Pie 'N Burger

I was strolling down South Lake Avenue the other day when woops! That umbrella I'd left in the car was looking like a brilliant idea I'd forgotten to write down: shoulda coulda woulda.

You could say rain is just water. Or you could say it's a good excuse to go to Pie 'N Burger.

I think most people go there for the pies and the burgers. (Makes sense.) Me, I go for the GAC 'n BAC. That's what we used to call a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich when I waited tables a hundred some-odd years ago.

Tasty. I'd even go there when the sun's shining.

Bonus pic: an accidental shot of the very clean counter at Pie 'N Burger on a rainy day.

At Least I Don't Have Twelve Toes

I'm willing to spend a little on shoes because if I don't, my feet put up a fuss. (I'll cut corners in just about any area but this one.) But I'm about to give up. I've been looking and walking and shopping and walking and walking and my dogs are sore! (and I don't mean Boz).

Help! I need shoes. Not just any shoes. My feet are very particular.

I want fashionable shoes I can wear for hours. You know, walking shoes. Running shoes won't cut it. Any suggestions? We're in the LA metropolitan area. It's the 21st century. How hard can this be?

Today I found the perfect store: Kenneth Cole at the corner of Colorado Blvd. and De Lacey Avenue in Old Town. After visiting a virtually empty department store the other day (which shall remain nameless) where several clerks in the shoe department couldn't find time to help me, this shop was a relief. Well-made shoes, decent prices and friendly, attentive service.

The only problem was the size seven and a half was too small and the eight was too big. Apparently I wear a size seven and three quarters shoe. Which doesn't exist. My feet are more particular than I thought.

Of course I was disappointed. But at last I have a clue to my foot problems.

Greening the Earth

Can you believe it's been forty years since the first Earth Day?

I suppose if you were born after about 1965, you can.

I like the way Pasadena celebrates. With love in our hearts we hail April 22nd as Earth Day, then when Saturday rolls around we celebrate Greening the Earth Day when everyone can come to the party no matter what year they were born.

This Saturday the free festivities at Memorial Park include something new: a "Free Market" swap meet.

Here's the gist: "As a community we have many more resources than we do as individuals. If we share our resources we won't need to buy as many new ones...The basic concept of our Free Market is this, bring items you don’t need or services you want to share, and leave with items you do need and maybe a service provided at no cost. No currency is exchanged, everything is free. Bringing items is not mandatory. If you see something you could use, feel free to take it and enjoy! There is always plenty for everyone."

(Even fresh produce is welcome.)

If you think it sounds like it's going to be hard to get in there and get what you want, keep in mind that set-up volunteers have first dibs on all pre-donated items during the preview hour from 10am-11am. And good stuff has already been donated. Read the Free Market link to get all the info.

When I read that press release I almost didn't make it past the swap meet. But other wonderful stuff will be available Saturday at Memorial Park: information about how you can be a "greener" citizen, artwork and workshops (across the street) at the Armory Center for the Arts, live music and dance--even a guided bicycle tour of green projects in Pasadena, organized by C.I.C.L.E., begins at 11am. There's so much I can't fit it all here. Contests! Prizes! Read the links!

I don't think they had all this stuff at the first Earth Day back in 1970. But frankly, I don't remember. I was way more concerned about summer's imminence and three months off to play outside in green forests, fresh air and sunshine. Just trying to keep it that way, is all.

Denim Day

Annual Denim Day in LA celebrates it's 11th year today.

Denim Day was inspired when in Italy in 1992 the Italian Supreme Court overturned a guilty verdict in a rape case. One judge stated that the middle-aged man in the case couldn't have raped the young girl “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”

Quoting further from the website:
"Enraged by the verdict, within a matter of hours the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work. This call to action motivated and emboldened the California Senate and Assembly to do the same..."

On this day I make a point of wearing jeans to show solidarity with men and women around the world who agree that rape is a crime of violence. There's no excuse, and never an invitation to rape.

Writing a post like this sounds so serious--it is, after all, a serious subject. There are no funny rape jokes. Show me someone who thinks rape is funny and I'll show you someone who's never known or loved or been a rape victim, or learned anything to do with the crime. But if Denim Day can turn that last bit around by teaching, I'll be glad I posted about it.

Skyline News

A chance of rain tonight, they say. Lovely, lovely rain.

That rain comes with a "cold upper level low pressure system." For two days. Snow in the grapevine,* maybe. In April. In southern California. You know, where we live in this here hot, desert climate.

Bundle up.


*"The Grapevine" is local vernacular for the highest altitude point of Interstate 5, the main north-south route in California. It's fewer than 80 miles north of Pasadena. It's usually impassable when it snows.

Zen Monday: #92

In a few weeks we'll celebrate 100 Zen Mondays. What do you think? Shall we have a contest of some sort? A prize? I welcome your suggestions as well as your comments about today's Zen Monday photo.

