Coffee Gallery on a Steep Hill

I was at the Coffee Gallery Backstage earlier this month to hear Will Ryan and the Cactus County Cowboys and write an article about them for Altadena Patch. (It was a really fun assignment.) I get to the Coffee Gallery pretty often.

The Coffee Gallery and Coffee Gallery Backstage are two separate but, shall we say, conjoined entities operating out of basically the same space. Both entities are institutions around here.

When John and I first moved to the San Gabriel Valley we rented a house in Altadena. We got married in the back yard there. We called the Coffee Gallery "Awake and Open" because of the sign hanging outside. It's always been part of our lives here.

Right now, both Coffee Gallery entities need to raise $20,000 by February 15th for their Conditional Use Pemit (CUP) and parking variance in order to keep their entertainment license.

They're having a fundraising concert on February 8th. Tickets are $18 and the artists, bless them, are donating 100% of the proceeds to the Coffee Gallery. Timothy Rutt wrote a good article about it on Altadenablog. If you can't make it to the show you can still make a donation.

$20,000. My god, that's steep. I think the Coffee Gallery will do it, but jeez louise, how's a small business supposed to survive in LA County with fees like that?

Boz (Not Boz)

Oooh, the face.

How many times have you said, "I wish I could have a dog like Boz, but there's only one Boz in the whole, wide world!"? I know! You're like a broken record! How many times have you wished you, too, could have a mild-mannered, easy-to-handle, calm-as-can-be Boxer like Boz?

Well, now you can! Yes, you, too, can meet Vinnie the Boxer at Boxer Rescue! He's available for adoption today!

Here's what Karin the Altadenahiker had to say when she walked Vinnie: "He was happy to mosey on the leash, but every so often would break into a sweet but tame happy dance. He wouldn’t lunge at other dogs who said rude things behind fences, but he wasn’t afraid of them, either. Was curious about everything, but not insistent about it."

Wow. "...all a boxer has to offer without the exuberance," as Karin says. Sounds like Boz to me. And Vinnie comes with a bonus even Boz can't match: he's an actual Boxer (Boz is actually a Mixer).
Here's another shot Karin took of our guy:**

I love that far-away look in his eyes, don't you? Soulful. So Clark Gable.

Vinnie (you can name him Boz once you take him home) is 7 or 8 years old. I highly recommend a mature dog, especially if you yourself are not a spring chicken. Puppies are great if you have furniture to spare and if you are free 24/7 to train your young piddler and walk him/her several times a day so he/she will please god sleep for chrissakes. But Karin and I picture Vinnie with someone who appreciates the finer things in life--at a slower pace.

"In all the [dog] walks I’ve taken," says Karin, "I've never met a dog so well behaved and affectionate." And Ms. Hiker has walked more than her fair share of dogs as a volunteer at Boxer Rescue.

To learn more about Vinnie, read Karin's piece on Altadena Patch. Then call or visit Boxer Rescue and take Vinnie home with you. Then you, too, can have your very own Boz!**

Boz the Mixer, photographed by John Sandel

I guarantee it--you'll be so glad you did.

**Leash and tags sold separately. Available in colors shown. Boz not included.

Pat It and Prick It and Mark It

Ugly mural, no?

No?

Someone thought so, and now Altadena's Patticakes Dessert Company is having to defend itself--albeit with a legion of fans to support it.

Patticakes is a good place to buy baked goods for an event, as well as nice little spot to have a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. Perfectly innocent. Yet the art on the exterior wall is apparently in violation of a county code.

Seriously.

Yep.

That's what I thought, too.

Is this art or is it advertising? The discussion on Altadena Patch got some saliva glands going; if the complainers ever get caught they might just get baked in a pie.

I once had a brick wall for a fence. I speak from experience when I suggest the following: if the County paints over this mural, the County--or whoever lodged the complaint--gets to take on the cost and responsibility of painting over the graffiti that will appear on this wall--guaranteed--at least three times a week.

You don't have to be from Altadena to stop by Patticakes at 1900 N. Allen Avenue and sign the petition to keep the mural. (I did, and I bought a chocolate tartlet thingy while I was there just, you know, to show 'em I mean what I say.) I wanted to get a picture of the mural without cars parked in front of it, but every time one car left another two arrived and I didn't have all day. Apparently the County's done Patticakes a favor, at least in the short term: right now, business is sweet.

Update:
The mural stays.

See
Altadenablog
Pasadena Weekly

Sandals of Yucca

Before 1769, California was populated by native tribes. A huge area, from Riverside County to the coast, including the southern Channel Islands and the San Gabriel Valley, was dominated by people we now call the Tongva, also known as the Gabrielino.

I've been reading up on the Tongva for a series of articles for South Pasadena Patch. The first article posted a few days ago; it's about Tongva life before the Spanish came to build Mission San Gabriel. An Altadena version of the same piece posted on Altadena Patch today. I hope you'll read one or the other (feel free to read both). Your comments are welcome. Even if you don't comment (I realize it takes time and effort), I hope you'll read and think, and perhaps seek out further information about our Native American predecessors.

I can hardly explore the Dena anymore without an awareness of the presence of those who lived here before me. This is part of the joy of a place. The more I know about its history the more deeply I experience it.

Mr. Boz

He's not much of a talker. He can't read. He slobbers when he eats, he snores and oh god, does he have gas. But he comes when I call, he loves me more than he loves any other woman and when I gaze into his big, brown eyes I love him right back.

Here's one of the first pictures we took of Boz, when he first came from Boxer Rescue to live with us. Look at that lean, mean, fightin' machine! But of course Boz is no fighter. He's a lover to his core.

Boz was shy at first, just trying to figure out where he fit in the pack. But gradually he came out of his shell. He's a great communicator with a distinctive personality and a vast array of emotions. I had no idea how much I was going to love him. It amazes me how deeply we've bonded with him and how naturally his presence transformed a couple into a family.

I'm posting photos of Boz today to encourage you to read Giving Thanks for Animal Rescue by Karin Bugge at Altadena Patch, where bloggers local and worldwide pitched in words and photos of their adopted darlings. I also hope you'll adopt a pet if you're looking; as was mentioned in the discussion at Patch, you can find any kind of dog at local rescue shelters--purebred, mix, adult or puppy. Start at petfinder.com. There's no need to perpetuate puppy mills when these wonderful animals are already available.

It's been seven and a half years since Boz came to us from the shelter. The neighborhood kids know him; sometimes they ring our doorbell to ask if he can come out and play. He's a fun guy with a great personality, still learning new tricks, the dog of my dreams.

He's growing old now and I treasure every moment with him because I know he won't always be here. I often tell him, "I love you." He knows what it means. It means he's a good boy.