What, Yes, but Where, No.

Now I know what it is, but I don't know where. After our discussion on the first I have a pretty good idea this is a marker, but I forgot where I took the picture. Hahamongna, probably. Near the Devil's Gate Dam, maybe. Does anyone know?

Slip

...and one day the princess wandered away from the castle.

She'd grown up aware of the surrounding forest. She knew the birds that flew along its outskirts and, on occasion, watched a timid deer peek from among the trees.

This day, she was the one peeking across the divide between civilized and wild. Even at the boundary, while she could still hear the the servants calling to each other and smell pies baking in the kitchen, the forest tempted her with wonders she'd never imagined.

I'll only take a few steps in, she thought. I'll keep the castle in view. I won't go far--no, not far at all...

Santa Catalina Branch Library

I had so much fun showing you Pasadena's branch libraries during Banned Books Week that I decided to keep going until I finish. I'll sneak one in when you're not looking for it. Ha! Library! Bet you didn't expect THAT!

This is the Santa Catalina Branch, perched on a slope next door to Longfellow School on Washington Blvd. The website says it's closed for renovation and they're not kidding. Workers are in there scraping and painting right now.

Just like all of Pasadena's branch libraries, the Santa Catalina Branch reflects the needs of its neighbors. Here are a couple of paragraphs from the website:

"Home to the system's Armenian language collection, today's Santa Catalina Branch building was completed in December, 1930. The branch's staff can accommodate both English and Armenian speaking patrons.

Santa Catalina Branch is proud of its Preservation Corner. This collection of books and materials highlights the architectural Bungalow style evident in neighboring houses. Preservation Corner is sponsored by the Bungalow Heaven Neighborhood Association, Historic Highlands Neighborhood Association and the Pasadena Public Library."

While this branch is closed, never fear. Head straight west on Washington and in a couple of minutes you'll be at La Pintoresca branch. You're never far from a library in Pasadena.

Guest Author: Elizabeth Pomeroy

Before it became fashionable to self-publish, Elizabeth Pomeroy formed her own publishing company--not just to publish her own books but important historical titles as well. Writer, editor, publisher, educator--it's a wonder she finds time for it all. Please welcome today's guest author, Elizabeth Pomeroy.

Why I write: It was historic places that got me started writing about local history. I braked for historic markers and always wanted to know more. Also I volunteered for an architectural survey in Pasadena some years ago. Little details of houses and neighborhoods could be so revealing, as we uncovered layers of history. I began to develop an eye for "anything old" -- a certain roofline or the old stone walls; even a row of derelict orange trees left over from a vanished grove.
 
If time is the fourth dimension, then knowing the history of a place puts you into that four-dimensional reality  --  neat !

Lost and Found: For five years I wrote a weekly column on historic places called "Lost and Found." This ran in the Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and Whittier Daily News. My beat extended to 40 cities, the circulation areas of those papers. I looked for nooks and crannies of history, the overlooked and the obvious, including places we might pass every day.

Many Moons Press: Then I collected my favorites of these articles into a take-it-with-you guide published by my new small business, Many Moons Press. The book is Lost and Found, and it was followed by more articles in Lost and Found II. I said on the book jacket, "These are YOUR treasures, which history has saved for you in its vast Lost and Found Department."
 
Now Many Moons Press has published eight titles all about Southern California, including books on John Muir and the native plant expert Theodore Payne. Some of the books are new editions of wonderful titles long out of print. This series is called California Voices. Take a look at the website for information and reviews.

What next? Now I'm writing the Centennial History of the City of San Marino, which will be published by the San Marino Historical Society. It will be a beautiful illustrated book, with many photographs, historic and modern. It's due out in the fall of 2012, in time for the centennial year of 2013. So far it's a lively story of people and places.

Come and see:  I'll be at the Duarte Festival of Authors on Saturday October 8th with my books. Come and say hello; we'll talk history and share thoughts about books. I'd love to hear your comments on my work and to have your ideas about what Many Moons Press should publish in the future. We are looking for new projects.

Mantra: Thanks for listening, and here's my mantra for all book lovers and book people: "May the writers write and the readers read !"

Break Time

We have business to take care of this week on the blog, but first I need a break. I've decided to celebrate my caesura with these gentlemen and get in a few rounds of dominoes out back.

The guys told me they were on their, uh, lacuna from work at The Kitchen for Exploring Foods in west Pasadena. Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

Zen Monday: #165

I took this picture across the street from a library.

Here's a second shot. Let's say, for clarification:

Zen Monday is the day you interpret the photo(s) instead of me telling you what I think it's about, so please have at it.

Glimpse Her While You Can

Like most City Daily Photo bloggers, Laurie Allee didn't know when she started where Glimpses of South Pasadena would take her. I think blogging takes us each to a different place, but maybe that's not the right way to think about it. More likely it's the blogger herself who steers, driving the blog like the personally-designed and -constructed vehicle it is.

Laurie has driven her blog to a leadership role in her community--not a political one (although even South Pasadena elected officials showed up at Charlie's Coffee House yesterday to celebrate the opening of her photo exhibit, South Pas: Observed)--but a social one.

Glimpses of South Pasadena has become a local forum where people speak their minds. Laurie's email box is constantly filled with requests, questions, thanks and damnation. She started something big, something South Pasadena needed--a place to talk, and sometimes even to shout.

Laurie's at the forefront of the Save the Rialto movement and you'll find some of the most poignant photos and writings about this landmark are hers. In fact, if you want to find Laurie today you won't find her at Charlie's, although her photos will be there throughout October. Today you'll find her taking part in a symposium called Encore Rialto at the South Pasadena Library Community Room at 3PM.

Laurie has also steered her considerable writing talents into a popular column called Views from the Front Porch for South Pasadena Patch (her editor was at the reception, too).
And as she gains confidence behind the wheel there's no telling where else she'll drive this thing.

Anywhere. She can take it anywhere she wants to go.