. She thought it was once some kind of "youth facility."

Reform school?

Can't find any historical information on the web. What do you know about it? It's a gorgeous old wall.
-------------------------
Here's an update from Ann, which she sent after a long day of meetings:

"Here are a couple of photos that look like they may be of the same wall. The caption for the first reads 'City Yard Facility circa 1930' and the associated address is 1050 Glen Ave."
"Glen Avenue runs along the east side of our City Yards. The first listing in the Pasadena city directories for 1050 Glen Avenue is in 1938 and is listed as City Street Department Yards. If that address had any previous function before 1938, it’s not recorded in the city directories.

As I mentioned in my comment on your posting today, there’s one article (Pasadena Star-News, Aug. 30, 1939), that states:

“Because of new rulings by the Works Progress Administration, it has been necessary to re-estimate completely its prison camp and park department project it was announced today at the City Hall… The project, which was originally estimated to cost $255,480, of which the WPRA would provide $210,520 and the city $44,060, includes the following improvements: Prison camp to be located within the walls of the park department warehouse and work yard, 1100 Glen Avenue administration building; and ticket office at Rose Bowl…”

The 1938 directory lists 1100 Glen Avenue as City Park Dept Plant."
-------------------------
The "second" photo shows a wall shaped remarkably like the wall in my photo. I put it right under mine so you could compare the two.

Ann, I can't thank you enough. Now get some sleep.

Let's have a little contest.

Update, 10:50am: the contest is over, I have 8 winners. I think this one may have been a little too easy. Never fear, we'll do this again sometime, as soon as I have more prizes to give out.

The winners are:
Roberta M.
Cafe Observer
Margaret
Susan C.
Daniel
Loren
Valerie
Jim O (send me your mailing address, Jim--I think I'm not getting through your spam blocker)

As (apparently) many of you know, this is the interior of Zinke's Shoe Repair on Colorado Blvd. at Madison. The earlier post is below.

---------------------

Before you say anything please read the rule, because if you do it wrong you might disqualify everybody.

(A cruel authority figure once told me "wrong" is not a nice word. Just obey the rule, okay?)

There's only one rule: you must email me the answer to the contest question at the end of the post. The link to my email is in the upper left corner of the blog.

You must not answer in the comments section. The reason for the rule is I have eight prizes to give away, and if you answer in comments you give the answer away, which invalidates any answers that follow your comment.

If you don't know the answer to the question you can play it like Zen Monday if you want to. Or critique my cropping. We'll use the comments to chat about something else today.

I think you'll like the prize:
You may have noticed the link on my blog (lower left) to the Ben's post. This little booklet has a lot of stuff in it, including ads, AND discount coupons for places on Pasadena's edges that you've been thinking about trying, like Cycleway Coffee on Monterey Road, My Taco Catering in Highland Park and Larkin's Soul Food and a bunch of spots in Eagle Rock.

(The Eateries website includes a couple of my coffee shop quest posts (I'll be getting back to the quest very soon), a terrific article by Ben and the funniest restaurant review ever, written by John Sandel, aka my husband, also known to Pasadena Daily Photo readers as J+P. Deb also put up a gallery of some of my shots.)

If you're willing to share your mailing address with me (I won't keep it), send me an email with the correct answer to the contest question. The first eight emails I receive that include the correct answer win the Eateries Handbook. If we don't get eight winners by midnight tonight, we'll do another contest until I give 'em all away.

Whew!

The contest question is: Where was the top photo taken?

Zen Monday: #52

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 Monday photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (and if I know what it is).

Snowballs

The weeknight crowd at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at 415 S. Lake Avenue gets a sort of lava lamp movie along with their coffee and, um, light balls. The film is shown on the exterior wall of Borders, which has its own Seattle's Best shop inside. So I think they've got the caffeine covered out there on the ol' plaza.

