Theme Day: Photo of the Year 2010

City Daily Photo bloggers share a theme day the first of every month, and the first of the year we like to bring out our proudest moments. This is my favorite shot of last year, posted September 22nd: the Occidental College men's cross country runners at Hahamongna Watershed Park. They remind me of Pheidippides, or maybe just Greek gods. I love the sunset catching the dust at their heels.

Today also marks three years of daily blogging for me. There was a time this year when I thought I might not continue. After all, a daily blog is a big commitment. But the rewards are so many that I think I can keep going for a while longer. Thank you all so much for visiting. I appreciate each and every comment, each and every follower, each and every day.

Happy New Year!

City Daily Photo is now 1326 blogs worldwide, with new blogs joining every month. Today you'll see the best of last year, so I highly recommend you click here and visit some!

The Rose Parade streams live here:
http://www.ktla.com/entertainment/roseparade/livevideo/

Happy New Year, the Pasadena Way

photo by John Sandel

Please do click on this panorama to enlarge it. John took it with his iPhone inside the Rosemont Pavilion last night, while volunteers and professionals worked feverishly to finish a dozen Tournament of Roses parade floats.

Actually, not feverishly. Fever implies heat and it was chilly in there. But they were working hard. It is estimated that 80,000 volunteer hours will go into this year's Tournament of Roses parade and festival.

Thanks to our friend Terry Griest, a white-suiter and sometime PDP guest photographer, we were treated to a VIP tour. We didn't have to wait in long lines and were were able to get down on the main floor of the pavilion to see the floats up close.

The panorama gives you an idea of the enormity of the place and the work going on there, but it's only an idea. The Rosemont Pavilion houses 12 floats; there will be 47 floats in Saturday's parade. Every surface of the floats is decorated with organic matter, from flowers to coffee beans to kidney beans to carrots. I was intrigued by a plant called "silver leaf," used to decorate the shining armor of a knight on the Bayer company's "Camelot" float.

Here's our tour guide David (thus the term, "white-suiter"). When you see this eagle in the parade it will be at the head of a float ridden by Native American singers and dancers of tribes from all over the United States. And it won't be wearing that plastic shower cap.

If you're camping out on Colorado Blvd. tonight, stay safe and warm, ya nuts!

Here's a photo of how things looked at about 2:00 this afternoon along Colorado Blvd. John was driving and I shot this out his window. Things were just beginning to get a little insane.

Happy New Year from Pasadena!

Elbow, Elbow, Wrist, Wrist

I took these photos yesterday afternoon from my car at the corner of Colorado Boulevard, waiting to make the left turn onto North Orange Grove. See? Red light. Perfectly safe.

Workers were still preparing for Saturday's Tournament of Roses festivities. Most of the bleachers are ready, but this pavilion needed a few final touches.

It wasn't until I got home and uploaded the photos that I realized the guys in yellow were the only ones working. I had several pictures of the gentlemen behind the white fence practicing their parade waves.

 

Because of the comments, I decided to add a couple of extra pictures to give an idea of what things are looking like around town:

Just south of our featured gentlemen, the press pavilion at Colorado and Orange Grove is complete.

Several miles east: how do the employees at Fedde's Furniture get in the front door of the store every morning?

Glad to See You

I hope the tourists arriving in Pasadena for the Tournament of Roses parade and the Rose Bowl game are enjoying themselves and finding lots to do. Although I'm glad they're here I admit, since the Rose Bowl is west of me and Colorado Blvd. is south, unless I'm forced in other directions I'm going only east and north until next Monday.

It's nothing personal. Some of my best friends are Texas Christians and cheeseheads. I'm just not one for crowds.

The Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia (east) is looking beautiful these days, and since it's so big there's room for a few extra people. Isn't that bench inviting? I sat on it.

I made the unfortunate mistake of putting my glasses in my back pocket before sitting down. Even my titanium frames couldn't survive the ordeal, so I was forced to take a drive down Lake Avenue yesterday (south). I would have waited until next week but my glasses were making me dizzy, so I stopped in at Moda Optique to have them adjusted. Hratch said business was good but the Texas and Wisconsin fans are not knocking down his doors. Apparently they brought their glasses from home and haven't sat on them yet.

Resolve

Do you make new year's resolutions?

I do. My reason for making them is to keep them, so (here's my logic:) I make resolutions that are possible to keep.

2010's new year's resolution was to finish my novel. It's done done done.