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about. There's no right or wrong. It means what you think it means, or what you want it to mean.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. Unless I absolutely must say something I stay out of the comments box to avoid influencing the discussion (because when I get in there everything goes down hill).

Not That Kind of Passion

When I need a break I go for a hike in the hills. But some situations call for drastic measures. When it gets that bad you need a complete departure from civilization.

I remember going on church retreats when I was a pre-teen. They were fun, like going to camp. On one retreat I had a crush on Brian. He put his arm around me during the educational film strip, then broke my heart when he put his arm around Darleen at the campfire. It was a stressful weekend.

I believe they're offering an entirely different experience at the Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in the hills above Sierra Madre.

Their lovely website makes a retreat look so inviting I'm almost tempted to leave my iPhone behind for a weekend. On the site there's advice about how to make the most of the experience, with ideas ranging from the ethereal (how best to use your spiritual time) to the earth-bound (wear comfortable shoes for strolling the grounds). And the price is very reasonable.

The virtual tour is a bit...busy. (You'll just have to imagine that the grounds are peaceful.) But from Bailey Canyon, where I hiked high above the Center on my own mini-retreat the other day, a big retreat at Mater Dolorosa looked like heaven.

Do you think one weekend would be enough time for me to get over the whole Brian-Darleen thing?

Old Pasadena Vintage

Peering out from under the awning at the Pasadena Christian Center (yesterday's post), take a look across the street. There's a cute, little old building that houses the Old Pasadena Vintage Lighting Company at 2569 Colorado Blvd.

The "about us" link on their site doesn't work but the other links do. They get good reviews on Yahoo. I can tell you a few things about them because I've browsed through the store and even taken photos, though for some reason (certainly not human error) none were good enough to post.

The coolest thing about the business is that Jason can custom make just about any kind of vintage lighting you want. He's been at it for a while, and he's created reproductions for some of Pasadena's well-known structures. And yet the prices are reasonable.

Plus they have unique antiques.
Plus they're nice.
Plus last time I was there a charming little dog was guarding the place with all the ferocity of a bonbon.

...

I'm sooo looking forward to the end of the recession. I hope I don't have to wait that long to order my custom light fixtures. But I doubt that median will be re-landscaped before then.

Cinematic Church

At 2588 East Colorado Blvd., amid antique shops, used furniture stores and a cute-looking restaurant or two, you'll find the Pasadena Christian Center which (obviously) used to be a movie theater.

A snoop around the church's website will tell you about their religious mission and practice. They've been in Pasadena in various locations since 1929, and "debuted" in the one-time Colorado Theater in 2002.

The Colorado Theater link takes you to the fantastic Cinema Treasures website. The photos of the early Colorado Theater show it looking much plainer than it does now. I wonder when the marquee got so fancy?

And if you're looking for something to do after church this weekend, check out Ben Wideman's new series about city parks at The Sky is Big in Pasadena.

Nature Wins

I'm trying to come up with something metaphorical to say about this photo.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
Don't let things slip through the cracks.
It's the little things.

Maybe I should try to come up with something original instead.

Every day the world teems with traffic, marriage, war, shopping, hardship, heartbreak, love and death. Someone is rejoicing. Someone's going to work. Someone's being born.

Then one day a crack appears and sure enough, nature takes over.

iPhone Wednesday #7 - Shovel

John got this close-up of a shovel near the Devil's Gate Dam not long ago.

There's still much work to be done over there. After rain last weekend the water has risen again, collecting debris behind the dam. Workers have corralled the debris (everything from driftwood to plastic bottles to stray socks) so when it's time to release the water, the debris won't be released with it.

shovel detail

John took a lot of photos of this medieval-looking thing. I'm fascinated by the irregularity of it, not to mention the colors. As John said, some forms of technology have been with us for a long time, and there's no need to change them.

No Nose In the Air

This tower of wine glasses decorates (and functions) at the Nose Wine Cellar, where I was treated to a glass of prosecco and hors d'oeuvres after Saturday's poetry reading at Vroman's.

Doesn't that sound downright snobbish? Squinch up your nose and say it out loud: "a glahss of prossickoo and oh dewves ahfter the pewetry reeding. Dahling."

That has nothing to do with the Nose, which isn't snobby at all. It's a nice place to eat and have a glass of wine (or a tower of glasses of wine). I didn't get to stay very long, but after a bite of cheese I regretted that.

The Nose is at 696 Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena inside Arcade Lane, a sweet little arcade of shops and dining spots. Worth a look, and there's parking behind (enter on Green Street).

Zen Monday: #91

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about. There's no right or wrong. It means what you think it means, or what you want it to mean.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. Unless I absolutely must say something I stay out of the comments box to avoid influencing the discussion (because when I get in there everything goes down hill).