I'd like to have those in my back yard. The light balls, not the lava lamps. Outdoor heaters, too, except aren't they big polluters? No matter. I tend to get cold when the temperature dips below 75 degrees, so no heater can help me. It's best to go inside and have my coffee by the fire.

Just the typical thoughts a girl has on a wintry day in June.

P.S. I posted photos of last weekend's al fresco art exhibit to Overdog.

Vivid Gloom

(2nd photo is a revision: per TallTchr's suggestion. I think it works. See comments.)

One thing I can say for June Gloom: it makes colors vivid. The only adjustment I made to this photo was to crop out some driveway.

I spent almost all day yesterday trying to learn how to sort photos in iPhoto. I made no progress. Wheeee! I don't know where my photos are, or where to put new ones. I'm sure I have a say in the matter, but I haven't figured out how to get iPhoto to listen to me. I got yer vivid gloom right here.

The bright side: there's not a single virus on this little Mac. And there's no spam in my inbox. Ha!

Plus I have a genius for a husband. He helped me figure out how to sort my photos without iPhoto, so there.

Most days I learn something. Yesterday I learned what I already knew.

Hometown

It's Jacaranda time in Pasadena.

We've got a lot of blogs here in town. A lot of good ones. For keeping up with what's happening the best one is Hometown Pasadena, managed/operated/lovingly filled to the brim by editor and publisher Colleen Dunn Bates, who seemingly can do no wrong. Right now she's got a couple of pretty shots of the jacaranda trees along Del Mar Blvd. 

Then again, what hasn't she got? It's a mind-bogglingly fabulous website that functions like a blog, or about a hundred blogs. I don't know how she does it, but she does it so well.

Summer Course

I need a break from dreary skies, so I looked through my files for a sunny picture. We're supposed to have sun today. Fingers crossed.

I took this shot a couple of weeks ago, peeking through the fence at Brookside Golf Club north of the Rose Bowl Stadium. The stadium has been known to use the course as a parking lot.

I couldn't find much history of the course itself, but it's part of the Brookside Park complex, a Pasadena crown jewel containing the Rose Bowl, Kidspace Museum, miles of hiking trails and more.

Got any golf stories to pass the time until summer finally shows up?

If I haven't been to visit your blog lately, please give me some time to catch up.

Ann Erdman, Pasadena's Public Information Officer, added some terrific information in the comments. I quote her here:

Some history because I can't help myself:
With 36 holes (two 18-hole courses) in a beautiful, natural setting, Brookside Golf Course is continually listed among the top golf courses in California and among the top municipal courses in the nation.

Many people mistakenly call it Brookside Country Club, I presume because it as un-municipal-looking as a golf course could get. But it's owned by the City of Pasadena and membership is not required. In fact, if you live in Pasadena, you get a lower rate than outsiders if you play there.

It's also known as one of college football's greenest parking lots. In the areas where vehicles park during Rose Bowl games and major concerts, the irrigation pipes are situated much deeper under the ground so they don't get crushed. There's also the obligatory and very special turf management as a result of the parking. 

The first of the two courses was designed by Billy Bell and constructed in 1928 at a time when organized recreation was becoming more and more popular in the Arroyo Seco. Since then, of course, the goal is to protect the Arroyo Seco from further development.

The PGA had a Pasadena Open at Brookside annually from 1929 to 1938, and the 1968 L.A. Open was at Brookside. 

Since it is a publicly owned course, you can go into Brookside Clubhouse any time and look around at the memoriabilia, visit the pro shop and have a nice lunch in the restaurant with spectacular views.

The 3.3-mile Rose Bowl Loop goes around part of the property, intersecting between the two 18-hole courses. Walk around the loop with Mayor Bill Bogaard and special guests the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 a.m. (meet at Rose Bowl Stadium's Gate A).

A Hole Lot of Dedication

It's one thing to view an inanimate work of art, to walk around it, think about it, maybe even touch it. It's quite another when human beings actually become their art.