Of course just because the book is written doesn't mean it's published. I have a lot of work yet to do. But in 2010 I spent an inordinate amount of time sitting at my desk, which brings me to 2011's resolution.

A book doesn't get written without one's butt in one's chair at one's writing desk, but admittedly, this is not the best thing for one's butt. In 2011 I resolve, among other things, to de-stress and to exercise. There's nothing like a good trail for killing those two goals with one mountain.

Did you make a 2010 resolution? Did you keep it? What do you resolve for 2011?

Zen Monday: #126

photo by Sara Wright

It's Zen Monday, the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And I stay out of the comments box until the end of the day to avoid influencing the discussion, unless you people get totally out of control. This keeps not happening.

There's no right or wrong, we're here to have fun.

You may notice we have a guest photographer today. A warm welcome, please, for Sara Wright! 

Sara is our second Zen Monday guest photographer. (The first was Katie Murphy, two weeks ago.) I'm thinking about instituting a Guest Photographer day--perhaps a different day than Zen Monday. Let me know your thoughts, either in the comments or by email.

Mare Tranquillitatis

The main trails at Eaton Canyon were crowded yesterday. Although a few small signs warned of the possibility of flash floods, moms, dads, babies, uncles, grandmas, dogs and ripe old relatives crowded the fast-moving stream in the wash, enjoying a sunny day out.

John, Boz and I found quiet trails that most others missed. Lucky us.

And to All a Good Night

Last week I wasn't feeling the Christmas spirit. That feeling is warmer than a good mood, brighter than a hope. I felt okay, just not Christmasy. Plus it was raining.

Friends, local and cyber, made suggestions as to where to look for my Christmas spirit and I tried them all. I played Christmas music, read Christmas stories, gave to charity. I watched Christmas videos, listened to Christmas carolers, viewed Christmas lights in the rain. It was beginning to work. I was starting to feel warm and fuzzy.

Wednesday night, the storm broke. On the suggestion of Pasadena's Public Information Officer Ann Erdman, I drove to upper Hastings Ranch, a Pasadena neighborhood that (surprise!) was once a ranch owned by a family named Hastings. The neighbors there put on a Christmas light show every year. I drove up the hill, as far up as I could go, stopping every so often to take pictures. Then, not quite satisfied, I turned around to head home.

Then I saw the lights of the San Gabriel Valley under the post-storm sky. That was all I needed.

Merry Christmas to all!

Non-Traditional

I've totally thrown photography out the window here. It's Christmas eve! Bring on the fun and the pretty lights. I have no idea what a sugarplum is, but bring that on, too. Figgy pudding I'm not so sure about, but if you want it, why not?

When I was a kid we had holiday traditions. We did certain things in certain ways. We had our favorite decorations for the tree, traditional foods and the right time of day for opening presents. (We even had traditional wrapping paper that reappeared, with tape marks, year after year.)

As an adult couple with a dog and no kids we're free from old traditions, but I find myself wanting to establish new ones. I might want to try traveling at Christmas time for example, or making something new.

What are the traditions you can't do without--the ones that create the winter holidays and set you up for the new year?

Christmas Lights

After last Saturday's post I implemented many of your suggestions and am now caught up in the holiday spirit. That day I promised "Christmas cheer on the blog, rain or shine, through Christmas day." It's been easy to feel cozy and cheery these past few days with the rain pouring outside and Christmas music playing indoors.

One of my favorite things about Christmas is the lights. Here are ours, reflected on a curtain and a lamp stand, with a little creative license.

Getting Restless

I like the look of the lights against this adobe home and the symmetry of the cross centered in the window. Peaceful.

The rain didn't let up yesterday. I had a lot of time to spend at my desk. I've discovered I can't stay with one task, one project, for a whole eight hours. I begin to feel restless and look for other things to do. After about 90 minutes of researching an article, I felt a deep desire to take out the garbage even though it was pouring rain. And though I knew I had to finish a synopsis, a couple of hours of arranging and rearranging 3X5 note cards had me wishing the bathroom wasn't already clean.

But Boz got a good walk. And John had a nice dinner waiting for him when he got home.

And now it's pouring again. Today, perhaps I can learn to stay at each project a little longer.

How about a poem?

Horses and Men in Rain, by Carl Sandburg (Cornhuskers, 1918)

Let us sit by a hissing steam radiator a winter's day, gray
wind pattering frozen raindrops on the window,
And let us talk about milk wagon drivers and grocery delivery 
boys.

