Be Happy

This little chalkboard slate hangs by my front door.

Every December we have a party: Christmas Game Day. It's a big deal around here. Last December I wrote on my chalkboard "HAPPY! !!GAME DAY!!"

That message stayed until about Valentines Day when I finally erased the GAME DAY!! part of the message. But I was in a hurry (and not in the greatest mood) and couldn't decide what to put in its place. So I left it.

Today I noticed it again. And instead of the grumpy mood of that day, I'm in a great mood on this day. And I realized: why do I need to be told to be happy about some specific thing or event?

"!HAPPY!!" is enough for me.

Street Lights and Mocking Birds

When I was growing up, all the street lights looked like this one. I didn't think there were any left around here.

A few years ago the city replaced all our street lights with super bright ones. The one in front of our house can make my bedroom look like midday. The same year they put the new street lights in, a mocking bird started hanging out there. I love mocking birds. They are my absolute favorite. They make me laugh every single time I hear them. But this mocking bird was hanging out between 1 and 3 am. Every night singing his heart out. We decided it was because of the street light, making the middle of the night seem like midday. We lay in bed and listened since there's no going back to sleep when a crazy mocking bird practices his repertoire outside your bedroom window. And we chuckle through the late night hours.

Found Treasure

This treasure had been unintentionally put aside years ago and sadly forgotten until my grandson emerged from one of his exploration adventures dragging it with him. Apparently, he knows valuable art when he sees it and knows it should be displayed with pride.

New seats on the subway!

We got some new seats on the subway!

See the orange and yellow seats in the top left corner?

Those are the old seats.

But see this shiny seat that is almost the same color as Eeyore?

That's the new seat!

New color. Slightly uncomfortable in the current color scheme.

And, as always, slightly uncomfortable to sit on.

Circus Cage

Old Circus Cage; located at Travvel Town in Griffith Park.

Tonight at hula class...

Tonight at hula class

the dancers danced

and the musicians made music.

And for a short while,

all seemed to be OK in the world.

L.A. Snowflakes

Looking around the house, wondering what I might stop and notice today, I glanced up and ..... Oopps. The last of the Christmas decorations. How long is too long to leave up snowflakes?

Siamese Vegies

I've never seen double squash before. But now I've got two.

Breakfast at the Inn at Sweet Water Farm

The breakfast table at one of my favorite places on the planet:

The Inn at Sweet Water Farm.

The only thing missing? You!

(I'm homesick for it already!)

Bunnies

While waiting at a red light, I glanced over to my left and saw these two bunnies enjoying the afternoon sun.

Socks Can't Make Me Smile

I wish the piles of dirty socks in the living room could make me smile the way that the fluff from Donkey's pillow can.

Inspector Penny

Inspecting the new fence for any possible escape routes, Penny was satisfied with the job and gave it a paws up.

Dance Hall

Back in the 60's I used to take ballet lessons at the local park; I remember performing in the Nutcracker, I think I was a sugar plum fairy...anyway, it saddens me to see the hall where I took those lessons in such disarray; a new gym at the park has been built but this building remains abandoned, vandalized and forgotten.. but not by all.

Power Lines

I guess I'm not supposed to like these - they are urban blight. But I love telephone poles and the wires that criss-cross past them. I love how they divide up the space. I love remembering long car rides and silently watching the power lines zip along the side of the road next to us - a slight dip, then a rise to meet the next pole - keeping time.

Writing with friends

This weekend, a small group of people

are gathering at a bed and breakfast in Massachusetts

to celebrate our friend's birthday.

I've been asked to share some writing exercises with the group

(and that ALWAYS makes me smile!)

So I've prepared a Weekend Writing Kit to share with everyone.

Let the scribbling begin!

False Alarm

As my husband was leaving for work this morning around 5:30am, he returned into the house and asked me to step outside; I groggily did as asked only to be met with the distinct odor of natural gas; the neighborhood seemed to be engulfed with the odor; my husband didn't want to take any chances so while I called the Gas Company to make a report, he woke up everyone else in the household and within minutes we were all up and gathered outside but by this time the odor wasn't prevalent any longer but he still insisted that we leave until the Gas Company checked it out and gave their clearance. When we arrived home, after an early breakfast, this notice of clearance greeted us and we were able to go on with the rest of our day reassured that all was well.

It's in the details

Metal plates like this one are embedded in the sidewalks

near Fort Washington in NYC.

I had no idea about the area's historical significance

until I saw these plates.

It's the little details that bring us to the bigger picture sometimes.