Yesterday I promised to clear the air about the pumpkin man featured in this week's Zen Monday post. I first saw him on the path during New Town's On the Trail Of, a series of open-air art installations (plus this one bit of performance art) at Oak Grove Park last weekend.

Joseph Ravens and Taisha Paggett title their work I Think That I Shall Never See... and describe it thus: "A person, resembling an enormous solemn doll, carries a large shovel, seeking a perfect place for a hole, always searching, almost digging. A large-headed solemn doll struggles to carry a small tree, seemingly in search of the hole never dug."

I reacted with delight at seeing the "large-headed solemn doll" on the path. (If I hadn't known I was at an art event I might have felt differently!) And it was compelling to see the two of them struggle across the frisbee golf course amid the reactions of people out for an afternoon of frisbee and beer. Art like this--so unconventional, so demanding of both spectator and artist--speaks of the dedication of its creators.

Last weekend's event was funded by grants from Pasadena Art Alliance, the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division. I wanted to mention them a second time and give links to these groups. Events like "On the Trail Of" are close to impossible without financial help. But this one was a success, and New Town is able to pay the artists thanks to such funding.

Yesterday I received an email from Rochelle Branch, Cultural Affairs Manager of the city's Cultural Affairs Division. She said, "Thanks so much for mentioning New Town's art installation and the support of Cultural Affairs. We are always appreciative of local support for our treasured arts and culture organizations and we are particularly pleased to have provided financial support for this program."

I love this town.

More photos on Overdog.

Art and Craft

Wondering what Zen Monday was about yesterday?

It was about art. Or maybe magic.

New Town is a diverse arts group dedicated to bringing art to the public in myriad media and venues. This past weekend they presented On the Trail Of: A Half Mile of Al Fresco Installations, Sculptures and Performances, funded by grants from Pasadena Art Alliance, the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division.

The photo above shows part of Stomata/Stigmata by Karen Bonfigli & Andreas Hessing. The two artists hung about 100 terra cotta pots in Oak Grove Park. I've never spent much time at Oak Grove Park because that's where they play frisbee golf, and Boz tends to like frisbees a little too much. But on Saturday the old oak grove was alive with art, frisbees and something more. The pots seemed to have been hung by elves instead of humans, making the grove even more magical than it already is.

From each pot hung a little cord with a tag, and at the end of the cord, a tempting ring. My intrepid friend Linda took hold of one of those rings and pulled. At the other end of the cord was something we hadn't noticed. A cork.

The artists describe their work as "an abstracted version of 'stomata,' the pores on the surface of a leaf responsible for gas exchanges and transpiration." Their purpose, they go on to say, is "to make obvious why it is cooler under the shade of a tree and provide some entertainment and respite for the audience." They provided more. They cast a spell.

You may have guessed that yesterday's work was more on the order of performance art. Joseph Ravens and Taisha Paggett entitled their work I think that I shall Never See... But you shall. Tomorrow.

More photos on Overdog.

Zen Monday: #51

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 Monday photo, I'll add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary (and if I know what it is). Last week, you may recall, Zen Monday was on Tuesday.

Update: This week, it's only fair that I let you know tomorrow, so tune in.

Fish Story

So I was standing in line to buy fish at the Farmers' Market yesterday--by the way, if you haven't tried the fish at the Saturday Pasadena Farmers' Market you're missing out. It's the freshest. And we love sisters Marilyn and Eileen and their friend Juan, who sell us delicious fish every week. The halibut is incredible--but I'm getting off track.

Where was I? Yes. So. I was standing in line to buy fish and I heard Pachelbel's Canon in D Major. Pachelbel's Canon is popular. It's not unusual to hear it at the grocery store or on the radio. Everyone's heard it, it's the 17th Century's answer to Stairway to Heaven, or it would be, if such a thing were possible. But I'm not here to talk about time travel. And anyway, I usually hear the banjo guy or the zither man or the man who sings the Mexican folk songs. It is unusual to hear Pachelbel at the Farmers' Market while waiting in line for fish.