Let us keep our feet in wool slippers and mix hot 
punches--and talk about mail carriers and messenger boys
slipping along the icy sidewalks.
Let us write of olden, golden days and hunters of the Holy
Grail and men called "knights" riding horses in the rain, in the
cold frozen rain for ladies they loved.

A roustabout hunched on a coal wagon goes by, icicles drip on
his hat rim, sheets of ice wrapping the hunks of coal, the
caravanserai a gray blur in a slant of rain.
Let us nudge the steam radiator with our wool slippers and 
write poems of Launcelot, the hero, and Roland, the hero, and 
all the olden golden men who rode horses in the rain.

Just One Block

Late Saturday afternoon I put on a rain poncho, grabbed an umbrella and dragged Boz outside because he wouldn't go on his own. I wouldn't have done this if Boz had seemed happy where he was, but he'd been complaining of boredom all day. And he, uh, needed to go.

The rain was steady but light. "One block," I said to Boz. "Just one block, and if you're successful, we can go home."

It's very wet in Pasadena, as you may have heard, but it isn't cold. It's been hovering around 60 degrees during the daytime. So when we came upon the neighborhood kids having a snowball fight, you can bet I needed to investigate.

The kids were bundled up like I used to do in Illinois winters. They were having a blast. They'd been sledding before the snowball fight, and would be sledding again. The parents were having a beer and a nosh, going in and out of the lovely Craftsman home nearby. Christmas lights twinkled on the lawn. I stopped to marvel and asked the homeowner if I could take pictures. He shook my hand and said, "Sure!"

Boz wasn't thrilled. Turning into an alley was not part of our one block agreement. And Boz is not a water dog. The one thing he likes less than rain is hoses.

And that is a hose.

But Boz waited as patiently as he could while I talked to the neighbors and took my shots. Patience under these circumstances meant leaning against my leg and saying "murph," over and over again, as plaintively and sweetly as possible. The neighbors, who don't know me very well, were festive and friendly--they exhibited their Christmas spirit by offering me food and drink and inviting us to their party. We'd have stayed, too, if I hadn't had other plans for the evening--and if I hadn't made a promise to Boz.

Once I had my shots I thanked our friendly neighbors, then Boz and I continued around the block. Boz kept up his end of the bargain and we returned home, each of us knowing, in our own way, that the walk had been a success.

Zen Monday: #125

It's Zen Monday, the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And I stay out of the comments box until the end of the day to avoid influencing the discussion, unless you people get totally out of control. That has never happened by my definition, I'm sorry to say.

There's no right or wrong, we're here to have fun. 

I wish you a Zen Christmas week!

Wet Christmas

The good news is we've had enough rain this year that it starts to feel like our long drought is coming to an end. The bad news is, don't get cocky.

The good news is, there's free water coming out of the sky, along with the opportunity to use it wisely. The bad new is, there was a big fire in the mountains last year (you may remember), and we've got flash flood warnings through tonight for the burn areas. If you live in those areas, the Los Angeles Times says not to park your car in the street.

The good news is, this is normal winter weather for southern California. If you've been here only a few short years you might not think so, but that's because you've known only drought. This is more like it. Good news.

Boz hates it. You'd think a half boxer/half mastiff or whatever he is wouldn't be such a pansy, but a little rain comes along and it's time to start thinking about doggy Prozac. We don't give him anti-depressants. Good news/bad news.

If you need information about road closures, flash floods, etc. you will always find it at Altadenablog.

Haul Out the Holly

I'm having trouble getting into the holiday spirit this year. There could be any number of reasons:

I don't have kids.
I don't like egg nog.
It hasn't snowed in Pasadena yet.
I gained weight before Thanksgiving.
I don't enjoy shopping.
I can't fly.
I haven't started on my holiday cards, even though every year I promise myself I will do them in September.
Baking makes me tense.
I don't have a secretary.
I don't have a palace on the Riviera.
Et cetera.

But I want to enjoy the season and I certainly have nothing to complain about. I have work I enjoy, a home and family I love, good friends and a great life.

Can you help me perk up? What holiday spirit tips can you share? (You can call them Christmas spirit tips, I won't be offended.)

How do you cheer yourself for the season of warm and fuzzy?

Onward, Christian Soldiers

Have you heard any of the press about "the war on Christmas?" I heard about it on Patt Morrison yesterday on KPCC.