Life Drawing Frenzy

I'm afraid I have become obsessed with my life drawing class. It feels like, if I can just master this then everything in my life will fall into place. No, it feels like, if I can't master this then everyone will know that I'm a fraud. All I've accomplished in my life seems to hinge on my ability to figure out how to draw the human body. 

I left on some errands this morning and upon returning I saw this pile of frenzied work. "Hurry up and get back over here!" it called at me. "Don't be thnking that you're good enough yet!"

Double Take

Saw this kid walking and his hair made me do a double take; made me wonder what he spends more time on...hair or homework?

Man on the subway with a giant pencil

I saw this dude on the subway today

standing there with a pencil that was taller than him...

Sometimes I love this wacky city.

How to Stop the Circle of Doubt

I came home from my life drawing class last night frustrated and defeated. So defeated that I wanted to throw up my hands and give up on all my current creative pursuits; too frustrated to bother to remember my daily post. Felt like such a poser. "Whoever said I was good at this? Not me!"

Pulling myself together enough this morning to sit at my work table and make something, I sorted through the bits and pieces and came across this:

I don't know how much it really helped, but it certainly gave me a moment to get out of my head and stop the endless circle of doubt.

And then in floated my teacher's words from the first day of class: "Most of you will want to quit around the middle of the semester, some of you will disappear." Guess what? Next week is the middle of the semester. Maybe I'm not so terrible. Maybe, in fact, I'm on right on track.

I think I might make myself a name tag with this. Then, next week when I'm frustrated again (and I know I will be), I'm going to pause, read my name tag, stop the circle of doubt, and get on with it!

Humps?

Did I miss something? When did speed "bumps" turn into "humps"?

Candy counter

Today I went into a department store

And I was amazed:

THEY HAD A CANDY COUNTER!

Just like the kind they had when I was a little boy

where you could buy chocolates and snow drops and licorice bites

by the pound.

A man (a security guard?) asked me why I was taking a photo of the counter.

He said he wanted to make sure I didn't work for Macy's.

Ha!

Since when did a candy counter become TOP SECRET stuff?

Pressed Pennies

These pressed penny machines can be found throughout Disneyland as well as the hotels of Disney; I find it to be a fun and affordable souvenir especially for kids to collect. For .51 you can choose which pattern you want pressed on your penny and insert your coins and watch as the machine presses the pattern on and flattens your penny and out it drops warm and textured ready to take place in one of the vinyl collector's books you can also pick up while at Disneyland (of course).

Donkey's Pillow

Every day Donkey pulls the stuffing from his pillow. Every day it makes me smile. Every day I stuff it back in for him. And it begins again . . .

 As I was getting ready to write this post, he jumped on his pillow and started pulling out more fluff. I smiled some more.

As I finish this post, he's taking a rest. For now. I'm still smiling.

At QVC studios

The QVC logo wall at their studios

West Chester, PA

Sand Dollar

This sand dollar has been on my van dashboard for years; I can't remember why it is there or how it got there but every now and again I actually "see" it and it takes me back to a time when my son would ask to go with me at 6am to Morro Strand Beach and "hunt" for sand dollars; it was one of the few times when the two of us did something alone together and I cherished those moments. Being my son's birthday weekend and his being over seas has him on my mind and perhaps that is why the sand dollar remains on the dash board.

Beyond the Do Not Enter Sign

Venturing beyond the "Do Not Enter" sign

Terrifying

Nuclear power plant

Limerick, Pennsylvania.

My parents live between here and Three Mile Island.

Terrifying.

Extra outlet

When I travel, I'm often frustrated by the lack of electrical outlets in hotel rooms.

It's almost like the places don't understand that

we travelers need to be able to "plug in and recharge"

It's even more important to be able to do that in a hotel

than when we're at home.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate this simple gesture of kindness:

an extra outlet in the base of the lamp.

Thank you, kind hotel.

You've made my stay here even more enjoyable.

Hurry Up and Bloom

I don't know what this plant is called. Sooner or later it will bloom and be really lovely. In the meantime, and for most of the year, it kind of freaks me out.

Bumper Sticker

I've never been big on bumper stickers; I don't mind bumper stickers on other people's cars, even amuse myself  in traffic reading them and learning about these driver's children's academic achievements, places traveled, political and religious views as well as their sense of humors. One day though while rounding around the back of my van, I saw that a sticker had been added to it; at first glance, I was slightly miffed since I have avoided having any stickers placed on my vehicle but then read it and realized who must have placed it there and didn't have the heart to remove it. The sticker happens to represent a true statement and so it remains and I join all the other sticker boasting commuters on the highway.