So. There were these two guys. Young. Dillon and Graeme. Or Graeme and Dillon, I'm not sure which is which and I didn't interrupt them to ask. They stood in the parking lot playing their violins for a small but rapt audience. I grabbed a business card that said "classical-contemporary-fiddle/violin duet for any occasion....especially YOUR occasion." You can email them at scran7 (at) att (dot) net (I got their permission to post it). 

These enterprising boys sounded pretty good with the Pachelbel and I wouldn't be surprised if they could give you some Page & Plant if you asked for it. (I can't guarantee that and I didn't ask, but Jimmy was known to play his guitar with a bow, so why not?)

I lost my place in line. But I went back and waited. It was worth it. I got the picture, and the last pound of halibut.

Mountain Sandwich

Light rain two days in a row.
Enough to dampen down the dust.
It makes me want to write a poem.
I'll have mine on wheat toast.

Alternative Doors

I like driving by the Norma Coombs Alternative School and seeing the colorful doors that face the play yard.

I don't know much about the school besides what's on the website. I seem to remember there's an auditorium inside, and years ago I saw a play there. Does anyone remember if it was the pre-2001 Pasadena home of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts?

I'd love to hear your experiences of this school and this building. It's at the corner of Orange Grove and Altadena Drive.

Rusty Hinge

It's been gloomy here lately in the early part of the day. Ben called it May Gray. I've also heard it referred to as June Gloom. Guess it depends on the date. Usually the gloom burns off in the afternoon but it didn't yesterday. We had actual rain. Well, not actual rain by some peoples' standards. Not rain if you live in, say, Illinois. But rain by southern California standards.

I enjoy a cozy day to stay in and do housework and write. But I think Boz suffers from Seasonal Affective Disorder. When he can't go out and lie in the sun he's seriously bummed.

I took this photo across the street from this one, on Locust just west of Allen on the south side of the street. I didn't take it yesterday.

Brix 42

I'm discovering the joys of happy hour. Well, re-discovering. Some happy hours in my youth were not...dignified. I've, uh, forgotten them.

When I read about restaurant and brewery Brix 42 on Ben Wideman's the sky is big in pasadena, I decided to try it. Ben is Pasadena's resident beer expert. He knows every brewer within miles, proving that just because a man's a seminarian doesn't mean he's a party pooper. If Ben recommends a place, you know the beer is good.

When Andrew Pratt, Brix42's manager, found me nosing around the brewing tanks, I told him I'd heard about the place through another blogger. "Oh, you mean Ben?" he said. Then he gave me a tour.

I liked Brix42. The calamari was succulent, the French fries were practically a meal, and one of my friends had a beef and potato dish that I'm going back for.

But the real reason you go to Brix 42 is the beer. They brew five different beers right there. Of course I ordered the sampler.
I liked all of these beers. They're tasty and distinctive, not to mention pretty.

By the way, when Ben posted about Brix 42 at the end of April he was concerned because it wasn't crowded. But don't worry, Ben, the place is catching on. There was a good happy hour crowd the night we were there. People were having a dignified, good time that they will likely remember.

Zen Tuesday: #6

Zen Monday (and in this case, Tuesday) 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, 6/7/09: this tunnel goes under Oak Grove Drive, connecting the hiking trails from the Brookside Golf Club to Devil's Gate Dam and Hahamongna Watershed Park.

Theme Day: Feet

Yay! It's the beginning of a new month, and this particular one brings summer along with it. In the City Daily Photo blog community the first of the month is theme day, and this month's theme is "feet." These feet belonged to the winning team Saturday at Victory Park (the diamond on the lower right in the photo linked here).

I'll bet some of the hundreds of other participating blogs got pretty creative with the feet theme. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants and see what they came up with.

We're having Zen Monday on Tuesday this week, so come back tomorrow for your weekly helping of Zen, or It Is What It Is.