Apparently some people are up in arms (it's a war after all) because they prefer to hear "Merry Christmas" instead of "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays." They want to see red and green--none of this blue stuff (that's Jewish!) or orange (what is that, Kwanzaa?) or--does Ashura have a color? What color signifies fasting? I think that would just be clear.

Okay now, hang on a second. I think we have enough things to get freaked out about. Do we really need to get upset over this? We're talking about Jesus Christ's birthday, here, so let's ask ourselves, what would Jesus do?

I think Jesus would wish us a happy Chanukah.

If someone wishes me a merry something or a happy something, they're wishing me well. It doesn't matter if it's something I celebrate. I don't celebrate Kwanzaa, for example, but if you wish me a happy Kwanzaa, I'll take it. It's almost Kwanzaa whether I celebrate it or not, and I might as well be happy.

And as for that holiday parade in Tulsa, as a certain friend of mine would say, "Oh, for the love!" Calm down. It's Tulsa. It's not like we're talking about the liberal hotbed of America. We're talking about a town like every other town in the U.S.--a town where not everyone is a Christian, yet everyone's invited to the parade. At least that's the America I live in.

And I might just point out that when folks are worried about parades and lights, Santa and shopping, they're missing the point of Christmas anyway.

There's no war on Christmas. The only war going on in these quiet towns at this time of year is an imaginary war inside a few teeny, tiny minds.

Retreat

I stopped at Vroman's yesterday. Wednesday afternoon. Middle of the work day. Parking lot packed.

This requires patience. You wait in a line of cars (you have no choice, you're stuck now) while someone backs out of a space. The line moves on and finally it's your turn, your space, the furthest one in the lot, between two SUVs, both of which were parked by people who have apparently never parked a car before. On the return trip, a monster pick-up truck follows you to your space. You try to wave him off because--well, finally he sees he's never going to fit in there and he speeds off, burning frustrated rubber.

It has begun. Christmas/New Year's time, Pasadena is a busy town.

It's good, though. Three clerks worked the back registers at Vroman's and more registers granted angels their wings throughout the store. Employees (that means "people who are employed") helped customers find the things they wanted. Commerce, in my town, in an independent book store, is just fine with me.

I'm glad to leave it to others from this point onward, though. I bought what I hope is the last Christmas present I need to get. Now I think I'll retreat to the less popular mountain trails or my favorite spots in the Arroyo Seco (far north and/or south of the Rose Bowl) until after the first of the year.

Unless someone else wants to do the driving.

Non Sequitur

I usually don't post graffiti--and truly, I have no idea what this says--but I like the picture. No photoshop, no messing. It is what it is. Kinda like not having a face-lift.

I'm too tired to write much about the photo. John says it could be an entrance to faerie. What with all our urbanization it's conceivable that such entrances exist in parking lots or other places in town. Faeries have to get home, too.

Or

I'm eating a cookie with red and green sprinkles on it. The green ones are teeny, tiny Christmas trees.

Co-Operating on Food

Last year our clementine tree was so prolific I gave clementines as Christmas gifts. I shared clementines with neighbors up and down the block. I enlisted friends to help pick them and sent them home with bags full of fruit.

This year, nada. Like eleven clementines or something. I guess that's just the way it goes. The tree doesn't bear fruit every year.

I miss those clementines. The ones from the grocery store don't even come close because they're genetically altered not to have seeds. In that alteration all flavor is lost. They're not even called clementines. They have the nerve to call them "cuties." Yeah, well, looks aren't everything.

There's a growing movement in the Dena called the Arroyo Food Co-op. The goal is to create a grocery store owned by the people, where the food is healthy, where you know the people who grow it and where the growers are kept to sustainable farming methods.

I haven't joined the Co-op yet. Should I? Should you? Shouldn't everyone? Take a look at their website. They've got events coming up this week on the 16th and 17th where you can meet people and ask questions.

I may have to go without clementines this year. It goes without saying that no cuties will pass my lips.

Did you find the surprise in the photo?

Update: I just read this article about Smithfield and animal torture, which lit a fire under me to join the Co-op.

Zen Monday: #124

photo by Katie Murphy

It's Zen Monday, the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. And I stay out of the comments box until the end of the day to avoid influencing the discussion, unless you people get totally out of control. So far that hasn't happened but there's a first time for everything.

There's no right or wrong, we're here to have fun.

You may notice we have a guest photographer today. A warm round of applause, please, for Katie Murphy!