Home Shopping: To the Rescue

John saw an article in the Pasadena Star-News about an unincorporated area of Pasadena called Michillinda Park. A group of neighbors there is trying to save a vintage Craftsman house. We decided to drive over and have a look.

Michillinda Park is a lovely, historic neighborhood where peacocks graze on the median. Too bad it's unincorporated because that means there's no historic preservation ordinance and anyone who has the money can buy one of these...

...and tear it down to put in one of these.

To better illustrate my point, here's a panorama John made of these two houses:

I recommend you click the panorama to enlarge it. It looks like the two houses aren't next to each other, but they are. The reason the McMansion on the right is so much brighter than the Craftsman on the left is that there are no trees in the McMansion front yard. I wonder why, when all the old houses on the block have mature trees in their yards.

Click on the photos in the Star-News article. The house the neighbors are trying to save is a beauty. And the only way to save it is to find a buyer within a week.

Plus I sure hope someone finds that rodwiller.

Update 2/25/11:
According to the Pasadena Star-News, the house will be moved instead of demolished. Not great. A McMansion will be built in its place.

Moving On

At a memorial service yesterday I saw a lot of people with whom I once worked. It's appropriate for the photo to be a little fuzzy, as I discovered my memory to be.

"Remember the time we all...?"

Not really.

"You were there when so and so..."

Was I?

It was nice to see them, or at least some of them, gathered in the name of someone we once knew and liked, even loved. Some people have moved further on than others, though moving on in space and time is not always the same as moving on in spirit.

Chris Cleave

I was at Vroman's last night, obviously. I might not have gone had my brother not asked me to get a book signed for him. He likes this author, Chris Cleave. I hadn't heard of Cleave but I like my brother and plan B involved doing nothing, so I went.

Chris has two books out right now: Little Bee and Incendiary. He read from the latter and it sounds riveting. I haven't read his books (yet) so I can't recommend them, but the woman next to me in the signing line afterward told me that "Little Bee" was the only book everyone in her book club liked.

Cleave drew a good crowd, but not so huge that he couldn't take a moment to chat with everyone who had a book signed. I swore to myself I wasn't going to tell him I'm a writer. With two books published and a third one almost finished, what's he going to say to every wannabe writer he meets? "Good for you, that's very nice, good luck in everything you do"?

It slipped out, and while I was ruing my blabbermouth he asked me what stage I'd reached with my book. I murmured "uh, finished, working on synopsis, it's very hard, blah blah." He gave me suggestions for how to approach the synopsis and was so kind and encouraging (as opposed to condescending) that by the time I headed for the cash register I had forgotten I was supposed to be kicking myself.

I learned a couple of things: attending such events might be a good use of my time at this stage of my career, and being a nice guy sells books.

Because I hadn't planned to buy one for myself, but I did.

Release

Just a cloud. Just a treetop. Just a gray day. Just some birds.

Inner Light

The Pasadena Presbyterian Church is at the corner of Colorado Blvd. and Madison Avenue, a prime Tournament of Roses Parade viewing spot. For the parade, the church had bleachers in its front yard. All along Colorado Blvd. every year, every space that can fit more than two super-deluxe adult derrieres gets bleachers.

I took the photo December 30th, two days before the parade. I like it, hate to waste it, so here it is. The cyclone fence is there to protect the church grounds from revelers. The revelers are not bad people, they don't come here to destroy, but there are just so many of them. So businesses along the parade route put up cyclone fencing or plywood to protect windows and landscaping from super-deluxe revelry.

We're facing south in this photo. The Pasadena sun is always in the southern part of the sky, and it hangs especially low in winter.

Here's another view of the church, taken from the roof of the Pasadena Professional Building at the north end of the same block. This part of the church is at the lower left of that photo.

Pasadena's quiet now. John and I went out last night and--without having to wait for it--got a table at a restaurant less than a block from Colorado Blvd. That's impossible between Christmas and New Year's Day, but a normal Pasadena Monday.

The post title: I like it, hate to waste it, so here it is. It may be relevant to the photo, but it has nothing to do with the prose.

Zen Monday: #128

Inspiration for the photo: Debra H.

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 all get out of con--nevermind. You never get out of control.

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

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.

Fantasy Office

When you wander aimlessly, you find the prettiest surprises.

One gray day a couple of weeks ago when I was snooping killing time, I found this pergola right smack dab in the front yard of a house near Caltech. I'd like to have a pergola just like it in my back yard, with wisteria trailing over it and chaise lounges lazing underneath. I imagined wifi, but making the back yard into an office is the opposite of my fantasy. Then again, it would be a hell of a nice office.

What's your fantasy workspace?

Oak Groves

This is part of the grove at Oak Grove Park. It's close to the Jet Propulsion Lab. This part of the park can be found by walking north out of the Oak Grove Park parking lot across from La Canada Flintridge High school. It's a serene little forest, rare in an urban setting.

There's an old oak grove in Arcadia for the moment, though it's likely to be gone tomorrow. It's called the Arcadia Woodlands. But unless something drastic happens, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (same folks we discussed here) is going to dump 500,000 cubic yards of debris on it starting...pretty much now.

I guess they'll have to change the name of the Arcadia Woodlands. Arcadia means " any real or imaginary place offering peace and simplicity." I don't know what they're going to call it once it's a dump.

If you want to help preserve the Arcadia Woodlands, there are some good suggestions at the end of this informative post from LA Creek Freak. It's late, but worth a try.

We in Pasadena still have our Oak Grove Park, adjacent to Hahamongna Watershed Park. We can still even call it an oak grove. But I recommend we don't get cocky.

Other blogs participating today:
Altadena Hiker
Ballona Blog
Bipediality
Breathing Treatment
Chance of Rain
Echo Landscape Design
Greensward Civitas 
Greymatters
L. A. Creek Freak
L.A. Ecovillage Blog
L.A. Ecovillage Gardener's Weblog
Pasadena Adjacent
Pasadena Daily Photo
Pasadena Real Estate With Brigham Yen 
Slow Water Movement
Temple City Daily Photo 
The Sky is Big in Pasadena
Weeding Wild Suburbia

Also, Arcadia Patch is giving this issue excellent coverage.

While You Were Out

My friend's three-year-old has a home office. And why not? Mommy has one and so does Daddy. Plus, like most three-year-olds, this one is a very busy girl with important things to do.

It's an organized space, considering, although I have a feeling Mommy and Daddy have a hand in that. And of course when I was there, the CEO was out.

Arroyo Gotham

I ran an errand in downtown Pasadena yesterday morning and parked in a lot I hadn't used before. As it was new to me, and because I need new pictures of Pasadena every day, I looked around for shots. I do it obsessively: Would that make a good photo? How would I shoot it? What angles might I try? Is the light good or should I come at a different time of day?

Et cetera, et cetera, finger down the throat, ack ack ack.

I saw a possible shot between tall buildings--a sort of Pasadena Gotham--and planned to return later. I came home and picked up Boz for a walk in Lower Arroyo Park, and took this picture of La Loma Bridge instead.

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.

Zen Monday: #127

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. I'm heartbroken that this never, ever happens.

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

All These Things And More

Yesterday:

while the blimp rolled and hummed above the stadium; while the prop jet circled the San Gabriel Valley and more small planes flew higher; while crews cleared Colorado Blvd. of tons of parade debris, while thousands enjoyed the 127th annual Rose Bowl Game with its excitement and noise...

...we had this.

One of the many things I love about Pasadena: that all this can happen in the same town at the same time.

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.