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.