Behind the Scenes

This combination lock opens a door to a stairway that most Pasadenish have not climbed. Yet many of us have walked past this door. Where do you suppose we are?

Here's another clue. I'm giving it away!

In the next few posts, we'll take a behind-the-scenes tour of...

Time Window

I thought I'd post this because there's been so much green on the blog lately due to the rain. We had a long, hot summer this year, which I loved, but after all that brown I become a glutton for green.

This was a hidden, rear window in my neighbors' garage. I say "was," because they've fixed it up and now it's nicer. I'm glad I got a picture of the messy old thing, though I'm not sure my neighbors are. I love this kind of stuff.

I have thousands of pictures I doubt I'll ever post. But taking pictures can be like record-keeping. You never know when you'll want to look up something you almost forgot.

Mount Wilson Totem

We're at the Mount Wilson Observatory. I don't remember which building we're in. I know what it looks like but I forget what it's called. Maybe, if we're lucky, Bellis will check in and tell us.

Some days I haven't taken a picture and I don't have an idea of what to post. I click through my thousands (upon thousands) of photos and hope something strikes me.

This one may turn out to be one of my favorites.

Ground. Building. Trees. Sky.

Zen Monday: #203

Once again, I don't know. You tell me.

Chapter 3, Stained Glass

Inside the big old house we've been visiting this week there's a big old stairway. Someone painted it once--or probably more than once.

The light likes the paint.

A close look at this glass makes me wonder if it's original to the house. Would these be 1896 colors? They look psychedelic to me.

This window is more convincing as an original, with rippled glass even in the stained parts. But it's all guesswork on my part. For all I know, the windows were all put in in 1986.

Except this. Here's the door to the sleeping porch. It's in a tiny hallway all its own, peeking north. Right now it's hard to reach because it's in a part of the house Jim hasn't gotten to yet, at least not entirely.

Jim and Cybele are a busy couple with careers, interests and a baby boy. They may or may not ever finish with all the plans they have for the place but it doesn't matter. The house will wait.

Much thanks to Jim and Cybele for this delightful visit.

Zen Monday: #139

On Zen Monday, we experience the photo and share what we've learned in the comments.

Well, I don't. Monday's your turn.

(Your first Zen Monday? Tell us what the photo makes you think of or how it makes you feel. Say whatever comes to mind. There's no right or wrong, no secret, no prize. Just have fun.)

Artistic Mews

This cat knew how alluring she looked in her pink window. She posed for several photos while I stood on the sidewalk and snapped away.

Briefly, with Kitty as my muse, I became the Annie Liebovitz of Northwest Pasadena, the Ruth Bernhard, the Louise Dahl-Wolfe!

Oh yeah, Kitty. Gorgeous. Gorgeous! Just move a little into the light, babe. Beautiful, beautiful! Hold that for a second. Okay, okay. Chin up a bit--good, good--great! Now give me a little pout, darling. Fabulous! 

A tug on the leash.

Forms of expression other than artistic had come to pass. Boz, my canine muse, was reminding me of my less glamorous responsibilities. When I looked up again, Kitty had retreated to her dressing room.

Window Tweetment

I have Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a blog and it's already enough/plenty/on the verge of too much. Some people digg and delicious and Classmates and Flickr and Friendster and the list goes on and on. (I tried Library Thing briefly but that was too obsessive even for me.)

Do you tweet? "Tweeter" was my nickname when I was a kid, but as an adult I'm having a hard time coming up with things to tweet about. Location tweets are out--too dangerous. An occasional retweet is okay, but too many of those and you start looking lazy. And I don't want to be boring: I swear, some people will tweet about whether to have the chocolate muffin or the peach tart with their coffee. Do you care whether I'm cleaning the bathtub or stuck on a sentence? You do not.

I could surf the web for interesting websites or newsy bits to tweet about, but I'm not desperate to tweet. I understand the importance of platform, but mainly what I'm doing over here is trying to write.

Part of my problem is I have two Twitter accounts, one for PasadenaDP and one for me. I must shut one down. I think I'd rather be me.

What do you tweet about?

Zen Tuesday: Moth

Light is drawn to a moth.

Inside the Cinema

I posted about Cinema 21 April 14th. Here's an additional photo I took that day, as I tried to see into the depths of the building with my camera.

Ancient ruins transport my imagination; I fantasize about the people who built, lived and worked in them thousands of years ago. When I look at a ruin like Cinema 21, which isn't ancient but merely old and tired, my imagination works in a different way. I don't think so much of those who once went there, but of what it would be like to fix it up if I could.

More photos here.