Emergency evacuation plan

Staying in a hotel tonight.

I never really read these...

but I'm glad to know they're there

(just in case)

Hats

This reminded me of the classic children's book "Caps For Sale"

A Sign of a Strong Economy

I used to find so much money on the ground - quarters, nickles, dimes, pennies - every day. When the economy tanked a few years ago, the difference I immediately noticed was that the coins on the ground had disappeared. Absolutely nothing to be found.

This past month though, I have started to notice a comeback of the lost penny. I've been finding one or two pennies on the ground each day. No quarters yet, but I'm going to say that these few pennies are a sign of a turn around in the economy. It's as least as good a predictor as anything the economists have to offer.

Graffiti Water Tower

I am always amazed at the lengths and risks some taggers go to in order to bring attention to their form of expression; I might not agree with or like their methods but it never fails to amaze me when ever I see graffiti in hard to get to places like on freeway over passes or on top of a tall water tower.

Art in the community garden

Today I found myself in a new neighborhood in NYC

nestled in/on/around a steep hill.

Beside the city steps, they had a fantastic community garden

terraced into the side of the hill.

At the top of the steps, I came across this

cool art installation.

This neighborhood is one I'll visit, again!

Muffler Men

After over 3 years of driving the same road to work, I saw these 3 amigos for the first time in front of a local muffler shop; this last month, participating in this blog, has been a lesson in observance for me. I can't believe I have been passing these fine fellows daily when they have been obviously trying to get my attention.

Out to lunch

This was the sign that greeted me at a classroom I visited today.

It seems so much friendlier than

OUT TO LUNCH

Don't you think?

No More Trash Heap

Every so often (and probably more often than I'd like) the city comes with a dump truck and hauls away my all-wise, all-knowing trash heap. 

Dancing Water

This just made me smile and that was good enough for me.

The Trash Heap Has Spoken, Nyeaah!

When my oldest son was little, his favorite show (and mine) was Fraggle Rock. Not the cartoon, but the original Jim Henson produced live puppet (oxymoron?) show on HBO. It remains the most amazing and wise show ever made. Period.

One of the characters was "The Trash Heap." She was the oracle. And she was a huge pile of trash. Her helpers were two rats (I think they were rats) with Boston (correct me if I'm wrong) accents. The fraggles would come to the trash heap and ask for her sage advice. After giving her enigmatic response, the rats would chime in with, "The Trash Heap has spoken. Nyeeah!"

This post isn't actually about Fraggle Rock. It's about my own personal trash heap, on the back of a hill in my neighborhood. I've told about  how people dump there; about how I should hate it; about how I love it instead. Here's what I recently found one afternoon, on a walk with Donkey (my golden retriever).

Two leather wallets, one Mexican sandal key chain (like I had when I was little), and a never-opened still-in-the-cellophane pop-up Pooh Bear greeting card. All things I really needed. Well, I did need a new wallet.

The Trash Heap Has Spoken. Nyeeah!

Pipes

Walking to the store this morning,

I came across this pile of PVC pipes.

I got down on the ground to snap a photo of it

And I fell in love with the simplicity of the repeated shapes

And how the light changed the color of the pipes

inside the rings.

(Would I have paid attention to this before we started the blog?)

Stormy Weather

Was glad to have a "dry" drive home and to be able to get in our warm home before the winds and rain hit us. If we didn't need rain, I'd be happy to never have any; I'm not one of those who like to "walk in the rain" can't stand wet shoes and soggy socks and the cold doesn't put me in a romantic mood, it only makes my bones ache and long for flannel.

The tree's story

A couple of trees in our park have been cut down.

I walked past the stump of this beautiful tree this afternoon.

(I loved that it was still so golden! So vibrant!)

And I loved that I was able to take a picture

and help to capture (and share) its story.

Its legacy.

Its history is in its rings.

Waiting to be Noticed

I wish I could tell you that I was so patient a photographer as to be able to catch a leaf in flight.

Here's what really happened: I stopped to look at the rain clouds piling up on the mountains to our north. I'm not much of a fan of rain. It makes me tense up. But we have a new roof and this may be the first rain in 20-some years when no water will be dripping anywhere inside our house. I wondered if I could get a blog post out of those dark clouds. But then I started to think about all the errands I need to do today, the week's lessons I need to prepare, and my own drawing homework waiting for me. I turned with a sigh to go back in the house and found this leaf, caught in one strand of spider web, waiting . . . begging for me to notice.