As I post each new Zen Monday photo I add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary.

Parallels

We talked about the Equator Cafe a while back--a long while back--here on the ol' blog. I was in the midst of my coffee shop quest and apparently this was once a coffee shop.

Not any more. Asian fusion. It's pretty good, too, with friendly service, good portions and reasonable prices.

I had to giggle at the "about" page on their website, though. It's so pretentious it's silly. I don't know who wrote it but don't let it put you off. The place is friendly, at least at lunch time. There may have been successful, confident professionals there but I didn't see anyone "exaggeratingly beautiful," not even in the ladies' room. Hell, they let me in. And nobody complained when I squatted under the bar with my camera.

Oh--and the coffee is excellent. I've been truck-load busy lately but it's starting to ease up. I just might have time to hit the coffee shops again.

Up 'Til Now, Everything's Been Fine

Boz lobbies for the things he wants. He sometimes wants a thing badly until he gets it, then he doesn't want it any more. But he clings to his moments on the porch. He'll stay there as long as he can, whether it's chilly or hot. He must keep watch.

What he sees he keeps to himself. Boz rarely barks. I've heard his formidable bark about five times in the seven years he's lived with us, and at those times I give his declarations great respect: "What is it, Boz? Good boy, Boz!" Usually it's nothing--a passing pug, an insistent crow, a breeze.

I could be wrong about this, though. He might be joining the Twilight Bark.

(The video I've linked you to is 10 minutes long. The Twilight Bark begins about three minutes in. The whole thing is worth watching.)

Parc San Marino

Virginia Jones has two (count 'em, two) daily photo blogs: Birmingham, Alabama Daily Photo, where she posts explorations of her home town, and Paris Through My Lens, where she posts her photographic visions of Paris, a town she and I have both dreamed of living in.

I think Virginia and I both love our home towns or we wouldn't blog about them every day. But we like to dream about Paris. I've never met anyone who's been there who didn't yearn to go back, even if they've been there many times.

Virginia's been there many more times than I have, and she's taken lots of pictures. Her photo of the gate at Paris' Parc Monceau inspired me to post a picture of this often-overlooked gate at the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino. Karin Bugge also posted a photo of this gate in one of my favorite Altadena Hiker posts. All three of us managed to photograph our gates under moody skies. Maybe we're all daydreamers.

My vision of living in Paris involves exploring the ancient streets, gardens and history until I've discovered every inch of the city. This fantasy includes having unlimited funds despite not having a job. I imagine one reason Paris seems so dreamy to those of us who've visited as tourists is precisely because we're on vacation and we're allowing ourselves the leisure to explore.

I'm lucky: blogging about Pasadena gives me not only the opportunity but the motivation to explore Pasadena, and to find hidden treasures like this gate. Next time you're at the Huntington, seek it out.

In Defense of Poetry

photo inspired by John Sandel

April is National Poetry Month and in honor of this great occasion I am not going to post a poem I have written.

Instead, I recommend you mark your calendar for this coming Saturday, April 10th at 5PM and meet me at Vroman's to celebrate. Five poets (real ones), including Altadena's own Linda Dove (In Defense of Objects), will read from their works. Be there or be conventional.

Wait.

Be there or be bourgeois? No. Be there or be...I'm sure there's a better way to say this.

iPhone Wednesday #6 - iDrool

iTook this photo with John's iPhone on a visit to the Apple Store on Colorado Blvd. A mere two days after the release of the iPad, people were waiting in line just to hold it.

John has always used a Mac. I'm a recent convert. Since leaving my PC behind last summer I have had not one virus, blue screen, inexplicable melt-down or caesura in the use of my computer. I'm in Mac love.

My desktop computer is a Mac Mini, my laptop is a reliable old PowerBook G4 and my phone is an iPhone. My wallet, however, is the old-fashioned kind, meaning it has its limits, and there's no app for that. I can do without an iPad right now.

But John has his needs. He's in the crowd in that photo somewhere, lovingly fondling an iPad for the first time.

Needless to say, we're feeding our iPiggy bank with high hopes.

Patterns

I have created another of those weeks with too much to do and too little time in which to do it. It's not like I didn't see it coming.

The previous weeks have been just as full so my prep time gets crammed into little places, usually referred to as "last minutes."

To change this would mean saying "no" much more often. I could, but I'm not sure I want to. I may be freaked out, but I am rarely bored.

Zen Monday: #90

Zen Monday is the day you experience the photo and give us your thoughts rather than me telling you what I think the photo's about. There's no right or wrong. It means what you think it means, or what you want it to mean.

I look for a photo worth contemplating or, failing that, something odd or silly. Unless I absolutely must say something I stay out of the comments box to avoid influencing the intellectual path of the discussion (because when I get in there everything goes down hill).

As I post each new Zen Monday photo I add a label to last week's to identify it if necessary.