Freeway clown

The end of the 710 freeway brings all sorts of "solicitors"; Orange vendors, peanut peddlers, flower sellers, homeless vets, real estate agents (yes, I've been handed a business card from a real estate agent) but today was my first freeway clown; did a little juggle for me; asked how his photo came out and was happy for my monetary thank you. Who knew the freeway could be so entertaining.

Just A Goofy Lemon

Just a goofy-looking lemon

Flavor of the month

I visited a coffee shop in Queens today.

The flavor of the month is Raspberry Mocha.

I prefer plain, unflavored coffee.

Straight up--no sugar, no milk.

Strong enough to rip the enamel off of my teeth.

True story.

Self expression

As I was coming home from my Tuesday evening pool night, around 8pm, I noticed this hand made sign posted expressing one neighbors frustration; that's one way to make your point.

What To Do With a Blue Rocking Horse?

I wish I could figure out a good enough excuse to drag this home from the trash heap!

Cubicle Guardian 2

A while back I posted  a photo of my cubicle guardian and all of a sudden he has a little companion; a trainee perhaps; where he came from, I have no idea; maybe my guardian is cloning himself.

The Trash Heap Returns

The trash heap makes its slow return.

I think if I recreated this in a gallery I could call it art.

Face in the stone

Today I walking thru

Manhattanʻs Upper West Side

And I was delighted to see all of the cool

architectural details

that adorn the buildings and staircases.

American gothic, for sure!

Dancing water

Part of the World of Color show at Disney's California Adventure; the colored water fascinates me.

Andy Warhol monument

Today we had such a great sky here in NYC

and I passed the newly-famous

Andy Warhol monument in Union Square.

The sky, the buildings, the monument

I had to snap a quick photo to share.

A Missed Post

I missed my daily post yesterday. I came home tired from teaching all day. And the cold rainy day just begged me to hibernate. I fell asleep early. Woke up before midnight. "You could still get that post in," I told myself then fell right back to sleep. This morning I woke up with a big smile on my face, even before I looked out and saw this beautiful day.

Later, I'm hoping to see the ocean out there. In the early afternoon the sun hits the water just right and if I'm lucky I can see a thin strip of gold on the horizon.

Open Up!

We hardly ever have days this gorgeous in L.A.  This house with big wide windows and wonderful views - Hey! Open up your curtains! Open up your shades! It's beautiful out here!

Abandoned lot

An abandoned lot

not too far from my apartment

Across the Harlem River--

where the boundary between Manhattan and the Bronx

becomes blurry.

Vet sculpture

As many times as I drive past this emergency pet center, I just noticed this beautiful wood sculpture; I thought it must be new but was told it wasn't, just new to me.

Keyboard

I had to buy a keyboard today

I'm learning a new piece of music--

a throwback to another time in my life

It was very nostalgic

And very SCARY

My fingers remembered how to play a little...

That was the scariest part of all.

Taffy

The local ice cream shop is gearing up for Easter with a barrel full of assorted salt water taffy; although I enjoy the beautiful variety of colors, the only taffy I actually like to eat is the black licorice flavored ones; on that piece of information, my husband commented "who likes black licorice? which brought on a conversation down memory lane about how my beloved grandpa Julio loved black licorice and even kept a box of black licorice flavored cough drops in a drawer in the kitchen and how I would sneak in there and open the box and take in the scent of my grandpa's cough drops. Forgot about those cough drops and my grandpa's love of black licorice until I saw that taffy; I had a very special grandpa.

What to do with old records and toys

When I was first getting to know my now good friend Wendy, she invited me over one day to help her with a project. We made dozens and dozens of these wacky decorations for her upcoming house concert. We painted flowers and designs on old 45's and LPs, then glued on goofy toys we bought from the thrift shop. We hung them from the ceiling, suspended upside down, all over her house. It was super fun and started the foundation of a super friendship. I still have about a dozen of them hanging from the ceiling and wall over my work space.

Parking lot view

Makes me happy to come out from work and still have some daylight.

Self portrait in a mirror

A self portrait taken in a mirror

A photo of my reflection

(Like a portal into an alternate universe.)

Manhattan, Upper West Side

Snails and Shells and Puppy Dog Tails

Today Donkey and I went for a walk in the amazing Debs Park. It is one of our best kept secrets here in northeast Los Angeles. At the park, walk up the road to the pond. Stand in the shade and check out the view, then keep on going. The paved road follows the crest of the hills northward and soon leaves the graffiti behind while many small hiking trails wind their way along through the trees and brush giving spectacular views of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Arroyo Seco, and downtown Los Angeles. Its my new favorite place.

After another fabulous walk, we left the park and I desperately needed something cold to drink. I found a little burger joint and went in to get a soda. Donkey waited outside. I hurriedly reached into my pocket for some crumpled dollar bills. And I laughed at myself, feeling like a little kid just coming in from playing all day on the hillside.